It's funny you know, the way you can make plans and watch them explode. Last night I was diligently working on a tale I have been itching to share forevah, when I heard an odd gurgle in the office bathroom pipes.
It was 9 p.m.
All of a sudden, madness ensued, right through the never used shower drain.
At 1 a.m. there was still havoc.
Plungers and snakes sound familiar?
At 6 a.m. we were still working on it.
I have been trying to share a certain tale with you for 4 weeks, and every time, something crrrrazy happens. Once it was a snake, literally, another time it was an ankle, a third time it was time itself.
Now, it's nasty specimens flying out my drain in buckets full.
I wish they had been fish.
I told myself, it's just fish.
My life is so glamorous.
It is now 2:36 p.m.
I am waiting for a pro plus plumber-
Who owns the most heavy duty commercial drain snake ever.
Or, so I hear 🙂
I will tell you this…
Whether I have to brave Netherworld or high water…
I will be back for a fun chat before you can blink 1,000 times in a row.
Lest a rogue rare tornado whisks me away.
But right now, I have to go wash all my rugs.
And my floor.
Thank heavens for a garden shower.
I need one.
🖤 , V
ps: Tell me one of your most unexpected rotten life things. Won't you? I am sure you have one. You must? Matty loves to jump on me when I am wearing white and he has just been in the mud pool.
pss: 6:38 p.m. The Plumbing King just left. He is super cute and super sweet, and part of our family. Anyhow, turns out our love-shack was plumbed by oompa loompas who thought it would be funny to put in three arms, and fittings going backwards 30+ years ago. Pipes will be cut and re-done on Sunday. Yes, on Halloween. OH MY! I say, let's bulldoze it already :) We can build teepees. I love teepees. Actually, I love the loveshack, in all its luv-shackness. I don't want anything bad to happen to it, unless we choose to tear it down, you know what I mean? 🖤 Thank you for sharing some of your tales. You rock!
Oh dear oh dear! Wishing you warm and dry and well!
*sends virtual fluffy towels*
Oh lord, this past weekend was FULL of rotten things, namely snakes. As in real ones. One in our apartment building. The building where I sleep. EEK. And another one outside. They are now in snake heaven….or snake…wherever.
The uber-blob (as I like to call it) started in my bathtub drain and then moved to the kitchen sink and then fought the big pipe in the laundry with fervor. It took days, but I won in the end. Never give up!!!!
Oh, so sorry V. Major Yuck.
And as for my ‘most unexpected rotten life thing’… yours reminded me of mine from last year.
Seems a bit of screening had fallen down a vent pipe on the roof, and ‘voila’, I experienced what you’re going thru now.
SuperSnake will fix it, but then the nice plumber will hold up the evidence and you’ll go ‘I have no idea how that got in there!’… and I truly didn’t!
most unexpected rotten life thing? If it will make you feel better but I’m sure that “fish” coming out of your shower drain will beat me out in grossness factor alone.
Here Goes:
Two years ago while in the midst of packing and cleaning and getting ready to make a big move away from a community that I loved living in we were woken up at 5:30 AM (with 5 days to go before moving) to screams and the fire alarm in our apartment building. We quickly collected ourselves our daughter, shoes and jackets and opened the door to our apartment to see smoke. wafting around the corner towards us. Everyone in the building got out safely (including pets and physically challenged neighbors) but we were locked out of our place for four days before we could get back in and assess damages (minimal smoke damage) and finish packing for the movers.
Vanessa:
Don’t you just hate those “real life” problems? They surely get in the way sometimes.
Am I dreaming or did you have another plumbing mishap awhile back? Hmmm…maybe I’m dreaming. Could be I’m dreaming, I seem to do that quite often, you know!!
Good luck with your real life professional plumber man. I hope he’s able to fix everythng with his industrial sized snake (the term “industrial sized snake” gives me a naughty giggle)!!
Looking forward to hearing about your tale that you’ve been trying to tell for 4 weeks!
