The Nightmare before Christmas grows darker...

OK, first of all, the drywall/painter didn't show up today. Jon, our contractor couldn't get in touch with him to find out why. Maybe he was on a binge or maybe he had a coronary. Who knows? Jon said he was usually so dependable. Well, people ARE dependable, until they aren't.

Then, this, we'd been smelling a faint smell of poop for a day or two and thought the cat had done something untoward. But then Bern went down in the basement to where our broken washer is--we hadn't been down there for a while since THE WASHER IS BROKEN....And discovered that stuff was coming out the the drain the broken washer used to drain into until it was broken. Turns out, every time we ran water or took a shower in our bathroom off our bedroom...or flushed the toilet...some of that came out of the drain. Obviously, the main drain from our bathroom, into which the washer used to drain before it broke, was plugged up somehow.

The plumber came really fast (perhaps spurred by my telling the secretary, THERE'S SHIT IN OUR BASEMENT) but it took several hours and he had to clean out all manner of things from the drain pipe to get it clear and working right again. He asked if there was any problem with the kitchen sink. Hah! We have no frigging kitchen sink and on the current time line won't have one again until next Wednesday and it won't be functional until next Saturday. I've developed a philosophy about kitchen sinks, how they are up there with human hearts and central heating in the hierarchy of necessities.

Plus, the cat, who runs into the basement at any chance, ran into the basement and was missing most of the day. Since the back yard door to the basement was open for the plumbers, he could have escaped. A cat whose spent his whole life inside except for one escape 6 or so years ago. When the plumbers left (and we put back the room load of junk we had to move for them) Bern said, "Well, Lukie might be in Hamden by now....And I don't care!" He came waltzing in when it was time for his dinner. God knows where he'd been.

Things were so bad that Bern was most stern with the Puli--who drives me crazy since when workers are in the house I either have to put him in my car or stay with him in our bedroom. I've read 7 books now since they've been working on the kitchen. And Bela lays with me on the bed. Sometimes I read him a paragraph I really like but who knows if he likes it! And every half-hour or so he leaps off the bed and barks at the door for 5 minutes or so....Maddening....

The stove and overhead microwave (both really cool) and dish washer are in now--though the dishwasher can't work until the sink is put in...like a week from Saturday, three days before Christmas!

Jon is a great contractor but the problems with the carpenter--no right angles, no level 162 year old floors--put  him off his game. Then the drywall/painter guy didn't show up today....gosh, I'm repeating myself...which is the least of my psychological problems right now.

Bern is at her women's group. When she left she said, "I'm so glad to be out of here...."

Don't tell me "this too shall pass", I'm soooo over that being a comfort....