House Woes, Again

I have been so bad at blogging lately. At least, that's what it feels like. Not only am I writing less and less, but I am reading less and less. Chalk it up to holiday craziness, or sheer exhaustion, either way, I feel like I am failing in some small way.

 So, I am trying to be better about it. Call it my pre-new year's resolution.

Last weekend was not exactly relaxing. Saturday we finally got our attic ladder installed, so we can officially store things above our garage now. This means going through everyone's closets, cleaning things out and reorganizing. Normally I would enjoy this, but when it falls around Christmas, it just seems like one more thing to add to my to-do list.
Sunday we had a nice gross surprise.
While I was taking a shower, I heard strange gurgling sounds echoing in the pipes. I thought it might be the hot water heater refilling or something...until I looked down a minute later and saw I was standing in a growing puddle of odd-colored water.
After my initial "Oh my gosh, nasty!" feeling, I thought there was a clog in the drain. Begrudgingly, I turned off the water, gathered my shampoo, grabbed a towel and rushed to the other shower. I go to turn it on and noticed water in the tub already. "Did Chris not drain the tub all the way after the kids' bath?"
Nope.
It was the gross water from the other shower. We had a big problem mounting. I called for Chris and threw on some clothes. He started to try and unplug the shower when I saw the kids' bathroom floor was all wet.
"What? Why? How?"
I then saw a small, steady stream flowing from the base of their toilet.
We had an even bigger problem.
After we piled up the towels around the toilet, and turned off the water, I rushed to the computer to search for a plumber that would come out to the house on a Sunday morning.
I did find someone, and they couldn't come until after lunch, but to cut the long, boring, dirty story short, they came and fixed it...though they found a bigger issue we'll have to address soon. Yay.

I have to admit, when everything was falling apart, the first thought that entered my mind was "Ok, I'm ready to move now." This house has been a lot of work, and we have only been here 2 years...and we still have a lot to do. Sure, I did a lot already, but that was mainly aesthetics.
I do like the house, but we are growing out of it a little faster than I thought. We will obviously "tough it out" for a couple more years or so...but I think I will be more anxious than hesitant on leaving.

Things we have had to do since we moved in:

• fix the heater
• fix the sprinklers, twice
• reset our mailbox (not the house's fault)
• install attic ladder
• treat for external termites
• fixing the fireplace
• unclog the draining system
• replace the water heater

Things we still have to do:

• install more gutters
• fix/replace roof
• get a new fence
• refinish the deck
• get new carpet
• install new doorknobs
• treat/replace lawn
• exterior paint the house
• fix the sewer line
• replace the smoke alarm (right now one unit)
• replace the garage door system

And I still fear we will have to do things like replace the AC unit. Ouch. And a new house? Probably some of the same issues, but at least then we will have warranties and such.

Let's see what's next to pop up, and hope it's not so pricey.


M.LEWIS