7QT: Cold Water Edition

--1--

I can't believe it is Friday already--this week has just flown by.  It's not even that I was so busy--honestly, I can't really remember what I did all week except sort of sleep walk through it.  Maybe that is why I don't remember!

--2--

The big news of note is that our tankless water heater went kaput on Wednesday.  The igniter stopped working, which means we have no hot water.  Which means our water for showering, dish washing, and everything else is about 40 degrees.  Eek!!  And the technician can't get here until Monday (what is up with THAT??)  I begged, I pleaded, I tried telling her I had three little kids, but to no avail.  I spent yesterday boiling water on the stove for dish washing and my husband and I both took bracing sponge baths while we prayed that Birdie would not start vomiting.  (She has vomited a little this week, but it was minor and did not require a full bath to clean up).  This morning, my hair was beyond dirty, and I just couldn't see waiting until Tuesday or later to wash it (since the technician may or may not be able to install the part on Monday!), so I girded my loins (so to speak) and washed my hair in bracingly cold water.  That will wake you up in the morning!!  Who needs coffee?  

--3--

Being without hot water reminded me of my Moscow days, when the government shuts off the hot water to the city starting in May, and sometimes doesn't turn it back on until October 1st.  (The hot water is used to heat the buildings in the winter, and they have to drain the buildings every spring/summer).  Sometimes the hot water is off for a few weeks, but I remember one year that Nizhni Novgorod was without hot water all summer.  So you boil your wash water, and try not to fill the tub more than a few inches at a time.  Few Russian bathrooms are set up for showers anyway.  The hot water (and the heat) comes back on October 1st regardless of the weather.  I didn't mind the cold water so much in September when it tends to be warmer, but I do remember minding it a little in May, as it can still be quite chilly in May in Moscow!!  

--4--

You can see the banya in the second picture.  The top picture is the yard and outhouse, the bottom picture is the entry way to the house where we stayed.

But nothing compares to a cold banya in Krygzystan in summer.  Before we had children, I did a three week Habitat build in Barskoon, on the edge of Lake Isak-Kyl, near the Chinese border.  We had no running water, unreliable electricity, no modern power tools, just hammers, shovels, manual planers, hand saws, and the like. We made bricks by hand using mud, straw, and a metal form.  

Working with old school tools.

Horses are more common than cars in that part of the world.  (Sheep too!)  It was fantastic.  But then there was the clean up at the end of the day--we had the banya to use for washing our clothes and ourselves, and the first ones back from the job site had bracing cold water to wash in.  I never wanted to wait the several hours it took to heat the water enough for a hot steam because we got so incredibly muddy and dirty at the job site.  (Mud to the brows was not an exaggeration).  And even though it was July, the temps were in the 70s, which is pleasant for sitting, but with cold water for washing, wow, cold!!  

More pictures of the yard/house where we stayed.  This is typical for the area.

--5--

And yes, I know I'm complaining about first world problems.  A broken water heater isn't really that big of a deal--we have a sound roof over our heads, the heater is still working, we have food to eat, and safe places to sleep.  We have more than we need, and have been provided for most abundantly.  And I am grateful.  I'm also grateful for one-day shipping from Amazon.com and $10 hot pots and cheap large thermoses.  Yes, I do have a tea kettle that I can boil water on the stove, but hot pots are a lot faster, and when you are boiling water all day long for dish washing and other washing, speed is handy.  

--6--

And now for something completely different.

--7--

And my card for today:

This is tweaked from someone else's design, but I really loved the texture and the super quick and dirty watercoloring.  Took about 3 minutes to color.  I'm still working on cards for From Our Hearts--I'm using up a lot of designer series paper!!  I've used up all the retired stuff I had hanging around, plus have made my way through my neglected Twitterpated pack, plus most of the Orchard Harvest pack from the current holiday catalog.  I've got some scraps to use up, but then on to Comfort Cafe and Fan Fair!!  I'm enjoying the challenge of using up a pack of dsp at a time and keeping the designs simple but interesting.  I also made teacher gifts yesterday--I decorated our kraft boxes and made gift card holders with the petite pockets die (love it!) using Comfort Cafe--who says Christmas gifts have to look Christmas-y?  I love that paper, and it looks so nice as gift packaging!

Alright, enough nonsense for today--go see Jen and Co. for more Quick Takes!