Happy New Year!

As has been tradition for about 40 years, we spent New Years with our college friends. Fourteen of us stayed at the Carlson's in Carmel, Indiana for the annual gathering. We always enjoy a project or two and Carlson's provided an unbeatable combination of activities and hospitality. Several of us searched for about a dozen geocaches in the area. One contained a Travel Bug which has been brought back to Wisconsin for placing in a local cache.



They say problems come in threes. It's true. The first one was a leaking water pipe in the ceiling of the family room in the lower level. The second was a leaking water line to the toilet in the master bedroom ...and the third was a visit by a plumber that included a demonstration of how to clear a main sewer line from the street. That didn't work so the 300 pound machine was moved to the basement to achieve success. The guys enjoyed learning and providing unsolicited advice on this - not to be ignored - repair. The women went shopping.

It was New Years morning when one of the group noticed water on the floor in the basement storage room. Upon further inspection, we found water bubbling up from the floor drain. All toilet usage was halted! The room was cleared, the water vacuumed and the sewer clean out prepared for the plumber who arrived about 11:30. The neighbors were very obliging and encouraged us to use their facilities - all 14 of us.

A special thanks to the Carlson's for their great hospitality!

Below is a slide show and movie of our New Years entertainment.




Click here to see a VIDEO documenting our plumbing experience.