Water in the basement -- Again!
Yes, it is true we do have water in the basement, again. Not nearly as much water as we had during 
our great flooding but enough. This time we are not sure of the source of the water. We've ruled out the furnace, the water heater and the water softener. Mike thinks that the water main into our house is leaking and the water is coming up through the floor. (We see dollar signs flying by.) There is really no way to confirm this theory, so we've chosen to replace the water main. Which means, digging up the front yard. The pipe into the house is an old lead pipe, which accounts for my growing craziness, so if it is not the source of the leak all is 
not lost, not considering the rainy day fund. Here is a picture of the work in progress. The original plan was to run a new pipe inside the old one reducing the need to dig up the entire yard. Began plan "B" because the pipe seems to have taken a turn so more of the front yard must be sacrificed, all in the name of a dry basement! Well, there is good news, we will not have to dig a long trench through the front yard after all. They were able to run the new pipe through the old pipe. Now all they need to do is connect everything and fill in the two holes. Now comes the clean-up stage. I've always wanted to operate one of those little machines. Here is my chance, while the workers are out to lunch I have my chance. See the lead is working on my brain.....
I hope the black walnut tree survives. Its large root system has taken a beating during this project. We had wondered why it was so hard to cultivate a lawn. The trees root system does not allow for much room for a lawn to grow.
Well the project is complete and we have water. The project took all day and we hope the actual
problem is fixed. A dry basement will be the actual sign of success. The water works and I'm working on cleaning up the mess that the water made and the workmen made. I know the clean up will go into Saturday. At least we have a few days before our children come home to get that work done. Now perhaps we can turn our attention to finishing our Christmas shopping. What a way to celebrate Advent.