I'm powerless

The power went out about 9 a.m. this morning. Didn't think a whole lot about it, since we often have power outages at the house in Sta. Rosa. Early afternoon Ivan noticed a branch on the line and we assumed that was the problem. Since we couldn't find a number for the electric company, he ran into town. The office was closed but he saw some men working in the barn out back so he talked to them.

Long story short: a couple of the men drove out a while later in the company truck, getting us all excited about having the problem fixed. BUT they couldn't since it just so happens that they had turned us off that morning because of an unpaid bill :-(  NO, they could not turn us back on and NO we could not pay bill today because the office is only open in the morning.

We don't handle the electric bill for the house in Sta. Rosa. A friend of the family has been taking care of the house for years and he is extremely conscientious about paying bills, taxes, etc. So we guessed (correctly) that he had not received the bill. A not uncommon occurrence here. When Ivan called him he looked through and discovered that while he'd paid the bill for April, there was no record of ever receiving one for March. And before you ask, NO they do not carry the balance forward LIKE ANY RIGHT MINDED COMPANY WOULD DO. That would be much too efficient and organized. And NO they do not call or try to contact you in any manner before turning you off. And YES there is a re-connect fee. Sense a little scam business tactic to extract more money from unsuspecting customers?

NO we are not surprised. This happens all the time. On Monday we received a bill in the mail for the house in Carlos Paz that was already 9 days overdue. Of course there was an overdue fee.

We're just thankful that we had power yesterday when we arrived. It wouldn't have been very fun to arrive and find a dark, cold house. AND we're thankful we chose to come out and get some work done before our friends use it this weekend. If we'd waited, they would have arrived to find a dark, cold house and there would have been nothing we could do until next Monday. At least now we can get things handled so they can enjoy their (well-lit) visit.

But speaking of happier things...
Today Ivan chopped and stacked one trailer load of wood, ensuring heat for at least a portion of the winter. We figure it will take another load or two to see us (and guests who use the house) through the whole season.
And I cleaned out all the kitchen cupboards, removing everything so I could scrub the shelves before putting freshly washed dishes back in.

One of the cupboards I left empty since Ivan's going to remove it and we'll take it home with us so he can cut it down in size. We're doing a little reconfiguring in the kitchen so we can tuck the fridge into the end of the cabinet area rather than sitting off to the side like it does now.

The great clean-a-thon and preparing-for-winter event continues tomorrow and then we'll head home Friday morning. I look forward to catching up on blogs when we get back to Carlos Paz. Meanwhile I'm thankful for this lovely tea house in Belgrano with delicious tea, fast internet, and beautiful views of the sierras.