Trust the heating at our house to go weird on the one weekend my mother-in-law comes to stay. Of course, she tried to keep her reaction under wraps, but I could tell that she was thoroughly concerned about her baby boy’s wellbeing. She definitely managed to slot in a few pointed remarks about how our health might suffer if I didn’t ensure a comfortable room temperature at all times.
Actually, arranging repairs for the heating system is Jeff’s responsibility, as he’d be the first to acknowledge. You see, he was the one who wanted to have it installed, and I agreed to go along with it provided that he would take charge of organising annual servicing. (I just can’t stand the fuss and bother of appliance maintenance, and would prefer to have as few as possible.) Well, he’s forgotten to have it looked at for the past two years running.
I don’t think it’s great to be so casual about ducted heating servicing. Canberra gets pretty darned chilly over winter, so the system invariably gets a workout each year. But there’s things that can go drastically wrong if you don’t stay tuned to how the unit is functioning – carbon monoxide leaks, for starters.
Anyway, in the end, it was me who took charge of the situation and got a repair person out. Turns out the thermostat needed a tweak and the whole box was due for a clean. Still, I’m currently crafting a sculptural installation from a bunch of cards and flyers advertising heating repairs near Canberra. I’ll place this prominently on Jeff’s bedside table in the hopes that he’ll get the message.
Personally, I think I should get a round of applause for managing to get the system back online before the mother-in-law left. While she didn’t go out of her way to let me know, I could sense that she was suitably impressed. I mean, she didn’t have one cutting thing to say about the laksa that I served up on her last night with us.