Feeling Drained

After yesterday's shennanigans with the drain outside my kitchen I thought things were sorted. Hahahah, silly me! I was really tired last night, but didn't get to bed until well after 1am as I ended up becoming distracted - when I did get there I crashed like a lead ballon and didn't wake until 10:10 (not that the glasses of wine I'd drunk had anything to do with that of course, hehe). After a leisurely cuppa I went out to feed Tom and was confronted by the sight of a still full to the brim drain, with water trickling slowly from one corner. It was reminiscent of a recurring nightmare ..... hence this blip pic.

So - over four hours today spent with my arm down the drain again, or frantically whooshing the plunger up and down as fast as possible to try to dislodge whatever was blocking it. I started just before 11 and, apart from a break at about 12:30 for breakfast (yes, breakfast ....) and another for a cuppa at some point later, I worked through until after 3.30, becoming very frustrated by it all. Yes, it's happened before a few times - but I've managed to clear it in an hour or two.

Eventually it did seem to have mostly cleared, though running away more slowly than it should - so I decided to live with it like that for now, chuck my smelly clothes in with yesterday's smelly clothes and then grab a bath - I too smelt of what can only be described as eau de Canal No.5! I'd been going to use the washer to test the drain. But decided instead to experiment by emptying the bath once I'd finished in there. That proved a revelation - the bathwater, instead of flowing away straight to the septic tank (it's much nearer the tank than the kitchen is, and of course the bathroom has it's own drain) backflowed to the kitchen drain and overspilled .... so that must mean a blockage way down the pipe between the cottage and the service chamber of the tank, or even the tank is full - the possibility of the latter had occured but we'd had it emptied only 2-3 months ago (I have to share it with next door, and both it and the service chamber are in their garden) . My neighbours are away, but I decided that as the tank is half mine, I'm surely entitled to check it even if they're not there - so I did, and found the service chamber totally full. Either there's a blockage between that and the tank or the tank's full again. So now there's a frantic message on their phone and a letter in their door - at least I know I can do no more, and the problem is a joint one and not just mine (so we halve the cost of getting it emptied and sorted).

They're due home tomorrow - am now just praying they stick to their plans!
I'm now feeleing totally drained (unlike the water), have sore gouges out of my hand and arm and a deep weeping wound on my thumb where there was originally a blister earlier yesterday. Ain't life fun sometimes? lol

I may partake in a glass of wine before bed tonight (purely to help me sleep of course, hehe)