Sometime this past winter, the water line linking our house with the water main sprung a leak. I suspect it was the same day that the driveway slabs suddenly jumped up a couple of inches relative to the garage. Anyway, after fighting a valiant effort to keep spring melt out of the basement (and winning the fight, I might add,) there was water in the basement this past weekend. Very damp, very moldy smelling, terrible news.

The city came out and dug up the street in front of our place, fixed it up, and the water problem should be solved, but now the cleanup begins. The carpet in the basement needs to be ripped up, the walls likely need to be at least partially removed, and a bunch of mold needs to be cleaned up.

Fortunately, insurance will cover it, and the city will likely cover the deductible.

It was a near thing too - I had finally broken down and ordered some Screen Goo, and it arrived last week. I was planning to paint the screen on Saturday, but I decided to hold off when the water was discovered. I don’t know how insurance would have dealt with Goo replacement, and I’m not inclined to find out.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Brace yourselves gentlemen. According to the gas chromatograph, the secret ingredient is… Love!? Who’s been screwing with this thing?” - Professor Frink