Cabin Fever and Floods

It is 66 degrees in here and I have worked hard all morning with the wood stove to get it there. The firewood I have ventured out to get is heavy and wet and not well seasoned at all.

I have had no cold water in the bathroom for two days. I am flushing with hot water. Well, I was.

About an hour ago I went into the kitchen, headed to the back door to see if the wood in the back might be better than the wood in the front. I was shuffling along in my furry slippers and socks that just made my outfit of velour pants atop my long johns, finished off with an over-size sweat on top of my nightgown.

I stop when I see the water. A lake in my kitchen, heading into my sitting area. At first I thought the dogs had over-turned their water bowl, but, it was upright and could not have held all this water. I grabbed the phone and called He Who plumbs. He Who was towing and headed far east. He suggested I turn the water off (I was already wading there).

I took off my slippers and socks and went in my bare feet to stop the flow of water feeding the lake in my kitchen. Then I dried my frozen feet and put my socks and boots on to launch the necessary investigation. The sturdy winds had kept the sidewalk free of snow, and I was able to navigate my way to the public laundry. It was flooded, as was the men's room. The pipe that burst is in this area. That's as much information as I needed.

Went back inside to warm myself in the 63 degree room and started mopping. This is not the best activity for my gimpy shoulder. I gave up after emptying one bucket and have been coaxing the fire along since. I might be warm by bedtime. 

I will not be standing in water to cook tonight. He Who plumbs and tows can also pick up Chinese!

I am tired of Lifetime movies and even HGTV! I don't want to put a puzzle together and I don't want to play Spider Solitaire. I am tired of these four walls. My sewing machine delivery has been delayed due to the weather.

My pets are a little stir crazy, too. Martha, the boy cat, normally spends his nights outside hunting and no doubt commiserating with the old possum that lives in the barn eating fish food pellets. He likes to spend his days on the memory foam pet bed in front of the wood stove sleeping. Night before last I decided he should not be put out with the last potty break of the night. I re-introduced him to the location of his litter box, filled his dish with cat chow and some yummy treats and made sure he had water. If he is inside when we all go to bed, he will wait until I am sleeping soundly or having a lovely dream and enter the bedroom. He has tried pouncing on me to wake me, but has learned that this is not a good idea. I will send him flying to the floor when I wake and automatically knock the attacker off my person. His newest form of waking me is to lift the shade and get under it to look outside. This makes the plastic things on the end of the cords hit the wall. I am a very light sleeper. If that doesn't wake me, Wall-E's bark does.

Wall-E is the first alert and is very brave as he cowers as close to me as he can get. He just sounds the alarm and leaves it up to the other dogs to do the dirty work. He has learned not to alert us when he hears the cat, though. At 1:00 am, Martha awakened me. I got up, scooped him up and went to the back door to show him just how cold it was outside. He went out, dug a hole in the snow, relieved himself and came right back in.

Thinking that it was ironic that the only animal I could convince to brave that bitter cold wind was the only one with his very own bathroom inside, I trudged back to bed. At 1:55, Martha was back under the shade with  his head looking outside. He even made a mournful mewl. I tried to settle him into the store, but he followed me and cried the entire way. I got back under the warm covers and he persisted with his antics and soon found himself flying out the back door!

All day yesterday, I would call for him to come in. I really felt guilty that I had tossed my pet out just because he refused to let me sleep. He finally came back inside just before dark ...... punishing me, I suppose. But, last night he stayed in, sleeping at my feet all night long. Not once did utter his pitiful mewl or play with the window shade. I slept all night long!

So, you would think I would be in a perkier mood today. Maybe sleep deprivation is a good thing when you can do absolutely nothing!