Practice Patience...or Do It Yourself
Sometimes the slow lane is just too slow.
Elk grazing in a hayfield.
When I think of country living, I still think of the dream: open space, no traffic noise, and quiet walks along tree-lined lanes. It’s a slower pace of life that gives my husband and me time to think, recharge, and basically do the things we want.
But, that slower pace of living also applies to things we wish were faster, like repairs to appliances, equipment, and our home itself.
For example, a few years ago, our relatively new induction range quit working. We had purchased an extended warranty, so repairs were covered, but actually getting it repaired took three months.
Can you cook every meal for three months without a range? Every meal. Think about it.
First there were scheduling issues – the company servicing the warranty only sent its repair truck to our area one day per week, and those appointments were already filled weeks in advance. Finally, on the day of our appointment, we were told the truck broke down. Color me incredulous.
Then we were placed at the back of the queue to reschedule another appointment several more weeks out. Then the company no longer had the right part, so we had to reschedule again. The excuses went on and on. We began to think the company simply didn’t want to spend the time driving this far outside the city.
But, if we had the range repaired locally, the repair wouldn’t be covered under the warranty. It was an expensive repair, so we waited.
We continued cooking with the grill, air fryer and hot pot.
About that time, I was writing a series of commercial kitchen repair articles for a major parts supplier, so I had learned to research kitchen appliance problems. I became convinced the issue was a faulty circuit board and that we could fix it ourselves. (You can tell I was getting desperate.)
So, we read the tech manuals for our range and the repair blogs from service technicians. We narrowed the problem to one of two circuit boards and asked our local repair guy to share some advice, which he did. Finally, my husband – with some trepidation – ordered the part and replaced it himself. We reasoned that replacing the circuit board was less expensive than replacing the entire range. It’s worked beautifully ever since.
It is entirely possible that example is an anomaly. It’s certainly the worst repair story I have. I will say, though, that things take more time when you live on the edge of nowhere.
Here’s another, more normal example. A bird flew into one of our windows recently, leaving a hole and large cracks in the outer pane of glass. That repair took about three weeks.
What Can You Do Yourself?
What can you do yourself? More, perhaps, than you think.
After years without my favorite piano tuners, I’ve learned to tune my piano (a Schimmel grand) myself. My tunings are, admittedly, basic, but they’re enough to keep my piano in tune and can be done as the need arises rather than waiting for the rotation for a tuner to visit this part of the county. The results are comparable to the professional tuner’s (although not as perfect as those of my favorite guys’ in Canada and Southern California.) But, for maintenance beyond routine tuning, I’ll still call a professional.
My husband handles routine plumbing issues – changing a faucet or fixing a leak – but leaves the more intricate work to our local plumber who, by the way, is a master of his craft.
Yard work? We tackle that ourselves. Small engine repair? That’s touch and go, depending on the issue. It’s good to have someone locally.
Local options aren’t always available, so…along with watching the fog rise along the river and wildlife grazing peacefully in verdant fields, sometimes, you need to be willing to try to fix things yourself. If you make a mistake (I should mention I’ve snapped one piano wire) it can be fixed.
Do you see a trend here? Scheduling repairs and routine maintenance here, where the asphalt ends, generally means waiting extra time for somebody to accumulate enough clients in your area to justify a long drive out here. If they’re driving to a client, they aren’t making money.
So, repairs are a nuisance, but they’re overshadowed by the peace and joy that country living brings. All in all, we think country living is worth the occasional inconvenience.
Thanks for reading Where the Asphalt Ends! I hope you find these insights helpful as you decide whether country living is right for you.
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