My House, My Rules!

When I was married, my father-in-law (henceforth known as FIL) always made me laugh. He was so stubborn about some things, especially for a pretty laid back guy. He had things he liked (my blueberry pie) and things he didn't (Cubs losing games), and for the most part he was consistent.

Or .. stubborn.

He had a thing about when the heat could be turned on and conversely, when the air conditioning could be as well. If it was September 21st and got down to 35 degrees, "Put a sweatshirt on!" and "No, I'm not putting the heat on in September!"

If it was April and got up to 88 degrees it was "Oh stop whining, it's April!" and "You know it will cool off by 5:00 o'clock!"

Living in the Chicago area, both of those temperature extremes are not unheard of. But my FIL would not make an exception to his thermostat rules, the heat didn't go on before Halloween, and the air conditioning didn't go on before Memorial Day. Seriously.

It is September. On Sunday I had the air conditioning on. By Tuesday, I had the heat on. Know why? Because I'm a grown up, it's my house, and I pay the bills now! (insert $hit eating grin)

When I was a kid, this was not the most important thing on my 'why I want to be a grown-up' list. But it should have been because hoooo-boy is it nice to control your environment so you're not subject to some else's arbitrary temperature rules!

It's also a fair reason to not share my house with a guy. Just sayin'. 

Over it!

Cold.  Record cold.  Went into work this morning, against my better judgement.  Saw a car that had hit a wall on the expressway, another with a fire truck and ambulance along side.  There were several cars pulled over with flat tires when I got to work there weren't nearly as many cars as usual.

Giggled with the younger co-worker who literally had pajama pants and tights under her dress slacks, as well as 2 fleece jackets under her coat.  COLD.

Still, you're there - you work.

One of the bosses decided we needed to have a call at 4:30 (I generally leave at 5:00) which lasted till 6:00.  6:30?  It's a blur.

Out to my car there was my boss (not the one who who arranged the call) in his car, cranking and cranking but not starting.  We tried to jump it (by we I mean HE) and that didn't work.  He decided to let me give him a ride home since it's close to where I live and at the point - he realized he had lost his keys.  The car wouldn't start, it was well below zero - he'd already been outside longer than advisable and his keys were missing.

Ai yi yi.

Meanwhile, my daughter was stuck in an Amtrak train with her husband, hours from home on their way back from her mother-in-law's house.  The train immobilized by snow drifts and God knows what else, information has been scarce.  They started giving people free food which is never a good sign.  At

Except it was at night and there was more snow
and we were coming from the opposite direction ...

least they were warm and were apparently able to charge their cell phones because Dani had been texting me a good part of the day.

Back at my car, my boss decided to just go home.  Leave the car there and go home to his warm house where he had another car in the garage.  So I drove.  A mile away from the office was a car nose down in a ditch where he had obviously parked his car precisely on the grill - with his back end up and flashers flashing.

We stopped.

Boss-man (I am protecting his identity so he will not be incredibly embarrassed by losing his keys in the space of 6 square feet) went and checked with the guy - he was okay, triple A was on the way - thanks.

On our way again.

Slow and steady, Boss at his house and me at mine, and my daughter and son-in-law - still stuck on a train.  By that time they were waiting for a tow - they had already been towed backward for a while, were hoping for another tow - um - anywhere.

I am tired, it's been a long day.  But how do I sleep when it's beyond frigid outside and my daughter and husband have been stuck on a train for over 12 hours - on a trip that should have been 4 to 5 hours, tops?  Argh.

So.  How's your day been??

** Update - Sometime around 3:00 am they managed to get the train to a station where Dani and Dan were put on a bus bound for home.  All told - after the 1st reservation was cancelled on Sunday, the train leaving late on Monday morning, being stuck, bused, driving from the train station to pick up their dog - they made it home about 8:00 am this morning.  See details here!

Happy #$&@ing Spring!!

.. and a pox on all those local weather people (every. single. one. of. them.) who insisted on reminding us over and over in the last 2 days that we were in the EIGHTIES at this same time last year!

I know you can feel the joy.  I can feel it too when my teeth stop chattering long enough!

Br-r-r-r-rrrrrr!!!!!

If you're selling your house and have moved out, please leave the heat on.  You don't have to leave it on 70 degrees but can you at least leave it in the 60's?  I mean .. unless you don't want to sell your house.  


I cannot speak for anyone else but for me, it's hard for me to picture myself making a home out of an empty house when I  AM FREEZING MY TOOKUS OFF while seeing it!!!


