Foreshadowing

We've been having record heat around here. It's been triple digits all week. Crazy hot.

When G and I were at the gym on Monday night our instructor kept talking about how the excessive AC use had caused power outages in her neighborhood. Without any AC, fans, access to food, etc, she was going to have to find a different place to sleep. She also said how worried she was about her freezer and her beloved berries staying frozen.

Her mention of lost berries made my heart sink. I felt sick with worry for her. I could imagine few things as devastating as losing a freezer full of berries.

You see, I am a food packrat. I absolutely love having a well-stocked refrigerator and I take gathering food storage very seriously. I search for great deals on food and spend a ridiculous amount of time during my day planning meals, preparing meals, looking for coupons, shopping for food, etc. It's one of my most enjoyable hobbies. I love my food!

Not to mention my love of berries. I've been berry picking five times this summer -- and each time I come home with around 15 pounds of berries. (And to think we've still got a full month left to get more blueberries and I haven't even started in on the wild blackberries growing all around my neighborhood yet.) I picked so many berries last year that despite making tons of jam, smoothies all the time, muffins, pies and trifles constantly -- I still had several bags left.

All during my workout Monday night I kept feeling nervous about my instructor's freezer. Oh, those berries!

Tuesday was even hotter (it ended up being 108 here). I decided to get outside and do a little light work in the yard Tuesday morning. The kids had major cabin fever and although it was in the nineties in the morning, it was good to get a few things done and to burn a bit of their energy. I had a full day ahead of me that would require my ut-most organization and focus to get everything done. It was noon and I was sending my red-faced and sweaty boys back into the house to cool off. We were done outside and it was time for me to get busy with my tasks.

And that's when I noticed a pool of bloody juice all over the garage floor.

I burst into tears as soon as I realized what was going on. The freezer door had been left open. All my berries were ruined. My four packages of bacon spoiled. My three bags of Costco chicken thawed. My 15 steaks and three roasts from the cow at the county fair destroyed. My rotisserie chicken and bags of homemade chicken broth gone. Not to mention the bags of vegetables, popsicles, ten frozen pizzas (valued at almost $100) that I had purchased at an amazing price ($2 each), etc, etc, etc. It was devastating. The money lost. My beloved food totally ruined.