black monday

Here it is, Monday morning, and the internet is still not connecting, since early yesterday evening. The computers, all of our devices, indicate that the wifi is working, but software soon tells us that there is no internet connection. I hesitate to call technical support for two reasons. The first is that the wind storm yesterday is the most likely culprit for this interruption in service, so that the fix is probably under way and will eventually be completed in its own time. The second is that our telephone service is VOIP, so that when there is no internet connection, there is no telephone service. Which means that a telephone call to technical support would have to be made on one of our old flip cell phones at fifty cents a minute. I do not look forward to sitting on hold for twenty minutes, spending $10 for the call, to be told to be patient, they are working on the problem. Another option is to drive to the local McDonalds restaurant, buy a coffee, sit down with my laptop, and use Skype to call our internet service provider. This becomes problematic when tech support insists on me unplugging the modem, then plugging it back in, and other tasks that require that I am sitting at home where there is no reasonable telephone service.

The down side of VOIP telephone service is significant. I suppose it is hardly noticeable to those who have smart phones, those little devices before which so many bow. We are not tempted though, as the cost would cut deeply into our standard of living, affecting the quality of the food we could afford to eat, or other necessities like heat in the winter. So we carry on with our cheap flip phones and make do. One thing about not having a smart phone is that we are completely out of everyone else’s “loop”. Since we do not text, we do not exist in the day-to-day worlds our families.

So what to do on a day when I cannot work on my genealogy book, because I need to confirm information on ancestry to move forward? What to do on a day when I cannot research how to fix the malfunctioning window crank in Grace The Trailer? What to do!

First, make a cup of coffee. Second, sit quietly looking out at the tree tops, sipping coffee, contemplating life. Third, read a bit of my book Kristen Lavransdatter. Fourth, pick up my crochet hook and work on my afghan/blanket. Third, begin making a list of tasks to be completed before Attila begins his next project, which is to replace the window in the back bedroom, where we sleep. This should occupy the rest of the day!

After I wrote the above paragraph, I was inspired to make the call to the internet service provider, it only took five minutes to get through, to find that service was down in our area, and that there was no timeline for the repairs. After hanging up the phone, the internet suddenly started to work. Sheesh!!!

Attila is going to work on two renovation projects here at Mist Cottage this autumn. The priority is the bedroom window replacement, before the temperatures drops too drastically. It will be a weekend job, and will also be quite intrusive, as the bedroom is the one we sleep in. Furniture will have to be moved, objects like beds well covered against the dust, and the room sealed off from the heating system for the duration of the project. After that project is secured against the weather, I will work on the insulation, vapour barrier and drywall, and he will begin planning the installation of the new tiles for the kitchen floor. My involvement in flooring project is to empty the freestanding kitchen cabinet, which will need to be moved out of the kitchen.

It is much cooler today, more like autumn. The sky is still overcast, but there are lighter patches of gray that float by. The heating system has suddenly sprung into action. Most of the leaves were blown from the trees yesterday, in the high winds. The garden looks bedraggled, with a few tomatoes still ripening on the vines, and squash, both Hubbard and Butternut, still lying on the ground, and hanging on the fence, using the last of the good weather to mature. I think autumn has arrived.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

6°C
Date: 9:00 AM EDT Monday 16 October 2017
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.1 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 5.7°C
Dew point: 1.4°C
Humidity: 74%
Wind: N 21 gust 35 km/h
Visibility: 24 km

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Apparently there are severe threats to wifi connections, going down for the night, waiting for updates, then I’ll be up and running again. Good luck to everyone, update and prosper.