The Water Heater Burst!
Last week Friday Snowflake had his little surgery, and I thought that would be my main news item out of my personal life today, but then late Sunday night, (or early Monday if you consider it was 12:35 am), my water heater burst, and I quickly turned off the main valve into my house, so I have been without running water all day yesterday and so far today.
Unless, that is, I run over to the neighbours and get myself another bucket full from their kitchen sink. Then yes, I have running water. 
Fortunately, God has been very much involved in all of this, and so it sounds worse than it has been for me. Let me backtrack to give you the full scoop.
When I bought this house last year and got possession on June 1 (which is exactly a year ago this coming Sunday) I knew that the water heater in the basement had a back seam that looked like it had burst open. Everyone who knows about such things and saw it, told me that it should be a top priority to replace it, as suddenly the inner container would burst too, and I’d have water gushing everywhere. But you know I live on a very tight shoestring budget, so I just prayed often for it to hold, and waited for this RRAP plan to kick in and for it to get replaced. Well, it was on the list of items the inspector said should be replaced, and just this last weekend I got the last of the quotes in that I was to gather and turn into the inspector. - I delivered them to his office in person yesterday morning - but that could still take weeks, so he said to go ahead and get it done, and he’ll see if I can get reimbursed later.
Well, that water heater could have burst any time. If it had happened Sunday morning after I left for NGM church at 9 am, and if it had continued to run until I got home at 2:30 or 3 pm in the afternoon - whew, that basement would be one deep pool of MESS! Everything I have in storage there on 4 storage units and more, would be wasted! (I dropped in on my friend Kathy, and was invited to stay for lunch).
Even so, if it had happened when I was home and busy working on the computer, with my favourite online radio, BBN, on, I might not have heard it right away. As it was, it happened when I was in bed, reading a couple of devotional pages, and was about to turn off the light in a moment or two. I heard a whoosh, like you hear in some homes when their furnace fan kicks in. Except my furnace doesn’t make any sound. Then I thought I heard running water. I paused in case that was something passing on the street. No, it was still rushing.
So I padded downstairs in my bare feet to check out that water heater. Sure enough! A pool was forming around the unit, and the water was running towards the drain hole in the floor. Dave, an electrician friend who had dropped by last fall, had told me that if I ever heard rushing water down here, then to grab this lever and pull it up. it would shut off all the water to the house. Otherwise, all the city water would try to come into my basement via the water heater. It took me a moment or two to locate that lever, but as soon as I pulled it, the rush of water in the pipes stopped.
I picked up an electrical fan from the floor and placed it higher, but then it looked like that was about all I could do. The puddle on the floor would have to dry on its own. I went back to bed. I had trouble falling asleep; half an hour later I went down again - just to make sure.
Yesterday morning I started making phone calls. To shorten a long story, the plumber with the lowest quote agreed to come install a new water heater this afternoon. Meantime, Penny next door said I could come over any time for water or to use the bathroom. Which I’ve done. I try to be frugal with that water, and am skipping baths. I bring in water from the rain barrel however, to flush the toilet.
By supper time, everything should be fine again.