Good morning little ones. This will likely be the last installment in the ‘This is My Life’ series. I cannot say that I’m sorry it is ending. 

Do you recall when I said that I was confident that our water problems would be well in hand by the time I got home from work? I truly am an optimist. I will forever and always search for the best in any situation and person. My faith in all that is good was tested when I got home. 

DH had told me that the gaggle of men had been mostly absent during the morning and early afternoon. He was pretty sure that they had come into the house and done whatever it was they wanted to do in our basement but they must have been quiet enough to not wake a sleeping DH, or startle a sleeping Sasha as they went about their business. When I drove up to the neighbor’s house and stowed my car they were busy moving dirt around. From what I could tell, they were unsatisfied by the amount of dirt that they had accumulated so far because they were digging out more. The gaggle had changed from mostly retirement age men to middle aged men who wake up in the morning excited to drive large equipment that beeps when it backs up. These were busy men who had things to do and their taskmaster assigned their jobs as though he had been given an allotment of words to last him the day and he was afraid he would run out. There was a lot of gesturing and pointing and some grunts and then a scampering of feet. The youngest of the group, who I was to learn got all of the very worst jobs, was walking toward me as I took everything in. I asked him how it was going and he said the sewer line was fixed but they were finishing up the water line. 

I walked up to the front door and the back hoe was digging away in our not so beautiful front yard. Our water shut off buried underground was seized up so they were putting in a new one. In case you are keeping count that is another VDH bringing the total up to three. I talked briefly with the head taskmaster, D~. D~ told me that they were about done. I smiled and nodded, not really believing him because the state of the piles of dirt and debris told another story. Sasha was waiting for me when I got in. She had been keeping watch over things all day. She is a very good supervisor. Nothing gets by her. Except when she’s sleeping. And she sleeps a lot. 

I collected my Sasha and took her for a walk. When we came back K~ was watching the goings on. We discussed very deep holes and the state of the sewer system in our VST. The pipe that sprung a leak in our yard not only had a very large hole in it but it was worn very thin as well. That is not a good sign for the health of the rest of the pipes in town. D~ said that the people of our VST eat too much fiber. 

The gaggle changed out our shut off and then asked me to turn on the water in the bathtub. I did and thought that it all looked good. For a moment anyway. It was only a minute or two and the water turned brown and ugly and slowed to a trickle. I went back outside to give the gaggle the report. ‘Things aren’t so great, guys’. D~ hopped out of his bobcat like Santa from his sleigh and went to inspect the situation himself. We tromped down the stairs and turned on the water in the bathroom sink. The same pitiful thing happened. Unimpressed with that and confused by this turn of events he asked me about other faucets. We tromped back up the stairs and out the house to the outside faucet. This time we didn’t even get brown filth… we got nothing but air. D~ looked down into their newly dug VDH. In the VDH was the youngest of the gaggle. It appears to me that the youngest of the gaggle, the gaggle in training if you will, gets the crappiest of jobs. From the state of his attire he spends much of his time in VDHs and is one with the mud. I feel for the individual who washes his clothes. D~ asked the gaggle in training if he had the shut off turned on or off. From the very bottom of the VDH we heard ‘It’s on!’. That would have been too easy. D~ and I tromped back in the house and down the stairs. It was discovered after some trial and error that our water meter had filled with filth and would need to be replaced. A member of the gaggle was dispatched to get a new one and the dirt moving began in earnest. By this time it was about 7:30. D~’s eyes were filled with determination as he pushed and drug dirt from one spot to the next. I think he is tired of 5^th Avenue. The back hoe was again in service moving pieces of pavement from one pile to the next in anticipation of a dump truck. Our tree took minor damage from the swinging of the arm. I’m certain that more than one curse was aimed at our tree over the last few days. It’s big and beautiful and hangs over the street. It hangs almost directly over the chunk of the street that they needed to remove to get to the problem pipes. K~ has told me that he wanted to trim it back for years. I keep telling him to go ahead and do what he thinks needs to be done. Whenever it comes up again, I remind him that I said that he could do it. He grins at me and says something along the lines of ‘I’ll get to it one day’. I take that to mean that he doesn’t really want to trim back our pretty tree and he is humoring someone who thinks it’s in the way of getting their farm equipment by. I’m okay with that. 

