The Universe Comes Poking

The past couple weeks have not been good for Thevictorians. The Universe has been meddling again. The high point was Tuesday, when we had the closing for the sale of our upper 10 acres. Other than that, we've been on an express ride to Not-Heaven. There was the leak in Bargain House that destroyed the bedroom floor, and Val's near-death from a narrowly-avoided 35 mph collision, and the broken air conditioner at home. 

The heating and cooling system was installed in Bargain House. It was $4800. No surprise, it was true to the estimate. We knew this would be one of the major expenses. Hick had thought of doing the wall-mounted heating and cooling thingies, like he put in the Beauty Shop, but an actual HVAC unit was the better option.

Our own HVAC unit, which we have currently been using with the fan blowing on LOW continuously, and the COOL option turned on in the evening, has been recommended to be replaced. Funny. How in June, the workman who came to give us coolant at an exorbitant price, had told Hick that he should probably replace it, but that he's wait at least a year, due to a new coolant version coming out that's really expensive. REALLY? And now the boss of the company, Hick's buddy, says he could TRY to find a motor and replace it, but it would be better to get a whole new unit instead. It's a wonder Hick can walk, what with having two people pulling his leg to different lengths. 

Anyhoo... Hick says that we are getting a new HVAC unit, because this one is at least 25 years old, and that the other guy's recommendation doesn't matter, because it won't be needing coolant right away, and prices will go down. Doesn't make much sense to me, because of course a brand new unit will need coolant to start off with. But I'm not the dealmaker around here. Oh, and our new unit will cost $8,700. But silver-tongued Hick talked it down to $8,500 by paying cash. It will be installed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, The Pony called Thursday night, all hush-hush because he didn't want Hick to overhear, to report that there was a LEAK in Pony House, around the air conditioning unit. That The Pony had turned off the AC, blotted up the water, and had put down paper towels. ALSO, that parts of his wood flooring had buckled (a week or so ago, not related to the AC leak), AND that he had a mouse, but had caught one in a trap.

The Pony didn't know if a mouse had chewed some vital tubing in his AC, or what might be going wrong. But was going to sleep with the windows open, and pick up the house so as not to get a lecture from Hick, who could hopefully come the next day to take a look at it. I told The Pony that Hick was at the hospital (visiting), so wouldn't be barging in that night anyway, and to give him a call later, around 8:30.

Not really good news, but acceptable news, is that Hick couldn't get his compressor hose into The Pony's AC, but his finger reached, and he cleaned out a clog in the drain hose. So The Pony's AC is working fine now. 

Hick says he might be the culprit for The Pony's floor buckling, since he ran the vent hose from the dryer under the house. It's an inside room, no access to a wall. So maybe the moisture from that messed with the floor. I am skeptical, because surely that would have happened before now. It's been over three years since The Pony moved in. The floor situation will take longer to fix. Hick is not sure where the mouse got in.

So... we are ready for The Universe to lay off for a while. 

Val Steps, Baby Steps

My mysteriously-injured rumpus/leg's shooting pain is almost completely gone. I haven't noticed even a twinge for a couple days. Sometimes I still get a bit of ankle/foot numbness if I stand in one position for more than a few minutes. But the only pain now is the regular pain in my knees from the bones grinding against each other. Especially when trying to move after standing.

I've been going without my cane. In the Gas Station Chicken Store, Casey's, the T-Hoe gas Casey's, and to the 10Box cart corral. So that's progress.

Thursday was beautiful. Bright and sunny, 74 degrees. A light breeze. It looked so much like fall. While coming out of Country Mart, pushing a cart with groceries for myself and The Pony, I remarked how good it was to be out and about.

"I feel like I could run a marathon today!"

"Oh?"

"Well. If I was pushing a cart, of course. And with different shoes."

Heh, heh! I was just happy to push that cart all the way back to T-Hoe without pain and unsteadiness. In reality, a marathon will have to wait.

Making a Bathroom While the Floor Dries

Hick used his time at Bargain House wisely. While waiting for the floor in the front bedroom to dry, he and Old Buddy completed the main bathroom.

