Month: September 2007

Tonight we have a fully operational plumbing system again. We have had much to be thankful for in the past 24 hours. Some of those things are:

• Abigail….who spent a full hour last night with me dealing with the kitchen full of soiled dishes that could not be washed in the sink or dishwasher. We transported the dirty load in a clean laundry basket back to the master bath where we sanitized the tub, and then filled it with LOTS of soapy water and all the dishes. As I washed dishes in the large tub, Abigail carefully rinsed each piece under the faucet in the sink. We dried each item, and put it all away before bed. Abigail made this job so much more pleasant, and was a patient and diligent worker. As well as excellent company!

• Jay….who this morning treated us to breakfast out at a restaurant – such a rare treat that I cannot recall a time except on long road trips when we have eaten breakfast out as a family. This saved me tons more work. And was lots of fun!

• Drain Doctor…who gave us a sound estimate for the job over the phone, then came out and fixed the source of all the trouble, and spent time on a holiday to do so. They have also done good work for Jay’s folks in the past, so we can recommend them highly.

• A home cooked Meal in a fully functional kitchen…to celebrate the ability to wash dishes again, we made a whole bunch dirty by eating platefuls of brisket, cob corn, watermelon, broccoli slaw, and peach cobbler! Dinner was merry, and everyone helped to clean up afterward. We used nothing short of scandalous amounts of water!!

Here’s hoping all of you have had a peaceful and relaxing Labor Day Holiday.

…is a sinkful of dirty dishes that YOU CANNOT WASH!!!

Because you have a block somewhere deep down in your sewer line…

That you discovered whilst trying to get a houseful of six ready for church early this morning…

And consequently were freakishly late to worship, but that was ok;

And despite your good-looking, resident handyman heading to the Lowes and picking up a “snake” (after worship of course),

And subsequently wrestling with the beast in the sewer line for a couple hours…

The clog is still there…rendering not only Abigail’s shower and toilet unusable;

But also the Laundry Room sink and of course, clothes washer;

Plus the precious kitchen sink and it’s next-door neighbor, the dishwasher

(Which, despite being thirty-something years old is still a highly valued part of your household. And you miss it. And apologize to it for ever entertaining the idea of thoughtlessly replacing it with one of those modern, pleasingly quiet models, which actually also clean and sanitize dishes much better than it ever will again. But now it cannot even have water run into it to rinse those dirty dishes)

And so your huge pile of food-caked plates, bowls, cups, pans, and utensils is laughing at you,

Which leaves you wondering which of the remaining functioning bathtubs would be most appropriate for cleaning all these mocking dishes.

But, on the bright side, this whole crazy situation is bound to result in a few shed pounds, on account of all the running back and forth from the kitchen to the master bath on the other end of the house, for every time a cucumber needs rinsing, utensil needs washing, or your hands have to be cleaned due to handling raw meat.

Needless to say we will happily pay the $15 additional fee to our plumber tomorrow for coming to visit us on a holiday, because it will hopefully mean we can use all the sinks and large washing appliances in our home again.

And now I have to close this little entry – and go splash around in my soaking tub with the Lemon Fresh Joy.

Happy Labor Day!!