Sitting down to pee....

Last Tuesday I went into the master bathroom to pee. We, meaning both husband and me use this bathroom 85% of the time. After all, it is "our" bathroom....unless of course it needs cleaning. Anyway, as I'm sitting there I glance over at the tub....hmmm why is there dirt on the floor, I just swept. Hmmmm what is that dark spot on the baseboard? Hmmmmmm. Get a damp paper towel to wipe up dirt....
WELL SH1T!!! there is a .50 piece size hole in the baseboard and its about 2-3" deep. Take husbands toothbrush and poke around in hole. Pieces of sheetrock and the back of the tile on edge of tub start falling out. DAMMIT! Hmmmm who do I know that can tell me what the F%^& this mess is? Call daughter, they have friend who is contractor he will come over and look at it. While on the phone with him he mentions it "could be" a burrowing spider, bee or beetle they sometimes get into walls then burrow out. Now as I'm poking around this hole, still using husbands toothbrush I wonder just how big this "thing" might be. Being a horror movie fan I have seen what spiders, bees and beetles can do. No way in hell am I sticking anything in that hole other than the husbands toothbrush.

We have had some problems with the handle in the tub since we moved in. We have had plumbers come out 2-3 times. Our neighbor told us the previous owner had said he was glad to "finally be rid of that bathroom". Gee, do you think you could have mentioned that before we paid for a plumber three different times?

The guys come out, look at my hole. Poke around in it then promptly start peeling off chunks of sheet rock. They pull the turn on handle off the tub. Well here is the problem... the valve has had a s-l-l-o-o-w-w drip forever. It has finally done enough interior damage that it was heading for the outside world. Ready to rot anything in its way to devouring my walls, baseboards and wall tile. Two weeks before Thanksgiving, one week before old stinky, smelly carpet in hall and three bedrooms being replaced and one week before my folks come up to visit before Thanksgiving. Are we having fun yet?

To make a long story short...knock out about 15 tiles in around the faucet handle in shower, replace valve, install new handle....$250.00.
Knock out sheet rock, pull off baseboard. $200.00.
total $500 inc. extra material...not bad. But wait theres' more.... husband has decided that we need to re-paint the bath and vanity area. We have to paint the new sheetrock anyway, miswell get rid of what he deems "that awful green" right? Sure you bet...gonna get right on that. This Saturday I am painting.

I have decided one very important thing....I am going to learn how to pee standing up! Yes sir. If I had been standing up my back would have been to the wall and like my husband I would never have seen the dirt or the hole. Maybe just maybe he would have discovered it first. Hell who am I kidding. He would have seen it, called for me and I still would have called the plumber and dealt with the repair man and I would still be painting on Saturday.

I'm just glad it was his toothbrush I used to poke around in that hole!