Literally.. This kind of reflects my mood right now... The crew from A.B. May came out today (called at 7:30 AM) to run the bigger rooter through my sewer line. When the rooter came back up, it had about a bushel's worth of nasty roots wrapped around it. It took the technician a good 15 minutes to get it untangled from the cutting head on the rooter. Then they ran the camera back down.. I wish I could have had a copy of the video... it was quite an experience. Anyway, to make a long story short, I have about 71 feet of terracotta pipe that's full of fractures, dirt, roots, worms, gravel and everything else that shouldn't be in it. Which means the entire length running from the house to the city main sewer has to be replaced. At a cost of $10,000.00. Unfortunately I have to do it - whether I want to sell this place (I do), or spend the rest of my life here (I do not). Hopefully, I can recoup some of that when we sell this place. On top of that.... My next-door neighbor Joyce had to move her mom to a memory care facility, and she has already moved to a duplex. Joyce was a good neighbor, and we always got along well. But she's turned over the handling of the property to her brother - who is just the opposite. He's a Class A1 asshat. The contractor will of course need to bring in an excavator to dig up the old sewer line and put in the new one. I do not have vehicle access to my back yard. But the house next door has a wide driveway that accesses her (or his now) backyard. I asked the brother if the contractor could bring in the equipment that way. They would have to take down part of the fence, but would put everything back the way it was when complete. He glowered at me and gave me a firm "NO!" Jerk. I can't force him to allow access, but Joyce would have - as she did before when the tree company came out a couple years ago. The contractor said they could come up the utility break behind the houses if necessary, but I don't know how they can get through there. I guess that's why they get 10 grand for jobs like this. Anyway, I'm not in a really good frame of mind right now, and my activity here might be spotty for a week or so until this is all done. Still... I'm glad it's my house's pipes and not mine... Please keep our friend Steve (Eekdog) in your prayers as he deals with yet another mountain to climb. Godspeed, brother, and prayers for quick and complete recovery. Thanks for stopping by.