It was the same week my husband had COVID.

Once we tested negative, we called on the services of a delightful fridge dude.

I was at work when the fridge dude's solution was relayed by my husband.

We needed to turn the fridge off, empty it AND the freezer and turn it back on.

Sort of like rebooting a computer? With way extra effort.

(PS WtFrench is a 'French' door in the fridge useage?)

When I googled how frequently this fridge purging procedure was needed, I was fridge-smacked!

"Every three or four months."

Wtfridge!

"Give it a deep clean every 3 to 4 months. That means putting all your food in a cooler, turning it off, removing the shelves and drawers and ..."

Or this: "Give your fridge a deep cleaning every season. Schedule this for the beginning of each season, so you make sure thorough cleanings are performed at least once every three months."

Life is way too short to spend four days a year defrosting your fridge.

However, I accept that seven years between defrostings is probably stretching fridge friendship.

(BTW I regularly wipe over the fridge shelves etc, but never emptied the entire fridge as a leisure activity.)

Our Easter travel plans COVID cancelled, I decided to tackle the fridge.

We pulled its plug on Good Friday.

On Easter Saturday our dining table was loaded with fridge shelving, crispers and food.

Exciting discoveries?

A whole duck ... well past her use by date and as friend John noted, she wasted her life. Duck guilt.

Three frozen lemons in separate bags ... just in case.

A misshapen Christmas ham bone which I'm saving for this winter's soup.

Three trays of frozen ravioli which looked every bit at least five years old, remnant from my ravioli-making phase.

Frozen vintage salamis, bacon and three magnificent Toulouse sausages from my paella and cassoulet years.

Frozen sage leaves, basil, garlic and garlic stems as well as three frozen tubes of dill.

My freezer shrieks middle class, but it also shouts to my love of cooking and not wasting.

But really, frozen reader, do we have to mark fridge/freezer cleaning on a calendar?

Alongside birthdays and wedding anniversary (July 18).

Time is precious.

Time cleaning the freezer could be time spent ... reading.

However, the fridge purge and our Easter home stay turned out nicely.

Easter Sunday was us and a defrosted chicken, served with a handy freezer find ... my famous Christmas turkey stuffing.

Dessert was a berry crumble (loganberry and raspberry), also from the freezer exposé.

I remembered Easter 2008, in our rambling Bourke Street garden, where mini eggs were hidden and children ... 11, 20 and 25 ... greedily raced pretending to be 10 years younger.

I remembered the great Easter road trip disaster, when one of them got car sick, we returned home, locked out for four hours until our neighbours returned with our only front door key.

I cast my heart back 60 years, to a little blue and yellow basket of golden eggs left on the small, concrete porch by the Easter bunny.

Easter Sunday, I did my usual Easter bunny thing.

That is, eggs at the bedroom door.

Husband, snoring and still COVID snotty slept in our spare room.

Resident bunny white poodle Stella slept at his door.

It's a miracle! The Easter poodle.

All was perfect.

The fridge was clean, the Easter poodle had delivered and Carlton and the Swannies won the Easter footy.

Until, we woke on Easter Monday.

Guess what?