Thursday, June 06, 2013

Cautionary Tale



Last Wednesday, I woke up with a slight headache. Nothing that could alarm me: it was that moment in the month where I usually have a three day headache (you know that time of the month, right?). Plus we had begun priming the kitchen ceiling the day before, so I thought the smell could also explain the headache.

Mercredi dernier, je me suis réveillée avec un léger mal de tête. Rien d'alarmant, c'était cette période du mois où j'ai toujours mal à la tête (vous voyez ce que je veux dire?) et la veille on avait sous-couché le plafond de la cuisine, donc l'odeur n'aidait peut-être pas.


I was running late to go to school as usual since the renovation began. I wrote a quick note for the painter because I thought a part of the ceiling wasn't properly sanded. I wrote the note while having breakfast in my room, since the kitchen wasn't really "breakfast-friendly"!

J'étais en retard, comme tous les matins en ce moment. J'ai rapidement écrit un petit mot au peintre tout en déjeunant dans ma chambre car la cuisine n'est pas vraiment fonctionnelle en ce moment!


I checked the time and decided  to give up on any make-up that day as I was really late. I was finally ready, grabbed my car keys and off I... NO! I had forgotten the note for the painter! I went back upstairs, cursing in French, and went in the kitchen for the first time to leave my note there. 

J'ai encore vérifié l'heure, pas le temps de se maquiller, juste le temps d'attraper les clefs de la voiture et de filer.... ZUT!  J'avais oublié le mot pour le peintre dans ma chambre. Je remonte en courant et en jurant et je passe en vitesse le déposer dans la cuisine. Tiens, il y a un petit chuintement côté chaudière. Bizarre, mais pas le temps de s'attarder.


I could hear a slight noise coming from the boiler. "I don't have time for that", was my first thought. Then I thought I'd better stop the boiler just in case... I could still here the noise, like a bottle of coke that wouldn't be properly closed.

Finalement, je reviens sur mes pas et j'arrête la chaudière, ça ne fera pas de mal. Toujours le même chuintement... J'abandonne, j''ouvre le portail, je monte dans la voiture, je referme le portail, et là, je ne sais pas pourquoi, je jette un oeil sur le compteur de gaz situé à côté du portail. Il tourne gentiment... Donc du gaz se libère dans ma maison, c'est ça le chuintement! Je fais ce que je crois qu'il faut faire pour arrêter le gaz.

I really didn't have the time to check anything anymore or I would be late for school. I opened the gate, got in the car and just when I closed the gate again, I checked the gas meter that happens to be next to the gate. It was turning, meaning gas was being "used" when I had stopped the boiler!?!

There was a leak. I did what I thought was necessary to stop the gas from arriving in the house, opened the kitchen windows, tried to call the school but no-one was answering, drove to school perfectly calm (or not), found the principal, explained the matter to her and drove back home.

Je fonce à l'école en respectant bien les limites de vitesse, bien sûr. J'explique la situation et je reviens à la maison attendre mon chauffagiste habituel plutôt que le **** qui m'a reposé la chaudière. Bref, la fuite est réparée.

Later the heating engineer that usually takes care of my boiler came and fixed the leak.


J'ai cette impression que quelqu'un me protégeait ce jour-là. Si je m'étais levée plus tard, je ne suis pas sûre que je me serais en fait réveillée. Si je n'avais pas eu un mot à laisser à mon peintre, je serais partie au travail et mes chats seraient probablement morts dans la matinée... J'ai un sentiment qu'on a tous les trois eu une deuxième chance!


I really believe there was someone watching over me that day. Had I woke up later, I might never have actually woken up. Had I not come ine the kitchen to leave a note for the painter, my two cats would probably have died while I was at work. I feel like all three of us have been given a second chance. I couldn't help but cuddle them all day (I mean even more than usual!!!).

