It's cold in Arlington. Really cold. And while yesterday I was busy complaining that Connor's school had indoor recess (it was around 40 at recess time) today, I understood that same choice.
One of the joys of an older home is its natural "charm". And in my case, by "charm" I mean - my house is awesome for hide-and-go-seek because it has many nooks and crannies. There are also a few strange hide out spaces that I'm sure will eventually bring great joy to Connor and Helen.
One of the more unpleasant things about an older home is that stuff constantly breaks. We've pretty much replaced every part of our home in the past 5 years, and remain optimistic that we've finished with the big ticket items.
Today, Ed received a call from the babysitter (thank goodness she noticed and called) letting him know there was a water leak in the greenhouse. The greenhouse that, for all intents and purposes, has been decommissioned. We've tossed out most of the stuff that was once stored in it. We've watched as different panes of glass fall from various places in it. And we even had the foresight to have the heating system shut off and capped so we would stop wasting energy heating the thing and didn't have to worry about a pipe bursting out there in the boiler powered pipes. A pipe burst a few years ago, prompting this genius move on our part.
The only thing we forgot? We never turned off the water leading to the sink in the greenhouse. And while it is in the warmest corner of the greenhouse, with full panes of glass missing, it's really cold out there. And today we learned it was cold enough for a pipe to burst. I came home to water shooting out from beneath the sink - which would surely be awesome if it didn't mean thousands of gallons of water were spraying right next to my home and it was winter, so there was no possibility of running around in swimsuits and having fun with the burst pipe.
I eventually got the water to our home shut off so that Ed could solve this problem when he arrived home. And the one bright side I have discovered?
Connor actually washes his hands after he uses the restroom. I know, because right after he got home from school, he came running into my home office shouting about there not being any water, and noting that he NEEDED water to wash his hands. I gave him a bottle of sanitizer and told him it would have to do for now.
Any bets on whether this will be our only surprise this winter?
Elaine
I LOVE that this is how you discovered he washes his hands. Not that my 8 and 10 year old are still questionable on this sometimes or anything... but ugh on the pipe. Fingers crossed that's it for you. There are SO many old houses by us (1800s and early 1900s) and every time we go look at one, paranoia strikes me for just these types of reasons, gorgeous as they are.
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