Water, Water

We have water again!  (And I don't mean puddling all over the utility room floor!)

Donald poked around some.  Mom and Dad came over and looked and gave their in-put.  Donald cut a hole in the drywall, and we found the source of the leak (in a tangle of water pipes).

Long story short, we ended up calling a plumber.  We decided this was one of those times that getting a professional to look at the problem was worth what we might save trying to figure it out on our own.

Before:

After:

(Do you see much difference?  No, neither do I, really.  The "after" is a little more organized, though.)

And so, in conclusion, dear Reader ;o), take a moment to appreciate your indoor plumbing and the fact that it is not presently leaking.  And if you've never experienced a pipe leaking behind a wall, consider yourself very lucky.

ETA:
It didn't cost an arm and a leg to fix the pipe (and some of the surrounding pipes), so that's good... On the other hand, the plumber said that our problems aren't really the fault of the original plumber (even though his work looks awfully messy to me... but I guess I'll withdraw my earlier wish to dropkick him).  Instead, it's probably just our water.  (Lovely.  Maybe water that corrodes metal is actually super-duper healthy for people, though.  There has to be some silver lining here, right?)  He recommends putting a filter out by the pump, so we're going to look into that (and just hope that no other pipes go pop anytime soon).  Also, we're going to leave an easy access panel over this area of the wall in case we ever have problems with any of these pipes in the future.  (The silver lining here is that it's behind the washer and drier, so no-one will even know it's there.)  No more guesswork as far as where those pipes are! 

The End.

If I'm Grumpy Today, This Is Why

There's nothing to put you in the proper Christmas spirit like-- well, what happened was this:

It's Tuesday night, and I'm extra tired-- partly because we got up for a while in the middle of Monday night to observe the lunar eclipse.  It's time for bed, so I let the dogs out for their walk, then go to the kitchen to wash my hands (because I've been handling the dog treats, and yes, I do wash them every time I handle treats because I've heard that dog food and treats can be contaminated with salmonella, and yes, I'm slightly neurotic like that).  Imagine my surprise when I spy a reflection on the floor-- a puddle right in the open pantry doorway.

At first, I think Molly must've had an accident-- though it has been a loooong time since she's done that and the pantry seems like an odd choice, but who am I to judge the appeal of different locations for puddle-making?-- but as I approach the supposed scene of the crime, I see that it is too big to be a mere "accident" puddle. 

Okay.  Molly's vindicated.  Now what?  Well, I have some emergency water stored in there, in emptied and cleaned 2-liter cola bottles.  Maybe one of them has sprung a leak.  *Sigh*  Oh well, better clean it up right away.  So I head for the laundry room, where I store our "doggy towels"-- ideal for mopping up a medium-sized puddle of water. 

*Slop slop slop*

At this point, you may be wondering what's making that slopping sound, and I can't say that I blame you.  Unfortunately for us, it is the sound of me stepping into another, larger puddle-- one approximately the size of the utility/laundry room.  For the second time in only twenty-two days, the entire floor of that room has been flooded.  (That's right, it's been less than a month since our last "adventure" with standing water in the utility room.)

Yay.  Another leak.  This is just what I needed right now.  Yee-haw, etc., etc.

My thoughts begin to run along the lines of "crappity-crappity crap crap CRAP", and so do my spoken words.

Ok, let's switch out of the present tense now, shall we?  Now that the Big Reveal has happened, I'm ready for summary mode.

Donald (hearing evidence of the aforesaid crappity-crappity crap crap CRAP, came to see what had happened, and we quickly began the frustrating process of removing as much water as possible.  This was especially irritating, given that (have I mentioned yet?) we had done the same thing less than a month earlier, but at least it was less of a mess this time, since the room was still in its new, cleaner state after the last clean-up. (Also, Donald figured out that our wet/dry shop-vac does a pretty good job of picking up most of the water, so we didn't end up with a hundred wet towels afterward.)  Still, there were plenty of things to move and dry off... And it's not exactly fun to wonder how much damage the water had done/was doing to the house.  