La morale de cette histoire, c'est que si vous possédez une chaudière à gaz et/ou une gazinière, il faut que vous vous achetiez un détecteur de gaz, ça peut vous sauver la vie! Le mien trône maintenant sur l'étagère près de la chaudière en attendant de trouver une place plus discrète quand le projet cuisine avancera...


So I'm coming to the "cautionary tale" part of this post. If you have a gas boiler or a gas stove, please buy a gas leak alarm, it could save your life. You can see mine is on the shelf next to the boiler until I find the perfect (safe + pretty) place for it.

A little editing: I already had a carbon monoxide detector, which didn't work as this was a gas leak. The new detector is for gas. You should have both in  your house, as well as a smoke alarm, of course!

See you soon for news from my ceiling!

A plus tard,

I'm spreading the word about gas detectors at:
Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home             No Minimalist Here       French Country Cottage                            

29 comments:

  1. Wow, Magali! You are a lucky woman! Glad you are ok! Definitely, you have an angel next. Thanks for the advice.

    Marina

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  2. My goodness! God certainly had you in His hands. Carbon monoxide poisoning seems to happen too often here in UK. So glad you are all right now....and the cats too!

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  3. Oui, c'est vrai ton ange gardien a bien fait son travail... et je tremble encore quand je pense à ce qui aurait pu se passer. Ce plombier de malheur ira en enfer, c'est sûr !

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  4. For sure, God lined up all those things to alert you to this. How many of us can think of times in our lives when we know He protected us or others (my children) from certain disaster? I can think of three right now. They still make me shake a bit when I remember them!

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  5. OMG! So glad that everything turned out okay! It just shows that everyone should have a carbon monoxide detector!
    Cx

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  6. I am reminded of Amy Grant's song many years back "Angels Watching Over Me".......glad all is well.

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  7. Thank you, God! So happy that you and the kitties are unharmed. Thank you, for your sweet comment.

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  8. So glad that you and your kitties are okay. That is so scary - God is watching over you. Hope your headache is gone and that you have a terrific weekend.
    Mary

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  9. Wow--I'm glad that you and the kitties are safe, Magali. Hope you are feeling better now, too.

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  10. Whoah! Happy to know you and the kitties are safe! (And I get those 3 day 'time of the month' headaches too....blah)

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  11. How terrifying Magali - omg - really terrifying.............
    So happy you're all ok
    Much love,
    Moi

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  12. I am so glad you are OK! (Your cats, too.) What a scary story! We have gas appliances here in the States, but we have 2 carbon monoxide detectors - one upstairs and one downstairs.

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  13. hé ben dis donc ! quelle histoire... qui se termine bien heureusement !
    bisou à tes minets!
    bonne soirée,
    Marry Poppins

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  14. So glad everyone is okay. Angels to you all.

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  15. so glad your all ok thanks so much for linking up to FURRY FRIENDS FRIDAY these pics of your cats are amazing and again so glad your all ok God is GREAT

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  16. Wow that is so scary! So glad you realized what was going on...I'm not sure I would have.

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  17. At times like this it's difficult not to trust that someone is watching our back.
    Hope your journey of life continues to be a safe one.

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  18. Wow, that was so lucky! We have a couple of combo-units in our home -- so glad we do!

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  19. oh my gosh, i'm so glad you and your kitties are ok! what a great alarm to have now!

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  20. Angels watch over us every day, and most of the time we aren't even aware. Your sweet kitties and you are so lucky! Just a little nudge sometimes is a life-changer!

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  21. How scary! I'm so glad you and your kitties are ok. Wow!

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  22. Oh my!!! Love your precious furr babies and I am so glad you are all OK!!!
    Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY, such a pleasure having YOU!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  23. OH my goodness!!! I'm so glad that you and your kitties are okay. Scary!! Thank you for spreading the word about detectors, too. Whew! ~Angela~

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  24. Wow, Magali - so very glad you're o.k.! We do have to be cautious with gas! I would have attributed headaches to that time of the month - I get them too - yes, I do believe you were watched after - totally! I appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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