Bright October days continue, with highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's. We had a good rain Sunday evening, much needed.
Early Saturday morning on the ridge, as we left home around 7am.
We needed another freezer. We have one, a large upright, but it's almost full, and we have a whole hog coming in November and Larry is hoping to get a deer or two. We certainly didn't have enough space for all that.
I started looking for a used freezer. Guess what? They're rare as hen's teeth, because in this pandemic year apparently many people are planning to stock up. Next I looked for new freezers. Also not available unless I wanted to drive a few hundred miles. I didn't.
Then I found a new one on Facebook Marketplace. The seller said she sells lots of new things, still in the box. I figured she was one of those people buying pallets of stuff to re-sell; this seems to be a growing market area. She told me the freezer was brand new, still in the box. Seven cubic feet, which was what I was looking for. And she was in Huntington, only 70 miles away.
So Saturday morning we took off for Huntington. It was a beautiful if foggy drive along the Ohio Valley, a drive we always enjoy--little traffic, big wide bottomland fields, the river, just lots to see. We stopped along the way to pick up another Facebook find, a Radio Flyer stakeside wagon.
We found the place with no trouble, but the neighborhood...well, let's just say that when we got out of the van I made sure Larry locked the doors. We knocked. No answer except some vicious sounding dogs. We waited, knocked again. More barks and growls. Then just as I was getting ready to text the seller, we heard a sleepy voice call, "Just a minute." It was 9:30 in the morning, so kinda early for some people.
A young woman opened the door, and showed us where the freezer was--brand new, still in the packing material. She called her boyfriend to help load it, and we realized that these people were very likely druggies. Huntington, sadly, has a terrible drug problem, and I guess we found a couple of them. Still, we needed a freezer, they had a freezer, so we paid up, loaded and left.
I worried, though. Would the freezer work? Was it legit, or stolen? I reassured myself that it was brand new, still in the packing, and that I saw many other people online selling this exact freezer in other places, also brand new, for the same price.
On the way home we had another stop to make, picking up more things from a favorite picker who lived just over the river in a small town. We had a nice visit with her, and a nervous laugh about the freezer. Then we stopped at a little park for a picnic lunch before finally heading home.
It was, all in all, a nice day. A break from routine, a pretty drive, a short visit outside with our friend.
And yes, the freezer works. What a relief.
Isn't it odd that the things we have done for years to save money/eat better are suddenly fashionable? I can't tell you the number of times people have looked at me like I was crazy when I talked about gardening and preserving. Now, we can't find hard, lids, or freezers to do what we have always done. I'm glad you found a freezer and got home safely. Hugs
ReplyDeleteVery odd - how does somebody end up with a brand new freezer to sell? I'm glad it worked for you! -Jenn
ReplyDeleteAll's well that ends well. I was worried for you.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that freezers weren't available probably because of covid, I never thought of that. Glad you found one, a new one and it works even though the people were questionable. Now you have another story. :) Have a wonderful day and stay safe.
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