showers, smoke detectors and baseball

It's time for a story so get comfortable. Where do I start? I guess the beginning would be good. This morning after Greg got back from playing basketball he took a shower (good thing). When he was ready he came down to the kitchen where I had a scrambled egg breakfast ready for him. So he tells me, "Tonight when I get home I'm going to fix the shower and the smoke detector." I'm like okay, what happened to the shower? It broke. Here's what happened. We have an old claw foot tub and so around it is copper piping to hold up the curtain. The copper pipes are screwed into the wall behind the shower head and the ceiling on the other end. Apparently one of the screws came out and it was no longer attached to the ceiling and so it was falling and "broken". So we go on with our day, I have some training at Applebee's watch some old videos about alcohol safety and hazerdous chemicals. They were exciting, (I wonder if they rent those videos out...) then I had to do some shopping to get the correct items to wear for work. Greg and I got home at the same time. We're in the side lawn and Greg decided that he should mow the grass cuz it was really long and he wouldn't be able to do it till Saturday otherwise. So he mows the lawn. I watch TV. Fair trade off don't you think? Then he comes in and gives me the little screw from the shower that he found and asked me to go to the hardware store and try to buy another one. So I get in the car and drive down the block...hardware store closed, drive a little further to the next one...closed...it was only 7:30pm (I guess that's what we get for living in a small town). So I went to Subway and got us some dinner (you didn't know you were getting the play by play did you?). Then came back. Was then going to Walmart to see if they had the screw...train...asked the guy at Walmart what he thought and he told me it had a hex head and was called a set screw. But they don't carry that kind. So he told me to try Home Depot. I start looking around at Home Depot and cannot find anything that looks like the little thing I have in my hand. (To give you an idea, it looks like a little round screw with no head, and it is kind hollow in the top part.) So I ask some lady to help me. She cannot find it either. We look some more...and some more and then give up. So I called Greg to tell him that I could not find the screw and that maybe we should just try to duct tape it for tonight and then I'll go to the hardware store tomorrow. So I asked him to go find some duct tape. No luck. So I stopped at CVS and picked up some duct tape. Take note, that's three stores in one hour...for one little screw. So when I finally got home, Greg changed the battery in the smoke detector...project number one finished. Then we begin the process of trying to put the shower back together. He's got the ladder out and trying to reach the ceiling he tries to put the little screw back into place, with a wrench, can't get it in. He thought that if he at least put part of it in then he could tape it together. Well, then how am I going to show the people at the hardware store what we need? So we try to duct tape the copper pipe to the bracket in the ceiling. Does not work. Greg then has a brilliant idea. He thought that we could take the screw out of the one that is holding the copper pipe into the wall behind the shower head and put it in the one on the ceiling and then duct tape the one on the wall. So I get in the tub and hold the copper pipe up to the ceiling so that we can take the other one out and use it in the ceiling. So I'm holding it...and holding it. Greg had screw drivers and decided that he needed an allen wrench. So I told him to hurry while I held the pipes in place. He ran down to the garage and got the allen wrenches. I'm still holding it. He comes up and ends up using the screw driver to get it out. So then he duct tapes that copper pipe to the wall and tightens the screw in the wall. Then is about to put the screw in the place where it needs to go in the ceiling. I asked him to let me see it so I knew what I was looking for tomorrow at the hardware store. I look at it and WOW, it's the SAME as the OTHER ONE! UGH! So it hadn't broken off from the head, that was the whole thing. It was hollow in the middle so that you could tighten it in place! So all that running around and searching for this screw was in vain, cuz what I really needed was what was in my hand! HA! We just had to laugh...and take the duct tape off the one on the wall and put the screw in there. So we fixed the shower...project number two...done! Thanks for bearing with me through that story...I thought it was funny and had to share it with you!

In other news! Did you see history happen tonight? Well, I'm not the biggest baseball fan but I think that I am married to the BIGGEST baseball fan. He was watching the Cardinal game. And then it was time for Jeremy Hermida to bat...he plays for the Marlins. He just came up from the Minor Leagues, and today was his first game in the Major Leagues. He was up to bat...for his FIRST time in the major leagues. It's the 7th inning and bases are loaded...first pitch swing and a miss, second pitch ball, third pitch...a good hit, going, going, GONE...it's outta here (as Bob Uecker would say)...GRAND SLAM! So let's recap for those who are baseball illiterate. First time up to bat in the major leagues, he hits a GRAND SLAM, so he gets a homerun and 4 RBI's. That's incredible. We just saw history...that's the first time that has happened since 1898...that's one hundred and seven years people. WOW! So that was pretty cool, I bet he's flying high right about now. But the Cardinals won...so all that doesn't really matter. Just kidding. Oh and I think the Cards are gonna win the Series this year. Last year was just a warm up!

Oh, and two more little weird things about this town...crickets are like the state insect, I kill about 3 in my house each day and I'm NOT exagerating. And at night it smells like cow manure outside. I know, weird. You can't really smell it during the day but at night it's as thick as a good juicy steak. On that note I'm outta here...gotta go get some sleep so I can swim tomorrow!


Here's Greg finally getting to relax after an exciting day at work, mowing the lawn, fixing the shower and putting a battery in the smoke detector. HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS MAN!