if it weren't for this baby, our basement would look like the metro today!

One of the things that was part of our settlement on this house was the new sump pump setup. A plumber came in and completely rerouted the drainoff, installing shiny new pipe (the only place in the house where there is PVC instead of copper, incidentally) and setting it to drain safely and effectively.

And what a good thing, too! The weekend rainfall -- record levels -- turned Maryland, Virginia, and DC into a disaster area today. The Metro system flooded, the commuter rail lines flooded, and a mudslide shut down the Capitol Beltway. Government buildings -- including the IRS, national archives, and the Smithsonian -- had flooding and electrical issues. Daring boat rescues went on in street tunnels, and stranded motorists were everywhere.

Fortunately, our basement escaped the worst of the wrath of nature. There's a little water there, but nothing drastic and nothing out of the ordinary. Our basement doesn't actually even have a real floor; we're pretty sure it's just packed dirt and layers of some sort of cardboard. So water is not all that big of a deal. It's more of a cellar than a working basement; if we ever need to use it for storage we'll build platforms to keep everything off the floor. Meanwhile, our valiant -- and functioning -- sump pump will continue to save the day.