Is It Me?

I am beginning to be convinced that we are cursed concerning all things water in this flat. Let's do a quick recap thus far :)

1. Washing machine issues for about 3 months now. No, still not fixed. Every time we think it is fixed, it continues to leak. Ah, well, at least we can use it when Mark pulls it out and we put the hose down the garbage disposal trap....well, that is, until today (keep reading for that story--oh dear, just now realized that really will cause problems for doing laundry....sigh).

2. About 2-3 weeks after we moved in our landlord had some kind of electrical survey done on the flat to make sure things were properly working. One thing that was discovered as not functioning as it should was the shower pull. It is supposed to turn off and on. That's hard to do when there is no pull/string. So, our shower stayed in the "on" position all the time (however, better than the "off" position!). Not really a big deal (actually more convienent) just maybe a little extra money because it is electrical. (Mind you, the shower itself wasn't on, that has its own button--see left--top button.) But our landlord was finally motivated to fix this since he is now trying to obtain new tenants when we move. Funny how that is a good motivator, isn't it!? Thankfully there have only been two real times our shower didn't work and we discovered that the shower fuse had been switched off due to other electrical work being done in our building. (Below is the new string and "On/Off"switch)

3. Our ceiling has had a slight water spot for at least 2 months now. To the landlord's credit he has tried to get this taken care of but he's waiting for the surveyor's report to be sent to the insurance company (or something like that) to see if the insurance will cover the cost to repair the roof, etc, etc, etc. Guess it must be one very long report to take this long. Meanwhile, it's a very good thing the ceiling isn't actually dripping anything out of it or we might be a bit frustrated.

4. It really is rather ironic that today (of all days) our sink got backed up. Let's just say it is a good thing it wasn't yesterday because we were already a bit fed up with our landlord (he keeps making appointments to come work on the place, we arrange our schedule around that, etc, and then he doesn't come or stays a really long time) and I don't think we would have handled it well. Today the Lord must have prepared us because we are both trying to take this in stride. The irony comes in because the landlord is supposed to show the flat 3 different times tomorrow to prospective tenants. I decided to cook a bunch today because tomorrow I won't really be able to betweeen viewings, etc. So I was towards the end (thankfully!) of a couple hours in the kitchen, when I realized that the garbage disposal "stuff"was regurgitating in the other side of the sink. This has happened before so I didn't panic. But the more I tried to clear out the disposal by continuing to run it and also running more water down it to help push it through, the more the other side filled up. It was then I realized we had a problem--a major problem. The left side of the sink is not draining at all. As in, the drain stopper is completely out and the water hasn't moved for a couple hours. Sigh. The right side, where the disposal is, at least is draining a couple inches an hour. My theory is, the washing machine's draining issues and the garbage disposal's draining issues must be somehow connected. Now, I mentioned that this could be an option well over a month ago (like I said, the disposal has had slight issues), but I'm just a woman, what do I know?!! I could still be wrong, but I think it is a good theory for now.

So we are supposed to be washing all those dishes so the flat will be ready to show tomorrow, but alas, here I am instead since I can't wash the dishes. Honestly, I don't mind :) Mark left a message on our landlord's cell phone informing him of this new complication. I dread thinking about how long it will take to fix this new problem and foresee having to do dishes in the bathtub (at least it's clean!). I am just glad that we have on our side the fact that the landlord wants to show the place to prospective tenants so maybe it won't be as long as it could be otherwise.

All this brings me to say "Is it me/us that is jinxed or this flat?" (Our landlord is probably wondering the same thing.) One way or the other, we are counting the days until we are out!!! (And in the meantime praying we can stay sane without clean clothes or dishes!) Oh, and if anything happens with the toilet, I just might have to get on a plane and fly back across the Atlantic :)