Last night we were cleaning up after dinner when Celeste’s Uncle Johnny got a call from his neighbor. The neighbor’s boat had sunk while tied to his dock and he was looking for some help. The three men and two teenage boys in the house made our way to the neighbor’s dock and found what looked like a lost cause to me.

The boat was on it’s side and all but the bow was under water. The tide was coming in and was pushing the boat under the floating dock. Lots of ideas were contributed (I, an English major was conspicuously silent), but Celeste’s cousin Ricky, an engineer, came up with a plan involving straps hooked to the dock’s pylons, Johnny’s boat, a couple of pieces of lumber and a lot of manpower.

Thankfully we were able to get the boat level and as the tide started to go out we were able to get the boat high enough in the water to start bailing out the boat and then get the bilge pump working. Four hours later we had it on a trailer in Johnny’s driveway and Ricky was working on the engine trying to get the saltwater out and WD-40 in. Keep in mind the last couple of hours of the project were done in the dark.

Pictured below is the boat on the trailer this morning.

On the Cooper River, Charleston SC.

So apparently the dude who installed our washer and dryer thought that the setup pictured below would be adequate for venting the dryer. As a result our laundry room became a sauna. Literally, the wallpaper started coming off the wall.

The installer also didn’t seem to know the difference between hot and cold since he hooked the hot water hose to the cold input and vice versa.

While I made a trip to the hardware store for a new vent kit, Celeste called the store that sold us the appliances. The third person she talked to was the operations manager and he asked her what she’d like him to do. When she said she’d like a refund for the original vent kit we’d purchased from them ($19.95) he said he couldn’t do that since it was a delivery issue. Whaaaaat? The fourth person she talked to said that he’d be happy to refund the cost of the vent kit.

The new vent kit was successfully installed by yours truly and seems to be working properly. Celeste’s head came close to spinning off, but a couple of margaritas later she seems to be working properly too. Same with yours truly.

When our washer and dryer decided to break down simultaneously, and we discovered that they are basically computers that happen to wash clothes, and that getting them fixed would involve more computer-type repair than mechanical repair, we blew a gasket. Well, I blew a gasket and ran out the door and headed for work while yelling something to Celeste along the lines of, “If you have the chance today just go to the store and get a new (insert favorite cuss word here) washer-dryer set. I don’t care what it is I just want it to work!”

That was Monday morning. Monday afternoon Celeste sent me a text saying she’d purchased our new washer and dryer. She also said she’d picked colors that made a “(Insert favorite curse word here) you, I don’t care if they go out of style” statement.

I love that woman.

Celeste picked up our first ever box wine at Costco for $16.99. Highly recommend Black Box Wines’ Cabernet Sauvignon.