The shower and fixtures are done.

Here is the door, and the flooring, both untrimmed in this photo. There's the new medicine cabinet.

The new vanity is in place, with the lighting fixtures. The new toilet here was waiting for a wax ring, which Hick just happened to have a spare at home.

Here's the completed main bathroom, except for a cover on the heating/cooling vent in the floor. Hick says they come in a grayish color, but he might paint it brown, to match the trim. I think leaving it gray would be fine, since it would match the flooring. Which Hick says is like the laminate wood flooring, just with different-shaped pieces. It snaps together. Hick said that to move the heating/cooling vent, he would have needed to cut through a floor joist and change the ductwork. This is where the vent was originally, so he left it there.

Anyhoo... considering that the bathroom used to look like THIS:

 

I think Hick and Old Buddy did a really good job with this room!

The Territoriality of the Professional Closer

Val was THISCLOSE to committing a rumpus-resting faux pas Tuesday at the closing for our upper 10 acres. It was at the title company we have used many times, starting with The Pony's house four years ago. Nobody called me out on it back then. We were escorted to the room, and I took a chair closest to the door, at the end of the table, where I could get up and down the easiest.

The next time we were there, Realtor had preceded us, and was in that chair. So I went down the left side to the end, and sat in the last chair. In fact, that is where I sat the next couple times. I was used to it, and in my mind, when I imagined going in for the signing, that's where I placed myself.

On Tuesday, Realtor and Hick were already seated when The Pony and I came in. Realtor in her chair on the end, and Hick in the first seat on the left. Well. It's a long narrow room, with a big table and six chairs. I couldn't comfortably walk with my cane behind Hick. So I went down the right side of the table. Got to the last chair, and was maneuvering my cane to sit down.

"That's where Closer always sits," said Realtor.

"Oh. Okay. Um..."

"She usually has you two sit across from her on the same side, so she can shove papers for you to sign."

"That's fine. I can go over there."

"I think you've sat there before."

"Yes! But I couldn't get past Hick this time, since he was already sitting down!"

I went around the end of the table, where The Pony usually sits, to the rolly chair where I am used to sitting. Whew! I didn't mean to upset the applecart! Realtor wasn't rude. She's just matter-of-fact. I have no problem with being told where to sit, as long as I'm physically capable of it.

When Closer came in with her stack of papers, she had no idea that I had almost usurped her rightful chair. I don't think she would have minded at all. In fact, she would probably have stood, rather than say anything. Heck, she would have probably walked those papers out to T-Hoe for me to sign. She's not at all territorial. I think Realtor was just looking out for her.

Closing Performance

Never a dull moment when Hick and Val (plus Pony) hit the title office for closing on a property! It's a virtual live-action box of chocolates! The sale of our upper 10 acres went quite smoothly. Hick only needed to stop by 2 hours later to pick up the check, since we had to wait until after the buyers' appointment that was scheduled 90 minutes after ours.

Anyhoo... the before and after antics were certainly entertaining. I picked up The Pony to accompany me, because he makes sure my rolly chair doesn't roll when I'm trying to sit down and get up. The Pony will benefit from this sale, but was not a part of the legal proceedings. Hick met us at the title office as usual. It was at my favorite place, next door to Hick's Friday afternoon bull-shooting lair.

I parked out front. We could see SilverRedO across the street. A car pulled into the space in from of us.

"Is that Realtor? It's a different car. Wait. That looks like her. But different."

"I think her hair is shorter, Mom."

"Yeah. And she IS walking funny, with that arm held out. Must be the one she broke."

But THEN Realtor got out of the passenger seat as this imposter opened the door!

"Huh. They sure LOOK alike! Even the haircut. Just a little different color."

Just then Hick walked up beside T-Hoe, and we all got out and went inside. Well. Hick and Realtor went inside, and The Pony made sure I got up the ramp and across the threshold okay. Hick and Realtor were gabbing away, having a knee-slapping time when we got into the conference room. We just got the tail-end of it, but Hick filled me in later, at home, with the rest.