Kim
Gerushia’s New World
Oh, where to begin? We had not long been living in our newly built home. I was watching a movie with my girls, and knitting – some time later, my niece came in the front door and asked why there was water dripping through the roof in the hallway…you know how sometimes the world just stops and time is suspended? Well, that is what happened to me as realisation seeped into my brain…I had run a bath upstairs and then got so engrossed in the knitting and the movie…well, you get the picture! Upstairs looked like a scene from the Titanic! The water had made it’s way, as water is wont to do, all the way through 3 stories (we have a garage beneath the house)…oh dear! Nearly divorce courts over that one, I can tell you…good luck with your plumbing x
YES!!!!! same problem 🙁 You are right, happened last
year. We think there is a huge knot of washing machine stuff in a corner
of a wavy pipe. We have a tube option, that lets us send the washing
machine water to the roses or the septic. So, for the last year, we just
leave it on the roses, and had not had this issue…… Alas, every so
often, the office shower does this, even thought it is never used… but
it is the final place where any water used in the house flows through…..
I am told this wont happen again after Mister Plumber King is here today.
sniffle snifflle. I am so careful at what goes down the drains. I am
like, super duperdrain paranoid 🙂
oh yuck! poor you!!
Well.
The week I started my full-time online business as a photographer / artist, the following things broke:
my camera
my computer
two new computers (!)
my work table lamp
my cellphone
i.e. everything I needed for my business except for my own body. And I did not exactly have the money to spend on new things.
Oh and once I went to the dentist and was told I had three large cavities that needed to be fixed (two later mended themselves and the third was less expensive to fix at another dentist)
and when I walked outside it was raining on top of a lot of snow and I discovered my shoes were broken.
P.S.
oh oh oh and my photo printer, of course!
ALL those things broke.
Unfortunately not at the exact same time due to water damage; then, insurance might have helped.
Here’s to knights in shining tool belts with drain snakes to slay our wettest demons!
We did have a flood in our house once. It was just so wet after 12 hours of continual rain (like 17″ or something) that it was just seeping through the concrete. Nothing we could do but suck it up and ship it out. And the new carpet too. And the furniture up on blocks. All this when my daughter was but a babe. So around the clock with it all. This too shall pass. And you will have a good laugh. Just not now.
😉
I am thinking dry thoughts for you!
Enjoy the day! Find your ‘something good’ in all of this.
Erin
Just found your blog and I am in love!! Love your style, love your artwork, love your phrases, love it all!! Seriously I am very into whimsical and funky art! You’re inspirational! Can’t wait to see more blog updates and can’t wait until my husband graduates from MD school and I have money to order some of your work! or even better, visit your shop in AZ!
Oh wow, this is wayyyyy too much. I am so sorry! You both must be exhausted…and I so hope the Pro Plumber came and fixed it all.
When my kids were small we lived in the Texas Panhandle…namely Tornado Alley. I had just painted the ENTIRE house…ceilings, walls, trim, louvered doors, the whole thing. We had a tornado come down our street ~ the roof was destroyed, windows were shattered & shredded the new drapes, all trees were stripped of their bark, no flowers left…and after it was all over, we had baseball size hail to put in the freezer. We were all ok but everything re: the house had to be redone.
I feel for you! Hang in there…
xo
Pat
Oh dear! So sorry to hear about your plumbing woes. No fun at all…
Unexpected unpleasantness: On my first date with my boyfriend I suddenly started to get a migraine headache and I didn’t have any medication with me. (I will get them so bad that I can barely see) I was forced to admit to my date that we had to get to the store for medicine right away just as we were about to begin dinner. I was so embarrassed, but he took it all in stride and six years later we are still happily together! 🙂
Here is to hoping that something good comes of this! All the best!
I hope things turn out okay! It is funny, I know I have rotten life things happen a lot, but then when you asked that question I couldn’t think of any! I know that a couple weeks ago I had a really bad day, you know the kind, where it is one crappy thing after another and it just keeps building? But now, when I am trying to remember what exactly happened I can’t think of what the specific instances were. I think that is why I am generally such a happy person, I just can’t remember the bad things! Haha, silly me!
Oh Miss Vanessa it seems what hexed my bsthroom came over to vex yours. I’m so sorry to hear about your woes. We woke up Saturday morning to find water seeping through the tiles of our floor. Apparently a pipe had burst so it was water water everywhere. This is the same bathroom we remodeled less than 2 years ago after another leak. Not fun and dealing with the insurance trolls is even less delightful. I hope all is well with your water worries and that your rugs dried out nicely!
Oh my goodness Vanessa…if it ain’t one thing, it’s another! So glad you’re getting it all cleaned and fixed up soon.
One time, in college, we had a crazy hail storm as I was walking across campus. I made it to safety with no injuries, but my car was another story. I had to replace the ENTIRE top…hood, roof, and trunk, argh!
