Just a little hope goes a long way

The water wagon loaded with jugs of rainwater. They didn't go far, only three rows barely wet.

7/18/10 Sunday
Yesterday was a good day. Cherie has been feeling real down ever since she became aware of what someone said, and the reduced value they placed on us because of it. The statement had to do with our inability to have children. It cut Cherie deeply, way down to a core going all the way back to our first marriage and the hopes all, or at least most, couples have of creating a family. This is a hope that is now unattainable to us, though I did have the privilege of raising two boys from early childhood to adult that came with the second wife.

Not only did this get her down but created an anger that brewed inside till she released it as I sought to ease the pain. She didn’t release it at me, just vented all the hurt and pain. It was good for her to get it out.

Here's the sink and cabinet to be replaced.

Cherie had found a faucet that was on sale for $28 bucks at Home Depot and mentioned it to me. I made it important to take her there, deciding that the price was very affordable. It looks amazingly sharp and was mixed in with other faucets by the same maker that were $75 to $100 dollars. Quite a deal. As I looked for something to fix the storm door, that had torn itself off the hinges, Cherie went looking at other stuff. She came back excited and showed me a sink and cabinet that would fit the faucet well. This is all for the bathroom, which is a nasty decrepit room that has tile falling off the wall and all kinds of other problems that come with age and poor workmanship. The price of the cabinet was $68 dollars but for twenty more we could get one a little nicer and a few inches wider. I’d earned a few dollars helping a friend and knew this would go a long way in helping Cherie feel better by replacing what she is embarrassed to have anyone else see, so decided to get it.
The bathtub that is also on it's last legs. I can only run hot water, so must wait till it cools off before I get in. That and because there is no shower contributes to the "Stink" issue I posted about yesterday.

Come to find out the cabinet was damaged. I noticed the box was deeply dinged so insisted on inspecting the contents before purchasing it. It was the last one of the type and when we discovered the kick plate was broken asked for a manager. When the clerk learned who was on duty that day she grimaced, stating that he was a hard ass and seldom gave discounts. She described the damage on the phone and he cut the price almost in half. Cool, that was a big blessing, and enhanced Cherie’s happiness as she loves getting a deal.
Talk about hard water, just look at the mineral deposits on the bathtub faucet. There are some we know who express their sense of superiority, though I doubt they even realize it, that would see this as proof they are better than we are. We inherited this farm and are fixing it up as God provides, and have learned to be content with what we are blessed with. And we are grateful every day, though some days that's hard to do.

There’s only one problem now. I have to put it in. That requires dealing with very old plumbing, which is scary. One turn with a wrench and the whole pipe could rupture. What makes it harder is that I can’t crawl under the house to fix something because we still have a bee hive down there full of feral honey bees. There’s no way I’m crawling down there with that very real danger to face. I don’t know if there is a water shut off to the house anywhere. What we do is turn it off at the well so there is no water anywhere. So much of this place is still a mystery and my grandfather did a lot of…uh…southern engineering and just enough to get by. Eventually I plan on expanding the whole bathroom so it’s bigger than a closet. That requires building a wall and tearing the existing one down. Not a big problem but the potential issue is what condition the floor is in. I suspect that parts of it will need to be replaced but that will have to wait till there’s some money to spend. It would be nice to have a shower and a tub that runs more than just the hot water. (the cold water faucet no longer works due to mineral deposit buildups)

But just the hope, seeing the light and knowing that we possess a new faucet and sink brightened Cherie’s day. Well worth any amount of money I could spend. I’ll tear off the rest of the tile, that’s falling off anyway, and start preparing for the replacement.

We went to church at the little place down the road today. We like it, it’s close and there are only maybe twenty people there today. It will grow I’m sure. There’s work to do so that’s all the writing I’ll do for now. God bless y’all and have a great day.