TWIP: Waterworks & The Last Of Us

After our big re-plumb last week - you know, where John replaced all our interior pipes to prevent any possible future leaks? - we discovered that Someone has a wicked sense of humor. 

Yep, the very next day, just hours after John finished patching all the walls back up, and after triple and quadruple checking every connection, which were all bone dry for 2 days straight... our washer hookup leaked in the laundry room. This had nothing to do with the re-plumb, and wasn't even anything John had replaced! Arrrrrrg.

No one wants a picture of a puddle of water, so here's Suki being cute instead.

We later learned that the rubber washer ring inside the hose failed, scrunching itself inside the hose and leaving a gap. This is so ridiculously improbable we'd have both said it was impossible, but there it was, a steady drip of water raining all over our proverbial plumbing parade.

As a further kick in the teeth, that washer held for two days after we turned the water back on, and didn't fail until AFTER we went to bed. Then in just 6 hours it managed to pool and soak through our wood flooring in the adjoining kitchen.

 

Suki understands. Suki is here to make it better.

I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice to say that was a terrible, no good, very bad day in the Yates household. We spent the next 24 hours ripping up flooring, drilling ventilation holes into drywall, moving around industrial strength blowers and de-humidifiers, and just hanging on to each other.

In the end we managed to save almost everything and prevent any mold growth, but our floor has a lot more bumpy swollen joints now. (It's OK, we'll replace it someday.)

We were so frazzled, though, and in John's case, so sore and tired, that we spent the rest of the week doing little, happy things where we could.

 

I've officially caught up on the current season of Critical Role, and now have started back on the first campaign. I'm roughly 6 eps in, but...  I'm not sure I like it?  0.o  Help me out, Critters: did it take you a while to warm up to season 1? Should I keep going? (There's more gore and torture than season 2, and the sound quality is so bad, it's hard to hear through the yelling and volume changes.)

 I finally went to Walmart and bought those holographic/iridescent shoes I first saw on FOE, and lemme tell ya, this may be the best $16 I've ever spent. LOOK HOW GLORIOUS:

They're super wide - one of the reasons I like buying kids' sizes - which means I can fit some extra insoles in there. That makes them crazy comfortable. I'm already wearing them so much, I may go buy a 2nd pair as a backup!

 Sunlight turns them into a technicolor dream.

We had to leave the house for social calls twice this week (THE HORROR), and these shoes made it worth it. Although I do stare at my feet maybe too much while wearing them.

Eva doesn't get enough glamour shots of her own:

There's a reason for this.

(She may not be photogenic, but she's still my snuggle buns.)

I found some old art while cleaning out a closet this week, including this cross stitch I did nearly 15 years ago:

I mentioned on IG that it was going to a thrift store, and wow did THAT cause a ruckus. Ha! Who knew so many of you like cross-stitched wizards? So needless to say, it's going to one of you, instead, and I'm glad it's getting a second life. 

 Random Pro Tip For Brownie Lovers:

GUYS. If you make your brownies in a cupcake pan, then you'll get chewy/crispy edges ON EVERY SINGLE BROWNIE.

 I can't believe it took me my whole life to try this. And I am never going back. Also the gluten-free mix from Aldi is so good, I'm still using it even though I'm not GF anymore. Bake them a few minutes too long to get them extra chewy, and top with a few chocolate chips for maximum nomz. Mmmm.

And finally, here's the main thing John and I were up to all week:

 

Binge-playing The Last of Us. 

This is an old enough game that I doubt y'all need a review, so I'll just sum up: If you can handle excessive gore, language, and disturbing/sad imagery, then this story will suck you in and leave you on the edge of your seat 'til the very end. It is, at times, literally breath-taking. (Basically the opposite of Kingdom Hearts 3 in every way, hah.)

The gameplay is secondary to the story, so you can just watch it (that's all I did; I let John play through) and enjoy it just as much. In fact, this is a perfect game to play with a friend/SO, since it can be a little scary, plus it's nice to have a second set of eyes watching for the fast-moving bad guys. So yeah, definitely not for the squeamish or sensitive (oof), but easily the best story since BioShock. I can't wait to see what they do with the sequel.

Well, that's it for over here, gang, how's your week going so far? Hope you're staying warm - and dry, SNERK - wherever you are.