The last 48 hours

Let me tell you about the last 48 hours I have spent.  Okay, let me vent and complain about the last 48 hours.

A few posts back (quite a few actually) I mentioned that I have some weird hobbies.  One of my hobbies is brain tanning hides.  (yes that isn’t a typo.  I tan hides using brains and smoke)  But one of the key ingredients in that hobby is the hide itself.  I have found the best way to store the deer hides is in the freezer.

Well it was a great idea until the freezer dies while I was away for a few days.  I get home weds. night and smelled a strange odor.  I fearfully walked into the room and looked at the huge freezer that I knew was filled to the brim with hides and brains.  In dreading anticipation, I lift the lid ever so slightly……And slam it down again.  Yes that strange odor was indeed 50 hides and 12 pints of brains decomposing in a freezer that wasn’t freezing.

Now what am I to do with that mess?  I can’t just take it outside and dump it, my dogs would be dragging that gross stuff up for months, the garbage man would rightfully refuse to take that stinking mess and it was way too much to throw out at one time anyway.  So that left me with incineration.  But that takes some planning on my part.

So I get into town the next day and buy 4 cans of lighter fluid and vicks.  The lighter fluid is to get a hot fire going and vicks to keep me from dying from the smell.  I have dust masks I wear at work and I took one and smeared the inside with the vicks.  It helped alot but didn’t completely kill the smell.  Thank you C.S.I. for that good idea.

Fortunately for me and unfortunately for my brother, he got home from work in time to help.  My mom came out and she cleaned out the freezer while I played fire bug.  It was not a pretty sight.  Today I went out to the fire and noticed some hides were still left so once again I was burning stinking rotten hides.  Not a pleasant way to spend a day.

So tonight I am tired, half sick from the smell, and just plain frustrated.  But at least I found it before it got too bad.  And at least it is done and gone.  I think maybe my next hobbie will be flowers or perfumes, or a sweet smelling anything.