House
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Two Old Buddies Talking
I took this photo back when we were trying to move my grampa’s old pickup. The Diesel Mechanic can’t be bothered with little things like keys and starts his truck with a screwdriver and occasionally a can of ether. It also helps to park it on a hill where he can get a rolling start. We tried to use that can of ether to get the old Dodge going, but it kept dying on us so he towed it off the building site with the backhoe.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Just in Case the Internet Really is a Fad
The Diesel Mechanic and I spent a couple hours this morning fussing with a laser transit before we finally decided there was a problem with the receiver and gave up for the day. Disgusted with technology, he put everything away and pulled out a couple of bent welding rods from his old pickup and placed them in my hands. Although he says he does not possess the ability to find water himself, he wanted to see if I could. I’ve always thought dowsing was a bunch of bunkum, but I indulged him because he’s been so generous to me over the past few weeks.
He set me marching across the property with the rods pointing straight out in front of me like a Jean-Paul Gaultier bra. I had walked about 50 feet when all of the sudden they started turning inward and there was nothing I could do to stop them. We walked most of my property and some of his. My divining rods said there was water where he knew it existed, but not where he thought it might be. We won’t ever know for sure if I’ve got the power, but I’ll sleep easier now knowing that I may have a backup career in case this Internet thing doesn’t work out. I AM a water witch!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
My Cell Phone Got Run Over by a Grader
My cell phone fell out of my pocket at some point yesterday and the Diesel Mechanic ran over it with a grader. I didn’t know it was lost until it was too late. Miraculously, he was able to find it by lightly picking over the soil with the blade on the machine. Shockingly, it was still in one piece, but the screen had shattered. When he handed it to me, it was ringing, but I had no way to answer it. So, back to town today to replace it. I’ve had so many phones in the past six weeks, I can’t remember if this is my fourth or fifth one. The first few weren’t my fault, though!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Maybe We'll Have to Blow it Up?
I’ve decided a backhoe is a very useful tool to have--if you know how to run it, that is. Yesterday, we moved my shed from the building site to over by the trailer. Since it was built on skids, the Diesel Mechanic was able to wrap a chain around the front of the building and then attach it to the hoe and then drag it (boy, nothing like a mechanic wrapping a chain around a hoe to get your blog lots of traffic). Unfortunately, it all happened so fast that I wasn’t able to grab my camera, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say the building looked kind of benevolent as it glided across the luscious pasture. Like maybe it was out for a stroll. Or, if you like horror movies, maybe it was on a mission of evil. Anyway, it looked pretty weird.
Once we got it all level, the Diesel Mechanic was ready to tackle some more projects. First, he tried to tear down the old town water tank, which has been empty for several years. The darn thing leaks like a sieve, but barely a wee little pebble fell from it when he tried to demolish it. Tomorrow, we’re going to cut the fence and bring the cat up from his place (bulldozer, not meow) and try to knock it down again. I tried to convince the Diesel Mechanic that we should blow it up, but he said that would probably be some violation of the Patriot Act. Isn’t everything, though?
Since there was no satisfaction to be had with the tank, the Diesel Mechanic went and knocked over a dead fir tree with the backhoe and then we called it a day. I spent the rest of the afternoon replacing all the contents of the shed, which ended up taking me a couple hours. I discovered a couple boxes of china I got from my grampa’s family and took out a few pieces to investigate. I think it might be expensive, but I decided what the heck, I’m going to use it. Plus, I really liked how it contrasts with the tools in the shed. I feel like an old-timey pioneer lady holding on to one last symbol of civility on the wild frontier.
Anyway, I didn’t get to the deck yesterday and I probably won’t for a several days, but I’ve got a guy coming out this weekend to help me install a hot water heater so I can finally bathe regularly. If you live around here, you ought to be just as excited about that as I am.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Bees!!!!
While the Diesel Mechanic and I were finishing up the septic system this morning, I looked across the canyon and saw a gazillion head of cattle running up a sidehill. Maybe there was someone on a horse behind them or a pickup they were chasing, but it looked very bizarre. I pointed them out to the Diesel Mechanic and he posited that they were being chased by a swarm of bees. What can I say? He’s a big fan of the Boomerang cartoon channel.
A very nice county inspector showed up around 11 am and asked a few pertinent questions and then passed our system. I think even he was shocked at how big it was.
My neighbor gal came over and whacked weeds for me around the trailer and down by my gate. She’s raised seven kids and can do just about any work you might normally hire a man to do. She told me a great story about how she once worked on a commercial fishing boat and how a sea lion once snatched a salmon out of her hands as she pulled in a line. Being a land lubber, I was pretty impressed.
Anyway, tonight life is good. It was about 90 degrees today, so it’s still warm. I’m sitting outside drinking beer, listening to Boot Liquor as it streams over the satellite connection, and, of course, writing this. I unloaded all the lumber and pier blocks from the pickup this afternoon, so I’ll probably start the deck in front of the trailer tomorrow.
When are y’all coming to see me? Huh?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
A Landmark Moment in Internet History
Or a landmark moment for me anyway. As I sit here in my trailer house bed listening to KMUD and waiting for my coffee to happen, I am updating my blog via satellite. Sure, I still don’t have running water, but it’s kind of startling how easily I seem to be able to live with that. And yet the thought of living without the Internet for few days left me in tears.
Yesterday, the Diesel Mechanic came over early and we finished up the trenches for the leach line. My job was to help him get the floors level and tell him where to dig in the areas that he couldn’t see for himself. I had a great time challenging his abilities, which by definition probably makes me not very good at that job, but I can tell you now that after three days of testing, he is highly skilled at his. He was so precise that he could put the bucket within a quarter inch of the cement “D” boxes in the center trench.
The finished septic system makes it look like I’m putting in a small apartment complex, but the good news is that it’s not likely to fail and hopefully will pass the county’s requirements when the inspector comes out in a few days. I’d show you pictures, but my USB cable is either hiding out at the Worm Lady’s or has disappeared among the tools, toilet paper, and emergency canned meat I store behind the seat of my pickup. Maybe it will reveal itself later today and I will be able to upload some photos. [It did, and I have.]
While we were finishing up the leach line, the ForSat guys showed up and went to work locating a satellite for me to connect to the Internet. It turned out that Leon, who owns the business, is married to a woman I went to high school with and who also has family ties to Blocksburg. His assistant was the star point guard on the boys varsity team when I was in high school. We had a great time catching up, and the whole experience was a hundred times better than the time I wasted with that installation outfit from Washington. So, if you’re thinking about having a broadband satellite dish installed in Humboldt County, call Leon at (707) 768-2149. I highly recommend him.
Anyway, that’s all for now. I’m headed over to have some coffee with our local postmaster.
