Winter Flat Complaints

Our latest flat-related problem was a real mommy paranoia inducer. The wind whips around our building like nobody’s business, and the skylight (one of those idiotic pretty ones that jut up out of the roof like a mini-greenhouse) makes lots of dodgy creaky noises. One night however, there was a particularly odd and loud noise and James discovered, as shown below, that one of the panes of glass had almost completely broken out of its frame. That in itself made me feel ill. I come from a land where more than a few unfortunate souls have been brained by falling icicles, so I couldn’t imagine glass falling 20 feet being much better. Just because that pane fell harmlessly outwards was no guarantee that the next would follow suit. I started to mentally calculate how long I could reasonably keep the kids trapped upstairs while I tried to find tiny hardhats. James was a bit more pragmatic and actually managed to get someone to come look at it right away. His scary put-out voice is good for that. The first people to show were rubbish. First, they were too brain-dead to follow our instructions for ringing the door. Second, they took a look about for a couple minutes and decided that they’d have to wait until Monday to do anything. Because they didn’t have a ladder. These asshats are professional roofers. Is a ladder not standard equipment these days? FFS.. Anyway, the letting agency sent someone competent soon thereafter, a proper glazier, and he sorted it right out. He’s also the type of bloke I’d trust when he says that the skylight is safe to walk under, which he did, so we’ve been doing so.

The cats were very much confused by the substantially changed weather patterns..

My lingering flat-related complaint has to do with the gas safety guy, of all people. He insisted that we uncover the vent in the kitchen. We whined a bit on that point. We have a fairly unobstructed view of the sea from up here. As picturesque as the oil tankers and tesco parking lot are, it does mean that the wind smacks right up against our kitchen wall. And the vent that some stupidhead decided should go there. Seems to me that the idea of a gas vent is to allow the dangerous vapors to, you know, vent out rather than be blown right back inside by the wind. So, as though our inadequately insulated flat weren’t cold enough, now we have a constant freezing breeze. The weather has been grim lately and I obsessively check uk.weather.com for signs of a let-up. Considering that we’ve had freak snow flurries, it doesn’t look good. Pah.

Well, on to what does look good..my children!

I see MathUSee manipulatives. Joseph sees Legos. What do they both have in common? They’re bleedin’ expensive!

Hard to tell, but I had just cut Joseph’s hair. I’m getting pretty adept at it, I think. He continually gives himself a little poindexter centre part, and it drives me crazy! I should give him an Alfalfa cowlick to complete the look if he persists.

Ain’t she cute? And doesn’t she look much too much like a teenager? I can only hope she looks this un-surly in 5 years..

Tags: pictures, rants