Friday, February 8, 2019

Murphy Lives at my House

First we had the window drama that is yet to be resolved.  There haven't been any days warm enough for the crew to finish the job.  It doesn't look real promising as the wind chill factor this morning was -25.  And more snow is on the way for Sunday and again on Tuesday. 

Then there have been problems with the furnace in the building.  The landlord has had repairmen out working on the problem.  This building is old - built in the late 1800's.  He told me the duct-work is a nightmare of a maze, my apartment being at the very end of this mess.  There is only so much they can do without shutting down the furnace and at the temps we have had lately, that is not a good option.  Duane's apartment next door to mine stays in the mid-70's range while mine is at 63 degrees when I wake up in the morning.  The space heater helps and I have lots of heavy sweaters and sweatshirts, so I am not exactly freezing to death, but Murphy strikes again.

My kitchen is located between my living room and bedroom.  There is one window facing a brick wall next door, so not a whole lot of light from outside comes in.  There are two florescent lights in the kitchen that provide more than adequate lighting.  Yesterday when I flipped the switch, both lights remained dark.  Murphy, you devil, you!

My landlord sent his handyman here to change the bulbs in both lights.  Nothing.  Turns out there is another part to the lights that needs replacing.  They will fix that sometime today.

When the handyman was finished, he went down to his truck to get some rags to wipe up the mess of dirt and melted snow he had dragged in.  He had been shoveling snow before coming here.  He came back a short time later, asking to use some of my paper towels, as his damp rags were now frozen solid.  All I could do was laugh.  Welcome to Minnesota in February.  And Murphy, you are an evil genius.

Here is my point with all of this foolishness.  None of it is within my control.  I have two choices.  I can get all mad and upset and raise my blood pressure to dizzying levels.  Or I can see the humor of it all and relax.  The windows will, at some point, get installed.  The furnace will get fixed.  So will my kitchen lights.  So I might as well get on with whatever I decide to do today and enjoy what I can. 

I find that my go-to meal of home canned food when either time is limited or something like a dark kitchen happens, is either vegetable beef or chicken vegetable soup canned in quart jars..  I have it as soup for lunch and then thicken it for beef stew or chicken ala king over biscuits for supper.  I have one whole chicken in the freezer.  So my grocery  order will include two more chickens, a couple of beef roasts and vegetables to make more of each, as I am getting low on both.

If nothing else, this last couple of weeks have been a lesson on how to cope when Murphy shows up and makes himself comfortable.  This is a far cry from the problems we would have should the grid go down, but it gets me to thinking about what I really need to do, just in case.

I still believe that a working sense of humor goes a long way to make life bearable.

10 comments:

  1. lol - Glad you're coping! - I think that part is called the "ballast." When both bulbs go at once, that's usually the culprit.

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    1. That's the part they were talking about yesterday, Gorges. One of the lights has had the ballast replaced several times, the second light, never. Until the lights are fixed, however, I have an excellent excuse not to wash dishes. :)

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  2. Vicki, we are being prepped for bigger and "badder" things to come. Our electricity went out 3 times late yesterday afternoon. Out came our LED lanterns and a pile of blankets. Power was restored fairly soon, BUT...this morning I read on-line that people all across the country experienced "no electricity" along with extremely loud booms and flashes of light. Some were recorded by home security cameras. We did not have the noises or flashes of light, but it does make us ponder concerning why this happened. As of the writing of the article, no cause had been determined. It goes to show that whether it is Murphy or other unknown sources of trouble it is nice to be prepared. You are correct. It is beyond our control so we will need to "deal with it" as best we can...CW
    P.S. Keep your green fuzzy blanket and flashlight close by :)

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    1. CW...You hit the nail directly on the head. Bigger and badder things to come. These little annoyances here have just been a warm-up of things to come. I have decided to get off my duff and finish about 7 or 8 quilts that need backing fabric and batting. I am also thinking about ordering enough flannel for some 'rag quilts.' They go together quickly and flannel would be really warm.

      Although power remained on here, several places in my area experienced power outages during the last cold snap. I don't know what caused those, either. But this winter has opened my eyes to the fact I am not as prepared as I thought I was.

      So until I can remedy the situation, the green fuzzy blanket is waiting for me on my recliner and the flashlight (with new batteries) is in the top desk drawer. :)

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  3. I had my bathroom light go out last year. Also fluorescent. The handyman changed it out to a regular light fixture with three bulbs. Yippee except it was too bright so I immediately took out one of the bulbs. Ha.
    My light over the kitchen sink is also fluorescent. Perhaps when that goes out next I'll get a regular light fixture. One thing that I've learned about renting - I've got no control over this stuff so just 'let it go'. Sounds like your attitude is great.
    It's cold here, for us. Woke up to -5C today. It hailed during our morning walk and snow is forecast any minute. It's cold enough but the cloud cover isn't right. Stay warm!! I scored two fleece twin sized blankets at the thrift store this week -$5 for both.
    Cheers, SJ

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    1. SJ...The only fluorescent lights in my apartment are in the kitchen and they are the only lights ever to give me trouble. But they will get fixed, as will the rest of it, and life will go on. No point in wasting time an energy over what I can't control!

      At 9 pm this evening we are at -8. Snow scheduled in a couple of days. Even with the other crap, I am staying warm. The last three Christmas gifts from Youngest Son and Family were fleece blankets. Two have fleece on one side and faux sheepskin on the other. The third was my favorite green fuzzy blanket. What a great find at the thrift store!! Good for you! Did you share with Mr. Dog? :)

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    2. hahaha. No, I did not share with MrDog.He has his own quilt (former bedspread)in my bedroom on the floor. Most of the time he rumples it up to use as a pillow rather then lie on it. And he has a beautiful full time coat on!
      SJ

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    3. Ha!! I forgot about Mr. Dog's ready-made fur coat. Some dogs like covers - some not so much. One of my Yorkies would bury herself under whatever she could find when the apartment was too cool for her liking. Maybe little dogs need more warmth. :)

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  4. Vicki i hear what you are saying. I have been caught off guard. Keep in mind Spring training games for the Twins start 2 weeks from yesterday.

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    1. Rob...I'm ok on food, but need to stock up on other stuff - candles, oil lamps mostly. I'm glad Feb. is a short month. If we can make it through March, we will have it made!!

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