Hi there all you warm, dry people with running hot water...........this is day 5 or 6 (I am not sure) of Lois' Sore Trials........
Just to bring you all up to date, on Sunday we had a positive deluge for at least 12 - 15 hours and the roof of the sun room (added separately from the regular roof) just couldn't take the punishment so we can add Leaking Roof and 2inches of water in the sun room to my list of afflictions which still include no heat and no hot water and incipient bills of $6K to $8K. I am grateful that I inherited my Dad's supply of towels some years ago (and being the packrat that I am kept them all for an emergency) so that I had enough to sop up the water without having to use my own bath towels.
I have grown accustomed to sleeping and living in several layers of sweats augmented by a fleece Hoodie and occasionally a blanket or afghan draped tastefully around my shoulders..... And, would you believe, just when you need them, those damned cats refused to huddle in bed with me to keep me warm, choosing instead to stay in the living room where I have a little electric heater going which manages to bring the temp up about 3 degrees.
I want you to know that I have NOT been idle. I am constantly on thephone making arrangements and mopping puddles.. My handyman finished laying a new floor in the water heater compartment and I have had the installers out yet again but have only progressed to the point of having them leave me new water heater.... in carton..... sitting on the bricks outside the water heater house where it ultimately will live. There are so many adjustments that need to be made to accommodate the new unit that the guy advised me to save the installation and improvement fees and have my handyman do the work. He is, as we speak, at the DIY store getting supplies.
Meanwhile, the heating company cannot schedule to install my new heating unit until we get a day of no rain. Right now that looks like it might not be till Saturday.....this is Tuesday. And can you believe it.....I still remain calm. I think I have finally got the knack of coping gracefully.....or I am so exhausted and used up that I can't feel anything anymore and cannot remember the words to the appropriate ditty, "shit, piss, fuck".
All this and I still haven't told you about yesterdays bonus adventure in which one of the hummers, in a frenzy to get breakfast, flew into the house and jetted around the atrium until, as usual, it fainted. Because of all the hoods over my ears I didn 't hear it and only found out when two cats refused their breakfast in lieu of climbing the spiral staircase in the atrium and peering fixedly at the little windowsill 8 feet up off the floor. When I finally located the little creature on the sill I didn't give him much of a chance..... still I rushed to the garage, schlepped in the 6 foot ladder, clambered up it (in spite of my previous resolutions not to ever do that again) (well, I DID scream for Florence, my caregiver, but she was outside feeding the birds and didn't hear me and time was of the essence.) Happily I was able to reach the critter and cupped his limp body gently in my hand while I rushed to grab a full feeder and plunged his beak into it. It seemed to take forever before I saw any signs of life but then I saw signs of swallowing and little by little the body firmed up and after about 3 or 4 minutes the wings flapped and off he went to the nearest hanging feeder to finish his breakfast. Whew.
I was so thrilled it took several minutes for me to begin shaking. (I had postponed it during the emergency).
So......and how was YOUR day?
