Wednesday 23 January 2019

Electrics

I have to admit that I am only one step removed from the old lady who used to stick sticking plaster over all the plug sockets before she went to bed at night to make sure no electricity escaped.

When I had a lantern fitted by the front door the electrician found all sorts of things wrong with the electrics in the bungalow.  I asked him immediately to put the work in hand= you can't afford to mess with electricity.   So this morning he began.   By lunch time he had come across two or three extra problems but fortuitously my son and his wife called and my son was able to call the electrical company and various arrangements were made.   The upshot is that they are coming tomorrow afternoon to do some work.   Hopefully everything will be well by the week end.   Because of a hearing problem I find telephone conversation quite difficult.

When I got up this morning the central heating had not come on.   It was a bitterly cold, frosty morning and I remembered that once last year I had to press the reset button on the boiler.   Fortunately that is exactly what had happened and I had to reset the boiler before it would work.  Once that was done everywhere was warm in no time.  I think it is something to do with the gas boiler being on an outside wall.

Having had a man about the place for most of my life I am ashamed to say that I give up on things like this rather quickly, but when I have to do it I find things easier than I anticipated and get quite a kick out of doing something right.  (so far). 

We really are having such beautiful weather = blue skies, no wind and a quite warm sun in the middle of the day - but at night there are sharp frosts.  Looking out just before bedtime (when Tess goes out on to the lawn for her final wee) if the sky is full of stars then I know it will be frosty next morning - it is the price to be paid.   My poor pansies are droopy every morning, pick up during the day as the sun warms them and then droop in the frost again at night.   I wonder how long they can keep it up.

19 comments:

justjill said...

The answer is always not to panic. Then you can press the reset button! Very cold here too. The frost has never gone here today. But no wind so thinking positive. Our spring bulbs have all shown but stopped. As it should be. Nature will survive.

Sue said...

Your bungalow sounds a bit like ours, I'm just grateful I've got Paul to deal with all the problems. Our boiler is also on an outside wall and has managed to turn itself off three times so far.

Heather said...

I feel just the same as you with electricity and my husband always dealt with any problems. Last Sunday I plugged the iron in and blew the fuses. No lights, no heat, no phone. I phoned my son on a neighbour's phone and he said he would come round. I then decided to use my brain instead of panic, and thought if I unplug said iron and reset the trip switch I might fix it myself. I tried that and bingo! Phoned son quickly so that he could turn round for home.
I wouldn't be surprised to see snow one morning soon. Beautiful bright winter days here but very cold and frosty.

Rachel Phillips said...

What good is it to not be able to do things? It is no good at all.

Chris said...

The way I fjgure it (I also live alone) there's always a handyman in need of work who can fix the problem for me!

DUTA said...

I sometimes read about "brain execises" like crossword puzzles, sudoku puzzles etc..
My brain work over the years was to try and learn some very basic electricity and plumbing - to be ready to cope with the situation in case of emergency. I did that with the help of written guides (a book written by a woman was my inspiration) and later on with youtube tutorials.
It's such a great feeling not to depend on others and save money at the same time!

Joanne Noragon said...

My motto always, keep calm and carry on. I do like thinking my way out, like the reset switch!

jinxxxygirl said...

Water the pansies well before a freeze Pat.. It gets all the air out of the soil and they do better.. Just wet the soil .. not the plant if you can help it.. Hugs! deb

Penny said...

Oh Pat, cold and frosty for you , hot and dry for us. No rain for us for weeks and about 44 degrees today, that is hot. Supposed to cool off a bit tomorrow. I would love a real downpour of rain.

Cro Magnon said...

Weave, let me assure you that you don't need to be hard of hearing to find telephone conversations difficult. I blame mobile phones, which have the worst sound quality imaginable.

Derek Faulkner said...

A few years ago I had reason to call out a local electrician and while there he discovered that the whole of my bungalow wasn't properly earthed, I could of electrocuted myself at any time. Since then I have always had a British Gas Homeserve agreement which covers the Boiler, CH, electrics and plumbing. Like all insurance type things it's expensive when you're not claiming on it but boy has it been nice to have immediate call out when I've needed it a few times.

Frances said...

It is not just " old ladies".........my husband was at college with a girl who apparently had to check at night that every socket had a plug in it in case the electricity escaped !

Gwil W said...

Keep on plugging away, Pat. You're a bright spark alright!

Eleanor said...

I remember the play about the elderly lady with alzhiemers, it starred Thora Hird and Pete Postlethwaite as her son. I really enjoyed it. I should make more of an effort to do household tasks instead of just shouting on hubby to come and fix things!, although when he worked overseas years ago I managed fine on my own for a few months.

Carol Caldwell said...

My snowdrops and primula are buried under snow. You wonder how they survive but they always do. I am in the South East of England.

Sue in Suffolk said...

If only everything had a reset button!

Zaz said...

here in Sweden pansies cope down to -15 degrees so I wouldn't worry too much - they are very tough little characters .

take care.

Librarian said...

Pansies are a hardy lot, like Yorkshire sheep!
It's been snowing here almost all day; not too thick of a blanket yet, but it looks pretty. Milder temperatures are forecast for the weekend, bringing rain.
I hope your electric "situation" will be completely sorted soon, it is a little scary, isn't it.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Too right Rachel.
Debs - since you gave me this advice I have indeed watered the pansies.
Derek - I have British Gas Boiler and central heating home serve and I have Yorkshire water home serve. But I do have a friend who is a qualified electrician and is in business on his own. I like to use him.
Gwil - thanks for the compliment - I don't always feel one these days.
Well said Sue - don't we all.

Thanks to you all.