Monday, February 17, 2020

UNDER CONSTRUCTION


I am having a plumbing problem with my tub faucets that may require cutting a hole in my wall to fix.  My computer hutch is directly in front of the proposed surgery site so I will have to shut it all down and move the hutch.

I am a bit horrified about finding where all these plugins and phone lines belong for the modem, computer, printer, scanner, speakers and WiFi when this is all over. Luckily my keyboard and mouse are wireless.  I have color coded some connections and am hoping I can figure out the rest.  Was surprised at the number of dust bunnies that had snuggled up to the maze of wires and phone lines. Cheesh Patti.

Hopefully they won't have to move my hutch or cut the hole but in truth, it is looking like the worst case.  I am psyching up for putting the puzzle back together.

The bad part is that I have had no hot water and have not had a real bath since Wednesday night. I might be smelling a little gamey.  The first crew thought they had set me up so I could shower but I just wasn't strong enough to open the shut off valve on top of the hot water heater just for a bath. Such a puny old gal.

A sweet friend kindly offered me her shower but I didn't want to take an 8 mile round trip to shower. I really don't work up a sweat daily and with moist towelettes and sponge baths, I am not too rank--I hope. At least Callie hasn't tried to roll on me and we know how dogs love stinky stuff.

I am really craving that bath when this is over though.  I will soak in bubble bath till I prune up.

Hope to be back visiting you soon.

59 comments :

  1. When the vultures start soaring above your house...it's time for that 8 mile trip!

    Good luck in re-connecting.

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    1. Anni,
      Ha ha, so that is what they were doing yesterday. Hopefully they will be here in a couple of hours and I will be able to bathe at home.

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  2. Take a photo of the back of your computer before you unplug everything.

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    1. Jean M.
      Thank you so much for that great advice. I don't have a smart phone but do have a camera and I just took pictures of all my connections. By viewing the shots, it should be a big help. Thanks again.

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    2. Photos is exactly what I do every time I move house so I can get things operational again asap.

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  3. Oh those wires? Mrs. C loves messing with that kind of stuff. Me,...not so much. That bath will feel extra good.

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    1. joeh,
      Lucky you. I feel like I am dealing spaghetti. Yes, I am really looking forward to that bath. This reminds me of a long power outage.

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  4. When you first mentioned plumbing problems, I envisioned personal ones. But I'm happy to know it's external, and that you've got help to fix it. Good luck!! :-)

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    1. Djan,
      Ha ha, me too. I think this is much better, especially with help on the way.

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  5. Oh dear. My mom called those sponge baths a whore bath once and she didn't realize I heard her say this to my aunt. So I asked her what that meant. Oh my gosh did she turn red. Normally she spoke like this to her sister in Italian but this she did not. I don't think she knew I was nearby to help. This is also why I speak no Italian except bad words, bad phrases, and how to call a woman of illrepute several different names in Italian. :-) So thank you for that fun memory! Don't you wonder how in the old days they didn't bathe for a month or more? I hope you get a shower/bath real soon.

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    1. Margaret,
      Ha ha, your Italian is like my Spanish. I can remember hearing that expression also. I was told it meant, wash what shows and powder what doesn't. Yikes.

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    2. I always thought a whore bath meant washing the most used part of their anatomy and nothing else.

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    3. River,
      You are right. My Dad meant that for poor persons bath.

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  6. Plumbing problems, Roger and the guys he worked with during property management phase of his life used say it was the bane of their existence. I was going to recommend photographing those wires and was glad to see that someone else thought the same thing. It's going to feel so good when you get into that tub again. Ahhhh...

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    1. robin,
      Wish I had thought of that but glad you and Jean did. Should be a piece of cake with the photos. I CAN"T WAIT for that bath.

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  7. We lose electricity every once in a while and so I know how hard it is to go without a shower ... or take the cold shower. After three days (which has happened more than once) we end up at the nearest Hampton Inn. Anyway, that's my advice. Spend a day at the closest hotel; worth the price.

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    1. Tom,
      If they hadn't promised to come today, I had that plan in the back of my mind also. Hopefully I am on my last day.

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  8. When I was young (18 or so) I lived in Northern Saskatchewan and had no running water. Unless of course, I ran for it. In the summer there was a bath house available, but in winter I was on my own. I would heat water on top of the oil stove and have what I called a half bath. First I washed the upper half, then the lower half. Having a real bath when I came south was a real treat.
    I hope the plumbers are able to fix the problem quickly (and inexpensively), and that the computer set up is painless.

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    1. Eileen,
      Hadn't heard that expression about running water. That was cute and probably descriptive. Me too on the price of this work. Holding my breath, plumbers are outrageous.

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  9. Hope your plumbing project is completed soon, Patti. When my pressure pump gave up the ghost, I had to wait a couple of weeks for a replacement. So I went to my favourite public pool and had the prequisite shower before my swim. Enjoyed a nice leisurely swim and then had a post-swim shower to rinse off the pool clorine. Win, win!

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    1. Florence,
      What a nice solution to a bothersome problem. You made it into a fun thing. Wish we had an indoor pool--I'd give it a whirl.

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  10. It'd really a problem when your routine is so messed up and you are a creature of habit. Here's hoping all goes well and you are back to your soothing bath soon.

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    1. Carolyn,
      We don't realize we had a routine till it is bushwhacked. Sooo tired of waiting. He still hasn't shown up yet today.

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  11. Oh, I hope they will come soon to fix it.

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    1. Inger,
      Me too. This has been a long 5 days. Hopefully he will show up today.

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  12. The older I get the more upset I am when things go wrong. My boiler broke down last month so that I had no hot water or heating I was not a happy bunny. Hope all your pipes are sorted out quickly and you can enjoy being a prune.

