Home Woes
By Allan Olson
It’s going on nearly two years now since we bought
our first home, and for the most part the repairs have been minor, although
there is some remodeling in our future plans. There have been some challenges
these past few months.
I’m not a fix-it person, I’m a break-it person. When
it comes to home repairs, don’t call me. In October our furnace refused to come
on, and a new thermostat didn’t solve the problem, so I had to break down and
call a heating pro. A day later, I had heat. Thankfully, it wasn’t terribly cold
yet when this happened.
Another problem surfaced on Monday morning, December
17. I got up at my normal time, early in the morning, expecting a nice hot
shower to jump start my day, to be followed by a quiet breakfast before waking
the children. I turned the shower on, and nothing happened. Panic set in. I
quickly checked the bathroom fixture – nothing. The kitchen sinks produced the
same amount of water – zip. The bathroom yielded a bit, but not enough to make a
difference; we had no water. I was way out of my league on this one. I called my
dad and he offered a couple suggestions, but they didn’t pan out, so I called a
repairman.
He didn’t make it until late afternoon and only
spent a few minutes on site before informing me that my well pump had likely
quit, and I would need to call a well company. My first thought was, “Why is
‘Murphy’ attacking me? What did I do to him?” Of course, since this is the
Christmas season, it was more likely the Grinch that came to visit and stole my
water.
After he left, I contacted a well company. They said
they would be out right away on Tuesday morning. The price they quoted wasn’t
astronomical, but it was still a tough egg to swallow. That evening, I thought
of a friend whose husband had some experience in this arena, so I gave him a
shout. He came over, and confirmed what the repairman had told me. He said he
could come out in the afternoon and fix it, so I cancelled the well company and
thanked them for their willingness to come out so promptly.
While it wasn’t a simple fix (the well pump simply
didn’t want to come out of the ground) he prevailed, and was able to get the job
done. He also had to replace the pressure regulator, and told me he is willing
to come out for some additional needed maintenance at another time in the near
future.
In the end it worked out okay. We somehow managed to
get by without water for nearly 36 hours. When it was finally my turn for a
shower, I guess I was too impatient, because four out of six had already
showered and I ran out of hot water, but it was still worth it.
This Christmas season, other than a brief(?) one-day
road trip on Sunday in which we covered over 400 miles in a little over 12
hours, we planned to stay home and enjoy each other’s company and hopefully,
catch a few winks and watch some movies with the kids.
I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Christmas
Holiday Season.
Remember to watch out for school buses on the roads;
they are carrying a precious cargo – our children. Also please exercise caution
when venturing out on the lakes. Thanks for reading, and have a great and safe
weekend. For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com/.
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