And we almost had a flood in our basement last week in the big rain storms here. I was getting ready to leave the house and I checked my e-mail one last time. The hubs sent a message saying to check the drain on the basement outside stairs for leaves (I’ve never had to do this since we just moved and didn’t even think about it). I opened the door and water was just starting to trickle in. I had to get all wet and stand there in a foot of water while digging leaves out of the stairwell by hand, yuck! Honestly, who plants a tree RIGHT ABOVE a stairwell and storm drain???!!!
I could keep going on, but let me not bore you anymore 😉 😉
Hugs,
Jamie 🙂
Everyone reading…..always know where your main water line shut off valve is. Many Halloweens ago, our washer line had a split in the hose and was spewing water everywhere. While we were trying to find the water valve (hacking dry wall in the garage) the door bell kept ringing w/trick-or-treaters (and ringing and ringing). Another time, toilet shut off not working & soaking bedroom, closet carpet & room below….. Never pour oil in a really hot pan (4 foot flames) and always clean out your toaster oven crumb tray (a bonfire) grill catching fire on the deck….(there is a theme here) But as long as no one gets hurt —- its just life. (oh, and replace your water heater before the whole thing goes!)
Its life I guess……and you find out how many swear word combinations you know !
Never, ever trim your own giant trees ! My Dad broke his pelvis, and arm falling out of one (his new wife didn’t want to spend the $ for a professional and she had to nurse him for 6 months…..hmmmmmm)
If you have your health, all messes are fixable and temporary! You have cute flood artwork (is that Mr. Loveee on the boat?)
Horribly sick with the flu and 5 months pregnant, my husband took the 2 non-sick kids out to eat while I stayed home with the other 2. Upon returning, he just had to run out “real quick” for “one thing”… be back in 20 minutes. The car rolled away, the “well children” proceeded to upchuck McD’s all over the carpet outside my bedroom door. I had to clean it up, but had barely enough energy to move… long story short, vomit looks much worse when you are laying on the ground next to it, scrubbing it, with the smell of McD’s.
oh I hate plumbing problems. Thank goodness we rarely have them.
Everytime i start to think of a rotten life thing I think of something much worse for someone else. I’m a pediatric oncology nurse. What some of my kids and their parents face is so much worse than anything I’m going through.
I guess that that is just what gets me through each day. Knowing that my life needs some improvements but that its not really very rotten after all. There are annoyances for many of us daily but they are usually fixable.
And yours was fixed by a cutie plumber guy.
From Vanessa —-
Oh oh, I just remembered a terrible moment to share 🙂
Look away if you are easily grossed out.
Once, my sister puked chunky ham, egg and cheese omelet into a towel by the sink.
She was 5 and I was 11. My mom found my sis sick, and took her to the toilet to continue her purging 🙂 So, mom didn’t have a chance to toss the towel.
I proceeded to wash my face, and grabbed the towel that sister puked into, and wiped my face with it. Only to sheer horror, screams and sickness of my own.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeugh.
Yucky shivers. Yucky yucky.
I had almost forgotten about that, still gives me the heebie jeebies.
Oh I totally agree Renee. Plumbing and all this is nothing compared
to real life stuff. I agree wholeheartedly. I will have my plumbing
fixed on Sunday, but in the meantime, I can cuddle with the ones I love.
AndI have been, all night 😉 We are healthy and happy, and avoiding
the clogged side of the house, haha 😉
Ugh! Poor you
As for the rottenest thing that ever happened to me… would be to wake up one glorious morning, stretch in rivers of sunlight… and find your self standing in… not one… not 2… but 3 poop piles. How my dogs managed to do that I still don’t know. And then having to leave poop footprints all the way to the loo …what a clean up.
What a stink…
What a loooong miserable day.
I would say it is time for you to build that fairy land English cottage you have been dreaming of (and maybe you will find a pot of gold under your present house) since you seem to find so many wonderful things on your magical property. Except for the snakes, that is, and the awful plumbing! Was it scorpions again too? I am shivering, gold fish would have been much better! You poor dear, I don’t think I have any tale in my past that can surpass that one. I did literally slip on a banana peal once in junior high with my two friends laughing their heads off at me as my bag of potato chips went flying sky high as I landed on my tush. hee! hee!
Oompa Loompas indeed! Sounds like they were outright idiots who lived there before you!
My computer may not let me send this, it just told me I have no signal. It’s been happening all week…gremlins at work again I betcha!
