Saturday 2 January 2010

It's a Glamorous Life

Well, we changed our flights and came back to Chicago a day earlier than planned. I was still coughing my head off and cabin fever was setting in. I couldn't even go outside let alone ski as I started coughing so violently that people would pull their children in closer for fear of catching something fatal.  The Little Guy was pooped, the Man-Child was also developing bronchitis, and the Queenager discovered a homework crisis via Facebook.

I slept like a baby last night and I'm not sure if it was because I'm back at sea level (therefore able to breathe) or that the Ball & Chain is still in Colorado. (He has a "conference" there this week. Cough cough.)

I have spent the better part of today trying to unblock the world's most disgusting toilet. I almost vommed into it twice, and the whole event prompted me to issue dire consequences for a) "whoever" puts too much loo paper down the loo or b) doesn't bother to tell me about a blockage. The most cruel punishment will be reserved for any child who goes off to school or otherwise leaves it 12 hours to fess up to the crime.

Of course I blame these bloody low-flush toilets. They are mandatory in these parts and you can always tell who has them as there's usually an industrial plunger standing right next to it. I read a few years back that there was a whole smuggling ring bringing "normal" toilets down from Canada. Ones that actually contain a decent amount of water in the bowl to start with and that also have some force behind them when they flush. I'm sure however, that with all this green and eco living we're now doing, even Canada has gone low-flush???

Wait - didn't I start last year with a poop/loo topic? Some things never change.

.

17 comments:

  1. Wow. I'm glad you are feeling better and slept well now that you're home, but so sorry to hear about your loo. And two New Year's in a row? Here's hoping things like this *don't* come in threes!

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  2. I see standards will continue as high as ever on your blog in 2010 lol!

    What I want to know is, was the no loo for an hour before landing in force internally too??

    HNY

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  3. Apparently not. There was no mention of it on SouthWest Airlines anyway. (They did hand out Go-Girls though! ;-) )

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  4. Unblocking loos. What a joy. Hopefully not a promise of what's to come in 2010. I'm quite jealous that you slept like a baby.....I feel pretty sleep deprived at the moment

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  5. I feel like my year is off to the right start now I know that you will continue with the poop stories ;)

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  6. Ah you haven't forgotten the old Brit toilet humour then! Good to hear you are back on the mend.

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  7. Glad you're feeling better. Too bad about the toilet, though ;)

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  8. hope you are feeling tons better very soon X

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  9. nothing welcomes the year in better than a toilet blockage blog post, i always say. good to hear you are feeling marginally better. Hope it continues.

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  10. Dear Expat Mum, what fun you have been having - just popped over to catch up and it is so fascinating to hear about other people's Christmas joys. I do hope you are feeling better soon. Love M xxx

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  11. Glad to hear you're feeling a little better, despite the blocked loo. Not really what you want to start the new year! My husband went on a 'conference' in Colorado a couple of years ago. It seemed to involved half the day conferencing, and half skiing. Alright if you can get it.

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  12. I wonder if it's really saving any water if we have to flush several times and use plungers to get the toilets to actually work?

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  13. I think I'm going to have to give up on convincing The Eldest to even flush the loo, let alone tell me of any issues. He accidentally dropped a toilet roll into the toilet the other day, then left it out on the side "to dry" rather than throwing it in the bin, because "it'll be fine to use once it's dry"...

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  14. Agh, agh, agh. I have to say though, I am most impressed that he even fished it out. With my man-child, it would've stayed there...hence all the blocked loos.

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  15. It's not the low-flow loos, it's the US plumbing! never had any probs in Norway with our low-flow's but even our unenvironmentally-friendly-high-flush-use-as-much-as-you-can American toilets, we have blockage issues of herculian proportions!

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  16. Jane - you're right. Our house (plus plumbing) is an 1880's house. There is an equally old tree planted at the front, right over the sewer pipes. I had to have everything routed again last month and the bloody tree roots were completely blocking the pipes.
    I hope those city planners are burning in hell. (Well, not really but they'd be fired if they were still alive today.)

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  17. When we had low flush loos and when the kids were at home, they were forever blocking their toilet. Its a child thing, they CANNOT use only a couple of pieces of toilet paper. It is a total alien thing to them, therefore the damm thing was always blocking up.

    You know I must write about this in length on my blog, as I am an expert in blocked toilets and ruddy kids...........

    I am talking about Britain being a third world country today on my blog...........I must be on a roll!!!

    Gill in Canada

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