Joys of homeownership

What an exciting weekend we've had.  Kevin and I were watching TV yesterday evening, when we heard a pop and a sizzle sound.  It had been storming, but was only raining and windy at the time.  We looked at each other and discussed how a power line might have been blown around or something.  All electricity was on.

As we sat there, the TV started acting weird.  Almost like it was trying to go off, but couldn't.  Then my computer went off.  That'll tick a girl OFF right there!  Kevin went outside to look around (in the rain) and said "call the electric company, honey."  Behind the meter, there was a black spot on the house siding!  ACK!  That worried the heck out of me.  By the time Kevin came back in, half the house was without power, including the aquarium, refrigerator, and a/c.  At least it wasn't hot.

The guy came out, and when he grabbed the meter, there was another sizzle/zap type sound and sparks.  He climbed up the ladder and cut the lines where they go into the house.  After taking the meter off, he saw the problem.  When they sided the house, they never secured the meter box to the house.  This allowed it to move slightly and it shorted out a wire.  If we hadn't been home, the house may have burned down.  I count that a major blessing.

The two electricians in town that we know about were gone for the weekend.  We called a heating/cooling guy that we know of, to see if he could do it.  He couldn't, but he gave us another number to call.  This guy said he could be here this morning, so we settled in for a night of camping out.  It's a good thing I like candles!  We sat a while, then went to bed early out of boredom.  What an electrical family we are.

The early bedtime caused us to wake up early, and it was raining, so boredom was back.  Brett walked the dog, the girls argued and played, and Kevin and I felt sorry for ourselves for a while.  The guy came and fixed it, then the electric company dude came and put the meter back on.  Shortly before noon, we had power.  I checked my email instantly.

We thought there was a problem, since the dryer wouldn't work, but the problem was a fuse thingie (lug?) so it was fixed easily by Kevin.  Now the kids have TV's, stereos and video games, we have our computers and TV, and life is good.  Now to enjoy some chili and relax!

Oh, and it could have been worse financially, too.  It was a total of $149.40.  We also have a homebuyers warranty that might pay most of it back to us, but I can't find out until tomorrow.  Yeah, we're lucky...it's just hard to feel lucky when you pay out $150 that you hadn't planned on!

::edit-9:30::

Well, as they say, when it rains, it pours.  My dryer isn't working.  Dad and Kevin took it apart and checked every connection, every element, every wire.  Electricity is getting to EVERY wire and the element is fine.  No reason, just not getting hot...it's turning, but not hot.  Probably associated with the power problem, but who knows.  Thanks to mom, I got two loads dried tonight.  More money leaving my  bank. :(

The lice are back.  Just tiny ones, so I missed some eggs somewhere.  They can't lay eggs until they're adults, so we did her hair again to kill these, and will use the nit comb nightly.  I spent 45 minutes with that blasted comb tonight, clipping back sections of hair as I finished them.  It's horrible and boring, and she has a tender head.  She handled it like a champ, though.  If the eggs and nits aren't all gone, she can't go to school.  :(

I'm tired, grumpy, and beyond broke.  Damn.