This morning I'm going to be hanging out at home waiting for the boiler repair engineer. Our boiler has mysteriously started leaking. For a while I'd find a puddle of water on the counter beneath it. Lately the puddle has disappeared but the system still isn't holding water -- I have to refill it every few days. If it gets low the hot water gets wonky and my shower turns cold right when I need to rinse off, and is there anything worse than that?
So, anyway, British Gas is coming to hopefully get that repaired. And then they're coming again on Thursday because our drains at the side of the house are blocked up again. It's not sewage, just wastewater from the sinks and washing machines, and from upstairs as well. Obviously we need to get that flowing, and because of our landlord's home care policy, that responsibility also falls to British Gas.
Meanwhile my boss is probably annoyed because I'm missing work to get all this done. The repair people give a "window" of time when they're going to show up -- today I'm just missing the morning, and how much of it depends on how early the guy gets here. Thursday is an "all day" window -- and what the heck is the point of that? -- so I could be out a lot of the day or a little, once again depending on arrival time and ease of repair.
We also have new couch delivery next week, so I'll need to be home then. Job? What job?
I moved around some of the plants in the living room, to prepare for winter and the need to bring tender plants indoors. I shifted the yucca -- which is almost too tall for the ceiling -- to the left of the door and the little rubber tree to the right. That's a sunnier spot, and it's also where the mandarin orange will eventually go when it moves inside. Other than that, it's just a matter of protecting a few geraniums, and I can find space for those.
The rubber tree has come along well since I rescued it from a dumpster many months ago!
Yesterday I was working in the library when a tired-looking little girl came in toting her books. She sat down at one of the tables in the otherwise empty room. I asked her why she wasn't in class, and she said she had to leave to do something or other, but now she was done. There were still five or ten minutes to go before the next class, so I said, "Well, maybe you should go back?"
"Oh, I just couldn't!" she said. Something about the way she said it struck me as so funny. I let her sit there and gather her wits.
(Top photo: Islington, on Sunday.)
I wish employers just understood this. Not fun. Yeah. Little people with British accents that make them sound like Maggie Smith are something else.
ReplyDeleteI hate "repair" windows as much as "delivery" windows. Lucky for them I'm retired and don't mind staying home.
ReplyDeleteThe light and the plants in the room are so pretty, Steve! I love the peaceful simplicity of it. I also love the charming anecdote about the little girl, too.
ReplyDeleteThere is something beyond this short story with the girl and you felt it. I so identify with the lack of desire to go to class, I still remember it despite the many years that have passed since then.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a garden room. Nice.
ReplyDeleteWaiting around for people is not fun...even sitting reading I worry about concentrating too much on the book so that I'd miss the knock on the door!
Hope those visits go smoothly.
Well done for not shooing that pupil back to class. Noone wants to draw attention while returning to class, and possibly the teacher would be glad not to have a distraction near the end of a lesson either
Something worse than not being able to rinse off in the shower? Perhaps the genocide in Gaza? Perhaps Trump spouting hogwash about pills and vaccines? Perhaps the decline in hedgehog numbers in Great Britain? I can think of other things but those three will do for starters.
ReplyDeleteWorse is when you given a window and they don't turn up within the time, without a call. I think that has happened to you in the past.
ReplyDelete“Oh, I just couldn’t” made me laugh imagining it being said. My now 40-year-old niece, when she was 9, threw her forearm across her forehead and sighed, “I’m not well.” It was true. She had Montezuma’s Revenge. Still, I’ve never forgotten the high drama.
ReplyDeleteI have two delivery windows and a Facebook Marketplace 'afternoon' pickup to wait in for today. The beauty of being retired means that it's not really a problem, but it just leaves you feeling that there are so many other things you could be doing, but are not able to get stuck into, or places that you would be ... potentially ... if you weren't waiting for a knock on the door! Thanks for the reminder about geraniums needing to come indoors, I have one in the garden for the first time ever and I had completely forgotten about their tender ways.
ReplyDeleteI hate 'windows'. Parcels come thick and furious into this household and guess who is supposed to be sitting around to welcome them. The postman leaves them inside the back door now and other delivery drivers are doing the same. That little girl was sweet, already the troubles of the world sit on her shoulders.
ReplyDeleteWaiting for repairs or delivery seems very tiring, somehow. Being in limbo all day has that effect.
ReplyDeleteOne of my best and most favorite things about being retired is that I don't have to worry about taking time off from work for repairmen and "windows" of when they will arrive. That yucca tree is huge!
ReplyDeleteGood for you with that student. Librarians are always the best.
ReplyDeleteI detest the windows, especially when they tell me they will be there sometime in the morning and then not show up until the middle of the afternoon. I usually ask if they will call me 30 minutes or so before they arrive and they usually oblige. This gives me the freedom to go about my day and still get home to see them in.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading while waiting at my rental for the HVAC people to come and do a big replacement. But I do have an appointment and I know it's an all day job so there's that. It's not comfortable even so.
ReplyDeleteI loathe the "Waiting Window" because my experience is that they show up about 3 minutes before said window expires.
ReplyDeleteLove your beautiful living room. I'm hoping I can weather my geraniums inside all winter. I did some in the basement and it wasn't great, lost two. This year's are so beautiful, I want them to last forever. As for the waiting window, doesn't your boss ever get a delivery? This seems to be a universal issue and I wish she'd understand. Just poor luck when it all goes at once. I'm worried about our waiting window for the cottage fridge fix, since it requires an almost three-hour drive to get there! (Not to mention scheduling, juggling stuff at home to be able to travel.) Stay tuned. I hope all goes well and everyone shows up on time. These windows are the worst.
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling the same way about health care appointments. I keep scheduling one & then finding out we have a work function & having to reschedule. It's almost comical at this point.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE all your plants in the living room! I really wish we had a good space for more plants - they can't all live in the master bathroom!
I feel the same was the young girl sometimes:) I just can't.
ReplyDeleteYour plants look lovely, but you have the same problem as me, success. The plants just get so big.
I'm sure your boss understands that you can't help it. Hope the repairs go smoothly.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you gave the school girl a chance to rest in the library.
Having everything at home in good working order is the priority.
ReplyDeleteEmployers know the home repair drill and just like us, can't be all that thrilled with the process. I'd say take whatever time you need. The repair guys hold all the cards when it comes to scheduling and completing a job. Half day? Full day? Let's order a missing part and return in a week? I've heard it all!
Your plants look outstanding and having them inside makes the room most inviting.
Hopefully the repair people get there early.
ReplyDelete5 or 10 minutes? What would be the point besides disrupting the end of class.
I just love those "window of time" appointments. They almost always end up at the end of the window. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteLiving out in the sticks as I do, our "windows" are long and frequent. What really gets me is if the window starts at, say, eight, and I get up early to be on time just in case and damn, if the guy doesn't get there at 7:45. WHAT?!
ReplyDeleteYour plants do look beautiful. Seriously, Steve. I can't wait to see your new couch.