Selfish Bizatch

That's me I suppose. I can't really justify how I'm feeling right now about turning 30. First off, I really don't think I'm old or anything seeing as I'm in better shape than most of my students, but it is a milestone and I just thought I'd have more things accomplished. Such as? Well, being married and having children were at the top of the list by the time I was 30, so was actually owning assets. I don't own anything really. I beat up old horse trailer doesn't much count...though I suppose I could live in it in a pinch...

Right now what is bothering me more than anything is that I'm due a birthday bash. I planned on turning 30 with a bang if I couldn't have everything else and have some fun for a change. That isn't going to happen once again. I actually had fun planned, and it's being waylayed as usual. It's the only weekend I'm home so there is no rescheduling this one. My birthdays spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R for some reason. Let me give you a run down:

21 - the last enjoyable birthday. Worked all day but got to shoot some pool and legally drink in the bar a bit since I had to work the next day.

22 - Working a horse show for my Nazi boss. DJ showed up to say hi...with another girl.

23 - Ice cream and pizza in front of a movie on my couch.

24 - Work up and told DJ he needed to be gone by the end of the week, something we had been discussing for quite some time. I was tired of him freeloading off me and supporting his sorry @ss. I left and when I returned he was gone. Never saw nor heard from him again. Sorry state after spending almost 5 years with somebody.

25 - Corey left for work in the morning, was drunk by noon and never came home. I called on a place to rent and moved in the next day before he came back from his "business trip".

26 - Had a Margarita with a friend from work. Went home alone.

27 - Worked all day. Went to bed early.

28 - Last day of my trip to Greece. Was separated from my students and group at the ship yard terminal and fought down anxiety for almost an hour until they appeared. Wanted to have a nice dinner and walk the Old District, but nobody would go with me so I went to bed early since we had to fly out at 5 am.

29 - Begged Shane to hold to his word that I was working a bull-riding with him. Went and worked hard, enjoyed the crowd and was treated to a nice dinner the following day. Unfortunately everything was a bit overshadowed by the fact that the Texas Troll had been discovered a week previous cheating with my boyfriend and I was demoted to "friend" after 6 months...and went into a pathetic, self-wallowing pity instead of telling him exactly where to stick it. I did however do this a few months later after re-gaining my self-confidence, and we are working on re-building trust still. Having worked through such a situation has been trying, but I feel it has been worth the effort on both our parts. It just sucked it had to be my birthday.

30 - Monday, June 9th 2008. The funeral of Shane's grandfather. I have to spend the day with his feuding family.

I would like to start the "Send Danielle to RIO Fund...to Make Up For All Her Lousy Birthdays". I just need the plane fare and maybe some cash for cocktails. I will sleep on the beach.

Bring it HOME!

Stanley Cup Championship; Game 6

Penguins 2

RED WINGS 3!!!!!

I'm jumping up and down in front of the TV by myself!!!

Sorry, Seriously NOT Dead...as usual

This is summer. I'm up at 5am, in the office by 7am, not home until 6:30 pm (earliest), and not in the house until 9 pm. I've been having problems finding time to turn a computer on.

How 'bout those Wings eh? Why didn't they win last night? I'd kill for a plane ticket and ANY seats to the next game.

Fire Season is starting for me. So if I REALLY disappear I'm on a fire somewhere.

Horses good, ducks good, geese good, cows good, chickens good, dogs good, cats good, I think I'm alright...

Lost Shaner's grandpa this afternoon. It's been very long and drawn out and I'm happy he's in a better place. Shane's taking it pretty hard...so good thoughts this way. I'm just glad it happened while he was home and he was able to spend the last 48 hours with him and was with him when he passed. This would have been tough for him if he'd been on the road. I feel so bad for him and his grandma. I don't anyone can ever be truly prepared.

Will catch up with everyone eventually.

Detroit Rock City

Saturday Night Baby!

Guinea Hatch!

Okay, Before Everyone Stops Reading....

