Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink

I went to Big Bear over the weekend and had a grand time with a few friends. We did a lot of scrapbooking and watched too many movies. The cabin we stayed at has, like many cabins I suspect, a rather eclectic assortment of cast off VHS films to choose from. I'm mortified to report that at one point I found myself completely caught up in Top Gun. (It's almost as bad as the recent Nora Roberts embarrassment!)

When we arrived at the cabin the first order of business was to turn the water line back on and run around turning off all of the running faucets (It's a whole "winterizing" thing that I didn't understand until later). After turning off the upstairs bathroom faucets, I turned and noticed the toilet bowl was completely empty. I thought it odd so I flushed it thinking it needed some water. (As if it were a houseplant or something. What a moron!) I immediately saw water pooling around the base and that ain't good. Next thing I knew my friend was racing upstairs shouting "turn off the water"!! Turns out all of the water from the tank came pouring out into the living room through a mounted wall speaker. I'm just glad it was clean water and leave it at that.

We got a plumber out quickly and he informed us he'd received about 2,000 similar calls in recent weeks. Big Bear, apparently, saw three nights of -13 degree weather that burst God knows how many pipes. It's a miracle we even got a plumber to come out. He got our cold water running and promised to return the following morning. He also discovered the enormous crack running down the side of the toilet, a detail I'd not noticed. Who knew porcelain could freeze and crack like that? I'm from Southern California for goodness sake!

While we waited for the plumber we all decided that, while could go probably go without showers for a couple of days, doing without restroom privileges was unacceptable. The plumber cleared up this problem by explaining that if one must turn off the water the potty is still functional, you simply fill the bowl with water yourself. Who knew? We had some snow melting in a pot for just such an occasion when the plumber arrived.

We didn't have to use the snow... thank God!

I did attempt to wash some dishes in cold water but, I swear, my fingers were numb in a matter of 10 seconds. I'm talking seriously COLD water! We decided to rinse and soak the dishes and just wait for the hot water.

Oh, and try washing your face in ice cold water some time. It's not fun, trust me.

We were back in hot water by 10:00 am the next morning when the plumber returned. Happy Days! The ladies and I can be pretty tough but we drawn the line at no hot water. It's just not negotiable. Now you know.