Frozen Pipes

Thursday: January 21st

I woke up today slowly but surley to an all-white West Baden Springs, Indiana. It looked magical. Yoga taught by Yen started a little after nine which was great for the most part. Halfway through class Brian woke up and realized the pipes to the kitchen sink had frozen. It was made clear that it was time for everyone to go outside immediately to fix this problem. We began digging out the snow outside of the kitchen sink while Christian crawled underneath the house to place a space heater under the bathroom plumbing. After the pipes to the kitchen were exposed, Brian figured out that only the on/off valve had burst. We all took turns wrapping a water pipe heat cable around the main water pipe. While we took turns, Brian and Tim shared stories about life in Alaska. After the pipes were wrapped, we had to wait to see if we had fixed the problem. Christian and I began painting the living room closet while breakfast was being made. For the rest of the day we finished the closet, worked out in our room and began sanding and staining the blonde wood in the staircase.

Before we knew it it was already seven. Other than eating we had been going since nine in the morning. I was physically and mentally exhausted. We all gathered in the living room to jam for a bit. Yen let me borrow her guitar and I began playing "The Girl" by City and Colour. Alley immediately recognized the song so we played and sang together. Half of my mind was dying of nervousness while my sanity reminded me that this is a safe place. The second Alley started singing I joined in and it felt so right. The most beautiful moment was watching Yen play guitar while Li jammed out on Christian's melodica. Her smile grew as she watched her son close his eyes and become one with the music. By the end of the night I was so tired but felt extremely accomplished. In one day I shared a yoga class with new friends, was taught how to save frozen pipes, painted a closet, stained most of a staircase, pushed my fear of singing in front of others aside and had a hula hooping contest with an eight year old. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity.

Fact: In Alaska all of the plumbing and pipes are on the roof of the house under boxes. It snows so much that it would be impossible to dig out underneath the house. Also a lot if times the roofs are red so they can be identified when the snow reaches the top of the house.

Recipe: For mopping the floors fill a bucket 1/3 with water, a splash of white vinegar and ten drops of essential oil.