I will post about my hatch. This is what happened in a nutshell. My incubator sucks and I'm glad I'm never using it again. On Friday afterschool I had two cracked and the rest were peeping away inside their shells. One popped out, one got tired, nobody else made an emergence. After a few hours I eased the crack in the 2nd shell and #2 popped out. Then Saturday morning there was only one more crack and one peeping and everybody else was quiet. WHAT was happening? The humidity refused to stay high and spraying the eggs did no good. Also my temps were fluctuating. I helped out two more and the rest died in the shell. #4 was very weak.

Two days later the brooder light collapsed and 2 died under. #4 died a few days later. I have ONE guinea...but no fear, I have a shipment of chicks that will be here in the morning so my little guy stops crying all night. Very sad. However I'M NOT GIVING UP and am thinking of starting my own little guinea business since there is such a high demand for them and they are extremely hard to get hold of! I must have called 60 different hatcheries before I could get some babies!

In other animal news....Izzy had a C-section a few weeks ago because she was in labor for about 15 hours with no babies. She wouldn't contract. I lost two kittens within 24 hours, but the last one is going great! He's 2 weeks old now and is sooooo fat. Izzy is getting fixed after this. I don't know what went wrong, but at least she's alright.



I think you've all figured out from a previous post there is a new pup on the premises. I picked up Spur for Shane and he's just the best little dog! He's totally a ranch dog; calm, collected, well-behaved...



Since it's spring....how can we forget our baby calves and chick!

Look at my cheeks!

1 More 'till the Finals!

Need I say more?

I will update about the guineas later. It's a bit of a story...with a mixed ending.

AH!

OMG they are hatching! I will post pics later!

Guinea Eggs?

WHAT!!!!!

No, not guinea PIG eggs. Guinea HEN eggs. And I'm hatching some! I started with 12. Two were infertile and one didn't progess past about the first week. They are due to hatch between day 26 and 28, which is tomorrow and Thursday! I'm so nervous. All nine were dong really well when I last candled them Friday night. There was movement and I could see their heads near their air sacks. Still, lots of things could go wrong, but I'm hoping all make it!


Guineas are way cool and I'm hoping they take care of our fire ant problem. They also HATE snakes so I'm hoping they keep any wayward rattlers off the property.

They are often described as looking like AWOL army helmets with heads running around a yard...

No. I'M not hatching them. The incubator is. Ha, ha...

Wings Sweep Avs!

I'm sorry. I live in Colorado and I just HAVE TO GLOAT!

I've Got a Brand!

So my brand arrived...and since we aren't technically reading to 'brand' yet, I had to try it out. Flour and water works well:
If he finds out this is on here I'm dead. Ha, ha, ha!

Canis lupis

Canis familiaris was once the Latin description for the domesticated dog. Awhile back it was changed back to Canis lupis, the Latin description for the Wolf. Why? Because they are so genetically similar, there is essentially no difference between them other than looks.

Where am I going with this? In short I think people that abandon their dog, especially with so many shelters around, should be shot. Why? Dogs abandoned who don't wander into somebodies yard to be brought to a shelter or adopted go wild. Essentially they revert back to their natural instincts, those of wolves...but without the respect of humans.

There has NEVER been an attack of a healthy, wild wolf on a human in the United States. Despite all the hype about them they keep to themselves, and only out of curiosity have they approached humans, and never in aggression. Has there been dog killings by wolves, and livestock slaughter? Yes. Another dog is a threat to a wolf. It is called species competition. Livestock, especially sheep and calves are no different to a wolf than a rabbit, young wild sheep or goat...except easier to get at. It's their instinct. They kill to survive.

Dogs that have been abandoned often 'pack' together. There is survival in numbers, and it's their instinct. I've watched Dixie and Maverick 'pack' together to hunt rabbits and gophers. It's amazing to watch their silent communication to be successful, and I have no doubt they would be able to survive without me. However this instinct, combined with their familiarity with humans, could make them dangerous if they were ever abandoned.

