continuing heater saga

the heater exhaust pipes in the kitchen have been dripping/leaking since mid december. i put assorted bowls and pans under the 3-4 different drip spots. the colder it is outside, the more the heater works, the more the pipes drip rust colored water. we need to empty the bowls at least once a day. once it poured outside and the bowls filled right up. we don’t know why that is. we went away at christmas, but were lucky to have friends there who could empty them. it’s been a drag. as soon as the owners of the apartment gave the ok to install a new heater/water heater, the plumbers ordered one. it would take 10 days to arrive. they called and said they could install it on the 2nd or if that day didn’t work, they couldn’t come until 2 weeks after that. it just happens that we are having an unprecedented cold wave with temperatures in the teens and 20’s. whatever. we want to get this done. the landlord has lent us a little electric radiator. we can all huddle in one room for 2 days. 

the young plumber and his younger assistant arrived promptly at 8. they dismantled the heater and exhaust pipes quickly. impressive. efficient. (i really want to believe in their expertise). they carried the bulky, heavy unit and numerous wide exhaust pipes down to their van and came back with the bulky heavy, but new, heater. i took maynard for a walk. when i came back, i asked “ca va?” (everything ok?). “non, ca va PAS” (no. everything is NOT ok). “oh, what’s wrong?”. the heater, which took 10 days to arrive after ordering, was the wrong width. they screwed up on something as basic as the SIZE of the heater! so they had to bring the new heater back down to the van and bring the old heater and all the pieces back up and REINSTALL them. ridiculous. but ok all the same since it is REALLY cold. by the time they come back with another heater, it will be warmer out.  plus, we have friends coming to stay with us this weekend, so having heat would be nice.

our friends are a family of 4, so we needed an extra bed. i went to “conforama” the french version of ikea, in town, to buy a foldable chair/mattress. it takes a while to know where to go to buy things. knowing these things makes life a little easier.

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