So many fun adventures to tell you about. But first we must share with you the complete discombobulation that comes with having guests in the main house. Just before they arrived there was a mad dash to not only get their home sparkling clean and ready for habitation but also to put our own new cottage in order. The walls were painted (YAHOO!) the carpet yanked, the floor scrubbed and the pictures hung. This would not have been at all possible without our faithful companion Mr. Miller Molokai himself who on hands and knees scrubbed my poor floor. Mr. Miller was also instrumental in the decorating of said cottage which has now become a darling little place for yours truly and I am quite happy and settled, despite the fact that I have no bed. It's on its way.
So now back to the guests. For the past few days we (me and the girls) have been having difficulty balancing our desire to give the guests privacy with our need to do all our work. Who wants a creepy ole' caretaker wandering about when you are on vacation with your family? We are trying to think of how to manage but as of yet we are at a loss. LV says all we need is an invisibility cloak but I don't think she understands how hard those things are to come by in times like these… especially in times like these.
The biggest hurdle we have had to face in all of this is the serious sickness that has befallen our pool pump. It was sometime Thursday night of last week when Mr. P (the pool pump) picked up a serious virus and failed to do his regularly scheduled shift of vacuuming, sucking and filtering of the pool (and yes we are personifying inanimate objects now, thank you very much.) When he didn't show up again the next day I went down to check on him. He lives under the house of course. I noticed that he looked a little worse for wear but that's Mr. P for you. He's always been a bit leaky and rough around the edges but has never let you down. Despite his appearance he takes great pride in his work and likes his pool to be the clearest, cleanest one around.
I went to turn the ole man on and that is when I heard him groan, putter and poof. I thought he was dead. I gave him a little resuscitation (flipping the circuit breaker) and found that he still had some life in him. I told him to hang on. "Don't you quit on me Mr. P!" I said in my most authoritative voice. (I don't think there were many pool pumps involved in Vietnam but it seems to me that Mr. P has the look and attitude of a Vet and responds better to soldier like talk.)
I quickly called all the experts in the field of pool health and they all seemed to be preparing me for the worst. Mr. P was dying and there was nothing I could do about it except for count my losses and order a new pump. "No Way!" I yelled "No one gets left behind or replaced just because they have fallen on hard times! Mr. P has served our country (I mean my pool) for six years without one complaint. I will not just cast him out to sea for a new model!" (By the way, a new pump costs a million dollars so that had a little to do with my enthusiasm as well).
Finally I got someone on the line who could help me; Dr Dean Chow, Molokai Chiropractic, carpenter and pool fixer upper extraordinaire. He said he would be there as soon as he could… which meant… Monday morning… three days away.
There is no pain like the pain of seeing a dear friend struggling right in front of you, and despite your multiple degrees from very nice colleges, you are still completely inept to help or heal them.
We are at a loss with the pool pump species as this is our first Electrical Pumping Appliance Relationship and have no idea where to start. What was worse was when the pool began turning green. Mr. P was so ashamed and embarrassed he started leaking big chlorinated tears from his intake valve. It's hard to watch a man cry, even if he is actually a pool pump.
Come Monday morning our Dr friend was no where in site. The girls and I couldn't take it anymore so we decided to get our tool belt on. It was time to learn a little bit about pool pump technology. We managed to take the whole things apart and identify where the major issue was coming from just as the Doc showed up along with his French electrician helper. Steadfast we worked together, sweat dripping from our brows, the girls and I working as nurses, holding various instruments, screws and surgical tools until "Sacrebleu!" We had found the problem. Turns out Mr. P had a case of Agent Orange (multiple bits of debris) in his wheelie-doo-hickie. These had caused his copper flux capacitor what-cha-ma-call-it to rust and break apart. Not such a great thing but not as expensive as a new pump and when said part is located can be surgically implanted by yours truly who is now pool pump expert. (I use the term expert lightly. If you have a problem with your pool I would call me. If you want to know the actual names for pool pump parts I would call someone else.)
We are not out of the woods yet. Mr. P has been put on the list for a copper sealant thinger-ma-bob transplant. As soon as I get the call that an appropriate donor has been found, they will ship it over and I will be able to put him back together again and we can all get back to work. For now Mr. P is on an extended leave of absence. I have ordered him to not even think about pumping. He is such a work-a-holic though I doubt he will be able to stand it for long. LV did say she saw him among the papaya plants chatting up that cute little sprinkler system we got in there. Way to go Mr. P.
As for me, I'm feeling pretty successful now that the stress is off and feeling pretty fancy now what with all my knowledge about pool pump technology. That's what is so cool about this place. There is so much to learn, so much to explore. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Dr Dean Chow says I have an adventurous spirit. He can tell cause he has one too. That's why he is a chiropractic/ carpenter/ pool fixer upper extraordinaire. We just love people like Dr. Dean.
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