Rain, Rain, Go Away?

The View Right Now

It's raining right now.  Hard.  It's supposed to rain all day today and through the entire weekend.  These aren't the warm, tropical rains of Hawaii.  The rain is cold and wind driven.  It's probably from Alaska--which explains why it's so cold.  When I went outside to take this picture, I was quickly driven back inside.  You can see a spot of rain on the lens in the bottom right hand corner.

It's tempting to complain sometimes about the rain, but I never do.  Southern California is a beautiful place to live, but it is also a desert.  Rain is a precious resource down here and so I am always grateful for it when it comes.

When I was in high school (about 1991?), we were facing a severe drought in our part of Southern California.  Water restrictions were put into effect.  Our stake leaders promised us that if we worked on keeping the Sabbath day holy and fasted for rain, we would be blessed.  I remember they cited this scripture from the Bible:

"Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord."
If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit."
--Leviticus 26:2-4

I think they also reminded us of the story of President Lorenzo Snow who promised the pioneers in St. George that if they paid their tithing, they would receive rain--even though there hadn't been any rain for months.

I remember thinking that it was pretty bold to promise that if we kept the Sabbath Day holy and fasted, we would have rain.  But we did it as a stake.  The results were miraculous.  It seemed like it rained nearly every day for the next month.  We received enough rain so that the drought restrictions did not become necessary.  But it was an important faith-promoting experience for me and for many of the other members of the Stake as well.

So on this St. Patrick's Day, I will be thankful for the rain and enjoy the sound that it makes as it pitter-patters down on the roof and the windows.  I will be grateful for the sense of cleanliness that it brings to the streets and sidewalks.  And I will be grateful that, even though it's raining, the sun will still come out after the storm has passed.  =o)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Drought Is Over!

I do not <3 droughts, especially when they are en mi casa!

I'm proud to announce that as of approximately 11:30 a.m. yesterday, the water was back on at our house!  Hallelujah!

If you remember nothing else from this post, here are two very important life lessons that I learned from the recent water outage in our house:

#1 - Check Your Warranty!

Remember how I said that our house was only four years old?  Well, a friend of mine reminded me that new homes in California are basically under warranty for ten years.

What does this mean?

Scott the Plumber hard at work...and The Price Was Right!

It means that one (1) strategically placed call to my builder + one (1) more call to the original plumber = the pipe was fixed under warranty.

Total out of pocket cost:  Zero, zilch, nada, gratis, FREE!

So, when you have a warranty, 1 + 1 = $0

The builder (Standard Pacific) and the plumber are even sending someone out tomorrow to re-pour the concrete pad that I had to have demo'd.  I love good customer service!!!

(and I'm a little embarrasssed I didn't think of this sooner)

#2 - There's Always a Workaround

Remember how I said that I would have run my neighbor's hose into my kitchen if I could have?  Turns out I didn't even need to go to that much trouble.

I did not know this, but Scott the Plumber told me that if you shut off the valve to the house, you can run a hose from his outdoor spigot to your home's outdoor spigot and you will have water in your house.  Maybe it won't be as strong as your normal pressure, but it will work.

I'm excited to try this next time someone I know (because this better not happen to me ever again!) has a pipe break.

#3 - Yesterday Morning -- A Photo Essay

Mark and Gabriel showed up promptly at 7 a.m.
They didn't waste any time getting to work.

Jackhammer?  We don't need no stinkin' jackhammer!

The hole wasn't hard to spot once we got rid of the concrete.

Someone did a lazy repair job during construction.
It's not supposed to look like this...

Much Better!!

This is pretty much what the driveway looks like now...
...minus the plumber of course!

Yes, still not complete, but did I mention that we have water??