Most of you know by now that we have a 1910 cottage on Block Island. It is our perfect little 1,500 sq. ft. getaway. But the age of our house inherently comes with some problems.
Peeling paint and dead hydrangeas are the usual.
Sometimes it is stepped up ~ broken deck furniture, a mold infestation or the year the mice moved in and ate every candle we had. When they were done with those, ate all of our spatulas.
This year, I was super organized and ahead of the game. I recovered furniture. Put in a new white kitchen. De-cluttered the house in the middle of spring, way before we normally move in. Did an INTENSE head-to-toe cleaning in early June. Fresh sheets on the bed, full refrigerator. What could go wrong?
My daughter went out to Block a day before we did to kick-off her July 4th vacation. The texts started coming in… Mom, the water smells weird. Mom, the water smells like brussel sprouts. Mom, I think there is something wrong with the water.
I was home in Rye, running around trying to pack and keep our house “staged” so it looked pristine for our broker. I ignored her texts.
Tim and I pulled up to the house late Friday night after a hot and sweaty 5 hour drive. Emily is standing at attention at the door, arms crossed. To appease her, Tim marches up the hill to “take a look” at our well. Emily and I unload the car. We finish and no Tim. Waiting, waiting. Hungry and want to go out for dinner. Tim wanders down the hill. We can both see by his expression that this is NOT GOOD.
There is a DEAD DEER in our well… Um, what? Give me mouse eaten spatulas any day. Here is our well above, probably built in 1910. We had to put an old door over it because the wooden top deteriorated (we never go up there) and the deer fell in – ugh.
Let me just preface this by saying, it is challenging to get things done out here on a good day. Forget that it is Friday night of July 4th week. Panic set in as we called our caretaker, who turned around and got the wheels moving. Deer was removed by the road crew (Emily and I went out for dinner). Plumber went into action and switched our water supply over to our rainwater cisterns. A few gallons of bleach were thrown into the well. A crazy UV light thing was ordered to kill all of the bacteria in the water before it went into the house. Welcome to summer.
We can take showers now and do laundry, but no drinking water until it is officially tested this week. Honestly, I am not sure if I could ever drink our water again…
The cistern water is doing something weird, so the four of us look like Jerry and Kramer from the “shower head” episode – FLAT HAIR. The jokes are coming in fast and furious from our friends. I have just ordered another case of WINE to arrive on the island to help kill any of our internal bacteria until this all gets squared away. We might need a new water filter too, so I am basically throwing a $100 dollar bill out the door every day!
Help fund our deer problem (JK). A special summer candle SALE – 15% off!
In the meantime, this is where you can find me…
the wry home