Relief

Try dragging yourself through the heat and clawing your way through the humidity for ten days.  It's a humbling experience - living without air conditioning.  DC is the south and July has been wet, hot, and heavy.  Ceiling fans and 15 minute spurts of cool every now and then from the wounded air conditioner kept us from fleeing to a hotel.  Last weekend, we went to two movies just to keep cool.  We were lucky -- they made us laugh.

There were parts ordered, installed and it still cut out after 30 minutes.  In the end, after $1,700 in repairs, frantic, angry discussions with the repair company owner and a 7 AM emergency return visit, I left for work with John watching over the repairman as he combed the equipment manual and starred into the abyss of the compressor.  

The good news is that he did find the culprit that morning.  It was a clogged drain hose. The water created by the compressor was backing-up to a "kill" switch that prevented the compressor from being flooded (or something like that).   I guess we really didn't need a new mother board and controller switch and whatever.  Sigh.

Now we can concentrate on the other problems that have plagued us this summer -- the multiple water leaks in the Memphis townhouse, the boat repairs and, our newest problem-- the tire we have to replace after I ran it up on a curve in a dark parking lot last week.  I feel like Linus carrying around a storm cloud over my head.  Sigh.

There is more good news.  Water leak repairs inside and outside of the townhouse are underway. However, another leak in main that brings water into the house was found in the process.  And the needed roof/eave work and bay window replacement still needs to be done.  I guess it's just our time.  We've gotten away with very few issues in the five years since we first rented the place.  Next year -- we sell!  The Memphis housing market lags at the bottom of the recovery chain, but we are told it is finally climbing out of the pits of foreclosures.  Sigh.

The boat front brings news of progress as well.  The mast and rigging have been ordered, hopefully, to arrive in August.  The fiberglass work begins this week.  Maybe by September we can sail.  Just a month before the end of the season.  Sigh.