This Old House

Okay, so you thought the power saga at our house had run its course?? Mais non. I returned to the front of the house to finish washing it down, and blow me down, I couldn't turn the hose off. I mean, I got an electric fence-type shock from the tap every time I touched it. With water everywhere. I freaked out and asked a chap from across the road to turn it off and he could do it fine.

I pondered the unknowableness of electricity for a while, then forgot about it.

After exposing a few more beloved members of the community to the house of horrors scenario, I got the electrician back and it's all sorted now. To their credit, they explained it all to me and it all vanished from my brain as I turned to go back to doing the dishes. Thanks, Parsons Electrical!

This is the sort of thing I find hardest. I don't understand anything about electricity. I don't know what constitutes a real emergency, especially if the issue is intermittent and can be trivialised by a tradesperson when I call up. Years ago, there was seeping gas here and it took me three years to get the gas company to take it seriously and sort it.

Of course, now there's a noticeable aroma of gas at the back door, and there's a drip coming out of the hot water tank. I'm still a little standoffish about finishing off washing the front of the house. House maintenance is a drag.