Last night I was washing out the broiling pan and the water wouldn’t drain. Use of the dispose-all (I don’t treat it like a garbage dump – just very minor table scraps because our underground pipes are very old) usually results in back-up in the smaller sink. I put a stopper in and hold it down while I turn on the dispose-all. Well, there was no holding it down yesterday – the water shot up like “Old Faithful” in Yellowstone.

I called on the resident home-owner of the male persuasion to take a look and he got his rotor and took everything apart and used 8 ft of rotor and when he was done it was still not draining. Moreover, turning on the faucet caused water to start leaking out of the front of the dish washer, even though it wasn’t turned on. Then I cleaned up around the mess as best as I could and put the several towels we had used to soak up water in the washer.

This morning at 7, I called Joel’s Plumbing and, bless them, they got a guy here at 8:30. The problem is contained ($150) but a new seal for the dishwasher is needed, and the problem of the ancient pipe that would, ideally, be dug up and replaced -- we are talking ripping up concrete, backhoe, pneumatic drill, etc. -- $$$$$$, is still present. Anyway, I can use the dishwasher, and if I can’t, I’m leaving. Those of you who think I am being elitist do not know what it is like to live with a fellow who eats like a 14-year-old and the use of paper plates is "not civilized". At the end of the day, our dishwasher looks as if we have just had 20 people over for dinner.

One of the puzzlers was that huge hairballs were found in the drain. How, said the male member of the household, does cat hair get into the drain? It could just be in the air and drift down, I said. (What do I know? I certainly do not put hair in the sink.)

If, indeed, it is cat hair. Some time ago, before I got a high faucet in the bathroom (I chose a kitchen model since bathroom faucets are basically toys), I used to wash my hair in the kitchen sink. Have you seen my hair? It’s practically a myth. It is the illusion of hair, more like an aura, A BIO TRICK God played on me and I plan to get Him for it. So if it is my hair, it has MORE BODY in the sink than it ever had on my head.

Snarl.

xx, Teal