Sometimes Pipes Don't Drain

I absolutely love spending a day home alone in the middle of the work week. In keeping with my long standing tradition to take off the day after an evening out, I was out of the office yesterday. On Tuesday night I went to a very small concert in a very intimate venue. I believe the building was a renovated church. It was part art museum, part performance hall. I had never been there before and it was nice to experience a new place. With my friends, Josh and Bridget, I saw an artist named Chris Smither. He has been around for a while but I only recently became familiar with his work. He is a singer and finger picking style guitarist and songwriter, with a very unique foot tapping style, who specializes in acoustic blues and folk music. It was a very enjoyable evening.

While standing at my sink yesterday, washing out my coffee pot, I couldn't help but notice a yellow tint in the tree leaves in my backyard and those of my neighbors. Much of my backyard is already covered in leaves. Yesterday the temperature was in the 70's most of the day. Autumn is in the air. We still have some hot weather ahead of us, and summer will not go gently into that good night, but the transition from one season to another has begun. It's one of the things I like best about living in Kentucky. We get to experience all four seasons. My favorite is autumn and I look forward to an increasing number of cool mornings and beautiful days.

Nothing brings life to a halt faster than plumbing that doesn't work properly. Recently the tub in my bathroom began showing signs of a sluggish drain. Like most people I was hopeful that a little Liquid Plumber would fix the problem and life would once again flow as it should. However, like every other time I have used Liquid Plumber in my life, it did not work. I finally had to make the call that everyone dreads. The plumber needed to be called so he could perform his exorcism on the demon living in my drain. So, in the midst of enjoying my day off, I had to wait for the plumber. I am always nervous when workers come to my house. First of all I am afraid that I will fall asleep and be out like a light when they knock on the door. When I don't hear them they will go away and bill me later for doing nothing. My biggest fear, however, is the unknown. Every time I have ever had a worker come to my house, I have one of the following experiences.

The seemingly simple problem that generated my house call is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem.

Whatever my problem is the workman says "I've never seen anything like this before".

My warranty doesn't cover the problem.

The bill is $400 when I budgeted $100.

Yesterday my brand new warranty that I have been making monthly payments on would not authorize or approve what the plumber recommended. My drainage problem was a little more serious than a simple clog that could be "snaked" away. We were talking replacing pipes, cutting holes in walls, replacing drywall, etc. What would life be without problems and challenges? Well, I think it would be very nice. I think life would be wonderful if drains never clogged and toilets never overflowed. Guess what? That's never going to happen. One must accept the good and the bad. My house and my body are approximately the same age. Both could use a little work and both have drains that don't work as well as they used to do.