We also turned off the water (and water heater) and tried to figure out where the water had come from.  The intake on the water heater-- the first place we checked, because that was where we had the last leak--  seemed dry, as did the pan around the water heater's base.  The hose for the washing machine-- also dry.  Basically, everything we could think of as a possible culprit inside the room was a dead end.  Which left the plumbing behind the wall.  There was no visible dampness on the wall, but... well, where else could it be coming from?

(Crappity-crappity crap crap CRAP.)

With all the water removed, we performed a little test.  Donald turned on the water to the house again while I looked to see if any new water seeped under the baseboards and we both listened.  No new water, but yes, we both heard something that sounded suspiciously like water behind the wall.  (CRAP.)

So, now we get to have another little "adventure" in the world of plumbing.  I suppose the final result will be that we'll have to shell out who-knows-how-much to have this mess fixed-- quickly, with any luck.  Meanwhile, we have to haul our water in from the pump, and if it takes more than a day to fix, we'll have to rely on the generosity of family (who are fortunately also our neighbors) for warm showers.  It could've been worse, of course.  The weather today's going to be ok-- and not cold at all, so we won't miss the hot water as much as we might have... And at least it didn't happen on Christmas Eve/Day... And I suppose we found the problem pretty early.  (I guess that if we had gone to bed without seeing it and shutting off the water, it would've leaked all night and flooded even more of the house. ~shudder~)  And in the end, it's only a house repair, so not the worst thing to ever happen to someone in this cruel world-- but still, not just the thing to put one in her best mood right before the holidays, you have to admit. (And now I'm really worried about every *censored* pipe in the house.  And I feel like kicking whoever did our original plumbing right in the you-know-where.  GRR/*sigh*.)

Bad News / Good News

The Bad:
The pipe taking water into our water heater broke last night, spewing water over a large part of the room and flooding the majority of the floor.

The Good:
Donald was right there when it happened, so we were able to get the water shut off fairly quickly.  (If it had broken when we were asleep or away from the house...)

The Bad:
No water from the taps (or to the toilets) overnight and about half the next day...

The Good:
At least we could still get water out at the pump, so we had fairly easy access to water for drinking and other absolute necessities (and were able to flush the toilets manually).

The Bad:
It initially didn't look like quite so simple of a fix as one might hope (weird tools needed, etc.)...

The Good:
Dad just happened to have this week off work, so he was able to help us. (Thanks again, Dad!)  Also, it turned out we could use a different system that didn't require weird tools!

The Bad:
We had to move anything that was on the floor in the (crowded, cluttered) utility room (including washer, drier, and chest freezer), plus quite a few things on shelves, because they got wet.

The Good:
Cleaning / reorganizing the utility room was already on my "bigger projects" to-do list, so this is just forcing me to go ahead and do it.  (Unfortunately, all this will probably push back putting up the Christmas tree by a day or two...)

The Bad:
I'm now more worried that we'll have a similar problem inside the walls, with the plumbing for our showers/baths.

The Good:
That hasn't happened so far... and maybe if we're lucky, it won't happen for many years to come... At least with the house on a slab, there's not as much wood to be potentially ruined... (Please, no-one write in the comments a reason why such a plumbing disaster is even worse in a house on a slab, because if you do, I'll have to hunt you down and hurt you.  No, I'm serious.  Don't test me.)

It's a good thing this happened after I took my last photo for the Month of Gratitude challenge.  I had a hard time feeling grateful for a few hours afterward.  Now, however, with the water running (hot and cold!) and the washing machine chugging merrily along (hardly a dry towel in the house!), I'm back to feeling appreciative.  ;o)

Recent Happenings and Doings

Monday, after leaving the first load of laundry in the washer, I discovered that it would fill and agitate as usual, but refused to drain (and because it couldn't drain, I didn't try the rinse or spin cycles).  To put a long story short(er), Donald removed a broken lid switch (a safety feature that causes the machine to automatically stop agitating and spinning when the lid is opened), and (because we didn't feel that this particular safety feature was vital for us) he hotwired it, if that's the word I'm looking for. . .   Anyway, he bypassed the lid switch, and that did the trick.  (Though we did have to start a whole new washing cycle to get the thing to realize that all was well.)  Thanks to my heroic handyman (and a bit of electric tape), I was able to wash clothes again.  (And there was much rejoicing.)  I just have to be very careful to resist the powerful urge to stick my arms into the machine while it's moving.  I may have to tie a string around my finger to remind myself.

