another brown sauce moment

It's been so long since I posted, I had to think twice about my password. how shameful.

Today was eventful, so I feel compelled to catch up.

Husband totally managed to bowl me over with his completely breezy way of handling stuff.
We've had dodgy electric flickering going on all week. Usually this means high winds, or the connector outside has gotten all corroded by the sea air and needs replacing. So when we got up this morning to power in only half the house, we duly phoned PG&E. The lovely chappy was here in a flash as he knows us so well now (and he likes that we plied him with treats to get us back on the grid in time for our hogmany party). Anyway, he shimmies the pole, replaces the connector, checks the second connection - and smells gas. Uh oh. Corroded gas pipe. He phones the emergency gas man. (Fortunately its the same company). So the gas man comes out. But the corroded pipe is in the house boundary, so we need to call in a private contractor to get it replaced. Meanwhile the electric fault is traced to burnt out connectors in the fuse box (yes we were literally sitting on a gas leak and a sparking fuse box at the same time someone up there is definitely looking out for us!). So the landlord has to come out and sort out the fuse box thing. Today is also first day for our new cleaner - who turns up with a squad of 3 (she obviously felt my house was VERY dirty) at the same time as all this is going on.

I have bogged off to work and left hubby to deal with this. But he graciously phones me to keep me informed every 15 minutes. I did point out that I had a big nasty deadline and a rapidly flapping client to deal with, but nonetheless he felt he should update me frequently. Especially with the good news that we are possibly going to spend the next 4 days and nights without heat, cooking facilities, hot water or power.


So around 11.45 he calls again. I'm in mid stress mode. He calling to ask if I want to meet him for a coffee, as having so many people around the place is really irritating for him and he'd like to just leave them to it for a while. WHAT?! Leave them to it!!! Only he would consider walking away and leaving the gas contractor, the emergency gas man, the emergency electrician, the landlord and three cleaners just to get on with it. I know he cant actually DO anything while they are there, but to me its a bit like letting all the acts onto the ring at once and strolling out of the circus for the day. You can imagine my frosty response.

Anyway, I returned home to a beautifully clean house, complete with power, gas, etc etc. Turns out leaving professionals to do their job in peace is better than micro managing. Who'd have thought.?

The kids took it in turns to show me their newly cleaned rooms. Daughter was overly impressed that her bed had been made, and son stunned that all his lego men have magically re-appeared from lost. (they had been living under the bed I suspect). Husband (until now the housekeeper principle) was completely unashamed, but has discovered a new coffee shop by the ocean apparently.

And for those of you who don't get the brown sauce reference. If you post a comment and I'll fill you in.