A cute story

The women in my department at work are all older than me (except for 1 person who is my age), and they're all extremely sweet--it's kind of like having an army of aunts. Since starting work there, I've gotten engaged and bought my first house, which makes them very happy and also a bit anxious. So they're always looking for updates on these two situations. I told them about our sewer problems, and I mentioned that we have a shortage of hot water because of our tiny, antiquated water heater. A few days ago one of my co-workers told me that she's talked to her husband about the water heater situation, and he'd suggested we might want to check our dip tube. "We thought we had to replace our water heater," she told me, "but it turned out it was just the dip tube." I was momentarily so distracted by the adorable-ness of my coworker discussing our water heater with her husband (plus the amusing term "dip tube") that I lost track of my purpose in life, which is to fix my house; but I quickly recovered and thanked her for the information, and faithfully related it to James.

So!

Today we went to Home Depot, and bought a new dip tube ($10--and by the way this was our second Home Depot trip THIS WEEKEND), and with some help from our friend Wes we took out the old one and put in the new one. Here, for reference, is what a dip tube is supposed to look like. A little narrower than a garden hose, and about four or five feet long. Here's what ours looked like:


Yep, that's a pen in there for reference. The thing fell apart in our hands. Our water is now blessedly hot and presumably much more long-lasting. Sometimes you need librarians in your life, because they are the most pro-active information users and sharers around. This might sound cheezy. Maybe I'll spend some time thinking of a cooler way to express my appreciation while I'm taking a 20-minute shower.

Oh also: today James and I found an old card catalogue at an antique store, but we didn't buy it because it was $750. I ain't that desperate yet.