Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Water Cycle

As you see, the view from my patio chair has been marred. It all started with a leaky faucet. In retrospect, I wish I had just shut up and let it go. So it leaked. Big deal. I try to be earth-conscious, but really. The water recycles itself no matter what we do, no? It leaks out of my bathtub faucet, it pools in the tub, it evaporates, it rains back down onto the earth. It's the water cycle. I could have just shut up and let that happen. But noooooooo........



This is the aftermath of my fateful decision to call a plumber. Good heavens, I'm unemployed. You'd think I could find better ways to use my time than calling plumbers. Most unemployed folks would surely have the good sense to ignore a leaky bathtub faucet. But there's a part of Whirlingbetty which calls itself Missgoodytwoshoes, wanting to do the right thing all the time. A good homeowner dutifully calls the plumber when the faucet leaks, even if she's unemployed.



This is what it looked like after the plumber left. How did I not realize that demolition was part of the deal? I mean, would you expect your tub to end up like this due to a leaky faucet?


Note the holes in the wall way above the faucet- the plumber cut those holes after I said that as long as things were torn up, I'd like to have a shower installed. (It used to be just a bathtub, and I was thinking of resale. How long can I hold onto this house without a job? And wouldn't prospective buyers want a shower?)


Silly me- I thought the plumber was actually going to complete the job! The plumber left it as you see above. Stunned, I called my realtor, who put me in touch with a contractor who is now reconstructing my bathroom.



I was called upon to make a major decision about the tiles. The original yellow tiles are irreplaceable, it turns out. So the contractor had to integrate some other tile color into the yellow theme. I chose the above tan/gray which matched the wallpaper and sort of went with the yellow. Hopefully the finished product will look OK, and the bill won't send me into cardiac arrest.



This guy, whom I encountered in the park outside of my house early this morning, personifies my mood right about now.



Actually, he's just eating, not snarling as the front view implied. Or maybe he's smoking a turtle-sized cigar....



This photo was also taken this morning just outside of my house. It's a senior recreation center owned by the city, built in the late 50's, I'm guessing. It's rather unsightly, isn't it? Well, it's soon to be demolished. That brown and white sign is front of the building was removed minutes after I took the photo. Hopefully the absence of this eyesore will raise the value of my house, which faces this property.

This photo shows my house (on the right, hidden in the trees) in relationship to the soon-to-be-eliminated senior center. The city, ever creative, will turn the site into a parking lot.


This is the view out of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the senior center. Soon it will be the view from the city's new parking lot. Sometimes I wish I'd been a city planner....but where would I begin?
And this photo takes the prize, so far anyway, in this summer's whirlingbetty hummerpic competition. Too bad the hummer is a female. This was taken by The Child, who snatched my camera unbeknownst to me and got lucky.

22 comments:

Constance said...

Betty,
Auggggggh !!! Oh, empathy, empathy !!! Oh..... bummer ! Leaky faucet nightmare in spades...

Good that they are tearing the eyesore of the senior rec center down, bad that they are only putting up a parking lot and not something pretty. Hope your house value goes up either way.

Cool hummingbird pic taken by by THE CHILD :)

Big Dave T said...

Whether that turtle is snarling or not, I don't think I'd put my fingers too close. Nice picture though.

I don't like leaky faucets either. Thankfully my bathtub faucet hasn't leaked yet, though I've had to replace nearly every other faucet in the house. Not an easy job for someone like myself who is NOT a plumber. Water pressure and I don't get along.

B.S. said...

Dear Annie,

Yep, we have a lot of exciting things going on here these days. It's entertaining, to say the least.

Hugs,
Betty

B.S. said...

Dear Big Dave,

I admit I was a bit fearful of tbeing so close to that turtle. Maybe they all look like that, but I thought maybe he was a snapper.

I will always be fearful of leaky faucets from now on. I had absolutely no idea what a can of worms I was opening....

Hugs,
Betty

Lynilu said...

Since there is the possibility of selling your house, you have probably done the right thing. If it weren't for that, I would have recommended putting a bucket under the drip and using that for watering plants, then waiting to do the make over till a later date. You did what you had to do!

