This weekend we have been living like Laura Ingalls Wilder. Of course I have to take on the roll of Ma, though it really would be much more fun to be in Farmer Boy (you can not read that book without getting hungry).
The idea was fun for the first 5 minutes and 34 second. Then reality hit me like the smell of dirty dishes. Which isn't an exaggeration because the sink was full, both sides with dirty dishes. And not the easy just rinsed off kind of dishes, but the dried on oatmeal kind.
PART ONE- Saterday
We noticed that there was a strange smell downstairs coming from our water heater. But we had to hurry out to the park for the girls soccer games.I was so worried about our house starting on fire that on our way home, when I smelled smoke for a minute there my heart panicked and I didn't know if I should to just sit down and cry or be a heroine and run in and save the cats...and pictures, viola and movies, the newly painted furniture because hey, I have spent a lot of time on it and of course the vacuum that actually works and my red tea kettle because I like it and the gee-tar that is not mine...
but it was someone just burning something. Few! My nicely plucked eyebrows were not going to be singed off.
When we got home, the smell (from the water heater-not the dishes) was even stronger. So off went the water heater. No problem. I'm not worried or stressed. How hard can it be spending a weekend without hot water. I'm A-o-k!
Do you know how much a person uses hot water? A (insert stressed word here) TON!*
I took a shower right after the water heater was turned off so I was safe. The kids also needed baths, which we should have done right away, but we waited until later. I did some laundry (only colds) and thought that we were doing great...
PART TWO-Sunday morning.
Only the girls were left to bath but by then the water coming out of the piper was freezing cold.** It took a lot, LOT and more LOT-A-LOTS to get that water up to bathtub ready temperature.
I had all my pots and red tea kettle going. It took two loads of everything I had. *** But bathed they did!
NJ wanted to do the dishes yesterday. Like I was going to say, "No honey. Dishes are awful. You hate doing dishes, remember? Just load the dishwasher." So I boiled her some water for washing and rinsing. She loved every minute of it. ^ I guess she loves playing Little Town Between Corn Fields and Dairy Farms more then me.
It seemed like I was boiling water all weekend long!
Hopeful we will be able to do something about it soon because right now I have the whites soaking in hot water in my huge canning pot on the laundry room floor and I can only fit so many. At least after they soak for a while I don't mind washing them in cold.
Blah!
* I bet that this happened to me because just the night before I read the article about water in the National Geographic. You have been warned. I wash my hands (with handsanatizer) if you get jinked.
** Ok, maybe not freezing, but cold enough that your hand began to hurt after being in it too long. Kinda made it hard for the kids to wash their hands...not that they do a great job of it the first place.
***Just this morning I remembered I have a huge pot for canning. With my stock pot and canning pot I had enough hot water to give myself a bath.
^ I'm jumping up and down right now. I have a daughter who loves to do the dishes! Too bad loading the dishwashing isn't just as fun.
Here is a picture of the younger grandkids.
The whole group (except for picture taking Grandma), resting and having a snack . Notice NJ runny across the front. I wonder where she is going?
Yes-sir-ree, she is all wet. While the rest of us were taking pictures and sitting in the shade, NJ got close and personal with pond water and slimy organisms.