We had a pack running in the area. Running our livestock, bold with our dogs, harassing anything else on the property...We've shot off all but one. The one that has cornered my landlord in the grain storage, growling, the one that has bit our calves in the nose along with a yak so they can't breathe and die, the one that ran 100 head of yearlings in a pen that ran over each other, breaking two of their necks...the one that ran a prize bull and horse through a bard wire fence and cut them up...

I've had little feeling for this dog, other than to curse him for his cunning ever time we try to shoot him. If I had children I doubt I'd let them be in the yard unless my dogs were around since they keep the wild dog out. As it is I doubt I'll let any of the poultry run until I know he's dead. He's sneaky and quick, and he shows no fear of humans and has been caught in the yard when my dogs have been inside.

This morning though, when I let my dogs out he was standing in the kennels, drinking from their water bucket. Maverick went after him like a shot, but as he turned to run from my dogs he looked up at me standing in the doorway, trying to call off Maverick least a fight occur. As our eyes met, I had the strangest feeling. He didn't look aggressive, he just gave me that hangdog look like, 'How can I help this? What more can I do?'. And granted we will eventually shoot that dog because every time he kills something it costs a few hundred dollars, and he has shown aggression towards humans, but at that moment our eyes met, I thought how whoever abandoned this dog to the elements should be shot instead. He's trying to survive. He's doing what nature has told him to do. He's a carnivore. Dogs eat meat. The dog food we feed our dogs, mixed with corn and other grains is not natural. For a working dog this is not enough, as those who use dogs for work well know. Corn can rip up a dog's intestines as it swells when a dog works hard. Hard working dogs eat meat. Raw meat. Yet we call these dogs pets. Well, this guy was a pet once too, and now he's a hated killer.

Don't abandon your dogs! Find them homes, or let a shelter take them. Something other than forcing them into something that could possibly hurts other's livelihood, or kill their pet.

Is He Smiling At Me?

I'm convinced he is. This is one of last year's calves who has been blessed with an underbite. His name? Smiley. He just makes me laugh.

A Gander Named Lucy

There's been a casualty at the ranch. Lucy has finally attacked the wrong animal. I've watched him attack cows with calves, spin around on their tails, nip at horses heels, tear hair out of unsuspecting dogs, chase down cats, been held down by irate animals 1000x his size ...etc...anyway he went after Rebel yesterday. Rebel only jumped over him and out of the way, but Lucy chased after him anyway and when Rebel came down he stepped on Lucy's left wing. There was a loud 'snap' and poor Lucy went away salking. Rebel basically snapped his wing right off. The only thing holding it together was skin and feathers. So I played vet and hopefully reset his wig and put him FAR away from anything that he can attack. Though this incident seems to have humbled him some. He's all wrapped up.

Next installment: Baby Envy

Preview: Yes, it's another one, and another one, and another one....

Spur, an Aussie/Border Collie/Heeler cattle pup, and Maverick, The Wonder Dog, sleep off a long day of work.

The Shoes, The Purse, The Wedding of the Century...

Though I wanted the Naturalizer Prissy, I had a hard time justifying spending $75 + for a pair of shoes I'll probably only wear once. And then only for about 3 hours tops anyway...

So these are what I found cheap. I did not spend more than $30 (including shipping) and they are Gabriella Rocha's. Real leather. Great web site thought it is a hit or miss due to size: http://www.6pm.com/

I also decided to accessorize. Again, cheaply. eBay rocks.

Go Wings!

Yeah for cinching the Presidential Cup (like there was any doubt...) and winning home team advantage for the Playoffs!

I'm Still Not Dead Yet...

Really. I'll update again soon. Things are crazy here! I have pictures! Anybody read about the huge Salmonilla outbreak in Southern Colorado? I live there! Ah! (don't worry, we have our own well)...

