Unmetionables

You are probably wondering about the title of this post. Well lets just say I am going to talk about something people don't like to talk about. Septic tanks. Now most of you will have never had to deal with one as you live in a city or close to one and the city deals with that little problem for you. Not us, we live out in the county where we deal with it on our own. Now the septic tank at our home is not the problem, it is the one that is at our family cabin (disclaimer inserted here- not really ours but belonging to my in-laws). We have know since about day one that it needed to be replaced but it is an expensive undertaking, so it has been put off till now. We are getting a new one this next week. YEAH!! Now I know that it sounds a little weird to be happy about that but until you have lived though it you just can not understand so just go with me here.

It all started with the remodel of the bathroom which led to my in-laws bedroom to the kitchen to the entryway. You know how remodels go. Lets just say the it was held together with duct tape and baling wire. We found so many things wrong that it is wonder that it is still standing. All of the plumbing except the toilet was piped out and away from the house and on to the ground but now we have it all going in to the new septic tank. We found water lines that were plugged with spark plugs. Yep that's right I said spark plugs. We found carpeting under the kitchen cabinets that was soaked with water and tiles glued down with liquid nails. It has been an adventure unearthing all of the issues that we are dealing with but when it is done it will be a great place to relax. Till then keep the faith.

Renewable Energy

So I feel like bragging a bit today. I just paid my electric bill this morning. Now to most people that is not something to brag about, it is more like something to complain about, but my bill this last month was just under 80 dollars. Now I grant you the air conditioner was not running a full capacity yet but for me this was a big deal. You see we invested in solar panels on our roof last October and I did not see much of a change. That was till the days started getting longer in the summer. To see that our investment is starting to pay off makes me feel a little better. It will be a few years till we see the positive in this but it still makes me feel good. We still have a ways to go in our efforts to save energy but this is a step in the right direction. I would love to put in geo-thermal heat and air but the cost is too much right now with no incentives to help you out with the cost like with solar. I hope that changes in the near future. We have been trying different ways to help out the planet such trying to grow some of our own food or trying to buy local. Last year that was a better success than this year. We have planted a total of 12 fruit trees and several grape vines. We are also looking at more insulation in our roof and better windows. It just takes time and money. I would love to hear what you are doing to make our planet a better place.

The Adventures Of Ivan the Saint Bernard

I thought I would give everyone an update on Ivan. He is four months old and 55 lbs fight now. But first a little history since I have not been posting in awhile. To begin we go back a couple of years. On July 3rd 2008 we lost our beloved dog Shiloh. She had been with us for 12 years and was one of those dogs you can never replace. After her passing we had decide not to get another dog. We still had Barron, age 11 at the time, and when he left this world we would be dogless. I did not want to have to worry about who will take care of them and such as the kids are getting older and moving away from home etc. I had my mind made up! This thinking went on for about a year then things began to change. The hubby and the daughter started thinking about getting a new puppy or young dog. I was not going to have any of it. They would casually mention it from time to time. Then it happened. I looked on the Internet at puppies! Big mistake!! I was starting to miss that companionship. I missed my dog! So we started talking about what we might like to get. Would it be a puppy, a purebred, or save a life from the pound. I like the idea of getting one from the pound because we would be saving a life of an unwanted dog. And you can find purebreds at the pound or at a rescue group, if that was to be the route we would go.

Then we got the news. Rosalyn, the dog belonging to my brother-in-law, was having a litter. Having know Roz since she was a puppy we knew that chances were good that they would be like her. She loves people and just a big teddy bear. Now she is not the smartest dog in the world but love can overcome a lot. So of course my daughter decided that having a 200 lb dog at maturity would be just great. She began her campaign to win us over to the idea. And I must say she did a good job. I began to research the breed and found that I like what I read. I was turning to the dark side. The next one to be convinced was dad and she worked hard on him but he held out. It was to big of a dog for him. Of course that was until we saw them. We had to go down to their house for a graduation party and there they were. They still had five of them at that point and who can resist a cute bundle of fur. We won him over and Ivan came home with us. Ivan has been with us for about 2 months now and is fitting in our family nicely.Although Barron, our three legged 13 year old miniature Schnauzer, is not to happy about having to deal with a hyperactive puppy in his life. We still have a ways to go with manners and obedience but it is a work in progress. We will get there. So stay tuned for more adventures of Ivan and Barron too.

Time

Well it has been a long time since I last posted anything. When I started this page I had grand ideas about what I would put on it but then reality hit. I started reading other blogs and I thought who would want to read about my boring life. It was a bit of a downer for me. And then life got in the way. I got a part time job and my time became less and less. The garden was a bust this year. A family member past away and then we got a new puppy. As I sit here at about 4:30 in the morning I realised that this is exactly what this page is about. It is about sharing our life with friends and family and who ever else might stop by to read about our boring life.

So I guess it is catch up time. First thing that happened is I got a part time job. I am working for a very nice gentleman in our church. He owns a construction company and I am working in his office. It has been an interesting time. I have not worked for about 20 years or more. I spent my life raising my kids and taking care of the house but the kids are getting older and don't need me as much anymore. It has been fun getting out there and being in the public and meeting new people. I have even learn a few new things along the way. But this said job has gotten in the way in some ways. I have less time to work on things around the house. The big things was the garden this year. I started off with a bang, I had a about a hundred or more plant starts this year. But then things started to go wrong. First was the new job, less time. Second was the weather. It was a very weird year here with the weather. It seems that we went from winter to summer with no spring. It is nice to know that I am not alone. I have talked to several people that have had the same problems. An example is when I planted my peppers(had to wait till the temps got warm enough at night) it was mid June and the next day they were wilted and dead. And they were the second set of peppers that I tried, so I just gave up this year. It is that time thing again. Maybe by next year I will have learned to manage time better by then.

Another big event to happen to us this year was the addition of a new puppy to our family a couple of months ago. My daughter had bothering me about this puppy for months. Mind you this is no ordinary puppy. This would be a Saint Bernard puppy. Yep that's right! We have a monster for a pet. Meet Ivan.This picture is when he first can home. He has put on about 30 pounds since he came to live with us. That was about 2 months ago. He is quite the dog. He was supposed to be my daughters dog but you know how that goes. He is now a mama's boy. We have been building him a dog house and I have been telling everyone that We Ivan passes away we will be able to rent it out as a dorm room. It is huge!! Well my alarm just went off so it is time to get ready to go up to the cabin and work for the weekend. That is a whole other page for later. lets just say it was a gut job. Will post pictures of that later and maybe you can commiserate with me. Till later and hopeful not such a long time between posts.