“Hey honey,” Kurt called from upstairs, “I just went to the bathroom, and I washed my hands afterwards in warm water, and it was wonderful!”
It’s like we have indoor plumbing for the first time, ever, not just in a week.

My new best friend, Schmarry, showed up at 8am this morning (on a Saturday!) to get the last of our connections hooked up and tested before filling in the rest of the ditch.
They connected the new gas line last night before quitting time and for the first time in more than a week, we went to bed in a warm room and actually woke up sweating because we had the heat too high and too many covers.
It was delicious!

I feel like I’m emerging from hibernation (both physically and mentally). Today is the first day I can type on my laptop without needing arm warmers on my hands and tucking my fingers back in between sentences. I have my hair in a ponytail instead of wrapped around me and held in place by a scarf for extra insulation.
A lot of silt and air in the water lines from all the digging, but that will work itself out. We can cook, we can bathe, we can wash clothes, dry clothes and flush.Ā We may even replace the microwave once we can drive up to the house again.
We also have a new municipal water line run to the house (though not turned on) just in case Marcellas Shale drilling nearby destroys our tasty spring water (fingers crossed that it doesn’t).

I knew I was having trouble with my attitude in all this, and thought I had gotten back pretty much inline, but I guess it wasn’t completely back, because today, with everything working again, I feel like I just won the lottery.
So those were the “little things” – what about the “heavy things?” Ha. Nothing serious like you may have thought. I’m talking actual heavy things…weights!
Usually I save my fitness updates as a post script, but I’m just really excited to tell you that I had a new first in my bench presses yesterday. I lifted 75 pounds unassisted: one full set of 10 reps, then 9 out of 10 reps in the second set. It was wonderful! Trainer then had me do drop sets, starting at 95 pounds (which I can’t do unassisted up yet, but have to do solo on the down), then 85, 75, 65 and 45 until my arms completely failed. It was WONDERFUL!
We then moved to a lot of different sets, including battle ropes and medicine balls. I nearly threw up, which I love because it means I’m pushing myself to my limit. It was perfect and I can’t wait to hit the weights again tomorrow.

I really am walkin’ on sunshine, and it DO feel good! (I even shared a little YouTube happiness with you below š ).
Love, Marla
Oh yeah!! Way 2 go, Marla! Thanks for the sunshine too.
No! NO! Not Katrina and the Waves! This song came on the radio just the other day was we were coming back from the chiropractor, and I changed the station so lightning-fast, Anthony didn’t even know what happened. GOD, I HATE this song. (I even hated it when it came out when I was a kid. That is some deep-level hate when you’re a kid and you hate this song.) š
Now that that is out of the way…I am so happy for you! I’ve thought about you so much over the last week and just kept hoping-hoping-hoping things would turn up. They would have eventually anyway, but I’m going to pretend my good vibes forced them to come sooner rather than later. With that, I’ll just go ahead an apologize for it taking so dang long. =D
Great news!!!!
The miracle of water, electricity, indoor plumbing. The niceties of life. I am celebrating…
Fantastic sis, welcome back to the 21st century…I guess I won’t send you the Amish handbook I had borrowed from the neighbours afterall! š
Fantastic news Marla, glad you’re back in the land of the living!
Wow, that’s awesome! Congrats on the bench! Keep it up š