Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Wednesday Reads and Water Issues

Have you ever heard a strange noise in your house? Did you investigate? Well, I do and I’m sooooo glad I did.

Yesterday it rained. A lot. But there was still snow on the ground. Snow that had apparently frozen our sump pump drainage pipe/hose (teach us not to check on that thing). This hose runs alongside the house (attached to it) and over the window well to the basement and then trails out into the front yard. The pipe burst over the window well and the sump pump was draining pretty darn quickly. The window well filled up and guess where that water went? Through the basement window into the basement.

I thought something had gone wrong with my husband’s fish tanks and instead I was hearing the waterfall that was flowing from the window.

Yeah, I freaked. After I placed a large empty trash can under the water fall (I was soooo glad there was an empty one down there!), I ran outside (my feet got soaked) and yanked to free the pipe from the house (remember, this pipe had burst, so water was kind of squirting everywhere!). Luckily it separated at where two pieces were joined. I managed to wedge the part that was draining the water so that it flowed away from the window and the house. I came back inside and watched the waterfall turn into a trickle and finally stop. Water filled the trash can and was about an inch from overflowing. Talk about being relieved!

I truly thought we had another burst pipe inside the house (like we did last year). The basement got wet where it always gets wet when it rains too much. Well…it might have gotten a LITTLE more water than usual. We don’t have anything of value down there, so nothing was lost. But man, I’ll be glad when winter is over. This stuff SUCKS!

Okay, on to what I read this week:

Marked by Rebecca Zanetti
Feb 25: “Marked” by Rebecca Zanetti, #7 of the Dark Protector Series, a paranormal romance at 282 pages long. Blurb from book: Janie Kayrs has known Zane almost her whole life. He was her friend in the dream world. She trusted him. But that was before he kidnapped her, spiriting her away to an isolated cabin to learn what her dreams never told her. Like how dangerous he looks. How he got on the wrong side of the negotiating table. And how much sexier he is in real life… Zane is a battle-hardened warrior, used to command and solitude. But Janie has drawn him from the minute they met. His need for her could destroy everything he’s worked for, but the risk is too sweet not to take it. They call her the Chosen One. But when it comes down to the questions of peace or war, life or death, safety or passion, it will be Janie who makes the choice… Love is about to start conquering… It was nice seeing these two characters finally get together. Ah, but the Epilogue… Kind of sets up the next series, I guess. Should have known.

So… I have no question for you today. I think my brain’s fried. I hope your winter has been panic-free. I wish mine was. J

Happy reading!

Stacy

15 comments:

B.E. Sanderson said...

Oh man, that sucks, but I'm so glad you caught it before it turned into a disaster. Gah, if you weren't home... :shudder:

Winter here has been pretty mild up until the last few weeks. Bleh. That stuff you're getting up there? Well, we got it all the way down here, too. Right now, it's rain but it's supposed to turn to ice and snow later. I'm staying home and staying inside.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Beth - Yeah, I'd hate to think what the basement would have looked like if I wasn't home. Same with last year when our upstairs bathroom pipe burst. Being a stay-at-home writer does have additional perks (besides just being fun, that is!).

The Happy Whisk said...

Oh my good gosh. Reading that post was like an adventure, the way you wrote it. Yikes.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Ivy - Be glad you only experienced it from my writing and not in real life. Because it was an adventure I hope to never experience again. Well...unless I decide to use it in a book. Then I guess I would be experiencing it again. Haha! :)

The Happy Whisk said...

The way you wrote it, made me feel like I was there. No lie.

Michael Seese said...

Let's face it. The gods of winter are smiting us this year.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Ivy - You're good for my ego! :)

Michael - Smiting, spitting, sticking their tongues out... They're doing SOMETHING, that's for sure!

dolorah said...

My house creeks and pops so much if I investigated every noise I'd never get any rest. That's sad about your basement though. Hope your fuzzy slippers did not get ruined. Is that when you caught this nasty cold?

Stacy McKitrick said...

Donna - No shoes got ruined (sneakers got wet, though). And I've had this cold for a week. I just hope I didn't make it worse!

JeffO said...

I'm glad your little adventure wasn't much worse. Lots of burst pipes round these parts, and with incoming thaw there's going to be a lot more. Of course, it's also going down to about 10 tonight--but at least we got above freezing today! Good luck with your pipes!

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jeff - It was GOOD that this was only a pipe for draining the sump pump, since my husband can fix that. I do NOT want to go through another burst pipe in the house. I may just move then. To someplace warmer! :)

DL Hammons said...

Good catch! Now I have to go home and check my sump pump! :)

LD Masterson said...

I read about your water problems on Facebook yesterday. Then went down to the basement last night and stepped into...yup, nice cold water. Not too bad though. Got it cleaned up with a bunch of towels.

Maria Zannini said...

How awful. Why can't pipes break when it's convenient--like never?

We got snow today. SNOW! But we'll be back to the 70s next week.

I'm ready for this roller coaster to end.

Stacy McKitrick said...

DL - If you haven't had constant freezing weather, you're probably okay, but hey, it never hurts to check!

Linda - There was a time we thought we could finish our basement. We're no longer thinking that. It gets wet WAY too many times. At least yours wasn't bad.

Maria - Snow? I bet everyone freaked, huh? We got snow, too (after all that rain), but no warm weather in the near future. I'm sick of this season.