joys of country living and 'appliance' conspiracy - update

On Wednesday my cordless phone decided the signal wasn't strong enough. No dial tone on the base station.

Blast.

Util I can read the instructions and see what's wrong I'll break out the really, really old Telecom handset. Which works, but has a very short tether which is really impossible when you've had a cordless phone for over ten years!

It's been very wet up here for about 18 months. I asked the neighbour to turn off the water at the meter because the tank would overflow in the storms we were getting at the end of every year for the last two years. I haven't paid for water for about six billing cycles.

Friday night in the shower the water wasn't at normal pressure, it was kinda dribbling - turning the taps on as far as I could didn't help. It took forever for the hot water to arrive. After a few minutes there was normal pressure, but it too a while.

I checked the water tank on Saturday night. Some idiot turned off the town water during all the rain several months ago and has forgotten to turn it back on. Aiieee.

Oh no! What's wrong with the pump?

Turned the water on. When I first moved here in December 2003 I could hear the water trickling into the tank. Now I'm a bit deaf and I can't hear it at all unless I'm right beside the tank. It was raining so I wansn't sure it was the town water trickling in or the rainwater off the roof.

If the water wasn't flowing into the tank there was something wrong with the valve in the tank. Sounds like dollars. This morning I checked the meter and it's clicked over. Hurrah. It's working. I think.*UPDATE* No it's not. No water flowing into the tank at all.

So then to check the pressure pump. Seems OK, but I looked up troubleshooting with pumps and found that there could be gunk in the pressure sensor due to the tank being almost empty.

Tonight I've called the electrician and he said that if the water's not flowing from the meter it's probably the filter blocked up.

I've just phoned a plumber and he's going to look at it for me tomorrow. He thinks the ball-cock in the tank may have seized.

Hurrah!

Now I'm sitting here wondering what's going to go next. The pump, if I have a shower?

Update:
The plumber arrived at about midday or there abouts. The water was switched off at the tank, I didn't realise that.
He made sure the pump was OK, and tried to start it, but there wasn't enough water in the tank to keep it going.
He called Urban Utilities (the mob who now look after the water), and they came out and removed the slow flow valve pipe and put it a no slow flow valve pipe. They arrived at about 2-ish, and the tank is nearly full now!
I had a 500* litre shower a while back. It was gooooooooooooood.

*That's a joke!

What a day!

Ok, well - it was only the afternoon.

First, it was humid and horrible. Not at all conducive to doing yard work, so I delayed as long as possible, and besides, I was yakking with a friend via email.

First job was to fix the pergola light. As previously mentioned it had blown and the ceramic bit of the lamp had fused to the ceramic bit of the fitting. Floyd is a funny little sausage, a lot like 48, he likes to watch you work (hey, council worker in a previous life?), but I think he'd probably be able to do the job if he had to! He watched me as I dragged his huge dogbox from under the light fitting so I could put up the little stepladder under it. I turned off the power and climbed up the two steps.

Carefully unscrewing the single screw which held the glass front on the fitting I thought to myself, "Must be careful not to lose that screw." With one of grandma's good steak knives I tried to get the piece off, but it was awkward. I used the end of the screwdriver as a mallet and gave the knife a couple of taps. The bit came off, there is still a bit there I just can't get it off, and the lamp fitted in fine so I left it. I closed the front of the lamp, but the seal had fallen out of its track. Bloody thing. The glass isn't fixed either, as the silicone or whatever they used to fix it when it was new has just lost its stick. So I thought "Must be careful not to drop that glass..."

I pushed the seal back into its slot and pushed the front of the light fitting back up again, put the screw in, and began to screw it together. Something was wrong, it wouldn't fit properly. The glass had moved up a bit, so I had to open it and try again. Finally it was perfect... I started to tighten the screw again and... bloody screw fell out of the fitting, I must have shaken or something. It fell on the concrete, bounced, and shot into the grass. I looked and looked, and so did Floyd, and we couldn't find it.

Back inside, in the dark (no power, remember), scratching around looking for somewhere I might have a screw. I found a pack which came with something that I didn't end up using and, hallelulja, one fitted. Of course, every torch I own has flat batteries.

That job done I put the step ladder back inside and shooed Floyd out of the way to push his dog box back against the house. We had a bit of a play and Mr Showoff demonstrated to me that he could now jump up on top of his dogbox. Bloody hell. First time and he did it! He jumped up there a couple of times, just to show me that he could I think!

Into the shed and start up the mower to cut the grass in the dog yard. It's as high as the fence (over 4 feet tall). Floyd was going crazy because I was in the shed and then down the back. He was realling barking hysterically. I was mowing the yard when I realised that Meg was running around... Floyd was outside the fence, Meg was in with me. Floyd had jumped the little fence around the pergola yard and wriggled out of his collar.

So, after the drama of mowing, first I had a flat tyre, then I ran out of petrol, and wouldn't start again after I filled the tank, arrgh, and the grass was so long I had to mow it back and forward, and it's not finished yet, we played. Floyd wasn't interested in jumping over the fence, but then again there was nothing to distract him from tormenting Meg.

However, Meg gets her own back, when I call Floyd and he wants to come, Meg will stop him from coming to me! She's a monster! Something's been biting her ears, I'll have to get something for that. I think it's the flies.

So, here's some pix of the kids playing...

And now, 60 Minutes is on TV. And the Gazans are pissing and moaning about how hard done by they are. It's about the tunnel rats. It's the only way the poor Gazans get fresh meat (and weapons and ammo).

If they hadn't destroyed what the Israelis left behind and if they weren't so bloody murderous and destructive, they'd be able to farm and look after their own food needs.

And of course, the spokes talking head is an Irishman who has obviously been totally conned.