The Gas Man cometh.

And that’s about all I got.  Really.

I think I mentioned that we’d be needing a bigger meter in order to run the stand-by generator, which meant having to fill out a form and submitting it to Union Gas.  The turn around was actually quite quick considering you know, it’s Union Gas.

I submitted the form on the 26th of November, got a message some time later that week, which I didn’t know I had until the weekend (T.C.’s surgery and all, forgot to check messages) called them up right away and booked the appointment for today.

In typical fashion when it comes to these things, it was to happen anytime between “8 and 12”.   Which of course means,  the Gas Dude could have showed up at 8:00 a.m. Right?

Theoretically.

Naturally,  it was 11:30 when he appeared at the door.

Shoulda knowd.

 

That’s the old meter there on the right.

 

And the new one that he installed.

It’s just a wee bit bigger.

Now funny thing is,  he did a pressure test only to discover that there was a leak.  Huh?

So fine we go in,  close all the valves (gas range, boiler and hot water heater)  and he still has a leak.  Oh, by the way,  I had already switched off the boiler so it would not be calling for heat, but you probably knew that.

So he starts with the soap solution on all the bits he had installed,  and sure enough within about a minute there’s this huge bubble coming out of one of the connections.  Turns out he had a bit of a brain fart and didn’t tighten it.

Then it’s time to relight the pilot on the hot water heater and fire up the boiler.  I had in the meanwhile lit the range,  which flamed out once and then I let it burn for a while,  while he went out to the truck for his CO sniffer.

The boiler is working just fine,  since it’s only throwing 2ppm of CO.  That’s pretty good.  Seems to me anything under about 75ppm is acceptable,  but don’t quote me.  That’s “parts per million” there kids.

Right along with that,  he has to do an “inspection”,  which these days is something that is supposed to be carried out once a year.  My understanding had always been that anything under 15 pounds of pressure didn’t need an annual inspection,  but I had to get one last year,  and that dude charged me $250!   This one was free.  I like free.

I’m inclined to check with our very fancy TSSA to get an opinion on this situation,  since I haven’t yet been able to narrow down what the recent legislation requires. 

And don’t get me started about the TSSA.   Can you say “cash grab”?

Let’s not go there.

I’m rolling my eyes,  in case you hadn’t noticed.

Now I just have to hear back from my other gas installer dude.  I called him earlier today and left a message.  He’s a busy guy.

We’ll get that generator running before the next ice storm.  I’m sure of it.

 

Keep yer stick on the ice.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

.

It wasn’t the phones.

I think I’ll need to have some “speaks” with the cable company come tomorrow.  I like to put the bite on them from time to time for a rate reduction if our service isn’t up to snuff.

It’s a bit of a pain in the hind end,  which is mostly why any outages tend to get left by the wayside.

Not this time.

We’re still having calls being dropped,  and this morning the internet was wonky.   Last Sunday,  both internet and phone were out.  The TV signal was fine.  It’s not much to speak of in the first place,  so it’s not like it’s some high def,  dreamy “my Gawd I’m in TV nirvana” kind of thing.  So even if there is good TV, it ain’t much.

Meanwhile of course, I’ve dropped a hunnert bucks on a new phone system,  which I’m not overly upset about,  since there are some new features that are pretty nifty. 

I went with the same brand, Panasonic,  with the hope that maybe this set will be as durable as the last.   I think the main attribute is that the keypad and display are easier to read without my glasses on.  Sometimes there’s just not a pair of specs close at hand,  and most of the time I like to know who is calling.  Oh,  AND there are a bunch of ways to block unwanted calls.  The list goes on.  Click the link above if you’re remotely curious.  The one feature that I think is the most nifty is,  if you put numbers into the “phone book”,  then it’s in all the phones.  They talk to each other. 

I guess I’m a bit of a Luddite,  ‘cause I think that’s pretty cool.

 

I’ve almost finished in the garden.  Well, the part that I was obsessed with over the last two days anyway.

It’s been neglected, mostly due to the work that was being done on the house.  Unfortunately, the neglect goes way back,  since there wasn’t too much being done when we were overseas either. 

It’s not even that it was that warm out or anything, since I started to lose feeling in the tips of my fingers.  The rest of me was warm enough,  but by the time I got the feeling back,  I was starting to get tired of digging.

This is what I extracted from the tangled mess of lilies.

Something to plant in the spring. 

There only remains a patch about the size of the lid that goes on that metal can,  but I had had enough after about an hour of trying to separate the bulbs from the crab grass.  And from each other.  Perennials are awesome,  except for when they become overgrown.

And I don’t even really like gardening.

 

The gas company is coming in the morning to install a bigger meter.  Seems the new stand-by generator is a bit of a BTU hog.  Eeep.  

Well,  if the power goes out,  we’ll likely be the only ones on the street using gas,  so I doubt that we’ll starve the line.

 

We’ll see how it goes.

Thanks for looking in.

Muddling along.

I had a couple other titles in mind,  but that’s all that surfaces at the moment.

I was going to say,  “A sad day”,  but I didn’t want to cause a panic.  I only had that thought when I felt compelled to toss out one of my favourite t-shirts. 

I do realise that it was starting to get a little frayed around the collar,  but that was hardly a reason to ditch it.  However there’s a line, and holes in the armpits is somewhere over that line.

At least according to T.C.

I failed to take a picture. 

You’re welcome.

 

I’ve been sticking pretty close to home base since Tuesday,  since that was finally the day when Travelling Companion got released from the hospital.  Yes, there were some issues.  Had to do with blood thinness, or lack thereof.  That of course, means they won’t release you until they think you’ll be OK.  The operation itself was fine,  there was just that other issue.

I’ll not divulge too many other details,  as that wouldn’t be prudent.  She’s fine.  Getting around with her walker at this point and using the cane to get up or down the stairs.

Suffice to say I’ve learned a few things about INR, something called Factor X and a bunch of other stuff that I barely remember.

Anyway,  the very nice flowers above are just one example of a few items that came come this way in the last few days. 

I’m pretty much doing the “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer” routine,  which was a roll that I had been able to at least half ways relinquish once T.C. retired.   That too is not a big deal,  as the only requests I’ve had this week has been for chicken soup.  Home made of course.

There’s boatloads of things squirreled away in the freezer, so we won’t starve.

 

Meanwhile, a decision was made to replace our aging phone system.  No complaints really,  since I don’t even remember how many years its been since we started out with the previous set.  I think it’s about 14 years,  which is a long time for cordless phones to last.  It’s usually the batteries,  but we noticed that one of the handsets would simply cut out.  And by they way,  when you’re on the phone with your Doctor? 

That ain’t good.

Canadian Tire had a set of four phones on for a hundred bucks,  so that was that.  Hopefully they’ll last just as long.  I haven’t quite figured out what to do with the old set,  since I’d really like to have some sort of call display out in the garage.  I have a phone out there,  but it’s an old corded model from pre calls display days.  I’ll figure it out.

I guess that’s about it.  If I think of anything witty or clever to throw on here,  I’ll be back at some point.

Meanwhile,  my brain is pretty much mush.

 

Keep those sticks on the ice.

Thanks for stopping by.