My Toddler Likes to Burst My Bubbles 001: "It's lovely that you want to help me. Just, please.... don't!"

she decided to "help" me by "cleaning" the cat box. i use those pine pellets - they're WONDERFUL for eliminating catbox odour and, according to the package, not only compostable but also flushable. [Note to self: must have a gentle word with the manufacturer.]

she used the scoop because there was nothing (or not much) on the floor around the toilet but the entire toilet was completely FULL of pine pellets which absorbed all the water and, by the time i discovered it, had settled into, basically, particleboard - not only the bowl, as i discovered when i was forced to chip it all out using a spoon, but it had worked itself right through the pipes.

so i had no idea what to do - i was scared to use the one-second plumber (a can of highly compressed air) because never mind the seal or the pipes, it probably would've blown up my toilet. corrosives were a no-go because of the septic. i needed something stiff enough to be able to shove into the mass and pick bits out but flexible enough to work through the piping.

if that failed, i would have had to remove the toilet, clean all the bits individually, then - since i'd've had it off anyway - redo the bathroom floor (toilet's falling through) and put it all back together with a new toilet installation kit.

toilet snake - that's the ticket. i went into town the next day and, wincing, paid $17 for a toilet snake. took it home, tossed it on the counter, and went into the basement to get the wood-burning furnace going again. all the while, i was thinking "thin and whippy... thin and whippy...." and suddenly, there it was: the solution to my problem!

grabbing my ex's fly-fishing rod, i headed upstairs and the next day i got my $17 back.