ranuel | Entries tagged with home ownership

Still having to sit very still to let my laptop charge but it's still going. NOW it's the propane system that has failed.

I use two of the bigger RV tanks and at this time of the year when usage is highest I can get two weeks out of each one. I just switched over to the second tank last weekend but I got up Thursday and when I tried to light the stove to make breakfast nothing happened. The space heater was going so I hadn't noticed that the furnace had turned off too but I fiddled with the thermostat to make it come on and got cold air, then I switched the fridge from electric to gas and got the flashing no gas available light.

So, thinking it's odd that I've gone through a tank that fast, and wondering if it's leaky, I go out with a flashlight to switch tanks and find that the tank IS about half full, just like I expected. Well, maybe something is wrong with it.

I hooked up the little BBQ size tank I keep on hand as a back up but the little tank didn't do anything either, everything is hooked up correctly, and I'm was running late so I had to leave it.

After asking around I know I either have something wrong with the regulator or a clog in the line. If I'm lucky it's just that the screen on the regulator is clogged because anything else will require a repair man. I wasn't able to check it because I get home after dark and I got up this morning to 40F temps and a steady rain so I'm not sure when I'll go out to deal with it.

It was 50 in my living room this morning since I don't trust the cats enough to leave the space heater on overnight. I'm going to have to cook breakfast on a little sterno stove. At least I have a warm comforter and a heating pad.

This is when you really need a man around the house to send out into the freezing rain with a strong cup of coffee to deal with stuff like this.

ETA: I haz gas! *snerk*

All I did was blow in the regulator reconnect everything and voila!

I realized that there have been various and sundry goings on that I haven't mentioned anywhere so here's an update in no particular order.

I sold the last of Daddy's junk cars without even advertising it. The red 1976 AMC pacer is no longer a contender for worlds ugliest lawn ornament. Instead the nice insane couple are going to restore it to working condition. Without a junk car in the yard it feels a bit less like Redneck Acres.

The extra cash is nice too. That plus the third check we'll get this month will finally get me out of the hole that the down payment on the trailer put me into back in January. Yay! I still won't be able to afford to go to Necronomicon this year though.

Even though I WON THE LOTTO for $4. *sigh* God is an iron.

I got a visit from some very nice girls from my alma mater St. Leo University who are traveling around interviewing alumni as part of a project to develope new outreach programs for us. I got a very nice pocket portfolio with the school logo, a nice big window decal, and they asked someone to take our picture before they left.

So, here we are and this is my new hair(less) do. I'm the one in the middle.

Most exciting of all I was asked to beta for an author who I really, really respect. I don't know if she wants me to mention her name or not so she shall remain anonymous unless she outs herself. It really meant a lot to be asked.

What else? On the down side I've been having chronic mild migraines still. People at work are still pissing me off. I've gained weight and really, really need to get back to taking my lunch to work instead of hitting the drive through. That about covers it.

Katje says that the reason we experience thematically related problems within the same broad time period is astrological. Makes as much sense as anything else.

After resolving the crisis a couple of weeks ago where I got locked out when the door latch engaged after I slammed the door I have made it a point to never leave the door closed behind me without having my cell phone and the keys in my pocket. I also resolved to have several copies made of the keys when I get money to spend on non-essentials at the end of this month.

So of course I managed to lose my keys.

The hospital I work at is part of a massive healthcare system and I had to go across town to attend a training class at our flagship hospital. I got a good space in the parking garage, found the classroom, and made it with time to spare. So far, so good. It was even an interesting class.

But, I had worn a skirt with no pockets and because I was so terribly broke last week I didn't want the temptation to buy an over-priced cup of designer coffee at the stand in the lobby so I left my purse in the car. I slipped my cell phone, set on vibrate, into my cleavage and hooked the fob of my keychain into my waistband. Problem solved.

Except I had a bit of a fight with my slip in the bathroom and I'm pretty sure that's when the keys slipped free without me knowing it. I'll probably never know for sure. Four hours latter when I discovered the lack of keys I went over the route I had taken to the class three times without turning anything up, talked to security, housekeeping, and lost and found and got no where. I left a description of the keys and my contact info and called roadside assistance.

Fortunately I had a spare key in my purse so once they got me in I could get home. Unfortunately despite an earlier request Geico hadn't added the van to the service and I had to pay $45 for the privilege. So much for saving money.

I was hoping that I had left the back door unlocked but no such luck so I ended up spending the night in the old doublewide with no running water and the cats ended up being locked in to the new place until after five the next day. Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to leave them in but there is a mean tom in the area who's started coming around and I worry about them. I ended up covering my nice new furniture with sheets and blankets. *sigh*

The next day nobody had turned in my keys so I had to take off work early and borrow money from my cousin Jean to pay $85 to have a locksmith unlock the doors and make me new keys from scratch.

Jean now has a spare key to everything. I'm still hoping the keys I lost turn up since it had the only working remote door lock fob for the van. The one with the spare key stopped working and a new battery didn't revive it.

On a good note we had a surprise audit of our credit cards and my record keeping passed with flying colors.

I'm am so glad it's Saturday.

One of the great things about RPGs, the real ones not those computer games, is that they teach you to problem solve. You take stock of what is available to the party and you figure out how to escape the maze, kill the dragon, find the treasure, etc. with it. When something happens in real life you are more likely to do the same instead of just sitting down and giving up.

A little over an hour ago I was talking to Edward and noticed that it was starting to get toward dark. We have a freeze warning for tonight so I needed to cover my potted plants and start the facet dripping. I decided to go into the old trailer while I was out there and grab the salad dressing and pickles that were still in the fridge there. I didn't bother with a jacket just a ratty pullover since it isn't that cold yet.

