There once was a guy named Murphy...

...and he seems to be visiting us this year. We've done quite a bit of work on this house which was prompted by leaks of one sort or another.

We have almost finished the basement from the spring flooding. A couple of new rooms added (due to the addition of Little Miss) and new flooring. And the landscaping around the house has been bolstered to prevent a recurrence of that problem.

So I thought we were done with house work for a while. And there I go thinking again...

My aunt and uncle are visiting for a few days. My brother and his family will be here will be staying after they leave. And we are having a New Year's Eve party with a few houseguests. So, of course, something must go wrong.

Enter strange dripping sound.

I was doing laundry so my first thought was the washing machine. Oh, how I wish it had been the washing machine! But no! I walk back toward the laundry room and see water coming from the ceiling in our half bath. Which is directly below the bathtub in our guest bathroom. Which my uncle happened to be showering in at that exact moment.

Now, luckily, there is a vent in the ceiling that the water came through. Had it not been there who knows how long it would have been until the leak turned the sheetrock into paste and the whole ceiling came down...

But, I digress. On with the story... I call Doug at work and say "I have bad news." I held the phone down to the splattering water and said, "That is the sound of water coming from the ceiling below the spare bathroom."

"Call the plumber," he says.

So, I have called the plumber who has so kindly fit me in on Wednesday morning. He has told me that at least part of the ceiling will have to come out of the half bath (which they don't fix) and they charge $70/hour. Oh goodie.

In hindsight I guess it's a good thing we didn't buy the new dining room furniture.