May 3, 2007 I got my sewer replaced.  I wasn't able to get any other bid so I had to go with Ugastad's for $8,646.  HRA changed its loan system, again, so now al newl loans have to be paid back.  So I have 30 years to pay back my HRA loan and it is interest free and there is no payment schedule.  After the 30 years, I have 30 days to pay off the loan by whatever means and if I don't, then I get hit with an interest rate of 18%.  The way my sewer got replaced is in order to prevent my front entry way to my house from coming away from my house, the sewer started half way down from the toilet then took a turn out the west wall of the basement, then turned left to go down to meet up with the old line from where the plumbers cut it, then to the street.  The reason the new sewer has the old one connecting to it is so that the floor drain has some where to drain without having to use a sump pump.  The plumbers and escavators discovered that there are two sewer mains for my street, one running down the center and the other running underneath the yards across the street and my sewer was connected to the one across the street.  It would have been too expensive to dig up the street to reconnect to that sewer main so the plumbers tapped into the main sewer line running in the center of the street.  It only took one day to complete the job.  the sad part is that half the spot where I park my truck was dug up and when they filled the trench back in, it wasn't topped off with recycled asphalt.  I planted grass seed that evening and then it rained almost continuously for a couple of days.  The grass seed did not wash away but where I leave my truck, it turned into quite I rutty mess.  So I am now parking my truck in another spot and I smoothed out the ruts as best I could.  Now the next task is to get some recycled asphalt dumped on where I like to park my truck.  Last year, my lawn mower, Gordy, made mention of recycled asphalt so this year I will ask him if he deals with it since it might fall under the catagory of landscaping, which is his business.

 

 

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The Night Listener

I bought the DVD, The Night Listener, I thought it was a wonderful movie. It is based on a true story with a lot of mystery involved. In real life, not too much was actually confirmed but the movie filled in the gaps quite well while staying away from being mellow dramatic. It was a wonderful mystery to follow along with and it was a bit eerie without being scary. I thought it was well written, directed, edited and I thought Robin Williams did a wonderful job at creating a well-rounded character that was different from any character he created in the past. I don't want to say anything about what the movie is about because I didn't know the story and I enjoyed the movie from that perspective and I would like others to be able to enjoy the movie as much as I did. The are comments by the those involved in making the movie and I would recommend watching that AFTER seeing the movie.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Oh Happy Day!

I don't believe it but it is true. I beat the game Luxor! I thought when I saw the final level mysteriously appear that the very last game was designed to not be completed by anyone. Maybe the game decided to let me win, I'm not sure about that. I know it seemed to feel that way when I played Luxor's Amun Rising. But when I was playing the final game in Luxor, I did feel like I was actually in the zone and making better decisions quicker, he he he.

Last night I discovered a better than sex hot chocolate, he he he. I will have to go back to just after Christmas when I hit the sales of candy and bought butt loads of Ghiradelli dark choccy that is just dark choccy, dark choccy with raspberry filling and dark choccy with mint filling. I also found things on shelves and on sale I never saw till last week at FleetFarm. One of those being a Sunbeam hot water dispenser. That sucker is fast. It heats 16oz of very hot water in about a minute. It takes my nuker almost minutes to do that. Well, last night I was in an experimentive mood so I heated some water in the dispenser, dropped 2 squares of Ghiradelli raspberry filled dark choccy into my insulated cup, added my usual pinch of grey sea salt, two packets of equal and an ounce of International Delight hazel nut creamer. When the water was ready, I put half into the mug then used my electric hand blender to blend the ingredients then added the rest of the water (400ml total cuz that's what the cup holds). It was heavenly to drink and tasted expensive and rich without being sickening sweet. Oh my stars, I have never had anything so good. I am going to try it with the mint Ghiradellis but I am not sure what flavor creamer to use or if I should just use real heavy cream, which I have. I love chocolate mint so much that I am afraid if the hot choccy with Ghiradelli mint choccy is better than the raspberry, I just might completely and totally lose my mind from being in such a high state of Ecstasy. One can only dream, he he he. Could I possibly reach The Nexus?

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Lovely weather this time of year

Yesterday, it got above freezing so I made it out for three one mile walks. My knees, hips and lower back complained a little but just my lower back is still complaining this morning. The only thing keeping it from being a truly wonderful day was the wind. It was blowing too hard so I still had to bundle up a lot. Last night, all of a sudden I heard a lot of water dripping while I was sitting at the computer. I turned on the kitchen light and water was dripping right from the center of that area. I went up to the attic to investigate and there's an area where ice has accumulated on the inside of the roof. I'm not sure how the ice got there. The way my roof is designed, that area never ever gets hit by direct sunlight so there's always some snow cover on it. I think the snow cover keeps that area of roof cold so when it does get above freezing, which makes the humidity in the air go up, I am wondering if the humidity is condensing and then freezing in that spot. Anyways, there is no insulation between the ceiling and roof in that spot and it is soggy, so I should probably take the ceiling down there to see if having the air circulate better in that area is enough to keep ice from accumulating there in the first place. When I had my house remodeled, I wanted the entire attic ceiling and blown in cellulose insulation taken out but the contractor didn't bid to do that and he said if he did, it would have cost another day's labor and I had already maxxed out the HRA money.

I did call John Ugstad to let him know that HRA called me regarding the bid and report of previous service. John said he was busy all last week opening frozen pipes and he wasn't definite when he would do the paperwork, either. So, at this point I don't know if I will get the bid turned into HRA soon enough so I can be high enough on list to have the work done before the HRA funds run out. If the funds run out before I get the work done, then I have to wait another year or whenever they get more money but at Least I won't lose my rising place on the list. So far things are working out pretty good. I am taking whatever laundry I have to wash at A Place 2 Belong on Tuesdays, taking a bath once every 4 days (that's as long as I can stand myself going without a bath, he he he), adding main line pipe cleaner to my BM's before I flush them and dumping my urine outside in the back yard.

Friday, February 16, 2007

another sewer update

Sue from HRA called today wanting to know if I got any sewer replacement bids for her. I told her I called Ugstad's Plumbing on Monday right after she talked to me and John at Ugstad's said he would contact a digger (excavator)and get a bid ready. So far, I haven't heard back so I had nothing to tell Sue. This means I am not yet placed on the list for available funds, which there is some available now. I'm not sure how much longer I should wait to contact Ugstad's, again. I am not thrilled with businesses in Fergus Falls when it comes to them getting back to a customer. my experience has been they won't contact the customer for anything, even if they say they will. I have always had to contact the business back every time in this town of mine.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Poop Scoop Update

Yesterday, I went into HRA and filled out the paper work so HRA can get me started on one of the available programs to get my sewer fixed. I am not 100% sure at this time if I will qualify, but HRA assured me that I do meet their preliminary qualifications. Now the bad things. Once I am placed in one of the available programs, I have to be on a waiting list to wait for funds to become available AND this will be another 30 year deferred loan, meaning, as long as my house is my primary residence for 30 years from the time the loan starts, then I don't have to pay the loan back. I should hear something within two weeks.

In the meantime I am practicing some disgusting behaviors just to be careful nothing more backs up into my basement. I am doing my laundry at A Place To Belong. I will take a shallow bath once a week. I am urinating into a pitcher and dumping it in my backyard. BM's sit in the toilet bowl with some special bacteria to break it down faster and then I flush the toilet in the evening. And, to prevent clogging of the narrow sewer line, all used toilet paper goes into the garbage. I hope these practices keep my sewer from backing up until I can have the sewer replaced.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Still unsure

Here's what's been going on with getting help for my sewer situation. I called the number social services gave my for Community Action and they told me to call the office in New York Mills because they handle those things. The new York Mills office said they only handle weatherization (I thought they handle other things, too in the past) and they told me my county's courthouse has a program for sewers and that I should call Dennis Christiansen at HRA to find out who I should get in touch with at the courthouse. I felt like I was getting the run around and I wasn't feeling very hopeful, either, because Bob in New York Mills wasn't sounding to sure of himself to me. I did call HRA this morning and I was told that Dennis is out for the day and to leave a voice mail for him. So I did that and now I wait. I have worked with Dennis before because HRA sunk $15,000 into my house to get it more fixed up. $15,000 is the max amount HRA will put into a house. I have what's called a 30 year deferred benefit from HRA which means I don't have to pay back the $15,000 as long as this house is my primary residence for 30 years. I have 25 years left of that sentence, he he he.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Sad Day

A couple of times now I have noticed some large wet looking areas around the drain in my basement. Then, a few days ago I noticed what looked like bits of wet toilet paper stuck to the basement floor around the drain. Today, after running the washing machine I then went into the basement and saw water on the basement floor around the drain and it was very slowly receding. So I called the plumber and they came with 250 feet of electric powered roto router. After about an hours work and having actual sewage back up out of the drain, they were able to break a 1.5 inch diameter hole into the clog. I think with the length of cable they used, the clog is under the street or close to it. Anyways, they said I should start preparing for an excavator to come this spring and dig out the old sewer line and replace it because it is not going to get better. I have no idea how much it will cost to have my sewer replaced but I think it is going to cost more than what I could ever save, especially by this spring, which is less than 3 months away. This is a very stressful situation for me and the first ideas that come into my head, per usual in my past, is wishing to die. I didn't settle myself down enough so I could start thinking of alternatives and all I could think of was checking out social services, where I get heating assistance, and see what they say. They gave my the number for Community Action Council which weatherizes homes. I'm not sure if they will help me or not because they have already weatherized my house before I bought it. But, I am hoping that my sewer problem will fall under a different category and thus qualify for help. In the meantime, I went to Fleet Farm and bought some Main Line Cleaner to keep solid waste and toilet paper from clogging up the 1.5 inch hole made in the clog in the sewer line.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Happy Vernal Equinox

Spring Equinox - Eostre (pronounced E-ostra)
Eostre is the Pagan holiday that celebrates the return of spring and the balance between light and dark on, or around, the Spring Equinox. Eostre was the Pagan goddess of dawn, fertility and new beginnings. The Christian celebration of Christ's rebirth, Easter, is also celebrated around this time and got its name from Eostre.

Spring Equinox - Myths
It has been said that on the exact hour that winter turns to spring (around noon on the Spring Equinox), you are able to stand on an egg that is end-on-end without breaking it. Think that's crazy? Truth is, if you've got the balance and a flat enough surface, you can stand on an egg (end-on-end) any time of the year (just don't be surprised if it doesn't work the first time)!

Spring Equinox - Did U Know?
Eostre gave a rabbit friend the power to lay eggs once a year - on the Spring Equinox. The eggs symbolized new beginnings and the rabbit symbolized fertility.
In modern Russia, eggs are still given as presents on the graves of ancestors in spring, at the start of farming season.
Today we all look to the good ol' Easter Bunny to bring us colored eggs and, more importantly, chocolate ones.


Spring Equinox happens about March 21, and I pass from one time into the other, yet am between one time and another. I
completely shed winter's sleep. As a time of passing, transition, it is powerful - a time of balance - equal day and equal night - so a time of magic. I am poised between being bound, and the movement of Spring. Bound like sleeping beauty who is released by love's kiss into the violent passion of Spring. Bound as in the cosmic egg, which exploded when the cosmos was hatched. Explosive moment of creation - moving dynamically chaotically.

Tonight's Sky for Thursday, Mar 22 2007
Shortly after sunset, the waxing crescent moon and the planet Venus grace the evening twilight. With the exception of the moon, Venus – the evening “star” – is the most brilliant celestial body to light up the night sky. Venus currently appears in front of Aries the Ram. The constellation’s three brighter stars lie to the right of Venus and portray the Ram’s head.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

the plot thickens

I got a call back from Sue at HRA and she said someone in her office thought the bid from Ugstads was rather high. So she told me to go to city hall and get their list of approved excavators and then continue searching for a lower bid. There are more excavators than sewer plumbers in my town. I did get a hold of Botner because in the phone book it looked like they do both excavating and sewer plumbing. The guy I chatted with said he doesn't do bids so the one who does that will be over sometime in the future to check things out. I think I let the cat out of the bag when I let it slip out that HRA is involved. This sounds cynical but it is probably true that whenever someone knows the gov't is paying for something, then they think they can charge more for their work. I do have one more excavator I would like to try and hopefully I won't mention HRA to whoever I talk to. Damn I hate my honesty sometimes.

Friday, March 16, 2007

even the crickets went silent

Sue from HRA returned my phone call this morning. She said the bid Ugastads turned in came to $8,646. I was so shocked I think my heart stopped and my ears went numb. If it had been warm enough for crickets to be around, they would even have stopped rubbing their legs in horror. If I combine that cost with the $15 grand already stuck into my house, the total comes to $23,646. The city rates my property value to be $26 grand so I guess this is going to be the last dime HRA is going to put into my house and this is where I'll be buried. Now I'll have something to tell Karen the next time she and Dusty are out for a walk. She thought the sewer job would be about $6,000 and I thought it would be $3,000. If anyone is reading this, it looks becoming a plumber is the way to make a good living these days.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

loads of melting

Since I posted last, I think we got more than a total of all the snow we had this season dumped on us in 2 weeks. I know I shoveled more than 2 and a half feet of snow. The past week, though, it has been quite warm and a lot has already melted. I even saw a flock of English sparrows 2 days ago in my front yard. After the second big snow fall, I had to hire a guy to push the snow on the west side of my house into my backyard because it had gotten just a bit too deep for my truck and I didn't want to get stuck in my own yard. It was $25 well spent and saved me at least a days worth of shovelling.

The latest on my sewer situation is things are going alright. Ugstads got their bid sent in to HRA (they bypassed me just like I figured they would do so I have no idea what the cost is going to be). HRA called me to tell me that the bid was in (I forgot to ask them what the amount is) but that they are not allowed to set money aside for my project until the work can be started. The work has to wait till the ground thaws. So, even though I am at the top of the list, I am actually lower down since the work can't be done yet. Hopefully, there will be money left in the program to cover me when it is time to start the sewer replacing.

My washboard came last week so I have been washing clothes in my saved bath water and it is working out pretty good. I have discovered from the low amount of lint in my dryer screen that a washboard is no where near as hard on clothes as a washing machine.

The fast melting of snow and the still frozen ground has created quite a muddy situation for me. So I have dumped about 200 pounds of river walk in a path in front of my house to keep me from tracking loads of mud into my house. I t has been working out pretty good so far.

I have been getting out for walks now that the temperature outside has gone up. I am walking one mile at a time and doing it three times a day.

My latest thing is I started getting out for walks, again and I bought myself some push up bars to see if I can start to get some strength back.  I have been useing the push up bars the past 3 days and I haven't gotten any stronger.  I can just barely do one freakin' push up - uff da!  The reason why I waited till now to start doing push ups was because I didn't have enough space on my floor to do them.  Ever since a friend told me he was coming to town 3 weeks ago, I had been busy sorting through my boxes of things and making some tough decisions on what to throw out.  I still have alot of difficulty trying to figure out how to organize, well, almost anything, so alot of stuff went back into the basement.  I didn't want that to happen because my goal is to have nothing in the basement because it is so damp down there.  So now with the main level of my house cleared of boxes, I have room for push ups, he he he.  One more thing, push ups don't hurt my right shoulder any where near as much like lifting weights do.