I was woken very early this morning by a cacophony of noise. My daughter was yelling, there were various beeps and flashing lights. There was a power cut, the stairlift was beeping and warning lights were blinking.
My house is all-electric as there is no gas supply in the area. My husband loved technology and there are gadgets everywhere, many controlled by the internet, which was also down.
I unearthed a little camping stove from the loft which we bought years ago for exactly this event. Katie was not amused to have water instead of her usual coffee.
After an hour or so the power came back on, but the problems continued. The storage heaters were pumping out hot air, the cooker wouldn’t work, the timer on the dishwasher wouldn’t respond. Sky tv took a long time to re-set, so no music channels for Katie. The light in the stairwell was flashing and the remote control battery was flat.
It has taken two hours to sort everything. I found a battery for the light. The cooker worked once I set the clock. The stairlift stopped complaining once I realised it has a back-up battery. I reset the dishwasher timer (I think). The internet and Sky tv have returned. I expect I will discover new problems throughout the day, but I will deal with them where possible.
This has been a wake-up call, so I am going to put together an Emergency Box with candles, butane gas, a torch and some matches. I am even thinking about having the chimney swept in case I need to use the logs we bought for this event. We have lived here 16 years and never used the fireplace so I suppose it needs checking over.
I was lucky this time, it was light, not cold and I have a mobile phone.
It’s only 13 weeks since he died but I should have familiarised myself with how everything works before now.
Talk about a learning curve!
Xx
Hi Willow,
Wow what a morning you have had,I am glad you have most things now under control,
I hope your daughters settled too,
If I could offer a piece of advice,def get the chimney swept and consider getting it lined before using it,I don’t know how old your house is but the chimney integrity can deteriorate quite quickly(as I found to my cost) hope all goes well.
Kind regards
Ron.
Thanks, Ron. The house is 16 years old. It has an open fireplace and chimney which goes up the exterior wall, so no interior chimney breast. I just have a plant and fairy lights in the fireplace.
We bought the house when it was close to completion and have never had a power cut before. I can’t quite believe how many things have malfunctioned since my husband died. Perhaps some of the things did happen and he just fixed them without mention. Xx
Oh willow you’ve had a really shitty morning. But you’ve been amazing in dealing with it all. It certainly is a steep learning curve - always something to knock us down. We just need to keep trying to deal with it all as best we can.
Last week my insurance company got in touch regarding me being in an accident down south. I originally thought it was a scam, then thought I’d better check.
Turns out someone said I smashed into their car - when I was over 300 miles away !!
I now have to prove that I wasn’t there. How ridiculous.
Anyway said car had its MOT this morning and I was just waiting for a huge list of issues as it has been in the garage for repairs 3 times since my husband passed.
Was amazed it passed first time and the bill is minimum. Simple things, but has cheered me up no end. In a wee while we will know how to deal with so much we will be complete superwomen !!! 
Not that that makes it any easier in the moment.
I really hope your day gets better - you are a great inspiration to all so please remember that. Xx
There are some horrible people about. It doesn’t seem fair that you should have to prove you were not there. Surely the lying, cheating scammers that are accusing you should be the ones that have to provide proof.
I don’t understand why all this extra worry is piled on us at a time when we are least able to cope with it. But then I don’t understand why all our lovely partners were taken when there are so many wicked people that seem to thrive.
I suppose the only tiny positive is that when we do manage a problem or make progress there is a sense of achievement. Even if sometimes it is just enduring another day.
Great that your car passed.
Onwards and upwards! Xx
What a good idea! I will investigate. We don’t even have streetlights here.
What I really want is a wind-up handyman. I could leave him in the loft until I need him!
Just for diy, I mean!
Xx
If you find a wind up handyman could you let me know where you get them. There will be a big market.
Actually I am very lucky with my neighbours. So far between them they have sorted out the radiator in the conservatory, put the door back on the wardrobe, fixed a wobbly loo seat twice, got me out of my riser recliner when it jammed in the recline position, weeded my garden and changed a dodgy light bulb and helped me when the lock in the door between the lounge and the hall broke with me locked in the lounge. Also helped me with my dishwasher and washing machine before I got the repair man. As I am housebound if I ever need any supplies they will get them for me supplying me with pills and tissues through the window when I had Covid.
Well done Willow for sorting that lot out! I live in the sticks and we always prided ourselves in being able to overcome most problems, light, heat, cooking etc but as technology marches on it gets harder and harder, being a bloke left in this awful situation we have different problems, I had to Google the washing machine instructions and then work out what is a full load? why do you have bio and non bio, don’t get me on cooking! how do you gauge one portion, what do you do with the other bit left in the packet - can you freeze it? does it really need 4 hours to thaw out those cooked little shrimpy things when you are left with some sort of stir fry as your last meal before shopping in 2 days time?
