Royal Flush

Friday evening, Megan and the grandchildren came down so Meg and I could attend a baby-sitting-provided, 3-hr. craft event.  (Bring whatever you are doing!)  I sorted pictures; Meg captioned pictures in her scrapbook; others did other stuff.  The grandchildren were happy as little clams in the church nursery.

Nighttime for a "sleepover" at Gwamma's House isn't always peaceful.  The children are generally wound way out of control by then--contrary to adult exhausted behavior.  They can't simply be put to bed.  Someone has to be there with them to assure they will go to sleep, but there are rituals to be done...and that takes time.

At one point after we got home, Meg told me, somewhat stressed, that there was a missing rubber bathtub toy--and the toilet had been  flushed.  When Meg asked Robin where the toy (a seal) was, she would only respond with glee, "In the ocean!  In the sea!"  It was somewhat quickly ascertained that the seal from the 4-critter set of bathtub toys had been flushed.  (Apparently Nemo had been rescued by being flushed to the ocean.  Robin was just helping another sea creature reach freedom!)  It was also equally quickly ascertained that the toilet wouldn't flush properly.  Surprise, surprise!  With the toilet in my bedroom (which leaks at the wax seal) still in a state of disrepair since I had to cancel the appointment back when my brother died, we were down to one toilet--and it wasn't working!  We went to bed, deciding to worry about it in the morning.

Saturday morning, nothing but water would go down the afflicted potty.  It rose to the surface, but never overflowed (thank goodness!).  I put in a call to a plumber ham friend's answering machine.  He called back fairly promptly, saying he had to be in Plainfield and would stop by.  His comment was that he would use a tool to try to get the seal out of the pipes, but if that didn't work, he would have to reschedule for Monday in order to pull the toilet.  My assessment of all repair situations is that nothing goes right the first time, and the plumber's assessment of my situation was not all that rosy.  Because of the type of toilet it is, he wasn't promising much.  He said we would be "lucky" if it came out at all.   To my total joy and surprise, the  blue seal emerged on the first try, and was immediately discarded.  The toilet flushes again...and I am a happy camper!  It only cost me $50.  (I had visions of this being an expensive venture.)

I am in Muncie now.  There is a child dedication service, like baptism, at the kids' church tomorrow that will include my grandchildren.  Couldn't miss that, of course! 

 The Frodog will stay in Muncie until after I get back from the Dayton Hamvention.  Meg called to say that the pooch appears to miss me already.  She'll get over it!