{"id":299282,"date":"2026-10-03T21:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T21:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/299282\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T21:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T21:00:14","slug":"did-i-buy-too-much-johns-water-ice-for-the-offseason-my-wife-thinks-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/299282\/","title":{"rendered":"Did I buy too much John’s Water Ice for the offseason? My wife thinks so."},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s question (Have your own? Submit it here<\/a>.):<\/p>\n

John\u2019s Water Ice just closed for the season, so I decided to do something smart this year: I stocked up. Almost half our freezer is filled with it.<\/p>\n

But, my wife says it\u2019s too much, that we have to have people over soon to eat through it so we actually have freezer space, and that it won\u2019t even taste as good a month from now. But I say: Some John\u2019s is better than no John\u2019s. Did I go too far? Or not far enough?<\/p>\n

Mike Newall, Life & Culture reporter<\/p>\n

Do not second-guess yourself for a moment. You are a good husband and a good man. You saw water ice and you got it and you gave it a home for the winter and now many of your neighbors will want to be your friends. Congrats, you are a local hero.<\/p>\n

If anything, I\u2019d start clearing freezer space for the water ice ahead of time.<\/p>\n

Abigail Covington, Life & Culture reporter<\/p>\n

Listen, I love John\u2019s too. But I am firmly with your wife on this one. Do you want to be the kind of guy who stocks up on stuff? Get a second freezer for the garage. Everybody knows that\u2019s where overflow goods go. You cannot waste precious freezer space on a seasonal treat.<\/p>\n

Mike Newall<\/p>\n

Oh, Abigail, we have been through so much together \u2014 I think maybe two of these advice chats, at least \u2014 and now we part ways \u2014 or at least opinions. Water ice<\/a>! Water ice! Water ice!<\/p>\n

I see your point on the basement freezer (that\u2019s where my pop kept his pickled pig\u2019s feet). But it\u2019s not like this is last month\u2019s leftovers \u2014 it\u2019s water ice. It\u2019ll be gone before Halloween.<\/p>\n

Abigail Covington<\/p>\n

Yes, maybe a compromise is in order. Give the water ice an expiration date. It has to be gone before the holidays when leftovers will inevitably need to move in. Or, I like Mike\u2019s idea \u2014 Halloween.<\/p>\n

Mike Newall<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my thing: Let\u2019s fast-forward a couple weeks or even more to the heart of fall. Leaves are falling. Eagles are on TV. Chill in the air. And you\u2019re in your living room enjoying some fine \u2014 possibly maybe a little bit freezer burnt if you don\u2019t really shut the lids \u2014 pineapple water ice. To me the appeal is enjoying something when you normally can\u2019t. It\u2019s more than a treat. It\u2019s a little seasonal nostalgia.<\/p>\n

Freezer burn is a reasonable fear, and the sugar and water can over-crystallize over time, making the ice somewhat grainy. But I\u2019m sure that takes time. More than enough time for you to kick back with some well-preserved lemon ice after Thanksgiving dinner.<\/p>\n

Abigail Covington<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry but who in Hades wants to eat water ice in November? It\u2019s not ice cream! You can\u2019t serve it with pumpkin pie. I get the nostalgia element, but the joy of a seasonal treat is that it\u2019s seasonal. Make it available year-round and it will undoubtedly lose its luster, especially if it\u2019s got the freezer burn fuzzies.<\/p>\n

Mike Newall<\/p>\n

Oh boy, I got a chill from \u201cfreezer burn fuzzies.\u201d<\/p>\n

You know what, Abigail. You convinced me.<\/p>\n

In the spirit of compromise, a solution: Why don\u2019t you and your wife make a water ice date on the next lovely evening. Sit out on the stoop. Enjoy it. Pass it around. Talk about the old days and good times. And then go back inside and chuck the rest out.<\/p>\n

Abigail Covington<\/p>\n

Agreed. There are plenty of water ice spots that stay open year-round for the diehards like yourself. Venture out of the house when the craving hits and let the contents of your freezer change with the seasons. Your wife will thank you.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/a><\/p>\n

I am a Culture and Identity reporter who writes about Philadelphia history, changing Philadelphia, South Philly life, the places where old Philadelphia meets new \u2014 and about the colorful characters that define our city. I write often about Philadelphia\u2019s preparations for the 250th anniversary of America in 2026, known as the Semiquincentennial.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week\u2019s question (Have your own? Submit it here.): John\u2019s Water Ice just closed for the season, so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[123421,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-299282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-johns-water-ice-winter-storage","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}