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A few of you may care about the various minor mishaps about which I've recently written but have not described the final resolution, so this may be a good time to catch up on explanations.

Eric's laptop: Took $1,440 to fix. Fortunately, Eric's upcoming job in New York should generate enough revenue to reimburse this cost. The sticking key/s were fixed by landley with a few Q-Tips and judicious application of appropriate solvents.

The overhead light fixture in Eric's room: The next time we changed the bulb after the electrician's visit, it ceased to function again. We called the electrician again, and by chance they had another job in Malvern that day and thus visited us promptly. It turns out that the socket is just a hair too deep for the light bulb to connect with the base of the socket unless the bulb stem is the right shape and screwed in just right. If necessary, they will replace the fixture for us. Cost for visit = $0.

The weatherstripping on the side of my house: The handyman we use came the same day I called him and secured it adequately for the rest of the winter. I plan to have him back to generally replace the weatherstripping when the weather gets warm again. Cost: $120.

The heater in my car: I still haven't taken the car back to the mechanic. Maybe this week?

Overall, though we got off more lightly than I feared we would, I am hoping for better luck on the repair front in 2006.

Eric and I just returned from a fun, but tiring, weekend at Philcon only to walk into an ice-cold house.

We didn't leave the furnace off, no sirree. Nor did I forget to pay the energy bill. No, our furnace has stopped working. The pilot lights (we have gas heat) are on, the electricity is on, but the furnace just blows cold air. Service has been called.

I will eventually write about Philcon, but it's too cold for much typing right now (it's in the 40s in here). Naturally, we're exhausted from the con, and I have work tomorrow. Arrgh.

Remember the keyboard on Eric's laptop? The one that popped the plastic spring ring things on the down arrow key?

We finally took it to a repair shop across the street from my office. They kept warning me, "we may have to replace the entire keyboard." Eric said he wasn't surprised, so I carried on.

They called me back yesterday. $82 for a new keyboard, $99 for labor. How long it will take will depend on how fast they can get the new keyboard from the supplier. Arrgh.

On the bright side, the overhead light in Eric's office is finally fixed. The third electrician we called finally showed up. He diagnosed a place on the wiring where the insulation burned off and caused a short. This is fortunate because if it hadn't shorted out the light, it probably would have caused an electrical fire. He charged us $145 for the repair. A heck of a lot cheaper than replacing the house, I say. :-)

Yesterday afternoon, one of the keys on Eric's laptop started sticking. So he popped the keycap off to blow the cat hair out. Unfortunately, as he did so, the interlocking plastic ring-like things that act as the spring for the key popped out, and one part of them hit the floor.

I succeeded in finding the spring thing, but neither Eric and I can get the rings back in place to make the key function properly again. Eric understands the mechanism, but his hands are too big. My hands are small enough, but I don't understand the mechanism. :-(

On the bright side, it's finally stopped raining here. Today was a bright, warm, sunny day. Which reminds me; it's long past the time of year when I have my annual bout with the Weed Demon....