It was almost 9:00 when the last pipe wrench was picked up from our basement and the bobcat drove away. We’ve been left with a lot of dirt in our not so beautiful front yard. The area East of our sidewalk and almost all the way to the house was dug up to replace the shut off. That area is currently a lumpy mess. D~ told me that he didn’t want to drive around on it too much while it was soft to protect our remaining grass. I laughed and anyone who has visited our house should laugh too. The state of the grass in the front of our house is nothing to worry about protecting. A large shade tree and too much foot traffic means that our grass is sketchy and sparse.  He told me he’d come back and level it off once it settles some and they will set our shut off where it needs to be and bring in more dirt if necessary at that time too. The street in front of our house is not passable. More dirt and gravel will need to be brought in. D~ warned me about driving over it any time soon. It’s currently soft and squishy and even my little car could sink right in. I’m just fine with not driving on it until it’s been sitting for a good long while.

So things at our house are pretty much back to normal. Our toilets flush. My shower this morning was perfect. I will need to clean up the many muddy gaggle prints going up and down the stairs and around the basement. 

We still have very sexy bright orange snow fence. It is surrounding the damaged part of the street so that drunken teenagers who like to party in the park don’t drive into the drop off in the dark. Not having the drunken teenager traffic doesn’t break my heart. The gaggle better be careful though. If the sexy bright orange snow fence is around too long I’m going to plant it full of ivy. 

Wishing you unblemished lawns and smooth pavement.

Hello darlings,

Who knew that VDHs could reproduce?

Yesterday DH bailed out on watching the progress of the gaggle of men and heavy equipment and instead came into town and had lunch with me. That was a nice surprise and we very much enjoyed our Taco Grinders. When he returned home he called me with an update. While on their search for the damaged sewer pipe the excavator broke the water line into our house. Not to be confused with the sewer line that is already broken somewhere in the muddy muck that was once my not so beautiful front yard. The line I’m talking about is the line that carries beautiful, fresh, bacteria and poo-free water into the house. The water that I say nice things to and shower in was no longer just a flick of the wrist away. While that is suck-tastic for us, it is also suck-tastic for everyone else in town because one water line break means no water for anyone. It was about 1 in the afternoon and I was fairly confident that they would do something to have the situation well in hand by the time I got home a few hours later. The other by product of the unnecessary breaking of water lines was that they had to dig up the street in front of our house. This is sad because we live in a very small town (VST). Our VST doesn’t spend money willy-nilly on things like high speed internet service or road repairs. Chances are good that we will have a patch of dirt in front of our house for some time to come.

By the time I got home the gaggle of men was wrapping up their work for the day. And they were waiting for me. In case you were wondering, it’s not a good feeling to have the men who are digging up and ‘repairing’ the water and sewer lines in front of your house waiting on you when you get home. I parked my car in its new home away from home at the neighbor’s house and went over to get the skinny. They wanted to see if they would be able to get into our basement in the morning to fish a line through our sewer pipes and out so that they could find it in the muck. Did you know that the sewage pipe that leaves houses that were built in the 1950s are generally made of clay? I did not know that before but I do now. Did you know that when a sewer pipe breaks and they have to find your clay pipe and it is covered in filth and mud that it is nearly impossible? I did not know that before but I do now. I assured them that they would be able to get into the house in the morning. DH would be home I told them. No problem.    I was also told that they had rigged up fresh water and sewer lines to our house. Oh, happy day!

The five men had each driven a pickup to the job site in front of our house. There is no such thing as car pooling in our VST. As the trucks drove away I was able to finally get a good look at the disaster area. Gigantic piles of dirt and chunks of pavement are mounded around not just one VDH but two VDHs. The VDHs are connected by flexible pipe that is our temporary solution to drinking water and shower taking. Both VDHs are surrounded by very sexy bright orange snow fence. We are also the temporary home to a big piece of heavy equipment. There is one very large back hoe living in front of our house. And it brought a change of clothes in case it gets muddy because there is an extra bucket thingy there too. I considered climbing in and seeing if the keys were in it so I could take it for a test drive. I reconsidered when I realized that I would have to climb two mounds of poo-dirt to get to it. The allure of driving a back hoe was greatly diminished by the thought of muddy poo-dirt anywhere on my person. Believe me when I say that they have done a bang up job on making a mess. 

I squished through the yard and onto our front steps to survey our kingdom. Sexy bright orange snow fence really catches your eye. I wonder if I shouldn’t work that into our new landscaping somehow.   

Later in the evening I had been admiring the sexy bright orange snow fence and thinking of climbing vines – maybe a Morning Glory or two when the phone rang. I gave DH the update that he would need to let the gaggle of men into the house in the morning. DH is not a morning person and it’s worse when he has been working nights. He was not thrilled by the prospect of letting the gaggle of men into the house and having to form coherent sentences in response to questions that they would invariably ask. Things like ‘Basement down here?’ and ‘Is this the floor drain?’ and ‘does this toilet flush?’. He suggested that I leave the front door unlocked and leave a note telling them to come on in and do whatever they need to do. I did and since my phone hasn’t rung with anyone telling me there was an issue, I’m assuming that all went well.

