When It Rains It Pours
I was heading down to the basement to finish another load of laundry before our trip out to BC for Christmas when I noticed something strange on the carpet below. As I was stepping down the last step, my brain was desperately trying to send a message to my foot to stop descending. But alas, the two couldn't co-ordinate fast enough and my foot sank, along with my heart, into the icy cold water flooding our basement.
Adam was on the phone and I screamed to him. He came to the top of the stairs and I could see the confusion flash across his face as I heard him say, "I have to go. Something terrible has happened at my house."
For the 2nd tine in 2 years, our new sump pump failed. Can you imagine? The emergency response team couldn't come for another 2 hours, so we watched the water rise slightly and wondered what we would do...we were supposed to leave in 4 more days.
Let me back up a bit. Earlier in the day I had taken Marin to the lab for a strep test as she'd had a fever for 4 days straight. After the test came back negative, I wasn't sure what to do.
That morning, I could hear water running somewhere in the house and after a thorough search, I couldn't find the source. Eventually I went outside and found an outside tap had burst and the water was pouring out under our deck. Adam told me to go into the crawl space of our house and shut off the main water line. I physically could NOT do it. The shut off valve is right beside the sump pit and apparently I have an EXTREME fear of small confined spaces and deep, dark holes filled with water. So instead, I had a quick shower, fearing the water would be shut off all day, and called the plumber in. He arrived within 1/2 an hour and "repaired" the problem. Then...the flood happened. Just as I was thinking things were going to be ok.
While we were away and our friends were watching our house, they called to tell us that our pipes were frozen and there was no hot water!! So needless to say, our whole holiday was dampened with the underlying stress of our flood, torn apart basement and issue of dealing with the insurance people and contractor upon our return.
The emergency team came the following day and moved all our belongings out and ripped up the carpet and underlay. The giant fans were placed and the anti-bacterial spray was applied.
I was most thankful that we'd had the sense to buy Rubbermaid boxes for all of our belongings after our last flood and also that the basement had been cleaned up of all the toys! Usually the dress up clothes, the Barbies and a few puzzles are all over the floor.
So we are back to square one. We are hoping that the contractor will be able to start this week and our basement will be back to normal in no time. I'll let you know how it goes.
After all of this, don't be surprised if we go through all this wine quickly!!! It might be just the right medicine!!
Adam was on the phone and I screamed to him. He came to the top of the stairs and I could see the confusion flash across his face as I heard him say, "I have to go. Something terrible has happened at my house."For the 2nd tine in 2 years, our new sump pump failed. Can you imagine? The emergency response team couldn't come for another 2 hours, so we watched the water rise slightly and wondered what we would do...we were supposed to leave in 4 more days.
Let me back up a bit. Earlier in the day I had taken Marin to the lab for a strep test as she'd had a fever for 4 days straight. After the test came back negative, I wasn't sure what to do.
That morning, I could hear water running somewhere in the house and after a thorough search, I couldn't find the source. Eventually I went outside and found an outside tap had burst and the water was pouring out under our deck. Adam told me to go into the crawl space of our house and shut off the main water line. I physically could NOT do it. The shut off valve is right beside the sump pit and apparently I have an EXTREME fear of small confined spaces and deep, dark holes filled with water. So instead, I had a quick shower, fearing the water would be shut off all day, and called the plumber in. He arrived within 1/2 an hour and "repaired" the problem. Then...the flood happened. Just as I was thinking things were going to be ok.
While we were away and our friends were watching our house, they called to tell us that our pipes were frozen and there was no hot water!! So needless to say, our whole holiday was dampened with the underlying stress of our flood, torn apart basement and issue of dealing with the insurance people and contractor upon our return.
The emergency team came the following day and moved all our belongings out and ripped up the carpet and underlay. The giant fans were placed and the anti-bacterial spray was applied.
I was most thankful that we'd had the sense to buy Rubbermaid boxes for all of our belongings after our last flood and also that the basement had been cleaned up of all the toys! Usually the dress up clothes, the Barbies and a few puzzles are all over the floor.
So we are back to square one. We are hoping that the contractor will be able to start this week and our basement will be back to normal in no time. I'll let you know how it goes.After all of this, don't be surprised if we go through all this wine quickly!!! It might be just the right medicine!!
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