It’s Christmas… Do We Have Heat? Water?

Dec 21, 2007 by Justin Wayne

Merry Christmas from Jamie and I!

Here are pictures of our little Christmas tree and all the presents underneath it. We’re going to be mailing out these today, so if you’re hoping to receive a present from us, it should be there (relatively) soon!

You’ll also notice the Christmas cards on the mantle… if you would like to be included on our mantle, email me at: justin.arndt@gmail.com and I’ll send you along our mailing address so you can post us a card too! We love to get mail.

Things have been very exciting around the flat lately, including last week’s debacle with the water. We woke up on a Saturday morning to the horror that we had no water pressure. That means no flushing, washing, and perhaps even more importantly… no heat.

Now, the weather isn’t as cold as it can get in the “northern states”. Our average daily high temperature has been around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So don’t feel too awful for us. But still, at night it was getting pretty cold and we were a bit nervous about the prospect of no water.

Tragically, this went on into Sunday and we were forced into an afternoon journey down to the local pub for a pint and a flushable toilet. We had been saving acts of bathroom defilement for a place with running water, and we were also happy for the added bonus of a cold beer. Not that we needed to be any colder.

As Sunday approached the evening, we were STILL without water and since Jamie had to go to school on Monday we heated up a few pots’ worth of boiling water and took sponge baths in the tub. While not getting us as clean as a proper shower, it was EXTREMELY nice to feel warm water on the skin and get the hair a bit cleaner than it had been since Friday. Thursday for me, I had elected to not shower on Friday either, so I was getting a bit “funky”.

Sleeping a bit cleaner, we took advantage of something we had unused in our room. Our little fireplace (which you can see in the pictures above) burns coal and after a trip to the garage (or… “gas station” in the states… pronounced ‘GAARage’) we had coal and a fire. MUCH warmer than we were used to all weekend and I think I counted a few beads of sweat on my brow during the night.

Monday we went, once again, all day without water but we finally began to uncover the mystery to our water pressure shortage. Our new neighbor upstairs had been doing some work on his flat and had turned off the water to avoid any leaking. He didn’t know that he shut ours off too, and we were forced into a stinky, sweatshirt-filled weekend. He did come around with a plumber on Monday night, finally, and turned the water back on.

With the heat cranked we slept snug that night and in the morning we all had hot showers. It was wonderful.

Thanks again for all of your continued support. I just received a letter in the post from the School officially offering me the job which was fantastic! I should be receiving my work permit in the next week or so, which means I’ll be heading back to the States to apply for my visa. I’m very excited! I’ll keep you all updated and if you’d like to make a trip to visit me while I’m back State-side (Salem… Kyle…) I’d love to see you! I’m sure Mom won’t mind having a bunch of bodies in the basement! Ha!

I’m also updating the Classic Chronicles (I’ll put two new ones up, Dad!) as well as the flicks. I’ve seen some great movies lately.

And, visit my poll on in the sidebar too. Results from the poll for Ranch to join the table as a consistent condiment went 9-4 in favor. That’s fantastic! I agree!

Alright, have a happy holiday! You’ll be hearing from us again before too long, so don’t forget to check in over the break!

Cheers!

Justin
justin.arndt@gmail.com