I had an irritating situation here at home. I've blogged before about my rockin' and rollin' toilet, and it happened again. Gradually, over time, it starts to come loose from the floor, so when you leaned over to the left side to wipe, the toilet would move enough that you knew it was coming loose from it's moorings again.

Called cousin Andy the plumber. He checked it out, saying, "Yep it's loose again." Duh. So he puts in new rings and bolts and whatever and cements it to the floor with instructions not to use it for 24 hours. So next day I use it, and it was firmly affixed again--but it wouldn't stop running water in the bowl. Andy comes back and puts in new thingamajigs in the tank--and leaves before I can test it out. Duh for me.
I think, " My life won't be ruled by a balky toilet, d*mmit." So I took of the lid off the tank and look down in the watery abyss and see a chain attached to the rubber flapper that releases water when you flush. The chain was too long, and was getting caught up under the flapper. So I took a large safety pin and gathered up a length of chain to shorten it. That seemed to work for a couple of times. Then some thingamabob that rises and cuts off water flow when the tank is full wasn't working. GRRRR. ARRRGH.

Here I was at 2am one morning with my hands in the tank trying to get the flow stapped while a mockingbird chortled outside the window. Let me say right here, I've had my fill of mockingbirds this year. The moon was full on the 21st, and Jim Bob, my resident mockingbird sang ALL night. Okay, at first it was sweet, but when you're annoyed an irritated by a toilet, then lie down at last to rest and can't because of a loud singer, I was ready to throw rocks at Jim Bob.

I got the water intake in the toilet tank to stop by shoving a can of shaving cream under it. It worked perfectly. But early that morning I called cousin Andy and said "COME FIX THIS TOILET." He showed up at noon with new parts and put them in and I flushed to check it out and all was copacetic. But for all the parts and labor I had to pay cousin Andy I could have bought a brand new toilet.

I told cousin Andy about Jim Bob being so loud and keeping me awake, and he said when a bird does that to him, he goes out and sprays the tree with buckshot. I was appalled; saying don't kill a bird, but he just grunted. But I was ready to do anything after Jim Bob has sung for four nights in a row. Tuesday night was the worst. This bird didn't let up until 5:30am, and his repetoire was down to screechy sounding tweets. Thankfully last night he was silent. Maybe he sang himself to death. But with a silent toilet and no Jim Bob, I slept like a baby.

susil