We couldn’t afford to stay at the hotel any longer so we went to a hardware store and bought a cheap Shop Vac, a large bucket and the biggest bag of clumping cat litter we could find. Essentially we made ourselves a litter box in lieu of a working toilet. The neighbor came by on the weekend to help us get the water going but unfortunately the septic tank was in need of repair so his efforts weren’t entirely successful. He made another attempt on Thursday but it didn't take. We have gotten used to the litter pail...sorta.

The Shop Vac allowed us to do a lot of cleaning without using water. Dead moths and flies and spider-webs were everywhere. We eventually had access to the neighbor’s garden hose enabling us to mop the floors. The house looks pretty nice now. Too bad it's so cold.