Goodness, it’s been an interesting few days, but I’m going to be kind and spare you the Dickens-esque details. We spent the weekend battling frozen pipes, and Jonny worked hard to repair those that burst. I mopped up puddles and did my best to be an encouraging voice. I know that with the cold we have been experiencing, we are far from being alone in our plumbing disasters. We found ourselves with plenty of good company on the plumbing aisle at our local hardware store.
Monday morning, with water restored and temperatures finally starting to climb out of the frigid zone, we hoped and prayed that we were in the clear. I took my five youngest children downstairs to my studio for our new “Morning Time” school routine. I’ve been in the process of doing some very necessary restructuring in our homeschool days, and it’s an incredible blessing that after more than a decade of homeschooling I now have a dedicated space for it.
Remember when we didn’t have water in our kitchen for an extended period toward the end of last year? (Plumbing issues seem to be a recurring theme in our new house.) Well, I keep waiting to share that whole story because it resulted in my basement studio and homeschool room getting a makeover, and it’s not quite finished. I’m starting to think it never will be…
The morning went as well as can be expected with a very busy baby and two little boys that I can’t convince to sit still to save my life. My high schoolers were upstairs working independently and all was well in my little homeschooling world. After completing our new routine, we broke for lunch and headed upstairs. A few minutes later Seth came shouting that there was water spraying from the ceiling in my studio. I’d done such a good job of warming it up that morning with a little space heater, that a pipe in the wall that we didn’t realize was frozen to begin with thawed and was evidently busted. It was a wild mess. Water and screaming children everywhere. The tragedy for me was that many of our school books got wet. The tragedy for Beatrix was that her math books weren’t amongst them.
Today, we have water again. There are no more frozen pipes that we are aware of. We do have a bit of a mess to clean up and a half dozen or more holes in the drywall to patch. Morning Time may run a little late….
p.s. More about that snowy nature walk in this Instagram post.
Emily G says
That is awful. We had a disaster of our own-an outdoor spigot we couldn’t shut off for the winter from the inside, because there *was* no shutoff. It froze, then burst when it was thawing. Water was spraying out at an insane rate, up against the foundation of the house. Being a stone foundation, it was quickly working its way into the basement. The real kicker was, we have no whole house shutoff valve, and the water company was in no hurry at all to come turn off our water. Thanks to my resourceful husband, we turned off the water ourselves, and not only fixed the problem but installed appropriate valves so we can shut the water off from inside the house in the future. What a day. At least it was outdoors though! Burst pipes inside the walls must be so much worse! And now you have to do all that patching and paint repair. 🙁 I hope those are the last pipes that burst in your house, forever.
Lee Winemiller Cockrum says
My sympathies! I cannot even imagine. I am dealing with someone much stress with retina issues since November 4th, I think I would just implode if something like this happened in our house. Hope the plumbing saga is at its end!
Kelly says
So sorry! What a mess!
Bee says
Haha, the comment about Beatrix ‘ math books made me laugh out loud! Love it. Hope everything is fixed by now…and that somewhat warmer temperatures are coming your way! 🙂
Jody says
We long for weather drama over here (central France)–some real cold and most of all snow! Instead, the anemones and marguerite daisies haven’t yet stopped blooming in the front and back yards. I have been complaining about it. Yet I wouldn’t know what to do if a pipe froze and know that I wouldn’t want to experience that. I think I’m going to have to pray about my attitude, about contentment, and that God will help this old Iowa girl get over her lack of winter. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us all, even the not so glorious ones.
Caroline says
On a completely different note, we have a frozen pipe in our freezer door so the ice machine has stopped working. I’m so glad that the extent of our frozen pipe issue, although having a plumber for a husband does have some advantages. Oh except when he rides his motor bike into a pipe and breaks it. Never mind.
Love the photos of Mabel, she really is a cutie
karen says
we have the same kitchen chairs, so we are chair sisters 🙂 So sorry about all the pipes but gosh, you’ll be ready for next year’s weather! You sound so calm about all the bursting – I hope that is true in real life!
Carol Urban says
We’ve kept our fireplace (woodstove insert) going day and night since before Christmas. Our propane company won’t make a delivery to us unless our driveway is clear of snow and ice. Thursday or Friday the weather should be in the high 50s to 60s here. Praying they are able to make the delivery to us. So very thankful we haven’t had any pipes burst. We’ve also been running electric heaters. Hate to think of what the electric bill will be next month.
Lin says
Ginny, to prevent pipes from freezing, leave a couple of your faucets running overnight. They don’t need to be fully open—just slightly more than a trickle will be enough to keep the water moving and prevent ice from building up. It may seem a bit wasteful, but the amount of water you lose is actually minimal compared to the damage caused by a broken pipe.
Marion says
Hope all your pipes will be fixed soon.
Marion
Judy says
Oh dear, I am sorry – the mess and the books and the inconvenience – exhausting! I’m glad for you, that you husband has all kind of practical skills.
On a light-hearted note – I have to say that Beatrix is a girl after my own heart – a math book that wasn’t damaged! That’s definitely unfair!
Cathy B. says
Oh Ginny, I’m so sorry to hear about your plumbing issues. I had to chuckle when you mentioned plumbing. My husband can fix almost anything but moans at the mention of plumbing. Hopefully the weather will stay warm enough, and your repairs will go smoothly! Prayers for you and your family!!
Renee Anne says
When we lived in Wisconsin, I always lived in fear of the dreaded frozen pipe. I never had it happen, even the two times that the furnace went out and needed replacing. We caught things quick enough that nothing froze. I do not envy anyone living in a place where pipes can freeze. Then again, many do not envy me living in a place where the ground shakes for seemingly no reason.
Matushka Anna says
Oh my, I’m so sorry! I’m glad things are getting back to normal, but what an awful mess!
Jenny Foringer says
We woke to frozen pipes and a flooded garage and JD leaving on a trip! I am also delivering baby goats in the this fine cold!
eva says
oh what a plumping-never-ending-story! I hope for you, that the temperatures stay over freezing evrything and the pipe damages end now. Your frosted photos are wonderful – we have rain rain rain and floodwaters and , oh let me convert to fahrenheit, we have 48.2° Fahrenheit. No winter…. Eva
Ruby says
I really hope all your plumbing issues will resolve now with no more surprises! This arctic air mass is sticking around much too long for my own taste. Making me appreciate wool socks more and more. Our wood floors are sooooo cold.
Maria says
Oh Ginny, so sorry about your plumbing problems! What a nightmare. I did have to admit I laughed over Beatrix’s dilemma with her books not getting wet – that would totally be my son. We had heat issues also this past week. We have heated with wood for 8 years. Wednesday morning woke up to a terrible smell in the house, long story but our chimney flue cracked, creosote seeped out and was burning between the chimney blocks, and the chimney was sufficiently damaged that we can never use our beloved wood furnace again. We scrambled to re-install our old oil furnace, resulting in a house without heat for 30 hours in the midst of bitter temperatures. Now we have astronomical heating bills for this big old farmhouse… But God is good, we are safe, and our house did not burn down!