Our Friend Gary

There hasn't been a whole lot of action around the house lately. We have discovered a leaky pipe under the bathtub drain. Since it is the drain line, the pipe only leaks when someone is taking a shower or bath. Unfortunately the pipe is hard to get to and requires going into the "difficult" part of the crawl space (inside the bedroom closet). In addition, the area where the leak is located is not really possible for an average-sized human to get too. Thank God Brice is so thin!!

Now I don't know anything about plumbing. Brice says he knows two or three things. So together, we decided that we could (probably) fix this problem. Either that or I will have to shower at the gym and use the toilet at the gas station. The plan is to re-route the bathtub drain into the drain coming from the washer. Why not repair the existing pipe? Well, the existing pipe is a flexible plastic pipe that could be replaced, but eventually it drains into a very large cast iron pipe. The connection between the two pipes is so corroded, that we thought it would be best if we didn't push our luck with the ancient apparatus. If that cast iron pipe goes, we will have some serious trouble. Instead, we will block off the existing flexible pipe, and just drain into the nearby washer drain line.


Recently we have obtained a new pet. As if four cats wasn't enough, an orb-weaving spider moved into the area between the storm and kitchen window. Although the weather is very cold, Brice started feeding the spider. We named him Gary. I made a video of the momentous occasion when we delivered a rather large fly to him.

The video is a little blurry, since the camera had a hard time focusing on the spider.


Enjoy!

Plumbing Woes...

For the last couple of weeks, our plumbing has started to make funny noises. At first it belched a little. Then it started gurgling. Finally, it made loud gurgling and belching noises every time someone took a shower. At first we thought this could be a venting issue. But soon, we found that the bathtub drained slower, the sink wouldn't drain at all, and the toilet seemed continually clogged. I know my limitation, so I called a professional. This afternoon, the plumber came over to inspect the gurgling plumbing. He cleaned the main line out, because he could not find a trap in the house. No surprise since the house predates most indoor plumbing. He said that at about 30 feet, there was an obstruction, but surprisingly he only pulled out a few roots. He did make a point to say that he would not be responsible for a crack in the cast iron pipe (which is apparently a likely enough event that he felt he should warn us). Luckily the ancient pipe seemed to withstand the abuse. for the time being. Now I am a few dollars poorer, but at least the sewer is functioning again!

This weekend we will begin working on the bedroom. That means repairing some serious cracks near the attic entrance, finishing stripping the trim, and of course painting.

In the meantime everyone has just been lounging around after the holiday. Here are some pictures of the kids...

Oliver

Zelda

Foster

and Nelson