Even though I'm glad we've had several recent thunderstorms to save us from the summer heat, it seems as though we have a black cloud hanging over our home for the past week. It started last week when we learned that the air conditioning on the Xterra had gone out while we were on vacation. With the temperatures in the 100's for most of July there's no way we were going without air in the SUV. A mere $250 dollars and we were back in the cool.
On Monday our basement sink suddenly filled with water mixed with a mysterious black sludge. As much as we tried to plunge out the clog nothing seemed to work. Wednesday (no way I'd call on a holiday) we hired a plummer and for 10 minutes of work we paid $130. Problem solved.
Yesterday, Tara was catching up on the laundry when the dryer stopped working. We knew we were living on borrowed time, since the appliance was 30 years old. But now we're down another major household item and we've already spent our emergency money for the month. Good thing there's 12 months no interest, no payments. I know, I know - we hate doing it too.
The other little gem from last night was a problem we've had since the spring. The main water line to our house has enough of a gap around the pipe that water can get into the basement. I've tried to seal the gap with caulk, tar, and some kind of foam, but with the torrential downpour last night we had a little river in our laundry room for an hour or so. I know I need to patch the foundation where the pipe enters the house, but it means digging a four foot hole in the front yard and I'm not in a big hurry considering the summer temps.
I hope I'm not tempting fate by writing about our week of home repair/problems. Still, there's not much more that home ownership can bring our way for the rest of the month....Is there?
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