Minutes turn into hours....

hours turn into days, days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months. The world keeps on spinning and time keeps on clicking away. And....with Thanksgiving looming, men of various crafts are still hammering, and sawing, and digging away in and around my house. I hope we'll be back to some semblance of normal by Christmas when the kids come home. I hope.

The latest little problem to be dealt with occurred Wednesday when one of the toilets flooded over. And I mean flooded over. I was so grateful that during our last sewer/plumbing problems I'd thought to ask J where the water cut off was for the toilet. I had to use it Wednesday. There must have been two inches of water on my bathroom floor before I stop the Niagra Falls coming from the toilet. I got a week's worth of arm exercise wringing out the huge towels I frantically threw on the floor. Seeing as how we had an entire new sewer line laid last July, I just wanted to cry.

We called the plumbers and scheduled them to come with their camera to see what's up. But....fast forward to yesterday when I decided to sweep off the new patio. On one edge I saw a hole -- a deep hole. I looked down it and saw white pipe -- shattered white pipe. What's that, I asked J -- not the sewer pipe? Yep. It was the sewer pipe. The four month old sewer pipe. It seems that whoever staked for the concrete pour for the patio, drove a stake right smack dab through the sewer pipe. Oh, well. C'est la vie. I guess. At least we know what the problem was, and....the repair is on the contractor. I don't think he can do anything for the huge bruise on my backside that I got when I slipped while sopping us the flooded bathroom. It could have been worse. I can think of lots of ways it could have been worse, but I won't go into them here and now....

Today, J is trying to install one of the new bathroom vanity tops. He just told me that it wouldn't be a good idea to look now. A comment like that would normally have me rushing to look, but....these aren't normal times. Not nearly normal times. I don't want to see. I really, really, really don't want to see.

Earlier today we went to WalMart. I usually avoid WalMart because it's so crowded. No matter what day or what time of day -- it's crowded. But today it wasn't. The parking lot wasn't half full, and inside the store there were very few people. No lines at the checkout even. It was eerie. What a piss-poor time we're going through. I hate it that so many are suffering and will be suffering. I only hope we can find pleasure in simpler things. In WalMart I noticed a large display of board game -- Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, Sorry, etc. What good gifts -- and they don't cost an arm and a leg -- and people actually sit and play together and relate. Not bad. Not bad at all. I think many of us are in for (or already going through) an attitude adjustment. Attitude is very important when you're going through trying times. Sometimes that's all you have to rely on. Trust me. I know.

And....a splash of Jack in your Diet Coke can help the attitude get where it should be. Trust me. I know.