Pandemic Week 99: Darth Vader Emerges

Darth Vader in the tub
 For years, Anna has complained about the water draining slowly in her bathtub.  Joe has repeatedly tried to fix the problem.  He has consistently warned Anna about making sure to use a drain stopper to catch any hair.  He has used countless bottles of Draino.  He snaked the drain.  There would be minor improvement, but not much.  This week, he did some additional research and came across an idea to use a plunger.  Low and behold, the source emerged - Darth Vader, specifically a plastic one.  We can only assume that Darth Vader became a bath time casualty with the previous owners, so he must have been stuck there for at least 14 years.  We are happy to report that the water is flowing perfectly now thanks to a YouTube video.  The power of the plunger.

In other news of the week:

  • Theresa ordered the Breads Illustrated from America's Test kitchen.  Suffice it to say she wished she would have done this sooner.  Theresa tried it out this weekend and made cheese bread while Anna made a cranberry walnut loaf.  This is another welcome addition to the Cook's Illustrated magazines and cookbooks that Theresa is always raving about.  Another good cooking project for cold, pandemic days.
  • Grandma & Grandpa were the recipients of this week's snowstorm.  While totals were less than the 15 inches predicted, it was definitely the most snow they've experience for a while.
  • Anna got to enjoy some Sunday afternoon ice skating with one of her friends - the first in a couple of years.  Joe & Theresa were the silent parent drivers, albeit some debate over what radio station to listen to (Joe had the 90s station on......so last century).

After a series of snowy, rainy weeks it is shaping up to be a relatively dry week with less frigid weather.  We will take any sunshine we can get!

Anna's first cranberry-walnut loaf




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