Oh Dear-got people worried

Amber came over yesterday (to try to get the pink lip gloss off my white wing chair--"nuff said?)and expressed concern about our moving, and now Beth asking for details.  David has found that the garden is getting to be too much for him, and we have replaced a flower bed and the vegetable garden with grass.  I'm not moving around as well as I was.  So we both recognize that we won't be in this house forever, and one of us, alone, wouldn't be able to manage.  So we are giving extra priority to attempting to maintain the value of the house, as it is really our "nest egg" for the future.  This is what was behind replacing all of the flooring,a few years ago, and the painting that was done this summer. Leveling the garage floor is a future project, and we now know we need to do some work on the heating system.  We may not sell for 10-15 years, but time passes quickly.  It's hard to believe we've been here for 12 1/2 years now.  Remember that day, Cathy, and the police coming in response to the alarm?

Re: the heating system.  Our carbon monoxide detector went off Monday.  Gave the trouble bleep a couple of times and then went silent.  We've both been battleing headaches and the desire to sleep constantly, so, putting it all together, I got on the phone.  The fire department was quite willing to send a bunch of firefighters over with sirens blaring, but I was more interested in getting information.  We had the window open and were feeling better. The fire service dispatcher ( non-emergency) suggested that I call HealthLinks.  Now, HealthLinks make me crazy.  I can understand their reluctance to give out any information unless they ae able to see the whole picture, but I wanted information on the symptoms of CO poisoning.  That's all I was asking for.  However, she needed to do a full nursing assessment, so was asking for my personal identification info, my medical history and a listing of all of my medications.  I thanked her without identifying myself,  and hung up. ( I know they have call display)  Then I called the gas company.  They said to keep the windows open, go out and walk around the yard if we felt the need, and they would have some one out within two hours, probably much sooner--which was the response I was looking for.  Now we know that we have a negative pressure problem--not CO.  This means that when the furnace is going, it draws much of the available air in the house, so if the waterheater turns on, the lower inside pressure will cause it to vent inside the house, rather than up the chimney-- increasing the CO2, not CO.  He suggested that we have a vent installed in the laundry room, that will allow outside air into the area, when the internal pressure is lower than the  ouside pressure.  Makes sense to me!  Otherwise the heating system is in good shape ( he replaced a small piece of cracked metal tubing while he was here)

Now, I have to look forward to my painting class this afternoon, and then some shopping.  I have two grandchildren with birthdays this month.