A Reminder

Alex & I had the privilege of house-sitting for a few people in the church. And not all things went as planned. Nobody wants to come home and learn that their house "wasn't" okay when they were gone.

This last time during the Christmas holiday, everything went so smoothly until the owners were due home the next day. It turns out that somebody (a person that had come by to pick up something from their house) had let the gate open and one of their dogs have run out. (He knew better!) I called the owners to let them know and gave me a few pointers on how to go about getting her back. We went around the neighborhood to look for her with no luck. We left flyers, called the shelters, and even called the local pet store where she gets groomed just in case. But the owners were sure that somebody would call because she's got out before. Night came and we got more worried. The next day, we resumed our ordeal when late in the morning we received a call from a pet store. Somebody recognized her and brought her to the pet store because she had the store's bandanna around her neck....without her collar! We couldn't believe it! As soon as I got the call, the owners happened to call stating that they had just landed. I broke the good news. We were so glad that things worked out in the end.

Well, that was the last one. The first one was just as bad. We were house sitting over the Thanksgiving holiday for a couple and their two children. The first full day we were there we had used the toilet once...nothing special. But we later noticed that it overflowed. Then, when water was used in the sink, it would come up through the bathtub. And to top it off, when we used the sink to wash dishes the same thing would happen...the bathtub. We couldn't understand it. We waited until morning to call the owners. Needless to say, we were BOTH embarrassed of the situation. We felt horrible because we never want the owners to worry about anything when they are away. It turns out that something, perhaps roots around the pipes, were clogging them that leads to the sewer.

Which leads me to what's happening in MY house right now. We walked in to the bathroom floor covered in about 1" of water. We used every towel in the house which we can't wash because we can't run the water. Unfortunately, the water somehow drains into my bedroom so we are having to deal with using a wet vac to get it out. And yeah, using the sinks means it coming out of the tub.

So, we are having the same problems. My family has had to be "creative" when it comes to using water. Brushing your teeth outside in the morning cold really wakes you up! Showers are taken with the water pooling at your ankles. And we are using a portable camping toilet and using it in the garage for privacy.

I am truly thankful for the things that I usually take for granted. And this situation is such a strong reminder of that!

How did they do it back then?