"It's a Matter of Pride"

It's official. I'm enough of a part of the livestock business I have my own official brand. I put in for it in January and now it's paid through 2011. For now all I'm using it for is my Horses as a freeze mark. This means I'll dip a specially made brand in liqued nitrogen and 'burn' the image on the horse. The hair grows back white. For those of you unaware of what a brand is:



Brand: identification mark on skin, made by burning; burn with a branding iron to indicate ownership; of animals



Livestock rustling is real and alive!
This reads as: Quarter Circle Diamond D

It Can't Be Over!

I'm staring at the last weekend of Spring Break. It was relatively calming. I got a lot done, but not really that much from my list. I need about 3 more weeks to catch up. Hmmmmm.....

What did I do?

Reinforced and rebuilt the Chicken house, inside and out (this was like a 3 day job). I also added on a feed room.

Bought my baby chicks, ducks, geese and turkeys and kept them alive for a week so far.

Got my truck washed.

Slept in everyday.

Rode Maggie almost everyday.

Worked Rebel almost everyday (he's learning to lead like a champ!).

Helped bring in a herd of Longhorns and cut out the bulls and yearlings for sale.

Read a lot. Really a lot.

Moved about 2 tons of hay.

Went to the sale barn and was talked out of buying 2 pygmy goat kids during the auction by Shane. I was mad. They were cute and only $15 each. Did I mention they were cute? Really cute? They were like as big as a cat.

Got a job putting miles on a young horse while at the sale barn. Made up for losing out on the goats.

Took some afternoon naps.

Lost Maverick and Dixie who took a run. After looking for them everywhere, all day, Shane found them almost 8 miles away at 11:30 at night trying to make their way home.

Watched "Chuck and Larry". Ha, ha, ha!

Chopped wood, but decided it really is a better job for the boyfriend.

What I still have to do?

Start riding my 'job'.

Ride Maggie more.

Work about 300 head of calves (vaccinate, ear tag, brand...).

Grade papers? Probably a good idea...

Post some pictures...

Spring Break Here I Come!

It starts at 3:30pm today. I'm not going anywhere and expect I'll be doing the ranch thing, but there are a few things I'd like to get accomplished above and beyond feeding out 700 calves every other day and taking my turn on calf watch. THE LIST has been posted!

Oh The Stress!

It's giving me migraines! I woke up yesterday with a pounding headache. Literally. I made it halfway to school before I had to pull over 'cause I couldn't see clearly out of my right eye. It felt like somebody was jabbing a screwdriver into my temple. Ouch! I slept until 1:30 in the afternoon and by then it was just a dull pain. I have been getting tension headaches lately, so I wonder if this is related. Hmmmm...

I think it's because I keep stalking Alanna and it's stressing me out.

On another note: I Love Oprah's Book Club List. I always choose books from her list but I'm disappointed today about one choice. I picked up Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman. Looked good. Began alright, but it started to sound like another book I've read...a classic in fact. I read farther, thinking that maybe she was inspired and used this other book as a jumping off point. Not so. As the plot thickened it thickened into downright 'borrowing' of somebody else's idea. The other idea? Non other than Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I'm kind of mad about this. Here I am trying to instill in my student's minds how using ideas and materials that are not your own need to be recognized. And here is a well-known author making bucko bucks off it! Great Role Model Folks. This is SOOOOO not right and I e-mailed Oprah. Seriously. Here was a woman who wrote, along with her sisters, under men's names trying to breakthrough into the literary world. They wrote some of today's classics and somebody is taking advantage of this. Sorry, I just feel really strongly about this.

Seems I'm not the only one concerned with 'borrowing', 'copying', 'lying', 'cheating', 'plagerizing','not giving credit where creidit is due' or in other words, 'being lazy':

Check out this article

I Just Need to Vent

This week is dragging. I want successful students. Seriously. I want them to become anything they want in life and be successful at it. I want, I want...I know, how selfish I do sound...

Darling Students Who Take Up Space in My Classroom Every Day,

A. I am not here for show. I actually have something to teach you. 3/4 of the year through and some of you are still struggling with this concept. Why?