- - - - - - -

Entertainment...  (film, TV, books)...

We've been watching all three Lord of the Rings movies with the RiffTrax commentaries (because the third one just came out).  It was funny, but I think I've had enough super-long movies for a while.

We've finally caught up to season three of Chuck.  I'm enjoying this season less than the previous two, so far.  I don't care for the whole Shaw storyline, and my patience with Sarah/Sam is growing thin, too.  There's still plenty of time for it to improve, though. 

The last two books we've read together:
Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde
Thoroughly enjoyable.  The first in a series (a trilogy, I think), though, so there are unanswered questions/unresolved conflicts at the end. It's difficult to categorize-- somewhat fantasy, a little sci-fi, definitely mystery.  Most of its charm (for me) was its sense of humor and the fun of trying to figure things out from the tidbits of information the author doles out a little at a time.

Something Fresh, by P.G. Wodehouse
This was the first non-Jeeves/Wooster Wodehouse we'd read-- or at least the first I'd read.  Donald may have listened to some on tape back when he had a long commute.  This book introduces a different set of characters-- the Blandings Castle set.  So far, I prefer the Jeeves and Wooster set, but this group of characters is entertaining, too.  (However, I did find that my favorite parts were those that could just as easily have been set in a Jeeves and Wooster book.)  I didn't care so much for the slightly more serious, "romantic" parts of the book.  I turn to Wodehouse for humor; anything else is a bit disappointing.  I realize that this must not be much fun for an author-- being pigeonholed by an audience that is displeased when s/he ventures into new territory-- but there it is!  And since Mr. Wodehouse has been dead for quite some time, now, we need not worry about hurting his feelings.  ;o)

The last book I finished:
Mapp & Lucia, by E.F. Benson
It took me a little while to decide how I felt about the Lucia books.  (This is sacrilege to the true Luciaphile, I know.)  However, by now I know that I find them curiously interesting (particularly now that Miss Mapp's in the story).  I've seen this series described as a mixture of Wodehouse and Keeping Up Appearances, and that's the best explanation I've come across.  They're very much comedies of manners-- cozy, tangled webs, full of one-upmanship and friendly (?) rivalry-- small town/village stories about a handful of characters who take very careful note of one another's comings and goings.  Some of the characters behave in the most horrifying ways, yet you find yourself still interested in them, even if you don't always like them.  They all suffer occasional downfalls, which may be what keeps you from simply despising them. 

What I'm reading now:
Don't Look Now, by Daphen Du Maurier
I'm into the fourth story in this collection of short stories (some of which are fairly longish).  So far I've read "Don't Look Now", "The Birds", "Escort", and most of "Split Second".  ("The Birds" was creepier than the movie version, I think, by the way, and it's my favorite in this book so far.) 

Every so often, I'm in the mood to read macabre, spooky, suspenseful stories, but I usually end up feeling that something's missing from them.  I'm not sure exactly what I want that I'm not getting from these stories. . . Resolution?  That's frequently left out in favor of something "artistically" open-ended.  (Either that, or everything just falls apart at the end, as with the bulk of what I've seen from Stephen King, who can spin a scary story but hardly ever brings it all together in a satisfying conclusion.)  However, sometimes there's a definite end/resolution-- as in "Don't Look Now" and "Escort"-- but it's still not quite there, up to the level I'd hoped it would be.  Generally, short works are not as satisfying to me as full-length novels, and most of the creepy things I read do tend to be short stories. . .  Or maybe I'm just too picky.  I'm enjoying these stories well enough, though I think I'll be ready to return to a more cozy, prosaic genre by the end of the book. 

- - - - - - -

The bunnies (wild rabbits) are a little crazy this year.  I guess they've decided that the entire yard is theirs, now, and frequently the dogs get to do a little bunny-chasing when they are let outside.  Twice the other morning a bunny was just a couple of yards from our house, right where Trixie could see it-- and growl a low, throaty growl-- and bark-- and continue to bark, at intervals, single, startlingly loud barks-- long after the offending bunny had decamped and the yard been declared "all clear".  This was not good for my nerves.  (I hope it isn't a sign that I'm turning into Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.)