Oh, I almost forgot… someone in the gaggle picked up the nasty poo-trash that had been floating around in our VDH and then was spewed out onto our lawn during the overland flooding episode. It is now in our new and improved trash can. The old trash can, you may remember, was swallowed by the VDH. It has now been removed from the VDH and is no where to be seen. I say, good riddance. And thank you to the member of the gaggle who helped out by cleaning the trash from our yard. I appreciate it.

Wishing you fresh water at the flick of a wrist and the opportunity to drive a back hoe if you so desire. 

I wrote this a few months ago and didn't finish or post it.  The only thing that I change today as I make it permanent is that I took the word almost out of in front of the 13 years.  We just celebrated our anniversary.  I sincerely hope that we have at least that many more.

My DH and I have been married for 13 years.  It seems like a long time when you look at the number but in reality it still feels like I am the young woman who fell head over heals for the handsome, really tall boy with such a wickedly perfect smile and eyes that invaded my dreams.  Meeting him changed my world.  Falling in love with him made me who I am today.  And I might be older but I am also happier with myself.   I tell him at least daily that I love him.  That doesn't seem like enough.   

I've lots to say but I'm not sure that I have the words to say it.  Or that I have the words to say it in a way that anyone else will understand.  How does one go about putting in writing the thoughts that buzz like insects around in their heads?  And how does one write things that feel very 'woe is me' without sounding all 'woe is me' and coming off whiny?  My life is not all about the woe.  I just feel the weight of the woe at the moment and need to set some of it down for a while.

~ Dok's dick surgery went well.  It was slow to heal but that wasn't unexpected in an old dog.  He is a bouncy 14 year old.  He is full of the love and cuddles and I just adore the boy.  Sadly, the cancer has spread.  Small lumps and bumps have been showing up and tests came back cancerous.  He is currently nursing an odd foot injury.  We don't know how it happened as he spent most of the weekend snoozing but it became swollen Monday night/Tuesday morning enough to crack the outside toe pad.  The vet wrapped it tightly and sent him home with bad news and more antibiotics.  We will be watching the boy closely and when he is no longer finding enjoyment in this world we will help him move on to the next.  It will be a difficult decision but one that, in my mind anyway, is the most compassionate for my wonderful friend.  There is no need for him to suffer.

~ We have a close friend who is struggling with legal issues.  Some of them are of his own doing, he made the choices and the consequences are his responsibility.  Some of them are mostly bad luck and bad timing.  He has made changes to his life and is headed in a positive direction.  I hope that it will turn out that the 'system' finds it acceptable and he won't have to spend the next year in jail.  

~ Our house remodel plan is still up in the air.  The uncertainty of it makes me uneasy.  Now that DH is off of work for the summer he has said that he will make the necessary phone calls and arrangements.  Because he is helping out the friend with his issues, that might be delayed.  DH did hear me when I told him of my fears of money and the proposed project being too big.  Our small town has little to draw people to it when gas prices are as high as they currently are.  No one moves that far out when it is expensive.  That means that our home won't be going up in value and sticking a lot of money into renovations is money that we will never get back.  When I had talked with him about what I felt comfortable spending on all this at the beginning, I think that he blew me off.  I heard him telling someone that I had good points in keeping the costs down.  Thank the stars above for that.

~ DH's grandparents have moved into an assisted living facility.  Grandma has dementia (I think it's further along than that, but that's my opinion.  As an in-law, my opinion means little and is generally ignored.  If DH and I share an opinion and he is the one who talks about it - then it is a good idea.  Funny how that works.)  and grandpa has been falling down because he has blocked arteries in his neck that should have been taken care of a while back.  He doesnt' want to make the appointment and tells his children that 'the doctor says I'm fine'.  When it was found out that he should be having surgery he said that he doesn't want to and that he is ready to go.  This is hard for everyone and the DH isn't talking about it.   We live 5 hours away and it is hard to be involved in anything at that distance.  DH is planning a trip up in a couple weeks.  I'm glad about that.

