Homeownerhood

I think after the last couple of weeks, I am safe in rephrasing the old saw: into every home, a little rain must fall. Yes, that's right - we have now joined the proud ranks of those whose basements have flooded in the midst of seasonable weather. And while this was happening? Our fridge died a noble, but not nearly drawn-out enough death (I, for one, would have really appreciated months of very slow decline rather than a sudden episode of kaput.)

The new fridge is now finally in, the food that went bad is gone, and the basement... well, no one has yet actually figured out what exactly is wrong, but all signs point to the need to dig up our whole street to investigate the drain pipes, which still might be the susceptible, terracotta kind from the days of yore. Still, we are now newly aware of the dangers of falling leaves, and the kids enjoyed sweeping and bagging as a novel backyard game.