Sump Pump Queen Reigns

Layla keeping track of the newly purchased sump pump!

Just to show you that it's not all sweetness and cupcakes, for the Cupcake Queen...sometimes it down right dirty work! For the second day in a row, enough rain fell around here to break records for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport. On Monday, 4.22 inches of rain fell in Washington, breaking the old record of 2.62 inches set in 1942 for June.

Needless to say, our basement flooded...and while it's absolutely nothing compared what folks experienced with Katrina, Rita, or Wilma...it's a relative odd thing in the Washington, DC area.

Not being prepared...of course, for the flood, we spent the first night of the flooding, frantically sopping up water with every towel we own and using an antiquated shop/vac that filled up every 5 minutes and then emptying it...oh, those back muscles! During the day yesterday, things abated but storms threatened to continue during the night. I made a pit stop at wonderful (I mean that seriously, kids) HomeDepot which had some nice non-baking-but-storm-related items...in stock, even. First, I bought the biggest shop/vac I could find...let me see, it's called RIDGID...16 Gallons, 6.5 HP PROFESSIONAL WET/DRY/VAC...all I can say is WOW! How can I use this puppy for baking?? It's been awesome...when I first started it, I almost sucked up Laylas (that's her nickname).

But, back to HomeDepot...then I bought 2 new mops with these squeegee type handles...very nice! But, the pentultimate purchase was my very first SUMP PUMP! I felt so proud to own my very own SUMP PUMP...it kind of felt like when I bought my very first car-top-carrier! And, all I can say is OMG! This thing (officially called Flotec Cyclone Pumping System) is the best invention...maybe even better than my Kitchen Aid...well, let's not get carried away. But, whoever knew...where has the sump pump been in my life. It's such a tiny thing, but, it is so cool and it sucks up 350 gallons per hour...easy to put together...within 5 minutes it was sucking the water and putting it right back into the back yard to continue on its merry way.

And, last but not least, here's the coolest sump-pump-baking-trivia...the sump pump must to be "primed" with 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil every time you start it...which, of course, they provide in 3 little plastic packages! Now if that's not funny, I'm not the Cupcake Queen! I wonder, should I use almond, walnut, pecan, apricot kernel, corn, peanut vegetable oil next time?

Well, the rain is supposed to continue all night tonight...But, I feel confident that the Sump Pump Queen will reign supreme...at least I know where to find the vegetable oil!