Wednesday, March 16, 2022

March Marches On

Geraniums by the Front Door

Yesterday (Monday), I picked up the groceries I had ordered, did another clearing session in the garage, filled both the recycling bin and trash bin to the brim, took them to the curb for trash collection pick up in the morning, watered the front garden (especially the newly transplanted fountain grass clumps), did some laundry, cooked fried rice for lunch and pancakes with sausages for dinner.  In between, I chatted on the phone with neighbor T, friend R, and cousin V, watched a little news, paid the gas bill, and checked the video chat link in preparation for video chatting with my daughter when she returns to Berkeley.  It was a sunny and warm day, too, with a high of 79F.

Today (Tuesday), is another warm day (high of 75F), but, cloudy.  When I went to bring the empty trash cans in, I noticed a service technician from the Gas company replacing neighbor T's gas meter.  I had spoken with T earlier in the day and she hadn't mentioned anything about getting her gas meter replaced, etc.  Anyway, I greeted the service technician and, being nosy, asked him if he was replacing everyone's meters.  He said no, they had detected a problem with T's meter and he had come to fix it.

Then, he asked me if I knew who lived there, saying he had knocked on the door, but, no one answered the door.  I said I knew who lived there.  He said that although he was able to fix the meter and the gas company's lines, there is a leak in the part of the pipe that goes from the meter to the house and that is the homeowner's responsibility to fix it, but, he had to shut off the gas for safety reasons.  Just then, another gas company technician drove up to check on things, too, and I said I could call the neighbor's daughter (T's daughter usually deals with household repairs, etc., because T is unable to do so; her husband took care of everything when he was alive and now, her daughter tends to things).  So, I called T's daughter K and took the phone out so the gas company technician could speak to her and explain the situation. 

Afterwards, I took the phone back from him and went inside (and wiped down the phone with a disinfectant wipe!)  A short time later, T called to thank me for calling K about the gas company technician's concerns and K called, too, to thank me.  They will need to get a plumber to come out and fix the leaking pipe!  I told both T and K that, if T needed any hot water, etc., to let me know (we both have gas stoves, water heaters, and furnaces), I could boil some and take it over, but, K said that her mother would be able to manage with the microwave.  Fortunately, it is not that cold at night now, so T should be able to stay warm without the furnace being turned on.  

I picked lemons, curry leaves, a lone red chili pepper, and some oranges from the garden, today. But, didn't do anything in the garage.  Instead, I looked through this week's grocery ads that came in the mail, replied to blog comments, and, cooked dinner - sauteed chicken thighs, broccoli side shoots picked from the garden, and savory rice (rice cooked with vegetable soup powder).  It's only the second day of this week's meal plan and both meals were changed from what was planned, as we ate leftover pancakes and sausages for brunch!  LOL. Later, daughter and I watched a movie together - "Oliver!" on a VHS tape that I have in my collection.  Afterwards, I washed the dishes (some by hand and the rest in the dishwasher).

I also spoke with cousin P after playing phone tag with her all day and I chatted with friend R.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Weekly curbside trash pick up
- Being able to contact neighbor T's daughter so she could speak with the gas company technicians
- Disinfectant wipes
- Garden produce
- Telephone chats with family and friends

Today's joyful activity was watching a video/movie with my daughter.

Plans for tomorrow include gardening with M and some garage cleaning.  

How is your week coming along?  What are your plans for Wednesday?
 

16 comments:

  1. That flower is such a gorgeous shade of pink! What a kind neighbour you are. We've been away for three days visiting my sis-in-law. Today will be lots of domestic chores and some pottering in the garden.

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    1. Thank you, Angela; we have to be there for one another to the extent that we can. I'm sure you had a lovely visit with your sister-in-law, but, there's always a bit of catching up with household chores when one returns from a trip, isn't there?

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  2. You did a very good deed phoning your neighbour's daughter about the gas problem which does sound very worrying. I hope they can get that fixed soon. It's a good job the Gas company can detect problems like that and come to sort it out and good you went out to ask what was going on in the first place. Your geraniums look lovely, what a gorgeous colour. Oliver is a great film, we went to see the stage musical but years ago now. Nice that you watch and enjoy films together with your daughter.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen; yes, gas leaks are a reason for concern. I'm not sure how the gas company detected it, but, I'm glad they did! The geraniums provide a nice pop of color, don't they? My daughter and I enjoy watching movies together; I think we are making memories for later. :)

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  3. Gas leaks are scary things. I'm glad you were able to help T and her daughter with it. Being nosy is useful sometimes. :)

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    1. Gas leaks are very scary. Especially if one can't detect the smell. Last year, the gas company technician who tended to my furnace recommended that I got a carbon monoxide detector and we did that; it is plugged into an outlet in my bedroom. I must ask T's daughter if her mother has one and, if not, suggest getting one for her.

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  4. Beautful flowers blooming!

    How lovely to be able to pick lemons and oranges in your garden!
    Jillxo

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    1. Thank you, Jill. I hope to be picking additional fruits later on in the summer, but, lemons and oranges are what's available right now. :)

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  5. Monday sounds frantically busy! Thank goodness that you were kind enough to ask questions for T. A gas leak is a scary thing, and what if she hadn't know about it when the gas went off? You saved her a lot of trouble by looking out for her.

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    1. Monday was a productive day! It's been sort of downhill after that! :D
      Yes, gas leaks are scary, especially if you don't detect the smell of leaking gas. I had a gas leak, a few years ago, and didn't detect the smell, but, my daughter did. I now have a carbon monoxide detector in my bedroom, just in case!

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  6. Kind of scary to think there was a leak leading into the house that they didn't know about. Thank God the service company was on top of that mess.

    I hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. xo Diana

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    1. Yes, the gas leak wasn't that detectable, I guess. It was very fortunate that the gas company detected the leak and I'm glad I was able to help pass on the information to my neighbor's daughter.

      Thank you, Diana; hope you, too, have a great St. Patrick's Day! :)

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  7. Lovely geranium. We are currently watching an episode of "Rosemary and Thyme" every evening, so I get to see lots of flowers there, as well as some marvellous English scenery.
    You did well to help the man from the gas company to get in touch with T and her daughter. A gas leak is so dangerous.
    We really had a spring day today. There was a chickadee giving a very strong "fee-bee" call, which I associate with spring, and the dog next door came over! DH and his friend have tapped lots of trees. I went grocery shopping and then tackled the bed which I had left, in order to get out early, and I changed the bedding and laundered it.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady; glad you are getting your fill of flowers and English scenery. :)
      Yes, gas leaks are dangerous things. I don't think T does a lot of cooking and the weather is such that even I don't feel the need to switch on the heater, so, I guess T is not finding it too difficult to be without gas until the pipe is fixed. I will call her tomorrow to check on her and see if she needs anything.
      Sounds like you had a very busy spring day! Ha, ha, the dog next door takes the first opportunity he gets to come visiting, doesn't he? Sounds like your DH had a busy day, too, tapping trees! I spent most of the day gardening and doing some cooking. Might tend to the laundry, tomorrow. :)

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  8. Thank goodness the service person saw a problem and you were able to assist with contacting T's daughter. I hope they were able to have it seen to quickly.
    Things with gas scare me and aren't to be neglected.

    You are filling up those curbside containers!

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    1. Yes, I'm glad we were able to contact T's daughter. If it had been even more urgent and we needed to get T out of her home before her daughter could get there, I do have a key to T's house. I do believe that they got the plumber out to fix the gas pipe, later that day.

      Yes, I am! The trash bin is filled to the brim, again, and the recycling bin is at least half full! :)

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