More about the Union

Today we stopped by the Union office for Paul to pay the $110 they are demanding in order for him to work. That is only for the first 2 months dues. The initiation fee will be taken out weekly for the first 30 weeks he works, along with his further monthly dues. There is just something unnatural about paying someone so you can work.

Paul asked what exactly he is getting for his $500 initiation fee since a regular clerk only pays $100 (he is a food clerk because he touches produce that isn't canned). The woman said he can buy discounted theme park tickets (not like we could ever afford to go) and a shorter waiting period for medical coverage. Ummm, the medical coverage is one of the worst plans I've ever seen. With the new contract he will ONLY have to wait 7 months to get coverage. The kids will be eligible for coverage when he becomes eligible. I, on the other hand, wouldn't be eligible until he has worked for 2.5 years. The coverage has a very large deductible and doesn't cover RX, vision, or dental for 3.5 years. The co-insurance payments are 25% after you pay the deductible. I will admit that it's cheap but that's because the coverage is so lousy!

So it looks like there is no benefits attached to the mandatory Union membership. And no, I'm not surprised. I'm very thankful that we won't be relying on this job for medical!

13 years ago

Today is our 13Th wedding anniversary.

It's really hard to believe that it's been that long. I feel so blessed to be married to my best friend.

I look forward to many more years together. Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Unions

Paul's second job is at a grocery store. Since it's part of a chain they are unionized. There is no option, you must join. Paul said it was like the mafia, you had to pay money for protection but instead of breaking your knees you lose your job.

We got the initial paperwork in the mail yesterday. It will take, at least, his first full paycheck to pay for the dues to get started. After that they will take a monthly dues payment out of his check. Getting information about the amounts is almost impossible.

The industry is so scared of making a mistake here is some of the absolute ridiculous stuff he has already encountered...

No one could give him information on the local to being with. It took us looking online through countless Google searches to find the local branch in Bakersfield. Paul called and the lady said she was setting him up in the computer and would be sending out paperwork. It took a week to get the paperwork which said he had to go into the branch office to get things started! Luckily he is in Bakersfield every day for his day job. it makes me wonder what the people do who ride a bike to work (Bakerfield is 50+ miles away).

The assistant manager couldn't tell him how much he would be making, that's the Union's thing. She couldn't even tell him what his official job title was so that he could look at the current contract to find out his pay scale! We still don't know how much he is getting paid, I guess we will have to wait for his first paycheck.

So far we have yet to find out what the monthly dues are. I'm gathering from the letter sent stating how much he currently owes, did I mention he hasn't even gotten a paycheck yet, that the monthly dues are about $50 a month. This is after a $500 initiation fee. Of course they won't take a check but they will be more than happy to take a credit card.

All this so he can work a second job. Supposedly the Union gets the employees more money, which then goes to pay for the union. You can't get merit raises but you do get a raise every 4 months whether you deserve it or not. Hmmm, now I know why the employees don't go out of their way to be nice and helpful.

So Paul has to pay this money to the Union but the store has 90 days in which to decide whether they want to keep him. So my question is, if they decide to get rid of him does he get his money back?

It's no wonder so many of the store employees work a second job. The government gets their cut, the Union gets theirs, and you get what's left which means you have to get another job in order to live.

Here is one of the many things going around the blogosphere. I was tagged by Cheryl so here it goes.

Personal Style Quiz Rules: You have to choose one of the two. You cannot answer "neither" or "both." You can indicate that you like both or neither, but you must state a preference.

Animal fiber or plant? Plant, I don't know that I own much of anything that is made of animal fiber.

Natural or synthetic? Natural

Ornate or simple? Simple. I like ornate stuff but I feel most comfortable in simple.

Color or neutral? Color. I love lots of color, it makes up for m grumpy personality.

Pastel or vibrant? Vibrant, although I have a difficult time finding things that I like that are vibrant.

Blue/green or red/orange? Blue/green only because I'm not a huge fan of orange. I like red though.

White gold or yellow gold? White gold, most everything I wear is silver so yellow gold just doesn't match well.

Gems or texture? How do theses two things go together? I guess if I have to choose it would be texture.

Watch or no-watch? No watch although I collected watches for many years. I have watches and enjoy wearing them but can't keep up with the battery changes :)

Comfort or fashion? Comfort, I couldn't care less what anyone else is wearing as anyone who sees me can immediately tell!

Trendy or classic? Classic

Cables or lace? Cables cause I can't stand lace. Lace is itchy and reminds me of the 80s.

Heels or flats? Flats, I can't walk in heels.

Flip-flops or sandals? Sandals, although I only have flip-flops at the moment cause I can't find any comfy sandals.

Skirts or pants? Pants except for church.

Geometric or floral? Do I really have to choose? It would really depend on the floral, I don't want to look like I raided some old lady's closet. I guess floral.

V-neck or turtle-neck? Either/both. If it's cold I'll wear a turtle-neck but right now I would prefer a v-neck. I'm not picky I can wear just about anything.

Skulls or butterflies? Butterflies

Loose or snug? Loose, I like to be comfortable.

Long hair or short? Long, right now it's to my waist and hasn't been cut for 3 years or so. I've cut it short a number of times but I always hate it.

Headbands or barrettes? Barrettes if I can find ones that won't break. I have too much hair and can't usually find ones that work. I usually use rubber bands.

Shoulder bag or handbag? Shoulder bag, I like to have my hands free.

Thanks for tagging me Cheryl! I have a blog post and I didn't even have to think up a subject.

The problems with HMOs

We received a very disturbing letter today from Lorna's specialists. It seems Blue Cross and UCLA couldn't come to a contract agreement so they will no longer be accepting her insurance. I called the number on the letter to ask what we were supposed to do about her upcoming appointments, they had very few suggestions.

I called her primary doctor who said that we could get a special okay to see her doctors for the few things scheduled but then we would have to change specialists. The new doctors would be located 3 hours away in the other direction. I looked them up to find that they too couldn't come to an agreement so they are no longer accepting her insurance. I can't say I was at all calm. There are no other specialists within a 3 hour drive.

I called the insurance company who wasn't exactly helpful. Their solution was for us to put in for a special authorization for each appointment. They couldn't guarantee that they would accept the request, meaning at some point we would have to switch doctors and drive around 5 hours each way to see one of these specialists.

I was able to switch plans because of the extenuating circumstances. As soon as we have the new cards I can call the primary doctor to get us referrals to the UCLA doctors. I've already cancelled the special CAH clinic appointment in September. I did it before I found out we could switch midterm. I'm not all that broken up about it, I didn't feel right about going anyway. I have no idea what all of this is going to do to the tentative schedule for her surgery later this year.

All of this was caused because the doctors feel they aren't getting fairly reimbursed through Blue Cross. Looking at the charges and payments over the last few months I'm not sure who is right. $600 for a 10 minute office call with a pediatric urologist seems a bit much, only paying $120 of that charge seems a bit too little. The procedure Lorna had done as an outpatient was reimbursed at around 60%. That seems kind of low until you look at the charges. I just hope we can get the surgery done soon so the effects of any further changes in health plans won't be so far reaching.

Schedules

As I've posted before we are not a very scheduled household. The kids don't have set times for bed or getting up. Paul's day job is very flexible allowing him to set his day. Sometimes he won't leave until late morning because of phone calls and emails that need to be done first thing. I think all of this is about to change.

Paul starts his new 2ND job tonight. He will be working 10pm - 7am 4 nights a week. I realized today how hard of an adjustment it's going to be for all of us. Poor guy tried to sleep this afternoon but just couldn't, I'm thinking that this won't be a problem after tonight. The plan is for him to sleep from lunch till a late dinner. It should give him 6-7 hours on the days he works at both places. I'm sure the other days will find him sleeping at any hour he can.

I feel truly blessed to have a husband who believes so strongly that I need to be home that he is willing to work 2 jobs. I know this is an odd thing in today's society where women are expected and encouraged to work outside the home.

It's Here!!!

I honestly didn't think the 7Th Harry Potter book was gonna make it here in time. I talked to UPS this morning after picking up the mail because the shipment wasn't there. They guaranteed it would be delivered by 6pm which would have done us little good since the post office is only open until 2pm. Actually it's not technically open, you can only pick up packages. After watching the computer anxiously all morning I gave up and decided to drive into town to talk to the person manning the window. The UPS driver was pulling away as we turned the corner so I was pretty sure he had delivered. I hope everyone else in town who ordered gets there in time to pick it up. Luckily they just extended the hours until 2, it used to be 1. If that was still the case everyone would have had a whopping 15 minutes to pick the book up!

