And when it rains ...

It pours. At least, it did so in Ottawa today. Really heavy downfall, with traffic chaos and flooding everywhere. Including, as it happens, our basement. One of our basement window wells had filled with composted leaves to above the sill line. So the water had nowhere to go but indoors.

So, on top of our $10,000 reverse windfall, we have a basement full of boxes and furniture which are now at great risk of mildewing.

Do you remember this picture? See how we've stacked all the furniture and boxes along one wall? Well, guess where the water went. That's right - under the furniture and boxes stacked along the wall.

Here's the puddle. It is seeping under the wall. If you follow the tail that points toward the camera, it'll bring you right back to those boxes.

Really, we should've had an inkling that something like this would happen with the first real storm. After all, the yard certainly demonstrated that our 90-year-old, one-armed original owner was not big into maintenance. Nor did he hire anyone to do the heavy work. And just yesterday, we pulled a metre-long pot-bound rat's nest of composted leaves and roots from one of our downspouts. It looked like this: Looks like we've really got our work cut out for us outdoors.

Oh, and humidity is currently 94%. Don't know what it is inside, with the air conditioner, but it still feels freakin' sticky.

Today has not been a great day in the Sibbald household. Tomorrow will be better, I'm sure. After all, it'll be Brian's 14th birthday - which calls for cake, which is always a good thing!