Sisters Weekend II

I finally got the permanent fix done for my sewer last week.  The plumber had been putting me off for almost a month, but when I explained I had company coming in this weekend, he juggled things around to get me on the schedule.  (Neither of us wanted to test his temporary fix by adding to the volume of waste headed down the pipe...)

The crew showed up early Thursday morning, and spent the day making a mess of my front yard.  Many men, a couple of digging machines, trucks to haul away the leftover dirt - it was quite a production, and took all day.  The sewer line was a good 12' down where it came out of the house - I was glad it wasn't me digging at the bottom of the hole as they replaced the part of the pipe which went under the foundation.  And, for once, was grateful for the solid clay soil - it makes for stable trench walls, and they also shored the walls up to ensure the safety of the guy who drew the short straw and had to dig out the pipe.

I sure hope they did it right, because I REALLY don't want to do it again!

I was relieved to have it done before my sisters came to town on Friday.  We had such a great time when we got together for a weekend last year that we decided to do it again this spring.  I am short on vacation days, so talked them into coming to me this time.

We started the weekend doing yoga at the Kauffman Center; the local symphony hall.  They had a special event in the lobby on Saturday morning - a yoga class with live music in the lobby of the hall.
I was a bit frazzled from my week, so it was a great way to start relaxing.  Stop, breathe.  Look at the clouds floating overhead, enjoy the presence my sisters going through the motions next to me. Revel in the feeling of my body gently coming into line, letting knots and tightness begin to dissolve.

We crammed a lot of relaxing into the weekend - facials, massages, manicures - between going to my favorite restaurants and eating too much.  We had time to talk about our lives and our missing links - Maria and Libby were not far from our thoughts.  Two sisters gone, two years apart.  That's a lot of grief.  My sadness was eased a bit by our conversations.  Sharing a burden does sometimes help to lighten it.

The weekend passed too quickly, as good times are wont to do.  It seemed they just got here, when I had to wave goodbye.  Still working on that holding on to the best moments thing; still failing.

The moments pass, but the memories - those are still mine to hold.  I am so grateful we took the time to create some good ones.

Sentry Bee

I finally managed to scrape together enough energy yesterday to work on the house, just a little.  I decided, since the weather was gorgeous, to put a coat of oil stain on the new section of fence Joe and I built last fall to try to muffle the sound of the neighbor's air conditioner.

Beyond the fact I'm pretty sure it's going to work as intended to recreate my peaceful backyard oasis, I've become quite fond of the fence this spring.  It covers the worst of the sloppy work they did on the side of the house next door during their remodeling project, thus soothing my outraged OCD-ness. Since it's not on my house, I don't really care about their misaligned siding board or the uneven cut of their overhang as long as I don't have to look at it.

I've been puzzled since they moved in about a large hole on the side of their house. It looks like a stove hood vent, but there's nothing covering the hole, or leading to it.  Just before they moved in last summer, someone stuck some clear packing tape over the thing, but there was no attempt to insulate the space.  Looked like a good way to have cold floors for the winter, but I figured it wasn't my business, so I didn't say anything.  Most of the tape fell off over the winter; I told them about it a couple of weeks ago, figuring they'd want to get the hole covered back up before something moved in.  (Turns out she didn't even know it was there; was as puzzled as I was by its existence - so much for getting my curiosity as to its purpose sated...)

Too late.

As I was staining their side of my fence, I noticed a large bee hovering around the hole, about nine feet off the ground.  It was a big bug - easily over an inch long, with a barrel body - not the kind of bug I want to mess with.  It ignored me, though.  (I think it's a type of wood-boring bee...)  It was more worried about the wasps and other bugs flying about.  When the wasps would venture into the alley between the houses, the sentry bee would zoom after them and chase them away.  It would then return to hang out in front of the hole, scanning the air the entire time for threats to its space.  I was out there for over an hour, and I don't think that bee landed the entire time I was out there.

Its poor wings had to be exhausted.

I was struck by its dedication to duty.  It's easy for me to sit back and enjoy the flowers, and to forget that spring is serious business for the creatures who share my world.  There are territories to establish and defend, eggs to lay, young ones to protect. 

I looked up some basic information on his kind - this type of bee is not aggressive towards people.  So, until the neighbors get around to evicting him, I will be grateful he's around.  From what I saw yesterday, I will not need to worry about any wasp nests being built on that side of the house this spring.

I'll take what help I can get.

Sewer Woes

Butterflies!

I got up a week ago Saturday morning with, as usual, a long list of chores which needed doing (which is what happens when one crams all of the work needed at home into a single day each week). I went to the basement to get my scrub bucket, and stopped, looking with dismay at the basement floor.

There, around the floor drain, was a malodorous puddle.

I knew what it meant; this has happened before - too much stuff goes down the sewer line, and they need to come clear it out.

About a year ago, I subscribed to a sewer line insurance plan. (Since my sewer line is the original one installed with the house, about a hundred years ago, I figured it was prudent.) I called them up, and was impressed when a crew showed up about three hours later.  No problem, I thought. They'll be able to get the line cleared out and I'll be back in business in an hour.

Or, not.

They ran their auger down the line, hit nothing. Tried again with a larger claw, hit nothing. Two hours later, they packed up their toys and went home with the line still clogged. They promised they'd be back, but I have to admit I didn't quite believe them - it was approaching 4PM on a Saturday afternoon.

But sure enough, their truck pulled back in up front around seven, this time accompanied by the master plumber who owns the company. They hooked up a sewer line power washer, dragged their hoses through the kitchen, and started blasting away at the line. This cleared out the goop in the line (goop is a good word, don't you think?) and the puddle on the floor finally drained itself out.

Next, they ran a camera down the line. I stood back behind the crew, wondering what they'd find. Sure enough, about 40' out, there was a clear break in the pipe. **sigh**

I'm still waiting for final resolution. The garbage disposal is NOT to be used, and the house is on a toilet paper diet, but they told me running water and water-soluble items (i.e. poop  ** whew.  that was a relief! **) through the pipes would be OK until they were able to come to an agreement about the scope of work with the insurance company.

I am grateful this waited until spring to happen - it's a lot easier to dig through the front lawn when Mother Nature isn't dumping snow and ice on it every few days.
I am grateful I bought the sewer insurance. My gut tells me this will still cost me a pretty penny, but not as much as it would have.
I am grateful for the quick response of the plumbing company - they treated my problem as if it were at their own homes. They weren't going to leave me unable to use the plumbing if they could do anything about it. If they couldn't have cleared the line, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't still be waiting around for a repair bid.

And, I have a renewed appreciation for the wonder of my sewer pipes. They seamless take away all sorts of effluence without my ever having to give it a thought.

Good Is.