Sunday, January 10, 2010

Underwear, or Outerwear? That is the Question.

Okay......... I have water again. After the fix yesterday when I gleefully washed the dishes and was all aglow with shower anticipation...... all hell broke loose; or should I say water? I was sitting here with a nice hot cup of tea. Posted my blog and decided to treat myself to an hour of reading before I tackled the aftermath of the repair job. I heard the pump click on, then off, then on......... not good, a sign of trouble. I don't know how long it did that before I became aware of the sound. I was reading!


Now, had I been really paying close attention I would have questioned the water pressure I had while washing the dishes. True, love of my life was showering through part of this task, but the water pressure was still not good. I wondered if the re-route might have something to do with it. Meant to mention it, but I was busy packing a good meal for him to take to work. I had cooked a big pot of chili and I carefully prepared two separate servings and packed two small containers of sour cream and sharp cheddar, along with saltines. I made sure he had enough to share with his co-worker. I am wonderful, don't you think. Any way, the water pressure went unspoken.


I reluctantly rose from my gaggle of dogs and blankets and left the world of blog to do a little investigating. I saw the growing lake of water as I rounded the corner to go to the kitchen. I immediately waded into the pump room to turn off the hot water, thinking that the repair must have some how come undone. The pump was still going on and off like crazy and I was wondering if it would take a minute to calm down........ hey, I am not a plumber person! I waded back through the kitchen and headed into the store to go out the side door to the laundry room and bathrooms. My sewing room is on the side there close to the registration desk and it was flooding, too.


I knew it had to be the laundry room. I was right. The outside faucet had burst and there was water everywhere. It was dripping from under the outer wall. Laundry room drain could not keep up with the flow and it was coming under the wall into the house. I ran back in and turned the pump off and called he who plumbs. He informs me that there is nothing he can do until he gets home. Really? He was annoyed at me for telling him that our humble abode is now a wading pool?


Both mops are outside and frozen. So I just left the water to dry on it's own. This is the one time I am ecstatic that my floors are concrete with a faux finish. I crawled back into my cocoon of animals and blankets after changing into dry clothes and huddle the evening away with my laptop and TV, getting up only to stoke the fire and take the dogs out............ I NEVER GOT MY SHOWER!!!!!!!!


He who plumbs comes home and although I am longing for that shower, I take pity on the man and tell him to just go to bed and fix it in the morning. Morning arrives and surprise, surprise...... the repair will require a trip to a hardware store. Gee, wouldn't you think he would stock up on these things that he uses to cap off the pipe?


The minute the water was back on I gathered together all the layers of apparel that I would wear and rushed into the bathroom to claim my shower. I warned the man that should another break occur he should not attempt to turn that water off until I emerged from my shower!!! For the first time in almost a week my whole body was wet and soapy all at the same time! My fingers and toes and yes, even my nose was warm .......... all at the same time! I had the water so hot that my nerve endings were tingling from the scalding my skin received. I looked like I had a sunburn. It was glorious and I will never take a hot shower for granted again!


But, now the title of this post. The pipes are holding together, but, I lack confidence in them. I need to do laundry. So, I ask myself, if the pipes only hold up for one load ....... what'll be? Underwear or outerwear. I am out of long johns, so I am sporting two pairs of pants as I write. Love of my life has a pair left (he owns more underwear than me), so I think underwear. But, wait, he is almost out of socks and they are black and he will need some dark clothes washed, too. What a dilemma. Should I mix light and dark together and get enough clothes in one load to carry us through should the pipes fail us again? Or, do I wash them separately and hope for the best?

22 comments:

The Good Cook said...

Oh you poor darling. how about go to a nice warm laundromat in town and do all your wash at once while sipping on a thermos of hot buttered rum toddies?

mamahasspoken said...

Hey Good Cook had the same idea as me! But seriously, Of all the clothes I wear, I would want clean underwear the most. Bet you can't wait for spring to arrive!

ellen abbott said...

Underwear, hands down. Especially the thermal type.

We've been turning out water off at night while it plunges into the low 20s. But I guess that really wouldn't make any difference to you if it never gets above freezing.

You have my sympathies and I'm so glad you got your hot shower.

