Alright. So you're all caught up on the happenings during our fabulous vacation. Now it is time for me to fill you in on what's happened since we came home...
About 4 days after we returned home, the laundry was done, the house was still pretty tidy, Ty was back at work, and things seemed to be settling down nicely. One morning, however, I noticed that our house was feeling rather warmer than usual. Once I noticed the warmness, I also noticed that the fan that blows air through all the vents hadn't stopped once since I'd woken up several hours earlier.
I put on some shoes and went out to the side of the house and was met with...silence. Oh yes. Every Utahn's Summertime nightmare: The Air Conditioner was dead.
All I could think was: "Really? The hottest day of the year, and our air conditioner totally craps out on us!"
I called Ty, told him what was going on, and tried just about everything either or both of us could think of to get the system to start up again. Nothing whatsoever was helping. Ty had to get off the phone and work, but promised he'd call back once he got in touch with a repair company.
About an hour later, Ty called back and said he'd made an appointment with a repair man for later that same afternoon. I called my mom and asked if the chiddlers and I could take refuge at her house until the system was fixed. She happily agreed, being the awesome person that she is, and we went and spent the rest of the day there in sweet, blessed, air-conditioned pleasantness.
Late that afternoon, I got the call that the repair guy was at our house. I rushed home, and the repair man fixed the problem. He was a really nice guy. He even did the cleaning that he normally charges $130 for, free of charge. The problem was fixed, and I figured we could just move on and that things would settle down again nicely.
BAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'm hilarious, I know. Of course things are never THAT simple, are they?
Three days after the A/C was fixed, our dryer broke. Before we could even afford to get that fixed, the big light in our kitchen broke--the wiring, not the bulbs. Then our ceiling fan in the family room broke. AND THEN, Ty accidentally backed into a FedEx truck--putting a nice deep hole in the back of our van. Luckily, the FedEx truck was unharmed, no one was hurt, and the damage to our van was nothing that interferes with its overall functionality. (In other words, the gash stays.)
But wait! There's more!
While all of this stuff was still broken, either unable to be fixed, or--as in the case of our dryer--waiting on the appropriate parts to be ordered, the back window in Ty's car came off its track and now it won't stay up no matter what he does.
And at last, the real kicker: Just a few days after all this had already happened, Ty was down in the basement checking on something when he happened to look and see that THE WATER HEATER WAS LEAKING!!!! It's all rusted, in fact it's a freaking miracle that it hasn't failed completely and flooded our basement.
So, in order to contain the problem until we can replace the unit entirely, we decided to turn off the hot water in our house. We only turn it on when we want to shower or run the dishwasher. But as soon as we're done, we run down to the basement and turn off the hot water again.
Our house is currently in its 19th year since it was built, and everything in it (aside from a few appliances) is original to the house. Guess what usually happens right around 19 or 20 years of a house being built?
Everything falls apart. All. At. Once.
Nevertheless, Ty and I can't help but be completely terrified by the idea of EVER going on vacation again. Apparently our house resented being left behind for ten days and has been staging a very expensive protest.
Sigh...all I can say is: Thank goodness my mom only lives half a mile away and is willing to let us use her dryer, and hopefully we can get this whole mess resolved before school starts up again next month.
But just in case, everyone cross your fingers, toes, and eyes. Then pray to whatever deity you pray to that we'll get a nice LONG break from The Great House Revolt of the 21st Century.
Nothing ever happens on it's own. Murphy's law.
ReplyDeleteHope you get that break you need
Hugs xx
No kidding! Thanks for the hugs, though. :)
DeleteOur AC recently broke as well (if you recall the post where I built my own air conditioner). At the same time, so did the laundry machine and the refrigerator, but unfortunately, I can't build either of those. So we were stuck with some big repair bills. When it rains it pours, right?
ReplyDeleteOh yes indeed. I remember that post. I was very impressed. :)
DeleteIt's good to know that others are in the same situation as we are, or I'd think this was all some sort of whacked out conspiracy...
Oh. My. God. I never want to be a homeowner. After reading all this, I never want to live inside. I'm going to camp for the rest of my days. I will be a tent-hobo. A tent-hobo with impeccable fashion sense.
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine how this is all wreaking havoc with your budget--and right after a vacation, too! Well, look on the bright side: at least it happened AFTER vacation, so there wasn't any temptation to cancel your trip for fear of yet another appliance revolt.
Being an impeccably dressed hobo would probably be far less expensive in the end. Maybe you could get your hands on one of those wizard's tents. It would be camping, with beds and a kitchen! :)
DeleteHoly shit. But then this is unfortunately not unusual for home ownership. In the time I've crashed at my mother's I've replaced a dish washer, fixed the dryer, installed a ceiling fan, treated the house for ants, and torn up an overgrown flower bed. This is why I'm going to encourage her to get a condo when I move again.
ReplyDelete