The End of a Bad Week, the Start of a Good Weekend

A bad week ends and a great weekend begins.

When our wonderful few days of spring came and fooled us into believing it was real, I fought that thought because it is way too early for purchasing flowers and planting things in the earth. But I did have a few days when I could open my windows, turn off the heat and sit on my deck.

Surprise! Those days did not last.Cold freezing weather came back and my studio became very cold because my propane heater was not working. The pilot light was out and I assumed I had no gas in the tanks. My call to the company was not met with much hope of getting my gas tanks refilled and my heater back on this week. I turned on my small electric heater and bundled up when I worked down there.

Upstairs, I still had my central heating unit working. But not for long! One day the thermostat went completely blank and the compressor would not come on even after I hit the red reset button a number of times.This happened last weekend so I could not reach a repairman. On Monday I called and was told how busy the repairman was, but he would try to get to me as soon as he could. To make a sad and long story short, the repairman came and put in a new transformer that lasted one day. I was back with no central heat. Two days later he came back and worked three hours. He left me with the words that he had it fixed. All day I watched and listened to the unit work, but after a couple of hours I realized I was  only feeling cold air coming through the vents. I turned it off and have not had any central heat since. My calls have not been returned either. 

The small electric heater will not heat my whole house when it is freezing cold.  After my electricity went off on Thursday morning, and after a pitiful call to the gas company, my tank was filled and the nice man lit the pilot light on the gas heater. At least I had heat downstairs for my company coming Friday afternoon.

But here I am Saturday evening and I have no gas heat downstairs and no central heat upstairs. The pilot light went out on the gas heater and neither I nor my house guest can start it. My electricity was back on after about three hours on Thursday and I am so grateful for my little electric heaters both upstairs and down. Perhaps on Monday I can reach the Heating and Cooling company and maybe get the gas company to send someone to relight the pilot light.

My worst fear is that I have to buy a new compressor for my heating and cooling system and that the gas heater is broken. 

The bright star in my week is the visit from my sister and brother-in-law, Gay and Stu, and their precious little dogs. They arrived on Friday and we went out with a friend for dinner on Friday night. We had a great time, drank some champagne, and I forgot about my cold house.

Smokie, the dog I love the most after Lexie.

Saturday morning, the three of us drove over to Waynesville, NC, a lovely mountain town, to meet with friends for lunch. Again we had lots of fun and took a walk from the restaurant on Main down to the church where our friend is  Choir Director now. I have a special love for this man because he was responsible for the music at my husband's memorial service at Alpharetta Presbyterian Church in 2009. It was one of the most beautiful services I've ever seen. We handed him a list of hymns and songs Barry liked, and our friend, Joel, turned it into an outstanding medley with solos and choir participating. Barry loved music so I know he was delighted with what Joel did for him and for us who loved him.

The Presbyterian Church in Waynesville has a warm feeling with lots of wood. The piano, we were told, came from Billy Graham Ministries. The staff, including the minister, is all female except for Joel. I think I would enjoy attending that church. it was nice of Joel and his wife to give us a tour.

We made one more stop in Waynesville and that was to a doggy shop. They carry everything for dogs and people who love dogs. Gay and I each filled a small cup with dog treats for our little ones back home. We can tell that Waynesville is a dog friendly town because we saw several people walking dogs on the sidewalks. Some stores had bowls of water sitting outside their doors for dogs walking by. One sign said, "bowls of water for dogs or very short people." 

Gay and Stu

Tonight I will sleep warm with my little doggy heater, Lexie, and warmth from my electric heater that ran all day while we were gone. I am grateful to EMC for their quick service getting my power back, for Gay and Stu, and for a terrific Saturday that made up for the crappy week. 

Hope your coming week is filled with things you can be grateful for and that the good times out-number the bad.