It's the Little Things in Life...

...that annoy me!! This has been a week of getting those little annoying jobs done. I've been working away at my list and while it's getting shorter I keep thinking of more things to add to it. Grrrr...it seems like the to-do list never really gets to-DONE!!

So far this week I've changed the furnace filter - Luna and I have been sneezing a lot so I thought perhaps there's too much dust in the air? But it needs to be done on a regular basis anyways....
*(Luna has not sneezed once in the past two days...so success??)

Then I returned a pair of Icers to Lee Valley for a refund:

I've worn the "icers" over my hiking boots several times since I purchased them in November and haven't enjoyed the experience. No matter how I adjusted them the toe straps would end up coming off and I'd be trailing one or both icers behind me. They are also heavy and clunky and I think may have contributed to my sore hip. Happily I received a full refund even though I was over the 90 day return policy. I didn't say a word about it and thankfully neither did the cashier!

**(Just so you don't think I'm in danger of sliding off into the ravine here's a picture of my hiking boots - the very amazing Lowa Renegades. I've worn them without Icers on many occasions over snow and ice and find they work very well on their own. Look at that tread!!)

Another nagging errand that's been hanging around for awhile involved a gift I received at Christmas. Kazi bought me several hand towels and wash cloths in "Anchor Grey" from Home Outfitters. Just what I wanted! (she can take a hint hint) But when I washed them prior to using one of the hand towels frayed around the edges. I dutifully went to exchange it but they were out of stock and gave me a gift card. So yesterday I gave them a call to see if they had them in stock now. (after 2 months - see how long I can procrastinate??)

After being transferred a few times and then ultimately cut off (!!!) I managed to reach a real person who set aside a hand towel for me. Well wouldn't you know it came to $2.62 more than the value of the gift card??  Hmmmm...yes, it was on sale originally and now it wasn't!! NOT MY PROBLEM!! The cashier saw it from my point of view (I can be persuasive when I need to be!) and after keying in a discount or two I left with my new hand towel. It sure better not unravel!!

Another odd little errand I had involved this:

I don't know if this will amount to anything but I found an old roll of 35mm film in a drawer whist rummaging for something else. I'm very curious to see if there's anything on it. I can remember when I started using a digital camera - Kazi and I went to Nova Scotia for a highland dance competition when she was 15. Now she's 24 so this roll of film is at least 9 years old! I don't want to get too excited about this but I'm seeing a potential Christmas gift for Kazi (my main photo subject!!)!! Keeping my fingers crossed!  Oh, and by the way...Walmart doesn't do "film" anymore but Shoppers Drugmart does!! But not quickly...

My exercise chart in the sidebar has been updated - "due to weather beyond my control" I've biked inside for the last two days. Today, however, the sun is shining and it's a balmy -2c so after I have lunch I'm going for a hike along the river!! March Mojo Madness continues!!

Spring is in the air!!

Famous last words!!

Have you had any odd, annoying little errands/jobs to complete lately?

I'm HOT STUFF!!

Just in case you didn't know...I'm hot stuff! Usually that's due to the occasional hot flash but today we have HEAT!! From the furnace!! Woohoo! (Let's not go into the fact that I'm super pissed that I have to even TURN ON the furnace in the frickin' middle of September!!)

I prayed for an easy fix and it couldn't have been any easier. Well, it could have been easier if I had just gone ahead and changed the batteries in the thermostat myself....doh!! I wondered about the batteries but since the fan worked and the furnace didn't (on the same thermostat)  I figured it had to be something else. Something big and expensive!

But...when the guy said how about a new thermostat I replied - let's try changing the batteries just in case...maybe they're too weak for the furnace but juicy enough for the fan. Who knows? Well, I gave the guy two new batteries and instantly the furnace kicked in! So now I have to pay a guy in the neighbourhood of $100 for changing two double A batteries for me. I could kick myself...in fact I think I will!

However, let's not lose sight of the fact that I HAVE HEAT!! And not the kind I generate myself :)

Dear Diary:
Oh my it's dark outside yet again. And it rained while I was out but at least the weather gods were nice enough to make it rain while I was in Walmart. Tonight Kazi, Steve and I are going to Kelsey's - I have a gift card :) And then we're going to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman's final movie "A Most Wanted Man" - that will be sad - and I have another gift card! :)

I packed my suitcase and my backpack but need to measure the backpack to see if it's ok for a carry on. Sure hope so, I'm running out of options. I checked the long range forecast and it's supposed to rain my first day of walking but not again after that for the whole trip. Obviously this is subject to change at the whim of the weather gods.

Gotta print off a map of Heathrow airport and also a map of all the bus routes as there are many free routes in the area and 2 that go right by my hotel. That should be fun:) getting from my terminal, get my suitcase, go through customs, find the bus depot, find the right bus, get on and hope for the best!! 

