Two days ago it was Beth and Pam's birthday, so we had a lovely cookout to celebrate these two most excellent ladies. It was so nice to just sit with my fellow missionaries, enjoy a delicious barbecue, and just feel back in the land of the living! As much as I DON'T miss the Texas heat right now, there are some parts of the summer that I wish I could beam back for!
The big excitement of the barbecue day was the great flooding of the girl's dorm. Our washing machines have been on the fritz, and since I wanted to wash some fabric for a sewing project, I texted Beth to find out which was the best washer. I went up, put the cloth in, and returned home to work on other things while the washer cycled. Three hours later I returned and in the famous words of Madeline, I began to feel that "Something was not right!" Clue 1--the sound of running water. Clue 2--the squish of the carpet as I approached the washer. Clue 3--my fabric swimming in the overflowing washer which continued to gush water onto the floor. *sigh*
I located a jug and started to bail the washer into the laundry sink while scanning for the shut off valve. Luckily I knew what it looked like, but it took a few cycles of bailing and looking before I located it and shut it off. Now that the water was no longer pouring across the floor, I took stock of the situation. There was quite a bit in the storeroom, the back corner of the sitting room was submerged, and at some point there had been enough water that it had gone into the bathroom and found the drain there. After a hurried search I found a mop in the boys dorm, and a mop bucket with a wringer in Janette's closet, so I headed down to do battle. Feeling responsible for the mess, I intended to clean it up myself, but after the first tussle with the wringer in which I had a massive coughing fit and could barely get the thing closed, I realized that I was going to need help.
Even though it was her birthday, Beth cheerfully agreed to come help me, and between the two of us we we managed to get it all cleaned up in about an hour. Seven buckets of water later, we left the rest to air dry, and left the furniture of the sitting room scattered about in various dry spots. Good thing the floor is cement under the tiles! While that was NOT how I wanted to spend that afternoon, we managed to have fun mopping up, and laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Other than that, I've been enjoying quiet days of reading, sewing, and today I started some cleaning. As long as I don't do anything too strenuous I don't cough too much, and the house badly needs it's thrice annual overhaul! I'm still planning on going down to Lusaka later this month, so I'm trying to get better before the trip. The roads will be dusty this time of year, and I really would rather not cough all the way to Lusaka!
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