Soooooo Busy!

Oh my goodness!

We have been SOOOOO busy!

So much going on.

And I've been swamped at work too

so no time to slam out a quick post.

But this morning I'm MAKING time.

So this will be FAST.

Let's see.

1. SEPTIC NIGHTMARES

Ok, our septic has been acting up 

for a LONG time.

We couldn't get the kitchen sink

to drain.

Rod and Kyle have snaked the

ENTIRE line.

Every pipe that runs under our

concrete slab.

Every inch.

Intermediate fix - took the plug

out of the "escape valve" and let

the kitchen sink/laundry/dishwasher

drain onto the patio.

The dogs/chickens loved it.

But made welding a little dangerous.

So after finishing the patio roof,

Rod and Kyle turned their attention 

to the septic.  Dug up a portion of the

septic tank and found a pipe that was

broken off and filled with dirt.

Down on his knees, trying to scoop the dirt

out with a spoon seems to have been the 

final straw for Rod's poor abused back.

1A - Rod hurt his back

We'll get back to that in a minute.

We finally got our friendly neighborhood

septic company to come and drain 

the septic tanks.

(insert appropriate {and inappropriate} jokes here)

$365 later we discovered they weren't

actually too bad, even considering we have

lived here for 10 years and who knows

when they were pumped last.

(if ever)

However, they were FULL of water and

unable to drain properly because the pipes

were broken off and FULL of dirt.

(Florida sand)

Estimate - $4,000 - $5,000

Yup, give us a minute on that one, ok?

So... Rod's back.

He can hardly walk.

The pain is in his lower back but

radiating down into his hip

(which has been giving him trouble 

for a couple of years on and off...)

We traded vehicles

(WAY easier to get in and out of the truck

than the "go-cart-ish" Honda)

He took a TON of turmeric.

He took 3 days off work!

(Meanwhile he was "supervising" Kyle

and the septic company.)

(Yah, right.)

He finally got an appointment with a

chiropractor - had his first adjustment

last night and says it feels some better.

Said he has "book end" issues.

(Lower back AND neck!)

He goes back again this afternoon.

Yea for Chiropractors!!!!

2.  Chickens

(You KNOW I can't have a post without

mentioning the girls...)

They are on strike.

LOL

We have approx. 150 layers.

We are getting 39 - 44 eggs / day.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Sometime in the haze of the last week

Rod and I caught all the "babies" and put

bright yellow bands on their legs.

I had 60.

Due to a management error on my part

(hard lesson to learn)

I lost 21 of them!

We have 39 left.

(in case you didn't feel like doing math)

They are supposed to start laying mid-March.

(Fingers crossed)

Meanwhile, we have 110 more being delivered

this weekend some time.

50 for the neighbor and 60 for us.

These are a different breed.

The "babies" are Red Stars,

these are Black Stars.

Both good layers, although I like the black

ones the best - wanted to order them last time

but they didn't have any in the incubators.

So we'll have a gazillion peeping babies

again!  I love chicks!

(Hope the {other} neighbors do too...)

As soon as the yellow bands start laying

regularly, we'll be having a HUGE 

"freezer camp" weekend.

3.  Rabbits

Ethel was the only successful Mama this time.

She has 4 adorable juveniles who started

eating solid food this week.

Mabel and Gertrude both had kits, but

lost them all in a really bad, surprise cold snap.

They are both re-bred and due around the 18th.

4.  Work

I got an email from my school boss last week

congratulating me on being approved for a 

RAISE!!!

(I looked back at my file and my last raise

was in 2001!!!!!)

(We get paid really well, but who can't use more???)

That was awesome, and I was super surprised.

It's not company-wide.

Just a select few.

(Three in Florida)

Glad I made the cut!!!!

However, I "get" to teach a 5-10 minute

segment on "Teaching Government Issues"

to the other instructors at our in-service next week.

Better find some time to get THAT prepared!

5.  Other Work

I got called into the Director's office this week

and got a new job title and another RAISE!

Tee Hee!!!!

Guess the Lord heard our prayers.

What with the roof,

the septic,

the truck leaking oil,

and oh yah, the barn well/pump on the fritz...

It's good to have a Loving Heavenly Father.

6.  THE PIANO GUYS

I'm pretty sure there's more stuff going on.

But I'm out of time

and brain cells.

But I just have to end with

THE PIANO GUYS!

If you follow us on Facebook,

you already know,

but we had SUCH a great time!

Rod gave us tickets for Christmas.

And arranged for our friends to sit next to us.

They came over for dinner.

(He is retired and she works part time from home)

He made a yummy pot of clam chowder.

She brought flowers and an angel food cake

with fresh strawberries and whipped cream

for desert.

(We also had green salad)

We had a really enjoyable dinner at our house

and then he drove us 

(nice, big, easy to get in/out

Lincoln Continental)

to the venue and we had a GREAT time.

Saw lots of friends!

The place was SOLD OUT!

(who knew!)

It was SO FUN!

If you get a chance, definitely see them.

They put on a very entertaining show

and the music is unbeatable.

Oh yah.

7.  I got a hair cut.