™EPIC WIPES to the Rescue!

Easter Sunday, 1 April.

Roger, the gardener, showed up unexpectedly today. Maria José had ordered him to let me know some important news. Due to some preliminary construction in preparation for a mammoth project to widen the PanAmerican Highway to four lanes, water mains that pass beneath the road are being upgraded and replaced. For some weeks, traffic has been rerouted around various sites between my place and Jinotepe, but aside from flagman delays, it has not affected my routine. Until now. According to Roger, this district will have no water service for TWO WEEKS.

It has been mentioned in these pages that water service is normally limited to one in three or four days; ergo, I have an 1100 liter water tank with an electric pump to insure a regular supply to the house. This system works well, except when there is a power outage, which is infrequent. But I do not expect a tankful to last more than a few days of normal demand for showers, laundry, cooking and cleaning.

When Roger arrived, today was a water day, thank goodness, and we set about preparing for the coming drought. He filled the big oil drum we use to collect rainwater for the garden, and I filled the outside laundry cistern as a supply for cleaning purposes. I also ran a load through the washing machine, which will sit idle thereafter, as it uses much more water than hand-laundering.  I also took a shower, and vaguely considered washing the dogs. I decided I could live with doggy smells for two weeks. I checked the supply of gallon drinking water containers -- four -- and filled the lobster pot with dog drinking water. I also have several gallons of frozen water I keep in the chest freezer to improve efficiency.

Roger says a water truck will pass by, who knows when, to fill containers. I hope Maria José's grapevine will prove reliable. And happily, I have a supply of ™Epic Wipes, a new product developed by a friend of my sister Mary Mary! As the name suggests, they are gigunda wet wipes, suitable for freshening a whole human body. I believe my students at Keiser will appreciate them, even if they merely fail to realize I have not showered recently...

The longest I have been without water to date has been four days. Stay tuned.