In our town we alternate parking to give residents the chance to get their parking areas cleared.  What started out as a good idea never amounted to one when the city pushes all of the snow from the middle and side onto our sidewalks to clear...while the neighbors across the street have nothing to tackle.  Such is the life of city living.

These photos bring me joy, not in the way I was frozen with trying to lug a heavy snowblower where I needed it to go but in the layers of beauty that is shown.  I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Photos!

 I walked to the office with hot tea in hand thinking that today I would get caught up with all of the things on my desk.  I opened the blinds in the room to let the sun in, placed the cup of tea in the corner of the desk, and heard my husband running up the stairs.  He rarely runs so I knew...it wasn't going to be good.

There are those things you never want to hear your husband say and, " there is water coming down in the kitchen from up here." is in the top three.

I couldn't imagine what it could be...everything seemed fine.  We pulled the basket out from under the vanity and voila, there it was...the hot water pipe was soaked and you could see the water pushing up what looked like through the shut off.

My first instinct was to shut off the valve...which would not move.  Hubby tried it too and it was plastic and frozen in place...while the water ran, and ran.  Into the vanity, down the pipe into the space under the vanity where I could not reach and down the pipe on the floor which is the kitchen ceiling.

We grabbed towels to try and stop the excess water from further damaging the cabinet and the ceiling and I called our plumber.

Upon inspection, we saw that the new faucet system came with the flexible pipes attached to it, and they were attached into the coupler that was connected to the shutoff and copper piping. So it wouldn't be a simple removal of the flexible pipe.  After trying to stop the water with the still frozen shut off, we saw the flexible pipe was where it was leaking.  We were told later that happens a lot with that product.

Finally the shut off gave and stopped the heavy water flow, and finally the plumbers wife answered the phone.  She had her worker out already for the day fixing furnaces that were out.  And with frigid temps here, of course, they always take precedent.   She asked some info about the situation, and mentioned if it wouldn't be today, then definitely on Christmas Eve he could come.

We changed out the towels often and I noticed the water damage already happening inside the cabinet.  My concern was for the space under the cabinet I couldn't reach and hoping it would dry up before mold came.

A return phone call from the plumber came and the repair man would be stopping by shortly.  I asked if he is wearing a mask and I was told yes.

Adam is a sweetheart, and very knowledgeable in many plumbing aspects and our home so we were thankful he could get here and take care of this mess for us before the holiday.  He did mask up when I asked him to at the door because he wasn't wearing one ( because truth be told, he was not getting in here without one ) and we were wearing masks as well.  We stayed outside of the bathroom down the hall, while he worked with the window open.

He couldn't see the leak at first and when he released the shut off valve, he saw it pour out and told us what the problem was.  It all needed to be replaced, and he stopped before coming here and grabbed a new Moen unit just in case.

Thankfully, it didn't take long to repair the pipes and we caught up with him as he worked about family, friends, and funerals that have happened since this pandemic began.  

Adam isn't just a plumber, he is related to us down the family tree too and the last time we saw him was in January of 2020 when we were all together at my husbands uncles funeral.  We told him we would see him this spring to clean our furnace and he was off to the next house to start their furnace.

While it was a huge mess, and inconvenience at the time, we were blessed to have it taken care of so quickly, especially around the holiday...Christmas Eve, Eve.  What concerns me is the bill.

My aunt just had a plumber at her home last week who charged $591 for a small box added to the furnace and it was a twenty minute job.  Adam was here for one hour!!

As Adam was leaving we were talking about Christmas and gifts and I told him, " You know all girls like a little something shiny under the tree for Christmas.  I didn't mean Chrome." He and hubby both burst out laughing.

Thank goodness we can still laugh.

But one other note...the hardest part of all of this for me was I haven't seen my family, nor was I with my family most of this year with trying to be safe.  

To the point of much frustration with me that I wouldn't.  More than frustration I think. I even missed seeing my brothers engagement a week ago and watched it briefly on a zoom call instead of being present...which I know hurt him.  It hurt me too.

I wasn't the only one on the call, a few of his fiances family members were watching too since they are dealing with Covid currently...but you know what I mean.

And then the pipe broke and I had to have a stranger in my home, even briefly, to fix it. UGH.

I suppose all I can do is trust that the choices I make are right, and take each day as the blessing it is.

My Dollar Tree store is beginning to set the Valentine's Day Collection as well as New Year's Eve, Easter, and Garden Supplies so if you like to do some DIY decorating it is always best to get what supplies you need when they come out.

I grabbed a few things yesterday including those glasses with the hearts on.  I thought they would make cute low centerpiece holders.  The Love and Heart Sponges are cute accents for a bathroom. 

There are stuffed gnomes coming and a few gnome wall signs that haven't arrived here yet that I wanted to get for gifts.  I did grab the pink rose bushes they put out - now for spring grave arrangements.  I try to get the silk flowers for all of the graves early before they get picked apart ending up with missing flowers and with the price being so cheap, I can make full arrangements on a budget.   

Those Russell Stover Strawberry Cream Candies are so delicious, I can't remember seeing them before but one bag came home with me.

Photos!