Happy 4th of July to all of our US family, friends and readers….Oops!…Did load shedding cause our refrigerator to die?…

Three different breeds of antelope in the garden today…nyala (dad) Norman, kudu Big Daddy Thick Neck, and bushbuck Lilly. What a joy to see them all together! 

We send our warmest wishes to all our family and friends in the USA on this special day of celebration of Independence Day. Use extra care when handling fireworks, cooking on the grill, and building bonfires. Also, be safe driving to visit family and friends on the highways and lakes when boating. We’ll never forget this special day with those we love and all the festivities we enjoyed together.

Life is different now and today is like any other day. Well, except for a few things. This morning, when we were digging through the kitchen’s freezer section of the big side-by-side refrigerator, we noticed blueberry juice spilling from the drawer where we keep Tom’s blueberry muffins frozen. He takes out two each evening with his coffee in the morning.

Nyala Nina and her son Noah jumped the fence to visit us today.

Why were the muffins defrosting in the freezer? Also, for the past few weeks, we noticed water on the floor in front of the refrigerator each morning. We attributed it to load shedding…on and off…on and off…power to the fridge three or four times a day.

I contacted Louise, and she suggested we empty everything in the refrigerator and the freezer and put it all in the extra refrigerator on the veranda. She told us we could ask Vusi to move it all when he arrived. Of course, it was packed. She then said to turn it off and back on in 24 hours to see if it would work properly. From experience with load shedding, Louise stated, it might reset and be OK. The load shedding could quickly be causing the “fault.”

Nyala’s dad Norman was drinking from the pool after eating pellets. Note his fluffed-up hair, due to the presence of a Big Daddy nearby. See more below.

Realizing that if the refrigerator didn’t come back on after the 24-hour pause, it could require repair, we felt it made more sense if we moved the food, placing everything where we wanted it to go into the smaller fridge on the veranda. Plus, we also have a chest freezer to store frozen items.

Most frozen food in the freezer was frozen, including mince (ground beef), steaks, and chops. But on the bottom shelf, two packages of chicken breasts were very cold; they still had ice on them but were not frozen. We needed to cook them right away. The ice cubes in bags were still totally frozen.

Norman fluffed up his hair all the more, knowing a Big Daddy was nearby.

Immediately, I lined two large baking pans with tin foil, seasoned the chicken, and immediately got it into the oven. In the next few hours, I boiled eggs, chopped celery, and onions, diced the chicken when it was done and cooled, and seasoned the entire batch using a homemade sour cream dressing I made while the chicken was cooking.

Also, I made a fresh batch of coleslaw to go with the chicken salad. We filled two good-sized containers with the chicken salad, which we’ll have for dinner for the next few nights with the coleslaw, rice, and veggies. It’s nice to know we have dinner made for a few nights after all that work.

We both got busy in the kitchen, moving all the food, utilizing the outdoor refrigerator and freezer, and cleaning. We must have run back and forth a hundred times between the two of us. We were very organized, consolidating, and organizing. As usual, neither of us complained and stayed cheerful during the entire process, which took a few hours.

Norman really fluffed himself up including his tail to let the Big Daddy know he was well aware of his presence,

We figured if we moved everything, we’d ask Vusi to clean the walls of the problematic fridge while Tom washed all the shelves and drawers. By the time Vusi arrived, we were ready for him to do his part.  Tom stayed busy in the kitchen washing all the pots, pans, and containers.

It’s still school holidays in South Africa, and the park is filled with tourists. However, there’s still plenty of wildlife stopping by to see us. The nyala family, consisting of Norman (dad), Nina (mom), and teenager Noah (their son), have started visiting us two or three times a day. It’s delightful to see how this family stays together with both parents, which is not always the case with the antelopes or other wildlife.

It’s another gorgeous day today with perfect sunny weather, no wind, and minimal humidity. Gosh, I love winter in the bush! After our busy morning and the number of tourists in the park, we’ll stay put and enjoy another blissful day with our wildlife friends who come and go throughout the day and evening.

Have a fantastic 4th, people in the US, and may everyone else enjoy their Monday, wherever they may be.

Photo from one year ago today, July 4, 2021:

Little, please be there when we return at the end of the month! He was. But he’s yet to find us at the new house, which is two km from the old house. For more photos, please click here.

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