Service, Interrupted

UPDATED: I am pleasantly impressed to say that the service guys were very capable. Polite and efficient even. The one guy who initially arrived had a "whao dude!" moment after checking out the tree and did call in back-up, but they had everything repaired and service up in about two hours on the Monday after. 

It's a relief to be able to say something nice, which is actually a sad statement about our expectations of service calls. It's also the other side of the damn-skippy-I-pay-enough-every-month coin. 

At any rate: well done chaps. 

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We've been offline. Actually, we still are. I'm posting this out here during my lunchtime at "the day-job"... 

It's a drawback associated with large, old, largely dead trees. 

This one fell in the ravine behind our house. Thankfully it fell in the only way it could without damaging anything around it. Except for our internet/phone/TV service. I would guess the raccoon that was living up in it is also not happy about the free circus ride. 

Well... there's yer PROBLEM!!

Boy, the teenagers were not amused. Although without XBOX, we Wii-ed. Which was actually a lot of fun. 

Quick fix? I hope so...  I would really like to walk away from this feeling good about giving so much of our money to our service provider every month...

Rather than feeling, oh, I dunno, so unsupported. Disconnected even...

Rescuing Rudyard

Can anyone tell me what this is? I'll give you a hint: it's not animal or mineral. 

About fifteen years ago, a dear friend decided I needed a plant. What she really meant was "my plant is too large so I will pass some of this growth burden onto you." 

She gave me Rudyard, a potted cutting from her philodendron Kipling. Lo and behold, Rudyard is still with us. But...

Rudyard had some, er, issues. My husband suggested several times to toss "it." I can't toss "it". "It" is Rudyard. How can you throw out a plant with a name and a pedigree?!

A trip to the barber is what Rudyard needed: let's give Rudyard a haircut. 

I don't know if Rudyard is the only Kipling scion still surviving, but having the same plant for ten-plus years is a good track record for me. For plants to survive in my hands, they need to enjoy - nay, thrive on neglect. Oddly enough, cacti and succulents work well for me (and even bloom!). 

Getting back to Rudyard. Immediately after the haircut and replanting, looking much renewed. If you haven't already guessed it, that mess in the first picture was what I trimmed from Rudyard. 

Rudyard. Rescued. 

Silly Excuses: The Range

Today we had our first visit from a professional technician (a.k.a. the oven guy). We called the cavalry after we tried using our oven and smelled something between gas and burning insulation mixed with cleaner - something wicked this way wafts. The smell was noxious - bad enough to make your eyes burn and wonder how fast you could run. Our home came with a "warranty" purchased by the sellers to cover things like appliances over the first year of owning the home. So we called.

He turned on the oven, smelled the same smell, and proceeded to tell us that the oven flames were burning off the paint and primer fumes in the house, it being winter here in Wisconsin and the windows were all closed.

Right.

The full extent of our painting consists of: three 2ft square swatches of paint on the kitchen walls for colors we're trying out, one bathroom cabinet painted with the exhaust fan running (it's on the same circuit as the light, so running is not an option for the moment), and two cabinet doors. We're using water based primer, and we've only gone through less than half the quart purchased. These have been painted over the last two weeks during which time we've been holding the doors open for extended periods while moving in our stuff.

Paint fumes indeed.

What little I can glean from searching for answers online is that it might be an ignitor going bad. At any rate, the oven itself is rusting out through the bottom (!) and is probably not worth the estimated $200 for a new ignitor.

It would be time, though, for a new range. Definitely more exciting, but more importantly, much safer.

Then we can paint all we want.