4 Miles

And–they're done!  The dirt on the sidewalk is where the side walk was destroyed to get to the pipes under the house.  The white thing sticking up is the new well head.  We are going to work on landscaping around it, eventually.

Today the boys got to see the digger, a concrete saw and a jack hammer in use.  QUITE exciting!

Please pray with us our homeowner's insurance will cover this. The problem was from the pipes freezing & cracking–that is covered. BUT, they froze because they were not deep enough. We think the wet spring, followed by the extreme cold made the water table rise and this caused freezing in an area that is normally insulated. We're concerned the insurance company will say since they weren't laid deep enough it's our problem.  If they cover it, you will see some nice landscaping soon. If they don't, not quite sure when that's going to happen!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have laundry to do, a floor to mop, a bathroom to clean–you get the idea!

We have water!!! They put bleach in the well to kill any bacteria that might be in there and now they are letting it run to get the bleach out. (If there is a water main break, they have you boil water for 24 hours to flush out the bacteria. Same idea but because we have a well we can use the bleach instead.)

Remember where we used to have all those mums? We are getting new pipes.

The digger is here!

Will's preschool had "Doughnuts with Dad" today and did several special things for their dads. Will brought home a piece of paper with some fill-in-the-blank comments about his dad.  The teacher wrote in his replies. I found this really funny so I had to share.

My Dad is special because: he pushes me on the swings.

I like it when my Dad: laughs at me.

My Dad can do many things! I think he is best at: washing the dishes.

My Dad has a great smile! I like to make him smile by: Hiding from him.

My Dad is as handsome as a: mouse.

My Dad is smart! He even knows: how to push me on the swings.

My Dad and I like to: wash dishes together.

It's raining today, which is good news. James put a big barrel under our drain pipe and we now can use rain water to flush our toilet. I'm hoping we'll at least off-set all the damage we're doing to the enviornment with the plastic-ware, paper plates, plastic cups, etc. with our reduction of water in the next 4 days. 

We're going to visit Grandma this afternoon to get some laundry done. I'm going to do laundry and cook up a freezer meal, and the boys will get to play with Grandma. A MUCH better option then sitting around in a laundry mat. (Assuming I could find one. Our suburb doesn't really have any that I know of.)

We are able to refill the galllon containers of water for only 30 cents/bottle! We stocked up on those and are set for this week and then can refill them for our emergency water stock-pile. (When you have an electric pump, you need to be prepared for any power outage and have water.)

James' office (across the street) has a shower so we were able to go in early this morning and use it. 

Last night I had several dreames about moving. Hmmm, no problem trying to figure out what my psyche is working on there!

So, today I woke up and found that there was no water in my shower. It is a very good thing that I tend turn the water on before I lather up.  So I walked out to the kitchen and tried the sink . . . Nothing!! 

TO THE GARAGE JAMES (or MILES, either way it sounds butler or driverish)!!!!! 

It sounded like the pump was still running, sort of.  I opened the drain valve on the pressure tank and a little bit of water kinda made its way out on to the garage floor.  And in an effort to emulate Shari and give human qualities to inanimate objects, it was a sad pitiful little dribble that crawled, with great effort, out of the drain pipe and sat there, perplexed, on the floor, staring up at me with an expression of "whats next?" Oh wait, maybe that was my reflection in the little puddle.

To give a little background, about a month ago we had water flowing into our garage.  We discovered it was from two pipes that were stubbed out, but not capped, in the garage.  I am guessing old well pipes.  The original well pipes.  There was also a puddle outside the garage in the grass.  Reuben was kind enough to help me cap the pipes in the garage.  We figured since we had 7 inches above the average rain fall it was just overflow from the higher then average water table.  Howerver, once the pipes were capped the puddle in the front yard just got bigger.  I considered digging it up but wasn't sure I could dig faster then the hole would fill up with water.

Well, today I noticed that the puddle dried up in the yard.  Yeah!!!!! Sort-a.  After consulting my friendly neighborhood plumber he told me that there was a leak in the pipes or well and that the leak caused the pump to run itself to death.  He told me that he could replace it for $1k but would be back replacing that one.  I always thought that consumables were far more profitable then items that last a long time; however, he told me it would be much better to fix the leak and invest in a submersible pump.  Which, of course, would be a bit more expensive. GO CAPITALISTS. Since he has to dig up the well head to find the leak, he would have to bring it up to code.  At that point I might as well upgrade to the submersible. 

So, on Friday, we are going to be committing to $2800 in well repairs.  I hope that the first shower I take is the best shower I have ever had.  It certainly will be the most expensive.  :-) 

The GOOD news????   A more efficient pump and I will now know where the well head is.  Now I will be able to shock the system and hopefully save the investment in a water filter.  Ohhh, and The Tort and The Otter will get to watch a lot of digger in the front yard.  It will be outside the front window so we will have two permanent nose prints, one slightly lower then the other, on that window.

Along with the deck, the new pump will be installed just in time for visitors.

English is a tough language to learn:

Me: "Will, you need to tell Mommy you are sorry for losing your temper and yelling."
Will: "Mommy, I'm sorry for losing my temperture and yelling."

:::::

Daddy: I'm getting the knot out of this and then you can have it.
Will: Did someone wipe their nose on it?
Mommy: Daddy said KNOT, not snot.

The Good: After resting all day, my back is better (not ALL better, but a bit better).

The Bad: I broke the laptop (again).  I closed it, went to eat lunch and when I came back it was dead.  Nothing will get it to turn on. I suspect I will never get a laptop. (All the ones I've had so far have been office rejects–probably why they are breaking in the first place! Boy that makes it sound like I've had so many. I think I've just had 2, but the 2nd one has been fixed/revamped several times.)

The Odd: The post I wrote the other day on the odd side effect of my cold medicine (my attempt to be silly) got "auto linked" to a News in Medicine site. We're assuming some computer picked the post based on the title…I just found that odd. And embarrassing if people really do click on it, expecting something serious.

Friday and Saturday were simply perfect days. Warm and sunny. We've been spending as much time outside as we can. Sadly, my back started to hurt on Thursday. Friday I visited our chiropractor and he made it feel MUCH better, but it got worse Saturday (probably from overdoing it Friday and Saturday morning). So the planned landscapping that NEEDED to be done had to be done by James while I took pictures of the kids. This morning (Sunday) I'm staying home from church to rest the back. It is frustrating, between the cold earlier in the week and this, the house is a mess. I want to clean it up or I want to go outside with the boys or go for a walk with them. But I finally came to my senses last night, realizing I only made the problem worse yesterday by "just" keeping the kids out of James way and taking pictures. So I'm sitting/laying inside trying to enjoy the nice weather from the window, as I watch a bunch of bicylists ride by for the annual bike race. And work on the laptop, of course!