« conversation at my house, ca. 1996-2001 | Main | I am so, so bad. »
Friday, February 22, 2008
Rachel + company dinner = at least one humorous disaster
We had company at our new house. Real company -- in other words, not somebody related by blood or marriage, and not somebody who's here to check an appliance or install a threshold. In fact, we had LOTS of real company: Our entire Bible study group converged on our humble home on Wednesday for a potluck.
If you're wondering why I am still sitting here and sanely typing, so am I.
Really, everything went pretty smoothly. I worked steadily all day, cooking and polishing, and the day was almost disaster-free, which, considering who I am and what my life is usually like, was really a positive change. OK, OK, so I'll tell you about the "almost" since I know you are just dying to hear. Our washer drains into a deep sink, which is not a system I love, mainly because it seems so unhygienic, but also because I am always afraid that something will fall into the sink and cover the drain and then the washer will fill the sink and drain onto the floor and ack I'm so paranoid, right? Except that finally, after forty days and probably fifty loads of laundry in this house, while I was scurrying around all efficiently preparing my modest little rectangle of a house to contain seventeen people, some of whom actually, you know, decorate for seasons, the dreaded event happened. Just for your information, if you have a similar system in your house, there are a few things that should probably not be hanging out on the floor directly under the edge of the sink that might possibly fail to properly dispose of a substantial quantity of warm greywater. On that list of inadvisable objects, somewhere between "family heirloom quilt" (which fortunately in this case I do not own) and "expensive electronics equipment" (ditto), would be "cat litter tray". So my utility-room floor wasn't just covered in unsanitary laundry water, it was covered in warm cat-litter soup, brewed in a hearty unsanitary-laundry-water broth.
Before you decide that you will never, ever come to my house no matter how hard I beg, I must point out that I had JUST COMPLETELY CHANGED the cat litter, so it was not as nasty as you might have just pictured. It was just more expensive.
Everything else was fine. The house was clean well before everyone arrived; Scout was quietly crated because she is scared to death of people and who knows how traumatized she would have been if she'd been out among all those strangers; there was enough food; the roast didn't burn; and though things were cramped for space, there were enough chairs and tables to go around (thanks to helpful family members). So. Aside from that one mishap, I can't complain. Which means, of course, that I have to milk that one mishap for all it's worth.
Comments
Sounds like it went quite well! Yay!
Posted by: Kat with a K at February 22, 2008 12:31 PM
I'm so impressed, Rachel. I'm not there yet. Last year we did have some people over...that was a big step for me. Way to go! When we lived in CA we had the same laundry set up and many times I flooded our garage because I had used the sink to wash something and left the drain covered. OOPS.
Posted by: Denise at February 22, 2008 07:27 PM
Just tagged you for a meme: here.
Posted by: Kat with a K at February 23, 2008 01:05 PM
WOW RACHEL...you sure have more energy than I do. I know what you mean about the sink drain thing. We have a deep tub in the laundry room that takes the washing machine wastewater. Sometimes there will be a plug...oh for giggles, lets say a sock or something a man or a child may have dumped in the tub...that causes a water bth on the tile floor...and it floods into the master room. It sucks. I wish for a home that doesnt have a septic tank and a normal sewage hook up system to accept wastewater. Sigh...Dream On. Sounds like a very successful party. I love your house pics btw.
Posted by: debbie at February 24, 2008 12:49 AM
I'm a reader/lurker of this site. What happened to your monthly books? Check this site out, I'm addicted! www.shelfari.com it's AMAZING!
Posted by: Mandy at February 25, 2008 07:00 PM
