Ummm. . . .what to blog about?
It's been awhile since I've updated this but couldn't think of anything to blog about. . . .until I read my nieces' blogs (thanks Julie and Liz).
Liz and her family are moving this weekend. She blogged beautifully about leaving Reno and the wonderful people who have touched their lives. This reminded me of my gratitude to the wonderful people we've known in Oklahoma. We have moved numerous times in our marriage. We're up to 15 different residences in five different states in 25 years. Our next move, in a few weeks, will make 16 in 6 states. Is there a Guinness record for moving? We have met WONDERFUL people everywhere we've lived. We named our oldest daughter after the couple who adopted us as newlyweds. And we've kept in touch with dozens of others along the way. Oklahoma has been no exception. We've had a wonderful home teacher who happens to fix our cars more than he changes his socks. I've had great visiting teachers who show up with dinner out of the blue (and save my life) and who just call or email when life gets too stressful for even a quick visit. We've had a great seminary teacher who keeps me posted on Josh's attendance and is very generous with make up assignments. We've had a bishop who kept the BYU fight song alive in a ward far, far away from Happy Valley. We've been visited by the Three Nephites who sawed and hauled and sawed and hauled hundreds of pounds of tree limbs knocked down after the ice storm. We've been the recipients of numerous work "parties" to continue to clean tree limbs, move us into a smaller house, and move us into and out of the storage units. We will never forget our "Okie" angels and the many kindnesses shown to us. We know we will find unforgetable friends in Missouri also.
Julie's plumbing adventures reminded me of my recent plumbing experience. Our house is only 1 year old; we are the only occupants. When the kid's tub started draining slooooowly I knew we were the only culprits--specifically my long-haired beautiful daughters were the culprits. Not being ecologically minded like Julie, I poured every legal chemical down the drain--no improvement. I tried digging out the hair--little success. I purchased a cool hand plunger--the kids had fun in the tub but no luck with the clog. I couldn't take apart the tub stopper to really dig in there. It was too complicated for me and not being talented, adventurous or with a sunburned bum like Julie, I couldn't get that tub draining. Also like Julie's situation, our tub got really gross from standing water. I didn't want to clean it. The kids started showering in our bathroom to avoid THE TUB. When the 1 year anniversary of living in the house came along, I called the builder to check, repair, replace any items. I asked for the plumber to come fix THE TUB. That was in January . . . .endless phone calls, missed appointments, more calls and threats, and five months later, the plumber showed up. I had been told since the clog was a hair issue, I would have to pay. Ok, Ok, anything to fix THE TUB. Actually three plumbers showed up at my door two days ago. I feared THE TUB might be too much if it took three plumbers to fix it. Not to worry--one correct twist of the stopper thing, one screwdriver and a little elbow grease and POOF! a rapid draining tub. The plumbers pulled out the rat big "brother" to Julie's clog.
We left the stopper thing out and are now using a rubber removable stopper. Under the stopper I inserted a hair catcher thing--Josh calls it the "tub skirt" to collect the offending hair which we can periodically swoosh out into the garbage. Too bad it took us a year to figure out our plumbing issue--where's Julie when I need her? And I will be taking that tub skirt with us to Missouri.
Liz and her family are moving this weekend. She blogged beautifully about leaving Reno and the wonderful people who have touched their lives. This reminded me of my gratitude to the wonderful people we've known in Oklahoma. We have moved numerous times in our marriage. We're up to 15 different residences in five different states in 25 years. Our next move, in a few weeks, will make 16 in 6 states. Is there a Guinness record for moving? We have met WONDERFUL people everywhere we've lived. We named our oldest daughter after the couple who adopted us as newlyweds. And we've kept in touch with dozens of others along the way. Oklahoma has been no exception. We've had a wonderful home teacher who happens to fix our cars more than he changes his socks. I've had great visiting teachers who show up with dinner out of the blue (and save my life) and who just call or email when life gets too stressful for even a quick visit. We've had a great seminary teacher who keeps me posted on Josh's attendance and is very generous with make up assignments. We've had a bishop who kept the BYU fight song alive in a ward far, far away from Happy Valley. We've been visited by the Three Nephites who sawed and hauled and sawed and hauled hundreds of pounds of tree limbs knocked down after the ice storm. We've been the recipients of numerous work "parties" to continue to clean tree limbs, move us into a smaller house, and move us into and out of the storage units. We will never forget our "Okie" angels and the many kindnesses shown to us. We know we will find unforgetable friends in Missouri also.
Julie's plumbing adventures reminded me of my recent plumbing experience. Our house is only 1 year old; we are the only occupants. When the kid's tub started draining slooooowly I knew we were the only culprits--specifically my long-haired beautiful daughters were the culprits. Not being ecologically minded like Julie, I poured every legal chemical down the drain--no improvement. I tried digging out the hair--little success. I purchased a cool hand plunger--the kids had fun in the tub but no luck with the clog. I couldn't take apart the tub stopper to really dig in there. It was too complicated for me and not being talented, adventurous or with a sunburned bum like Julie, I couldn't get that tub draining. Also like Julie's situation, our tub got really gross from standing water. I didn't want to clean it. The kids started showering in our bathroom to avoid THE TUB. When the 1 year anniversary of living in the house came along, I called the builder to check, repair, replace any items. I asked for the plumber to come fix THE TUB. That was in January . . . .endless phone calls, missed appointments, more calls and threats, and five months later, the plumber showed up. I had been told since the clog was a hair issue, I would have to pay. Ok, Ok, anything to fix THE TUB. Actually three plumbers showed up at my door two days ago. I feared THE TUB might be too much if it took three plumbers to fix it. Not to worry--one correct twist of the stopper thing, one screwdriver and a little elbow grease and POOF! a rapid draining tub. The plumbers pulled out the rat big "brother" to Julie's clog.
We left the stopper thing out and are now using a rubber removable stopper. Under the stopper I inserted a hair catcher thing--Josh calls it the "tub skirt" to collect the offending hair which we can periodically swoosh out into the garbage. Too bad it took us a year to figure out our plumbing issue--where's Julie when I need her? And I will be taking that tub skirt with us to Missouri.
Comments
We pour the chemicals down our tub four times a year because I can't crawl under the tub and "work my magic". I know there is a ton of hair down there, but I also think we have hard water issues.
Good luck with the move. You guys are pros.
Great post!