I felt so well organised last Friday. The evening before I'd prepared my lunch, made out a shopping list and got the reusable shopping bags ready for I was going to do a grocery shop on the Friday after work.
Come Friday I got ready for work, grabbed my lunch and the shopping bags, and remembered to turn on some lights inside (I have long life, low energy light bulbs) as the sun would be setting around the time I planned to get home. The bathroom light also shines on the steps outside.
Well, once at work I found there was a meeting late afternoon, followed by drinks. Not a problem, I'd leave work a bit later but I'd prepared! I finished work, caught a bus to the supermarket and whizzed around there in record time (new discovery - 5.20pm on Friday is an excellent time to visit the supermarket). I wheeled the trolley out, my taxi pulled up and ..... it started to rain, heavily.
Get back to my place, pay the driver and unload the bags of shopping ready to ferry them down the lovely, steep 54 steps. Odd - no light shining from the bathroom. I figured the bulb had died. Get the first lot of groceries down, unlock the front door and turn on the hall light - nothing happened. None of the lights were working!
Bugger!!! The fuse must have gone. I get the rest of the shopping down - in the dark, in the rain. Now my dear Dad taught me how to change a tap washer, and how to change a tyre but not how to change a fuse. I rang him for advice then rang round the neighbours.
My darling neighbour, Glenda not only had some fuse wire, but knew how to apply it. I took the relevant bit from the fuse box back up the 54 steps, in the rain, and Glenda sorted it out. Back down the steps, in the rain, Hooray!! it worked.
I dryed myself off, fed and soothed a puzzled Zebbycat and poured myself a glass of wine. Bugger #2 - I still had all the groceries to put away .........
Mickle's Pickle: from our World's Southern most Capital City.
8 comments:
When I first started reading this I thought, Oh no, what's happened, lucky you had a neighbour with fuse wire and the knowledge, now you have the knowledge. I reckon the main thing Zebby would have been worried about was "where is my tea"
I have a memory of coming home one wet and windy Wellington night and slipping on a mossy path, not good for the teeth.
Zebby was confused - His human was very late home, and the only light working was in the living room (it runs off a normal power point). Then she kept going up and down, and up and down the steps in the dark and the rain -- yet only one grocery bag had an aroma indicating fresh meat.
And Zebby doesn't understand His human talking on the phone. I gave him a "to keep you going for now" feed under torch light. Zeb stayed grumpy and puzzled for ages, then he went back under (yes) his battered quilty comforter blankie wotsit. Peace for His human .... for now
Glad you have power back!
Well, after all that, I would have poured the second glass of wine to enjoy while I put the groceries away! What a workout you had!
I think I would have drunk from the bottle after all that hassle! I would be hopeless doing anything like that.
Well done that you had a good neighbour to call on.
Those steps do sound a pain.
I would also want to know what caused it in the first place and is it likely to happen again! Hope not.
Maggie X
Nuts in May
Maggie - it was a "5 amp" fuse bix thingammy, however the smallest fuse wire dear Glenda had was "10 amp", so all is well.
The cause was probably "age" - I've been here for 20 years, however the fuse box thingamie is a mid sixties model, like me!
I'm sorry darling Mickle - but I had a good chuckle over this one!
xoxoxoxox
me
You still have fuses that use wire! Damn! I'd be infuriated with those. Fuses went out quite a while back, and when we bought this house, we hired an electrician to change every fuse to a circuit breaker. Now, if the circuit overloads, we can just go to the central box, flip the offending breaker off using a switch like a light switch, and turn it back on. Poor dear Michelle, traipsing about in the rain over a burnt out fuse! And I notice you didn't say Zebby helped you, or even phoned you to give notice!
I use those low power lights, too, and just adore them! I just found outdoor flood lights that put out the same light as 500 watt halogen flood lights, for only 65 watts! My wonderful 3rd son, Dan, installed them today, and I am eagerly awaiting dark to see how well they perform! Odd, to be eagerly awaiting the dark, isn't it?
Hope Zebby is well recovered from his puzzlement over the darkness. Thor would be ill tempered over that, as well.
Huggles,
Marjie and snoozing Thor
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