Friday, June 7, 2013

Friday Mishmash - Soggy Edition

So, I had an exciting afternoon on Wednesday, and not in a good way.  I was at my computer when I heard a loud BAM and then water wooshing - I ran into my bathroom to see the hose that connects to the toilet tank to the wall loose and flapping around like a wild water hose!   I got soaked as I tried to turn the handle that is supposed to shut off the water - SUPPOSED TO.  It didn't shut off!  The water was now flowing out of that little room into the bigger bathroom - I threw a bunch of towels on the floor and tried to figure out what to do.  Jeff was (naturally) out of town.  My neighbor who works 10 days on/10 days off wasn't home.  I couldn't get the main valve outside to shut off...it was getting pretty bad.  Found one neighbor who was home and she came over to help but couldn't get the main shut off either...ack!  Called the city's emergency line, where I got to hear a recording telling me to leave a message - on their emergency line??

My neighbor called some friends - I think she went through 3 or 4 before she finally got someone to direct her to the correct cutoff valve.  I was ready to call the fire department at this point - water had seeped through the walls into my closet and the laundry room!  Our bathroom, that we just repainted and fixed up, was a mess!  So upsetting, especially since we'd just made it look nice - why couldn't it have happened before?!

I called a plumber who came out pretty quickly and replaced the bad hose (and the hoses connecting to the other toilets, for good measure as they had the same plastic fittings that failed on this one...I looked at them as ticking time bombs at that point).  Then I called in one of those disaster companies to help - I could see the water seeping up the sheet rock on the walls, plus the carpet in the closet was soaked through.  This was beyond my ability to fix - I needed the big guns.
See the water line on the wall?  Seepage...not good.
The soaked carpet in the closet...
The big guns - fans and dehumidifiers, all drying out the bathroom.

I've had to sleep in the guest room - thankfully A) I have a guest room; and B) it's on the other side of the house, away from the noisy equipment - for the last two nights and will continue to do so for another couple of nights.  Now I'm dealing with insurance, deductibles, and all sorts of dumb things that come with being a homeowner.  Blergh!  I will say that when my stress levels started to settle down, the first thing that came to mind was that I wanted an iced tea.  Not chocolate (although that came later), not anything to stuff my face with - just a cold drink.  So at least there's that (she says, trying to look on the bright side). 

********************

And now, on to more pleasant things.

Lots to catch up on - and yes, I'm still pulling things from May.  One of the fun things that we noticed when Barbara and Theresa visited was how much Theresa's grown up in the four years since they were here.  We deliberately did some "then and now" pictures for comparison:
 
At the George Bush (senior) presidential library - what's espeically funny about these pictures is that in the shot taken in 2009, Theresa was a bit afraid of statue George.  It took a lot of convincing to get her anywhere NEAR him for the picture on the left...you'll notice that the chair was pulled a "safe" distance away in order to get her there.  Now, in 2013, she had QUITE the time with statue George!

Also?  We have no idea where she gets it from:
No idea at all...
The terracotta warrior statue was another scary one back on 2009 - we couldn't even get her near that one.  Cut to 2013 and she was mimicking the pose!
This one slays me...look how little she was!!!  Paco still sits like a champ for a cookie.


********************

I haven't had a knitting update in a while - next week, I promise.  Oh - I've got a visit to a special yarn store on tap for next week, too - I am ridiculously excited about that, plus I have a birthday gift card to spend, and some fun projects planned...can't wait!

********************

Alright, I'm too scattered to think of anything else to say, so have a good weekend, and may there only be water where you want it in your life!

26 comments:

  1. Oh, Shelley! That sucks so bad! I am so amazed and awed by your calm (at least in the post!) and your ability to write about the upsetting situation. I'm sorry that you had to deal with this. Good on ya for replacing the other toilet hoses. Hopefully this will be the only time you have to call the damage people! Here's to a peaceful weekend xoxox

    PS - I need to learn to read my comments before posting. The first one barely made sense with all the typos in it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh so sorry to read about your bathroom calamity. What a nerve-wracking experience! Makes me want to go check all my stuff! I hope you are able to have a calm and relaxing weekend - you deserve it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The plumbers replaced them with hoses that have metal fittings - the plastic at the top is what failed. And failed BIG. For as cheap as it was to have them replaced, I'd recommend it!

