"Like canned ham"

I went down into the basement on Sunday and found it warm and muggy. This was unusual. I went and checked the boiler room and it looked like the sump pump had stopped working. However, after checking the fuses it soon became clear that that was not the problem, so Jami suggested the water heater. Sure enough, that was where all the water was coming from. But how could that be? We had it replaced in 2020 - I could tell because it said so in big black marker pen on it. But we called our favorite plumbers ("The Two Mike's" (sic)) and left a message. Unsurprisingly, they didn't call back on Sunday (also Father's day - young Mike celebrating old Mike), so Frederick's bath took MANY trips up and down the stairs with pots of water, and when they DID call back on Monday (evidently Juneteenth not as sacrosanct as Father's day) they said they couldn't come until the end of next week! We made plans for showering at the gym at UM-Flint... until they called back and said they could come later. Fortunately, the water heater was still under warranty (see below), but carrying the old one up the stairs took both Mikes and a special device because (apparently) it was full to the brim with sludge. "Looks like canned ham" reported Old Mike cheerfully. Apparently this is because they KEEP replacing the pipes on Court (they got the size wrong the first time) and we're near enough that we get all the debris. Fun.