Still talking I pulled the door shut behind me a little quickly to keep the cat inside and headed out. When I came back a few minutes later I couldn't open the door. I set the pickles down and tried again. The latch wouldn't even budge. I hadn't locked it, it was just stuck.

Didn't matter anyway because the keys were in my jacket pocket. The one I hadn't bother to put on. The one inside the trailer.

I got off the phone and tried not to panic. I'd left a space heater on and the cats inside. Okay, worse case I could turn off the juice at the power pole so I didn't have to worry about burning the place down. I could sleep in the old place. But, if I cut the power then I'd lose what I was working on on the computer and the cats would be without heat during a freeze. Besides there wasn't anything to much to eat in the old place and the heater that is still in there wouldn't be enough to get it comfortably warm.

I couldn't drive over to my cousin's to spend the night because the keys to the van are on the same key ring as the trailer keys.

I tried the door again. I rammed it with my shoulder a few times to try and knock loose whatever was jammed.

As much as I hated it I would have to call a locksmith. Even if there was something broken in the front door he should be able to get me in the back door.

There are 3 listings for locksmiths in the phone book I retrieved from the old place. 1 phone was out of service, 1 was on an answering machine, and the other guy told me he was too tired to come out and hung up on me. I realized after the fact that it's Superbowl Sunday and that probably explains the lack of available help from the pros.

Damn. Tried the door again.

Decided to call my cousin and ask her to come get me.

They have call waiting, an answering machine, and hardly ever go out on a Sunday night. The phone rang for 2 minutes with no answer.

Tried the door again.

Two of the windows roll out but two slide. Went and got an old step ladder and tried them. The first one didn't move but the second one opened. Too high up to do me any good.

Went and got the extension ladder. Discovered that it was WAY wobbly and it should be a last resort. Went and got a milk crate and a shelf . Shelf was too small to set the step ladder on. Went and got another milk crate to set beside the first to provide a broader base and a piece of plywood. Step ladder did not reach high enough for me to try and go through the window.

Walked around muttering like a crazy person and looking at things to judge how much weight they could take and how tall they were.

Came across an old barstool that was at least 6 inches taller than my step ladder and dragged it over and put it on top of the board on top of the milk crates. Success!!

Attempted to crawl trough the window only to discover that I couldn't squeeze through. At least at that angle and without losing 50 pounds and at least a cup size.

Started wishing for a child. Wondered if Katje would drive an hour each way to loan me hers.

From my vantage point half way in I could get a good look at the door and the lock was indeed in the unlocked position. What if I could reach the latch, might it work from inside?

Went to look for something long and got an old broom. Climbed back up the tower of junk and wedged myself back in. The broom handle was too thick. Saw my umbrella, which is normally in the van but we've been having heavy rain, leaning by the door. Used broom to snag the umprella.

The hook end of the umbrella was too thick but the pointy end worked fine! Sucess! The door opened!!!!

So, as I sit here safely back indoors I'd like to thank the following:

Richard for running RPGs for us for a decade
My mother for teaching me to think on my feet even before that.
My father for leaving such a staggering array of junk about the place.
God for having it be a nice day instead of the weather you'd expect before a freeze. Doing all this in 50F weather was much easier than it might have been.
And me, for being stubborn enough to figure something out.

And I'd like the wish the locksmith dudes a massive hangover from drinking too much beer watching the Superbowl tonight. As long as your team isn't the Bears I hope they lose.

Longish post about how I spent the last two days. No fun memes or other such.

( Read more )

It's been awfully quiet. Too quiet. Fano, who replies to stuff a lot less interesting than that, didn't say a word about this morning's post. I was feeling slightly lonely but then I thought, "Hey, I tried posting draft posts as private only and then changed them back and changed the date to post them. What if they never got changed back?".

So, I looked at my journal, then I went to Fano's friends page and after going ever further back I finally found that my last four posts show up here as public but do not show up at all on the friends pages of those who have friended me.

Sooooo.

I just went through and deleted them and am reposting them as one long post.

PS, I am way behind on reading MY friends page. Expect a bunch of comments this weekend. Or not since I'm getting the trailer Saturday and my cousin is in town for a visit. I'll catch up eventually. Really.

1/8/07

( Speaking of That Luxury Cruise Around The World... )

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1/9/07

( We Have Lost a Great Man )

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1/10/07

( Update )

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1/11/07

( The Geek Hierarcy )

I put a down payment on a 12 x 28 brand new travel trailer this afternoon. Delivery details still have to be worked out as I have to go spend an hour or so being shown how to deal with hydraulic jacks and the like but very soon now I will have a decent place to live.

It's NICE people. Easily the nicest residence I have ever lived in for all that its small. Brand new everything so no dealing with other people's funk! A queen size bed, The hot water heater and the fridge will work on either gas or electric so if we get another week long power failure I'll still have cold food and hot water. The batteries will hold enough juice for the lights and the water pump for 4 or 5 days. It has a largish love seat that turns into a guest bed and places for TVs in both the living room and bedroom. The kitchen table is big enough to do most craft projects and still hold the desk top I've been thinking about.

Con's: It has a lot of storage space but without Galifreyan technology there is no way I'll be able to fit all of my books much less the rest of my crud. Good thing I have a large storage shed.

Anyway, there is a back door directly into the bedroom so I'm not going to allow the cats into the rest of the place. They can have the run of the yard and keep using the hole in the floor in the back room of the old trailer to go in there but Pye isn't going to claw my new couch and Tanner doesn't need to pee on anything. I'm going to see if a cat door can be added so they can come and go in the bedroom.

I had put a link to the dealer's site but it didn't work so after downloading and uploading here are pics: