With all the problems we’ve been having with our plumbing and septic system, we’re doing everything we can to find ways to not just fix them, but to prevent them from happening again.
Once of those things is the use of enzymes, both for the septic tank and for the drain pipes.
The drain pipes are one of our biggest problems. There’s a section that needs to be cleared. We have the commercial drain auger, but access to the pipe is almost directly over the sump pump reservoir and hard to get at, between the mess of pipes around it, and a wall. We will get that done, eventually, but I will be doing it with the help of my brother, when he is available. The alternative is a $300 minimum visit from a plumber so he can use his commercial drain auger, instead… 🫤
Until then, we are doing everything we can to get the drains clear using bacteria and enzyme products. Since I had to go to the town north of us to pick up kibble at the feed store anyhow, I went to the hardware store there that carries a produce we’ve been using quite a bit.
After looking over their display, though, I decided to try something different.
One of them is specifically for the septic tank, so we won’t use that until after we get the tank emptied for the winter, which is a call I need to make today.
Looking at the instructions for the other one, I decided it was worth trying. It is to be used in stages, starting from the pipes closest to the septic tank. Which would be the accept pipe in the floor, right next to the pump. That’s where I’ve already been having to shove a hose through on a regular basis, to clear what feels like two bottlenecks between the opening and the tank.
The next closest would be the bathroom. Tub, toilet and sink are all really close to each other, so any one of them can be used to apply the product.
After that, it’s the drain for the laundry, and finally, the kitchen sink.
We really need to get things cleared up. We’re still draining our washing machine through a pipe running out the storm door window and into the lawn. When a large amount of water drains out of the kitchen sink, like draining a sink full of wash water, we can hear the water gurgling and backing up to the drain pipe for the laundry, with is just a few feet away. The pipe from the kitchen to the corner of the basement has already been cleared by a plumber. It’s the rest of the pipe, from the corner of the basement to where it goes through to the septic tank, that hasn’t been done yet, and that’s the one that needs to be worked on the most until we can get it augered.
We also have to consider the pipe from septic pump to the ejector, out by the barn.
Which still needs to be repaired.
Another call I need to make today!
While at the hardware store, I asked about a septic pump. With all the problems we’ve been having, and with how often it’s been running dry, it’s going to wear out. It already sounds wrong, but at least it’s working. I’ve been searching online to find out where we can buy one, and I’m even saving my Canadian Tire dollars towards the cost of one – but have had no luck. Any searches bring up septic pumps that are designed to be installed in the tank itself. Ours is in the basement.
It turns out, they are marketed as utility pumps, though when he was looking through his computer, he ended up having to search under sump pumps, which is something else entirely. The hardware store does carry them, but none were in stock that I could see. He was able to give me a printout, though.
As for the price, it turned out to be pretty much what I was expecting. $500
A quick search at Canadian Tire, though, and it seems they don’t carry the type of pump I need. The closest they have is a transfer pump for irrigation. It’s designed to pump water from a pond, creek or lake into an irrigation system. My sister has one of those her husband set up to water their garden from the creek their home is next to. I suppose, technically, it would do the job, but that’s not what it’s designed for.
So… we’ll have to come up with $500 over the next while, so we can pick up a “spare” before the current pump wears out!
Until then, we will be going everything we can to keep the system maintained as best we can, starting with using these new-to-us products.
Today started quite late for me. For some reason, I was completely unable to sleep. I finally got up at about 5am, when I heard my older daughter come down for what, for her, would be her supper. After having a chat with her, and making myself a couple of sandwiches, I tried going to bed again. The girls, sweethearts that they are, took care of my morning stuff for me, including feeding the outside cats (they usually already do the morning feeding of the inside cats).
I managed to get maybe 4 hours of sleep and, apparently, that was all I needed.
The first thing I needed to do was make some calls. I tried calling the home care guy and left another message, letting him know I wouldn’t be home after about 2. He didn’t call me back.
Then I called the two septic companies that hadn’t responded to my messages. With one, I left another message. With the other, I tried their cell phone number instead of their land line, and actually got someone. Considering what town they are in, chances were pretty good their cell phone coverage wouldn’t be any better than hours, so I was glad it worked.
This company charges by the hour. We talked about our system and the problem. He didn’t even mention that these ejector/expeller systems are not supposed to be repaired anymore, but replaced with a septic field.
Given that they charge by the hour, he couldn’t give me a firm estimate, but figured it would be at least $1500. They charge $250/hour and that covers all costs, including transportation, parts, etc. After asking a few more questions, he thought it might take 4-6 hours. At 6 hours, that’s $1500 (before taxes).
I’m just going to assume it will take longer. That’s generally how things tend to be out here!
I greatly appreciated the information, and passed it on to my brother.
So we have one company that charges by the job, regardless of time, and the estimate was $2032 before taxes, for all the materials, labour and transportation (both companies are located about a 40 minute drive away from us). The other charges by the hour, regardless of what the job ends up entailing. Based on his time estimate, it could cost anywhere from $1000 to $1500 – though he did say that it would likely be “at least” $1500. If it took 8 hours, that would be $2000, plus taxes.
As for the third company, since we’re not hearing back from them, and this job really needs to get done soon, I figure they are going to be dropped from the list.
That done, I went outside and checked a few things. I didn’t bother taking any pictures, but I ended up picking what is probably the last of our corn. There are a few cobs left that are pretty immature, and are unlikely to have been pollinated. I grabbed a few Forme de Couer tomatoes, too. I probably could have left them longer, but I wanted to take some of the weight off the vines!
In the afternoon, I loaded the truck up with three empty 18.9L/5gallon water jugs to refill. I made a quick stop at the post office on the way out, and found that my replacement Mastercard was in, and just needed a PIN purchase to be activated. With Disability coming in tomorrow, I’ve already changed the info in my online banking to pay off the balance, then do the Costco shopping.
On a Friday before a long weekend.
May as well get it over with!
Oh, I forgot. Before I left for the grocery store, I had to pause and get a shot of Ginger.
That’s him on our dining table, which is currently protected by a giant self-healing cutting mat. Ginger is the only cat that is allowed on the dining table, because he still gets bullied by several of the other cats. My daughters even gave him his own bed.
He’s bigger than the bed. 😄
Now… where was I?
Oh, yes. The grocery store.
Since I was at the grocery store, anyhow, I got a few more things. My husband requested nacho fixings, so I got that – including lactose free cheese – and I found the last things to go with the fancy meats and cheeses I got yesterday. The girls and I can now have ourselves a charcuterie and Columbo marathon night again. 😁
When I got home, and my younger daughter helped me unload the truck, then I reloaded it with our garbage and recycling, in time to get to the dump just as it opened for this evening.
I now wish I’d left it for Saturday. It’s open longer hours on Saturday, but that’s not why I wish I’d waited.
When entering the landfill area, there is a little hut for the attendant, where I can show our card that shows we live in the area and can use the dump without charge. They had to implement this because too many people from rural municipalities with landfills that charged a fee, would come to one of the three landfills in our RM instead.
Next to the attendant’s hut is a row of recycling bins – those get emptied and the contents shipped to the city for processing – plus one bin for glass only. There are other sheds and areas set aside for batteries, oil, paint, etc. that we drive between, while on the way to the pit.
The first thing I noticed about the driveway to the pit – aside from it being half underwater, due to having rain almost all day today – were tracks in the clay, filled with garbage. There was no way to avoid driving over them.
The tracks were from the front end loader that was in the enclosure around the pit, which had literal tracks rather than wheels. It was going back and forth, pushing garbage into the pit.
Another problem is all the people who just dump their garbage on the edge of the pit, rather than into the pit. It builds up until there’s no more room for vehicles to turn around in, or pass each other.
So it was a good thing that the front end loader was pushing the garbage into the pit.
The bad thing was that its tracks were not only tearing up the clay heavy gravel, but dragging garbage all over.
Normally, I would drive forward, then back up and turn the tailgate towards the pit, but I didn’t dare drive over the area the loader had driven over. I could see all sorts of wire, metal objects, and things I couldn’t identify. I’ve already gotten a flat after a visit to the dump, once before, and did not want a repeat!
I decided to not even try backing close to the edge of the pit. Instead, I tried to drive a bit further forward in an area that the loader had only partially driven over.
Which is when I heard a horrible popping sort of noise, and could actually feel that something broke under my front tired.
I stopped to take a look and discovered…
… I had driven over a glass jar and broken it.
There were some larger shards that I picked up and tossed into the pit, then I started checking the front and back tires that would have driven over it.
There was no obvious sign of damage.
So I moved forward a bit more, then emptied the truck box of garbage bags, without bothering to get closer to the pit.
The driver of the loader seemed to appreciate me keeping a distance, as it gave him room to drive along the edge of the pit, then go in reverse, dragging the bucket on the ground, pulling all the stuck garbage back with it.
Too little, too late.
I’ve never seen the area in front of the pit look so bad, and that was from the cleanup, not the garbage piles!
I checked the tires again, then found space to turn around. I stopped to unload the recycling and glass into the bins near the attendant’s shack, then checked the tires again.
Still fine, so far.
I did go to the shack and tell the attendant what happened, just so it would be known as a problem, and a thing that happened.
After giving the tires one more check, I finally headed home.
Once at home, I made sure to park the truck so that my husband can see it through his window, and let me know of we suddenly have a flat!
I am not a happy camper.
It’s been a few hours, though, and it’s still all right. I may have gotten lucky.
Meanwhile, I started to get messages from the Cat Lady, along with some photos. She just picked up a new cat tree – 9 feet tall! – for only $60 on FB Marketplace. In the first picture she sent me, I could see several cats all over the cat tree – but almost missed the tiny face of Button, barely visible on a bottom shelf!
He was all over that thing, along with the other cats.
He is also apparently becoming very fussy!
The Cat Lady wanted to know if I would be in town this weekend. She has some bags of kitten food that Button won’t eat. He’ll only eat one brand, now! Among the brands he now rejects is the very brand we usually feed the outside cats!
They also have a 5 foot cat tree that cats weren’t really using, that she wants to pass on to us.
The girls have already called dibs on it, for upstairs.
pause for interruption
I’m back!
My mother called, and I had a lot to update her on!
We talked about the numbers I have so far for the septic repair. She confirmed, she will pay the full amount. That is so awesome of her!!! There’s still the one company I had hoped to hear from, but expect that tomorrow, I will be calling the company that charges by the hour, and make arrangements for the excavation and repairs.
We also talked about her pending visit from the home care guy. I told her, he left a message while I was out, and we haven’t been able to connect yet. She couldn’t quite remember what it was about, but when I reminded her it was about her application for supportive living, she was quite happy. She would rather be in a particular nursing home, but to live somewhere that provides meals, snacks, laundry and light housekeeping is exactly what she needs right now – plus access to 24 hour home care support, if something happens. She was concerned about the cost, and I explained it will be 30% of her income (which is what she’s paying now), plus the package that includes the services (meals, etc.) She won’t have to cook for herself, though she’ll have a “kitchen” with a mini fridge, probably a microwave, a sink, and room for a kettle or or coffee pot. She won’t have to buy groceries anymore, unless she wants something to keep in her own apartment.
The application process, of course, will just get her on a waiting list. The website doesn’t say if there are any vacancies, and it’s unlikely there are any. There just isn’t a lot of supportive living housing out there, and the demand is high. There would be a triage process, I’m sure.
I’m glad she called, because it was getting late and I wasn’t going to call her to update her until tomorrow.
So there’s that…
Now… where was I?
Ah, yes. I was chatting with the Cat Lady!
As we were talking and she told me she wanted to pass on the kitten food and cat tree to us, on the weekend, I mentioned the possibility of going to the city tomorrow. She asked me to message her if I do end up going. Chances are, she’ll be able to meet me in the city, instead.
I hope I have room in the truck box for the cat tree, plus the shopping!
We shall see.
After we chatted, and it was still light out, I did my evening rounds, and I just have to share this picture with you.
The Crespo squash is getting so huge! The leaves reach about waist height on me. You can see a squash under the leaves in the foreground. In the distance, you can see the vines climbing a cherry tree – and there is at least one squash developing among the branches! It is also trying to climb the pole bean trellis, and there’s at least one baby squash in there, too, though it’s still too early to know if it got pollinated. With that one, I hope not, because the trellis was not made to hold the weight of squash!
What a difference from when we tried to grow it last year! Clearly, it likes having more shade than where we tried to grow before. Plus, this area gets much wetter, and stays wetter longer. Perfect for a thirsty plant like this!
While doing my evening rounds, I was checking on the San Marzano tomatoes in the main garden area and actually found a couple of red tomatoes! One was ripe enough to pick, while the other was not ready but close – and fell off while I was tending the plant! I also picked more Forme de Couer tomatoes that probably could have done to stay longer, but the plants are getting so overloaded with tomatoes, I wanted to take some of the weight off!
By the time I was done that, it was getting time to tend to eye baby. She was in the cat cage in the sun room and did not make it easy to reach her, but once I picked her up, she started purring like crazy.
Her eye is still in that terrible “she looks better, but her eye looks so awful” state.
My daughter got her all wrapped up in a towel and held her during her ministrations. She’s gotten very good about taking her antibiotics, though, and quite enjoyed a feeding of warmed up cat soup. She also seems to be okay with being held pretty restricted, the entire time.
We aren’t washing the eye anymore, as that would cause more injury, but we do try to get the fur around her eye at least somewhat clean of gunk. Then, after a snuggle with my daughter, she went back outside, where she can go back to her cuddle pile in the cat cage!
So that was the gist of my day today.
For now, I need to try and get to bed early – and hopefully get some actual sleep! I want to head to the city early – if I don’t have a flat in the morning – so that I have plenty of time to make a call to the septic company when I get back.
For those who have followed this blog for a while, you might be a bit surprised to hear this, but …
… so was my mother, today. Hopefully, that won’t change.
Let me step back a bit! Things went so different than expected today, it actually feels like it’s been two days!
After I finished my rounds this morning, I grabbed the inner pipe for our septic expeller and headed out towards the barn. Once I got to the outer pipe, I could see that nothing had overflowed the pipe while the venturi pipe was out. I made sure to have my rubber boots on this time and walked around. The saturated area is quite large. Which, I suppose, makes sense if it’s been leaking for at least 6 weeks.
When I put the venturi pipe in, though, I did hear splashing, so there was at least some fluid making it into the pipe.
I had really hoped that somehow, it would be something as simple as seating the venturi valve at the bottom properly, but no. We will definitely need to get it excavated and repaired. Which is something I’ve been really dreading. The last time my brother had to get something excavated here because of a septic problem, it cost him over $5000.
Once I was done and cleaned up, I made myself some breakfast, then sat at my computer so I could start looking up companies while I ate.
Which is when the phone rang.
It was my mother.
Before I even picked up the phone, I knew what she was going to say. Even from the tone of her voice when we said our hellos, I could tell.
She did, however, ask me how I was doing, first. So I was honest with her.
I was doing terrible.
I then – very briefly – told her about what was happening with the septic, that we would need to have it excavated, but we had no way to pay for it. The stress of the whole thing was worse than I realized, because by the time I finished telling her that, I was almost crying – and it takes a LOT for me to cry!
Then, much to my shock, my mother said that she would help.
I never, ever, would have asked my mother for money for this. I know she has it, but when it comes to money, my mother’s behavior is particularly… unfortunate.
I’ll just leave it at that.
I told her that I was going to call for estimates, but couldn’t even guess how much it might cost. She just said, make sure it’s professionals doing it, and she would help.
Which just blows me away.
Unfortunately, my mother does have a history of offering help, and then trying to back out of it. She did it when she said she would pay for the movers, which was part of the deal for us to move here in the first place (in the end, she did pay most of it, but we still needed help from my brother to cover the rest). She tried to do it again after she agreed to pay for the new roof on this “perfect” house she asked us to move into. She’s done it to my brother, many times, over the years.
Still, just that she offered to help at all was greatly appreciated and a wonderful surprise.
After we talked about it a bit more, including my telling her I’ve been talking to my brother about all this, and that he also said, get an excavator, she told me why she was calling in the first place.
It was exactly what I expected.
She thought she was going to die last night, again.
Now, when she’s having these issues, she says she’s struggling to breathe, can’t breath, feels like she’s dying…
She said she tried taking “medicine” for it (most likely Tylenol), but it didn’t help. Then she took the “pink stuff” I’d bought for her.
The no-name Pepto.
I know she’d taken it before and found it helped, but I didn’t realize she’d stopped. She’s already on a prescription medication for acid reflux, so she shouldn’t need it.
She took some last night, and it worked. She felt much better!
She was, however, now out of it.
So we worked out that, after I had my breakfast, then made some phone calls, I would go pick up some more for her, and bring it to her.
My mother hadn’t slept during the night, so she was going to try sleeping in her comfortable chair while waiting for me to arrive.
I then started looking up some local companies that service septic systems, then made some calls. One of them was to the guy my brother usually called for work done here, but I was pretty sure he didn’t do plumbing anymore. He does do excavating, though, so maybe? The last few times I called him and left messages, he never called back, so it was a surprise when he actually answered the phone. I explained the situation, but I was right. He bought a memorial business a few years ago, and that has become his focus. Most of his excavating now is digging graves. He was apologetic, but I was expecting this.
I left messages with two other companies, but got a real human with a third.
I explained the situation and said that I was looking for estimates to pass on to my brother, as I don’t own the property. I know my brother would trust me with whomever I chose, but I would run it by him, anyhow – and it buys me the time to get multiple estimates.
When I described our ejection system with the expeller rather than a septic field, I was told that these are not supposed to be repaired anymore! If they break down, they are supposed to be replaced with a septic field.
I don’t think we can even do that. There are just too many trees and roots to mess with a field. That’s why we have the ejection pump system to begin with.
He was clearly familiar with systems like ours, though. He asked a few questions about what was happening and started looking things up, rattling off the parts and pieces we’d need, factoring transportation from the town they’re in (about 40 minutes drive away), then gave me a number.
$2032, before taxes.
Which was way less than I expected! In fact, it makes me wonder if he somehow didn’t include excavation in the estimate.
And estimate is an estimate, though, so I left it at that, and thanked him for it.
That done, I then got ready to head out to my mother’s, making a quick stop at the post office before they closed over the lunch hours. Not that I was expecting a package, but I’ve been surprised before. 😁
Then it was off to the pharmacy in my mother’s town, I got her “pink stuff”, then headed to her place.
When I got there, I found she had all sorts of food set out, including a hot lunch for me! She had just finished eating herself. I had to say no, as I’d just had breakfast and was still full. I did stay for a while, though, and we had a chance to talk. Long enough that I ate a muffin. 😄
I was very curious as to how she was feeling, before and after she’d taken the Pepto during the night. Particularly when it came to her breathing. She’s confused about it, too, but mentioned she was also dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. Which makes sense, if she literally felt like she was dying, and would also add to the problem.
If the Pepto helps, then it helps. Even if it’s psychosomatic, who cares? She feels better!
It did remind me to tell her the OT that visited her a while back had called me recently, and we talked about their visit. One of the recommendations she’d made to my mother was moving to a larger apartment, where she would have the space to use her walker inside (my mother parks her walker just outside her door, and uses a cane, or hangs onto the walls, counters, etc., inside).
I said that I told her, we want to get my mother into supportive living in the town where my brother lives, and that the OT said she would contact the guy in homecare. He will call one of us to arrange an appointment to go over the panel questions and application process with my mother. The last time he was there, it was a panel for a nursing home, which my mother feels she needs to be in, but she doesn’t qualify. She didn’t even qualify for assisted living.
Given how long it’s been, I said that I should probably call him myself and see if I can get an appointment made. My mother said to tell them, it has to be soon, because she might not be around much longer!
She’s turning 93 within a couple of weeks. She’s not wrong. But then, that could be true of any of us, at any time, as we painfully learned when the youngest of my brothers died at only 45.
We also talked about the septic issue a bit, but not too much, as it was making her feel anxious. I apologized, and told her that for me, right now, it’s hard to think of anything else!
While I was still with my mother, I got a message from my SIL. I just quickly skimmed over the preview, and saw that she was confirming they’d received my earlier updates about the septic system, but that my brother would get back to me about it, later.
I was able to stay a bit longer, but I could see my mother was starting to want me to leave. She was very tired. Her attempt at napping earlier had failed, and she wanted to try again. So I left soon after.
It wasn’t until I got home and on my computer again, that I finally read the rest of my SILs message.
It turns out that my brother is taking vacation days on Mondays now, they’d loaded up the trailer, and were coming out here today!
They must have been on the road already by the time I saw this and responded. I had some stuff to do inside, and planned to be back out before they got here, when I got a message saying they were here!
It’s a good thing my brother has a key for the gate!
By the time I threw on my outside shoes and headed out, they were pulled into the outer yard with their truck, trailer …
… and a bread van?
A large, formerly commercial bead van. Images of bread loaves on the side had been painted over, but the shapes were still very visible.
I had no idea they had one. Was it even theirs?
Then I saw the cement mixer.
*melt*
They had to get the tractor and rotary mower out of the barn first, then back the trailer up for unloading. I helped unload almost everything around the cement mixer. That was on skids. My SIL was on the trailer, moving things, and was able to drag it closer to the end. Once she and my brother got it off the trailer, I helped him move it into a space he prepared in the barn.
Not where he originally intended. He was going to put it in the lean-to side, but I told him, it rains in there! When the metal roof was put on the barn, the lean-to roof was not included.
It should have been.
To get the cement mixer to the space he prepared, we had to skid it over a massive board he’d brought last time, which now had three huge posts – posts he uses as a tripod to lift engines – on one side. Now, the posts would make it easier to move the skid over to the prepared space in an old cow stall, as they would roll, but as we were turning it, my brother stepped on one of the posts and it rolled out from under him. My heart almost stopped as I watched him fall!
Okay, it was a controlled fall. His old Tae Kwon Do lessons didn’t get forgotten. What really got me was how close his head came to the corner of a board on the other side of the barn’s centre aisle! I don’t think he realized just how close he came to a severe head injury!
My brother is my brother, though. He just got up and kept going, like nothing happened!
Gosh, he’s amazing.
Once that was done and the trailer moved away – the stuff remaining on it needed to go somewhere else – my SIL got on the tractor and went to do a bit more mowing. She was going to go where the storage warehouse is, but the truck and trailer were in the way! It was near the burn pile, though, so they moved it closer so we could unload some scrap wood to burn.
As she started digging the pieces out and passing them to me, I found myself setting pieces aside, as they were in good enough condition that I could use them with the small projects we build.
When it became clear that most of what they had was useable, I went and got my utility wagon. We loaded that up with almost all the wood they’d brought for the burn pile, then took it over to the garage. I cleared the top of an old shelf, and we stacked it on top.
I think I have what I need to make a door/ramp for the cat isolation shelter, now!!
Then my brother borrowed my driver, a short board, and some screws. The door to the hay loft on the barn was getting blown loose. It was tied closed on the inside, but that was giving out. So he basically just boarded it up. It’s not like we’re going to go up there. It’s too dangerous. If we need to access through those doors, we can just take the board off.
Over the next while, they traded off doing more mowing. My SIL started expanding the area around the storage warehouse while my brother and I moved some things out of the way. I had a chance to talk to him about having the scrap guys coming out, and what he was okay with them taking.
In short, there’s 5 cars, something we think is part of a truck (it’s almost completely hidden by grasses and burdock) and a threshing machine. With having the aluminum and batteries only, they would come out if they were already in the area. With a threshing machine and several vehicles as well, this should warrant a special trip.
All of this belongs to my brother, so any funds from selling the scrap metal will go towards taking care of the place.
That would include things like repairing the expeller on the septic system!
I don’t know how much we’d get for it all, but this company weighs things on site, and pays the going rate. I assume things like transportation and clean up will be taken off. I can’t even guess what we’d get for it. Probably not enough to cover the entire cost of the septic repair, but who knows? Prices might be good, whenever they get here.
I will just be happy for this stuff to be gone, and look forward to being able to clear out the vehicles in the old hay yard, too! All but one truck can go. I’m pretty sure my brother thinks he can get that truck going again. He’s the one who gave it to our father to use around the property. I don’t think it’s ever going to be roadworthy.
Gosh, it looks so much better! Plus, I should be able to collect some of the “hay” for mulch. Not anything close to the warehouse; there are too many burrs in there! There is lots that should be clean and not gone to seed yet, though.
My brother had already done part of this area, the last time they were here and brought the tractor. My brother took over the mowing after a while, as he had specific areas he wanted to get particularly clear, and went over them with the mower set lower.
He also cleared in front of the storage warehouse up to the three cars that are there, that the scrap dealer can now access. Eventually, they will most a lane to the secondary driveway.
Over the next few days, I’ll have to make a point of putting markers where the surviving Korean Pines are, as well as the ash tree my mother gave us, so they won’t mow over them by mistake!
With all this mowed, we can now access areas where we need to cut saplings away from buildings, before they start causing damage, too! It’s amazing how quickly areas I cleared out have become overgrown again.
Once the space he wanted was mowed to his satisfaction, my brother moved the bread van over and parked it. It turns out they’ve had it for years; I just never saw it before! Since they will be bringing more equipment to store out here over the next while, my brother plans to use this as his “house”. A place where he can change, or even sleep, whether or not we are around. Not that there isn’t someone home at all times, but since my husband has to have his hospital bed in the bedroom closest to the bathroom, we don’t have a spare bedroom to offer. They want to avoid disrupting us as much as possible.
The good thing about my brother doing all this in preparation for his retiring, and no longer haying on their property, is that we’re going to be seeing a lot of them over the next while!
Once all this was done, they had to head home right away. That’s going to be pretty much the pattern, over the next while. Whenever they can manage to come out here, they’ll bring another load of stuff, then will have to leave as soon as it’s unloaded stored.
We’re just happy to be able to see them so often!
I think this would be a good time for us to start going through the storage warehouse. My mother is adamant that we keep her stuff, though I do have permission to sell some of it (she keeps saying I should have a garage sale, which I will not do!), but there are bags and bags of old clothing and similar items, much of it belonging to my late father. My mother even left behind a whole lot of clothing, including a lot of underwear.
Packing those into bags was not the most comfortable of things! 😄
These bags of clothes can’t even be donated. They need to be taken to the dump. Once those bags are out, we’ve got boxes that are starting to collapse on themselves that need to be rearranged. They were labelled as detailed as we could when we packed them, and there is probably stuff we can still use. We just can’t get at things, the way it is now!
What I’d really like to do is get that building cleared out, so it can become a workshop again, and not a storage building!
But that is something we will have to deal with in time.
I almost missed it! It had fallen into the “living fence” my mother had planted, which was holding it up.
Getting it down was a bit risky, though. I had to get right under a hawthorn to be able to pull it out. After I managed to get it far enough I could move further away, I took a look and realized just how close I came to getting my back impaled by many very sharp thorns! Those things are deadly!
You can see more clearly, in the second photo of the slideshow above, just how large the branch turned out to be. I dragged it out closer to the fire pit, where there’s more room to break it down, but left it for now. I don’t know what the humidex put us at, but we were at 30C/86F at the time. As I write this, we’ve cooled down to 28C/82F, and with the humidex putting us at 32C/90F. That little bit of exertion was enough to leave me almost as soaked with sweat as I was when I got caught in the storm!
Before I checked the yard, though, I went to check on the septic expeller. Normally, I’d go through the barn to do this, but my brother’s tractor is in the way! I tried to go around, but there’s just too much junk in the old cow stalls on either side. So I had to make my way through the tall grass – I swear, some of it is as tall as I am! – to the vehicle gate. It has both a chain across it, and the renter’s electric fence wire, to keep the cows out. The cows have been rotated out, though, so the electric fence is off right now.
In the first two photos, you can see black part way up the pipe, where it then ends abruptly. Which means that the greywater has been going up into the outer pipe, but only so far. It’s not overflowing.
I brought the pipe to the yard and hosed it off, then ran water through both ends of the pipe.
There is no clog in the pipe at all.
So… what does this tell me?
It could be that the venturi was simply not seated properly at the bottom of the pipe. Rather than going through the venturi and being expelled out the top, the greywater was going into the outer pipe, but then draining into the soil around it fast enough that it never overflowed at the top.
Or there is something wrong at the bottom of the pipe that prevents a proper seal once the venture is set in the bottom.
I’ve sent the images to my brother, in hopes he has a better idea. He would remember the actual installation of all this, and probably helped do it. I was just too young. All I remember is the trench dug from the well towards the barn. I don’t even remember the pipes being laid down in the trench.
My hope is that it’s just the pipe wasn’t seated properly when I cleaned up around there, back in early July. I’d taken the pipe out to check it, but I was sure I’d set it back in properly. You can actually feel when it pushes into place.
I’m leaving it out for now and will take it back tomorrow, and see what I can see inside the outer pipe. With the inner pipe removed, the outer pipe should fill up faster when the pump runs, and actually overflow. If it does, I should see signs of that.
It would be really awesome if all it is, is the pipe not set properly! If that’s at, and water is flowing through the expeller properly again, that means we don’t need to call anyone and possibly need to get it excavated!
I’m just glad we are finding this problem now, and not in the winter!
I was in a world of hurt this morning, after all the stuff done yesterday. The girls took care of feeding the outside cats. We gave eye baby her medication and a modified bottle feed last night, but then she went back outside. She’s getting too active to keep her in a cat carrier all night. Since we can’t wash her eye anymore – it’s not leaking, but is still insanely swollen – and no longer have eye drops, we didn’t take her in this morning. She seems to prefer kibble, anyhow. We’ll bring her in for her antibiotics in the evening, then let her back out again.
I tried to get more sleep, but got messages from my brother and couldn’t fall asleep after that. I’ll get to that part, later.
It was late morning before I got outside to check on the garden and see what could be harvested. We were supposed to get storms last night, but only got a brief rain. We were now being told to expect thunderstorms in the late morning, but very briefly. While I was in the garden, I could hear thunder in the distance.
That big G Star patty pan squash grew so much, just overnight! Yesterday, it wasn’t much bigger than the other one!
I finally picked our first yellow zucchini.
Those are all Forme de Couer tomatoes; no others were ready to pick. The beans are mostly the Royal Burgundy bush beans, which I did not pick at all, yesterday, with maybe a half dozen Carminat pole beans.
I do have to share about the enameled tub the harvest is in. It has been hanging on the wall behind the warming shelf of the wood cookstove for I don’t know now many decades. I brought it out and washed it, thinking we might need to use it for sponge baths, if we couldn’t get the septic going again.
I actually remember my mother bathing me in that, when I was a wee one. She had it on the table in the kitchen, close to the stove, with its reservoir of warm water handy. It was probably used for my late brother, too. Which would make it older than I am!
I hadn’t brought a container with me while going through the garden, and just used the bottom of my shirt to carry the produce. As I was transferring them to the tub, I could hear the thunder and figured I would top of the cat kibble outside, but just in the kibble house and sun room, so the cats would be sheltered next to food. I was in the process of putting the kibble out when the storm hit.
Hard.
We went from basically hot and muggy with no wind, to driving rain and winds strong enough for things started to get blown around, and I was half expecting branches to start breaking off! I got completely soaked in seconds!
Once back in the sun room, I made sure to tie off the outer door and partially close the inner door – normally, during the day, both are kept wide open. Cats where running all over the place, trying to find shelter. A number of kittens that normally run away from me ran into the sun room, saw me there, and panicked – but didn’t run back outside into that driving rain!
The storm has already passed, though. The system is continuing to the north east, and it looks like we got it pretty mild, compared to other places.
I’ll still be waiting a while before going back outside!
I need to go check out the expeller for the septic, out by the barn. I remembered that the septic guy had suggested that, if we still had problems, to take the cap and inner pipe of the expeller out completely, and leave it off for about a month. The grey water would build up in the outer pipe and overflow it, eventually, clearing out any collected gunk from inside the pipes that might be clogging the pipe. I was thinking of taking it out and seeing if there was any outflow.
My brother had had the same thought, and messaged me this morning about it. I’d told him about the septic guy suggesting leaving it out for a month, but my brother wasn’t too keen on that idea; that cap is there for a reason. But it might we worthwhile to do it for a few days, at least.
I was going to do that after topping up the cat kibble, thinking I had time before the storm hit.
I was wrong.
😂😂
So I will have to go out there later today, and see what there is to see!
My brother and his wife have come and gone. It took them more than 7 1/2 hours to make what is normally a 1 1/2 drive! I didn’t realize it, but the tractor my brother was driving had no cab, so he was driving in full sun and 30C/86F temperatures, the whole way! They did make at one stop along the way, at a gas station for a break – and to use the facilities!
When they got here, it was past 8, and the light was starting to fade. My brother immediately started using the rotary mower in front of the barn, then went around to another area where they will be storing large equipment. Then they could back the trailer up to the barn for unloading.
Before that, though, my brother and I went over to where the septic expeller is. One quick look and his response was, call so-and-so and get it excavated.
I don’t think this person even does plumbing related stuff anymore, and the only excavating he does that I know of is in cemeteries!
Plus, we have no way to pay for anything like this.
We had to work quickly to unload the trailer as we were losing light. Then the trailer was moved out while my brother stayed in the barn to move things and make room to back in the tractor and rotary mower.
By the time that was done, it was fully dark. They packed up the truck to get ready to go, then my brother and I went into the basement to see what was going on with the pump. I turned the power back on and the pump started running, but nothing was happening (thank God we have the filter and can actually see this!). The filter reservoir had partially drained, though, so I popped it open and primed it again. We turned the pump back on again, and we could see some gurgles, but then those stopped, and nothing flowed.
We kept watching as we talked, when suddenly we could see more gurgles. Then the filter drained. At first, it ran dry, but we kept watching, because there was just a dribble of water coming through the intake, near the top of the filter.
You couldn’t believe how exciting it was to see greywater from our septic tank suddenly start flowing through that filter.
It was working again!
For now.
The main problem remains, at the expeller out by the barn. I’ll go check in the morning, but as long as the grey water isn’t flowing out the expelled, but instead seeping into the ground, we’ve got a major problem on our hands.
While it was running, my brother showed me the emergency back up.
They’ve had to use it before.
Tucked into the rafters was some pipe, with a right angle at one end, and another short length of pipe.
The long end gets attached to the septic pump, in place of the outflow pipe that runs out the basement and to the expeller. He then showed me, hidden between floor joists for my bedroom above, a hole in the wall that’s filled with spray foam insulation. The short section of pipe goes through that hole, to the outside. Once outside, an extension can be added, and the greywater can be sent off somewhere towards the maple grove or the old garden area, depending on how long of an extension we can find.
This would at least give us something we can use if it stops working again, or while the expeller is being serviced. Especially if we can’t get it done right away. They don’t have the funds for this, either.
So, I have some phone calls to make on Monday.
The first will be to find a company that specializes in septic systems – including old ones like ours – to come out and take a look. There is still the possibility that there’s just a block at the bottom of the expeller pipe, and no excavating is needed. I have no idea, but we can get a confirmation and an estimate for the work needed.
Then I think we’ll be calling the scrap company again and see about getting rid of some of those old vehicles appliances, along with the aluminum and batteries we’re already expecting them to pick up. Hopefully, we’ll get enough to pay for the work.
*sigh*
We have had so many things break down or need to be replaced in the past year, but this? This is one of our worst nightmares when it comes to living here. The other is losing our water.
On top of that, this is something we would have to get fixed before winter, because once the deep freeze hits, we’d really be in trouble!
I laid down a piece of scrap metal roofing to divert the outflow away from the pipe, replacing the badly rusted out one that was there before. All I did after the photo was taken was add some dead branches I found to weigh it down, so the wind wouldn’t blow it away.
It looks almost exactly the same, now.
There is no sign that any septic outflow has ever run down it.
There is, however, a saturated area of ground beside it, where those bullrushes are in the photo.
Which might mean that, for the past 6 weeks, our septic has been draining into the ground, not out the pipe.
If that is true, that means the underground pipe will have to be excavated for repair/replacement.
At this point, it’s all on my brother, because this is way beyond any for of work we can pay to have done.
Which means we can’t use our water. At least not allow water to drain. I guess we can set the honey pot up again, but we’ll probably have to start doing things like sponge bath in the tub, using a bucket or bin, so we can toss the used water outside. We’ll have to start doing dishes in a bin, too.
No, not finally petting this cat, though that did happen (I counted 30 yard cats this morning).
No, not finally the snow is almost gone, or the moat around the garage disappearing, or even large sections of the main garden area accessible again.
No, what finally happened was our tax returns finally got deposited!!!!
I’ve already called and left a message with the septic guy about replacing the pill switch in our septic tank.
Just a little bit longer, and we won’t be having to manually turn that thing on several times a day.
We’ve certainly learned to recognize the signs of when it needs to be done, before things start backing up into the basement!
We were having a problem with it yesterday, though. One of the things that was modified on our system was the addition of a pool filter. Greywater from the tank goes through the filter before it reaches the pump, which then sends the water out to the field by the barn. Hang on… I should have some photos. That will make it much easier to explain!
There they are!
These go back to 2020, in February, when things backed up into the basement, and my brother helped get things unplugged – at least until we had the roots professionally augured out of those floor drains!
This is what it looked like, before the filter was installed.
This is what it’s like now.
The filter needs to be primed for proper flow, but once that’s done and closed up, it should run fine. If, however, we turn on the pump, but the greywater side of the tank outside isn’t full enough to be drained, the filter reservoir drains out the bottom, and that’s it. So we need to open it up and fill it to above the inflow opening to prime. We can even keep an eye through the clear lid and see what’s going on, which I find very useful.
You can see the white handle of the filter basket inside. We have two of them, so that when it needs to be cleaned, we can just quickly switch in the second one, then let the dirty one soak in detergent for a while before scrubbing it out. Typically, we only need to do this a couple of times a year.
That got switched out when the septic tank was emptied and it was really bad, so I switched out the detergent water it was soaking in a few times, and it was still soaking, as of yesterday.
Yesterday, we could tell that the tank needed to be drained, but every time I tried to run the pump, the filter would drain, but no greywater from the tank would come in. I’d prime the filter, but it would happen again.
So I decided to switch the filter basket, but the other one was still soaking. The detergent got most of the gunge off, so I gloved up and started scrubbing the basket with brush that we have, just for this job.
What I found myself doing was pulling out wads and wads of cat hair! Enough that it was blocking the mesh of the filter basket from the inside.
Once I got that clear and clean, I took the other filter basket out and set it to soak. I also made a point of cleaning the inside of the reservoir, the threads and the parts and pieces of the cover. I even scrubbed the inside of the clear cover as best I could. Over time, grease and grime can build up under there and make it harder to see inside.
It was a very disgusting job, but it needs to be done!
Once everything was cleaned up, I popped the newly cleaned filter basket in, primed the filter, then turned on the pump.
It ran fine! I could see the inflow splashing through, and the water level remained high.
While that ran, I started cleaning the other filter basket…
… and started pulling out wads of cat hair!
There was enough cat hair lining the inside of the basket to prevent proper flow and mess with the vacuum seal.
I got the cat hair out, but left the basket to soak in detergent longer, since the other scunge that was already accumulating wasn’t going to come off well, otherwise.
When living on a town or city sewage system, we don’t really think about what goes down the drains. Sure, we know about flushing toilets, baths, showers and draining washing machines. How often, though, do we think about the bits of food and grease from washing our dishes? Or all the different types of cleaners, getting all mixed up together? Or how much HAIR gets in there! We already have to regularly clear the drains in the tub and bathroom sink because of the hair that gets caught – both human and cat – but I never imagined that so much cat fur was making its way into the septic system that it would clog that filter basket after only about 10 days. The Septo-Bac and the bio pipe maintenance stuff both include bacteria and enzymes to break down grease and hair. It just needs more time to do it!
It would be getting in through the washing machine, mostly. Every time we do the laundry, and I clean out the lint trap on the drier, it’s got a thick layer of cat hair on it. It gets everywhere. What we need to get are some air filters for various rooms, but even that would reduce the problem, not get rid of it. We just have too many indoor cats!
Well, by the end of today, we’ll be down by one, as I deliver the Wolfman to the rescue for vet care and adoption. I’m happy to say his eye is looking SO much better today. Hopefully, that will mean a much smaller vet bill for the rescue, though the vet was willing to give them samples of that super expensive medication.
Talking about the Wolfman with my husband today, he joked that he’ll put money on them deciding to keep him permanently. I hope not! They already have 17 permanent cats, plus the ones up for adoption that have their own space, and 4 or 5 (or is it 5 or 6?) of their permanent ones are from us!
Wolfman is such a sweet cat, though. We’re going to miss him!
What can’t we adopt out the a****e cats, instead?
Oh, right. Because they’re a****s. 😂
Anyhow.
It will work out.
Later today, I will deliver the Wolfman, then take advantage of the trip to pick up a few necessities. Hopefully, I’ll hear back from the septic guy before then, and will know how much cash to take out to pay him, and a date for when he can replace the pill switch.
Right from the start, it was like everything was going wrong. Just little things, but so many of them!
Not everything was bad, though, so I’ll start with the cuteness.
Both water bowls were bone dry this morning, even though I topped the sun room one up last night.
I also chased a skunk out. The only reason I don’t think we had any racoons last night is because the water bowls were dry, but not dirty. The racoons always leave the water bowls so very dirty!
Of course, a dry water bowl is a warm spot, and the outside one was being taken advantage of by a cat I would really like to see more of. This is the one with one messed up eye, and he seemed to be warming his paws while I was putting the kibble out. He wasn’t sitting or lying in it, like I usually see other cats doing. Just standing in it. He didn’t run away while I put kibble in the tray under the water bowl house, either. When I came back with water, I watched him slowly, cautiously walk down the board we have as a ramp and move aside.
Meanwhile, I did a head count.
33! And I didn’t even see Sad Face anywhere! We’ve definitely got some strangers among us, but honestly, with some of the more feral cats that look so much alike, I really can’t tell which of them are new. Very few of them have distinctive features like one messed up eye.
After I finished with the water and went through the sun room to put away the container, I was very pleased to see One Eye in the sun room – that’s a first, that we’ve seen! He was moving slowly and cautiously, but he did not run off when I came in. Then, after I finished my rounds and came back to tie off the doors and go inside, I found him curled up on one of the cats beds, under the platform.
Before I started this, I did the evening feeding. He was still in the sun room and still moving about cautiously. I was actually able to reach out and put a hand on his back. He slunk away, but didn’t run away, which is very encouraging. The thermometer in the sun room was reading 18C/64F, so I do hope he comes back to enjoy the warmth, some cozy beds, food and water.
So that was one of the highlights of the day. I’ll take what I can get.
Among the things that went wrong today is, the toilet started acting up again. I was in the middle of doing several things at once, so the timing was frustrating! But I got it clear – I thought – cleaned up and went back to the other stuff I was doing.
One of those things was starting some pickled eggs for our Easter basket. I boiled more eggs than I was after, and only the ones that peeled the nicest got done. I ended up doing three different types; one with beet brine from our own pickled beets, one with turmeric and one with soy sauce. Those are now ready and sitting in the fridge until we put our basket together for blessing on Saturday. I won’t be taking it to church for blessing, since my mother gives me grief for having such a big basket. I should just have a tiny one, like hers. 🙄 So we will bless it ourselves.
Anyhow.
That got done little by little, with other things being chipped away at while waiting for the eggs to cool, then to cool down in cold water, etc. Finally, I was able to make myself some breakfast, which I ate in the cat free zone, aka: the living room.
Which is when my husband showed up to let me know that one of our daughters had been trying to plunge the toilet for the last 15 minutes.
I’m not sure what he expected me to do about it. He probably was just letting me know, but his timing really sucked! 😄
Once I was able to, I went into the basement to check on the septic pump. I know it’s supposed to take a long time for both tanks to fill, but between everyone’s water use, doing laundry, dishes and, of course, the phantom flush we still haven’t found the cause of, I know it’ll fill faster than typical. I turned it on only long enough to confirm I could here no water going through the pipe.
Meanwhile, my daughter used drain cleaner. We’ve got the “max gel” type that’s supposed to be able to handle the worst clogs, letting it sit for the maximum recommended time, and so on.
It didn’t work.
It will drain, eventually, but not enough for a proper flush.
Meanwhile, I still hadn’t been able to pick up more of that enzyme drain and pipe maintenance stuff that worked where the drain cleaner didn’t. The town where I knew they had some in stock is also where we went to get our taxes done last year, and we need to get those done so we can use my caregiver tax credit to pay for a plumber to clear the pipe that’s causing all these problems, and to get the pill switch replaced in the septic tank.
We just had one last thing to print out, from my husband’s medical insurance provider, which is not the same company that his disability payments come from. It used to be the same company, but his employer changed providers after he went on disability, so his disability payments still come from the original company, but his health care coverage is now with the new company.
So he logged on, found the information he needed, and tried to print it out.
The printer is in my “office” corner of my room, which is on wifi.
It didn’t work.
After trying several times, my husband finally saved it to pdf, put it on a thumb drive, and I tried to print it from my computer. Then we did it again, because the first file he saved was 22 pages! The correct file was only 4 pages.
Also, without health insurance, we would have paid over $8000 for my husband’s medications. That’s actually down from last year, since at least one of his meds, Ozempic, is now covered 100% by our province’s pharmacare program. His health insurance covers that one only for “reasonable dosages”. My husband’s dosage is so high, they won’t cover it. This is expensive stuff, even at lower doses. Gotta wonder about all those people taking it for weight loss!
But I digress.
So I open the file on my computer and try to print it out.
First, I kept getting “not responding”. Then it wouldn’t print, and just said “error.” What error? Who knows.
Now, I have printed things out since getting the new computer, and had no issue connecting to the printer at all. Now, suddenly, it just wouldn’t.
My older daughter came over to help out, since this printer is actually hers. We even tried to print direct from media, but for some reason, the option to print a pdf no longer exists! Just for photos. She kept trying with the printer, while I kept trying to figure things out in the settings on my computer.
Windows 11 really sucks.
Windows 11 control panel really sucks.
I tried troubleshooting it and, while it was going through that, a message popped up saying the troubleshooter has been moved and would soon not be available…
So… why was it even there as an option? And how are we supposed to troubleshoot something if we have to figure out how to find the new location for the troubleshooter it?
Not that it mattered. It “fixed” the problem, but in the control panel, it still just said “error” under the printer. Of course, we kept trying to print in between all these different things, and again, all it would do is tell us “error”.
Finally, I decided to try removing the printer, then adding it back.
Printer removed, select add device…
The computer couldn’t find it.
We went through so many different ways to try and add the printer back, but the computer just wouldn’t “see” it anywhere.
One of the options was “my computer is older. Help me find it” followed by a “next” button, but that didn’t work, either.
So we fussed with both the computer and the settings on the printers, and I kept trying again.
Then suddenly, it was there. The computer could “see” it!
I have no idea what I did that made the difference.
I didn’t care by then. I just selected it, and the computer installed and finally connected with the printer.
Then it was crunch time: would it actually print?
It did!
Sort of.
This time, I had a different problem. A problem I had the last time I tried to print something out.
The software printed on the page as if it were landscape, instead of portrait, squeezing everything to fit on one side.
It did this when I tried to print out a knit pattern for my daughter. No matter what I did to the settings, when it came time to print, it was turned the wrong way and squeezed to fit on side of the page.
After all this time fighting with it, I didn’t care anymore. The data could be read, and that was all I needed.
That done, I called the tax preparer and arranged to drop off our stuff, then finally headed out.
This town is about a half hour drive from us, so not too bad. The weather is nicer today, at least, though that wind is still brutal. At the tax place, I saw they had a drop box for all the people doing like we are; just leaving our stuff with them to work on later. We’ll get a call then they’re done. I’ll have to pick up the paperwork and bring it home for my husband to sign, but that’s the closest thing to a delay we’ll have.
Then it was off to the hardware store. I go here so rarely, I took advantage of it to just look around.
They have an excellent and well stocked canning section! 😁
When I got to the display I was looking for, I decided to get three bottles of the stuff. They had others for maintaining the tank itself, and even another brand of the drain and pipe maintenance stuff but, in the end, I stuck with what we already know works!
It’ll be so good when we can finally get a plumber to clear that pipe!
Then I kept wandering around the store. I did completely avoid the power tools section, though. Too many things there I want to buy! For me, being around power tools is a lot like going to a yarn store. I want to buy all the things! Power tools are a lot more expensive, though! 😄😂😄
It turns out it was a good thing I took my time. After I was all done and about to message my family to let them know I was about to head home, I found a message from one of my daughters. I’d used most of a flat of eggs for the pickled eggs, and she was letting me know she was about to finish the rest of them. So I made a quick stop at the grocery store for a dozen – I’ll be getting more at Costco tomorrow – and even remembered to grab some butter. I probably should have grabbed more; they house brand was on sale for $4.99, and not even Costco’s butter is that cheap. No surprise that they had a quantity limit! I decided to just get one, though.
When I got home and was pulling into the garage, I saw my younger daughter coming out. My husband had a prescription refill ordered for delivery, and they guy had just called to let us know he was close – something we requested, since our gate is usually closed and locked. So my daughter met him at the gate, and closed and locked it for me.
The girls kept fighting with the toilet while I was gone, and hadn’t had much luck. The honeypot was set up again! Since I got three bottles of the stuff, I want to use it in the drains for the tub, kitchen sink and laundry drain, too. For “slow drains”, the instructions say to use 8 oz, three days in a row. After that, daily maintenance is a couple of tablespoons, if I remember correctly.
Hopefully, it has done the job by now.
Excuse me while I go see if we are still stuck using the honeypot or not!
Well crud. Toni just puked a hairball on top of a sleeping Cheddar’s belly, on my bed. Who didn’t wake up until I cleaned the mess. At least he was on top of their big towel, and not directly on my bedding!
Today I did our first stock up shop in the city. While our temperature is a balmy -6C/21F, the windchill is brutal. My weather app says it feels like -22C/-8F, but at least a few times I was walking in it, it sure felt much colder!
