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OUR FIRST WEEK part IV …or, more stuff that doesn’t work

What is the first thing you want to do when you have made a long journey and you reach your destination?

Take a nice hot shower, you say?

Why yes, of course.

For that you need a clean bathroom (these are clean but still, not cleaned by me so I was a little skeeved out), you also need hot water and for hot water to be hot you need a full gas tank.  Well, no gas in the house.  NO gas for a couple days.  This means no hot water, and no cooking on the stove, and no dryer for laundry.

The gas company said they would be by on Thursday sometime but then showed up on Friday.  You have to be there when the gas guy comes to be sure they put the right amount in.  We filled the tank to the tip-top and we’ll how long that lasts.  We found out (by talking with some people in Walmart -which by the way is not uncommon to just have a conversation with someone you never met) that if the tank is below 20% you can’t get enough pressure for the gas tank to work.

Hooray!

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Guess what?  The water heater (gas tank connects to the water heater) is not working.  Mikee keeps trying to figure it out.  There are some directions on the side that are faded and in Spanish -not helpful.

Why trying to get this fixed…

…the washer.

First I had Mikee check to be sure I didn’t have any unwanted insect or rodent company to do laundry.  (mice are ok when they are doing laundry in Cinderella -but I don’t want ’em helping me)

Washer and dryer are checked out and Mikee sends the all clear.  Woohoo!  I put in the first load of laundry (remember, we have been on the road for a week now) and the detergent and start the machine.

A little bit of water drips out and then…

nothing.

Poor Mikee is running to my pleas of helplessness while trying to do some work and catch up on email.  (he had over 2500 come in)

Mikee disconnected the hose to the faucet -and water comes out fine.

Mikee disconnected the hose to the machine -and water comes out fine.

The water is getting to the machine our friend that lives up the hill told us what needs to be done.

While Mikee is trying to get to valve to turn to fix the gas, it’s so rusted that it just breaks off in his hand.

Ack!

Fortunately it wasn’t for the gas.  Whew!  But it’s for the water and now…

water starts gushing all over the place.

Run to the water shut-off valve you say.  Of course.  But we have no idea where it is!  And now water is just pouring out of that pipe like crazy.

Our neighbor (who is also our cool friend Chad) is on the phone and I calmly but urgently asked him is he has any idea where the water shut-off valve might be.

It’s on the roof.

I find this ladder in the back and Mikee chooses it (over the broken one) to get up to the roof.  In comes Chad (our hero) and up the ladder.  Mikee and he figured out where the water source is.  In this process we also figured out where the fuse box was (to shut off the electricity to the pump) and also another water pump that is not working correctly.

Now, we have no water and no gas and we have to pack up to leave Saturday morning for Morelia.  But I have a basket of dirty (kind of smelly) laundry that has soap on it and is slightly damp.  Ugh!  Thanks so much to Ellice for letting India and Ginger Kitty and I come up to run the load real quick.  🙂

I can’t believe that this last series of posts was just from the activity of 2 days!!!  Seemed like a week.

We walked into our new home late Wednesday night so tired from our trip and whatever the driving edition of “jet lagged” is from our 3000 mile road trip.  These posts of toilets and phone and gas and water all were how we spent Thursday and Friday.  And none of those things are actually fixed.  But we are on our way.

All these troubles were not terrible, just time consuming.  Kind of like a “Welcome to Mexico.”

Landlords don’t seem to mind anything you do to the place you ive in.  They view anything you do is an improvement to the property.  Along with that total freedom comes the responsibility to make any necessary repairs.

Does this stuff bother us?  Yes.  But you just realize that it makes for great blog material.  Getting frustrated isn’t going  to fix it.  One thing at a time.  And we will get it all set.  But, if anyone has a spare magic wand hanging around, feel free to send it down here.  (oh wait, we don’t have the mail thing figured out yet)

Meanwhile the kids are having fun.  They spend the days outside in the perfectly sunny weather.  They don’t mind if there are no clean clothes or hot baths or if their diet consists of cold cereal and Subway.

Here’s how the kids spend their time…

Looking up

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{ 2 comments… add one }
  • Elly January 12, 2011, 2:34 pm

    Thank goodness there is a commentary to accompany Mike’s little song and dance. Otherwise I might wonder…?

  • Rebecca and George Duarte January 13, 2011, 2:46 pm

    Can I just say i am wiping the tears from my eye’s because I cant stop laughing, not at your misfortune, but I can’t help but think that is so something that would happen to us. Makes me feel like I am not alone. I hope it keeps getting easier and easier as you settle in it should.

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