Little surprise in the mail today - a book called "Get by in Spanish"! Yes, I'm going to learn some rudimentary spanish as I hope to walk the Camino some time in the future and I'd like to be able to understand a wee bit of spanish. And it's supposed to be good for "mature" brains - help to keep dementia away :) 

Me

By the Numbers

I love "By the Numbers" posts, I don't know why I don't do them more often....

• this is post #853
• I have been home and living more gratefully in London for 30 days - PEI seems like a distant sweet dream
• speaking of that Crofters Lane is up for sale for $10,000 more than what I originally paid for it
• 7 - the number of days til I begin winging it across the big pond!!!
• 6 -the number of flights I'll be on in total
• 144 - the number of kms I'll be walking through the Cotswolds
• +8c - the temperature in London!!
• +19c - the temperature in the Cotswolds right now!
• 5 - the number of times I've turned on the furnace this morning and heard nothing!! sigh....
• 32 - the number of gigs in my new camera memory card = 1,000s of photos!!
• 8:02am - the time I got up today...somehow I slept through my first alarm at 7:00am
• 24 - how old my daughter will be on Sunday!
• 20 - how old our cat is
• 0 - the number of times I've dreamed about school since my "night before the first day of school dream"  :)
• 1 -the number of Council of Canadians meetings I've gone to (first one last night!)
• 2 - the number of times I've exercised in the last week - BOOOOOOOOO!!!
• $350 - the amount of money I've spent this week on trip-related stuff & some groceries

Dear Diary: 

Went to my first meeting of the Council of Canadians last night - they are a politically active group that protest government bills that adversely affect the environment. My concerns relate to global warming and the loss of animal/bird habitats plus I'm going to join Julie in her efforts to rid London of plastic bottles of water.

Tomorrow I'm getting together with my brother, my sister-in-law and some cousins for a mini reunion in Aylmer. And then on Sunday I have a major hike - fast paced and a longer distance than usual. Today I'm thinking about going to the fair. A good old Canadian band "Glass Tiger" is playing. Several acts have been rained out this week but no rain today! 

But first I have to google "furnace won't start" to see if there's anything I can do before calling in the experts. Rats. Well, at least it's not snowing. Grrrrrrrrrr! That also means I'm going to have to clear the clutter out of the furnace room:(

Finished the book Kim gave me by Alistair MacLeod. WOW. Sometimes my brain gets stuck in the past - Kim and I have talked about that as it's a common trait in the family - we are a sentimental soppy bunch (most of us, not all). Anyway the book he gives me is about the MacDonald family who settled on Cape Breton Island back in the 1700's and their lives until the present. Talking about living in the past! My take away from this book is that remembering the past is important, an oral tradition that has been a way of connecting the many generations of a family and I shouldn't feel badly about "what was". "What was" informs the present. 

Many characters have the same name over the generations: Alexander MacDonald - there are about 10 Alexander MacDonalds over the many generations. One "live" Alexander even takes the place of an Alexander who dies. There are many messages in this book which I will go into more here. Kim knows how to pick a book that supports and helps to explain the way I am feeling. I have great brothers. And sisters. Family.

Now off to google :(

Dum Diddy Dum Dum Dum...

Oh hurrah for hot water heaters...when they work properly that is!  A mere two years ago our old hot water heater bit the dust allowing the tank of water to flow freely throughout the basement. So a new one was installed, which we rent from Reliance. They need to pick a new name for that company I think because I cannot rely on their hot water heaters!!

What's happening? Not enough is happening, that's for sure! Running out of hot water while in the midst of a shower is NOT TERRIBLY FUN on these days of -18c. Or any other time come to think of it. The hot water heater and the furnace are linked together so hot water is needed to drive the furnace. The problem is that once the hot water gets used by the furnace the hot water tank thinks it's done for the day and it doesn't kick in to heat up more water, it just sits there, looking pretty. Hah!

I discovered yesterday that if I unplugged the heater and then plugged it back in it would "kick in" and start running again. I had to do that 2 or 3 times yesterday. This morning, after my shower, I did the unplug/plug thing but nothing happened...grrrr! So I turned the furnace down to 16c and headed off to work. I had arranged for a repairman to come today between 4 & 6pm. Hence the dum diddy dum dum dum as I sit here twiddling my thumbs as I await his Royal Lordship of the Hot Water Monopoly!!

When I got home from school I turned the thermostat up to 19c but after an hour it's only 18c in here. The hot water has been used up and I'm listening for the sound of the hot water heater and I hear....NOTHING! So I've turned off the furnace as it will just keep running forever while waiting for an injection of hot water without getting one iota warmer in here. 

Sigh.....to be continued...

5:05pm Just got a call - Mr. Repairman is on his way!!

5:26pm FIXED! YAY! There was an "ignition failure" (sort of sounds like an aborted space mission)! Abort Abort!! "Brad" cleaned the flame sensor, reset the error code and off we go to the moon! Thanks Brad!