Monday, May 04, 2009

No blow, new oatmeal and other random nonsense

The church furnace didn't work yesterday. I noticed this "buzz" Saturday and followed it down to the furnace blower. The furnace worked, and the ac, but the blower wouldn't kick on. It sounded like the start capacitor to me - which was just replaced less than 2 months ago (even though that wasn't what was wrong with it then). First I called Meredith and he came over and confirmed what I thought. He checked voltage and stuff on breaker boxes. Then I called the place that worked on it the last time. The guy didn't sound too interested in working on it on the weekend. Said he needed to mow his yard, and it would cost me at least $200 more if he came out on Saturday than if we waited until Monday. I told him I thought it was the capacitor he replaced the last time, and he said, "Oh, I don't think so." He also said, "It's not like people really need heat or air right now anyway." So I told him to wait. This morning I told him not to bother at all. I found somebody else. Anyway, it turned out to be the perfect day to not have a furnace, because, even though it was a little chilly in the morning, we really didn't need the heat or air. It was 66 in the sanctuary at worship time. The class that meets in the basement at 9 am was a little cold. I turned on all the burners on our big stove and ran it awhile before anyone arrived. That added a little warmth. We all survived.

This morning I tried some new oatmeal. I got a big canister of just regular old Quaker Oats. It is much cheaper. But it cooked different than the kind that comes in little packets. And I tried to put some cinnamon and brown sugar on it, and, you know, that's like cooking, and I must not have used proper amounts, because it tasted like crap. I will try again. I have to now, I've got this big freaking canister. Nothing like starting your week off with a rotten-oatmeal taste in your mouth.

Also, I got a random message on Facebook Friday or Saturday by someone who was going to be visiting the area and wondered if I could recommend a church. She was from North Carolina or somewhere and had found my name on some kind of search. We exchanged a few FB messages and she actually showed up yesterday. But I must have said something, because I could sense at some point that she didn't seem too pleased about something, and once the service was over she made a beeline for the door. Haven't heard from her since. I've thought about sending her a message asking what happened, but... I dunno. That happens, I guess.

Otherwise I'm feeling just a little hollow today. I've been reading all morning, and maybe I'll take a drive somewhere this afternoon. I need to go borrow a book from someone. A bowl of Cheerios is calling my name first.

Peace out; and in.

7 comments:

Robin ~ PENSIEVE said...

Surprise!!

So, you're still in my reader but I gave up reading blogs ages ago and always, always find when I read my oldest of friends...I really miss 'em. You and your cereal, lol, me and my feet...nice when some things don't change.

I'm feelin' a little hollow today, too...when I feel like I should be feeling over flowing.

Go figure.

:)

Is there an award for the most random comment evah? Cause I'm pretty sure this would be a contender.

Peace and smiles, friend :).

(p.s. I have no idea if that blogger identity in my signature links to anything that will getcha to my blog. Googling "pensieve" works just fine ;).)

dan said...

Robin-the-foot-pic,
Nice to hear from you. I have actually been following your travels on Facebook. Sounds like an "interesting" trip.

Oddly enough, my son's roommate is heading to India in a week or so too. Small world, huh?

Thanks for the comment, and all the blogging from India.

Tom said...

Don't forget the salt in the oatmeal. It makes all the difference in the world.

If Robin gets the award for random comment, I get one for shallow comment.

dan said...

Maybe that was the problem. I don't usually use too much salt. How much do you put in? Do you put it in before nuking or after?

Anonymous said...

I'll go home and look up my recipie again. I know I use one scoop of oatmeal, 2/3 c. milk, 1/2 or 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and one sprinkle of cinnamon but I dont' remember how big my oatmeal scoop is....then it's 1 minute in the mic, stir, 30 seconds in the mic, stir, let sit for 30 seconds, stir and enjoy :)

dan said...

Thanks Carrie. Apparently I didn't use enough brown sugar. I just used a sprinkle of it and the cinnamon. This morning I used a teaspoon of bs (and a pinch of salt) and it was MUCH better.

Tom said...

The salt should go in before. I used to eat oatmeal everyday at boarding school. I still like it but now it's granola and Fage (yogurt) for me so I get my oatmeal that way. Making the granola is a bit of a hassle but I only have to do it once every two weeks so it's not too bad.