Friday, September 9, 2011

Warning: Not A Pretty Story ( Nor A Pretty Picture In The Bunch)

Starting Monday morning, the State of Virginia morphed into Washington State.  It rained day and night, night and day. And so on and so on until the end of the world or Friday afternoon.  Whichever came first.  I can't remember.

It sprinkled, it poured, it thundered, it lightening, it was cold, it was humid, it was sodden.

Our archenemy, The Hole, reappeared in the ceiling over the sink.  We had survived the earthquake and the hurricane.  But five straight days of rain?  No way baby, The Hole was back in town.


GG hooked up an assemblage of black garbage bag, blue dog ,er, walk bag, string and a tupperware container. ( And a pair of scissors to keep the string away from the windowsill)



This allowed the waterfall to drip gently down the string into the container avoiding huge outpourings of water splashing onto our wooden counter.


Well at least I think that was the point. GG certainly enjoyed its creation and I enjoyed the company in the kitchen while chopping numerous vegetables for fried rice.

Though the Lab can be counted on to be by my side for every stroke of my knife.

Hoping for a dry and beautiful early September weekend for all.

And let's all try to stop pissing off Mother Earth, yeah?

18 comments:

  1. While I applaud GG's obvious inventive skills, I mourn your ceiling. Aargh! Thought you had that puppy licked.

    "Only" 5.75 inches here, and thankfully none of it inside, but it will be at least a week before I can walk in the back yard. Anything I can do for you?? xo

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  2. Oh, I feel for you--you know I do. And do so admire GG's ingenuity. I hope you have a beautiful sunny weekend.

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  3. Well, shyte on a shingle! How annoying is that? Is it the same place that was just repaired? Guess it's better to happen now than in a cold and rainy November. Love gg's contraption!

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  4. omg! I love her contraption! Seriously, some people are so clever. . .I would have probably watched it pour down and ruin my walls and cabinets.

    fingers are crossed that you dry out soon. :)

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  5. Amazing engineering feat by clever GG! Hope you get rid of the hole and banish it forever! Sorry haven't been around much - just caught up with posts... Glad you had a wonderful break away and the food from previous post - YUM - now am v. hungry - have not had breakfast either! XX

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  6. That's a great contraption. I used to have something similar that diverted a leak a few feet over to drain in the tub. GG's is quite ingenious.

    What's upslope from that leak? Is there a dormer or a chimney or anything like that?

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  7. Webb, Thank you. If you could have seen how happy I was when we arrived home and all was well. Maybe I was too smug as a bug in a rug....

    Jen, Thank you, you too. What's the rain news up your way?

    Sarah, still not raining. must keep your fingers crossed till further notice:)

    Shelley, yes the exact same spot. I thought we had it covered, so to speak....

    Semi Expat, nice to see you here again. Grill a rack of lamb for lunch. You'll be glad you did:)

    GG is a genius.

    Steve, Chimney on other side of house, flashing tight. Roof reshingled in February, capping(?) of siding redone last month, attic window over kitchen sink area rebuilt and recased last month. What the hell can it be?

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  8. this is so strange jane. it would really drive me insane. gg is so clever! i'm all for not pissing off mother nature, she can be a real bitch.

    xo

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  9. Oh no, Jane, not again. Love GG's Heath Robinson contraption, I think she may be a famous inventor one day, is that why she is studying chemistry? Hope you get to the root of the black hole problem soonest. xxxx

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  10. When I volunteered with Christmas In April (now known as Rebuilding Together) I was known to use a garden hose to simulate rain to find the source of mysterious leaks in houses that I was evaluating. Use your deductive skills, and GG's obvious engineering ability, to test various locations outside. With the hose, you control the water and you can (maybe) find the point of entry. Your ceiling is already re-damaged, which actually makes this experiment easier.

    We had wind-driven rain, tropical straight-down rain, drizzle, sprinkles ... I'm feeling a bit mildewey right now. I don't know what our total is, but there's a drywall bucket on our back deck that has obviously overflowed. That's a LOT of rain!

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  11. That ever-ingenious GG. If only the bag had been pink it would surely have won all the design awards going. Wishing you balmy sunshine and the retreat of the Hole.

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  12. I feel your pain.

    I used to have a 120-year-old house that had a very similar problem. After years of aggravation, we discovered the leak originated from an improperly installed satellite dish. The water came in there, traveled sideways under the roof shingles for a considerable length and then came out from a hole in the plaster above a window. This only happened when there were several days of rain in a row. Good luck! J.W.

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  13. Oh Jane,

    This looks really serious. Hope your floor will stay dry.

    Wish you lots of sun,

    Madelief x

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  14. Ingenious! We too, here in Annapolis survived everything unscathed EXCEPT the week of rain. The wet vac had to come out and my mental state is reduced to a wet fog. Hopefully we will have a glorious fall, soon! I am newish to your blog, and am loving it!

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  15. That looks very scientific Jane...like something my hubby would dream up...hopefully all the natural disasters are finished for you...at least for a while!! Robx

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  16. I do like a Heath Robinson-style solution like yours!

    Isn't it lovely how labradors like to help with cooking? And washing up? Such kind, considerate dogs.....

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  17. I have said it before and i will say it again.

    GG is a genius.

    and that's why you are moving to England, away from the weather to run the food truck.

    Although there is a hurricane warning for tomorrow here....

    so come next week.

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