You might recall that Realtor fell and broke her humerus the day after we had an offer on this property. That was not to be the extent of her suffering. The day after she broke her humerus, she went for a walk at home. She lives in a lake development, and was walking around the lake when she fainted. Her neighbor saw her lying on the ground and called her husband. But he had already been called by Realtor's watch! It automatically calls him if she falls. 

Don't think Realtor is fragile. She's older than Hick, but pretty spry. She could easily beat me in a footrace. Well. If she stayed on her feet. Anyhoo... her neighbor and husband got there and tried to help her up, but they couldn't. Then Neighbor's son came home, and got her up. Realtor was pretty sure she had lost consciousness for a bit. The ambulance came and loaded her up, and drover her to... A NEARBY CONVENIENCE STORE at the entrance to the lake development!

As Realtor said, "The EMT looked at her watch, and said, 'It's time for me to go off shift. So we'll wait here until my relief comes on duty.'"

Hick and The Closer were incredulous. "What? The ambulance WAITED? Parked? I don't think they're supposed to do that!"

Realtor said, "I KNOW! I wanted to say: 'Don't mind me. I just passed out, and my blood pressure is too low, and I have cancer, and a broken arm! Oh, and would you mind going inside and bringing me a soda and a sandwich?' It's like there was no sense of urgency at all!"

So later I asked Hick: "You're telling me that TWO MEN couldn't get Realtor up?"

"No. It's hard. Even me and the daughter couldn't get that old lady up at the Senior Center. They're like dead weight when you try to lift them. But the neighbor's son was a big boy, and he got Realtor up."

"Then what?"

"She sat on the side of the road."

"WHAT? I meant, did they walk her home and call the ambulance, or did the ambulance come there, or what? And two men couldn't get her into SITTING POSITION on the side of the road?"

"I don't know, Val. I didn't hear all the details."

"How about the EMT?"

"Her husband or boyfriend came to get her."

"Wait! She couldn't have stayed at the convenience store by herself, and let the ambulance go on?"

"Like I said, I didn't hear all the details. But I think another EMT came, and then they took Realtor to the hospital."

Oh, well. Realtor looked good enough. Chipper, even. As we were leaving, she said, "I see my Uber isn't here yet."

Hick said, "Uber? I thought your daughter dropped you off."

That's Hick for you, always putting his foot in his mouth. NOBODY had said that was Realtor's daughter, and in fact, Realtor replied, "No, it's not even an Uber. That's just my friend who's been driving me around since I broke my arm."

Heh, heh! I later told The Pony, "Imagine having someone tell you that they think you are old enough to be your friend's MOTHER!"

At least nobody fell down or needed an ambulance...

Too Cool! Too Cool!

We are still waiting to find out specifics on when our air conditioner might be diagnosed and repaired. That's a holiday weekend for you. Well, played, THE UNIVERSE! I hope your ribs hurt from lengthy guffawing.

Meanwhile, Hick has a routine. He turns the AC on in the morning when he gets up, and off as he leaves. It brings the temperature down one or two degrees in that half hour. In the evening, he turns it on again, until bedtime (for him). That's the problem. He sets it way low, to cool as much as possible before turning it off. Then the continuous fan circulates that air all night. We don't want the fan to stop, and we don't want to leave the AC on, in case it does. That would freeze the coil.

As I've said, I'm not uncomfortable during the day. The house doesn't heat up until afternoon. It's generally around 74-75 until I leave for town, then goes up to 78. We usually have it set on 74 anyway, in the summer. I still use a blanket when I lie down for my nap before town. It's not like I have a roaring fire in a wood stove, fixin' vittles for Hick while he's out hoeing (heh, heh) the North Forty. I sit around at my laptop, wash dishes, and watch TV.

In the evening, Hick lounges around in tighty-whities, shirtless, with the AC running continuously for 3-4 hours. This is when I become uncomfortable. Like as I'm typing right now at the kitchen table. My hands are so cold that I must stop to shove them into my armpits like Mary Katherine Gallagher. The tip of my nose is cold and dripping. I guess I'm healthy as a dog. I'm wearing a sweatshirt over a short-sleeve shirt. What I really need is my sock cap to hold in body heat.

