We woke up this morning, thinking it would be a nice lazy morning with coffee drinking and perhaps even french toast, reading a book while listening to the sound of the rain hitting the windows.
But no. Because the sewer drain in the basement was flooding, and suddenly it was a fight against the water. The perils of home ownership and a finished basement! Louie worked valiantly but we soon realized this was a job for a professional with more than a shop-vac and a little pump, so we called Roto Rooter. They were great and were there within 20-30 minutes, and solved the problem. Then we had some cleaning up to do which I won’t discuss, but I’ll just say, what a morning. The cats were very excited and couldn’t decide whether to be terrified of the water or explore it. I’m sure they’ve actually tracked unimaginable things all over the house, but I’m sure it’s not actually worse than what they normally do either.
It’s been a stressful week. Things are getting settled, and soon I’ll be on “spring break”, but I was hoping to spend most of today relaxing. The good news is that I’m relaxing now, and that I’m looking forward to our trip later next week. Both of my college teaching jobs are off next week so I canceled a few days of lessons so Louie and I can get out of town for a few days. We are heading to Branson, Missouri to relax, hike, see a show, and be touristy. We know that most of our friends are saying, why Branson, but we are saying, because we haven’t been! So it should be fun (it will be fun with Louie no matter what because he always loves new places) and it will be a nice diversion.
I think I’m getting all my summer travel dates figured out too. We planned a trip to visit Chautauqua, NY this summer where my sister Leslie will be with her new baby, and we have a Memorial Day trip planned with friends, and then a long road trip at the end of the summer. I must admit I feel very lucky to be able to do so much, though I hardly feel it sometimes! I know that most people can’t take a 3 week trip, but I also know that most people don’t work as many days and hours as Louie and I do on a regular basis (he rarely takes a day off either). In other words, we feel lucky, but not too much. If you add up your weekends, if you have them, you have way more vacation time than I do 
. But nonetheless, I’m also happy and grateful that having to pay for the plumber didn’t knock our finances too badly either, and that we can still afford to leave town. I know others aren’t so fortunate.
No pictures lately, which is a sad oversight—well, not of the water, but of say, the cats or something delicious I’ve been eating or something funny I saw. I’ve been feeling a little low and stressed, and that means less pictures. It’s nothing huge, just a million tiny things adding up. I think a few days out of town will be just the ticket, and I can’t wait to share the trip with you here later. I’m hopeful the weather will cooperate and not be too rainy, and we are definitely planning to see Dolly Parton’s Stampede and probably stopping by Mansfield Missouri en route to see the Laura Ingalls Museum and House.
Have you been to Branson? What are your recommended activities or places to eat?
Do you get your sewer lines cleaned preemptively or do you wait until there’s a problem?
I also currently am having a sewer problem (ew) but luckily it’s limited to one bathroom and an outside drain. This is now two years in a row. I’d like to think I will start doing it proactively, but we extended our American Home Shield repair warranty out a year and so we almost have to do it when it’s backed up. But I am beginning to think we’re going to need it once a year. I really need to watch the drain closer to see when it starts to back up.
3 week holiday is just perfect and i like the approach of putting it all out there and then taking longer breaks. Waiting to read your trip review.