I'm so glad you're back with us! I've missed you!

Monogram Queen said...

Yikes I feel ya on the Plumber. I hate imcompetence. I like the bathroom colors though. Cheery!

The child has mad skillz :)

B.S. said...

Dear Lynilu,

By the time I realized that the bathroom would have to be renovated, the plumber had already wrecked the bathroom. I had no choice, since he didn't tell me in advance that demolition was part of his intent! I am still trying to figure out how this happened.....

Hugs,
Betty

B.S. said...

Dear Patti,

The funny thing is, I belong to Angie's List which gives homeowners lists of the best workers in each field of home repair. I pay good money for that service! That plumber was at the top of their plumers list.

Hugs,
Betty

Laurie said...

Oh Betty! I'm so sorry :( I know
how it is to have a water leak.
We had one last year at about this
time and we didn't know it till we
back washed the pool to the street
and one of our neighbors freaked
and checked our meter.
$2,800.00! Not what I wanted but
you couldn't tell that anybody was
there when they were done.

The turtle is so cute! You get
some really great pics.

Here's wishing you a great weekend
and may you rest!


HUGS!!!!!

B.S. said...

Dear Laurie,

I'm so sorry that you too had a nightmarish water leak. Well, at least our water problems are in the past. Mine almost is, I should say - the guy is still working (was supposed to be done 2 days ago) and I don't have the bill yet....

Happy weekend!

Hugs,
Betty

2bme said...

Dear Betty - thank you for visiting me and for your birthday wishes.
I am sad that you see your Birthday as insignificant -- you are truly worth so much more than you think. You definitely need to celebrate not just your birthday but each day that you are present.
I will eat a piece of cake for your birthday and celebrate yours along with mine.
Happy Birthday Friend...and many blessings to you this year.
Stay positive and eat your cake too.

Lynilu said...

Sometimes, Betty, those projects take on an infamous life of their own, don't they?

B.S. said...

Dear Simply Me,

Thank you for your birthday, as well as general, wishes. I will be thinking of you on your birthday this coming week. I think you are already very good at celebrating each day, not just that one day out of each year.

Enjoy your cake!!!!

Hugs,
Betty

B.S. said...

Dear Lynilu,

Yep, you can say that again! This one takes the prize in my history. I hope I learned something, like don't get leaks fixed, or something like that......

Hugs,
Betty

Mary Ann said...

Hmmm, I have those same yellow tiles and when I called a plumber, first thing he said was "whoa... yellow tiles." Apparently, they're like avocado appliances, as in not of this time.

When/if I tear mine down, I'll let you know in case you want the tiles, ok? (Like next year, maybe.)

B.S. said...

Hah! A fellow yellow tile owner! It's good that you've had some warning. Who would guess that yellow tile is so passe?

Yes, please let me know if you get rid of yours!

Hugs,
Betty

SweetAnnee said...

WELL the child got a pic of the hummer..it takes a feeder and lots and lots of patience with a hummer
who isn't too shy..
We have a female who is very shy..and one who isn't and a guy who chases everyone away from the feeder..


smiles, Deena

B.S. said...

Dear Deena,

You have taken the best hummer photos I've seen outside of books and postcards. I know how much patience you have!! I'm trying to follow your example...

Hugs,
Betty

Eve said...

What a mess but at least you don't have a leaky faucet any more. I'm glad Billy can take of most plumbing or electical things on his own. As broke as we are most of the time, it would be hard to keep it all fixed.

That is a super shot of the hummer. I try all the time and never get that lucky. LOL

B.S. said...

Dear Eve,

Thanks for stopping by! Yes, you're lucky to have Billy!

Hugs,
Betty

2bme said...

Another parking lot,,,geez where is the creative bone in the city...
Tell your boy I've been trying to get a picture of a hummingbird with no success. That is a Great picture.

2bme said...

Another parking lot,,,geez where is the creative bone in the city...
Tell your boy I've been trying to get a picture of a hummingbird with no success. That is a Great picture.