Skunk, Sewer, Drugs

Jaimi (of "Nathan and Jaimi the Housesitters") called me yesterday to see about a final walk-through before we leave town next week. "Umm, okay, the house is in shambles, Dave is completely re-caulking and re-painting the bathroom, and the kids are screaming for their Friday night movie, but sure, why not... Ack! There's a skunk in the backyard!" Apparently a young skunk has taken a fancy to our shed in back (the tip of the roof is barely visible behind all the drugs in the picture) and is living underneath it. Fluffy and Tom the cats seem to have made a truce with it, since Fluffy especially follows it around (at least 4 feet behind). I don't know if it's a good thing, although my nature study book says that skunks are excellent for ridding one's property of mice, our other "favorite" visitors from the great outdoors. Jaimi and Nathan came over despite the skunk (who ambled off to Mr. Riggs' yard, Fluffy in tow) and still seem willing to live here.

Of course, that was before we woke up this morning, all eager to go over to Walla Walla to see the grannies one last time. Dave and Samuel were cleaning brushes in the laundry room this morning when I flushed our very very slow and cantankerous toilet, only to have sewer water bubble up from the drain in said laundry room. Five hours later and after a 2 hour visit from Mr. Roto-Rooter, the plug of sludge is now gone. Toilet is still slow, but the basement is clean, disinfected, and ready for business again. In a truly perverse way of thinking, we are grateful it happened this weekend instead of next.

Which leads me to all the drugs. Okay okay, really I bought them before the skunk and the sewer, but get a load of all of it! The pharmacist at Safeway counseled me to get all this stuff, so there it is, me being the overly cautious parent and wondering about water quality and where oh where is one to buy these things in Hohhot? Presumably I will find it out, eventually, along with where to get my hair cut, do my laundry, and buy untainted food.