Just sayin'.

You know it's cold when ...

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... Jake takes up residence in the bathroom by the heat vent!



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My house

Br-r-r ... I've been saying that a lot lately, haven't I? I took these pics before leaving for work this morning.

A better view -

On the other hand, when I left work to come home tonight - it wasn't dark! So I guess we're crossing to the other side. (pleasepleasepleaseplease)

Too cold for comfort.

Notice that number in the red box? That's the temperature it feels like here right now. Two degrees. Wasn't it just August yesterday? And 82 degrees?

I don't think I'm ready for this yet. Brrr-r-r-r!!!

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Baby it's cold outside!

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BR-R-R -r-r-r!!!!

Earrings and heat, earrings and heat ...

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For those of you who have asked, the chandelier earrings are coming. I made some this weekend, but my photography was a little dark. I thought gee - when I get home from work today I'll take some better pics with the daylight coming in the window. Works wonders. Uh, no. Because of the time change, it's now dark when I get home from work. Gr-r-r-r.

Since I will be taking a half day tomorrow, I will get some pictures then, and will list the earrings tomorrow evening. Really.

Why am I taking a half day tomorrow? Thanks for asking! I will be home by noon so I can be here to graciously welcome the furnace guy. Again. Yep. The pilot still keeps going out and my landlord is under the impression that the pilot just needs to be adjusted. She thinks the pilot is set too low, which proves that she hasn't seen it because when it's lit - it's not one tiny flame. It burns more like a flower, with flame all around the metal core. The furnace guy told me it's a gas hog with a pilot like that.

My landlord is basically telling the heating company that she doesn't want to pay for another service call, she wants them out there to fix what's wrong. Her contention is - it's not the furnace that's not working, it's the pilot. Fix the pilot, the problem will be solved.

Here's the thing. The suburb I live in has some prime real estate in it. The land this house is sitting on is worth a bunch. The house? Not so much. Down the street from me they pulled down a cute little home and put up a great big house - and it's going for just under a million dollars. That is a single lot. I am sitting on a double.

I'm thinking my landlord plans on renting out this house, putting as little into it as possible, until it's not rent-able anymore. Then she will sell it for the land, not the house. She knows she has to keep the furnace running, but she isn't going to replace it until she absolutely has to.

I almost feel like telling the furnace guy not to bother because I don't believe there is anything else they can do, but we will see. Tomorrow is another day, right? One way or another, I will have heat that works all of the time, not just some of the time.

I really do hate this house.
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THIS is my life.

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I know nobody cares about this stuff. But oh my gosh, this is my life! If the power isn't going out the pipes are clogged or .... the furnace pilot won't stay lit. Yes, I said pilot. This - this is my furnace. Isn't it pretty? Yeah, I love it too. Not so much. Let me make one thing clear, I rent. I do not own this lovely piece of machinery. No, I pay rent to light the pilot on this converted oil burning furnace that was put in the house when it was built in the 50's. It really is that old.



There was a heating guy here a week ago because as it started to get chilly in here, I discovered that unlike last year when I just had to re-light the pilot once or twice a day, this year it simply wouldn't stay on once I let up on that red button no matter how long I held it down. I have lit the pilot on this thing so many times I could do it with my eyes closed so I know what I'm doing. It's not me, honest.



This is where the red button is, and behind that rusty metal panel is where the actual flame belches like an angry dragon once it is lit.




These are various thermocouples that have been replaced in the past, one of which was replaced last week as well. The furnace guy told me this furnace is oh - 30 years past it's useful life. He said if he could have found a crack in - well - something I can't remember - he could have told my landlord the unit had to be replaced. But there was no crack, technically nothing dangerous. But again this week, it won't work.



I have to take more time off work which everyone knows is just not my favorite thing to do, uh huh, and come home at noon so I will be here when that van pulls into my driveway and spend my afternoon reading blogs or something while the guy works on the furnace. Ugh, particularly painful. And when the guy is done, I am hoping that this time, oh please please please I will have a brand spanking new furnace and I will sign the invoice without having to pay anything at all.


Who wants to send me good vibes and thoughts or prayers - that tomorrow I can open that closet door and take a picture of a bright and shiny new appliance???


I mean, think about it. If the furnace gets replaced at least it will be one less thing like this I will feel compelled to write about! Send me good thoughts - it's for your own good.


Really.
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