Sunday Musings After A Cold Week

~ beetleypete

As the post title suggests, it has been a very cold week. When the heating failed to work on Tuesday, we tried calling a different engineer. It just so happened that he was at his mother’s house nearby, so he came round immediately. He could tell the boiler was not firing correctly, but as he had no experience of that make of boiler, he gave us another contact phone number. The second engineer actually lives at the end of our street, so agreed to come and look at the problem on his way home. He diagnosed the fault in moments, and fitted a small replacement part that solved the issue, though he did say we need the boiler system extensively serviced. As he cannot do the service at the moment, he took no money for his work or the replacement part on Tuesday, and told us to pay later.

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One great thing about living in Beetley, you get to meet a lot of very honest and fair people.

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Ollie’s head-shaking seems to have subsided. His appetite is huge at the moment, perhaps caused by feeling the cold. But we have to control what he eats, because he is no longer as active as he used to be.

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The freezing conditions continue, but at least they come with bright sunny days and blue skies. It is forecast to climb well above freezing next week, but those slightly warmer temperatures will also bring cloud and rain.

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I try not to wish my life away yearning for the longer days and brighter evenings that will come soon. Trying to find something positive about January and February is not easy though, and I struggle with the dark afternoons, using my SAD lamp when necessary.

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Whatever you are doing today, and wherever you are doing it, I hope you have an enjoyable Sunday.

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63 thoughts on “Sunday Musings After A Cold Week”

  4. Thanks, Pete. Here, last week wasn’t too bad but it grew cold over the weekend and we even had a bit of snow in Tibidabo this morning. It is good to know you have reliable and honest workers nearby. They are worth their weight in gold. I’m happy that Ollie is doing well. Take care and fingers crossed for the weather. ♥

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  6. Groton is Like Beetley. We don’t have stores close by, but we have wonderful neighbors. What you have encountered with your boiler problem and genuine help is why we love Groton.

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      1. I bet it is. Today a neighbor spent the morning driving around with his snowplow on his truck, plowing driveways- out of the goodness of his heart. Groton is another world compared to Boston, much like you.

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  8. (1) Having to pay for expensive water heater service calls makes me boiling mad.
    (2) I went to the county fair once. The honest truth is that the fair people were neither fair not honest.
    (3) Ollie will continue to improve so long as he doesn’t see a blue light shining through the window at three in the morning.
    (4) Speaking of climbing… Today, I hiked up Fossil Canyon and returned via Fossil Ridge. Along the way, I saw a few patches of snow. It was chilly, but the sky was blue and there was no wind.
    (5) Once you’re done with it, will you store your SAD lamp in a GLAD bag?
    (6) As noted above, it was a hiking day for me. I enjoyed it a lot.

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  11. Hi Pete. Glad to hear about Ollie. Cloudy but pleasant here in Tampa Bay today. Pam and Rob’s heating and air conditioning died about 3 weeks ago. We split the replacement bill between his family, me and them. Rob doing quite well. Its surprising how well he is getting around. Hair growing back and no further check-ups for several months. He had his first meeting with the prosthysis engineers. They will be back to begin measurements.

    Pam and Rob now live in their own home on weekends. Had a “romantic” dinner out last weekend, Pam texted me that she was so glad to see him sitting opposite her.

    Marie and I have decided that the five of us, including Clark will cruise to the Bahamas for Thanksgiving this year. Tickets are already booked.

    Best regards from all of us.

    Frank

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    1. Thanks for the update about Rob and Pam, Frank. Great news! Please give them my regards, even though they don’t know me. Any encouragement has to be good. 🙂
      The cruise sounds like perfect family time, with no unnecessary exercise required!
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  12. First of all, great news about Ollie…as for your service issue, I applaud both of those technicians for their actions – as for cold, we are freezing here in LA – every night it dips below 50 degrees…what to do? Turn on the heat, something we do usually 2-3 times a year…now, every day – and as a result? A $1,400 natural gas bill for the month! Cheers!

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    1. That’s a huge gas bill, John! We don’t have gas in Beetley. We have oil for heating, and everything else is electric. At least we are warm, now that the heating is working as it should.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  13. I agree with Fraggle, January and February just have to endured, and why do they seem so much longer than the summer months? At least it is getting a bit lighter in the afternoon (though not today here, it has been very dull) with the sun not setting until after 5pm. Glad you got your boiler sorted, we have ours serviced every year as the nozzle needs replacing annually on an oil boiler. I only wish I had a roofer living in the hamlet. We still haven’t had any luck in finding one, and I am worried about all the cowboys out there.

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  14. Yes, I am having an enjoyable Sunday…thank you … laying around the house … had fried chicken for lunch …it is cold here too … just got through snowing …about three inches of accumulation I would guess …..Glad to hear that your heat is fixed … it always seems to wait for cold weather to break down, doesn’t it? It happened to us too a couple of years ago … we got a new furnace .. it has been good ever since …nothing lasts as long as it once did….. I am pleased to hear that dear Ollie seems to be feeling better ….be of good cheer, springtime is on the horizon and soon we will all be complaining about how hot it is. LOL Cheers!

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    1. Thanks, John. Glad to hear you had a good lunch. I am cooking a roast chicken with all the trimmings to eat at 7pm. (It is 6:15 here) Despite the cold, we have not had snow. I count that as a bonus, as snow paralyses England.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  16. Love to Ollie, and his humans, as ever. Thank you for highlighting the honest, fair, neighbourly contractor. There aren’t any where I live! Well, maybe one; no wonder that he is in high demand. There’s too much insecurity, one-upmanship, getting one over on someone else going on. Very sad. Bang in the middle of urban/commuter belt vs rural/Kent coastal worlds?

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    1. When I lived in London, contractors seemed determined to milk you of every available penny. The local ones in Norfolk rely heavily on social media and customer recommendation to get regular work, and a bad review on Facebook can put them out of business overnight.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  19. As I wrote my poem about spring I had similar thoughts. “Don’t wish your life away!” Today it is rainy and cold. When we do get sunshine I open our curtains to have the sun flood the room. It makes me feel alive.

    I am glad Ollie is feeling better.

    Today we will go have lunch with our granddaughter. She is attending Clemson University which is a reasonable drive for us. It is nice to be able to help her celebrate her birthday.

    Here’s hoping sunny days are ahead.

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  26. Glad you finally got the heating situation sorted out. It is even cold here in Spain today. Only 7 this morning. The dogs needed coats for their walk. It’s a good day though as it’s our 46th anniversary. To celebrate we went out for a nice dinner last night and I was surprised with some lovely roses. So all is good.

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