Not necessarily a big mistake. When one gets older they can't do all they did before. I think getting her to buy into that is what is needed. Not an easy thing I'm sure.
That had to be a great experience on your part....I just love the interaction between animals.....especially the babies....they all just want to Play".....
I love my upright freezers. I bought plastic storage tubs at Walmart and organized them.I have a tub for frozen okra (try stacking that), cream corn, greens, and the rest of my veggies. Then I have tubs for pork, lamb and chicken. Why didn't I think of that sooner? Years of opening the freezer door and it throwing something at me......
Get an upright, they take up less floor space. Open the door and everything is right there instead of standing on your head, digging to the bottom of a chest freezer.
Suck it up and buy a big one. You'll be glad you did. My washer/dryer are stacked to make space for my freezer. Then I got another one and we put it on the porch in a nook that I was going to put my commercial sewing machine in.....sigh.....oh well.