Unlike many I won't get to sit and read it straight through. All four of us wanted it first so we decided to be fair and do it as a read aloud. As soon as Paul is off work this afternoon we will start. I'm hoping we can get through it quickly because I hate waiting and have no patience, usually I end up reading the ending of a book somewhere near the middle because I just can't wait to finish!

Well idea put to rest

After fighting with various well drillers and now the pump guy about getting bids, the idea of putting in a new well has been put to rest.

I just don't know how anyone gets financing for wells around here, no one want to give you an estimate. We received a perfect driller bid yesterday but the pump guy's office won't give us a bid until the well is put in. Um, how can we make sure the financing is enough without an estimate? The people who loan out the money won't even consider an application without a bid so it must not be impossible to get one. We were told it would probably be around $5000 for them to connect everything up. We want to reuse everything that is in our current well and it's still $5000?!? Then it was mentioned we would be REQUIRED to put in a 3500 gallon storage tank with a fire department nozzle. We aren't required to have one now so why would a new well need that? And of course that is not included in the $5000 price tag. At this point we are talking about $25,000+ just to get a new well put in to 300 feet. If you break down the total cost by foot it's around $85/foot. Just the driller's cost alone is $50/foot.

I guess we will just have to limp along here and pray for rain, lots of rain, lots and lots of rain...

I don't believe it

We got an email today from Amazon.com about our order for the Harry Potter book. It stated that our shipment was being prepared and that it would arrive, as promised, on Saturday via UPS. I kept staring at the email wondering why it bothered me. I walked away and then came running back to verify what I saw. UPS to a PO box? That's what the email said. I shook my head and waited on hold for a customer service rep to answer.

I made the guy repeat it twice just to make sure I heard correctly... It seems Amazon has made special arrangements with UPS and the USPS so that they can deliver the books. According to the rep, UPS will be delivering to my PO Box. I'm not exactly sure how this is going to work but I'm going to be sitting at the PO waiting for our book. Our PO isn't open on Saturdays but there is a 4 hour block of time that they have someone who will retrieve packages for you. Even if we are disappointed and the book doesn't arrive there is the bonus that we will get the book for the cost of shipping only. It seems like a win-win situation.

Well driller bids

Getting bids shouldn't be so difficult. There is one well driller in our valley, we called him and asked for a bid and a few hours later we received it. In my opinion it was a bit high but not totally out of line.

We called another driller that advertises in our local phone book. He was too busy to really help us but quoted an approximate price twice that of the bid we already have. His price was around $30,000 for a 400 ft well. That didn't include all the pumping equipment either.

Today we finally got in contact with the driller that the pump guy recommended. He was $11 more per foot than the first driller. That's $3300 more for just the drilling. He also charges over $1000 for mobilization. He hasn't gotten us a written bid yet but what he said over the phone means he is $5000 more than our first quote.

At this rate I'm wondering if this is even going to work. The maximum amount the non-profit can guarantee is $8000 but the woman we talked to felt confident she could find an additional $7000 through other programs they work with. Even if she can find enough, can we afford the payments? Maybe the best we can do is pray for rain and a miracle.

Birthday card

I bet you are wondering what I'm doing besides whining about our water problems. I admit I'm just not handling all of this very well (no pun intended). Things are starting to sort themselves out. Paul starts his new job at Vons (Safeway) on Saturday and we are all breathing a sigh of relief and thinking of all the things we will be able to do with the extra income. The top of all of our lists happen to be food, so I guess once we get that first check we will be heading to the store to splurge on a big meal of meat and veggies.

We have a local non-profit company that's helping us find financing for a new well. If we can just get a decent written quote from a well driller we can send off the written application this week. Everyone is a bit leery about putting things in writing but it's a requirement for financing such a thing. We know there is never a guarantee with a well but we need to have something to show to the loan holder.

