Last week, Jeff was having some pretty bad pain in his gum, and after a trip to our regular dentist then a trip to an endodontist, he ended up with a root canal ($235), followed by an appointment for a crown next week (at least a few hundred dollars).
I was also having gum pain, but in a different way. Mind ended up being a broken filling. I had a childhood filling replaced and because it was so big, it didn't hold. So there was exposure to my gum, and I ended up with some pretty serious irritation. And that led to a crown on Friday. I have to say, it's been pretty painful ... and expensive ($525).
My boss was in a meeting when I had to leave for my appointment. I left her a note that said, "Gone to get my crown. Too bad it's not a tiara."
And when I got back to my desk, I found a tiara! It was very sweet.
We also had plumbing issues last week ($200).
Check out the ceiling of our just-remodeled-last-year bathroom when water leaked from a pipe in the attic down through the ceiling.
A few years after our neighborhood was built, there was a recall on some pipes and fittings. Anyone who wanted them replaced could do so for free, including dry wall repairs if they needed to cut through walls or ceilings. All of our neighbors were smart enough to take them up on it. But not the lady who owned our house. Of COURSE not!
She wasn't having any problems, so she didn't worry about it. Now, all these years later, WE'RE having to deal with it. And the recall expired years ago. Oh joy!
What happens is that for no good reason, a pin hole will develop in a pipe. Water leaks from the hole and runs anywhere it can, including along pipes that run across ceilings. So when we saw a line across our pristinely white ceiling, we knew something was going on. Jeff tried to find the leak and couldn't, so we had to call a plumber ... on a Saturday.
The plumber couldn't find the leak, either. He declared us leak free and blamed it on an air vent in the attic.
Well, Sunday night, we found the lovely lump above protruding from our ceiling. It actually looked like a pregnant belly up there. Jeff got really mad and went back into the attic. And he found the leak. He went out and bought stuff to do a temporary fix, then we called the plumber the next morning.
The plumber who came Monday was a guy we had worked with before and liked. He agreed that the guy who came Saturday should've found the leak, but of course they wouldn't do anything about the worsened problem on the ceiling.
The leak is now fixed. The ceiling is not.
I volunteered for the book sale at Biscuit's school last night, and Jeff was brave enough to bring Biscuit out for Family Fun Night by himself. There were bouncy houses and games and other activities. The library, where I was volunteering, was SO hot and crowded. Meanwhile, Jeff was struggling to keep track of Biscuit among all the other crazy kids. Not a fabulous night for Jeff and me, but Biscuit had a good time.
So on our way home, when Jeff said, "What are we doing tomorrow?" I said, "NOTHING!"
That was my plan, anyway.
Jeff ended up actually accomplishing things. He got a hair cut. He had to buy a battery for his car ($100). He did an interview for work. He ran a few other errands and headed home. And Biscuit and I were exactly where he left us.
About 5:30, Jeff's brother called and said they were near our house. They had gone to a zipline park and wanted to know if we'd like to join them for dinner. They only live 1 1/2 hours away from us, but with our schedules, it's still hard to see them that often. So we went out for pizza then frozen yogurt, and it was a nice way to end our day of doing nothing.
We're hoping for more nothing tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.
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