Crisis averted… I called Magram a/c and they came out this afternoon.  The problem was a fuse in the a/c was blown.  He replaced it, we have cool air, at least for the time being.  I am feeling better already.   Now if we could just get the rest of the problems straightened out all would be okay… at least for the time being.

Kristyn

I’m certain that those who visit here with any regularity and have not given up on me completely will notice a certain lack of new content. Allow me to assure you this has nothing to do with my having nothing to say and everything to do with my lack of motivation to say it. Let me start at the beginning…

I had a lovely weekend, I went to visit my friends Amanda and Karen in Waco. We spent the whole weekend chatting, hanging out, and I got to see the fantastic remodel they just did to their house! The weekend was nice except perhaps for the $41 I sank into my gas tank for 11.6 gallons of gas. Gas is $3.5 a gallon now, in central Texas. I cannot even begin to imagine how much it is in busier, more expensive places like Southern California. I pity anyone who has a truck or SUV, it must be a total nightmare on the budget. Matt was supposed to go, but being sick, stayed home instead. I felt a little guilty leaving him for a whole weekend while he was sick, but he was okay.

I got home on Sunday evening to a quite house and sleeping husband. It was only 5:30 or so, but he’s been sick. I woke him up only to have him ask me, “Is the air conditioner working now?” Huh? After a bit of discussion and snooping around, I discovered that our air conditioner is dead! Not just not blowing, the fan and heater also won’t work. My first thought was that perhaps it was the thermostat or the a/c unit was frozen. Neither seems to be the problem best I can tell. I bought a new thermostat, but after installing the thing –what a pain in the ass, I tell ya– I come to find out it’s most likely incompatible with the old one. So, I’m going to have to take it back at some point. The probelm is, I don’t know how to pick one that ISN’T incompatible. I also put back up the old thermostat, which is not hanging off the wall because I can’t figure out how it was ever connected to begin with. There are no screws, but it won’t stay up. I am about to yank my hair out!

So, our a/c has been down since Sunday morning and because Matt was sleeping, he has no idea if it made any noises or just stopped working. We’re going to have to call an a/c repair man to come out and look at it and I am dread this. A friend suggested that it might just be the copper points on the inside of the a/c unit, which she followed with the knowledge that they’re $75 each to have replaced. Better than $350 + labor for a new motor. My problem is, I can’t figure out why the damn heat won’t work when it’s a separate furnace unit from the a/c. Still wondering if it’s the thermostat.

In the meantime, my house is hotter than hell. The lights are making it worse, but I can’t see a damn thing without direct light, so I have to turn them on. The windows are all open, creating a draft that isn’t really cooling us off. A few days ago, after it had been raining, it was nice and cool and having no a/c wasn’t terrible. The air coming in from outside kept the house cool most of the day and night. Lately, however, in the last few days, it’s been hot in here day and night, even at midnight, when it’s 60 outside it’s hot in here!! I’m start to get very, very frustrated. If we turn on the stove to cook, it heats up inside to almost unbearable so we’re trying to use the stove sparingly. No matter how often I wash my hair, the heat and humidity, are making it look greasy!! Oh and did I mention with two animals in the house, one of which is a cat, my house smells terrible!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!

To top it all off, we were hoping to get it fixed on the first, which is today, but a certain lack of funds is keeping us from doing so. We were expecting a check that hasn’t come and is hardly ever late. I’m starting to get a very bad feeling about it. It is May and originally the source of income was supposed to dry up in May. I hope like hell it didn’t decide to. Oh, and my financial aid appeal looks like it’s going to fall through, just in time to make it impossible for me to go to school over the summer. It might be better this way anyway. I don’t know that I’m as ready to go back as I thought I was.

Okay, going before I start crying again. It’s been a tough week.

Kristyn

It rained so hard here last night, we thought we were going to be washed away!!  The lightening and ensuing thunder was brilliant and I loved it, but Anakin wasn’t quite as amused.  The stupid dog ran and hid and wouldn’t come out from under Matt’s desk all evening.  Weather says it’s supposed to rain again tonight and for the next few nights and I hope it does.  But, it does cause some complications for our new residents.  Thats right, we have a mama and her babies living with us now, which isn’t a big deal since we have more than enough room.

What the hell am I talking about?  A mama bird has decided to take up residence in our range hood.  Our stoves range hood opens to the outside of our house.  There’s a little tented opening, which can be closed at our leisure by going out there and snapping it shut.  However, if we closed it, the smoke or heat from the stove/oven wouldn’t be able to escape, so we’ve always left it open.  For the last week or so, we’ve been hearing a loud chirpy squealing which we thought at first was a mouse.  You live in Texas, you get mice, end of story.  On further looking, however, it turns out it’s a bird which explains why ever time I turn on the fan in the range hood little chips of wood and stuff fall out onto the stove.

At first I wanted the birds nest out, but the more I think about it the more I think it doesn’t hurt anything to have it in there.  I mean, it would be better in a tree or something, but I don’t want to destroy a little birds home, which she worked very hard to build, because I’m angsty about the chirping.  Today, however, and yesterday, there has been no chirping.  I think the story may have scared the mama bird, I don’t know.  I hope she and her babies are okay. Spring storms in Texas can be harsh.

Here’s hoping the mama and her little ones are okay!

Kristyn