First of all. I am not suppose to be here. I mean in our house, not sitting here posting to you. We used to go away for Memorial Day weekend, but since we have the RV it is easier to go away during the week before or the week after. Why? Well, when one makes a hotel reservation (at least when we used to) one could generally cancel it until the day one was suppose to be there or at least the day before. RV parks usually require a week or more notice of cancellation to not charge for a reservation - if they let you cancel at all. It is hard to get a reservation for big on season weekends (like Memorial Day) - we make our July 4 reservation for next year when we arrive at the park or we will not get one. Also it is crowded in Lancaster for the weekend and husband does not like all the “tourists” (yes, we are tourists too, but he considers us regular guests as we go so often) as the tourist places are too busy - and remember we have to park a huge over length van. But it is easy to make reservations at the last minute during the week before or after and there are less fellow tourists around so we have been doing this. Last week I had to go to work at a client, so we planned on going away this week. Of course it is raining almost every day this week in Lancaster, so we did not go. We may go tomorrow to Connecticut for the day - maybe the Hartford Cabella’s store and then a casino for walking around and dinner - we don’t gamble - I never have and husband no longer does as he has just as much or more fun just walking around and he doesn’t lose any money.
Now, what I did. Husband (and I) are Type II Diabetics. Husband takes a once a day insulin. It comes in “pens” and must be kept cold until the pen is started. That means, we bring home a box of 5 pens and they go in the fridge. He takes one out to start using it - it lasts him around 10 days - and then it stays out of the fridge at room temperature. There is a fixed range for the pens in the fridge, so I have to keep the fridge in range. I generally keep the fridge at 38 degrees Fahrenheit as it is in the middle of the range, but not so warm as to be a problem for food stored in the fridge. This allows for variations in the temperature in the fridge from use. When we travel in our RV I keep the fridge in it at the same temperature - but it is harder to keep it at temperature as it is more weather sensitive - oddly at night when it is cooler, the RV fridge gets warmer.
Normally the house fridge though, stays at the correct temperature fairly easily. If it needs to be warmer, I turn the dial (on either fridge) until it just shuts off. If it needs to be cooler, I turn the dial until it just kicks on. In the RV when traveling we keep the remote reader for the fridge in the front while traveling so we know what is going on - I have been known to jump to back to adjust it on trips when we stop for gas or other reasons.
So, Sunday evening I noticed that the temperature in the (house) fridge had dropped 2 degrees to 36 which is the lowest the insulin can go. I turned the temperature dial until it shut off. Worried that it had dropped 2 degrees and it was still running I did something I do sometimes. I opened the drawer in the fridge and used it to prop the door open a bit so it would heat up a bit inside it.
Only this time I lost track of the time! Husband came down and the fridge was at 46 degrees - the highest the insulin can go. We turned the fridge up but the temperature was not going down. He was convinced that I had broken the fridge. The insulin will last for 42 days out of the fridge, so 2 of the pens would have to be tossed if it was not working - plus the cost of the food in it and the cost of repair or a new fridge.
There was a scene - much panic yelling by him and apologies and crying by me.
He decided the fridge was not cooling because it needed to have the vents cleaned - so he vacuumed them - front and back - for me. (Well, one job less for me to do - not sure when last they were vacuumed.)
By the time we went up to bed the temperature was 44 degrees. Rather than both of us stay up all night and stare at the temperature remote, I had suggested we go up to bed and I would come downstairs every hour. We turned the air conditioner on and the overhead fan and went upstairs.
After we finished getting ready for bed, he went back downstairs and the temperature was down to 43 degrees - he was still in a panic, but I was pretty sure that the fridge was okay. I went down in an hour and it was at 41 degrees. I set the alarm for an hour and went to sleep for an hour - well, mostly I was awake. It was then down to 39 degrees. I turned the temperature down, just so the fridge went off. I went to bed for another hour and the temperature was holding at 39 so I went to sleep.
The fridge seems to be a bit more sensitive - it jumps around within a range okay for use more than it used to. Husband barely lets me open the fridge to take stuff out or put in - I have to grab everything at once, but the fridge seems okay and stays 37-40 degrees and corrects fairly quickly back to 38.
Why did this happen? Well, I was on the computer “talking” with some embroidery friends around the world and ----- forgot! What I should have done was set the timer in my mobile phone for maybe 5 to 10 minutes to remind. I do that for other chores - right now I am doing laundry and in 26 minutes (and some seconds) it will remind me to switch loads.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Don’t count on remembering things to be done - or noticing that it is time to do them. Use a timer or an appointment in your phone or a mechanical timer to remind you when to do something.
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