      Delete
  3. ugh what a mess! We know how much you love your closet :) I hope it gets back to normal quickly.

    Funny I've been craving iced tea too! I love a craving I don't have to be afraid of. I can have all the tea I want. Unsweetened of course.

    LOVE all the pictures. You guys are hilarious and Paco is such a star.

    ReplyDelete
  4. OH MY GOSH. I can't believe that happened to you, ESPECIALLY the part about none of the valves would shut the water off. What was up with that? Did they say their super dryers will save your paint job in the bathroom? Doesn't it seem weird (in a terrible way) that such a little plastic part being defective can cause so much damage?

    Well, good on you on the iced tea craving! Pretty cute (and dramatic) then and now pictures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The valve in the bathroom wouldn't shut off because something about "garble garble chicken pox" - I know they had a reason, but I was too scattered to comprehend.

      The paint in the bathroom is wrecked in some areas - the wall needs a bit of repair in the corner closest to where the pipe was. At least there's no mystery of "what color WAS that?" since we just did the paint job.

      Delete
  5. oh no!! I hope you have a good weekend though. My husband was just landing in AZ when I called him to tell him our basement flooded. It sucks when they are away and shit happens at home!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so sorry you had the bathroom calamity! A friend went on vacation once and some hose broke and flooded her whole house. She and her husband pulled into the driveway after a 15-hr drive and couldn't believe their eyes when they opened their garage and water came pouring out. Makes me want to shut off all the water when I leave home.

    Glad it's all getting cleaned up and good for you for reaching for the tea glass!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The crazy thing is that I was thinking about going over to the running store right before this happened (they were doing random gift card giveaways that day for Nat'l Running Day) - I can only shudder to think what I would have come home to (not to mention one panicked, wet dog)!

      Delete
  7. Why does that stuff always seem to happen when the spouse is away???? I feel your pain, but man I am super impressed that all you wanted was an iced tea!! Good job!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ugh, weird home stuff like that just stinks. So glad it didn't happen when you and Jeff were both away.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So sorry to hear about the bathroom! UGH! I hope getting everything sorted out with insurance isn't too much of a pain. I guess that's why we have it, annoying as it is. This makes me think I should learn where our main water valve even is, not to mention how to turn it off. I'm always home alone, so I can totally see something like this happening.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew where it was, and thought I knew how to turn it off...but add in panic, water rushing everywhere, and apparently it's not as easy as I thought. :(

      Delete
  10. Ug...sorry to read about the water fiasco. Yikes! LOVE the photos, thanks so much for sharing with us! Have a wonderful (and dry) Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  11. It always seems like that sort of thing happens when there is no one around to help!!! (always something similar when my husband is deployed!)
    I love the new look on your site!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh man, that sucks! Glad you were able to get it taken care of - luckily when we had 8 inches of water during our flood, I only lost some Christmas decorations - the basement is all cement and after all the water was drained, it was dry in half a day with fans.

    Here's to a less stressful weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That is so awful Shelley! One thing you might want to make note of is the water shut off that is for your house on the inside (usually in the basement or just inside the house by your water meter). Then you can stop everything without having to wait for outside help.

    Thank goodness for water cleanup companies though. I hope you don't lose any of your new bathroom work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, it is in the ground out here - yes, by the water meter, in the grass near the street. I knew that, just couldn't get the right thing turned off. It was crazy!

      Delete
  14. Oh no!! So sorry you had a water catastrophe. I hope it doesn't do any permanent damage to your prettied-up bathroom.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh Shelley!! Just when you finished your bathroom. That happened to me once too, luckily my husband was home and he knew what to do, because I certainly didn't! ughh - and kudos for no stress eating!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sorry you had to put up with that! Hope you get all the details worked out (insurance and such!)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Water damage: everyone's worst nightmare. What a mess sweety, I can totally understand you were stressed out. And the insurance thing: blegh indeed. Hope everything is solved soon.

    Teresa sure has grown, I like the last two pics with Paco because they are almost the same.

    I am missing your knitting updates too :) look forward to see the projects you are working on now.

    About the horse in the photo on my blog: yes it was on his back. He was scratching his back by rolling through the sand :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh noooooo!!! We are still dealing with the mess of the flood in our basement. We had to rip out the drywall to get to the source of the leak. What a pain!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!