B. Why to I have to raise my voice to get my point across? I've already said it 3 times normally, what is so special about the 'angry, I've had enough' voice? Should I talk like this all the time? Maybe then I would stop sounding so much like a parrot?

C. Cheating always fails you in the end. In this case, your final unit grade. Did you not notice that your test had either 'Test A' or 'Test B' written across the top? Usually B follows A and sometimes C even follows B. Keep your eyes on your own paper. In this case observance (and obedience) would have paid off.

D. On the observance note: If you are going to copy and paste material from the Internet, make sure you get all the material and not just part of it for your paper. That way I just fail you, not fail you and comment on how stupid you really are to other teachers.

E. I do not give too much homework. I give approximately 2 hours of classtime a week to work when it's all added up. What ARE you doing during this time? Do you not need it? Should I give you another assignment to fill in your 'bored' time?

F. When I write something on the board. Suggestion: Copy it down.

G. Assignments are not 'optional'. Really. It's how I assess what work you've done so I can allot a grade to you. Really.

H. Oh yeah - In case clarification is needed. I do not GIVE grades. You EARN them. Really. And all this time you thought you had no control over what you received in my class...silly you...

Sincerely,
Your Loving Teacher

Might As Well Look Forward To It....

Since I'm turning 30 this year I figured I might as well mark it as a milestone and be happy about it. I"m not sure what the pros are right now, but I'm sure I'll come up with a few eventually...

Help!

Alrighty girlies (and boys)...

I don't know how many of you realize that I live in the middle of nowhere and in order to get to a real store I must drive hours over snowy mountain passes...it makes things difficult. I also don't know how many of you realize how boring my social life is. Actually, let me rephrase that...how non-existant my social life is. It's not because I don't try, but it's really hard to meet girls here because almost all of them turn out to be complete losers. I mean it. Really. Not worth associating with. I'm still getting to know a lot of the women here at my new school, and they seem really nice and down to earth, but I've still yet to get to know them socially. I don't remember the last time I was out on a Friday or Saturday. Pathetic huh?

So just a big heartfelt, "THANKS!" for blogging 'cause it actually makes me feel like I still have friends! Yeah!

Ok - now after kissing up to you all...Brother's Wedding in June...

The Dress in Slate Silk Shantung with a thin sash rather than that big honkin' one.

But the shoes? No place to shop, nobody to ask...So Help! Please Vote to the Right! I need strappy silver heels of my choice. I've narrowed it down to these two:

Naturalizer Prissy

rsvp Joceline

However I will take other suggestions if you send me the URLs!

Time For a Change!

Since over 60% of the school was at Disctrict FBLA today I decided it was time to update my template after grading! I've been having way too much fun!

Yet Another Soapbox

I'm feeling much better, though still a little sore. I'm down to a cracked rib feeling and can actually sneeze and cough with out feeling like I'm going to die. It's good enough I may even go skiing next weekend!

I'm really ready for a break. The Winter Holidays were a disaster due to the weather, and every time I've looked forward to something since then I've had to pass due to sickness. I'm like a string pulled too tight. I'm cranky. I need a Marguarita.

As much as I love working at this school this year, I'm thinking that disrespect and irresponsibility are nationwide problems. Everything 'sucks'. Everything is 'gay'. There is very little pride taken in work and most students aren't afraid to tell their teachers just how stupid they feel their class is and how worthless the work is. If I had EVER even tried a quarter of what these kids pull I would have been knocked into next week. What is happening to our youth? Why do schools (not this one thank God) feel that dumbing down the material will make the kids feel better about themselves? Why do parents allow them to talk back? Why is everything so 'feel good' when in fact it's lowering standards and making the kids who are trying to be something feel like no matter how hard they work somebody else with less drive is going to do just as well?

Sorry - I love to teach. There will always be little monsters in the classroom. I just didn't realize that as the years keep passing the monsters are outnumbering the hardworkers 2 to 1 and growing...It's very demoralizing and keeps getting harder and harder to deal with. I know teachers retiring based soley on how strongly they feel about this subject, so I know I'm not the only one.