SkippyMom said...

I definitely have to agree with Good Cook [make DH drive tho' :)] get it all done at once.

But if you can't I don't think mixing this once will hurt anything in the long term.

Glad you got your shower and sending good thoughts that the pipes don't burst again. Pooldad and I are still laughing over the "Human Remains" cardbord box from yesterday. Such a guy. :)

And the chili is just how we do it too - sounds delish in this cold weather. You're a good lady.

houndstooth said...

Underwear, definitely! If the pipes break, you can send hubby to the laundromat to wash his own darks while he goes to the hardware store again!

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Update on the laundry-three loads done and the water is still on. Just think, if this keeps up, I can wash the bedsheets!!!!!!!!! Oh, and I plan to have seconds on the shower today!

Brian Miller said...

lol. looks by the last comment you have survived...my vote would have been outerwear, but i am a guy, so...

Rae said...

I would be so upset. You must have the patience of a saint. All that mopping and cleaning up and still not getting a shower would have put me over the edge. I am glad you finally got it fixed and it is holding. Maybe it will warm up outside so you won't have to go through this again.

luksky said...

You poor woman!! And I thought it was bad that my stair railing has been pulled out of the wall for the second time by someone grabbing hold of it to catch their fall...I might add that it was not me either time.

I hope your pipe issues are over so you can relax and enjoy slack season at the campground.

Masala Chica said...

underwear and wrap yourself up in blankets :-)

Kathy G said...

I guess I have low standards I would have voted for mixing the lights and darks on an emergency basis.

Meggie said...

What a dilemma! I hate not having hot water to shower. We discovered the 'bright sparks' who installed our Airconditioner- I know, in your freezing world you cant beieve we are sweating & cursing the heat!- had turned off our hot water at the Power Board so we had no hot water after 4 days. Luckily we know enough- ahem- to check the Power Board!
No handy men in this family!

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear about all of the recent water issues. UGH I don't miss those winters.

Sunny said...

You could take a shower with your clothes on! Ha-ha!
Sorry you are having water woes, I've been there and it's no fun! Hope all works out okay.
Sunny :)

Boozy Tooth said...

Go commando!

Underwear is for amateurs. Load your washer and dryer with the stuff that will keep you warm. And the idea of you roaming around inside layers of flannel with nary a speck of satin or lace underneath will have he who plumbs in a tizzy of wanton desire.

{Yeah, that doesn't work for me either}

Sorry about the water problems. If your floor is anything like our pool... the water should be evaporating nicely!

Stay warm, my friend!

Anonymous said...

Dee from Tennessee

Oh I am so so sorry about the water woes. It is awful I know. Some residents in nearby counties were out of water and electricity for 12 days...ugh. We are leaving our water running a good stream and have been since last of Dec. Our water bill will be high but a plumber's bill would be higher of course. Thinking of you and hope things return to normal asap!

Jo said...

It's raining so hard here in Vancouver, all we have to do is go outside with a bar of soap.

Lather ... rinse ... repeat ...

I'm glad you got your shower. There's nothing worse than going for a whole week without a shower.

Stephanie said...

You are a wonder, fixing lunch for hubby's co-worker! Under the circumstances, a saint!

Mike said...

Wash the undies! You could always wear a pair of pants twice. Skid marks are not cool. lol

Karen said...

Mix your whites and darks! Live dangerously! Oh, wait... sounds like you already have! :) I think being without water is the WORST. I hope it's fixed, and fixed for good, by now. Hang in there!

Missy said...

Wow, and I thought it was cold here and I thought it was a pain that my water heater broke....well, it is cold here and it was a pain, but not as cold as there and not as big a pain as the pipes look like. Ugh. I've been catching up on your blog and had to laugh histerically at which load of laundry to do. Being in Georgia, I own 1 pair of thermals and only have them because I saw them on sale....never thought I'd need them. Well, I wore them for 3 days straight and finally had to do without them so they could be washed. It's been warmer today and yesterday so I feel better. Also, I love the sock monkeys...a new one came to live with us at Christmas and he is so cute. He sits in the rocker and watches TV.

Nancy said...

That is a dilema! I might have to vote for underwear - but then Good Cook always has good ideas.