The Great Sewage Explosion of Summer 2006 (made with 100% authentic human excrement!)

As the title hints, this post will be the promised documentation of the great sewage explosion of summer 2006. I had recently decided to move from my father's house, to my mother's, and hadn't moved my actual possessions yet (this is an important part of the story later on). With great gusto, we pulled into the parking space and made our way into the house. Small Boy was watching the Spongebob Squarepants movie, when the City of Nelson decided to come and 'unblock' the sewer right in front of our house.

Soon, I start to hear a horrible gurgling sound coming from the bathroom. I run to look, and sewage has backed up the toilet and bathtub. So I run outside, and yell over the noise of the truck that we have a backup. City guy #1 responds with "well that's what we're trying to fix". A short while later city guy #2 (not a sewer guy, he was on loan from parks) comes in, and decides to start snaking the toilet. After breaking two snakes, he decide it would be a great idea to Flush the toilet upstairs. Despite our disagreement, the upstairs toilet is flushed and then....

It overflows, all over the floor, into the hallway. City guy #2 then grabs ALL of our best towels and uses them to try and "soak up" the sewage, which just keeps spewing out of the toilet.

Not only that, but in the basement, sewage literally Spewed out of the sink onto the wall above it. It filled up the washing machine. It smelled, Foul. Soon after that I got some clothes in a bag, some food for dorkboy, and my sister (codename : Fatty the Tulip) and we went leisure camping on the outside-living acreage of a friend. Small Boy, Mother and Squinty McSmalleyes spent the night in a motel, courtesy of owner's insurance.


We didn't lose anything besides all of our good towels, and we don't have renter's insurance. A friend of the family recently had the house she was renting Burn down, and they lost almost everything. Because she had come into some money she had decided to prepay 6 months rent. The landlord refused to return her money, and is making Her clean up the debree, and highly toxic burned material. So now we're going to get renter's insurance.

The reason I mentioned not moving my things is that, when my father decided to go to his summer house for a week with friends from out of town...a pipe burst and leaked water into the house for a week. With all my stuff stored in the basement. No yarn or fleece was harmed beyond repair to bring you this dramatic tale.

Unfortunately, I had some books in a "special book" box. Herbs for pets, a wonder Expensive reference book I truly loved, and will sorely miss, and some heirloom knitting/sewing/tatting scrapbooks from my grandmother's aunt, who was a nun in Quebec. These got wet. Very wet. Herbs for Pets is completely destroyed, one of my great great aunt's books is moldy, the other appears to be okay, if a little warped. Which really, really makes me sad. Anyone know how to get rid of mold on books? I cannot throw it away, there has to be some way to save it!

I suppose, in conclusion, it's good to be thankful that I didn't lose more, like my grandfather's antique chest (now my hope chest filled with special yarn) and my near 30 lbs of alpaca fleeces, and other fibre related things (which is all that really matter here chez Twoshoes) But if we get another flood, I am going on a rampage.

And it wasn't even Our shit, it belonged to all the houses up the street!