The Good,The Bad and the Ugly

 I will give it to you in the bad, the ugly and the good order.

THE BAD is that we have had some plumbing problems. We weren’t really sure what caused them but that was a lot of work being done next-door. I didn’t know whether it had anything to do with that. But it was just very suspicious about occurring at the same time.

So we had the plumber out twice -- three times actually. First time they take the toilet off and snake the line and went about 65 feet down the line didn’t find anything. The second time they came back they dug a hole in the backyard and drilled a hole in the pipe and put another snake down and it was about another 65 feet beyond that point.  This culminated when they hit some tree roots.

They’re pretty sure we had a broken pipe. But they didn’t know exactly where. Meanwhile, yesterday morning the City came out and asked us to have a T section put in the sewer line so they could run a camera. Which is WAY much preferable to us paying for the camera

We called the plumber guy to put the T in the pipe.  Essentially it is the clean out.  So Frank says real macho like, I want it BIG!  I want it to stick up out of the ground and be visible for next time we have to do this.

First off, there will be no next time.

Second off, it should not stick out of the ground because it is in my freaking YARD and I don’t want a sewer pipe sticking up out of the ground.

To which Frank says, don’t worry I’ll put landscaping around it.

Thirdly, this is a dark corner that has shade all the time because it’s under a huge Crepe Myrtle tree. There is nothing that will grow there that I’ve tried for 35 years.

The plumber owner says, no worries, we put them in at ground level so you don’t hit them with the mower.  I am satisfied and leave for my Modern Art Class.

THE UGLY.  When I get home the T is sticking out of the ground about 7 inches. (pause to let that sink in)

This is not acceptable, I explain calmly to Frank. He said this is the way it’s going to be. To whit I walk inside and call the plumber and explain calmly that this will not be acceptable.

THE GOOD:  I leave for my Remember Me Guild Meeting.  When I return home, the plumber guy has come and chopped off the pipe to make it ground level.

Today the City comes out and puts this cool camera into my sewer pipes......and they find some "stuff" and "other stuff" and the roots.  It is a shift of the pipe to the east, where the fault line is, oh, maybe a mile from here.

And because that is in the area where the utilities and underground power lines are, the city will replace the broken piles!

So now we are happy.  And we don't have to go on the Crazy Lady's property since all the pipes go toward Dale's house and not hers.  What a pleasant surprise in itself.

I spread some grass seeds, laid some mesh to hold the seeds in and nourish them while they grow and went to another guild meeting!