Miss Teresa
Oh nooooo – I had my pipes literally explode on me and water was shooting out of the toilet, sinks & shower drains. It was like Linda Blair in “The Exorcist” movie. Freaky & awful, stank too from all of the mud & yuckiness. Anyway my trees has rooted themselves into the pipes and tore them apart. They had to snake the lines. cut out the tree roots & dig a trench in the back yard. None of this mess was cheap either. Oh no, it never is when it involves massive plumbing and many manpowered hours. I hope you resolve yours more easily. lol & hug.
Dear Vanessa, so sorry to hear of your plumbling woes! Living in a 90+ year old Homestead we have had our share of similar rotten life incidents at this ole house. I have a theory that plumbing emergencies are directly associated with major Holidays and weekend evenings.
The rotten life story I chose to share however is actually quite humorous, in hindsight… when we were purchasing this property it had been abandoned and in probate for several years… it has acreage and so a fighting Rooster that had escaped captivity and gone wild decided to claim this territory as his own. Every time I came to check on the property he would react in a most aggressive manner and chase me all over the property! Scrawny but scrappy I vowed that if he attacked me he was going over to meet the Colonel… as in Col. Harlan Sanders. *wink* I took pity on him and began bringing seeds, kibbles and water and so we developed somewhat of a truce between us and eventually someone asked if they could have him and I obliged… obviously he was not pet quality and wouldn’t have endeared himself to the Family nor our kitties… but who expects to find a wild fighting Rooster on their new property??! And what to do about it?!?!
I pray your plumbing woes will be over soon and not spoil Halloween celebrations…
Dawn… The Bohemian
not nice….. mine was a water themed problem. For weeks I was finding water on a kitchen work surface, thinking it was condensation from the microwave (not very techy), Sometime later hubby shouted from the kitchen “there’s water pouring through the ceiling”. the seal round the bath had perished and that is where the water was coming from. It was fixed next day, but there is still the mark where the water came through and a slight ‘bow’ in the ceiling. Good job we rent…….
I do hope that Halloween proves fruitful for you and yours…… Ciao xxx
Had black sludge from the septic tank back up into a rented house we were in. Be careful. I got very sick cleaning it up!
Worst thing that happened to me? You don’t want to know. I’ve led a long life, but plumbing is one of the worst.
The most horribly icky thing that’s happened to me that I can recall is having ‘fish’ like yours come up into the bath tub when I was in my early teens… while I was taking a bubble bath! The septic was out to get me and I was NOT a happy tween as I proceeded to jump out of the tub in horror and scream bloody murder. My mom thought something truly awful had happened to me, but when she saw what was going on… she chuckled at me! You can only imagine the reaction of a hormonal teenage girl to that one. 😉
I’m glad things have gotten repaired for you and hope you have a positively delightful Hallowe’en weekend! <3
Hi, Vanessa. About 23 years ago my husband and I bought our first home and naturally my family wanted me to host my first Thanksgiving dinner for about 24 relatives. Talk about being a nervous wreck. That day, I was cooking and baking and it was about one hour before the guests were to arrive. I was making deviled eggs and put all the shells down the garbage disposal which promptly clogged up the plumbing in the sink. Out comes the snake and we had to open the main drain out front to quickly unclog, which didn’t happen quickly at all. But in the end, we managed to get everything cleaned up in time for our guests and since then I never put more than three eggshells down the disposal at the same time. Lesson learned.
I’ve had the water heater bust and flood my basement twice. (2 different houses) in the middle of the night, both times my husband was on duty and not home. Luckily the second time my boys were old enough to help.
Ugh! Good luck to you and have a Super Duper Halloween, plumbing issues and all!!!
Tracy M.
P.S Enjoying everyone else’s stories as well
Tracy M.
well doesn’t that just suck!! And these things always happen at the oddest hours too! I am so glad it can all be fixed but what a mess and inconvenience until then! Yikes!
We came home from vacation once to find an oil spill looking yuck on the kitchen floor in front of the refrigerator(coming from the refrigerator). The refrigerator that was now dead with rotting food in it. Here we were having had a good time away and then BAM, now we were home gagging. Needless to say we had not anticipated having to go out and buy a new fridge nor having to toss out all the food in the freezer and what was in the fridge.
Not that long ago I went to do laundry in the garage and heard a hissing sound….I looked around but didn’t see anything and washer & dryer were fine. I went out again and heard it louder and this time BohoHandyman went out…the water heater was leaking and flooded the entire corner of the garage. Dowsing some things to oblivion. Luckily he stopped it before the entire garagapalooza was a float! accck!
