Sink:0, Sue:1

I am pooped. Plain old tired. Exhausted. My arm muscles are crying out in pain. Why? Because I have spent the past two days working on fixing a leaking faucet. That shouldn't be so hard, you say. No big deal, you say. Foolish mortal! Ye know not the power of the plumbing gods bent on causing woes and misery to all those who dare to step foot into their world of pipes. Beware, for they are not a merciful force to be reckoned with.

It all started out with me getting annoyed at a slow drip we've had in our faucet ever since we moved in. Every time one used the water, it would leak out of the handle, causing a lime and calcium trail all over the beautiful white finish. (White, by the way, is not a color that should be made for sinks. It's like white carpet, impossible to keep clean. Try making something white that isn't always exposed to human use!) Silly woman that I am, I thought I could tackle the project with ease with my basic plumbing knowledge. Two days and one new faucet later, it's finished. It seemed that everything that could go wrong did. What a nightmare! But it's finished and I survived. Here are a few things I learned along the way:

1. It pays to know friends with plumbing knowledge so you can call them in bind and ask for help. I had to do that twice with two different brothers from our ward. They both were very helpful and I am SO grateful for them.

2. I now know what that box is for on the laundry room wall. I can shut off water to each room in the house. Good to know. Too bad I didn't know sooner so I didn't have to have the water off for hours at a time.

3. My husband is a very sweet, patient, and encouraging man.

4. It doesn't take long to soak a kitchen.

5. I have a lot of towels, which is handy in cleaning up the above.

6. I have little patience when things go wrong.

7. Plumbing projects are not my favorite. They can get really messy.

8. I need more upper body strength. Spending hours under the sink unloosening stuck washers was not fun.

9. The internet is a great resource for learning about hwo to do home repairs. (even if it doesn't go as smoothly for you as it does on the video.)

10. Nothing is impossible, you just need to be willing to try something new.

Since the plumbing gods have been defeated for now, I am happy to move back to my project of refinishing our bathroom cupboards. I prefer working with wood over pipe any day!