I had company Friday and Saturday: Not-so-little Miss Noelle was here, visiting with Grandma. On Saturday, as we were busy doing things, I noticed that I was hot. Really hot. Too warm for someone who was in the house and the thermostat was set at 76.
I went to check on the A/C. The temperature in the hallway? A nice, crisp, cool 91. Ouch. I checked around the house. Nope, none of the floor registers were cool. Usually, when the A/C is running continuously, the floor registers get quite cool.
Not Saturday.
I have had the current A/C unit for a dozen years and, sheepishly, I have to admit that I have never had it serviced. Haven't changed the filter often, either. It's one of those nebulous things that I just haven't thought about.
And why not? I turn on the A/C, set the temperature, and forget it. The house cools down. Or warms up, in the winter time.
Not Saturday.
I got out the phone book. Looked up “air conditioning sales, service, and repair”.....Found a company that looked familiar. At least, their logo looked familiar. I figured out why this morning. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.
So, this ad in the Yellow Pages also included the business license of the company and stated “Member, Better Business Bureau.” Works for me. I gave them a call at 7 on Saturday night. Of course, no one answered the phone, so I left a message. I told them that I knew I would not hear from them until Monday, that my A/C was not working at all, and left my phone number.
Fortunately, Noelle was leaving Saturday evening to go spend some time with her other grandparents. They have a pool. And A/C that works. That would be better for Noelle. So she left. Off to swim and be cool.
Alas, not so at my house. It was >90 in the house for most of the night. But cooler in the early morning, dawn hours. What a relief. I did the supper dishes from Saturday night and some laundry. Then had a lovely thought: no one is coming today to fix the A/C, the temperature is supposed to be in the triple digits again, and there's plenty of gas in the car.
Bingo! Let's go for a drive.
Not just anywhere, either. Somewhere cool. Somewhere cool and beautiful and fun. Well, of course, that meant a trip to Morro Bay. In the car and out of town by 11. Off on an adventure. Off in search of cooler weather.
Podunk is only about two and a half hours from Morro Bay. And it was sunny and cool. Much cooler than Podunk. Stayed long enough to have not one, but two meals of fish and chips, with clam chowder. Then topped the day off with a ringside seat to watch the most beautiful scene in the world: sunset, over the ocean. It was unbelievably breathtaking. And cool.
This morning, I called the A/C repair place. The gentleman I spoke to was just getting ready to call me. He wanted to know if he could come by this morning. Of course, I said yes.
It turns out that the company logo looked familiar for a reason: it is the same family that has an appliance repair business, and the same logo, and they have repaired my dryer for me, in the past. The owner's sister is my neighbor directly across the street. The A/C guys were over there last week: she needs a whole new A/C unit. Ugh.
Not me! I had a couple of hoses that were clogged—and got cleaned out, and some insulating duct tape that needed to be replaced. It wasn't the compressor, or the motor, or anything expensive. They could have told me it was, and I wouldn't have known the difference. But I know these people, and they don't do business that way. They fix things. Honestly.
And it's 76 degrees in my house right now! Oh, and the lesson? Take care of things and they'll take care of you.....
Post Script: File this under "This Could Only Happen to Me!" This afternoon, at 4:20, the power went out. It was off for an hour and a half, at the hottest time of the day. Thank goodness the A/C got fixed this morning: it was fairly cool in the house and now, an hour later, it is 76 degrees again!
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