On Plumbing and Other Midnight Activities

It started out as a simple clean job . . . honest. My parents are coming into town this Wednesday, and I was diligently wiping every surface in my house with some type of abrasive cleaner. The downstairs sink has always had an issue draining (and leaking - which is why I never touch the pipes - one wrong point of pressure and the whole thing could fall apart). And then, this time, I snapped. One moment I'm wiping the sink with down with Soft Scrub cleaner - the next, I've disassembled my entire sink (spattering goo everywhere), washed out the u-joint, unscrewed the pop-up drain and removed it entirely from the sink bowl . . . and 'lo and behold . . . I actually found the problem.

So on my adrenaline high from disassembling my sink (and being fairly certain that I could actually complete the reassembly) - I realize the toilets been leaking for two years . . . and (what the heck) the bathroom is already covered in goo anyway. Off comes the top to the toilet. Inside, there appears to be the usual toilet workings . . . and a very large (think 1 1/2" wide by 1/2" deep) lumpy brown mass. After chipping away what I could of the brown mass (and wondering if someone left an old chemical tablet in the water), I finally decided the problem was the rubber flapper. And, hey - if I was going to Lowe's for the sink and the toilet - why not pick up screws to assemble the over the toilet shelving item I purchased a year and a half ago.

One trip to Lowe's . . . . and I returned with many parts. The sink was reassembled with a minimum of fuss (if you don't count T.'s absolute horror as I washed out the U-joint). The flapper went into the toilet with ease, and I dropped in a green dye tablet Lowe's offered as a leak detector. I flushed. I waited. And . . . drip . . . drip . . . spatter . . . spatter . . . SPLOOSH! It turns out the large brown mass was all that was left of the corrugated screw that had been in the toilet since 1982 (yes, we found the date). While the flapper was working perfectly, the screw had finally given out (literally . . . it fell out) and I had a direct screw-sized hole leaking neon green water (think the green beers on St. Patty's day) all over my bathroom.

I'm very proud to say that I did not scream like a girl. I actually found the water-shut off, a bowl, and a gigantic roll of paper towels. And while I was tempted to pay the $400 for a new toilet (including installation), we were able to fix the toilet (new screws and all) for roughly $10.00. T. even helped me with the nuts and bolts (literally . . . one of them was a @&#$ to reach).

I'll find you somewhere, Mummy...

SPOILER ALERT!!!! If you have seen Doctor Who Season 1, you have to see this video. It's touching and creepy all at once . . . and just WRONG. If you haven't seen Season 1, this will ruin one of the best episodes ever . . .so don't watch it.

Your Celestial Choir

Is it a bad thing when you agree with on-line quizzes? Do you ever wonder "how did they do that?"





Find your Celestial Choir

What Fae Are You Quiz

Wow . . . I actually agree with this one.





What type of Fae are you?

Doctor/Rose - Time

SPOILER ALERT!!!! I ran across this amazing video based off of Season One and Two of Doctor Who (why yes . . . yes, I am obsessed . . . why do you ask). I saw Doctor Who, I fell in love with it . . . now I spend my spare time searching YouTube for videos of it . . . what's next? Beanie-babies in my closet???? (I love you to B.) Honestly, the spoilers aren't too bad - and the maker jumbled the timeline enough that I don't think you can get much of the story from this video . . . it is well worth the watch!

New Pictures, Old Promises

Suffice it to say my Olympic camera and Vista were having a few small, yet violent, disagreements, which led to a delay in downloading my pictures from Mexico. But now . . . at long last . . .

My first view of Mexico!


Azure oceans. White beaches (okay . . . Hurrican Katrina wiped out most of the beaches, and the resorts actually had to pay to truck the sand back in . . . but still, it is breathtaking.) If I haven't expressed my gratitude to M. recently - thank you again. Thank you, thank you, thank you for inviting me along for the trip of a lifetime.

The resort itself was massive (and coming from Las Vegas and the Strip . . . I have a different category of "massive" than most folks). Massive in the "we have two lobbies" kind of massive. We stayed in the Iberostar Tucan section (easily identified by red marble floors).

Rather than the Iberostar Quetzecoatl . . . easily identified by dark hardwood floors.

This is the passageway to the all you can eat buffet. M. and I are fairly certain that more than one tourist has taken a header into the surrounding koi ponds. All inclusive free alcohol . . . and did we mention it was the rainy season? No one would admit that it was the rainy season . . . but really, after two hours of a rain a day, we felt we could make an educated guess. Note that the fellow in the left-hand side of the photo is diligently mopping up rainwater - or, as we described it, making a small rain puddle into a very large slippage hazard - conveniently located right next to the koi pond (no guardrails!). I think it is a type of revenge on the gringo tourists.

We stayed in one of these lovely terra cotta colored buildings. At first, we took this large smooth path back and forth to the buffet . . . but soon realized it was the access for the service vehicles. After several near misses of "death by speeding golf cart and cleaning crew" we decided the jungle paths were safer.


Relatively safer. If uneven, slippery, unlighted, natural stone pathways qualify as safer. Did I mention the wild critters? The little fire hydrant thingies were the light sources. At night they cast small stripes of light, effectively camouflaging the path from any slightly tipsy tourists trying to find their way back to their rooms . . . think sleeping tiger in the grass . . .

Here is a hereto unidentified . . . but fairly unfriendly turkey-sized bird.

And we can't forget the ROUS's (Rodents of Unusual Size - for the uninitiated). M. and I thought they were small deer at first (like the Dik-Dik). Then one sat on its haunches and began chewing on a nut . . . and the posture screamed "GERBIL" - despite the fact that these critters are the size of housecats. M. and I had the questionable good fortune to witness a territorial dispute, wherein the aggressive ROUS lifted all of the hairs on his butt into a frill. Imagine a small porcupine like creature with a large bald spot on its butt. It's hilarious . . . until you realize there are no fences, and the ROUS's outnumber you. If the butt is poofy . . . run.

Still, the room had its amenities . . .

Including towel sculptures . . .

A doorman . . .


And easy access to the pool. There was a separate "bar pool" which closed every day while it rained, never opened early, and was generally off limits. The first day there I did manage to get a drink after wading past a group of gentleman who were enthusiastically giving standing ovations to every female who entered the area. If you think you see clouds in these pictures, I repeat - it was NOT the rainy season. The grayish nature of the photos was merely technical difficulties with the weather - which our guide assured us was highly unseasonal.


And may I reiterate how very very grateful I was that our room was NOT located next to the wild flamingo pool. (We had enough problems with some bird that sounded like a squeaky hinge. . . though we had it better than the lady who discovered a family of eight monkeys on her balcony.)

Believe it or not, I actually manged to drag myself away from the free Mojitos, Adelitas, and Margaritas long enough to go sightseeing . . . but in the interest of not overloading my poor blog with pictures (too late, I know) . . . I deem it best to stop with a simple tour of the resort.

My trip to Mexico . . . to be continued (and with any luck) REPEATED!