Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Dang it all to Hades Doris

So there I was a few days ago bragging 
on how the world was being nice to me.
"Gratitude is Riches - Complaint is Poverty"
Doris Day

The garage door opener broke several days ago.
No biggie, I have repaired before.
I went through all the checklist,
 and got it kinda working and then a sudden
grinding nasty noise made me fear the whole
door would buckle so a quick call to
 Sears repair was necessary.
While waiting for him yesterday in
a five hour window I decided to repair the toilet.

I had diagnosed the problem.
replacing gasket tank to bowl.
Purchased the parts $7.00 versus 
Roto Rooters charge of $250.00
(seriously I called to check)
that's $1,000 an hour folks.
Watched a video on You Tube on how to repair,
supposed to take 16 minutes...
and printed out some directions to take upstairs to follow.
GRRRRIND < EEWW< POP < CRACKLE
uh oh, my printer was jammed.
After 45 minutes of picking out paper with tweezers...
I reloaded paper and hit print.
GRRRRIND < EEWW < POP < CRACKLE
Are ya KIDDING ME?
Tweezers again
and fiddlling faddling and it's feeding
 but inks are all screwed up.
Nozzle checks blah blah blah and it's still hooey.
Just paid 59.00 for new inks so if this one goes belly up...
ARGH!

Head upstairs to work on toilet and 
the 16 minute process evolves into 90 minutes 
as the bolting does not go smoothly.
I nearly reached the tears
of frustration phase..
you know the sitting on the side
of the tub, weeping cause you're
sick of all this crappola...

Ok, so maybe I did do a little weeping.
Sometimes being on a beneath minuscule
budget and solving every problem alone gets to me. 
Even Doris Day had bad days.


Then I put things in perspective 
compared to "real" problems,
and pull up my boot straps and get back in there.


They're just metal and parts anyway

Sears Repair arrives and after $154.00
I have a working door.
 A gear had pulverized.
So one issue down.
Two more to go....
and oh
Power went out this morning around 5 a.m.
I woke up to even earlier howling from
Le Pooches 
who sensed the outage somehow.

Went to make coffee.
DANG
Check email, blogs, check the news?
DANG again
Then thought of folks who depend on 
power for medical reasons,
or for business and
quit my DANGING....

 I poured some iced coffee from carton in 
barely cold fridge and headed out to the back yard...
The sunshine still worked.
I could still read a book...
and there I sat until 8:00 until the big 
whoosh when all the air conditioners 
turned back on.

Hades can wait, right Doris?
I have an old spare printer I can hook up.
I have two other toilets my guests can use
this weekend.
Be careful with the DANGS
Be careful with the BRAGGING
A friend tells me it's all Mercury Retrograde 
anyway and by Saturday all will be well.
Check out the last part... HA!
Perhaps baking a B-day cake is too risky?


Mercury's retrograde periods can cause our plans to go awry. However, this is an excellent time to reflect on the past. Intuition is high during these periods, and coincidences can be extraordinary.
In Cancer: Expect annoyances at home with baking, gardening, and household duties under domesticated Cancer. Complete repair projects that weren't finished or done correctly.

25 comments:

Robin Larkspur said...

Oh, yes the old Mercury Retrograde is a feisty thing to deal with.
I would be crying with you trying to fix stuff.
But you got yourself up and did things that you could, and found the perspective to keep it all real. Geez I am going to try baking a blueberry pie today...oh well.
Good luck with the toilet!!

Sonja of Hickety Pickety said...

I think it's good to have a minor meltdown every once in awhile...or as my daughter would call it "a come apart"...I call it cleansing...we all need to get rid of what we keep locked inside once in awhile. Wishin' ya a better day!

Kathy said...

I recommend you take that book and go sit in a corner until it passes!

I am sitting here in my office with my feet freezing unde my desk and every time I start to whine about it I remind myself that my son is doing field work in Death Valley today.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

You Go Girl!!! ... you're a better fixer of broken stuff than I.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

One of the few times I'm glad I rent is when something goes wrong in the house!! Proud of you!

Romeo said...

Oh dear Z :( You and my sister are both going through the same thing and she IS a Cancer too. Didn't know about the Mercury Retrograde. I better tell her to go hide in her closet until Sunday. And not sure that this is your birthday you're celebrating but think it might be....so I do hope you have a good day (won't press my luck and say "great"). Romeo says that purrhaps you could go out for ice cream rather than try and make friends wiht the oven. Enough is enough already! Sending you hugs, Romeo sending you purrs.....

