random thoughts – Day 1,375 – (Friday) – ice chopper

It was finally the nerve-wracking day of the biopsy at the oral surgeon. But first, there was basement business to be dealt with.

The sound of the pump continuously running greeted me. There was no telling how long it had run without automatically shutting off, but it was smoking a little. The pin is so rusted that whatever part kept the ball from slipping off was missing. Clad in pajamas, bathrobe, and boots, water was pushed with the broom to the pit.

Fixing it.

There was enough time before having to leave for the appointment to push water with the broom a couple times. A wire hanger was located and unwound and fashioned into a pin for the float. The hanger had a bend that looked like it would work at the bottom of the floater to keep it on the pin. The hardest part was cutting the hanger without wire cutters, but hacking it with the scissors and bending it back and forth a bunch of times worked. I can be like a dog with a bone when needed.

A few test runs were done. The pin was too long at first and the top bend had to be redone to shorten it. There was time for three tests before leaving. Water was broom pushed across the floor to fill the pit. The float still goes sideways as it nears the top of the water and the lever, and takes a little too long to trigger the pump, but it eventually raises the lever to empty the chamber and it shuts off after emptying it, which is an improvement.

The biopsy was quick, exactly as the oral surgeon had promised during the consultation. A numbing swab, some Novacain, and some cutting, and we were done. The odd thing was whatever they were doing the biopsy on had gotten smaller since the consultation. There was no need for stitches. With the holidays, it could be a week for a lab report.

The recovery room felt unnecessary as I felt fine, but it’s where after care was explained. No hot or spicy food. Nothing crunchy or crusty. No nuts. I asked for clarification on the “hot” and yes, that meant temperature. I could eat ice chips and use an ice pack on the outside of my face. 

Basically, I have to be careful until Monday, which will likely infringe on the Christmas Eve party eating. Ugh. That idea hurts more than the procedure, which felt like a non-event. 

Iced. 

Back at The BungaLowell, it was time to deal with the driveway. All the water coming out of the basement had frozen in the driveway. Worse, it had flowed over to the neighbor’s side. It was thick and looked like a skating rink. 

Rock salt was the first step, and as I tried to chop the ice with a plastic shovel, the neighbor came out to put something into his recycle bin. We chatted about my basement and said he hadn't checked his. He lent me his ice chopper and a metal shovel and apologized for not being available to help.

It was 1.5 hours of ice chopping, shoveling, and trying to clear a path for the water under the ice and still coming from the pump to flow to the drain in the street. The pump hose regularly spit out water, an indication that my wire hanger fix was working. 

Space to put the chopped ice ran short. It was relocated along the fence near the driveway and the street, and at the end of the labor, a heap of it sat at the end of the driveway near the corner of the fence.

I got to chat with the neighbor from the house closest to Beaver Brook who was amazed at the volume of ice and water in my driveway. She said her basement wasn’t taking in water anywhere like mine. Go figure. Another neighbor who has a view of the Beaver Brook mentioned the water is receding. I didn’t walk up the embankment to look.

I was getting sore from chopping and pushing and scooping and tossing and needed to eat. The job wasn’t completed, but it was better than it was. Chopping ice turned out to be a great stress reliever and distraction. Quiche was found in the freezer, heated, and eaten more carefully than possibly ever. A Netflix movie was put on and I fell asleep on the couch halfway through.

It felt reckless going four or five hours without checking the basement, but I just couldn’t. When I finally went back downstairs, it wasn’t horrible. There was water on the floor and I pushed what I could to the hole. There was ice cream for supper. I’ll check the basement again before bed.