Heat!
I have heat!
I've been freezing for the past couple of months, because Energy Assistance doesn't deliver oil until November. And the last time I bought oil was in June--just a few gallons to permit me hot water in the summertime. (My hot water boiler is tied to my furnace. If I don't turn on the furnace, I don't have hot water. Think about that in view of ninety degree temperatures in July. Stupid, isn't it?)
In an attempt to conserve what little oil I had, I've been using the furnace less--trying to ration out the oil till November. But then a couple of weeks ago, I tried turning the furnace on. And...nothing.
There's no gauge on the furnace so I didn't know how much oil was left. Not much, I assumed, if any at all. I told my POA's mother; she told me to hang on and wait till November and not to call Energy Assistance until then.
I've been living in sweatsuits, a winter coat, hat and gloves since then. And boiling water on the stove when I need hot water to clean dishes. And drinking LOTS of hot beverages. I've also been sleeping a lot, because the boots of the lymphatic pump and the afghans I use as blankets keep me warm.
Then today Anne called me up out of the blue. (I have a sneaking suspicion that after erastes got in touch with Energy Assistance, they got in touch with her.) "Do you have heat?"
This, after I'd told her last week and the week before and the week before THAT that I didn't. "No, I don't, I told you--"
"You should have told me! You're supposed to tell me these things!"
"I did! Three times!"
Well, we had a bit of a squabble over the phone number for the oil company (which she hadn't given me, but she insisted she had), the phone number for Energy Assistance (which she hadn't given me, despite her thinking she had, but that's all right, I can get that number online) and the date for the first time you can order oil from Energy Assistance (November 3, which she most emphatically did NOT tell me; I would not have been thinking in terms of ordering oil on November 1st if she had). Anyway, she called Viking Fuel. They said I had to call. I called them and ordered 150 gallons of fuel. Fortunately, a Viking truck was right on the street. They delivered about two seconds after I placed the order.
Whoops. One hundred and twenty-five gallons filled the tank. But the furnace, which is supposed to be self-igniting, still wasn't igniting. Joy.
I was not surprised. It is an old furnace and a persnickety one. It stops working a lot.
The oilman told Anne that a) he didn't know what was wrong with the furnace, aside from the fact that it wasn't starting, but that b) the tech could soon put it right and c) yes, there was plenty of fuel.
After he left she wanted to know why I didn't tell her that the furnace wasn't working.
"I didn't know," I said. "I thought that I was out of oil, remember?"
"Oh," she said, and I swear that she didn't remember at all. "All right, well, call Viking's service department--"
I started to ask for the number but I ended up sneezing instead. That decided her. She called Viking's service department immediately. They were out there in an hour.
Turned out the furnace was full of sludgy oil and the nozzle was clogged. And they fixed it easily.
So now I have heat, which is awesome. It's so wonderful to be warm.
***
I've been freezing for the past couple of months, because Energy Assistance doesn't deliver oil until November. And the last time I bought oil was in June--just a few gallons to permit me hot water in the summertime. (My hot water boiler is tied to my furnace. If I don't turn on the furnace, I don't have hot water. Think about that in view of ninety degree temperatures in July. Stupid, isn't it?)
In an attempt to conserve what little oil I had, I've been using the furnace less--trying to ration out the oil till November. But then a couple of weeks ago, I tried turning the furnace on. And...nothing.
There's no gauge on the furnace so I didn't know how much oil was left. Not much, I assumed, if any at all. I told my POA's mother; she told me to hang on and wait till November and not to call Energy Assistance until then.
I've been living in sweatsuits, a winter coat, hat and gloves since then. And boiling water on the stove when I need hot water to clean dishes. And drinking LOTS of hot beverages. I've also been sleeping a lot, because the boots of the lymphatic pump and the afghans I use as blankets keep me warm.
Then today Anne called me up out of the blue. (I have a sneaking suspicion that after erastes got in touch with Energy Assistance, they got in touch with her.) "Do you have heat?"
This, after I'd told her last week and the week before and the week before THAT that I didn't. "No, I don't, I told you--"
"You should have told me! You're supposed to tell me these things!"
"I did! Three times!"
Well, we had a bit of a squabble over the phone number for the oil company (which she hadn't given me, but she insisted she had), the phone number for Energy Assistance (which she hadn't given me, despite her thinking she had, but that's all right, I can get that number online) and the date for the first time you can order oil from Energy Assistance (November 3, which she most emphatically did NOT tell me; I would not have been thinking in terms of ordering oil on November 1st if she had). Anyway, she called Viking Fuel. They said I had to call. I called them and ordered 150 gallons of fuel. Fortunately, a Viking truck was right on the street. They delivered about two seconds after I placed the order.
Whoops. One hundred and twenty-five gallons filled the tank. But the furnace, which is supposed to be self-igniting, still wasn't igniting. Joy.
I was not surprised. It is an old furnace and a persnickety one. It stops working a lot.
The oilman told Anne that a) he didn't know what was wrong with the furnace, aside from the fact that it wasn't starting, but that b) the tech could soon put it right and c) yes, there was plenty of fuel.
After he left she wanted to know why I didn't tell her that the furnace wasn't working.
"I didn't know," I said. "I thought that I was out of oil, remember?"
"Oh," she said, and I swear that she didn't remember at all. "All right, well, call Viking's service department--"
I started to ask for the number but I ended up sneezing instead. That decided her. She called Viking's service department immediately. They were out there in an hour.
Turned out the furnace was full of sludgy oil and the nozzle was clogged. And they fixed it easily.
So now I have heat, which is awesome. It's so wonderful to be warm.
***