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    1. Fun60,
      Thank you. Now I don't feel so badly about getting a bit cranky as the day wears on and no plumber. Really looking forward to that prune phase.

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  13. Wow, that's a terrible scenario. I would need David to put everything back together. He's the computer nerd, I am not. Good luck to you. Hope it's all fixed in a jiffy.

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    1. gigi,
      One good thing has come out of this. As I sorted through all the wires and phone lines, I discovered I still had the cables for a computer I no longer have. Doesn't look so imposing with those gone.

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  14. I am so sorry for you. My shower is out of commission but won't require the amount of work yours appears to need. Luckily I live a mile from my kids house and they have three showers (nine kids). Hope it goes smoothly for you.

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    1. Celia,
      My sympathies to you also. You have a good solution with a close shower--nine kids??--but still it is a bit of an inconvenience. Hope you are fixed soon also.

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  15. I can't smell you yet, so you're good. But at times like this it reminds us to be grateful for both water and warm water. Hope yours gets fixed soon.

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    1. Jean,
      Ha ha, so glad it hasn't reached you yet. I really can't wait. Who knew a bath was such a marvelous delight? I have always enjoyed them but now it is an obsession:))

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  16. Going without hot water is not fun. Good luck on the plumbing project.
    The garage door repairman just arrived here at our house. More money.

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    1. Linda,
      Ah yes, repair, repair, repair. A house can keep you stressed to pay all the bills.

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  17. Could you get someone to open that tap for you? A neighbour maybe? Actually, I no longer have a daily shower in winter. I just don’t get dirty enough, I just don’t work hard or move a lot anymore.

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    1. Friko,
      I may have to resort to that. He will have to come back when I finish to turn it off again so the faucet stops leaking. I hate asking him to do that. He is my age.

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  18. I almost spit out my coffee laughing at--you know how dogs like to roll on stinky stuff--LOL!

    I do not know where all my wiring goes, either!! I hope this all goes well. Color coding was a really smart idea! :)

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    1. Rita,
      Ha ha, she still has shown no extra interest in me so my measures must be working:)) Plumber still hasn't arrived. May have to find a new one today.

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  19. If you are sponge bathing daily, you have nothing to worry about regarding your personal odour. As long as you do the bits that would normally get sweaty and use a deodorant too, everything should be hunky dory. I haven't had a bath in eight and a half years because there is no tub here and I gave up showering daily in favour of sponge baths when I had more than the usual back trouble a few times. I only shower now if I need to wash my hair since I am unable to bend over the sink for that length of time.

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    1. River,
      So far I can't smell myself but they say you can never smell yourself. Hope I am still presentable. I have seen this product called rinse-less shampoo cap. It is used for hospital patients. Think I will get one just in case this doesn't get resolved right away.

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  20. It would be worth a trip to the Dollar Store to buy garage sale stickers or other colored tape. If you mark them as you take them apart you can leave the tape on forever in case you ever need to reassemble the cords again.

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    1. Barbara,
      Ooh, hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea.

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  21. You can always make me laugh, even when you are in dire straits right now with no tub. Your dogs are being very kind! LOL. Hope it all gets worked out for you soon.

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    1. Snickelfritz,
      So glad you enjoyed. In retrospect this has been a different and often amusing adventure.

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  22. I, too, hope your back soon with all your wires in place. Good luck avoiding a hole in the wall. I wasn't as lucky when I had a plumber for a bathroom stoppage.

    Generations ago people didn't bathe as often as we have since we've had indoor plumbing, I guess. Someone from an earlier generation once said to me, we all must have been a bit gamey, but if we all smelled the same, maybe we just didn't notice it.

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    1. Joared,
      I have often wondered how they did also with seldom bathing and no deodorant but like you said, if everyone smelled, who would notice?

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  23. Oh, I meant to add, those little wash-ups with little water and no shower we always called "spit baths".

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    1. Joared,
      I had totally forgotten that term but it is one I heard my mother use.

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  24. I always get apprehensive when I have to take all the wires out of stuff that I'll never know how to fit all back again afterwards, especially with my dj equipment. I hope it's more straight forward than you are imagining.

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    1. Joey,
      Luckily, they didn't have to punch a hole in my wall so the hutch stayed put. But I did do a lot of purging and cleaning so I was probably worth it to be scared for a bit. I have really simplified my connections.

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  25. I also label all my wires which helps when I have to disconnect them. OUCH! I’m so sorry you’re going through this, Patti. I wish you were next door. I’d be more than happy to let you come on over and take a bath here.

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    1. Kay,
      Thanks so much for the offer but finally the tub is fixed and life is good again. The good thing is that not only am I CLEAN again but at least now, my cables are labeled.

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  26. Dear Patti, well, several days have passed since you posted this story about the faucets and hutch and all the wires. I hope that by now--Friday--you've discovered whether moving that hutch and thence the computer et al is necessary. Not being able to shower is a bummer. (I think that I get quite "stinky" sometimes because I tend to shower only when I'm leaving the house and will be out and about among other people!)

    But worse than the shower, for me, would be all those wires. Color coding and making a diagram seems to be a good idea! Peace.

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    1. Dee,
      Thank you and yes, I am sweet smelling once more. That was such a wonderful first bath. I am ready now if I ever have to move my computer.

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  27. I hope by today your shower situation is all fixed. We don't want your dog to have to want to roll on you. You are so funny. I would be daunted trying to plug in all my computer stuff again, it is good you color coded the wires and plugs.

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    1. Terra,
      Yes, all is well once more and oddly, my dog has lost a bit of interest in me:))

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  28. Ah, computers and their cables. Wicked things.

    Hope you are pruned up to your heart's content.

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  29. Susan,
    Thank you. I have had enough baths now that they are just a pleasant interlude, not an almost orgasmic experience:)

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