My kitchen is filled with dirty dishes. This drives me insane but what can you do?
I know I do not smell very good so I took a paper towel and put some Purell on it and swiped my armpits and there you have it.
No washing of dishes or bodies or floors. And I feel stupid because we don't have a back-up. I want one of these:
I was reminded of them when I was on my walk today and stopped to talk to a neighbor named Ms. Liola. Her water was out too and she was bemoaning the fact that her pitcher pump isn't working these days. I was reminded of the year I spent with no running water except for what came out of a pump which looked like that in my back yard. I had an infant and we managed. How did I do that? And how did I forget? You can lose your electricity and the damn water system can go down but if you have one of those babies you can pump enough water to take a cat bath in. You can pump enough water to wash the dishes. You can pump enough water to make a one-year old very happy in a canning kettle on the front porch, splashing and playing in the coolness.
And speaking of infants, I haven't seen Owen since Monday. MONDAY! And it's Wednesday. Don't worry. I'll see him tomorrow. Here's a picture Lily sent me on my phone:
Do you see that goofy smile? God. I can't wait to see him again. His smell is like the air I need to breathe. Like the water I need to drink. Liola and I talked about our grands. (And for those of you who didn't grow up Down South- grands are grandchildren and what could be more honest?) Her grands are older and live in Texas and her daughter-in-law, the mother of these grands, calls her EVERY DAY to report in on how the children are doing and what they're up to. I'd say Liola did something right.
And she reminded me of the pitcher pump and I want one badly.
Sometimes we have to be reminded of simple things. That may come in the form of a conversation with a neighbor and it may come in the form of a text message.
Once again, here I am, in more than one world and lapping up the information I need to know.
I feel so blessed to have all these avenues of communication. I feel so blessed to have all of you.
You mean I have to call my mother every day and tell her about my kids?
ReplyDeleteElizabeth- Oh no. No one in the entire world would call her MIL every day unless she wanted to. Which is why I said that Ms. Liola did something right.
ReplyDeletePurell to clan the armpits, huh? Very creative. Plus I LOVE Owen's grin.
ReplyDeleteHopefully things are fixed by tomorrow.
i love love love owen's goofy grin and your new banner pic! LOVE!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet smile. I bet he's gonna have a great laugh.
ReplyDeleteOh, that pitcher pump is AWESOME!! I want me one of those! Oh, except I live on a swamp, so I just have to dig down about four inches and I'll have water pooling all I want.
ReplyDeleteOh and Owen's grin is FABULOUS!!!
And I hope you don't mind me bring my friends the Jolie-Pitts into this conversation, but his advice about baby wipes just cracked me up and made me think of you with the Purell: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20282658,00.html.
Hey chickie. I love 'grands'! I will use that meself one day, if I'm blessed.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for dissing my mother -- I actually love her deeply. But I don't think that I could talk to her every single day. And I didn't comment before on the beautiful new header you have on the site! I love how you change them -- it's so great to see what's next.
ReplyDeletethe new banner pic is wonderfull! mary is my homegirl so i simply have to love it!
ReplyDeletethe pump reminds me of my grandmothers house..her house is really huge and really old..of course there is electrecy and water but in the basement is this old pump because underneath the house is a ..hm..whats the word???..where water comes out of the ground?..anyway..under he rhouse is one of this water -out-of-the-ground-places....and one summer..it was so hot...i went down into the basement..i remember the coolness of the thick stonewalls...moss/moos? grew on the cieling and there was a lizard which must have kreept in to get a cool place for the day too...i used the pump and after a few seconds water spilled out of it..it was so cold that it hurtet my teeth and its taste was so different from water out of the bottle...a strange, dark and mineralic taste..like the earth it has been flowing through....and..now i lost the point..anyway..the pump picture just reminded me of that moment...at least 23 years ago
You must keep some baby wipes on hand because they are great to use when you need to bathe and you don't have time or don't have water.
ReplyDeleteI try to think how my mom-in-law did it when their water would run dry in the summer. Five kids, cloth diapers...
When I was growing up our pipes would freeze so we got water by melting ice that we had frozen in milk cartons in the extra freezer.
It took two quart-ice-blocks to wash and rinse my hair and I could bathe with just one quart. I was quite proud of my minimalist needs.
in the summer my mom kept dairy-farm-size metal milk canisters full of water in the cellar just in case. But I like the pitcher pump idea better.
In my dream house, there aer solar panels and wind driven water pumps... being without water really brings you back to the basics! Bet you still smell good...
ReplyDeleteOwen's smile is precious, and it's amazing to me that we can now snap and send photos with our phones!
Mel- Well, I stole the armpit idea from Brad Pitt. No pun intended but it could not be avoided. See Nola's comment for the article where I read about the trick.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne- That Virgin of Guadalupe is in the flea market area of Cozumel.
Ginger- I bet you're right. I can't wait to find out.
Nola- That's where I got the idea! But I had no baby wipes.
Maggie May- Isn't it a beautiful word? GRAND.
Elizabeth- Nah. I was't dissing your mother either. I'm glad you like the new header. Gotta rearrange the furniture sometimes, right?
Danielle- What a beautiful story. Thanks for telling it. And your English is very, very good. I think the word you were looking for is "well".
Geeksinrome- I am so glad you stopped by! And how DID your mother do it? We do what we have to, I suppose. And I'll bet that to this day, when you are in the shower, you are grateful for the running water. I know I am.
Mel- I know. We live in a Dick Tracy world come true. And no, I do not smell good. Thankfully, the water is back on and I can take a shower.
ah thank you jo..my english is best after a martini or two..:-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a most beautiful most goofy smile. I've been feeling very blessed for the internet and for YOU too. x
ReplyDeleteNO GODDAMMIT. We are blessed to have YOU!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful baby, Owen, and your blog is awesome. You are a great writer and a blessing for us. Love, Kathy kathyberman.com.
ReplyDelete