Got to get up early again, as the gas man is due here between 8:00 and 1:00 to fix the boiler. I spent the morning catching up on these blogs, figuring out how to run the washing machine, cleaning house. The weather was sunny, so it was a drag to be inside all day. I looked at my guide books to see what I might want to spend the rest of the day doing, and I waited. And waited. About noon the doorbell rang, and it was someone from the gas company, but just a messenger delivering the parts. Not the repairman himself. Okay, wait some more.
He finally came around 2:00pm. And it wasn't Michael, but another man. Very, very nice. It took him 2 solid hours, but he did, indeed fix the water. Or mostly fix it. It still seems to suddenly run cold again, but then if you increase the pressure on the hot tap, it's back to being very hot. The heat seems to be working fine now. Yay! Warmth and the ability to bathe. Back to civilization!
Not sure if I mentioned that the taps in the bathtub are separate for hot and cold, but I went out and bought a hose to direct them into one stream, with a showerhead on the end. That way, I thought, I could wash my hair. Well, the $30 hose doesn't exactly fit the taps, so extremely hot water sprays out, or tries to run down the tub onto the carpet. I'll spare you the rest of my bathing details, but suffice it to say that it's not a fun prospect. I don't think I'll be able to wash my hair in the tub after all.
After the gas man left, I felt somewhat deflated, tired, and generally not in a good mood. But I was determined to get outside for a bit. Of course by 4:00pm the weather had turned cloudy and drizzly, and frankly, I didn't feel up to a big adventure. But I am quite fortunate, for I live right in back of the Tate Britain museum. I walk out the door, turn a corner, and cross the street. That's it. I'm there. So I went walking around in there a bit. It's free, too. And because I live so close, I can go anytime I want. So I don't have to rush through and see only one or two rooms. I can do them all, at my leisure. What a pleasure! I went into the rooms showing paintings from 1500-1800. Most of them were portraits, and some were as big as a whole wall of my apartment. The frames must weigh hundreds of pounds. The museum even has plaques with stories about the frames.
I only lasted about 90 minutes in the museum. My feet were hurting and while my mood had lifted somewhat, I still felt a little worn down from all the worrying and hassling. I guess traveling and dealing with problems here and back home was beginning to take its toll. I told myself I'd just go home and watch a movie or something, but I ended up doing emails and more blogging. And I got to Skype with Bruce & Teresa, definitely the highlight of my day! I meant to get to bed early, but it turned into 2:00am somehow...
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