Weekly Update: 6.24.23
This week started with lots of optimism, as we were hoping to finish up some projects and start our foundation. As it turned out, we got hit with some sort of stomach bug midweek. By weeks end, three of us were sick, and we were all feeling a bit deflated as we wondered who would be next and how long it would be before we would return to work with our full capacity.
Saturday started with a consultation with our excavator. David Davis put in our driveway last summer, and he did a great job at a reasonable price. He is going to install our septic system soon -- hopefully next week! He told us how much rock to order and where to have it put. He also had some concerns about the moisture. We had kiddie pools, wash basins for soaking extra-dirty laundry, a sprinkler for the kids (and us sometimes) to run through, plus our shower shed. Davis said that he needed the ground as dry as possible to properly install our septic system.
So, we spent the day moving hoses, pools, tubs, and installing a drain pan in the shower (which we had thought about doing anyway). We bought some extra flexible drain tubing to take moisture further down the hill. It was a small hassle, but we think we have it taken care of now.
Sunday was our joint birthday/Father's Day celebration for our Dad, Levi, and Erin. Since we were having storms and watching a new puppy, we decided to stay home from church to make sure nothing blew away while we were gone. The weather didn't end up being that bad, but we felt like it was good to be safe. We spent the day spoiling those being celebrated, eating good food, and playing some games.
And the first part of the week went well. Our land continues to bloom, with new flowers unfolding every week. We continue to discover new great-eats for the grill (the bacon wrapped poppers we had this week were to die for).
Over the weekend, we were paying close attention to Jeremiah's German Shepherd puppy, Dagger. Thankfully, the symptoms he had last week lessened. Whatever was going on with him, we are thankful it is getting better. We love him already, even though he is a little terror. He wants to chew everything -- slippers especially, but he is also a fan of computer cases, shoes, and fly swatters. He tried to eat the step on our porch and a bit of wall in my brother's office. We decided it was time to seriously crate train last night, as with so many sick there are less people to supervise. Though he fussed at first, he did remarkably well overnight -- and we were all thankful for a break!
Monday through Wednesday, we worked on the pool site. We have continued to struggle to level it, due to the rocks. We get an area close to done, then we try to dig out a small rock sticking up. The "small" rock turns out to be the the tip of a soccer-ball sized boulder, which leaves a large hole once removed. Often, we are left with a big mess to try to level out again. By Thursday, we were discouraged with the progress and decided to switch tactics. When we had our driveway put in, Davis left some piles of top soil for us, as he thought we would like to have the use of it. We have been moving this topsoil over to the pool site, and it seems to be working well to level it.
On Wednesday evening, we got our Menards delivery with the supplies for our pier foundation. We are pretty excited about that. It feels so real, seeing it all sitting there. After so many months of prep, it will feel very good to start building our bunkhouse. I was ready to hit the ground running the next day.
That night, though, I woke up with chills and a fever. I was confused and surprised, as I haven't been too many places the last week -- just grocery shopping and the vet. But apparently I picked something up. On Friday, Bonnie-Jean and our nephew Beren came down with what appeared to be the same thing. So, we are kind of holding our breath, wondering who is next. Living in such close quarters, it is hard to quarantine sick people.
It's too hot to stay in bed in the tent, so every day I've moved out to a canopy in the morning. Dolly and Rascal don't understand sickness -- they just thought it was great that I was sitting there to give them attention. Dolly kept bringing me her ball, as if she thought I was just bored.
The rest of the week was slowed down due to sickness. Dad did use the tractor blade to finish getting most of the turf off of the garden site. Then he, Levi, and Grace got the corner posts put into the garden with cement. We ran out of Quikrete, so they switched to some of our foundation cement.
One thing about life out here -- daily living is a lot of work, and just being down a couple people makes life so much more difficult. Just staying caught up on daily chores makes it difficult to get much project work done. It's just one more reason I'm so thankful we are doing this together. We need each other, each person pitching in on the work. I'm looking forward to when we are all our healthy and productive selves again.