I started writing a few posts today, and stopped them all not long after I started.It's been hard being productive today, hard for me to focus on anything... other than the crazy situation going on right now.
A few hours after I woke up this morning, I got a message from my husband- we got a text from the municipality telling us that our water will be turned off in a few minutes, due to a repair that needs to be done.
Yes, our water was turned off.
I have experience with that.
You see, last week, last Saturday morning, our solar panels on our roof burst because of freezing temperatures, and then when it warmed up, water was pouring out of the solar panels on our roof, giving us a waterfall right over our front door. So we filled up a few big containers with water and shut off our water main. And it remained off from Saturday morning until Sunday night when someone finally came to fix our solar panels.
It's really not fun to live without running water.
And we did that already last Saturday and Sunday.
So to wake up with the news that that would happen again today did not make me happy. But at least I knew how to be prepared....
I filled the bath tub with water (since the containers filled with water weren't enough last time) and our big 2 gallon container of water and a few pitchers, and was hoping that it would be finished in a little bit... Since I had cleaning and cooking that I needed to get done today.
Nope.
No such luck.
All day long we had a tractor sitting in front of our house, digging up the road. Then workers in the hole in the road. Then more workers. Then it was raining. Then there was more I dunno what, but action out my window. Entertaining for the kids, certainly...
But not entertaining for me.
Makes me appreciate running water.
Because I realized that, especially with my lifestyle, I use a lot of water. A ton.
I was trying to be productive today... and I made carob powder. That got 2 pots and 2 strainers dirty. I made carob spread. That got another few dishes dirty. I made a few more things... and every single thing, while easy to clean if I just had the water, was made more complicated by the fact that now my counter and sink are piled high with things that need to be cleaned.
Yes- I even made chicken today, butchering a chicken, then slicing the chicken breast into thin shnitzels. Imagine having your hand covered in chicken goop, and then trying your best to wash it off with soap and little bits of water you scoop out of the tub... because you don't want to use up all that water just to wash your hands, because then you won't have any water left to flush the toilet. And that is bad news... Especially with a family of 6 and only one bathroom.
Speaking of bathrooms, my desire to strictly cloth diaper is not going so well right now. I mean, hello, I can't even rinse off the diapers, let alone actually wash them. Same as on Sunday. So the disposable diaper count right now for the week is up to 6... And probably will get higher...
Because it is nearing bed time and there still isn't water. And probably won't be at least until tomorrow AM.
Thankfully Mike brought home a 6 pack of large water bottles from the grocery store when he was coming back from work, since we used up all the water that I'd filled up this morning... Since we're nearing 13 hours of no water.
And another thing- another reason I have a hard time being productive and focusing with what is going on...
I dehydrate easily.
I need to drink more than I do.
And when there's something stopping me from drinking as much as I generally would (which is even less than I should), I start becoming dehydrated... mildly so. But enough so that I get tired, lightheaded, and have difficulty focusing.
But I don't want to down all the water we have. Because what if the kids need water? I don't want to use up all the water and then become stuck... so I ration it like someone going through the dessert.
Which is ridiculous, because it's raining outside right now... and yet I feel the need to be stingy with myself with the water...
Hoping I wake up to the sound of water running... Because another day of no water would drive me crazy.
I have much appreciation for the people working tirelessly for hours in this icky weather to try to fix this issue... but right now, I'm just really missing my running water...
Those of you who've been blog readers for a long time- you might have remembered how I used to have a series of posts on needs vs wants. Well, I'll tell you this- running water is a need, not a want for me. 100%.
Edited to update: We got water back a few minutes before going to bed! And now to conquer that mountain of dishes and laundry!
Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with your water. Whenever our water is shut off I go into instant panic mode. It's something we take for granted, but is so important!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's awful! Back home I'd panic whenever our spring dried up, so I totally sympathise. At least we could pull water out of the river...pretty sure you don't have that option.
ReplyDeleteSanitation becomes a big problem when there's no water. You're right, it's a need, not a want.
Good luck...i'll think watery thoughts for you.
I can identify only for different reasons! While I was my husband's caregiver, I would not attend to much and have not maintained the water softener and have rusty water, rusty dishes, rusty clothes. I am finally getting a plumber out to the home to help tomorrow. Also Wednesday a plumber went on the roof and cleared out a wash machine and dish washer line. Had my husband not had dementia, those items would have been attended to.
ReplyDeleteHave been there. Last winter we had an unusually cold spell. We knew the pipes would freeze and bust, so we turned the water off at the main. We had to turn the water off by 6 pm, and couldn't turn it on until 3 pm the next day, when the pipes were finally warm enough not to freeze the water instantly. We had to deal with the sewer pipes being frozen much of the day, too. The cold spell lasted over two weeks. It was three more days before we could do laundry, because a small piece of the pipe going out of the washer still froze solid when we started to drain a load.
ReplyDeleteI prqay that you get water soon.
I grew up in a house with a well, and we frequently lost power in rain/snow storms. Which meant our electric pump wouldn't work and we would be without water, sometimes for days. Some things we did-- we filled the bathtub as soon as bad weather was predicted. We had some big containers for drinking water we used for camping trips--these got filled for drinking and cooking water. A big bucket was partly filled with water for washing hands/dishes, another for rinsing. Of course, the rinse water eventually gets dirty, but then you use the wash water to flush the toilet (only when neccessary!) and repurpose the rinse water for washing, and fill a new bucket with clean water for rinsing. Some people use three buckets, wash-prerinse-final rinse.
ReplyDeleteIt gives one a new understanding for the amount of work people who have no running water have to do. Not only conserving in daily use, but the physical labor of collecting and retrieving water from communal wells or springs. If you live in an urban environment, running water is certainly a neccessity, not a luxury!
Have you considered having a composter toilet? It doesn't use any water and is very simple to make and to use, and doesn't smell. It's meant to be used indoors, and you can use it along with or instead of your regular toilet. You just need a place outdoors to put your compost pile where to dump to waste from the toilet to.
ReplyDelete