- - - - - - -

After a first attempt at knitting, a week or two ago, I haven't picked it back up again.  The casting-on part (long-tail cast-on) was ok, once I knew exactly what I was supposed to do, but the first row after that was awful. Trying to get the needles to do what I wanted-- ugh, it filled me with disgust, even though I tried to remember that when I first started crocheting, the crochet hook didn't immediately bend to my will, either.  I think part of the problem may have been the yarn I was using.  It was a partial skein I had only because it was bundled with some other yarn I wanted to buy at a thrift store.  It was nasty, nasty stuff (and I use almost only acrylics when I crochet, so if I say it's nasty, you may believe me that it was).  Scratchy, catchy, yuck.  Next time-- assuming there is a next time-- I'll use something a little nicer, even if whatever I make is likely to turn out ugly because I'm a rank amateur.

I suppose I still would like to learn to knit, if it doesn't turn out to be too much of a pain to get the hang of it.  The problem is that what I really want to knit is lacy fabric, and from what I gather, that's the type of thing that many even fairly seasoned knitters view with trepidation.  I wonder know how much of that is exaggerated-- or just people overestimating the difficulty of knitting lace / lace knitting-- or if it really is that much more difficult. . .  I have a lot of confidence in the idea that if you want to do something badly enough, you can make it work, but I'm not sure if I do care that much.  Especially when there are so many lacy things I could just crochet, instead.  It's not exactly the same look, but it's beautiful in it own right.  . . .We'll see.

- - - - - - -

I'm forgetting some things (probably some things more interesting than the stuff I did manage to remember), but this entry has been "in the works" for long enough, as it is! 

Updates in General

I haven't been blogging regularly for a while (as you may have noticed).  Now that I'm here to write, I'm not sure how much there is to say, but at least I can write brief catch-up summaries of the few things that do come to mind.

The Holidays--
Our holidays were happy and fairly busy.  We visited my father's side of the family about a week before Christmas, this year, and spent the actual Christmas Day with my mother's side.  (Generally, we alternate years, but it varies, depending on when visiting family are able to make the trip.)

We stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve, though I must admit that for the last half-hour or so I would just as soon have been asleep.  I guess I'm old enough now to not really see much point in staying up until midnight.  (So sad. (g))  Maybe if there were something exciting happening at midnight, but when there's nothing much more than saying "Happy New Year!" and hearing some distant fireworks. . . (shrug)

We wound up spending New Year's Day at my maternal grandparents' house.  I think everyone on that side of the family made it, so it was a full house again.  After a tasty meal (complete with black-eyed peas and turnip greens for those who wanted to ensure good fortune and propsperity for the year to come ;o)) and some conversation, many of us went out for walks.  Donald and I ended up going with my parents to look again at the future site of their new home.

(I think I mentioned before that it's been definitely decided that they're building, now?  The location is within a short walk of our house and my grandparents' house.  We'll none of us ever have to worry about inconveniencing someone to check on our dogs during our vacations. (g))

Resolutions for the New Year--
I hardly know whether it's more customary these days to make (and post to your blog) resolutions or to mention that you don't bother with resolutions at all.  I fall more in the latter category, but if I did, most of them would be the usual-- exercise more regularly, eat more healthily, prune back distractions to focus on what's truly important to me, and so on.  But since I really don't do the whole resolution thing, I won't.  (Oh wait, I just did. . .)

The Weather--
(This is one of those things that feel silly to write about now, because it's been in the news so much that people are probably sick of it-- but someday it might be nice to remember that, oh yeah, this was the year we had that cold snap.)

So, we've been having this cold snap. . .  ;o)  Though our weather hasn't been record-breakingly cold, it's been very cold (with hard freeze warnings) for quite a few days in close proximity.  (And if you ask me, lows in the teens and highs that don't hit 40 are plenty cold, even if they don't break any records.) 