This brings me around to the title of my post. 2 of my friends have had birthdays recently and I actually remembered in time to make cards. This is a minor miracle! I forgot to get a picture of the first one I mailed but here is the second one.



I was going for a sort of vintage, understated kind of look. I'm really pleased with the layout and suddenly realized how much I miss crafting and sewing. The problems we have been facing seem to have overshadowed all of the things I love to do. I'm going to attempt to get back into those projects that have fallen by the wayside.

Ways to conserve electricity

Since I recently posted the ways we are conserving water I thought I would add the ways we conserve electricity. We've gotten our consumption down to an average of 200 kw a month.

1. Turn off lights when you leave the room.

2. Put most everything (TVs, DVD players, etc.) on power strips that are turned off every night. Each of these things draw power even when they are off.

3. Switch over to fluorescent bulbs where possible.

4. Choose to replace appliances with energy efficient models and make sure they are the right size for your family. It makes no sense to have a huge refrigerator if you only need a small one.

5. Turn off monitors or printer when they aren't in use. We use the sleep mode (standby on the PC) on the mac since I check email frequently throughout the day. The amount of power required to actually start the computer is tremendous.

6. Don't turn on the lights during the day. We have a window in the bathroom and all the other rooms so we don't use the lights during the day.

7. Turn off the porch lights unless you really need them. I can't tell you how many of the people around us leave them on all night.

8. Set the thermostat at the top of your comfort range. We don't have one since the swamp cooler is either on or off so we make sure to turn it off and open all the windows when it gets comfortable outside.

9. Hang your clothes on a clothesline. We own an electric dryer but have no way to plug it in since there are no 220 outlets in the house. As long as I'm careful about taking the clothes down when they are dry, a clothesline has worked well. This probably wouldn't work as well if we had a lot of rain but since it is very, very dry the clothes dry in about 30 minutes.

The light bulbs are the easiest thing to change. Depending on the size of your house, you may see a large change in your monthly bill. Having lived completely without electricity I sometimes feel guilty for the amount of energy we do use. But I admit I really like being able to turn on the sewing machine without having to plug the inverter into the car!

Bonus

Paul has the kind of job where he has the opportunity to get a bonus each quarter. The first quarter was great, he grew his territory enough that he qualified. We planned that the second quarter check would pay for the last installment of the property taxes and the rest of the truck registration. We got the statement today and the news wasn't what we had planned on. It seems Paul missed the mark by .01% on the gross margin of his sales. The frustrating thing is that he doesn't have much if any control over the margin. Big accounts like Halliburton have the margin set at corporate and are below the minimum rate needed for a bonus. The most frustrating thing is that he worked harder the second quarter and even grew his accounts more than the first quarter. So he sold more but got a lower bonus, somehow that doesn't seem like a very good incentive for the third quarter. I can only thank God that he got that second job and will start in 2 weeks.

Movies

We've really enjoyed our Netflix subscription averaging 12-15 movies a month. I keep coming up with excuses not to cancel it and cutting out other things in order to keep it. Here is a list of a few of the movies we have really enjoyed over the past few months. Warning: we are not easily shocked and do watch a lot of rated R movies.

Proof with Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins Spectacular movie but of course I was once a math geek!

The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz Funny but lots of sexual situations

What a Girl Wants with Colin Firth This one is not your typical romance as it focuses on the growing bond between a father and daughter. We really enjoyed it and were pleasantly surprised.

The Shop Around the Corner This is the movie that You've Got Mail was based on. Very sweet, B&W, very wholesome.

Music & Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore Good music and a cute story.

High Fidelity with John Cusack Good music and a good plot. Lots of sexual situations.

Carolina with Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine Really good, funny story focusing on a messed up family of 3 young girls and their grandmother.

Shall We Dance with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez Nice dance scenes and better than the reviews let on.

Shakespeare in Love with Gwyneth Paltrow Funny and well acted.

Cider House Rules with Tobey MacGuire and Michael Caine Lots of adult themes but exceptionally good.

We are also enjoying some of the older movies and musicals like Singin' in the Rain, Pillow Talk, That Touch of Mink, etc. They are wholesome and fun but usually have a very weak story.

Water Transfer

Here is the temporary solution we've come up with. It has morphed over the 4 days we've been doing this.



