June 28, 2010
Tragic Septic
 Agh! I thought the moles and gophers were bad. Now we have 5 foot deep, 6 foot long holes in our newly levelled and seeded lawn. This is not the way I intended to give a preview of our new landscaping! In the foreground is where a break in the pipe had developed into a complete blockage that Richard located (surprisingly accurately, thank goodness) with the help of a septic company with a camera this afternoon. Just visible at the back in the wider last image is the series of trenches that he and Jonathan dug yesterday, looking for the 'T' where this long pipe from the tanks beneath our dining room window meets the field itself, right at the back fence. Tomorrow Richard will repair the pipe close to the house, and mark the spot for the next hole, which luckily we can deal with later. If all goes well with the repair, we might get away as planned for the long weekend. And then come back to lawn patching and re-levelling and re-seeding.... |
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Posted by anita at 9:36 PM | Comments (4)
June 26, 2010
Catastrophe!
We were tired going into this weekend, sick of early morning watering sessions and dealing with monster weeds, roasted by the sun or soaked by erratic torrential downpours and eaten alive by bugs, straining backs and shoulders hauling rocks and putting our fence back up, exhausted by the huge number of tasks ahead of us with our August long weekend event as the deadline for getting it all done.... People think we're crazy. But, as Richard just pointed out, we chose to do it. We want to do it because we want a gorgeous yard.
What we didn't plan to do, and thought we'd prevented when we dealt with similar problems 3 years ago, is to dig up our septic field. We certainly didn't want to be doing this just after we levelled the entire area with new soil and seeded it with very expensive grass!
And now, neighbour Jonathan in his backhoe is on trench number three in that nice new lawn, to the depth of Richard's waist.
The septic has been pumped out and the blockage or break traced to the field out back, so that's somewhat of a relief. Yesterday when the drains in the basement backed up (after 3 loads of laundry), our first fearful thought was that the depth we dug out of the hillside beside the house, followed by heavy equipment and fully loaded dumptrucks driving over it, had cracked the pipe that leads from the tanks to the field at the point closest to the house. I've been babying that area along for two months, trying to combat the weeds in the cheap topsoil. We even re-seeded two weeks ago to fill it in more. So it really would have been tragic to drive over that with the backhoe treads and dig holes in it. I'd be crying right now.
As it is, we're both kind of in shock. This can't be happening!! Even more frustrating than the work (not to mention expense!) that's gone before this being ruined, is the fact that with only a month until our event, and more importantly, only a week or so until the tanks will be full to overflowing again, Richard feels we cannot go on our annual holiday to visit the Lunds on Marrowstone next weekend. This would be our tenth year in a row. We look forward to it so much because all we do is sit around and relax. It's really our only vacation most years. I need it so badly - my new boss arrives right after the weekend and my job is going to get 3 times busier and potentially 10 times more stressful, so the timing of this holiday couldn't have been better. Now I feel sick. And sad.
I hope they find the 'T' in the field and the blockage quickly and don't have to dig the whole damn field up and replace it. I don't want to know what just having the septic guy here for over 6 hours is going to cost. Aaaggghhh! We just can't win. I thought the evil weeds that came in the topsoil and invaded our new lawn were bad; this is more than I can take, and Richard is near to a breaking point. I won't be surprised if he wakes up with a crooked back tomorrow.
So there you have it, one more reason why I haven't posted our Moab holiday photos yet, much less shots of our new yard. Now I have photo documentation of today's little drama. Sigh. I have to get back out there and continue with all the other tasks that aren't going to get done standing around mourning over the holes in my lawn. If only this had happened this spring BEFORE we finished digging up and redoing that part of the yard!! I don't normally swear on this blog, but it seems appropriate in this case. Ah, shit.
Posted by anita at 5:35 PM | Comments (1)
May 21, 2010
We're Off!
Work sucks, we're going to Moab!!
That's the line we always use, but it feels real for Richard this time. He just worked 40 hours in the past two days. Needless to say, he's Mr. Grumpy. And this morning he is STILL working. But all my preparations are coming together.
The neighbours are going to keep our grass growing and my new plants alive, Marjorie has begun work on the mudding and taping in our basement this morning (and it will be done, including primer, before we come home!), and our broken dryer and backed up septic can wait until we get back. (Because Murphy's Law says...) Taxes are off to the accountant, the VISA bill is paid, and we have a cushion in the bank in case this vacation, like some of our previous road trips, goes sideways.
Now if we can just finish up the prep and get out of here on time this afternoon, we'll be happy campers. The fact that the forecast for Moab is cooler than for Kamloops next week doesn't bother me at all. I've already packed everything from fleece pants to spaghetti-strapped tank tops and my swimsuit for the hot tub. And the last 5 issues of my favourite magazine in case we spend a lot of time by the side of the highway - but that's not going to happen this trip! Fun in the sun and that's that. All our former wheeling buddies, we'll be thinking of you as we hit the crest of Golden Spike Trail and take in that spectacular view. Wish you were with us. (Sorry, Pam. Maybe next year.)
Have a great long weekend, everyone, and happy start to the summer!
Posted by anita at 10:12 AM | Comments (3)
May 2, 2010
More Dust, More Dirt, More Rocks
 This is what the entrance to our basement looked like last weekend. A mess. If you look closely, you can see not only the trash building up under the deck, but also the interior wall that had yet to be drywalled that day. Looking at the steps, you can see the big change in elevation of the yard immediately below the deck. This was formerly the 2nd step down... so it's more of a drop than the initial grading done during the geothermal excavation. At right is what's left of my flowerbed - a bunch of old roots and what do you know, more rocks. |
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Posted by anita at 7:27 PM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2010
Another Dusty Weekend
 We spent another dusty weekend in the basement, trying to get the drywall done. Not quite there yet - lots of finicky bulkheads and a couple of other small jobs to do - but here are some pics of the latest. The main room downstairs is the size of our living room, dining room, kitchen and entry put together, and now that the boards are mostly up, it looks very bright, spacious and perfect for entertaining. Eventually. You just have to imagine some furniture and a baby grand piano to go with the pool table. We expect to finish the last of the boarding this coming weekend, and have the mudder/taper in next week. Not sure what more has to be done before we have the advisor come in to do phase 2 of our EcoEnergy assessment, but we're close, and really looking forward to the grant cheque! Drywall - maybe primer since we've got some on hand and we have a sprayer - is about as far as we'll get for now. Our focus has moved outside... wait 'til you see the changes in our back yard. We're going to have a lot more fun this summer! And someone pointed out we'll have a good backup plan if it rains on the August long weekend. Yes. |
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Posted by anita at 4:00 PM | Comments (3)
