Thus Began An Epic Struggle Between Man And Iron

Oh, my. I’m tired. So very, very tired.

I spent all day Friday and Saturday working on the bathroom with Clair. Friday we did the tile floor, which went exceptionally well. It was ceramic tile floor nirvana in many ways. Very little cutting had to be done. But, dang, I’m getting old. Two years ago, when we did the kitchen floor, I was OK. But this time, crawling around on my hands and knees for that long really made me sore and stiff. Maybe it’s psychological since I just passed 30. I don’t know.

But Saturday – oy! We replaced all the cast iron drain pipes under the bathroom with PVC. Clair and I figured his reciprocating saw would be able to take care of the old pipes, maybe a half hour job. Hour tops.

Wrong. More like three and a half hours when I stopped keeping track. The old pipes obliterated several blades on Clair’s saw, and we soon realized that our only weapon was going to be brute force.

So we broke out the standard set of plumbing tools: many hammers, an electric drill, a huge digging iron, and a car jack. Yes, that’s right: a car jack.

Thus began an epic struggle between man and iron.

I’m pleased to report that man eventually won, but it was a hard fought victory.

We emerged from the battle exhausted, stinking like sewage, mostly covered in some nasty black slime that I can’t even talk about, and many hours behind schedule.

So Jen and Grace packed up and headed to the in-laws, since we were without a toilet, shower, and bathroom sink. Basically, without a bathroom. And we only have the one.

Grace wound up staying overnight, but Jen came home. Clair and I finished the job some time after midnight. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but today is Easter and I had to be at church at 7:00 AM to lead worship at our Sunrise Service. Can’t really be late, because they can’t really start without me.

I was late. I got there at 7:10, guitar in hand. Everybody was pretty cool about it, though. I attend a wonderful church with wonderful people. Plus, we rarely start stuff on time, anyway.

And on top of all that, I’ve been staying up way too late at night working on Frequency. But the Mac OS 9 version should be out this week. Maybe Wednesday.

And now, I’m off to bed. I need to get some serious rest tonight. Grace had developed bronchitis, and I need to keep up my resistance because I don’t want it.

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