Don't drink the water

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

So once again time goes by and next thing I know it's been a couple weeks since my last post. And there have been plenty of things I could have written about: the election, the cut on my foot, my mother-in-law, our movie marathon weekend (well, I might still... but I doubt it).

Instead the issue of the day is the boil advisory for our little corner of the world. A main broke on the next street over, so it's only "precautionary" for us, but better safe than sorry. As we speak, I have two pots of boiling water on the stove, three already done and cooling, and anticipating a couple more. I'd rather get a good reserve to start than need it later and be without.

It's funny how you don't realize how much water you ingest until they tell you you can't. Drinking is obvious. Cooking, too. But what about brushing your teeth? Ice cubes? Filling the pet dish? If our fish weren't already dead, it'd be a good thing if the water didn't need changing.

And it's not boiling that's really a pain, it's waiting for it to cool. The pots are too large for the fridge, so I'm pouring the water into mixing bowls in order to get another batch on the range. It's not that I think the plastic pitchers and containers will literally melt if filled with boiling water, but they do get soft and I don't like that. So mixing bowls it is.

Even now there's a construction crew working on the main. Fortunately, the ceiling fan is noisy enough to block out their noise, but I wonder how long they'll take, and how long this advisory will go on. And on. And on.