January 11, 2012

Doing the Dishes





The water shut off valve at the bottom of the hill has caused trouble in the past. Perhaps someone needed to have the water shut off so their condo could be repaired and this valve couldn’t be turned off. The shut off to the double one near our house was sinking into the street. Perhaps that too caused the condo board to go in for a penny in for a pound and fix them all.

Four sites are now holes in the ground, and the work seems to be progressing at a far slower rate than planned. They’ve been turning the water off early. There’s no water by eight. It’s still off at seven at night.

Fixing dinner is truly like camping out at a State park. Bottled water for everything. Rinse with bottled water, put on to soak in a dishpan filled with soapy water filled from the faucet at dawn. Measure cooking water from a bottle tipped on end to catch the last drops. Planning a meal with only bottled water is like planning a military campaign.

After running my errands yesterday, I stopped in at the hole nearest the house. Two men, fully wrapped in plastic, were on their way down to the old valve six feet deep into the street. The new double valve sat nearby in all its colorful beauty. The plastic wrapped workmen were surrounding the pipes leading into the old valve with a chain. The chain would be tightened, and the little teeth on the chain would snap the pipe.

By the time The Geezer got home, the new valve was installed, but the cement poured around the valve arrived without the ingredient needed so that it set quickly. We gave up on doing dishes from our dinner of baked squash and salad and went out for ice cream. By bed time, we were able to wash a load of dishes.

This morning, after I finish this, I’m going to sneak in two more loads and polish off the rest of the dishes by hand. We have casserole cooked for dinner tonight. Camping out in my own kitchen loses its charm when the dirty dishes threaten to take over the house. I think dinners for the rest of the week can be eaten out.

6 comments:

  1. Eating out is a fine plan.....or just eat sandwiches....which is what a lazy butt like me would do

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  2. I agree that eating out is a plan. Personally I think the Condo Board should spring for it.

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  3. Can you charge the water people for that?

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  4. That which does not kill you makes you strong.

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  5. I add my vote for eating out...even though your own menu probably tastes better; it sounds like a lot of work to get a meal on the table. Nothing is worse than a sink full of dirty dishes to look at. Give yourself a break and eat out....

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  6. At least you have blue skies and sunny days. Imagine trying to fix this in the rain. Dianne

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