We went down to visit Erin and her new house. The house has a great floor plan, a yard perfect for children and heaven for a little boy that is going to be digging and making forts.
Erin was all moved in and immediately, Victor had to leave for 2 weeks to Oregon. He got home for a short time and off to Wyoming. Not sure when he is coming back…maybe not until Halloween. so, things that need fixing aren’t getting done.
Hence…the saga of the toilet downstairs. As Victor and Mike moved the washer into the downstairs bathroom/laundry room, they whacked the toilet. Did I mention…WHACKED it. I am sure this started the whole problem. It became wobbly..not a good sign. I felt like I was going to be bucked off each time I used it.
This week, it started to leak. Mike and I are not good plumbers. Oh, is that an understatement. Together we are horrible at plumbing anything…if there is water, you can bet it is leaking. But, hey, we can certainly pull a toilet, put a new wax ring in it and put it back!
We go to pull the tank off and the bolts are rusted and the rubber washers are rotten. hm. We cannot get them off. so, it is going to be cut off with a saw. We laugh in the face of disaster! We also notice that the “guts” of the flushing mechanism is worn and often the water starts running on its own. Guess we should replace that, too…I am making mental list…new guts…new bolts…new wax ring…and lots of time.
I suggest we go to Home Depot and buy a new toilet. Time saved and cursing, arguing, yelling, and mopping up water …priceless.
We get there and call Erin. $80..complete set up. Even a new seat! All Righty then, let the good times roll.
We load it up, put Peyton in the car seat, find his binkie and blankie for the ride home and take off. Soon, I see a flash of paper…yep, there goes the instructions. gone. Oh well, we will fake it.
We pull and haul out the old bowl and start. We get the bowl in. Wax ring in place. I throw in a bucket of water..NO LEAK. Wow. I need to buy a lottery ticket, I have already beat the odds. We attach the tank..cinch it down. I toss a bucket of water in that…NO LEAK. We figure out the handle. We bolt the seat down. Everything is tight and solid. I hook up the water intake. I crack it on…NO LEAK. I open it wide open and we hold our collective breath. Nothing…absolutely nothing. Nice clean toilet…full of water…no water leaking. It must be a dream. Now, we flush. The water goes round and round…and down. Happy ending.
I grout the new throne and can’t help but marvel at the beauty of a piece of porcelaine that isn’t leaking.
We wait for the first person that needs it. Kaylie got the honors.
It is the little things in life that make the difference between wanting to get up in the morning or rolling back over and throwing the covers over ones head.