"Hey! What's the temperature, anyway? About 50? I'm freezing to death!"

"Heh, heh. I'll turn it off here in a minute."

At 8:00, Hick got out of his recliner to push the button to turn off the AC. Yes, I could have done it. But that's Hick's job! No need for me to walk to the living room. I might snap off an arm that is frozen like an icicle.

About five minutes later, I could tell the vent behind me was no longer pumping out cold air. Just circulating the cold air that stayed a steady temperature.

"How cold was it, anyway?"

"Seventy-two." Said Hick, with the inflection of the Land Shark announcing, "Candygram."

Hick is not a good liar. But he knows Val is too lazy frozen to get up and walk to the living room to check the temperature for herself.

Not Cool, Not Cool!

Fresh off her near-death experience on Thursday, Val counted her blessings and continued her low-speed journey through life on Friday. Nothing seemed amiss, though I DID subconsciously notice the air conditioner kick on and then right back off a couple times. There's a vent directly behind my chair where I do my innernetting on HIPPIE at the kitchen table. It was unusual enough to notice, but I figured it was because we'd had a bit of a cool(er) wave for a couple days, with temps in the 70s. Our thermostat is set for 74. So I figured it was just some heat-pump anomaly, due to the outside and inside temps being about the same.

While in town, I noticed that the heat was coming back. It was 84 there, and 81 back in the country when I got home. Our inside temperature was 76. That's not right. I made a mental note to tell Hick when he got home. Let me also add that I was a bit perturbed with Hick anyway, since he had not shown sufficient concern for my NEAR-DEATH NEAR-COLLISION AT 35 MPH on Thursday!

Anyhoo... Hick immediately set to investigating the AC issue. First of all, he went out on the back porch by POOLIO, an area directly above our AC unit. He came back in, saying the air conditioner was running. Yet there was no air coming from the vents. So the problem must be the fan. He went down to the basement.

I waited to hear the air start blowing, but it did not! Save for one feeble gasp, then silence. I heard Hick clanking around on something. Twenty minutes later, he came back upstairs.

"I think it's the motor for the fan. Either that, or the smart board. The AC is running, but the fan isn't getting the message to blow."

"But it did for a few seconds!"

"That's what makes me think it could be the smart board, which tells everything what to do. A motor for the fan would be cheaper. I'll call my buddy to see if he has a motor. I can put that in myself."

You may recall that we just went through a round of AC problems on June 5th. For which we had a service call from a guy at Hick's AC Guy's business, and paid A LOT of money for coolant, without an itemized bill. Hick talked to his guy, who had been off with back surgery at the time. The bill got explained (put your investment money into AC coolant, people!), and AC Guy said to call him directly next time, not his business.

Anyhoo... Hick said that he'd call his Friday afternoon bull-shooting crony on Saturday. He runs a shop that supplies assorted motors. Turns out he doesn't deal in AC motors. So Hick called his AC Guy, and explained the symptoms. AC Guy said it sounded like the motor of the fan, that all smart programming is IN THE MOTOR, and that he couldn't get one until later next week.

Hick had said before even talking to AC Guy that we have a three-speed fan. Which is more expensive that just a one-speed fan. In fact, two hours after Hick had been to the basement meddling with putting the fan on the lowest speed, IT KICKED ON. And has been running ever since. The problem is that if it goes off, the coils will freeze up on the AC. So we only turn it on in the evening, when Hick can actively listen to see if the fan stops running, so he can turn off the AC.

Ain't THIS a fine kettle of warm fish? So now we wait. For a motor that might or might not be the problem. Hick has no idea what it might cost, which is never a good sign. Oh, wait! We have the closing on the sale of our upper 10 acres on Tuesday. But that isn't OUR money. It's earmarked for Genius and The Pony. Somebody forgot to inform Even Steven and The Universe.

Anyhoo... temps are in the mid-80s this week. I'm not TOO uncomfortable. It's not like going without electricity. At least I'm not living in a brick building, having to sit in the lobby to cool off.