Working on Saturday mornings for the first time in my life since student days, I value the half day off on Wednesdays. (Not really a half as the morning is from 8 hrs to 13 hrs whereas afternoons are from 14 hrs to 16 hrs- do the sums!)
Today life conspired to replace the desired rest, reading, computer session with a more hectic schedule.
First, the water went off; doesn't happen often here as we have our own borehole and well-maintained equipment; in fact the cleanliness of the pipes and tanks meansthe water is potable without further treatment. The morning showers were cold water only, a sign I should have recognised as foretelling the stoppage of the whole system and acted on by filling some basins and buckets to wash and flush the loo. But I didn't., so after a morning spent sorting through some rather dusty boxes of donated clothes, there wasn't enough water to wash before lunch, never mind the desired shower.
Earlier in the morning, I had started defrosting the fridge which had a huge iceberg adhering to the back wall inside. This took so long to thaw, even aided by a hairdryer and some boiling water, that we had a minor flood on the floor of the living room. So no water in the taps, too much water on the floor and then.....
...with a huge crack of thunder, torrential rain began to fall so we rushed round closing windows; here I had my one bright idea of the day and put several large bowls and jugs out under the spill-off from the roof, ensuring enough water to at least wash our feet, hands and faces tonight. The bowls filled in minutes, we continued to warm the ice and mop the floor until, with a satisfying crack, the iceberg parted with the fridge wall, the fridge restarted, the rain stopped and yes, you guessed it, water began to run from both taps.
Job done. Maybe next Wednesday we could try cat-herding, gathering smoke in colanders or some other apochryphal task but tomorrow is clinic day and I'm glad to be back to work.
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