The drive in was good, though. Swirling snow on the highway, but the wind wasn’t letting anything accumulate.
I decided not to do Costco today, in order to take advantage of some sales that end tomorrow. My first stop was at the international store, where I could first enjoy some dim sum for breakfast.
I didn’t feel like bagging at the truck with this wind, so I brought bags into the store with me, for a change.
I balanced the weight in the insulated bags poorly, though, so I shifted things around a bit. This is what I got.
For our Easter basket, I picked up a flat of eggs. We’ll get more at Costco, but I want to get some pickling right away. I also got a Polish sausage, a cheese ball, a jar of cheese stuffed olives and a small dinner ham for the basket. Oh, and the whole cloves, which are used as a decoration. We’re running low.
The frozen turkeys were on an excellent sale, so I grabbed two – and then got one of them for free with my loyalty points. The Honeycrisp apples were also an amazing sale, so I got two bags of those. They were $1.99 each instead of $6.99.
The Stash teas were also on sale, and I ended up getting 4 boxes of those altogether. We normally buy our toilet paper at Costco, and we still will get their big house brand package, but the house brand TP here was also on a good sale, so I got one for our stock up supply.
There’s some cleaning vinegar (10% acidity) and laundry detergent. Normally, I’d by detergent at Costco, but I don’t normally do the laundry and hadn’t realized we’d run out completely! I got some marble and Old Cheddar cheese as well, because the sales were good, but will likely get more at Costco. We use cheese a lot.
The Soy and Oat milks are for my lactose intolerant daughters, along with the coffee creamers, which does bother them, but they don’t use enough of it at a time for it to be much issue. I got a smoked ham for general eating, plus a slab of salmon for the girls that was on sale. There’s a slab of smoked bacon, the soy sauce brand my husband likes, and some bananas.
The grand total, after taxes, was $216.10, after just over $50 was taken off for the sales and deals.
My next stop was Walmart. I was really after just two things there. Cat food and supplements.
I did have a few extras that weren’t on my list. My “splurge” of the day was a small plastic shelf and 4″ plastic plant pots. I really didn’t want to use peat pots again and, with the larger seeds I want to be starting next, I went with these. I do have similar plastic plant pots that we found while cleaning up the basement, but they’re pretty old and the plastic is getting brittle, and the price was right on these. They had the giant bottles of shampoo and conditioner in stock, so I got one shampoo and two conditioners.
Then there was my supplements.
*sigh*
I got two boxes with 32 tins each of wet cat food, plus 6 bags of dry. The two more expensive kibble bags were about 9kg, and the others were 7.24 and 7.5kg in size. I also grabbed a couple of small bags of chocolate eggs for our Easter basket – our one non-traditional basket item is a bit of chocolate. I had run out of my supplements almost completely, so I got my magnesium, B12, Zinc and D3. D3 is the only one that was cheap! With the others, I did get the ones that were the best deal, so they should last me a while, but… ouch.
Those plant pots were a really good deal, and not even on sale. A package of 6 was $1.24, so I got four packages.
Aside from all that, I got a bottle of water for the road, for a grand total of $410.22 after taxes.
*sigh*
I’ll be doing our Costco shopping in a couple of days, and I want to make sure to tank up and get everything we can squeeze out of our budget, because on April 1st, our Prime Dictator’s new carbon tax is coming into effect, and the price of everything is going to go up. Another tax on top of a tax on top of a tax. Meanwhile, all our MPs are getting a raise on the same day! Because, of course. 🫤
On the way home, I made sure to hit a bank machine and take cash out, then stopped at the septic guy’s place to pay him for emptying out our tank yesterday. Including a tip. I will always tip the septic guy!
While driving on the highway, on the lookout for his driveway, a thought occurred to me. When I called him to do our tank and arrangements were made, he never asked for our address. He’s been here often enough to remember where we are!
When I got there, I met the lady of the house and had some questions. The guy was in their shop out back, so she called him and he came over to talk.
I told him that the septic pump it still not shutting itself off and asked what he could see while emptying the tank. The first thing he confirmed for me is that he saw nothing at all out of the ordinary. The float was not stuck.
Then he told me, it’s the pill starter. It has to be, because there’s nothing else it could be! I mentioned I’d talked to my brother about it, and that it had been changed relatively recently, but the septic guy said this is actually a pretty common problem. He was able to tell me that a new pill starter costs about $250. We won’t have a budget for that until I get my caregiver tax credit in, so for now, we’ll have to just turn it on manually every now and then. He told me that we shouldn’t need to turn it on for at least a week. That’s about how long it takes for both sides of the tank to fill. I’m glad he told me that, because I was concerned about running the pump dry, but I don’t really know how big the two sides of the tank are. Given our use of our plumbing system in general, I would still expect it to be filled faster than a week. He said to just take a look on Monday and see if both sides are full, then turn it on if it is. I won’t be doing that. Every time I look down into there, I’m afraid my glasses will fall off! And no, they are not loose or anything. I get that feeling every time I look down from a height. 😄
Then he mentioned that he could come out next week and replace it for us, before we’d need to turn the pump on again. I didn’t realize he did that sort of thing, too! I thought we’d have to call a plumber! Nope. Apparently, it’s a pretty easy thing for him to do. I suspect he wouldn’t be doing it the way my brother changed it out, before we moved out here, which was through the basement.
No matter. I would much rather get the septic guy to do it than call a plumber! I’m just really happy with this guy. He’s come out here when we’ve had septic problems several times now, and always been really fast about it. The last time we called to book the tank to be cleaned, my husband accidentally called a different company, and they wouldn’t have been able to come out for 2 weeks! They would have been a lot cheaper, but I’d rather pay extra for a guy that’ll come out when we actually need him. The cheaper rates are made possible because they arrange their schedules to do a whole lot of people in one area at a time, so there’s less driving around for them.
So that was done, and now we have more information to work with.
After I got home and everything was unloaded and put away, I assembled the small shelf I got. It’s for the cats. There’s a space in my room that currently has a stool over a circulation vent that has a cat bed on it. I want to replace that with the shelf, and set up four cat beds on it.
I found a problem as soon as took the straps off the package.
Along with the side pieces, there are foot pieces that each have a cap piece tucked into them.
There’s only three foot/cap pieces.
Without all the legs, I can’t put it over the circulation vent, so I ended up putting it on top of the foot stool that’s already there.
This must be pretty common, because it came with a sheet saying, “missing parts? or questions? DO NOT RETURN TO THE STORE to obtain replacement parts.” 😄 There’s a website to go to instead. This isn’t the first time this has happened. A few years back, after we finished clearing out the old basement, I got larger plastic shelves to use down there, to replace the wooden ones that were rotting from the floor getting wet every spring. I wrote to the company and got the missing parts very quickly. I’m pretty sure it’s the same brand.
Once we get the missing parts, we’ll set it up without the foot stool under it, and secure it to the wall more effectively. We’ll probably wrap the verticals with jute twine, too, for the cats to scratch at.
Meanwhile, I’ve got cat beds, caves and blankets on it now, and the cats have been exploring it. sometimes, even staying on it for a while.
They still prefer gathering into massive cuddle piles on my bed, though!
Which is fine. That’ll give me a chance to wash the cat beds and blankets, so they’ll be fresh and clean for tonight.
But first, I need to contact that shelf company about the missing leg/cap piece!
The Re-Farmer 