For someone who complains about how miserable it is most of the summer and makes grand plans for doing all sorts of yard work, come winter, I don't seem able to handle cold weather very cheerfully, either.  Well, ok, that's not completely true.  I'm fine as long as I don't have to stay outside too long, and bundling up properly really does make a world of difference.  The heater helps, too (though I can't help but keep a subconscious reckoning of how much it's running).  Still, I'd be happier if we could just stretch out autumn and spring for most of the year and forget this nonsense about summer and winter.  (If that didn't mean the end of life as we know it, that is.)

The Consequences of the Weather--
We took what we thought were all the necessary precautions to prevent cold-related catastrophes, yet on Sunday morning (after we'd both had our showers, fortunately), we noticed a drop in water pressure.  After a little investigation, we discovered that the water spigot at the site of our future garage had a burst pipe.  (I guess we hadn't done quite a good enough job protecting that one.)  We had to go buy a few supplies, but Donald was able to replace the cracked pipe, and he seems to have done it well, because so far, it's holding up.  It wasn't a difficult repair, but figuring out the problem and fetching the supplies still turned out to take a big chunk out of our day.  Frustrating-- but thank goodness it was something we could fix ourselves!

Other People Dealt with Worse--
Donald's family had some trouble with their electricity and telephone service (and maybe Internet, too?), at different times, recently.  No electricity in a Swedish winter can't be comfortable, so all things considered, I shouldn't complain too loudly about our little troubles.  (Everything's working again, now, as far as I know.)

Project 365--
It's still going.  I haven't given up on it, yet, and I'm unlikely to, at this point.  Of course, I'm fully capable of forgetting to take a photo, one of these days, but even if I do, I'll just take two the next day.  So far, though, I've taken at least one photograph every day for eighty-nine days.  (I haven't always uploaded one per day, but I'm giving myself a pass on that issue.)

My project photos are sometimes-- alright, often repetitive.  (There have been lots of photos of dogs-- one in particular-- for instance.)  Since it's mainly for my own entertainment, I'm declaring it "OK".  Why shouldn't it be repetitive, after all?  Life itself is pretty repetitive-- or at least mine is.  (Well, maybe that's a weak excuse. . .)

Part of me is a little (teeny-tiny bit) jealous of people who waited to start similar projects (or goals, challenges, whatever you want to call it) until the first of the year.  I'm not sure why.  I guess it just makes more sense to start this sort of thing at the beginning of the year.  Of course, there's nothing stopping me from keeping it going past photo 365/365. . . (We'll see. . .)

Other Projects--
There are many that need attention, some of them very interesting and others less so.  It's just a matter of kicking into gear on some of them (and trying not to ignore the less interesting ones too long). . .

It's Tidbits or Nothing, I'm Afraid.

So tidbits it is!

(Glancing over my list of topics, I see that they tend toward the negative. Sorry about that. I'll save the non-negative for last, and you can just skip ahead, if you like.)

- - - - - - -

Boring details about jaw pain & sniffles to follow.
You may want to skip down one section...

You try not to complain too much about little things (Hey, who's that I hear stifling a snicker?!), because you know there are people who have real, serious problems, and sooner or later you'll likely experience some of them, too, but lately if it's not one (little) thing, it's another. Just as the pain in my right jaw/neck was finally fading away (but not quite all gone), I was hit by a sudden bout of very distracting sneezing and sniffling, Saturday night. That night was the worst of it, but I'm still a little more tickle-nosed/sneezy than normal. It doesn't seem to be a cold-- no sore throat, coughing, or fever. Every now and then, for the past couple of years, at least, I've had these "suddenly sneezy" experiences, which usually last only a day or two. I've sometimes wondered if I'm developing allergies. I never suffered from them as a child (as far as I can recall), but I think I've read that it's possible to develop them at any time. (Joy.)

