High Tide in My Basement

As of 9 am this morning my basement is filled with 3-4 inches of water. EVERYWHERE. Basically, it has a tidal pattern of its very own (let's hope that we've already seen high tide). The ex brought over a 64 gallon wet/dry shop vac last night. That was helpful, though it felt a bit like bailing out the Titanic with a thimble.

Today's plan is to get a pump to move things along. Because, dude, I need to get some laundry done and that just isn't going to happen when the washer and dryer are in danger of floating off.

Update I, 11:30 am: All efforts to locate a pump have failed and so the day is to be spent getting water out of the basement with a 16.5 gallon wet/dry vac. Universe, if you're listening, I completely yield to your powers and admit that yes, life does suck. Incredibly, it would seem.

Update II, 2:10 pm: Soon after I gave in to the despair of having to clean up gallons of water with a mop and a wet/dry vac, my friend S began a phone call campaign to find a pump. A good 7 phone calls later, the Home Depot in Bridgewater answered in the affirmative. We three shot out to the car (JT was wearing his Indian costume) and 20 minutes later I was the proud owner of a pump that can move 3600 gallons of basement bilge in an hour. Score!

We came back to Sassafras House, put on some flip flops, and waded into the basement, only later determining that standing in water and plugging in electrical appliances may not be the most sensible series of decisions two otherwise intelligent women can make. Then we watched the wonder of gallons of water being sucked out of the basement.

We've taken a break for some hot tea, but the water line is down a good two inches and I feel hopeful.