The Day After

Although I called for a plumber last night, he didn't get here until mid-morning, and since Thanksgiving didn't really care about my waste water situation, I had to make like the Pilgrims and put a plastic basin in my sink, which I emptied into the toilet across the hallway as needed. It worked well enough, and I used my time well until Todd The Plumber arrived.

Forty-five minutes he told me.

This part may well have taken forty-five minutes, but I hadn't yet reached the stage of looking at my watch and wondering just how late dinner was going to be.

This part?

The part with the gooey black spray in my kitchen? That took a lot longer, in part because it happened three times.

Turns out that never having had a problem with the pipes and never having had to have them snaked in the eleven or twelve years I've been in this house has not in fact been a good thing. If my pipes had been snaked once or more in my years of home ownership, last night's pipe explosion may not have happened, and Todd most likely would have only had to have make with the black goo once only.
 On the plus side, even though I didn't believe it until I sat down at the table, a three-hour hole in the middle of the day didn't suck out more than I could handle (my son and his friend helped), but it was close. If I'd cooked the turkey the usual way (in one piece instead of cut up), we'd still be eating, and it wouldn't have been as juicy. I hesitate to say "tastty" since I find turkey rather dull.

But see? Dirty dishes which will still be there when I wake up in the morning and the dishwasher has been emptied.

 A fridge full of left-overs.

I was worried though.

When asked what my plans were for tomorrow, I said "nothing", but what that really means is "nothing that involves being somewhere at a certain time or doing something because I said I would, or doing anything at all on anything even vaguely resembling a schedule". I'm hoping to bead, knit, play with the cats, go for a walk, watch TV, that sort of thing - as and when the mood strikes.

And that's what I'm thankful for: that the holiday is over, that I fed family and friends, and that I don't have to do it again on this scale for at least another year, probably two.