This is why I didn't get anything done today that I planned to get done

Last night I noticed that the chest freezer was making weird noises.  Clicking noises.  Not so much with the humming.  A little online research suggested that maybe the coils were iced over.  JD brought up some coolers from the basement and we put all the food out on the porch (it being below freezing overnight.)

We opened up the freezer and set it up on supports so that we could put a pan underneath of it to catch drips.  It thawed out nicely, and then JD plugged it back in.  It proceeded to stay warm. Looks like some important part inside is shot.

Wouldn't you know it?  Just barely out of warranty.  So, it was off to the Home Depot for us to get a new chest freezer.  But first, we went to the farm to check on Pluto and also measure his feed for my vet.  But before that, we stopped at a gas station.  Because Rabies thought it was low on fuel.  JD had a little trouble starting Rabies before we left the house, and sure enough when he went to start her back up again after fueling up, she wouldn't start.  I approached the woman at the head of the next line of pumps and asked her if she'd give us a jump.  She did, very graciously.  I was so relieved, because our other option was walking back to the house and getting another vehicle with which to jump Rabies.  Or, walking back to the house to get another vehicle with which to buy a new battery.  Either way, the gas station owner probably wasn't going to be happy with us blocking access to one of his pumps.

With that accomplished, we drove down to see Pluto.  He and Mystery have demolished their new bale.  I was pleased to see that his new blanket is not rubbing anywhere - it's a really good design for him.  He wanted many cookies, and so did Mystery.  Pluto tried to keep me from leaving by blocking my path out with his body.  Hah!  Like I've never seen that trick before.  I flapped my gloves at him and walked around him.

I was interested to note that the pellets are much more dense than the sweet feed.  The 13 oz coffee can holds 15 oz of sweet feed or 21 oz of pellets.  Good to know!

JD kept the truck running the whole time so we would not have dead battery drama while at the farm with nobody around.

Next stop was the auto store, where JD purchased a deep cycle battery.  I was definitely in favor before I found out that a deep cycle battery for the truck cost $200!  My deep cycle battery for my old tractor was a LOT less than that.  Of course, the tractor didn't come with air conditioning.  Or windows.  Or a roof. Or much in the way of brakes.  But by golly its batteries were cheap.

So we FINALLY made it to Home Depot and purchased ourselves a new chest freezer - a different brand and slightly larger than the old one.  Also, while we were there I picked out a small fridge to take to the office, to replace the old one that died last year.  And in the process of moving all these various freezers and fridges around, both JD and I strained our backs a little bit.  Oy.

Luckily when we got home, our neighbor Larry saw us pull up the truck and came over to help JD bring the freezer into the house.  I made room for it in a spot that gets a little less sunlight than the old one got, and voila!  New freezer.  We turned it on and it even cooled, so bonus.  JD replaced all the food from the coolers, and it's like nothing ever changed.  Except the part where I now have a new mouse-proof, UV-proof, old-chest-freezer-shaped bin to store my camping food in.