The First Week of March

On Monday we had 65 degree weather. It was great. The kids played outside for about two hours. Then it started to rain in the afternoon, and they were forced to retreat to the house. It dropped about 20 to 30 degrees by nightfall.

Tuesday it continued to rain. When we get a lot of rain the water eventually starts to leak into our basement. The perimeter drain cannot keep up with the amount of water and the result is a wet floor in our basement. All of the kids toys are in the basement so we really try to keep the flood at bay. We build a dam on the floor around the crack where the water leaks in. And then wring out the towels as they become saturated. The perimeter drain flows into the sump pump pit. On Tuesday I was doing laundry, also in the basement. The washer drains into the sump pump pit also. As I started my second load I noticed soap suds starting to rise out of the pit! But alas the sump pump was not kicking on. And it was pouring rain out side. I checked the breaker. It was not thrown. I went ahead and switched it on and off thinking maybe it would restart it. Didn't work. I got a flash light and made sure that the float wasn't sticking. It wasn't. The sump pump was simply not working. By now the pit was completely full. I called Jeremy at work and he called his cousin Wayne. Wayne is a plumber and agreed to come by and either fix it or replace it for us once he got off work. Jeremy asked if I had checked the breaker, and tried unplugging it and plugging it back in. I told him I hadn't tried unplugging it and plugging it back in, but that I figured flipping the breaker would have the same results. He agreed. After he hung up I decided to try the unplugging and replugging anyhow just so I could say I tried everything before Wayne had to come all the way over and work on the completely water submerged sump pump. I got the stool, set it up, climbed up on it and behold the thing wasn't even plugged in!! I was sweeping cob webs from the rafters and pipes last week and must have bumped it loose without even knowing it. Once it was plugged back in it ran just fine. For about a solid 20 minutes! Then I had to call Jeremy back and explain "Um, it wasn't even plugged in, and it's my fault. " Fun Fun. By then the temperature had dropped to below freezing and there was ice everywhere. Especially on power lines. In an attempt to keep up with the water now coming in the crack in the basement I didn't have supper ready by 7:45 when the power went out. So we ate cold cereal for supper. Jeremy then spent the next couple of hours hauling water (drawn out of the sump pump pit) up the stairs, out the door and to the street. Seven gallons at a time. We have one 5 gallon bucket and one 2 gallon bucket. He did this until the power came back on around 11:00. No toys were drowned on Tuesday in the Benedict basement. I also finished my 500 beanbags in the afternoon.

On Wednesday, due to weather and power outages Rae did not have school. There goes the last day of spring break. Greenville schools are going to be making up snow days for the entire week of spring break.

Thursday I babysat for my cousin Kyrston's children. Rae also had a friend come home from school with her. I didn't get a whole lot done that day. The ice melted out of the trees. It was to fun watch. I sure wouldn't have wanted to walk under any of them though. The ground around every tree was white with chunks of melted ice.

Friday Rae (actually all kindergartners) didn't have school again because the weather forecast was predicting lots of snow. I rolled my eyes at that one, until it started to snow about 9:30 a.m. and hasn't stopped yet. It is now 3:00 on Saturday and we have a lot of snow. Friday the 7th of March there was a bank robbery in the little ole town of Greenville. All the other grades of school were in session when this happened, and the High School went into lock down. I was glad to have Rae home with me at that point!