Our first major house project was of course, unpacking.  During the moving process, its absolutely necessary to locate the coffee maker, coffee, vodka, shaker and ice.  After that, the details just tend to fall into place....

During the walk thru, I noticed that the previous owner were still moving out.  I brought the overall unkempt condition of our new home to the attention of my agent.  He simply replied, "They are still packing, I am sure that they will get to it soon enough."  This seemed like a reasonable answer to me so I didn't say much when I noticed the toilet was running in the guest bath. 

Two days after moving in, I ventured into the garage to bring in yet more boxes.  These were the boxes that got packed last, so I really didn't know what I might find.  A bit like opening presents on Christmas.  So, as I enter the garage, I notice the FOULEST oder.  I mean the stench knocked me back into the kitchen.  The first possibility is that  dead critter found its way into the garage.  I knew I just had to open the door and find the culprit.  Taking a huge breath, I opened the door and flipped on the light and opened the door all in one step.  I jumped back through the door to catch my breath.  After some deep breathing, I went back in.  I couldn't find the smell through the Lysol Spring Breeze scent.  This couldn't have been a worse mistake than to add flowers to dying, dead, funk.  I saw the problem and was it awful.  My utility sink was backed up with some murky sludge.  It took me a few moments to realize that this was bad.  I didn't know what was wrong, so I asked my neighbor.

What a fantastic way to introduce yourself to your new neighbor, "Hi, I just moved in and think I have a plumbing emergency, can you help me?"  I'll sum up our neighborly relations by saying that we never spoke again after this meeting.

The first plumber was an idiot. 

The second plumber was a bigger idiot.

The third phone call to my home warranty went something like this, "Honestly, are all plumbers in Jacksonville complete idots?"  The next plumber that showed up was asked to leave. He did seem like he had a clue when it came to plumbing until he told me that I am on a septic system.  I politely told him, No, we are on city sewer.  That's when he said, "Little lady, why don't you call your husband at work so I can talk to him"  My response "Sir, why don't you call your boss so I can explain why you are leaving my home right now!"

A phone call to RotoRooter saved the day!  This guy showed up in minutes and stayed for hours to help resolve our main line backup!  He also fixed the running toilet.  My hat goes off to him!

Since I fired so many plumbers, I called the home warranty company and got a full refund for my troubles.