Just so you all know...

[Ky_Mama]

Friday we had an electrical problem present itself in our bedroom.  The breaker didn't trip, but the whole room is *dead*, as is the overhead lights in the dining room, kitchen, and laundry room.  It's all on the same circuit apparently.  Oh, and the house has O.G. 1954 wiring throughout.... rock on. 

So, Ira and I have spent the last two days cleaning like mad - needed to be done anyway - and I mean deep cleaning.  Like spring cleaning all over again.  Tomorrow we have to have the landlord over so he can decide what to do about this.  If he decides to do nothing, we go on the hunt for an apartment!  >:-(   I know I've written before about how much I *HATE* this house.  This is too much now, and I am so ready to move anywhere at this point.

See, we have to have the landlord over because the bedroom's death was the THIRD electrical incident in SEVEN days.  My sewing machine was the first thing, somehow when I used it about 10 days ago the plug melted, and I had a time unplugging the thing from the wall.  No fire, it just melted like a candle and stuck.  I didn't even know until I went to move the machine two days later, and found the plug.  Wanna see it?  I can't use it, and that's nearly depressing me.  Here's the pictures I took to show Dad.  {In my email I asked if I could use it in another outlet, and he said NO.  So I've been without :-( } 

The second thing to go was our microwave.  It'd been plugged into the same outlet for at least 2 years, and the thing was only 3-4 years old.  I went to reheat something for 30 seconds.... at 0:28 it went dead.  Checked the breaker box, and that hadn't tripped.  So I huffed and cussed a bit, then let Ira know about it.  We did replace the microwave just yesterday with something smaller.  Buying this replacement did cause us to clean and rearrange the kitchen, a task which was sorely needed.

Last night, I was laying in bed reading.  Window A/C on (as usual), fan on (as usual, different outlet), overhead light on (light bulb is still good, I checked), and of course the alarm clock (plugged into same outlet as A/C - nothing new).  Out of nowhere, without warning, all those things quit working.  I came into the living room to see if maybe someone turned on something in the kitchen that might have tripped the breaker.  Nope.  Looked in the buzz box - all were still "on".  Even tried flipping that particular breaker, and still nothing.  So I unplugged everything, turned off the light switch, and tried to call Dad.  They weren't home, but I did get a hold of my brother on his phone.  He said we could have either a short or a mouse problem.  (We do have a garter snake "issue" but that's somewhere else entirely... ick)  He said "You'd better get you an electrical fire extinguisher until you can have an electrician come out and replace all that wiring!"  I certainly hope this does make the landlord do *something* about the state of the house.  Three years ago, it took his son-in-law almost 20 minutes to convince him to buy a new window A/C for the living room!  And this was *after* the old Montgomery Ward brand A/C wasn't cooling more than 5 cubic feet around itself.  That's old business though...

I guess since death comes in 3's, this counts, right?  My sewing machine (a.k.a. mommy's break time), followed by the microwave, then a main circuit.  There's original 1954 insulation up in the attic, too.  Yeah, this place is like a sieve in the winter - all the windows supremely FAIL the candle test, and I hang curtains and use a kerosene heater in the main room.  Every bed has at least 4 blankets too, and winter is when we tend to just have the kids sleep with us if it gets that cold.  Love the kids, but sick of being kicked out of my own bed sometimes... LOL  :-)  Oh we use the furnace sometimes, but it's a gas furnace... so it has to be freezing before we'll turn it above 65 degrees.

Now that I've gotten it all off my chest.... some of the good news!  JT turned 10 years old on 8/9!!  And just a few days later, on 8/13, my baby Clare went to school for the first time!  My kids just kinda grew up overnight.... well, that how it feels anyway.  So, I do have pictures but haven't yet been able to dump the camera.  I promise to soon!  Clare is taking to Kindergarten better than I thought she would, and I took her first day better than anyone - especially me - thought I would.  Along with the pictures, I will have a separate post for each of those things later this week.  Maybe even a WLJ if I get around to it.  Ira's on days, and the kids are off school Friday, so I have three days to myself all day long.  Depending on how much general upkeep I have left over, I should be able to swing all those journal posts!  I'll certainly try!!

The kids just went to bed a little while ago, and I have one more day of Mommy & Daddy time available to me.  Take care and see y'all soon!

[momneedscoffee]

Aug. 25, 2008 at 10:27 AM

WOW...that is scary about the wiring!  And your poor sewing machine!  I know you must be having withdrawls from it!!