the tree giveth and the tree taketh away

We have a city tree on our lot. It shades our whole front yard and gives it a cozy cottagey feel. It keeps parked cars cool. It's a giving tree.

Of course, it's also a taking tree... insidiously breaking into our sewer pipes and stealing precious nutrients from the sewage. Blocking up our drains. Taking away my ability to pee in comfort in the middle of the night.

The plumbing guys are here, and they're going to replace the cast iron drain stack and about 5 feet of sewer pipe. The whole shebang will cost us about 2 grand... guess we're not going furniture shopping this weekend.

On the upside, since it's a city tree that is most likely causing the problems, the city will give us a $2000 grant to repair the damage. On the whole, we should come out even.

And as Mr. December says, it's a good excuse to renovate the hideous basement bathroom.

Now get your asses over here and here and give my peeps Reality and Shlomit some encouragement. It's a fucking hard road. They need lots of virtual love.