Friends aside, things I have missed hugely include using chopsticks, eating chilli and sweating (instead of shivering).

Although it’s lovely to have exchanged day for night and cold for hot and to be back in the place I call home…the greeting I got upon arrival was not quite what you’d hope for after a 12 hour flight with two children: the power had tripped whilst we’d been away and I my huge and very full coffin-sized chest deep freeze out the back (and thank God not inside the house) had defrosted. Yup…you do not even want to imagine.

It’s taken me a full week to recover my cool and this is my first post since arriving back.

We obviously had to chuck everything out, including the freezer and two fridges (turns out parmesan doesn’t do so well when not refrigerated) and the one thing I’ll absolutely not be replacing is my chest deep freeze; I am just too domestically challenged to own one.

The thing inside my freezer that I was most sad to see go was a pair of fur trimmed leather gloves I’d inherited from my Grandmother. I’d only meant to pop them in for a few hours (I heard from my someone that a stint in the freezer will kill any moth eggs that may lurk in fur in hot countries…why pay for cold storage when you can do it yourself?!) but hours turned in to months and I forgot about them.

From now on, freezing is only allowed in the top compartment of my shiny new fridge.

Much better, especially as it has the added bonus of allowing you to actually see what’s frozen vs turning it in to a hideous lucky dip, which invariably wasn’t so lucky….

Frozen food image via The Guardian; glove pic courtesy of She Finds