Crikey; absent for 2 months...

As the title says, it has been nearly 2 months since I looked at my blog. The reason was good, I suppose. I decided to have a huge decluttering and tidying splurge. The house is now (probably unnaturally) pristine and minimalist, and the loft has only stuff we want to keep rather than stuff we don't know what to do with.

The local charity has had literally a vanful of donations. I know that because they sent a van to collect books, toys, ornaments, and clothes. I usually take the stuff in myself; but it would have taken months of trips to drop off what we gave away. I'm actually enjoying living in a tidy home and intend never to buy too much stuff ever again. That can be my next New Year's resolution.

But what reward did I get for my hard work? A broken down boiler, no heating and no hot water for the past week which has been very cold here in the UK. I really sympathise with the homeless people who sleep out in the streets at this time of year. At least I was dry indoors.

The gas company that we have loyally paid a monthly fortune to for 3 decades in order to ensure speedy repairs let us down badly. They were quite happy to leave us freezing into 2020. By yesterday morning it had become unbearable. Hubby had man flu and I had a hubby with man flu. I had my first flu jab this year, so I was immune, thankfully.

I searched the phone book and found a local gas engineer who was happy to visit yesterday afternoon. What a lucky find. He was one of those people that you just know is honest and knowledgeable. He quickly diagnosed a burnt out motor which would not have happened if my contracted company had visited sooner and simply lubricated the boiler. (I have become an expert in boiler technology this week!)

The replacement part would have cost £300. My boiler was 17 years old, had a low energy rating and  was no longer worth spending big money on. We had already been thinking of replacing it for a more energy efficient one. But I was crestfallen at the thought of more days in a freezing house.

Then the engineer said he could fit a new A-rated boiler today for a really bargain £1300. A Christmas miracle! He was genuine and not lying about expensive parts just to sell a new boiler. I already knew about the rarity of parts for our model. I thought I had better be honest and say "you know it's Christmas Eve tomorrow?" He replied that he doesn't celebrate Christmas. It's easy to forget that not everybody does, until we meet one.

So that's how I spent Christmas Eve in a house without gas. It took the engineer and his friend all day to fit the new boiler. Some years that would have been a disaster. But I'm not cooking a big dinner this year. So it wasn't a problem, and I'm now sitting here in a beautifully warm house and very aware of how lucky I am.

As this is a knitting blog, I should mention that I had started to wear hand knitted scarves indoors. I nearly put on gloves but decided to draw the line there.

Well done to anyone who has read this far. Needless to say I will be cancelling my contract with my former gas company whose name will be forever linked with chocolate teapots.

Now I must visit all my favourite blogs. I hope everyone is still well and firing on all cylinders, like my new boiler! Seasons greetings to everyone who celebrates Christmas.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year