Hungry Porpane Tank

I work away at my computer, paying bills, checking Facebook, etc. I'm sitting in the corner of the family room that is known to be cold, thus I don't think about the house feeling a bit chilly. However, I decide to bump up the thermostat for the family room. It is sometimes comprised by the heat coming from other parts of the house. That's when I realize the temperature is 64 and the thermostat says it is calling for heat. Hmmmmmmm...

I check the other thermostats in the house - they all report the same thing... 64 calling for heat.

Why is it that these things rarely happen when handy man hubby is home? Fortunately, I have learned a few things over the years. But some of the more common sense things rarely are my first thoughts (Forest of Crazy in that head of mine).

I push the buttons on the thermostat - nothing happens, of course. I go to the basement to lay eyes on the boiler. "Why?", I ask, "isn't there a fire under you?" Silly me, thinking a boiler would answer me. I discover after getting on my hands and knees there is not a little flame known as the pilot light.

Time to make 'the call.' DH does not answer his desk phone. Now I must carefully consider if this warrants a call to his cell phone. Doing so may interrupt a meeting. I'm cold, the house is cold, the temperature outside is not to rise much above zero. The conclusion - yes, make the call to the cell phone.

Luckily, he answesr on his way back to his desk. I explain the situation, I might add, very calmly feeling relieved that someone who knows what to do will now provide all the answers. First he has me verify we have gas by checking the stove top. Again, I wonder why I didn't think of that little gem. A sane person would first ask "do we have gas?" But then I never claimed to have much sanity. Ah ha! The burners light, we have gas. Okay, next step, seeing if the pilot can be re-lit. Unfortunately, since DH has not developed the technology to do this from afar or through the phone, the task falls to me. He walks me through the process. I say a little prayer as I put fire under the boiler as I am very frightened I will blow up myself and the house, which includes our 2 DDs. DH hears my prayer and responds with these encouraging words "oh, it's fine, just do it." The pilot relights! All is well. The house will rewarm and we will not need to imitate Eskimos. I saved the day.

Until I realize the house isn't exactly getting warmer. The thermostats are still reporting the same thing 64 or 63, calling for heat. SIGH. Again, a sane person would probably automatically think - I should verify there is propane in the tank. No, not me. I push buttons, I check radiators, I look at the pilot light still burning. I plop down on the couch and ponder my dilemma. I pick up the phone and try DH who of course is no longer available. Eureka! The brain kicks in...check for propane. Not wanting to go outside where it is cold, I check the burners on the stove. They are woefully weak. Shoot! I dress in my many layers, don my boots, put on my gloves and tromp out into the cold sunshine to the propane tank. I fight my way through the snow, clear off the cover, open it up to find the gauge. It reads ZERO, nada, nothing. It is then that the thought occurred: "ya know, I haven't had a visit from the gas man in a while." All the brain cylinders are firing now.

Well, this is something I know how to do, make a phone call. As I am looking for the number to the gas company, I am feeling sightly annoyed. This is an issue we should not have to deal with, an empty tank. We are on auto fill, which in theory means, the gas company tracks our usage, weather conditions, etc. and automatically fills our tank when needed provided our account is current. I know our account is current, I've kept my end of this deal, so I wonder, why is my tank empty? Oh I know, it has been very cold lately. I'm sure the gas company is very busy dealing with lots of customers and issues. But I feel let down and kinda cold, ya know what I mean?

I make the call, they realize their blunder and promise to send someone right away. As I write this tale, I am awaiting for that "right away" response. It's been about an hour. Thankfully the temp in the house is holding at about 64. It's not too unbearable. DD#2 made lunch using the electric oven. Things could be worse.

Post Script: Indeed shortly after writing my tale, the gas delivery man came and filled the tank and re-lit the all the pilot lights. Again the house grows warm.