My day was pretty boring, up ‘til about 5:58 PM.
It had been stormy all morning – with spotty
internet service. I turned the internet off after it cut out the 2nd
time in half an hour’s time; and played a few hands of solitaire.
I lost every hand.
I was becoming very bored; very quickly.
Around noon, the rain had backed off enough,
that I had driven into town to buy some eggs and quart-size Ziploc baggies (this
could actually have waited, but I was bored and boredom can be depressing; I
needed to get out of the house); after my purchases were made, I decided to
come back home over Columbia Heights/Lone Oak/Pacific Way/Coal Creek back
streets. That way added a few additional miles, but it also made my eyes happy
to see the golden leaves piling up along roadsides … and colorful landscape
ornamental trees bedazzled my eyes further, with their brilliant red, orange, burgundy-purple
Fall vividness.
The last time I was that way, I was with Bob.
9 months before our lives would be forever changed.
It was snowing: Bob drove us home that
way because he knew how much I love snow; and how falling snow always
captivated his snowbaby.
That was the last time he would ever drive
that route.
That was the last time he would see falling snow.
35 months ago.
A long time ago.
A short time ago.
A lot different now.
Now, I am driving solo lobo along the route
that holds memories of US.
Back at home: wrapped in the fleece blanket
Alyna and I made for him so long ago, I laughed aloud as I read the closing
plot sequences of the book, I had been reading.
I put the book in the ‘read pile’, and selected
another to begin reading.
Then, I decided to remove the dishes I had run
through the dishwasher last night, before going to bed.
And felt my slippered foot get
wet: I had stepped into a pretty good-sized water puddle.
WTHeck?
Glancing down at the floor, I couldn’t believe
what I was seeing.
Then, what I was seeing scared me.
There was quite a bit of water on the floor.
I could see that the water was pooling around
the lower baseboard of the sink cabinet and dishwasher corner.
What to do?
I opened the sink cabinet to see if there was
a water leakage problem there: it didn’t appear so. I pulled the garbage cans
and bucket of dishwasher-soap-powder out and checked thoroughly.
It was dry as a bone: no problem there.
The dishwasher had to be the culprit.
My heart sank.
I didn’t know what to do.
Bob would know – I am not Bob.
Bob’s thought would be focused.
My thoughts were all over the place.
The water puddle was concerning.
It was not there earlier.
Why had it suddenly appeared?
Bob would have turned off the water.
I had no idea how to do that.
Do I need to turn the water off inside the
house: if so, where?
Do I need to turn the water off outside:
if so, where?
I was trying not to panic every time my eyes
fell on that water puddle.
I finally bit the bullet – picked up the
phone … and called candy.
I don’t like talking to candy: ever –
about anything.
she is directly responsible for
my husband’s death.
she is the Park Manager … I needed her to send someone to my house to check this
situation out for me.
The phone rang.
My heart was racing.
I did not want to hear the voice that sent my husband to ER; a visit that eventually led to his
death.
It galled me that I should need help from a woman that destroyed my life.
she answered.
I explained my situation.
A fella arrived a few minutes later.
I did have help trying to figure it out – but
it is still a mystery.
Thank you, nameless stranger; who came over
quickly to check things out, and turn off the water.
Inside.
Now, I know what to do.
The Good Samaritan seemed as confused as me.
I needed to see the floor under that bulky
beast. My worry was that the stone tile may not be laid all the way back to the
wall, and the subfloor was exposed; if that was the case, then the subfloor
would be soaked. Neither Bob, nor I, had stood over the construction crew that
had overhauled the entire kitchen; including laying the stone flooring in 2017.
I thought another thinker may be worth
bringing into the situation.
I reached out to my friend, David.
My phone decided to be a putz.
We played phone-tag for a couple minutes.
The battery, I saw … was low; the phone
refused to be our go-between-messenger.
The Good Samaritan eventually left.
The puddle had been sopped up … but the
problem still remained.
Why had there been a puddle – and
was there more standing water underneath the stubborn dishwasher?
I tried David one more time: my phone would
not allow a call to go through, but I could send/recieve texts; so, I did. I
wanted to know why the dishwasher was refusing to be pulled out – I know
they can be: this one was not budging.
He said it may be screwed to the floor, or to
the countertop.
The F-bomb was dropped again.
I am not ladylike … even though Bob called me
his ‘Lady’ 😉
I had no idea where to check for
screw points – but I was thankful for the information. If I had to call someone else in to take a look into the situation,
that information could be passed on and checked into.
The puddle issue still troubled me.
I decided to try another avenue … I
reached out to another friend, who I felt confident would be able to point
me in the direction of who to look to for help.
She did; and could. But she also opted to
come over herself and see what she could do 😊
Thank you, Shay!
She showed me how to unscrew the bulky beast –
manhandled it half out of its cubbyhole; I was pretty impressed – and we
were both relieved there was no standing water underneath.
The floor under the dishwasher was bone-dry.
(((THANK YOU, LORD!))))
But she was as mystified as me.
We chatted for a while, catching up on each
other’s lives … and made tentative plans to have lunch in town sometime next week.
She’s a good girl, I always enjoy time spent with her 😉
Hopefully the water-puddle-issue has resolved itself.
It’s a real mystery.
The puddle was there … but there appears to be no reason for the puddle.
I tend to overthink complex and mystifying
situations.
But, tonight, I refuse to go down that path.
I am not going to overthink this situation: I
will go to bed later on, and sleep soundly; confident that what could be done
has been done … and the situation, as weird as it has been, is no longer an
issue.
And, if there is “a further issue”, Shay will
connect me with someone who can rectify it 😊
Either way, “it” is under control and there
is no reason to overthink it.
