I stayed at mom's house for five days. I got someone here to look at the heat pump. Apparently the heat pump was not kicking on because the batteries in the thermostat had corroded. I didn't even know it used batteries; also got a new capacitor.

I have six smoke alarms lying in rooms on dressers and what not. When I find or buy some nails I will hang them on the wall. No sense in putting them on the ceiling since I would have trouble changing their batteries after son leaves home.

I don't know if it is paranoia or real but about twenty minutes ago I thought I smelled something burning. It seemed strongest in the kitchen but it was only a faint smell. The microwave and refrigerator are the only electrical things on besides a light which I turned off.

The heat pump isn't blowing heat so I went ahead and just turned it off. I keep walking/sniffing through the house with a flashlight in one hand and a phone in the other.

I talked to an electrician several days ago but he hasn't been here yet. Part of that is my fault for sleeping in the daytime and missing his phone calls.