4 to 20 in ... 12 hours and counting
So here's the thing about my house: it's *really* well insulated - a great thing until you're trying to get it warmed up again after it's become a four degree icebox.
Fast forward through the heating dilemma: Renaissance Artist arrived and was just as helpless as I was (as much as I wanted the heat fixed, I was admittedly thankful that he didn't just walk in, shake his head, flip a switch and say, "silly girl - look how easy THAT was" - which is so often the case with me and things mechanical.)
But no. So we put in a call to Patrizio, the technician who had been out to service the unit a few weeks earlier. Bless his sweet heart, he calls back at 6pm on a Friday night. He tries to talk R.A. through some checks over the phone, and finally suggests that we check (and change) the batteries in the thermostat unit.
There are two AA batteries that are nestled into a panel on the wall thermostat. The digital display on the thermostat is functioning with no trouble, so my assumption had been that the batteries are a backup of some sort?
It doesn't make sense but I swap them out with two new batteries. And instantly, the heat hums on. After five hours of icicles in my brain (not to mention my toes and fingers), I literally shriek and do a little jig as I warm my hands on the radiator now creaking to life. R.A. looks relieved to say the least.
I went to bed that night dressed head to toe in warming gear, as EVERYTHING in the house (my bedsheets included!) had lived for many days at 4 degrees, and warming that up is no small or quick project. I actually blew the sheets with a hairdryer to try to take some of the chill off before getting in. When I awoke at 6 am the next day, it was about 18 degrees in the house -- not toasty warm but considerably more liveable and improving as the sun rose.
I laugh to think that THE ENTIRE SYSTEM was brought to a screeching halt by two AA batteries. How ridiculous; how Italian.
Fast forward through the heating dilemma: Renaissance Artist arrived and was just as helpless as I was (as much as I wanted the heat fixed, I was admittedly thankful that he didn't just walk in, shake his head, flip a switch and say, "silly girl - look how easy THAT was" - which is so often the case with me and things mechanical.)
But no. So we put in a call to Patrizio, the technician who had been out to service the unit a few weeks earlier. Bless his sweet heart, he calls back at 6pm on a Friday night. He tries to talk R.A. through some checks over the phone, and finally suggests that we check (and change) the batteries in the thermostat unit.
There are two AA batteries that are nestled into a panel on the wall thermostat. The digital display on the thermostat is functioning with no trouble, so my assumption had been that the batteries are a backup of some sort?
It doesn't make sense but I swap them out with two new batteries. And instantly, the heat hums on. After five hours of icicles in my brain (not to mention my toes and fingers), I literally shriek and do a little jig as I warm my hands on the radiator now creaking to life. R.A. looks relieved to say the least.
I went to bed that night dressed head to toe in warming gear, as EVERYTHING in the house (my bedsheets included!) had lived for many days at 4 degrees, and warming that up is no small or quick project. I actually blew the sheets with a hairdryer to try to take some of the chill off before getting in. When I awoke at 6 am the next day, it was about 18 degrees in the house -- not toasty warm but considerably more liveable and improving as the sun rose.
I laugh to think that THE ENTIRE SYSTEM was brought to a screeching halt by two AA batteries. How ridiculous; how Italian.
posted by Viaggiatore | 11/28/2005
2 Comments:
Hey. Glad your travels were relatively pain free even if your received a chilly homecoming.
What's the deal with your e-mail account? I've been trying to send a message for a couple of weeks and it keeps getting bounced back.
Happy post-Thankgiving.
Daisy Boy
I was in Firenze from Thurs until Sunday and was freezing. The hubby did the marathon and it hailed! I never thought I would be glad to get back north and home to Torino but I was. No Tuscan sun last week.
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