So, an Update

A belated update on the Great Stove Saga...

The final result had me and Imp...-2 40something females- out in the dark and cold, slipping on old ice/snow running copper tubing along our house as we did the stove installation ourselves, at least as far as the tank. Many thanks to the nice people at Lowes that told Imp... what she had to buy and what to do. We got to the cut-off valve in the kitchen and found we had the wrong size, so we did not complete the job until Thursday, and the propane guy was by maybe an hour after we called to do the final hook-up to the tank and test the system. We then finished hooking the stove to the line and changing the burners over from gas to propane.
Now it is time for the test...nada. The electode is going "sput..sput..sput..", but no flame. Imp... says, "did you turn on the valve behind the drawer in the stove?" Noooo, I thought she had. AHA! We turn on the valve. Nada. We are having an "Oh Shit" moment when my glance falls upon the cut off at the wall. "It might help if we turn the gas on from the tank, too", says I. Boy we felt like idiots. But now we had flame at the burners.

I immediately cooked up some smoked sausage and potatoes for lunch, leaving Imp to convert the oven over since I had to get to work. When I left, she was having no luck getting it to light. Well, later she calls me. She has achieved flame at the broiler, but it needs a bit of adjustment, since the flames should be 1". So I ask what size flames she has. Oh, about 8". Eeep! Turned out the instructions to set air flow were backwards, and this was the problem. But Imp... baked cookies to test things, and they were perfect.

So I had a stove for Christmas after all, and my dinner came out to perfection, with all and sundry drooling at my turkey, which was tender, moist, and succulent if I do say so myself. Even the 6 year old was like, "oh wow" when I got it out of the oven. When folks have asked me how my Christmas was, I tell them I got a new toy and played with it about 12 hours on Christmas.

Life Should Stop Being so Dang Complicated

And so it goes... Why can't life just be sane? Here we are, two weeks 'till Christmas, and I am getting a wonderful present...A gas range. All is arranged(we think). It will come Tuesday, the propane folks will come install the tank and lines/cut-offs by Friday, and all will be well with the world, except we will be much poorer. HA we say.

The delivery was supposed to be changed from Thurs to Tues, and we had arranged someone to wait on it for us (since we'd be working). They forgot to reschedule. It sleeted, snowed and rained Thursday...this after I got my shift changed from AM to close so I could be home for them. I run Imp... into work, go to drop Implet at daycare 1st-the county schools were closed, so no one to take him to school, which at this point has not announced closing, so wasted trip. Okay, I drop Imp... and head to Mu's daycare...no cars, just some guy shovelling. At this point the radio tells me Implet's school is closed. Back cross town to daycare. I call Mu's daycare-closed. Okay, I head in. I'm told Implet's daycare will decide around 10 if they are closing at 12:30. I arrange with his teacher to drop him at the store (yeah, during Subway's lunch rush) if they close in case I'm home waiting for a stove. Go back to the store, get food for the Mu. Talk with my boss, wait for Imp... so I can take her to the bank-her boss is on paternity leave, no one else to do deposits. Call Home Depot when they open. Oh well, no stove today. By the time we return from the bank, Mu is sound asleep and I'm sleepy. It is also 11:00. I go nap in daycare's parking lot until they close at 12:30. Go eat lunch with my boys at KFC. Get to the store at about 2:30. Imp... gets off at 3ish, I tell tell the boys to rest a while, I was going to nap...I had to be at work at 4:30. I'm almost asleep when... Crisis with my store, the credit cards are down and the cashier has no clue. I go in and manage to reset the register, though the back-up still is down. He asks me to clock in early so he can leave early and get all the side jobs done. Not until after I figure out transportation with hubby, Imp..., and the others [side note: hubby, Faithful, her other man, and her son all moved to an apt about halfway between work and my house. She totalled her car, so the three have been commuting in mine, with the occassional carpool since 3 of us all work at my store. Hubby and other man were in town, she was scheduled in at 7. We both needed a car to get home, but everyone won't fit in the van, as well as I did not want Faithful driving my car in the ice. Uh-Huh. 1st choice me, second, Imp..., poor 3rd hubby, Faithful can't drive worth shit in good weather).]

We work things out, I talk with my boss, clock in a little early. Life goes on... stove will be delivered today, when both Imp... and I were off. Yay. Mu had a PM eye appointment, Implet no school. No problemo. Well, the stove comes, we go to do the conversion to propane and discover we cannot find half the tools we need-despite owning at least 2 of each. We also call the propane folks and initially get told öh, it will be a couple weeks, we're behind. AKKKKK!!!!'' Imp.. does some talking with them, then she goes off with Mu and Implet and I go nap. She calls while I sleep...propane guys are coming. Yay. Propane guy arrives. No one told HIM to install the stove. He thought Home Depot was doing that. No, they don't install propane, they told us you guys had to do it, this was what Imp... discussed in your office. So we have stove, we now have tools, we have a propane tank. We have no lines from the tank to the stove. And no idea what day next week they can come. All I know is microwaving Xmas dinner is NOT an option.

Oh yeah...boss called me tonight, needs me to work PM not AM tomorrow, the indication is that someone got fired. So talk about losing flexibility next week when they come hook up the stove as far as getting off work.

So why can't life be simple for once?