On Wednesday, I was able to set up an appointment with Jerry to come out on Thursday morning and work on the heater. My stay at the Microtel was productive (practicing my sax, riding the bike in the exercise room, yoga at night, eating healthy things I kept in the refrigerator) but I was very glad to be visiting the hollow. The big rut had melted a little and after I shoveled some chunks of ice and snow in, it was easy to traverse. The farm road was a little slippery at a couple of points, and my road was icy near the top, but I got Jerry in. The heat was still working (and there was almost no smell) and the tank was still about half full so I wasn’t using much gas. Jerry changed the regulator and I got the refrigerator working in a few minutes while he relit the heater. It wasn’t even ten so I decided to check out of the Microtel and come home that night.
It was about eight thirty when I got to the Sisson gate and there was no problem until the hill going down from the hay barn. The top half was solid ice and I crept down in first gear, very anxious that the truck would take off down the hill. It didn’t but I knew my road was going to be tricky. I slipped a little on the first half so I got some speed up before I tried for the top. Even with the speed, the truck started slipping and I just managed to reach the top. I was really scared and I wondered how I would get down tomorrow. I had wanted to use the tractor but I wasn’t sure how safe that would be. I called Mike and he thought I would be fine after it warmed up (it was predicted to be over forty) but cautioned me to be very careful.
When I got in the house, there was a new problem. The heat was on and the temperature was seventy eight. The thermostat wasn’t working so I turned the whole unit off and turned on the Olympics. By eleven it had cooled down so I started it back up—having to fiddle with the pilot for ten minutes—and left it on until I went to bed. I wondered if I could use the other thermostat I had, but I was tired and decided to wait to talk to Raymond in the morning.
A little after eight I called Raymond and he phoned me back. He didn’t think the thermostat was broken and after talking to Jerry told me that Jerry had probably left the switch on in the back of the heater. What relief that proved, and everything was working fine. Now I had to wait for the sun to warm things up and take the tractor out.