The first day we transported water in a green pepper barrel and 3 seven gallon blue drinking water containers.

The next day we had purchased the tank you see in the photos. We tried a hand transfer pump but at 80 revolutions per 8 gallons it was just too difficult. Paul ended up carrying the 210 gallons of water up the ladder 7 gallons at a time.





Next we purchased the blue transfer pump in the pictures but the hoses just didn't work quite right. Today we graduated to the setup you see. The water flows through a suction hose into the pump, which is actually a shallow well pump, into another suction hose attached to the green storage tank.


Since we've been incredibly frugal with our water usage we are actually gaining more than what we are trucking in. Yesterday we gained 100 gallons from the well and 200 from town. Today we gained 50 gallons from the well and 200 from town. At the rate we are going the tank should be full by Sunday afternoon. After that we figure we will only have to haul in 1-2 tanks a week. We noticed a dramatic improvement as our temps have dropped 10 degrees over the past few days and none of our "neighbors" are here (they don't live here full-time).

We know this is only a temporary solution but at least I no longer have to worry about our immediate needs.

News sure travels

Paul was stopped on the way to work this morning by a guy that lives a few streets over. He said he had heard our well wasn't doing well. His response to the news was, "Didn't you know the well was slow?" Well duh! We knew and had the storage tank installed to guards against this problem. Of course it doesn't matter that the well has been serving our needs just fine for over 9 months. In his mind I guess we were foolish to have a well that's slow in production. We went to Tractor Supply yesterday to pickup a water tank for the back of the truck. While there we met a really nice lady who lives in the mountains around us. She mentioned that her well is really slowing down, as is her neighbors'. There is some comfort in knowing that we aren't alone and that it isn't just bad planning on our part.

The same guy that asked about the well also told Paul that people have been complaining about our dogs barking. Since the majority of the time that they bark is in response to the ones down the hill we made sure to mention that. I've been working on going out to quiet them down over the past few weeks. There have been many times the barking is because of the coyotes that live in the boulders above our property or because of the neighbors' dogs that are running loose. I'd be more concerned about the noise if it was frivolous or if we weren't woken up by dirt bikes,loud parties, and ATVs at all hours of the night. At least our dogs only bark during the day!

We did have some good news yesterday. Paul was able to secure a second job working graveyard at Vons. We are relieved because we need the extra income to help make ends meet. The well driller's estimate of $15,000 means it will take over 2 years of saving but at least we will have the ability to save!

Ways to conserve water

Here are the ways in which we've thought of how to conserve.

1. Flush only when necessary

2. Catch the washer water as it drains to use in the toilet

3. Get wet, turn off water, soap up, then rinse in the shower

4. Plug the bathtub when showering so the water can be bailed out for the garden

5. Turn off the faucet while washing hands and teeth

6. Wait to use the bathroom when going out

7. Use a wash tub for the dishes so the water can be used outside or in the toilet

I think we can get our usage down to 50 gallons a day with the horse and dogs drinking a large part of that. We already only do full loads of laundry, have a low flow shower head and toilet, and use the other ordinary ways to conserve. If you have any other extreme ways to conserve I'd love to hear them.

Daily Bread

In the section of the catechism on the Lord's Prayer it says:

God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people...

What is meant by daily bread?

Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home...


I'm wondering how exactly our needs for water are going to be met. I already struggle with this idea since the kids' clothes are worn through and have been grown out of in many cases so it makes it worse that now we are having water problems. Our well isn't producing enough to keep up with our needs at all. We've called around only to find that no one will sell us water that we can haul ourselves unless we have the means to hook up to a fire hydrant and we don't have the ability to pay someone to haul it for us. Paul's mom is allowing us to fill up a barrel for right now but that isn't enough for anything other than drinking and cooking. The well driller we called still hasn't called us back but even if he did we have no way to pay for a new well or to even finance one. I've been reminded that I should just have faith and let it go but I can't seem to do that. Maybe I should worry more about that than the lack of water...

Heat

It's been exceedingly hot the last couple of days, today we are supposed to get up to about 110 degrees. I'm convinced that people who say they prefer heat to cold must spend most of their time in air conditioned buildings. We have a swamp cooler instead of ac, like most people in this area, and although we are luck to have a very good swamp cooler it just doesn't do as good of a job as ac. The only real upside is that it's really cheap to run.

