WHAT A DAY

Its been a rather frustrating day to say the least.

First of all when I woke up this morning the central heating wasn't on.  And it should have been.  Went to check the boiler.  There was an error code.  So I " Googled " it.  I sort of remembered seeing that code  last year - and I was right.  Its the code to tell you that possibly your condenser pipe is frozen.  Mine is just outside the back door and it was no surprise that it had frozen on the coldest night of the year.  The advice is to thaw it out by pouring a kettle of boiling water over it - so I put the kettle on to boil.  However I didn't need it as the boiler burst into action on its own.  I guess the temp outside must have warmed up.  So no need to call a gas engineer.

After breakfast I started wrapping Christmas gifts which needed posting abroad.  I wanted to get to the post office this afternoon and send them on their way.  So I wrapped and filled a large box with gifts.  Added lots of bubble wrap.  Taped up the parcel with lots and lots of tape.  Then I weighed it.  Then I went on to the Royal Mail website to get an idea of the cost.  Turns out I would have to pay over £60. Bit of a shock.  I was prepared to pay a lot -- but not that much.  I did a bit of research and found out that if the parcel was smaller and weighed less then it would cost a LOT less to post.  Two small boxes would cost less than one large one.  So I'm mulling over my choices.  Send two small boxes and pay for them to be delivered quickly.  Or send one small box to be delivered quickly - and another small box at the slower rate to be delivered in January. Whatever I decide I will need to unpack the large box ( I'm now wishing I hadn't taped it up so well )  - and find two smaller boxes which fit the Royal Mail measurements. 

So I didn't go to the Post Office but I did go out to the Co-op as I had to pick up a parcel there.  I had a look round the shop too and made some food purchases.

The paths were still full of snow but weren't icy and walking was OK.

As I was unpacking the shopping the doorbell rang ---- Yodel. The driver dumped a large parcel in the hall and I could see it had tape all over it saying " Repackaged by Yodel ".  Not a good sign.  After he had gone I could see that the box was soaking wet round the bottom and there were large holes in it. I wondered what was inside - and what condition it would be in.  Well it was my " Living Christmas Tree " which I had ordered via Amazon.  At first glance everything seemed fine - but as soon as I moved the tree to get it out of the box I could see that the pot was broken. The instruction leaflet is covered in mud and is unreadable. Luckily the actual tree seems fine. 

I contacted Amazon this evening via their " Live Chat " facility and explained the problem. I was told I could return the tree for replacement or refund.  However as I have no car it would be difficult for me to return it - and its only the pot that's broken anyway.  So we agreed on a £5 refund to cover the cost of a new pot.  And I have written directly to the seller to tell them whats happened - and ask them if I can have another copy of the instructions.

I have put together a collage - no prizes for guessing what of.

Its all so time consuming and such a hassle. After all that I was glad to have a quiet hour or so watching TV.  I hope tomorrow is an easier day.

Steps today - 8,142