I take my hat off to my wife (and all home keepers) I never realised there was so much to running a home for 2, never mind when the kids were at home and I’m struggling with one! wish I had told her, yep it’s a learning curve.
Take care all.
PS. Have you tried Amazon for a wind up handyman?
They seem to sell everything else!
I have been fortunate because my nephew seems to be able to fix most things and has all the industrial tools. He fixed my garden gate, locked filing cabinet and he bolted a standing frame to the floor for my daughter. I don’t like to keep asking him though, so I try to sort things out myself when I can.
I put a post on here a while ago suggesting we all move to ‘Widoworld’. A sort of commune where we could help each other out, playing to our strengths.
Good luck with the cooking.
Maybe YouTube have instruction videos for crafting a wind-up handyman. Perhaps I will try that before searching Amazon.
Xx
@swift My husband was my carer and did the washing and cooking so I faced the same issues as you. My mobility got worse July this year so I have had to up my care package and now have carers who cook my meals and do the washing etc. Best investment was an air fryer. Lived on ready meals until had to increase care to 3 times a day. Now I eat proper food.
Fortunately I am ok with technology as I worked in IT for 45 years from programmer to consultant. Specialising in accounting so finances don’t scare me.
My one super power is my logic. I find or plan a solution to just about everything except how to get the bins to the kerb and no the council won’t pick them up from my door although they say they will.
Next issue is how to get to my dentist appointment when I am not sure I can get in a car anymore. Still working on that one.
I dread to think what a search for a wind up handyman would present from an Amazon search.
@swift My brothers wife has terminal cancer. She has been training him on using the washing machine and teaching him to cook. He has written himself instruction manuals. In a way they are lucky to have this time. My husband died within 2 weeks of being diagnosed and was in hospital all that time.
Hi Roni,
It could be someone’s cloned your plates it’s a big thing now,I would check with the boys in blue,an anpr might have picked it up.
@pudding, re the dentist, have you tried a taxi company that have mini buses and vans for people with mobility difficulties?
I can relate to the air fryer, my wife would not entertain the idea, we would sit and wait for what seemed like hours for the light to go out that said the oven was now hot enough for the fish fingers or whatever, guess what I have bought?
Your brother is in for a tough time but how sensible to pre plan, still very sad for them.
@Willow, we have so many people in this situation that have so much talent, it would be good to be able to tap into that resource, assuming people are willing to offer, I can understand the difficulties with practical help, I suppose its the old business of if things go wrong who’s responsible, fixing something for family is a bit different than for a stranger,thinking about it even advice could have repercussions!
Still if anyone wants advice on why their compost bin is not working, why there are no worms in your garden, introducing worms to trees with root compaction or soil reclamation, I have 40 years practical and consultation (retired now) free to anyone going through the awful situation we usually discuss on here!
How long does it take to air fry worms? 
. Only joking, we resisted buying an air fryer. Guess what? I bought one last week! I decided it was silly using a big oven for just me and Katie. She has a problem with temperature regulation and despite having air conditioning, her bedroom is above the kitchen and we are south-facing. So it quite hot. I wasting money with the oven and wasting more by using the air conditioning to cool her room. I used the air fryer to make the first Sunday roast today since Jeremy died. I was quite impressed.
When we moved here the garden ‘soil’ was just minced up bricks and rubble, nails, broom heads and scaffolding bolts were dug up regularly. Underneath that was clay. Roses are our passion, luckily they like clay, sixteen years of mulching with horse manure has improved the soil and I now have a healthy population of worms that keeps the resident robins happy. Xx
@swift The problem I have is I live in rural Somerset. In my area there are precisely 2 taxi companies. I don’t believe either of them has transport suitable for those with mobility issues. When my husband was in hospital I had issues getting to visit him in his final days due to transport and my mobility was much better then. The next issue is getting on the dentist couch. Our dentist doesn’t have chairs. The really irritating thing is the dentist office is less than a mile down the road. I will sort it somehow.
My daughter can’t walk and is in a wheelchair. Her dentist examines her teeth in the wheelchair. Perhaps you could ask if this is possible for you.
Xx
@Willow112 Thanks. My dentist was NHS but just been told only private now. They should do something for that money. I am not actually in a wheelchair yet. Just have real problems lifting my left leg.
We have a wonderful lady who runs the local taxi service. She helped me last year with lifting my leg to get in the car. She is renowned for helping the elderly in this area. The dentist assistant had to help me onto the couch.
I think I need to speak to dentist and Sarah to see what we can do.
I will find a way.
Yes I was thinking the same - insurance company are going to dispute and thought it was an error but I’m too cynical for that !!
So many scams going on - you really have to be so careful these days. X
Well done Willow! Living in a rural area, we often get electricity cuts, so there’s already a cupboard full of torches, candles and led lights. It’s useful, too, to get those round led battery ones that can be stuck onto a wall; you just press them in the middle if the light goes out.