Sh@#...and cavities...happen

It's been a week of exploring some inner sanctums. First I got to see a cavity. You know your inner peace is really on the skids when a trip to the dentist to fill a cavity is a nice little respite from remodeling. I was downright giddy to grab an opportunity to numb my entire face during the day since it's just really not appropriate to drink at your desk. My dentist showed me just what a cavity looks like before it's filled. Kind of brownish, very small but really a crater in your tooth. And great motivation for diligent flossing diligently which, as for most, will last for another week and then drop off the radar for four months until it's time to get back to the dentist.

And far too quickly the novocaine wore off and I got to have the undiluted, unedited, unbelievable joy of watching a camera snake through my sewer.

So, Chris, the #$%@ plumber--remember the one who disappeared--reappeared long enough to inform us that we had a sewer line leak that was preventing him from pressurizing the kitchen lines and passing inspection. He declared we needed to scope the sewer lines. So, out he trotted with a camera, shoved it down my toilet and showed me the inside of my sewer pipes. Nothing terribly interesting to report, other than the point at which the camera was completely submerged in water. He quickly pulled the camera out of the toilet, rolled up the cable with the camera and his friend hustled it out of his house. He then proceded to give me a song and dance about what was causing this and, of course, how much it would cost. Either $2000 to put on a band-aid so he could pass inspection or $6000 to tunnel under my house and replace the entire sewer pipe.

The next day Bennett, Tom and I realized we had more questions than answers. And, we started comparing notes that Chris was wearing an Olshan's Plumbing shirt and the camera arrived in an Olshan's plumbing van. We deduced a few things: 1) Chris had taken a full-time job which explained his absences. 2) He was full of...nah, it's too easy...baloney. 3) We needed a second opinion and real answers.

So, Chris the plumber has been officially fired. New plumber arrives today to put on the "band-aid" and give us a legitimate sewer scope. If only fixing the sewer was as easy as filling a cavity--or I could at least get full-body novocaine that would last until we could move back in.

The good news: I discovered a decent yet inexpensive wine-in-a-box (the closest I can get to the whole-body novocaine to get me through the next month without going totally broke) I'm still flossing, the sheetrock is up (see pics below) and cabinets start going in today!