It was originally scheduled to last until this upcoming Wednesday. They gave it that much time because of the extra work to put in plumbing where there was none before, but apparently it was incredibly straightforward. They also added more time due to the perceived complexity of the soil lines, but that also turned out to be incredibly simple.
A contractor finished a job four days early. Is that some sort of record? Either way, I'm not complaining.
So I got home today and the water was back on, where it could anyway. Both bathrooms are still demolished, but they capped off the water lines and turned it back on, so I have running water in my kitchen and laundry room. They also did the work replacing the valve and toilet downstairs (yes, I have a toilet in the basement. It sits in a small closet with no door - only a curtain, but the valve always leaked so it was always shut off) so we at least have one functioning toilet in the house.
I have a constant compulsion to wash my hands. After I do anything I, at the bare minimum, rinse them off with clean water. Baby wipes are a cheap consolation prize, but better than nothing.
I have never wanted to spend my day at work so much in my life.
Having the basement plumbing redone was a long time coming. The soil pipe, which went straight up through both bathrooms (adjacent to the kitchen) and through the roof. It was cast iron, and had been punctured when people tried installing things onto the walls. In the basement, they covered rust with duct tape and painted over it. (The home inspector said it was sound, but to have the whole thing replaced the first time I did any work on the plumbing) The previous owner, when they redid the kitchen, put the old kitchen counter and sink in the laundry room. First thing I did was pull that garbage out, but the pipes were all over the walls. The pipes also clanked like crazy when I did the laundry. The utility sink was a small cheap flimsy piece of nonsense that was on the wrong side of the room entirely.
But today the basement portion of this remodel is done. Which puts my backup toilet in service, so we don't have to hike next door to my grandfather's house for that.
First world problems.
Now we wait for the showers to be installed. Having been torn out to the studs and joists was going to make it a longer project, but the fact that there was never a tub upstairs meant they had to add all the pipes in themselves, making it take even longer.
But having only one shower with four kids this close in age is gonna suck.
My bathrooms are getting redone. One of them is a half bath, but there's room enough for a tub. It's getting a tub. The other is a three quarter (giant walk in shower), and it was hastily remodeled as such by the previous owner. And by hastily, I mean poorly. It's deteriorated badly in the intervening years, and today's the day it finally gets turned into something not crap.
The water has been shut off to my house since morning. According to the plan, I was expecting the upstairs to be done first, shutting off only the water upstairs, but they decided upon arrival to start on the downstairs, shutting off everything for the duration.
Finding a way to accommodate my family under such short notice has been tricky. Kinda hate it. But, it's the egg we have to break to make this omelette.
You read the title correctly: I'm not hiking right now, and I'm not happy about it. Let me explain.
I've been planning on hiking in the Adirondacks for awhile. I've had time, but I haven't had anyone to go with.
I'm an extrovert. If I go alone, I'm just walking around outside. This is a social event for me. But I also want to do the thing. Whatever.
I had an opportunity. Some of my people were planning a hike that was going to start today and run through the weekend, hiking over three of the peaks. You might notice that I'm posting this today. I shouldn't have internet access from there. I don't.
Because I'm not there.
Last couple of weeks there have been some nasty rain storms, and it turns out that a lot of trailheads and bridges were washed out, and my people decided to cancel the trip. Not postpone, no. Cancel.
Bah.
So here I am again. I get it, especially when half of them work in schools and there just isn't time later on. Though at this point I'm thinking of spearheading it myself with another group.
This is the last week of swim lessons for the summer. My wife always signs the kids up because she not only believes that they should be able to not die in water, but it gets them out of the house and away from their screens for awhile.
Of course, free swim starts when their lessons are finished (she always schedules the last classes for the day), so they stick around and tire themselves out. They always drop off much easier on those days.
The difficult part about the end of lessons is that free swim starts much earlier, so they want to go much earlier, which while it still tires them out, they have a lot more recovery time, so it doesn't drop them by the end of the day.
At least they're active.
