DollsArtCats

We have been having some kind of leak, probably from the dishwasher, for about a week, from the ceiling under the kitchen to the basement floor. I started washing dishes by hand, but there was still water in the basement. So last night I decided to listen and see if I could hear where it was dripping upstairs, and then I made the fatal error of trying to pull the dishwasher out from under the cabinet, which I think sheared off the hot water supply. So then of course I heard A LOT of water and the basement became a rain forest. Even more aggravating, the shutoff valve under the sink did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and we ended up turning the (brand new) valve to the main, which shut off the water... but which  also meant that we have no water. So in theory the plumber will come out again today to collect his second payment on his yacht, assuming his wife doesn't have her baby and that neither he or his buddy Mike have the flu. Anyway, I did take a couple of photos of the outfits that Ar...

..Of a pipe in the garage bursting because of the intense cold. Even more exciting, when J tried to turn the whole house shutoff, the valve handle broke off completely. Luckily we managed to find the right inner valve in the forest of hanging tags, and shut it down to the stream you see (blurrily) above. My fondness for Tupperware and many towels came in handy. Of course it was New Years Day, but we did get a plumber to come out, and for the price of two Soom Limiteds, fix the pipes by removing them entirely from the garage-- and then tomorrow the other plumbing issues in the garage will be fixed on normal billing hours. K and I went to Target on Sunday and bought J an additional stocking stuffer, since he didn't get any real toys: It shoots those little styrofoam darts a LONG way! I also got some tree ornaments 70% off, and also another box of these goofy things, which I had already given several people as gifts: (They will be on next year's tree, since I have ...

It's super because now the sink is fixed! (And turns off!) (We also went out this evening, and saw a bit of football and some ads, and came home again)

Backyard denizens on Tuesday. Right now it's raining hard enough to make Noah check his building schedule; which makes a fridge delivery a bit problematical, but we will see. The new pipe weld in the basement is leaking, but I have learned that if you drape a rag over it, a pinhole squirty leak can be channeled to run down into a bucket instead of spraying the room. J knows a lot of stuff.