WATER HEATER 1, THE JIM AND ANNA 0

Okay, well the Jim and I worked all day long trying to solve the water heater problem by draining the water heater (which took overnight), and even still it seemed like we were not sure if it was empty.  So, we tried all different ways to drain it the rest of the way (hoses, syphoning, heading to Home Depot for a Drill Pump – which didn’t work),  still, nothing.  So the Jim, in a fit of anger was going to try to blowtorch the top off and go from there.  Well, I was leery of that idea and thankfully the blowtorch didn’t work (it’s called life letting you know it’s not a good idea); so after a lot of stress, strain, struggle, clean up and so on, and so on…we finally decided to make the call.  Plumber, please help us!

Harry’s Plumbing is PHENOMENAL!   I will recommend him to everyone I know.  He rocks.  He also is knowledgeable and funny.  He commented that he’d like to do a TV show called “Things that Ed the Plumber Didn’t Tell You”.  Well, after a lot of cutting and re-soldering we have a new hot water heater and some happy people.

So, final score:

Water Heater 1

The Jim and Anna 0

Harry the Plumber 100

Thanks so much and his price was so reasonable it makes me giddy.  We’re back to normal now.  At least as far as our hot water heater is concerned, as far as we are concerned – all bets are off.  OH, and check out the scary pictures on our Flickr page.  EWWWW.

AH, THE JOYS OF AN OLDER HOME!

If you don’t know…our house was built in 1945 and we’re in a historic section of North Knoxville (not THE historic section, but close).  The Jim and I are the first people to tell you and anyone else for that matter that we LOVE OUR HOME.  We do!  We honestly do!  Even with the tacky wall-papered mural of a pastoral scene in the dining room.  Even with the plaster walls that take more effort to fix or require planning to hang a picture (any picture).  Even with the scary “panic room” space under the house that for goodness sake, I would seriously have to be facing nuclear annihilation to actually go into (it’s scary folks).  However, we are now coming to a “matter of deduction” one one of our regular stressors. 

Downstairs, we have a finished basement (see flood post from while back).  A few times each year, the carpet by the back door gets saturated.  We first thought it was rain coming through the door.  No.  We then thought it might be the pipe that connects to the outdoor hose.  No.  I think we’ve figured it out.  We have a sump-pump by the back door that decided that it was just done working.  So it fills up with water and apparently seeps into our lives filling the air with that dank, musty, oh-so-not-filtered water smell and a soaking wet carpet (which, as most of you know, if you don’t rectify turns into dank-musty-moldy-nightmares).  So, we bought a new sump-pump yesterday (and those suckers ain’t cheap – try almost $100.00), and the Jim went about the business of installing it.  In an older home, and anyone who shares this joy of homeownership knows…it takes more effort to fix anything, and often the process is rarely simple.  Of course, it’s scheduled to rain big this weekend.   Unfortunately, he needs to go to Lowes today to buy a new pipe too, so he really didn’t install it last night. Which means, water table rose during the night, carpet got wetter, smell got worse and Anna got more frustrated.  Blessings exist these days in things like wet/dry shop vacs and Yankee candle tart burners.  Hopefully today, we’ll get the problem rectified and the new sump-pump installed and working.  All this and my father is scheduled to get here in a week and a half.  Ah well…not much more do at this point other than hope that the Jim does a good job with his stint as home handyman.

CH…CH…CH…CH…CHANGES.

In the midst of the situation at our church, other changes have been happening around the house of the Retro-moderns.  I think that the general litany of changes is what’s giving me some residual blues. Lots of change in a short amount of time is exhausting and requires a good portion of adjustment.  Here’s a recap for anyone who doesn’t know what’s been goin’ on in our neck of the sidewalk.

1) Finally, flood repairs are almost completed.  The repairs to the house started last week thanks to State Farm’s program of we’ll get you a contractor and we’ll assure they’ll get the job done.  So far, so good.  The tile in the kitchen has been replaced with new glossy faux black marble (which Easton, our golden-labointer pup is afraid of because he doesn’t like “shiny” floors).  We were going to go white with black design on the kitchen floor originally to lighten up the place but in all honesty the floor now matches the original and makes us feel still true to the house’s retro feel.  They also had to replace the ceiling (entirely) in the downstairs rec room and it looks really nice.  Today comes the new carpet and new couch.  By this time next week, it will have a women’s touch and our lives (at least in our home space), will return to normalcy…what ever that is.

2) They offered, and I accepted.  After a lot of agonizing thought, I have decided to leave my current job (which I care deeply for), for some new opportunities in my original field of study.  It’s a great chance for me to get in on the lower-floors of an expanding company/service at a starting salary higher than my present. In this economy, that’s hard to pass up.  The truth is, while I’m excited about the new ventures (to commence September 2nd), I am going to truly miss what I’m leaving behind at my current job.  Being a project manager allowed me to finally take ownership of a program and shape it.  It became my “baby”, and I think, looking back, I really did okay with it (it’s hard for me to self-compliment so bear with me).  I’ve had a stellar supervisor and I truly love my co-workers/colleagues.  So, for the first time for me, a new and better opportunity is accepted with a hint of bittersweet.  Ah well.  On the plus side, we’ve been forever changed by my experiences in this job.  We’ll continue to be respite foster parents.  I’ll continue to be teaching PATH classes as a foster-parent trainer.  We’re stepping up on our mentoring role for our “kiddo”.  So, if anyone thinks we haven’t been impacted by the power of my work, they’re wrong.  However, when you’re me…and you’ve spent your whole life shaping your self worth around your career (due to lack of creating a family – which by golly, we need to start moving on), not being begged to stay makes you feel like your worth hasn’t been appreciated.  I know that’s probably my blues speaking, but hey…I gotta say what I’m feelin’.

So with those two big shifts in perception, along with the jolt at our dear TVUUC it’s been a week of transition.  Inevitably, change is a part of life and with it we still experience the range of emotions that accompany any loss and gain.  I’m looking forward to being able to appreciate that silver lining sometime soon.  Perhaps a little Bowie will help.

Here’s to the future!