I grew up in a family where education was considered important. Not just because education equals security, but because it was something many in my family had never had coming from another country. My grandparents worked hard to help their children have more than what they'd had growing up, and my parents worked hard to finish school and pass that on. Don't these kids realize how good they have it? Why are they so closeminded? They aren't even willing to look at things from another perspective. It's hard to attempt to relate material to a classroom when they are opposed to it before they even get into the room...or they have so little interest in anything that nothing can even be related.

You Have Got To Be Kidding!?!!!

It started with just an ache Friday evening when I coughed or moved quickly. Now I can barely move (think knife between your ribs). Caused by lung infections among other things, go figure. Solution: Ibuprofen unless you turn cyatic (blue) from lack of oxygen due to shallow breathing because it hurts. Really. Then you need to go to the doctors. What am I talking about? Just another chapter...

Pleurisy occurs when the double membrane (pleura) that lines the chest cavity and surrounds each of your lungs becomes inflamed. Also called pleuritis, pleurisy typically causes sharp pain, almost always during the act of breathing.
One layer of the pleura overlies each lung. The other layer lines the inner chest wall. The two layers of pleura are like two pieces of smooth satin rubbing against each other with almost no friction, allowing your lungs to expand and contract when you breathe without any resistance from the lining of the chest wall.
When inflamed, the two layers of the pleural membrane in the affected side of your chest rub against each other like two pieces of sandpaper, producing the pain of pleurisy when you inhale and exhale...or cough, or sneeze, or blow your nose, or roll over at night, or laugh...

I feel great and I've been laughing about this all as typical (or maybe I'm finally going nuts), but seriously... I want to go skiing! And I can barely move!

At least I didn't crack a rib coughing...

Germies:7; Me:4

So I have a viral respitory infection. Let me tell you just how much fun this is. Barrel of laughs folks. Actually, after a bunch of prescriptions I do feel much better than I did last Saturday and have been "teaching"(more like giving my classes busy work) since Tuesday. I also put a humidifier in the bedroom and that has seemed to help some though I think it's a bit loud.

So anyway, I no longer think I'm going to die and am actually only bumming over the fact that it probably isn't a good idea to hit the ski slopes this weekend without being 100% up to par.

Actually I know I must be feeling better today because when asked by a student why they only had a 23% in my class I replied in a smart-ass tone, "because you've only turned in 23% of the work assigned, what did you think?" Huh? Are today's youth getting dumber or is it just me?

I Want To Be Buried In The Backyard

Seriously, somebody shoot me. Last week Shane came down with a pretty bad cough and didn't feel good. However he still worked all day and seemed to be kicking it fine with the help of yours truly (what is it with men not being able to help themselves to medicine but need it forced down their throat?). Little did I know that as I helped him along the little germies were multiplying in my system. They were like setting up a personal attack on me for trying to kill them. Let me sum up the last 5 days:

Tuesday: Woke up with a 'heavy' feeling in my chest. No prior warning and no cough or stuffy nose. Achy by noon, took a few @dvil, felt fine. Drove to Sterling (way up north) for a firefighter class starting the next day.

Wednesday: Popping @dvil and cough drops. Dry hacking cough; still don't feel horrid yet but deciding to stay home from the evening social activities to try and kick this. Woke up in the middle of the night wondering if I needed to go to the hospital.

Thursday: Can't breathe. Instructor takes one look at me and excuses me from class. I sleep on and off all day taking various medicines. Every time I cough I think my head and chest are going to open up. By night I can't keep anything in my stomach because I gag when I cough. Still missing fun social activities.

Friday: Sit my exam for the test with about 10 pounds of drugs in me. Finish first, pass with 100...(see, I'm still smart, sortof) and hightail back to the valley. When I got home I buried myself in the bed. Shane came in later from doing my chores and said we were going to the hospital. I reasoned and he's taking me to my doctors' later today.

