We interrupt this renovation...

to bring you a special report:  The sewer drain is clogged, which means last night's dishwasher draining ended up in the bathtub, and the water from the washer drain ended up on the floor. Not to mention the awesome mini-Niagara Falls pouring out of the drain itself in the backyard.  We tried some fixes yesterday -- boiling water, cleaning out the disposal, etc. None of them worked.
So, today James made the trip to Home Depot to rent the super snake. When he opened up the sewer drain cap in the backyard, he discovered the likely clog-creator:  a plastic horseshoe stake put down the hole by "somebody."  Any guesses?  It had apparently blocked the flow, and a huge clog was built up behind it.  Awesome.
So after about 15 minutes of snaking, he heard the clog move on down the drain to Neverland, and we were once again clog-free! Praise the Lord for a relatively easy and inexpensive fix!  Now, back to work!