Ah the joys of home……
Ahh the drains. i can relate on 3 yes 3 occasions our toliet/shower/tub has filled with unplesant human waste matter and gushed out. our plumbing was not put in properly at all and we have had the jumbo snake in twice to unclog clogs. gross. i feel your pain. 🙂 Good luck and happy halloween.
Hubby tells of the time years ago when he was taking our kids fishing. They were hookin’ it down the highway, and dear daughter decided to show the bait worms to her younger bro. Younger bro was known for an easily activated gag reflex, and worms were not, shall we say, his cup of tea. Hubby tells me of the fun that ensued when dear son proceeded to lose his lunch in the backseat while hubby is still driving down the highway . . . . (Glad I wasn’t there to participate in the fun. I know. I am evil.)
I am so sorry for the back-up in the bathtub, Vanessa. That has happened to us, and AUGHHHHHHHH horrible, for sure. And the story of your sister getting sick and the towel and . . . I don’t dare tell that one to gag reflex extraordinaire son. No sirree.
Who knew we could all have such fun sharing disgusting stories of upchuck and sewage??? : D
So sorry to hear of your plumbing woes, Vanessa! But I am happy to hear that a super cute and super handy plumber has been on the scene to fix it all up for you. The one really bad plumbing we experienced happened several years ago, I woke up after my husband had gone to work and noticed a strange sound coming from the basement door. Well, I opened the door and discovered the sound was actually rushing water from some upstairs pipes. And it was HOT water. Felt like a sauna! Needless to say, the basement was flooded and my hubby lost all his computer equipment. Thankfully, insurance covered most of the damage and we were able to replace most of the things that were destroyed. My mom literally fell open when I saw the equivalent of a tropical rain forest in my own basement! Thankfully, there have been no problems since. 🙂 Theresa
Oh Miss Vanessa, aren’t things like that just so horrible? I do hope it all turns out OK with getting the pipes fixed.
The worst thing I have had to deal with (water-wise) so far is dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane years ago. My parents and I were living in Maine, in a house in the country, which was in a valley (if you are being polite) or a swamp (if you are not)! It had a sump pump which had to run most of the time so the basement wasn’t a swimming pool and well water, both of which require electricity to run. When we lost power for three days due to the hurricane, we had to bail the basement EVERY HOUR for three days. But because there was no way to run the pump for the well, we had no water for the shower, toilet, cooking, etc. Seriously, three of the worst days of my life. Very shortly after that, I moved to DC. I realized that growing up in a city in Wyoming of 40,000 people made me much more of a city girl than I had imagined!
Very best of luck to you with all of the plumbing,
Betty
Ok heres a plumbing nightmare story for ya. I am in the middle of putting on a wedding at the ranch I live on. A beautiful location on a bluff overlooking the ocean… right in the middle of the “I do’s” the leach line for the cess ????? that takes care of the ENTIRE ranch decides to back up and flow out over the ceremony area!!! The brides pavilion at the back of the ceremony area (which was where they signed the marriage contract and took a few photos) was sitting right on top of the sludge! One of the brides maids foot sank in ankle deep! And the smell!!!!!… Fortunately the wind was blowing the oder away from the crowd and the reception was in a different area of the ranch so I managed to get everybody out somewhat unawares (except the bridesmaid). Lots of fun I tell ya!
The smell must have got to me,,, I couldn’t remember what the septic line and tank was called so I put question marks there intending to go back and correct it and then completely forgot… duhhhhhhh.
OH Dearie me! I’ve been such a busy little bee, and here you are dealing with awfulness and yucky pipes! Poor Miss Twist!! I do hope all gets mended and you have a dreamy, peaceful abode again as soon as you can blink an eye!! 🙂
We’ve had plumbing snakes at my house too. A few years ago we were told we had to get the pipes redone because the tree had ruined it with it’s roots. My husband kept on saying…we don’t have the money, when we actually did. Well he waited a year or two and instead of 4,000 the plumbing bill was 8 grand. We had to get a home equity loan which we also used to get our floors redone. Shortly before our plumbing went crazy again a friend had to have everything in her house replaced because the plumbing had backed up. I mentioned it to him and he still ignored me. All I know is that I’m glad the poop only backed up on the lawn and it wasnt too bad. Isn’t poop good for lawns? My lawn still is in shock..well that maybe the drought too. aww poor lawn.
Good luck. Believe me I feel for you.