It All Started Saturday Morning...............

I was all prepared to take a shower fairly early Saturday morning, but for some reason, I had no hot water.  So, I tore into that end of the closet in my bedroom, took out all my winter clothes and laid them on the bed.  Removed the stuff on the floor, took off the door and opened the bottom of the water heater and could see no gas burning nor pilot light lit.

I uttered a word that I won't print here, and called my handy-dandy service technician.  I have a service contract for all my appliances and furnace through my electric company.  The guy took my information and checked around.  "I can get a tech out on Monday."

"Monday?  Don't you have anyone working today?"

"Yes, but they are all booked all day.  We have had a lot of problems since the high winds went through the area.  A lot of pilot lights blown out on water heaters, from the down drafts."

"Okay.  Monday.  What time?"

"Anywhere between nine and four.  The tech will call you when he's on his way."

So I hung up and uttered another word.  Not the same one as before the call, but one slightly worse.

I saw John and Maisey walking by so I opened the front door and flagged him down.  Maisey gladly ran up to the porch.  She can't make the steps up anymore so John carried her.

"You told me the next time the pilot light on my water heater went out, to call you because you know to light it."

"Yep.  I do.  Let me take Maisey back home and I'll come back and get it done."

Meanwhile, I went back to the bedroom, got my long flame lighter, and my flashlight and put them down by the bottom of the water heater.  John knocked and I ran walked quickly up to the front to let him in.

He goes in the closet and lays down on his tummy.  Thank goodness he is a short man so he fits in the area. 

He opens the door where the burner is, lights the long lighter thingy, and pushes down on the red button to bring in the gas.  

Nothing.

"Oh oh," I said.  "This happened last spring when Merle tried to light the thing."

"No, no.  Let me try again.  I am having a hard time holding this door open and pushing on the gas button."

So I got into the closet, put a foot on either side of him and bent down and held the red gas button down while he tried to light it.

Nothing.

He leaned up and turned the whole thing to "Off".  Let it set for awhile and then turned it to Pilot, flicked the lighter, stuck it into the burner area and I bent over and held down the red gas button.

Nothing.

We attempted this four more times when I finally cried, "Forget it!"  My back was killing me from bending over and I was just about to fall down right, on John's back!  Not a good thing!

"What are you going to do with no hot water?"

"I've got a service guy coming sometime on Monday."

"MONDAY?  You are going to need hot water before then.  What are you going to do?"

"Well, the first thing I am going to do is yank all these clothes off my bed and throw them on the floor so I can sleep in my bed.  Then...I'm going to watch football all day and knit and crochet.  On Sunday, I will just pretend I am roughing it out in a primitive camp ground or something.  I'll be fine."

John said, "That tech that comes--be sure and watch what he does so we know next time this happens.  He'll probably just crawl in there and light it first time.  Call and let me know."

And....today when the tech finally got her at 4:00 pm. that is exactly what  he did.  Crawled in there, turned the gas on to pilot, stuck MY flame lighter into the burner, flicked the flame, pushed down on the red button and on came the pilot light.  He let it warm up for a few seconds and then turned the dial to "On" and it whoosed into full flame.

I called John and told him.  He just roared with laughter.  

I had so much I wanted to do today.  Places I had to run to.  Laundry piled high.  Dishwasher full of dirty dishes and greasy hair!  Well....in the last couple hours I've got the dishes done anyway.

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Just as I was getting ready for lunch, Dar came over.  Egads and Little Fish Hooks!!!!

"I have been so busy and I can't stay long, but I had to get over here and say Hi, so you'd know I was still alive and wouldn't worry."

Then she went on to regale me with her life in the last 10 days.  Somewhere in there she mentioned that, "I've been so stressed that my Herpes have flared up and I am having a heck of a time!"

Then on and on she went some more.

An hour later when she got ready to leave, she used my bathroom!!!  The minute she walked out the door, I was back there with the jug of bleach, spray Lysol and toilet bowl cleaner.

I noticed she had not used the sink to wash her hands, but I filled it with water and bleach and tossed the hand towel in the washing machine--just in case she touched it.

After I was all done cleaning, and spraying Lysol on door knobs and flush handle and the entire toilet (even after bleaching), I washed my hands with antibacterial soap and bleach!  Paranoid?  Perhaps, but I am not taking any chances with Herpes invading my world.

GOOD GRIEF!!!

I did have time today, while I was waiting for the service tech, to finish the man's hat I was testing (knitting) for Chris.  It had to be large enough to come down well over the ear lobes, forehead and back of the neck.  I tried it on, figuring if it fit my huge (men's size 7.5) head, it will fit any normal man's head.  It is really a nice pattern.

I had asked Pearl's daughter Marge to stop in the next time she was in this area.  She had wanted me to repair a pair of knitted slippers she had.  I couldn't, so last week I crocheted her a pair like the ones I made for me and my girls.  She loved them.

Pearl fell again, last Friday morning.  She is very bruised and her ankle is swelled up badly.  Marge was asking me for help to find an agency around here that would help with building an outside ramp for Merle and Pearl.  Both are now having a hard time getting up stairs and it isn't safe for Pearl to walk down the front steps anymore.  These two are declining so fast it is scary!!!