Friday 17 December 2010

warm/cold front

Well the good news is that Warm Front grants will be back next year and concentrate first on elderly and poor households. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Resources/Energy-saving-news/Energy-bills/Warm-Front-will-return-DECC-says/(energysavingtrust)/808901

I haven't written much over the past few weeks as I have been hit by a nasty bug - otherwise known as proper flu. I spent the majority of last week in bed and am still very run down with little energy. I can't believe that I caught this bug over my birthday as well as I had, for once, got a lovely birthday weekend planned.

The cold weather has once again returned to the UK after a week or so of warmer weather. It was snowing yesterday and its trying to snow again now. I must admit the weather reports are frustrating me though - it would be nice if for once they got it right. The midlands didn't get much of the snow last time but according to the current forecast we will be getting more this time. I don't mind too much though as all the Christmas shopping is done and my husband is on his way home later today and doesn't have to go back to work for another two weeks. It will be lovely to be able to spend some time with him and the kids love having him at home.

Thursday 2 December 2010

I can't

Its been a very different Thursday. It started off when I woke up feeling very very cold, checked thermostat and it was reading 10 degrees, felt radiators and they were icy cold. Then the panic set in - I have a combi condensing boiler (I practice what I preach) and no heating also means no hot water! 3 children to bath and washing to do, 3 children at home and no heating?????
So there I was 6am outside in the old toilet where the boiler lives, in pyjamas, dressing gown and wellies trying frantically to make the boiler work - I defrosted the external condensing pipe, did a restart, switched it off, everything that I could think of but still no boiler, no heat and the only thing turning the air blue was my language!

In the end I was talked through how to fix it by a kind friend who is a plumber but it still took the majority of the morning.

Its been snowing here now on and off for the past week, nothing substantial and not enough to close the schools so I have been carrying on going to work - just factoring in more time and being careful on the roads. I do wish that my area would just get some proper snow like everywhere else in the country seems to be getting so we knew what we were doing.

In light of the weather I am now with just over 24hrs to go still unsure if I am going to my husbands mess do tomorrow night - I don't want to drive down there if its bad and according to the other half at the moment there is over 6" of snow around him. It is a shame as I was really looking forward to the night out!

What is playing on my mind at the minute is some of the people I know. There is one of them that has been given the worst run of luck for the past 5 years, her father was very ill and passed away and now her grandma (who is her last relative) is very ill. She is slightly younger than me and is facing all these problems with a show of determination and bravery that makes me so proud to know her. Another friend is one of the "I can't" brigade - although she and all her family have their health, everything to her is a problem. Not a day goes by at the moment when she isn't sending 15 odd texts asking for help and advice on the silliest of things, she expects an awful lot of hand holding. I feel incredibly frustrated when I get one of these texts and am resisting the temptation to tell her some "home truths".
I suppose the whole morale of the above situation is that you never know what is going to come your way and there isn't a whole lot you can do to alter destiny/fate but what you CAN always do is manage the way you handle problems. There are lots of occasions when I want to sit on the floor and have a tantrum like my 3 year old would but I try to do something positive instead.