P.S. I started this entry Monday, when the jaw pain was finally gone (after about a week). Tuesday morning, as I chewed my first spoonful of cereal, I heard that weird "crunch crunch crunch" sound in the right side of my jaw again-- the same thing I heard within a day or so of the onset of my last experience of jaw pain. (And it wasn't just the sound of the cereal crunching. (g)) I hope this isn't going to become a never-ending cycle of jaw weirdness, because it's really not much fun. And I'm not even one of those people who constantly chew gum! What am I supposed to do? Cut back on eating and talking? ;o) (I probably could cut back on some of the eating... But a healthier diet would likely involve even more chewing than I currently do. How many times is it that we're supposed to chew each mouthful? Twenty- or thirty-something times?)

...Well, that's enough health junk. You know how I hate medical/health junk. (Oh, you didn't? Well, now you do.)

- - - - - - -

We've been trying to get rid of something I grew up calling "sugar ants" (but which apparently are not sugar ants, since those don't live in the US). They've been in our kitchen for a long time, but until recently, they stayed in one spot away from the food. There weren't a lot of them, and they didn't appear to be hurting anything, so after "home remedy" solutions failed, I just threw up my hands and decided to learn to live with them. Recently, however, they showed up in our pantry, and that is not ok. Donald bought some bait poison, which we've been leaving out for several days. I can't tell whether or not it's working. Sometimes there are no ants in sight, but then (like last night, for instance) there are suddenly quite a few of them gathered around the "bait plates" again. I guess I'll keep replacing the bait and hope that it just takes a while to get them all.

Incidentally, it irritates me that (as I learned when researching ant deterrents online) so many people assume that if you have ants in the house, it's because you're living in a pig sty. I'll admit that I'm nowhere near the best housekeeper in the world, but it's impossible to live a meaningful life and keep the kitchen free of the minute amount of crumbs and food residue that it takes to keep a few ants alive. Even a dishwasher would be a big no-no unless you ran it immediately each time you dirtied a dish-- or thoroughly washed the dishes before leaving them on the rack (in which case why bother with the dishwasher at all?).

- - - - - - -

The terrible news of that jet that "disappeared" over the Atlantic has reminded me of all the horrific things I've ever imagined about flying-- what those last few minutes would be like. I'm glad we have no plans to fly this summer. Not that it's any less safe this summer than it ever is, but... well, I never really want to fly. It's like taking a nasty-tasting medicine-- it has to be done, sometimes, but if it didn't, I'd happily spend the rest of my life on solid ground, where I belong.

- - - - - - -

Last night, I woke at three-something a.m. from an awful dream. Someone I loved had died. (Apparently I'm too superstitious to give names...) I've dreamed before that people I care about have died, but I can't recall dreaming that about this particular person, until last night. The strange part was that until I woke up, it wasn't completely devastating. We were sad (though I have no idea why it was happening, we had warning, even to the point of discussing cremation/burial options), but it was something we both simply accepted with unnatural calmness. It wasn't until I was awake that I felt myself on the verge of tears-- when logically I should've been reassured that it was only a nightmare.

Last night, I turned over, tried to shake off unreasonable anxiety, and was soon back in the world of dreams (this time something about video games, a tornado-- an especially popular item in my jukebox o' dreams-- and the cast of That 70s Show), but it's not always that easy. Somehow, things always seem at their worst when I wake at 3 in the morning. L.M. Montgomery (one of my favorite authors) tended to write about the horrors of lying awake at 3 a.m.-- and I've seen references to that hour from time to time, elsewhere. I'm not sure why, but when I wake up around 3 a.m., I rarely feel good about myself or life in general. Worries that are manageable at other hours seem to crowd around me, smothering and insurmountable. Falling back asleep can sometimes be difficult-- but once I do, I'm generally back to my usual self in the morning. I suspect that there is something to this business about 3 a.m. being a cursed hour-- much worse than mere midnight. Of course, the "curse" is probably linked to our physiology-- biochemical reactions or something equally scientifically mysterious-- and the fact that we aren't thinking very clearly when we wake at that hour.

- - - - - - -

This weekend, Donald went up and replaced the shingles that were blown off our roof in March. We had been just keeping it patched with tar paper in anticipation of possibly having it professionally repaired, but after having it inspected and talking it over, Donald decided that he could replace the shingles himself.

