I love him dearly, but...

Our A/C was broken on July 3rd. It was a wonderful "screw you" for the holiday weekend. Several wallets worth later, it seemed to be fixed. Then Sunday I say "hey, we should really replace the filter. I'll be a generous person and go to Home Depot and get that stuff, as well as spray paint for our upcoming Redneck BBQ." You can't hold me to my womanly duties at all times. I'm a strong woman who can go into uncharted Depot territories, scouting the dirty and grimy plastic baggies of assorted nails and screws and compound joints. Or something like that.

I'll be honest. I don't even know where the filter exists in the furnace. There's a lot of things about owning a house that you learn once you get to that problem. At least that's the way I passively pursue it. So, we figure out where the dang filter is and I go buy the right sized one. I finally return home and it's hotter than Hades in our house. I cringe at the thought of a hot sleepless night and a gigantic service bill. Could our A/C be broken again? So Daniel goes down and looks at the furnace. Whew--he just didn't put the cover back on and the furnace doesn't work without the cover being on. 1 point docked for him, but I'm happy he realizes the fault quickly.

Fast forward to yesterday. It was a hot drive home in traffic, and I had to stop at 2 grocery stores on the way. Luckily they are within .5 mile from each other, but still annoying nonetheless to get in and out of the car--reverse, drive, park--rinse and repeat. I'm in a triflin' mood as I walk through the front door...and it's hot. It's not that burst of cold air I was longing for the last hour. It's a lukewarm puff of breath. No no no. Not on this already angry evening. Not when it's 94 outside and the middle of July. Daniel hadn't noticed it. The thermostat read 80. The fan's running this time (initial problem), but the air isn't cold. But when we look out back the whole line is frozen solid! Why why why is the outside cold and the inside hot. Whew--he figured it out again and luckily the problem seems to be solved. Quite simply it's because the filter was installed backwards. Point of the story--they should really print full directions on the side of the furnace because you know we didn't get a manual before we moved into the house. Second point--remember the way something looks before you take it apart. It'll be easier to put it back together.