Vanity Blues

 Day 122 had me near tears with the plumbing issues.  When the builder sends me a text that reads, "Hey Jen, do you have a minute?" it usually means I'm about to be disappointed.  Well, it turns out the bathroom vanity I bought on Craigslist to save myself some money is pretty much junk.  Not the vanity itself, but the faucet wouldn't stop running.  A steady thin stream of water kept pouring out no matter what the plumber tried.  Guess what?  New faucet time.  *sigh*  The builder tried to cheer me up by firing up my super duper old lady Pat Boone-made-me-buy-it tub, which promptly began to leak through the floor.  I walked out before I burst into tears.  Ten minutes later I was informed there was something that the factory hadn't tightened, but it was all set now and the tub won't leak again.  Hopefully.  Oh, by the way...did you pick up some hoses for your washing machine?  You know they don't come with them anymore.

No, I was not aware of this.  *tears up*

So I have about ten different parts orders that I'm waiting for now, and I can't get an occupancy permit until all plumbing is finished and working.  Bummer.

BUT...

 The toilets are in, and even Roo is impressed.  The downstairs toilet is a bit of a monster.  It has to pump up to the septic tank, and there's a pump/grinder behind it that ensures only tiny particles are being moved through the dispersal pipe.  When that grinder comes on, it's very loud, and a little frightening.  But hey - I hadn't planned to have a downstairs bathroom, so I'm not going to knock it!  How nice will that be when I'm gross from doing outside chores and don't want to go all the way up to the main bathroom?  Wicked.  Wicked friggin' nice.

I've started pickling the inside of the front door to take some of the yellowy curse off of it.  Hopefully one more coat should do it.

My garage is clean as a whistle!  I actually pulled Clementine, my truck, in there last night.  I didn't think she'd take up as much room as she does, but it'll still be nice to have her high and dry come winter.  There should be room enough for Reputa the tractor and some other equipment in there, too.  

And here's the backyard pièce de résistance.  Remember the ugly sewer vent? 

That horrible pipe I was going to have to live with in my backyard and look at day in and day out?  Well, check this out.  

How cool is that?!?  It's a solar light on an upright vent attachment that allows the pipe to do its job, but in a not-so-ugly way!  Once I get some loam in there and start building my gardens and lawn area, you'll barely know it's a functional ornament.  

It's all about the little victories.