Taped fridge with bonus dog view

Today's photo is our fridge-freezer, with bonus view of the dog's bum (she was having her breakfast). It's a celebratory photo because FINALLY I have managed to order a new fridge-freezer. 

The story of the new fridge 
About 2 weeks ago, the freezer door at Mum's stopped closing. Something was wrong with the rubber sealant or whatever it's called - it stopped sticking. I was immediately seized with panic because I don't have time to think how to buy a fridge, and anyway, it's not just a case of buying one, there are actually three things to juggle: 
- choosing & buying a new fridge freezer
- disposing of the old fridge freezer (a process which could potentially have several steps on its own) 
- thinking what the hell to do in the interim with an freezer door that won't shut 
My mum, if she didn't have Alzheimer's, would have done all of that in her sleep. But she does have Alzheimer's, and she just stood and watched helplessly, as I taped the freezer door shut with parcel tape. 
"You are a clever girl, I would never have thought of doing that," she said. Then she cried, because she couldn't get the ice cream out. 

We actually managed with the door taped like that for over a week, but now it isn't closing properly even with the tape, and has completely frosted over. We've got to the stage where you'd need a chisel to get anything out. 

A little adhd/Alzheimer's nightmare - measuring the space
The first step was to measure the space but Mum couldn't remember where she keeps her tape measure & I couldn't face hunting through her house. So I decided to bring a tape measure from my house.
- Last week I went to my house TWICE and EACH TIME I forgot the tape measure.
- I thought of ordering a tape measure from Amazon, but didn't because it would be quicker to go to my house and just get one. But I couldn't be bothered to go to my house. So I ended up doing neither. 
- Next day, same scenario. Did neither. 
- Next day, same scenario. This time I ordered the tape measure from Amazon. 
- Next day, got the notification to say the tape measure had been delivered and that evening after work I asked Mum if a package had come. She looked at me blankly and said it had not. I went through the bin in case Mum had thrown it away - she hadn't. Then I double checked the Amazon notification. Guess what? I'd mistakenly ordered the delivery to go to my house, not hers. I cried a bit at this point. Then I drove to my house to get the tape measure. 
- When I got back to Mum's, she greeted me at the door and said, "Did you say you wanted a tape measure? There's one in the craft cupboard." (This part sounds like I made it up. I actually didn't. I think that seeing me distressed about the lack of tape measure earlier prompted Mum to think about where there might be one)

The story of the short fridge
I finally measured the available space for the fridge-freezer and found that it can't be more than 161cm tall, otherwise we'd have to take out the cupboard above it. The current fridge-freezer, which I think Mum has had since she moved into that house circa 1996 is 145cm tall. This is quite short for a fridge-freezer these days. 

I had determined that John Lewis, which has a good selection of fridge-freezers online, will not only deliver you a new one, they will also install it (at a cost) and take the old one away (at a cost). The cost is fine by me if it simplifies the task. However, they only have ONE available fridge-freezer that fits our space, and for this one it ominously says you have to call them to discuss rather than order it online.  

I spent half my day yesterday trying to buy this fridge freezer. I spoke to four different people and each one told me something different. You can buy it but we can't install it. You can buy it, but they won't take the old one away. The problem seemed to be that it is from an external supplier who doesn't necessarily do the John Lewis add-ons of installation and delivery. That evening, Mum said crossly, "It's because it's ONLINE. This wouldn't happen if you'd just gone to the Gas Showroom." 

In desperation last night, I tried again, and spoke to a girl called Leigh who resolved the issue by getting the supplier to deliver the fridge to a John Lewis warehouse, and from there, John Lewis would take over the installation and recycling of the old fridge. I couldn't quite believe it was sorted. 

We will soon have a new fridge-freezer. And that is why I took this celebratory fridge pic this morning.