OMG I hurt.

[vixalicious]

I woke up this morning with all my muscles screaming. Apparently an hour and a half of tennis after a lifetime of laziness had consequences. I sucked it up though, because today was forecast to be the nicest day of the weekend and I wanted to take care of a couple of outdoor projects. So I downed some Aleve, and headed outside.

First, I went around the yard picking up all the branches that have fallen over the winter, and then I pulled all the vines trying to grow on my house. Then I moved on to the major project for the day. Last year my dad made a new door for the crawlspace to my house, but told me that I needed to let it weather for a year before I painted it. So I start painting, only to realize I can hear running water. Not good.

I open the door, and where the sump pump is, there's a mini geyser under my house. Like, its own little water feature and yet not planned or soothing. So I got my dad on the phone, with visions of plumbers in my future, and crawled under my house. We ruled out fuse issues, and I got to learn how to test an outlet with a voltage meter (while standing in a bit of water, with my dad ready to call the paramedics from 800 miles away if things went badly). While doing that, I realized that the outlet was grounded so I pushed the button to shut it off and the water stopped.

Once the fountain was off, I realized that the problem was that the flex pipe that connected to the pump had come off. It should have just needed reattaching but somehow it didn't reach any more. I don't know. Maybe it shrunk? So I take measurements and get advice from my dad and head off to Home Depot. They, of course, have nothing that will bridge the gap. So I head off to the local Ace True Value Hardware, and oh! Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man! I am going to make an effort to shop there more often. He was so nice, listened to me, got me a whole new sump pump kit and connections and explained how it all needed to go together, and the whole thing cost less than $20. Then, when I got home and couldn't get part of the old pipe off the sump pump, I took the whole thing to the store and he took it off, put the new part on, and tightened it for me. I am a little bit in love with him.

The best part was while I was standing in the parking lot, waiting for him to come back with the wrench to tighten the connection, a little boy about three years old toddled by and looked at me (having spent about four hours crawling in and out from under my house, rolling around in red Georgia mud) and said, "Mommy, why is that lady so dirty?" ♥

Comments

[zillah975]

You are so totally made of awesome. God, I would've been panicking and calling Roto Rooter and going into debt; it would never even occur to me to try to fix it myself! I am in awe of your homeowning skills. *snorgles wildly*

[vixalicious]

Thanks! I am feeling quite proud of myself, although there was definitely panicking in there. I was envisioning the plumbing bill, and then my dad decided it must be something electrical, so then I was envisioning a plumbing and electrician's bill and my emergency fund dwindling to nothing. Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without my dad to tell me where to look, and what to ask for at the store.

[krazycat.livejournal.com]

It only hurts like that the first time. I actually sort of miss it, because when I work out now, I don't always feel it the next day, and it feels like I haven't done it properly, even if it's the same workout!

[vixalicious]

It's been a long time since anything has made me hurt like this, and it's getting old - the soles of my feet hurt! My ribs hurt! And it doesn't seem to be showing signs of going away. Probably because my day yesterday was not without its moments of athleticism. Ah well, I'll just keep popping painkillers and keep moving and see where it gets me!

[krazycat.livejournal.com]

Go and do more tennis! Then your body gets used to it!

[vixalicious]

I won't get to play again til Friday, unfortunately. All my friends are out of town for Easter, so I'm home alone. :(

[krazycat.livejournal.com]

How lame they are!

[vixalicious]

I know! Silly people, living within driving distance of their families!

[krazycat.livejournal.com]

Do they not know that Easter is for rest, not visiting family? All I'm doing is going to the cinema, read books and eat.

Okay, I just watched a church service on web-tv, but still!

[vixalicious]

I'm planning to spend the day finishing up projects: putting the last coat of paint on the crawlspace door, printing out the rest of the stuff for my sister's birthday gift, maybe working on my photo albums if I can find the strength to stand for that long :D

Speaking of, none of that is going to happen if I don't get my lazy butt out of bed!

[krazycat.livejournal.com]

At least you're already awake! It must be fairly early over there now.

I am taking a day of rest, I'm actually observing my religious holiday today. I only really care about Easter when it comes to religious holidays, I'm not a very good Christian..

[vixalicious]

Well, you're doing better than I am! I didn't even consider going to church today. Okay, that's not exactly true - I thought about it for about 2 seconds yesterday.

I think I'm going to go to a movie, though. Do something fun :D

[the-grapevine.livejournal.com]

Oh the joys of owning a home! The good thing is that you actually found out something was right before the situation was much worse. And you get lots of points for doing it yourself.

[vixalicious]

Yeah, one of my friends asked me if I should be doing that because isn't it dangerous? I told her, if I don't do it, who will? I live alone! It's my house so it's my responsibility, even the not-fun stuff.

[shirecreature.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on not panicking and doing it yourself! I remember when Sears came to fix my dryer (which they couldn't fix because it was a venting problem) and then happened to mention to me that my washing machine hoses were on their way out and they could replace them for around $90. I said no, went to Home Depot, got the hoses (for around $11) and put them on myself! I originally couldn't get the old hoses off, but I doused the connection with some olive oil and they came straight off. :)

[vixalicious]

It's amazing what you're willing to try to do when faced with having to pay someone a whole lot of money to possibly mess it up worse! That's my major issue with calling repairmen. I don't mind to pay when I know it's going to be taken care of the right way, but it's so hard to find someone you can trust not to take advantage!