Cash in the Attic? Unlikely.

A busy day around the house, that's what this was.

1.
I ordered heating oil yesterday and was promised it for today, little expecting that it would arrive at 8:00 am and get me out of bed to answer the door. It had been months and months since I'd had the heating on, so I asked the oil delivery guy to hang on while I checked that the boiler fired up okay. It did, and he left, with a sizeable cheque grasped in his hand.

2.
After about an hour and a half, the radiators began to get cold, I checked the boiler and it wasn't reacting. So I phoned for a boiler service and was told someone would be with me before lunch. The guy who arrived at 1:30 reminded me that he'd warned a year ago that I could do with a new motor, and as soon as I flicked the switch he called me out to listen to the humming noise the boiler was making. 'Hear that?', says he. 'It's happened, just like I said it would. Your motor's had it.' He quickly told me (as he had a year ago) that it really wouldn't be worth it to merely replace the motor, and advised immediate fitting of a complete new burner. 'How much', says I. '550 euro, I'm afraid.' 'Okay. Go ahead.'

3.
I need to clear out the attic and finally get round to insulating it (wasting heat through the roof during another severe winter wouldn't be idea of fun), so last week, as a first step, I contacted a guy who'd left in a flyer about attic ladder installation. I was told they'd phone me this week, but I still hadn't heard anything by yesterday, so I phoned them again. I spoke to a very apologetic someone else who told me he'd be with me 'around 12:00' today, though he stressed that the timing might shift. By the time 2:00 pm came around, I was beginning to get anxious, and told myself I'd lift the phone if there was still no sign within half an hour. As it happened, the Attic Man arrived just as the Boiler Man was packing up. The job was done within forty minutes, and I handed over the third cheque of the day.

After a quick demo of how to pull down and put back the ladder from the Attic Man, naturally I had to play with it myself and climbed up into the attic space which hasn't been visited for several years. Actually, while things are far from as neat and tidy as Red's bathroom ceiling space, there isn't as much stuff up there as I thought there was. Next step is the great clear-out and unceremonious dumping of everything that's up there. That will be fun! (Fortunately, I have three strong and willing helpers lined up to do the hard work while I make the tea and the sandwiches.)