For those that aren't familiar with these types of coolers I'll give a quick run down on how they work. Inside the metal box is a series of pads that are made up of a paper-like material. Water is run into those pads and air is forced through the wet pads. It's amazing how cool the air is that comes out, it's also humid air which is great in such a dry area. This is why this type of cooling doesn't work in humid climates, there is already too much moisture in the air. Last year we were stuck with fans only and no cooler at all. Lucky for us the whole thing only takes a little bit of water.

Along with the heat and drooping plants we are having to contend with a thief. Something is uprooting my squash plants and stealing tomato plants. Over the last 3 days we have lost 4 different plants. The squash plants get broken off at the roots and left on the ground, but the tomato plant was pulled clean out and taken. I have no idea what could be doing this. The garden that's being ransacked is right next to the horse's pen so whatever it is isn't scared of the horse. Now I'm glad I have three separate places with squash plants. At the time I planted them I was frustrated with the distance between each area but now I think it's the only thing saving the rest of them from being destroyed. We aren't getting very many zucchini off each plant so it's frustrating to lose so many.

Already I'm trying to plan to see if we can move everything next year. I'm also finding that we are going to have to adjust the kinds of things we want to grow. The tomato plants continue to grow but haven't produced anything and we didn't get any beans before the plants died. None of the lettuce survived past the first cutting and it's been too hot to try to plant more. On the whole all we've gotten is a few yellow squash, a few zucchini, and one bowl of lettuce. The dirt just isn't very good and I don't think we have the means to improve it enough. I'll probably try again next year or maybe even in the fall but right now I'm just frustrated.

Well verdict

The well guys came out today and the news wasn't good. They were able to lower the pump 14 feet but we are still short on water. The recommendation was to call a well driller to possibly drill a new well. Not exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for.



The guys were great though. They pulled out the pipe and pump, determined how deep the well was, connected 14 feet of additional pipe, and put everything back together. All of this came to the price of $0. The owner of the company was very nice, felt very bad, and didn't charge us. I can't even begin to express how much of a relief that was. He recommended a driller that he trusts. We have a call in to him to get an estimate.



Paul has spent the day calling various water companies to see about having enough water delivered to fill the tank. So far we have had very little luck. It seems the only water hauler in the area charges by the truckload whether you need all of it or not. For $225 we can have 3725 gallons of water delivered, we only need 2000 gallons. We've tried to find a place we could buy from and haul it ourselves but it seems no one will sell to individuals.

Who knows, maybe some day I will be able to look back on this whole mess and it won't seem so bad but right now that's not the case.

BTW, when it rains it pours... the tires we bought for our truck less than 4 months ago are wearing poorly and it looks like we needs new tires again.

More well problems

The guys came out to "fix" our problem only to find a new one.

The pump isn't filling the tank because there is no water in the well at the level with the pump. Best case scenario is that the pump was only dropped part way into the well and all they need to do is add a few lengths of pipe. Worse case is that the well needs to be drilled lower. Absolute worst case is that a whole new well needs to be drilled.

We won't know anything until Monday morning when the workmen come back to pull the pump out of the well. At that point they will be able to determine the actual depth of the well. Right now, using the sonar equipment, they say there is water at 150 feet. Since most of the wells around here are deeper than that (300-600 feet) I hope it's the first scenario.

Otherwise we are gonna have to learn to be even more careful with our water usage and our chances of ever selling this place are frightening...

Well and Stuff

The problems with the well are almost resolved. The guys came out and fiddled with the wiring, which we were informed was substandard, and found that it was "only" a switch. It turns out the saver switch was turning the well off before it could fill the tanks. Our 2500 gallon tank was almost empty, so this has been going on for some time. Of course we found out this evening that the float wasn't hooked back up properly and the storage tank isn't filling up at all. Tomorrow Paul will have to call them back out to finish the work.

The cost wasn't as much as it could of been but it was still a bunch. Luckily our son has enough saved that we can borrow and pay back over the next six months or so.

Along with the well excitement my mom and stepfather arrived for their visit. We will be picking up my grandmother next week since she is going back to Washington with them.

