This Old Pipe

I think someone once said that old houses have character.  Now we can get around the word old with synonyms like vintage, rustic, historic, quaint.  But no matter how you spell it, it still comes out O-L-D.  Roof, sidewalks, ceilings, electricity, oh, and let’s not forget the pipes.  Sometimes my vintage-rustic-quaint-historic old house likes to show its character in very inconvenient ways and without much warning.  Like a kitchen sink that refuses to drain—during Christmas dinner preparations.  Or a leaky roof when the snow decides