Repairs, Etc.

Thursday was an exhausting day. Seven repairmen of assorted varieties were here. The running toilet was repaired, but in the process I spotted some cement on the front of the tank streaming out from the handle. Closer examination revealed the tank is cracked. Meagan came back on Friday and inspected the crack. The toilet tank will be replaced on Wednesday of this week. The electrician spent two and a half hours trying to get the telephone outlet in the master bedroom to work. He even pulled new wire through the walls. Finally he found that some little wires on the outlet plate were loose. In the process of removing the plates the paint and caulk was pulled off and now I have gaps around the plates. Meagan said sheetrock repairs would be left until the 12 month walk through. At least one plate is in the closet and the other is behind my bed so I don't have to see them. The garage door people did not show up so Meagan is going to schedule them for Wednesday, also. The HAC man installed the timer switch on the fresh air duct. I think there is a better circulation of air in the house now.

 

On Friday morning when I first turned on a television, there was a Dish Network message on the screen that said a telephone line must be connected at all times in order to avoid a monthly charge. I thought I might have left the line unplugged when I was checking the telephone outlets. I found the line was plugged in. Then I noted the WiFi router had a red light which meant I had lost the DSL Internet service. I then checked and my AT&T phone service was out. I thought that the electrician might have disturbed a connection since he was working with all the telephone wiring. It was 5:30 AM. I left a voice mail for Meagan and called AT&T on my cell phone. I had a very long wait to get to a human being at AT&T and was getting very irritated because I was consuming cell phone minutes. Finally I was told the problem would be corrected by 7 PM. I still was not sure if it was my wiring or AT&T was causing the problem I waited until after 7 AM to call my neighbor. They did not answer their AT&T phone. I then called their cell phone. Their AT&T service was out, too. A little after 8 AM I noticed the router no longer had a red light. A few minutes later the phones had dial tones. Then AT&T called to check if my service was restored. They said service to the entire neighborhood would be restored shortly.

 

Later in the day the appliance installers arrived to move the dishwasher back in the cabinet the way it was supposed to be. For three months I have been told the cabinet was not deep enough, the electrical connection would be crushed, the pipes would have to be moved etc. The installers arrived, removed two screws, pushed the dishwasher back, replaced the screws and left. The dishwasher is running just fine. There are no leaks.

 

Then the window people came to repair the broken latch on the sliding screen on the patio door. The man said he could not repair the latch. I said get me a new screen. He left. I thought I had another battle on my hands. A little while later they returned and had a new screen door. This one latched on the first try. Every time I tried to latch the old one I would have to try and try to get it to catch.

 

I have not heard a word from Beaumont since Monday when my realtor emailed and said closing would be before Christmas. She said the buyer has been approved by the lender in Beaumont. I have my fingers crossed that the closing will take place this week. I will be calling the realtor tomorrow.

 

While I was sitting around waiting on repairmen, I managed to do a little online shopping. I took advantage of a twenty percent off offer from Palm on accessories and their free Christmas shipping offer to order a travel charger for my new Palm PDA. The Sony PDA charger covered a world-wide range of voltages, but Palm supplies one that is only for U.S. voltages and makes you spend more money if you plan to travel. Amazon.com also got the wireless weather station that I wanted back in stock. Their price is considerably lower than their partners had been offering. Amazon.com promised to have it delivered by December 22. They have not shipped it yet, but this morning there was an email from them that said they are on schedule.

 

I still have my cold. I think it will be gone in three or four more days. There is a small chance that my problems will be resolved by Christmas.