This afternoon when I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom, the sink stopped draining. I asked A. to go to the hardware store in the village and get some drain unclogging stuff. He did. Then he poured it down the wrong sink upstairs.
Super.
I told him we needed more because the sink in our bathroom was totally unusable. He didn't really want to go back to the village to get it, but when I suggested perhaps we could make it a family outing, he was all for it.
So we went fishing. There's a dock at the village park where A. and Cubby go to catch pan fish. I didn't really want to go, but since Cubby has a cold and has been a little, ahem, delicate of temper, I thought it would be prudent to tag along and forestall the whining for Mommy that would be certain to occur if I wasn't present.
When we got to the village, I remarked to A. that before we left I wanted to go the wine store to get a bottle of my favorite wine (a Vidal Blanc made by a local winery). Then he decided that since it was 4 p.m., he would get a can of beer. And he got me my wine. I wasn't actually planning on drinking any of it right then, but, well, he got the chilled bottle. And I was sitting in the sun on a blanket in the grass. Of course I had to have some. We didn't have a corkscrew, but it didn't matter, for we are woodchucks and ingenuity is ever our watchword.
Woodchuck instructions for wine opening: Push the cork right into the bottle with a pair of rusty pliers. Then, to get the cork out of the way so it doesn't keep floating at the top and getting lodged in the neck of the bottle, thereby preventing the wine from coming out, find a long stick and push the cork down far enough so it's in the wider part, where it will flip sideways and stay that way. Now you can drink straight from the bottle, because if you don't have a corkscrew, you probably don't have wine glasses.
This is how I found myself sitting on a blanket in the park with a baby this afternoon swigging wine straight from the bottle. It was way classy. And I bet it resulted in great clucking and head shaking among the two elderly couples walking their yippee little dog in the park.
It's pretty nice, though. Just remember that if you're drinking straight from the bottle, you have to be very careful to watch your intake. Especially if your current job duties include producing milk for a small person.
Incidentally, it turned out that on A.'s first trip to the hardware store, he bought the only bottle of drain unclogger they had (it's a really, really small hardware store), rendering the trip for a second bottle useless. So it's a good thing we had another reason for going to the village.
13 comments:
Boy, talk about a cliff-hanger. So did you ever get the drain unclogged?
So glad you aren't pregnant anymore. And just forget all the fancy cocktails; this was the best drinking story ever. Gave me a sense that peace had Settled over Cayuga County.
May I introduce you woodchucks to baking soda and vinegar??? My bathroom sink clogs up (or it used to) with amazing regularity. I got tired of dumping super expensive chemicals into the septic system. Dump a bunch of baking soda down the drain. Then pour a cup of cheap ol' white vinegar and quickly cover (I use a towel.) Leave it for 10 minutes (or longer if you want) and then pour a couple cups of boiling water down the drain. Presto!
Speaking of Cayuga Co. , don't forget to get your garlic to plant soon. Beth
Oh and Collette there is also the ol' bent coat hanger trick, to snake the drain up high.
Sometimes bleach will work too. For the clogged drain, I mean. Mary in MN
Drew: Not yet.
Collete: I've tried that several times, not very successfully. I know it works for a lot of people; maybe it's our crazy-old pipes or something.
Been there, done that, except for the stick part. Would have been easier if your dad and I would have thought about the stick part.
So happy to read that you managed at least a little bit of "you" time. Wine, trees, park, sun, no Cubby, quiet baby, a bit more wine, perfect. And now I know what wine to buy you when we come to visit. All is good.
I'd say that was a clogged drain that turned into a very nice afternoon indeed!
Boom.
Blanket + Wine bottle + Being in public without a glass = epic.
Well played.
And just use a plunger on the drain. I do that now. I fully expect something is going to break/rain cruddy nasty water and hair all over me at some point, but whatever.
And you had more reason to be drunk! I think if I went through all that and found that what I needed no longer existed, I'd have needed another drink.
Instead of going all the way to the hardware store, you can make a do-it-yourself formula using vinegar and baking soda, like Collete said. You can also use a plunger and petroleum jelly with these steps: 1) wrap the opening with cloth; 2) fill the clogged basin with enough water to cover the head of plunger; 3) coat the lip of the plunger with petroleum jelly, and; 4) Slide the plunger's cup over the drain opening, then rapidly pump the plunger up and down. If none of these work, then it’s time for you to call the plumbers.
Jaye Conaway
It really started with a clogged drain! If it wasn't for it, you wouldn't end up sitting nicely on a park and drink some of your favorite wine. How did you unclog your drain, by the way? I hope you figure out another solution the same day, because clog drains is a total pain in the neck if not fix immediately.
--->Levi Eslinger
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