I like rain. When i got up this morning and saw that it was raining, i looked forward to my walk to get the paper this morning. Much better than the extreme heat, if you ask me.

But our basement doesn't like rain much. Last time it rained heavily, we had some standing water, about 6 inches, but it seemed petty to complain about it since the poor people in the gulf coast were actually flooded. Real flooding, not what i was calling flooding, this mere 6 inches or so. We went and got ourselves a little pump, thanks to a really helpful man at Home Depot.

Today, Walt decided to check the basement. Sadly, we were having some backup from the storm drains. We decided to call someone this time.

The phone book yielded the number of the Buffalo Sewer Authority, and i called. The first thing i said was "i don't know if you are the people i am supposed to call about this, but..." and proceeded to tell them the holes in our basement floor that are supposed to carry water out are carrying water in. I was asked for my name, address and phone number. I was put on hold for about 10 seconds and then told someone would be out right away. Huh? You mean i don't have to wait on the phone for hours and argue with someone about it to get someone to unclog some drains? What is this world coming to?

I will say that now, about an hour after i called, we are impressed by the Buffalo Sewer Authority. They were prompt, friendly and accommodating on the phone. I didn't have to wade through voicemail bogs too deeply. When the gentleman arrived to take care of the problem he was quick and efficent. He explained things to me, then re-explained them when i couldn't manage to explain them to my husband (i suck at anything technical!).

Our problem was fixed in less than 2 hours. You rock Buffalo Sewer Authority!

As some of you may or may not know, my wonderful husband (e:uncutsaniflush) and i purchased an old victorian on the upper west side. We love this house, despite the fact that is it way to big for the 2 of us. Gradually, we have been adding our own little touches to the place and i thought i would share the lastest with ya'll.

These 2 pics are what our sitting room looked like before we purchased the house.





Once we moved in, this room got overlooked and became a dumping groudn for boxes and odds and ends. Our poor sitting room!!



We cleared the boxes and riff raff out and then, the other day, we decided to remove the big ugly black metal hood that was on the fireplace and we were happily surprised at how little damage was underneath. Just some soot from someone who decided to use the gas fireplace to burn wood in. Even i'm not that dumb!





Last week we saw a nice queen anne wing chair at Calvins for a great price and purchased the last 2 they had. We then moved the so-so book shelves (we want nicer ones, but these are ok for now) into the room to complete the half completed look. I say it is a good running start in just over 2 months!