Germies: 5

Me: 0

Ah yes. Pictures. I don't have any new of Shaner, but here's a few repeats of the cowboy himself:

...And no, I didn't make up the nickname. His dad calls him that.

This is from when we brought in about 400 head from Pagosa, drove them about 9 miles and shipped. I keep trying to figure out why he looks goofy in the second pic, but he's either chewing on his lip or has a chew in! He does not have chipmunk cheeks. The horse is Snoopy, his Heading horse who taught me how to rope too.

Peachy Keen

All is well in the world today...

Actually, all is well everywhere. I'll admit I'm a bit stressed from not having much of a vacation, getting my classes started on new units for the semester and leaving for winter Fire Academy tomorrow after school, but stress aside, everything else is peachy!

Our lovely Farm Hand/ Shaner's Acquaintance who was supposed to come for harvest and never left has finally been removed by the landlord. He started making himself a nuisance about 2 weeks into his arrival, but they still got work out of him on the ranch. I think my letter to Joe from a few months back sum up my feeling about the guy, but when he knocked up a local girl, ran of to Vegas to marry her and tried to move her into the main Ranch house (where I live) last week, the doodies hit the fan. Everyone was just tired of him taking advantage of the situation and lying to boot. He told my landlord yours truly was a drug addict and I told my landlord I was going to give the guy something to really complain about if something wasn't done quick like. It was great. He didn't ever get any notice. He had to leave NOW and had three days to remove the rest of his stuff from the property. I just feel bad for the chick who married him. When she finds out what she married...oh boy.

I'm just really glad he's gone. Now that he's not vying for attention and sabotaging everything he looks at ,Shane and I can actually spend some time together without worrying about Joe having to be present or trying to start some kind of fight.

Still way cold here. Hoping it warms back up for February because I want to get more time on my Mustang and I know Shane wants to get one of his 2 years old colts started. I'd like to be using Maggie for roping by May or June.

Oh yeah - Everything is now thawed out. This should never be a problem again because a sub-pump was put in and those things are so far down in the ground it's almost impossible to freeze them up. And yes, this was a problem last year in the other house, except the pipe froze to the pump so I couldn't get ANY water. That and my landlord acted like it's wasn't his problem so I had to haul water to the livestock from my neighbors. This year my landlord took care of it ASAP and didn't leave until it was fixed. So he and his wife had to live in crappy conditions too until we were back up to par. Made me feel not so alone with it all... Roses to good landlords!

Welcome to My Life

2008 is definitely starting with a bang, but not the bang I wanted.

So Christmas was nice, but I should have stayed longer because I've had a lousy 2 weeks since. In a nutshell what has happened:

1. The morning we were leaving for Rifle to start out New Year's traveling for Rodeo I discovered the heater had gone out in the pump house and there was no water.

2. Shane left me behind 'cause he had to announce, but promised to come back the next morning and help sort things out and get back on the road to spend New Year's up north.

3. The pump casing cracked from the cold and leaked everywhere.

4. There were horrid snowstorms and the pass was closed. Shane could not come get me.

5. I spent 5 days in a frozen out house alone with no water except what I hauled in for New Year's.

6. The Landlord got the water situation sorted out 3 days later, but then we discovered the septic field was frozen and under the house flooded out.

7. We couldn't find the access to the field to thaw it out.

8. The Pump guy couldn't find the access to the field to thaw it out.

9. School started yesterday and the kids came back today and I've only had running water (that I could use) for 2 days of being home.

10. They found the field this afternoon but nothing is thawed and the pipes haven't been fixed where they burst.

Moral of the story: Stay in Michigan...and...I need a vacation from my vacation OR septics freeze when the water doesn't run so never let a heater go out again. I'm sure you can all imagine what my mental state is in at the moment. I need to write a book and become rich overnight.

On another note: Fun pics of the furry (and feathered) beasts that we keep collecting...