~ Our neighbor has a cat who lives an indoor/outdoor life.  I believe that our neighbors forget that we DO live in a town.  It is a small town, but a town none the less.  They often behave as though they live in the country.  As a country girl from way back, I'm mostly okay with that until the behavior is something that really is not acceptable in town.  Such as their habit of letting their dog(s) run loose.  Their adult dog is a pit bull cross.  He has always been friendly to me and mine but there is also a menacing air about him.  I have little to no fear of dogs but I wouldn't call another person's fear of this dog unjustified.  Alllowing him to be loose is unacceptable because it is unfair for people to need to worry about him and because he is unaltered and I find that unresponsible.  You may own a male dog and therefore do not bear the burden of possible puppies but just because I have a female dog in heat does not mean that I want to breed my dog to yours.  It may just mean that the dog is too young to be spayed.  Or that she is a purebred and will be bred to a suitable dog at some time.  My goodness, I've gone off on a tangent that I wasn't intending.  Back to the cat.  BTW, I have no problem with their cat being outside.  Our back yards open up to a creek bed and I've never seen it playing the street.   I see it often, skulking along the tall grass.  It also stalks around our house which is all right with me too.  Last night, I smiled as I watched it slinking towards the tall grass and then ... Pounce!  and it caught... I don't think it caught anything but it was sure intent on whatever it was.  Silly kitty.

Since I last posted my Grandmother passed away.  She lived to be a Very Old Woman and had a wonderful and largely happy life.  I miss her.

I was blessed to have had a close relationship with my dad's parents.  I spent as much time as I could get my parents to agree to with them when I was young.  They were indulgent and happy and encouraging.  They let me be.  Not just let me be me... they really let me be.  They made me feel cherished and loved in a way that other family members didn't.  I was special when I was with them.  Other people may have said I had a talent for this or that and maybe I did.  They made me feel like I had a talent for everything.  And I know that I did not.  My light shines brighter because of them.

Grandpa has been gone for 12 years.  He was never, ever sick until he got a back ache that turned out to be cancer.  It had already spread by the time he thought that there was something wrong enough to visit a doctor about.  He wasn't sick long.  I believe that is a good thing.

My Grandmother was always sick.  She had an assortment of problems that would cause her trouble and then get 'fixed' only to come back to the front a year or two later.  The last few years she lived in a nursing home.  Watching her slow decline was not easy for any of us.  She knew she couldn't live alone and yet didn't want to be taken care of.  It's a hard situation to be in.  I hope it doesn't happen to me.

She was a master of story telling.  As she got older and her memory got worse, the facts changed and the details were probably mostly made up.  I found out at her memorial service that one of my favorite stories, one she had told me at least a hundred times, was wrong.  And that's all right.  I will remember it her way.  It's more romantic that way.  Dementia took many things from her but it couldn't take away the twinkle in her eye when she talked about Grandpa.  Her love for him was so big and cozy.  It spilled out from her and into everything that she did.  Even as a child I could see it and was happy to just be near it.  And he adored her.  He lived his life to see her smile. 

Today I feel the loss of them as though it was yesterday.  

current mood: sad

Our town was celebrating its 125th so Saturday I decided to check out what was going on.  I went to the parade in the morning.  Let me tell you, small town North Dakota parades are a little strange.  There were a few floats, a couple of bands, some horses, LOTS of lawn mowers. (Yes, lawn mowers.  Not pulling anything or decorated, just driving) LOTS of old tractors and old cars.  And new farm equipment.  $300K tractors and combines.  That was strange.  Then some more lawn mowers.  And then... the Fargo/Moorhead bomb squad drove their truck thing.  Followed by the SWAT team RV thing.  In the back of the SWAT team RV is a guy in full military fatigues pitching candy at the little kids.  If their goal was to promote a warm fuzzy feeling about the BOMB squad and the SWAT team... a big guy throwing candy overhand at little kids didn't get that job done.  In the afternoon I checked out the Fireman's rodeo.  Mostly that was an excuse for a bunch of volunteer firemen from around the area to compete and get totally soaked.  The team from our town won so that was good.  I checked out the petting zoo and got a free ice cream cone and went home for a siesta.  That night was a street dance and a huge fireworks show.  There is a fireworks manufacturer just outside of town and they put on a really, really great show.  The street dance was packed!  Our town only has a population of 400 people.  Most of those 400 people are elderly and not the type for street dancing.  There must have been 250 people out there.  Where they all came from, I don't know.  The band was good, the people were mellow and it was all good.  After the street dance wrapped up my neighbors held an 'after party' bonfire in their yard.  As people started filing in at 2am I was ready to call it a day.  By the time I moseyed across the lawn to my front door it must have been about 2:30 and there were at least 50 people next door.  I didn't hear anything from them after my head hit the pillow.  Sunday morning Christopher got home from Pracs.  We puttered around with his motorbike a bit and then went to town for his return blood draw.  After that we were both feeling a little hungry so we went in search of 'a little something'.  We went to a place we hadn't tried before called DoLittle's.  Nothing on their menu was 'a little something' so we split an appetizer and a dessert.  It was wonderful.  We chose Walleye fingers and a banana cobbler.  I would recommend both but the cobbler was heavenly.  It was a very nice mini date and a very nice weekend all together.