It's good to have something a little more permanent than tar paper done, at least. Some of what the roofer we consulted with told us (suggesting that certain parts of the original job possibly hadn't been done properly) still makes me a little uneasy, but (rap wood again!) that roof saw us through Hurricane Ivan. Besides, even if we'd had a professional do it, we wouldn't have replaced the whole roof, and I know Donald put more care into the patch than the average roofer would have.

Here's to no more hurricanes or roof-damaging squalls for twenty years, at least! ;o)

- - - - - - -

We taught Trixie a couple new tricks, a few days ago. She already knew "sit" and "down". (Well, in theory. Sometimes she still seems to be confused about why it's necessary to get into the "sit" position when she's already "down". I guess I can't blame her. It doesn't make much sense...) Next, we added "roll over" and "speak". I wondered, while teaching her to speak, whether we'd regret it. So far, she's been pretty good. Of course, she sometimes barks during "trick sessions" just on the off chance that we'll reward her, but I think that will decrease as she becomes better at differentiating between commands. Still, maybe her next trick will be learning how to use an "inside voice".

Let's close with this very no-frills video of Trixie demonstrating her tricks:

Trixie's Tricks from Michael Johansson on Vimeo.

Storm Damage

Early Friday morning (somewhere between 4:00 and 4:30, I think), we woke to the sounds of worsening weather. I got up (because I can't just sit there under those circumstances) and turned on the TV in search of radar. Yes, there it was, bright reds and yellows all over the place.

Suddenly, the noise increased to the point that I deemed it wise to skedaddle off to the hall bath (no windows-- small, interior room-- our best bet for hiding from scary weather). No-one followed, and by the time I'd called out to give Donald a word or two of advice (i.e. "Oh, Donnn-ald! Yoo-hoo! Honey-Bunches-of-Oats*, I think you should probably get in here right now."), the worst of it was already dying down. (g)

Anyway, while it was bad, it sounded very bad, I thought. The wind was absolutely roaring, and there were frightening thuds as things hit the roof and exterior walls. (Whenever that happens, I beat a hasty retreat to the hall bath and pray that we don't blow away.)

Once the wind had subsided, we peeked into the backyard. We caught a few glimpses when the lightning lit up the landscape, but it wasn't until after sunrise that we could see the damage. Mostly, it was "tree debris" littering the yard. Lots of pine cones and needles-- many small branches. There were also a few larger branches, and quite a bit of mistletoe, of all things. (I quickly snapped those up when I saw them, because I seem to recall that it's very toxic, so likely Trixie would choose that twig to gnaw, out of the thousand available.) Some of the branches we found must have blown a decent distance, because there are no trees of that kind right next to our yard. Two pines that had been killed in previous storms toppled over, and I've noticed at least two more pines visible from our back yard that were snapped off. We also saw that we had shingles off the roof in two spots. (Off the roof and into the yard. I had to pick them up and move them out of the yard before I could trust Trixie on her own. The crazy dog would probably have tried eating them, otherwise.)

Unfortunately, we were in for another line of storms, Friday night/Saturday morning. Knowing this, Donald went onto the roof and patched one of the spots missing shingles. Thunder was approaching, and he thought the other spot looked well-protected still with tar paper, so we left it as it was. For future reference, that was probably not our most shining moment, in terms of foresight. (g)

The next morning, I found a thin line of wetness in the ceiling directly below the spot we thought was sealed with tar paper. Oops... After Donald had gone up into the attic to take measures to allow that spot to dry (and check the extent of the leak), I made another unpleasant discovery-- a larger wet spot in our dining room ceiling! I'd been kicking myself over the first leak, but at least this one we couldn't have prevented, anyway. We couldn't see any damage to the roof in that location.

So, fast-forward a bit. We knew to expect more rain for Tuesday (yesterday), so on Monday afternoon, Donald went up on the roof to up a new layer of tar paper over the spot we knew might leak. He also put a couple of waterproof "makeshift tarps" (an old shower curtain liner and a waterproof tablecloth) in the attic, over the two spots where we'd had leaks, along with a towel at the mystery leak location. It did rain yesterday, but in the evening, we found that everything was dry. We're hoping that the leak in the dining room ceiling was due to rain blowing under the ridge vent, trickling down a rafter, and just happening to drip off at that point (where two boards butt together unevenly).