Ally said...

Shurdi@blueyonder.co.uk

hi Suzan from the uk. I visit ur blog often and thought it time I left a comment. Love ur humour and I take my hat off to u with ur repairs, its always the way life plays out for me too on a low budget. Ide have shed a few tears with rage, frustration and just cos I could lol hang on in there. we have a standing joke in our family, if a door falls off something then look out cos the crap is gonna hit the fan and things will go wrong. This law seems to have spread to toilet seats too, my daughters fell off and we have all had the worst luck ever with everything breaking down. sometimes u just gotta laugh as everything crumbles around u cos what else can u do lol
Ally x

The Boston Lady said...

I bet there were many days Doris sat on the edge of her tub in tears. I know I have enough of them, but you recovered well and were good enough to count your blessings which is hard to do under pressure. Besides, I bet your son could help with that repair while he's there this weekend. That way you and the new GF can chat! Ann

Claudia said...

Oh boy. That sort of day can be very frustrating, indeed. You sound like you have a positive outlook - my printer is spraying ink. Not fun. And it has had its share of jams.

Aren't you happy that Newsroom is back on? It seemed to take forever!

xo
Claudia

Blondie's Journal said...

I have a quote on my blog. In part it says, "...it's not the falling down, but the staying down..." You did well, my friend.

XO,
Jane

marcela cavaglieri said...

The sunshine stills works...I love that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lana said...

Dear Doris,
You are our Rise and Shine Person of the Year, for sure!! Have a wonderfully happy weekend with the kids, wine, and cheese. Love your perspective.
Sincerely,
Kate H.

*and yes, you can fix anything...even our attitudes! :)
HAPPY BIRF-DAY! (from old teacher)

June said...

Crap!!!I think I've been there a few time Z, but I'm sure sorry 'bout all the carp you've been having lately. But I like to do my crying in the bedroom :) It sounds like 'when it rains it pours' only not the wet kind we all need.
much love from me...

time worn interiors said...

Oh my sweet girl! I feel your pain! I got home today from working a 10 hour shift, 11 hours away from the house and my toilet was running. Chain was caught in the float, so the water ran for 11 hours! argh!

I got home the other night and my front door wouldn't close, it wouldn't catch! Had to call someone, cause I wasn't gonna leave my house unlocked to go get parts! argh!

I hope things get better soon for you! Wow! You poor thing! Sorry but I sorta giggled cause I can so relate!

Love ya!
tot

Jackie said...

Oh holy hell...the garage door, the toilet and the power and the printer...I would have ran from there screaming like a banshee!
Hope all is fixed and mercury can go back to where ever it came from!
Here's to a better week ahead! Happy Birthday!!! Go get yourself a cheesecake from the cheesecake factory and call it a day!

Jill said...

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Suzan, happy birthday to you!!!!

Evi said...

DANG IT....you did have an awful time!!!!!!
That better be it for you now...enough is enough.
Thanks for the congratulations on the mag....in retrospect (yes, I am having a "dang" time too right now)I would not have done it.
Too much work!
Hoping you have a great Sunday,
Evi

c. Joy said...

You did good - garage doors scare me, without power and/or springs they can be too heavy. Hope all goes well.

Jane said...

I read somewhere in this wonderful cyber world that you were celebrating a milestone birthday!! So Happy, Happy Birthday to you! I hope you celebrated in a big way!
Jane

Kit said...

Oh this was great!!!!! Put alot of things in perspective for me. Hang in there lady! :) Kit

Cindy said...

so THAT is what's happening! I was wondering why everything I touched lately has gone south!

Hang in there, we will all survive this Mercury thingy...

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
xo

June said...

Hey there Z...I missed your birthday and I came over with my head hanging low to wish you a belated Birthday Wish! :) I hope you had a wonderful day my friend!
much love from me...

the old white house said...

Happy Belated Birthday Z!!! I hope that you had a fabulous celebration of YOU and that your visit with Ben was lovely! I was able to have Danielle home for almost a week and John surprised all of us (except Cam, they are always in cahoots) so that I had all of my babes home at the same time for 2 days. OHHHH my heart was full. I hope that you are having a wonderful week full of only the best circumstances and that whatever it was that getting the way last week are most definitely gone! love, t.xoxoxoo

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

All my life I have been a fretter and a worry-wart...I keep hoping I will chill out one of these days. LOL!

kitchu said...

how very very much i love your perspective.