That Hindsight Thing!

I have to admit that while I enjoy spending time with Carl, there are times that when he's working on the weekends, and I don't mind his being gone all day.  This wasn't the case on Saturday.  I was looking forward to the day.  But when I went to run errands in the early afternoon, I let the dogs out one last time and noticed that our heat-pump had frost all over its outside.  A closer look and I could see that there was a significant amount of ice built up on the inside. I had noticed earlier in the week that ice had formed along the bottom, but never thought much about it.  I 'googled' the problem on the internet and read that it could just be lack of air circulation and the ice should be removed. I don't know how many buckets of hot water I poured on the ice to thaw everything.  I even laid on the ground in an effort to break all the ice up underneath--After 2 hours of back-breaking work that I know Carl could have done in half the time, I had cleared most of the ice and was feeling pretty good about what I'd been able to do.  I turned the system back on and waited.  A little while later I went out and looked at it, and could see frost was forming again...I called my brother who told me to turn the thermostat to 'emergency heat' and call someone.  I didn't know whether to be upset about the 2 hours I spent laying on the cold-wet-ground or because we're going to be charged $100 JUST to get someone to come to the house to look at it.  Feeling defeated, worn out and cold I did the only thing I could do--I made a chocolate cake (from scratch) and took a nap.

Carl was thankfully off of work on Monday and someone came to look at it.  A circuit board or something is out and needs to be ordered and will be put in later in the week.  I'll let him handle it.  All I know is it's a fix that will cost about $500.  It would have cost us only a deductible if we'd renewed our home warranty at the end of last year.  What's that saying about hindsight? 

In hindsight I should have also not waited to make a grooming appointment for Charlie. His coat is long and thick, and starting to mat a bit.  But I kind of like the shaggy-dog look--He's well suited for the cold weather, don't you think?