deebeedee

The mucus-production that has gone on overdrive due to a perpetual cold and cough I’ve had for the past few months has rendered me unable to smell anything. Because I’m unable to taste food, mealtimes are hardly enjoyable. In some ways, it has helped though, like in taking out the garbage. I’m now practically immune to its nauseating effects. Changing the baby’s diapers is tolerable as well. Once before, I had to clean up after myself after getting sick from changing the baby.

My olfactory impairment came in handy yesterday too. I’ve had no luck getting rid of a clog in the kitchen sink Monday night. The massive amounts of Drano I poured down the drain didn’t work at all. My sister-in-law (who previously lived with us) said the only way to get rid of that type of clog is to use a plumbing snake on the drainage pipe from the side of the house. She warned that it was a messy, back-breaking and smelly affair. I put it off for the following morning. The stack of dirty dishes would have to wait.

So yesterday morning I unscrewed the end cap of the drainage pipe through a small vent for the house’s crawl space. I plunged the snake up the pipe and tugged a couple of times. Then I went in the house and checked the sink. Surprisingly, that did the trick. Sure, I was a little filthy but the whole thing only took about fifteen minutes. And I didn’t throw up.

The breaks in between the “beautifully timed” storms we’ve had for the past couple of months have been a Godsend. The times the sun has come out I’ve been able to mow the lawn (although it’s due for another trimming), take the family out to the City, and help my wife with her bi tri-annual yard sale. A couple of weekends ago, however, at the beginning of my wife’s Spring Break we welcomed the forecast of rain showers with eager anticipation for this meant snowfall up in the mountains!

We drove up to Lake Tahoe in a rented Toyota 4Runner (a necessity, I must say). It was the first time the younger boys had seen snow, and it’s a first for me to actually see snowfall. And boy was it coming down.