Cold Water Chronicles

Hi All!

Friday -

Something seems up with the water. I was washing my face before going to bed and . . . well, something just seemed wrong. It ALWAYS takes forever and a day to get hot water but tonight it seemed to take a bit longer. How frustrating! I really want instant hot water! Maybe I should talk to Hubby again about getting a small, tank-less, hot water heater for under my bathroom sink. Of course, the last time that we looked, they were a bit too expensive. Rats! Cold water just doesn't work for me!

Saturday -

*Yawn* I feel good. I slept in as long as the kitties would allow and then leisurely read the comics while enjoying a nice breakfast. SCRATCH THAT!

No - I woke up with the alarm buzzing like a swarm of angry bees and with both cats crawling around on my body. This, of course, hampered my ability to reach the alarm clock to silence the bees. Hubby woke up and mumbled something about people waking him up too early on a Saturday morning. Finally, the bees were silenced, the cats vacated the bed, and I was able to drag myself up to get dressed to walk. As I was pulling on my jeans I wandered to Hubby's side of the bed to check the temperature on the weather station receiver. I had to lean close to decipher the numbers in the near darkness of the bedroom. I squinted, rubbed my eyes, and then looked again. Yes. It really did say 32 degrees!

Back to my armoire to find my thermals. I peeled off my jeans, tugged on the thermals, grabbed a thick turtleneck and my favorite over sized sweatshirt. I was almost to the kitchen before I remembered that socks might be a nice thing to wear on a cold morning like this. Turning around swiftly, I barely avoided a collision with the cats who were following me around the house. I grabbed some socks and then completed the voyage to the kitchen. Stopping for a minute to pull my socks onto already chilled feet, I then took care of kitty business. Food, water, litter box. Gulping water and morning pills, I scurried into the office to nab my iPod and then to the kitchen bar to find my keys.

With everything I needed, including a new Kleenex in my pocket, I plopped on the floor, put on my shoes, got up and put on about twelve layers of coats, scarves, mittens, hats, and ear muffs. I was out the door running - well, not quite running but walking briskly.

After the walk, which was abbreviated due to the possible freezer burn on my cheeks, I reversed the insulation process and stripped down to my thermals and turtleneck to do my weights. Huffing and puffing through the set (yes, I am back down to only one set these days), I finished and headed to the computer.

After turning on the computer I headed to the bathroom for a pit stop as the computer booted. I turned on the hot water full blast to wash my hands and got a nice, strong stream of ice-cold water. Okay, so the hot water didn't make it to this bathroom in time to warm my hands. Thinking nothing of it I continued my morning routine of talking to my mom on IM while blogging.

Because an allergy headache was dogging my steps, I returned to bed after my computer time and slept for a couple of warm, blissful hours.

The water wasn't an issue until Hubby and I had finished dinner. Trying to be good I immediately turned on the hot water to fill the sink so I could wash the pots and pans. Cold water. Hmmmm. It seemed to be taking longer than normal. I let the water run for five minutes as I cleared the table and puttered around the kitchen. Still ice-cold.

Finally, I had to inform Hubby that something was up. After hearing my report Hubby did his own investigation which involved running water in every bathroom and in the kitchen to see if he could get hot water. Zilch.

We decided we had a problem. By this time, it was time for bed so I heated some water in the microwave to wash my face, gave myself a quick "sponge" bath, and crawled under the covers.

Sunday-

I think the cats know something is up. They let me sleep until 7:00 A.M. Getting up, wrapping myself in my cozy robe, and avoiding the kitties twining 'neath my feet, I headed to the kitchen. First I took the morning meds and then went out front to collect the paper.

Thinking that the hot water issue may have resolved itself during the night, I tried out the water situation. Lots and lots of cold and colder water. Absolutely no hot or even mildly warm water. Rats!

Taking care of the kitty business, I headed back to bed. In the faint light I read an article in Reader's Digest as I settled down again into slumber.

The next thing I know Hubby is walking into the room telling me that the hot water tank is fried.

"Literally?" I asked.

"Yep." he replied.

"Not good." I mumbled before falling back asleep.

After much debate Hubby called a local plumber and had him come out (yes, on a Sunday!) to check out the tank.

"There is water everywhere." Doug, the plumber said as he strode through the house to the front door. "That is never good."

He left to call his boss from his truck and Hubby told me that there was/is apparently a leak in the tank and that the water from the leak had met up with the electrical parts of the tank and resulted in a big, old "melt-down." Thank goodness Hubby had enough sense to turn off the breaker controlling the electricity to the water heater and to unplug the heater from the outlet just to be safe.

Doug came back in the house and immediately headed out to the garage to access the water heater again (which, by the way is in our attic!). He traveled in and out about three or four more times before telling us that his company could come out tomorrow to replace the tank. The tank, it seems, will be covered by warranty since it is way less than a year old. The labor - well, that is our responsibility.

In the meantime there is no hot water and I am not looking forward to another microwave sponge bath!

I don't smell, do I?

Trisha

Voice Update: My voice is doing well. I did two of the three sets of exercises yesterday. Such fun!