When it rains, it pours.
As I briefly mentioned in my last post, I was scheduled to meet up with a long time friend tomorrow, someone who personally knows the path God chose for us regarding family (adopting). We have shared so much over the years, from inexplicable joy to moments of genuine sorrow and loss. She's intelligent, very funny and just a really neat person to have connected with. And after all this, we were finally going to meet for a visit.
Enter dilemma #1. Brandon has had a drippy, stuffy "gunky" nose for the last day or so. So today, (one day before my scheduled visit with my friend), he was increasingly irritable and felt warm. I immediately called my friend to let her in on the details and to give her a "heads up" that I might need to cancel. I said I would reevaluate when Brandon got up from nap. Well, he woke without fever and seemed to basically be okay; playing, eating and changing channels for fun (yes, my baby has known how to use the remote for a month now; he's 11 months old.) I called her back and said we were still on, barring any unforeseen change in his status. She was very understanding.
Okay, so. Off we went to a homeschool theater production of A Christmas Carol this evening . Let me interject here and just say, a baby most definitely will not be entertained by a package of club crackers, a binkie, an empty bottle and the diaper bag's I.D. tag for two whole hours (ask me how I know.)
Well net pals, when it rains, it pours. Because we came home and began the bedtime routine with the kids when Carl noticed the house felt chilly.
Stand on chair. Check vent.
Huh, cold air.
Check thermostat.
Huh, set correctly.
Check room temp against programmed temp.
Huh, room temp is lower.
Check with 24 hour emergency service.
Huh, only $85 (just to get them to look at it tonight, that is).
Soooo,...here I sit at midnight, waiting for the heat doctor to overhaul our heating system.
And he's "got another job" to tend to first.
And it's a good half hour away.
And who knows how long it will take?
And Carl has to work at 8am.
And I had to cancel my long awaited date with a friend.
And I'll need to go throw extra blankets over my kids.
And if my nose gets any colder in here, I'm going to look like Mr. Snow Miser.
Is my glass still half full tonight? Oh, you betcha. But if God and the heat doctor don't hurry up and restore the heat in my house tonight, my glass just might be frozen over as well.
Not that I'm cold intolerant or anything.
A final note. Look carefully at Cold Miser's nose. Um, I do believe it was a lean year in the ol' budget department. That's actually the glass slipper from Cinderella's foot. They just broke the heel off and voila! The perfect Cold Miser nose. I also believe they used Dick Van Dyke as a model for creating Cold Miser, but what do I know?
update: Heat doc had bad news. Our compressor is shot. That part alone runs around $900 (not including labor). A new unit thingy (air conditioner/heat pump combo doo-hicky what'cha-ma-call-it) will run (gulp, gasp) well over $2,000. Um, that's two GRAND, net pals.
All together now...
"JOY TO THE WORLD!"
And now, if you want to laugh (which I realize you might need after this downer post), do check out my friend Jeanine's post over at Roots. Oh, you WILL laugh!!!
Toni
9 comments:
Well, at least your furnace quit before Thanksgiving or Christmas Day! We had that happen one year. Just try getting a furnace-repair man to come visiting on a holiday, especially when you live in the boonies.
Oh, my friend, all I can think to say is "Bless your heart!" I know you must be so disappointed, not to mention COLD. I hope the heat doctor was able to get it fixed and that you can reschedule your visit asap! And I hope your nose doesn't end up looking like cinderella's slipper with, er, stuff hanging off of it!
I am so sorry!!! I know you were disappointed about not getting to meet your friend. Hopefully you can reschedule soon. Keep us in the loop.
Oh, my poor friend! I had no idea. Can I do something? How about tomorrow I come over and bring a big pot of HOT soup? I'm serious. And there's already serious praying over here for your money situation.
Pone,
If you guys are going to spend $2,000 see if you can get a quick fix then look around. I have buddies at work who put in both new furnace and airconditioners when you do them both for about $2,500 in some homes. Depends on the size of the house and if all duct work is already in. While this is the buddy at work price I know you get a better deal doing both at once. Not sure if it's an option as I know how cash goes, but it will save money.
I just read your update...and thanks for the plug! I had no idea a worm stuck to my foot would bring such joy! :)
I am SOOO sorry about that nasty repair bill. I know exactly where your mind goes...how many Christmas presents you could have bought, how many BILLS could have been paid, how updated your wardrobe could have been if you had that kind of cash just sitting around waiting to be spent. Thank the Lord that God's economy makes no sense to the world, and He provides for our needs in ways that we cannot comprehend. You are a blessing and I KNOW He will use you in the middle of all this to "show off a bit!" Hang in there.
O.K. Toni, you know how we are! Would you believe our heater is out too! And....two vehicles (of three), our garbage disposal and there is a funky smell coming from the septic system that we can't seem to pinpoint. But our garage door opener is working since we had it fixed two weeks ago. Did I send rainclouds your way or was it from you to me? We've got to stop this. (Literally, we can't afford to fix everything at once.) But, we're lucky over here. We've been able to let the heater go since we've had unusually hot weather. It may not feel like fall, but we've gone 2 1/2 weeks without it and other than the early mornings when it's gotten down to about 63 inside, it's been fine! Still, I just flat haven't wanted to recount it all for blogging, but the past 3 weeks have stunk! I hope the money fairy pays a visit your way so you can stay warm. :)
Toni, that is just not fun! I'm sorry.
Our heat is out too; however, we live in Texas and have a few more weeks before we will need heat in the house. We did the easy fix about two years ago so we knew this was coming.
I pray God provides for your every need.
And, keeping warm - especially for your children - is a high priority need!
{{{hugs}}} Bless you, dear friend!
Very disappointing about your postponed visit, and very stressful about your heating bill. But I LOVE the Cold Miser! Thanks for the pic!
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