The Importance Of Gas

Before I get started, I'd just like to point out that this is not that kind of a post. Yes, I do find that kind of bathroom humor funny (okay fine...extremely funny) but this isn't about that. Its about the natural kind of gas.

Last week, my dad noticed that the glass cap on the gas meter out behind our house was cracked. He likes to worry about stuff like that so he called out the gas company. They agreed that the meter would need to be replaced. To accomplish that, the gas would have to be turned off. No biggie...they'd turn it right back on. Well, when they went to turn it back on they did a pressure test. Apparently we had a gas leak somewhere. They would not be turning the gas back on. Just great.

My mom assured me that this would not be a problem; nevermind the fact that most of the appliances and heaters in the house run on gas. We have some hot plates...we can just heat water on there (for essential things like washing your face and cleaning the dishes). I have a YMCA membership...you can just shower there after swimming. We'll get out the crock pot and experiment for dinners. There are plenty of quilts and blankets for the bed...wear socks and long pjs. Yeah...we'll be just fine.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret or secrets as the case turned out to be. Hot plates don't heat anything nearly as fast as the stove does. I had to add about 15 minutes to my morning routine because I was waiting for the water to heat before I could wash my face. That's the first thing I do so there went my three snooze taps each morning. But, you'd be proud...I did learn to multitask and got my lunch made while I was waiting around in the kitchen.

The world is a backwards place when you put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher to hold them until you're ready to pull them out and wash them by hand.

Yes, the Y has showers. And they have hot water...something I was lacking at home. But, thanks to someone who kept talking about "going" in the shower, all I could think about was all the ickiness that had probably happened to the shower floor. Do you really think they clean those things? So, I pulled out my trusty shower shoes from college and made it work. Stinking just wasn't an option for me.

As for the crock pot...we eat out...a lot. But if you're interested my mom has a really good turkey and stuffing recipe that didn't turn out half bad.

Bedtime wasn't too bad. I normally wear long pjs and socks to bed year round. For some reason, I get extremely cold so the blankets were already on my bed. Thankfully, we didn't have any freezing night temperatures.

So, because I care about my readers so much, I've come up with an emergency plan for you just in case something like this should happen to you. Here it is: 1-800-448-2296 (that's the number for reservations at The Holiday Inn).

And finally, this sad tale does have a happy ending. The gas was turned back on Tuesday night after several days of inconvenience and $900 to replace the pipes. I've never been so happy to have gas!