We've called a roofer to come and give ours a look-- just in case there's more damage than meets the eye-- but I'm really hoping that he'll say it's in good shape (apart from the two spots we already know need some attention). Donald inspected the shingles in several places, while he was up there, and it doesn't seem as though the seal has been broken (which is a problem my parents had after Hurricane Ivan). We did have hail in those storms, but nowhere near as bad as we've had before, and the edges of the shingles don't look feathered. . . Anyway, one way or the other, I'll be glad to have that inspection finished. Unfortunately, it may take a while before he comes. Roofers in this area should have plenty of work for a good while to come:

Story from one local channel's website:

Damage survey shows straight line winds

B. CO., Ala. - A damage survey team from the National Weather Service in Mobile has completed an initial damage assessment of the storms that moved through the R. and E. communities of central B. County Friday morning.

The team found evidence of damaging winds that occurred along the leading edge of a severe bow echo that moved through the R. and E. areas between 4:00 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. Friday morning.

The team found a path of straight line wind damage from 200 to 400 yards wide and was near two miles long. the worst damage along the path occurred near the County Road 85 area just north of US Highway 90 where six single family homes of varying construction techniques experienced significant structural damage to roofs and walls.

Several out-buildings and smaller structures were also destroyed near several residences along the path of damaging winds. All of the evidence was consistent with a 120 mph straight line wind event where all of the debris was blown in a single direction from west-southwest to east-northeast.

I've put up some video that I filmed Friday morning. It's mostly just missing shingles-- very exciting stuff. ;o) If you want to be able to read the text, you'll probably have to go to Vimeo to see it larger, but I'll embed it here anyway...


March 27th, 2009 Storm from Michael Johansson on Vimeo.

We may be getting more rain tomorrow and toward the end of the weekend. I hope our temporary roof fixes hold up!

*I don't actually say "yoo-hoo" or call Donald "Honey-Bunches-of-Oats", by the way. That was purely for comic effect. Just making sure that was clear. . .

Plodding Along

ETA: Ha! I just lost the first half of my post!! Exceedingly annoying. Blogger, I will have vengeance! ;o) Now I have to re-write some of it. . .

Here are a few things that have been happening around here lately:

1. Monday night, we noticed that our A/C wasn't cooling properly. Instead of going down, the temperature was going up-- and no, we hadn't accidentally set it to "heat". ;o) We shut it off, opened some windows, and went to bed thinking we'd have to call a repair man the next day.

The next morning, after clearing some "overnight giant" weeds from the slope (where the A/C is located), we decided to give it one last try. It seemed to be working, and it hasn't given us any problems since then! I don't know how long it'll last, but I'll happily postpone calling a repair man as long as possible. ;o)


2. At about the same time, our walk-behind mower started giving us trouble.

First off, it wasn't going as fast as it should. Donald decided it was because some cord/line had gone a bit limp, and without the proper tension the motor didn't "know" it was supposed to be going full speed. (I think. . . )

After he spent some time looking at it (trying to see if he could tighten the cord), it didn't want to start at all. He thought it might be flooded or something from having been on its side, so he gave it a rest, but the next time we tried to get it started, the pull-start cord came loose entirely! Donald was able to reattach it, but I don't think she'll ever be the same again. ;o) Or he. . . It's a Toro, after all.

Anyway, we may be able to get it going again, but we think this might be a sign that it's time to go ahead and get a new lawn mower. We've been intending to buy a riding mower sooner or later, anyway. With a lawn as big as ours, it would make the chore of keeping it "groomed" so much easier.

So-- now begins the task of comparison shopping! Yee-haw! ;o)


3. Molly's back took a turn for the worse a few days ago, when she lost a small patch of hair around the sore spots. Now it looks like it might be improving. I hesitate to type it, for fear that she'll suddenly go totally bald ;o), but the sort spots don't look as irritated, at the moment. . . For now, I'm just keeping an eye on it and planning to try out some shampoo I'm borrowing from Mom tomorrow. Do you hear that, Molly? You're getting a bath soon! (g)