We had another visitor this afternoon as well.



Malachi ran in while I was cooking dinner to tell us that there was another rattlesnake under the deck. In the above picture you can see the rake Paul used to pull it out from under the deck.



Here you can see what happened to it after it was pulled out. I hate to kill these things but it's too dangerous leaving them around. The kids run around with the dogs and cats and don't always keep a sharp eye out. Since all 3 of the snakes we've found recently have been in the same area under the deck I think we may have a nest under the house. Not a very comforting thought!

Life is never dull around here. Someday maybe I'll get a few days in a row without excitement...

Well problems

I'm trying really hard to be calm and not weep uncontrollably.

We have no water. Everything was fine this morning and then nothing. There is power to the pump but it's just sitting there not even trying to pump water. The best guess is that the pump is dead. It took a few hours but we finally got in touch with the well pump place in town and they are going to be here within an hour. I'm hoping they have some kind of payment plan because we don't have much saved and we don't use credit cards.

Of course my mom and stepfather will be arriving here for their visit at the same time and I'm out of chocolate! I keep telling myself to breathe deeply and relax but it's not working...

There is no utopia

Why do I get the "bloom where you are planted" speech when I least need to hear it?

It was a slightly different version but it amounts to the same thing. I've noticed that I hear it the most from people who are happy and don't have to struggle all that much. Even if they are correct, which I'm not willing to admit at the moment, it's really hard to take from someone who is in a comfortable place and is enjoying success.

Without making this a complete downer of a post, I'm just wondering... Since there is no utopia can we say that there are better places? What I mean is, is it possible that there could still be a better place to be?

I'm so tired of struggling. I'm mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. So the last thing I want to hear from someone is that if I just change my attitude that things will get better. Easy to say when things are going well. So hard to put into practice when there is no end in sight to the daily struggle.

Bye Bye Sun!

I'm not a morning person. I can get up and function if I absolutely have to but I don't like it, so I don't enjoy the sun streaming into the bedroom morning in the summer. During the winter it's not that big of a deal because the position of the sun is such that it doesn't come directly in and it warms the room up.

Since our temperatures have been hoovering around 100 degrees for the past two weeks or so the last thing I want is the sun warming the room. Plus the sun has moved so much that it peeks straight through the window right into my eyes at the horrible hour of 6am! So I finally got around to putting up a curtain.

One of the benefits of living in a semi-rural area is that our nearest neighbors aren't close enough to see in the windows. That allows me to keep pushing curtains to the bottom of my to-do list. But the sun can see in and I decided that I couldn't tolerate it any longer.

Paul and I hung the hardware over the weekend. I've had this stuff left from the last place we lived, sometimes keeping stuff around is worthwhile. I admit the first 3 days I had a robe hung on the hooks because I just couldn't get up enough motivation to change the thread color in the sewing machine (I'm in the process of sewing a black suit for Malachi). But it's done and I'm gonna be much happier in the morning when I wake up and the clock says 8am instead of 6!

I wonder how long it will take me to finish the rest of the curtains for the house. In previous homes I've finished and hung curtains just as we sold the house and moved. Maybe I should start sewing faster!

Light Reading

This is one of my favorite times of the year.



As frustrated as I was last time I ordered I still look forward to receiving the Rainbow Resource catalog in the mail. I will spend the next few months looking through almost every page, dreaming of everything I would love to order. I will make out one large list, add up the total, pick myself up off the floor and start to selectively cull items that I would love but can't afford. It will literally take me months to get the list down to an amount I can afford. I don't actually order until October or November. By then the worst backorders will be over and they will have most things back in stock.

It never fails that at least one thing will take months and months to get here. The worst backorder we've experienced was 10 months but that was a publisher problem. Hopefully this time I won't have shipping problems like I did last time. I've decided that as much as I enjoy ordering online, it's too difficult with our address problem, so I will go back to calling in the order and repeating all those pesky item numbers.

Since I haven't decided which math program we are going to, the timeliness of the arrival of the new catalog will allow me to peruse what is currently available from them. Just as an aside, it has now been over a week since I emailed the MUS rep with questions about the classic curriculum and I have yet to get a response. *Sigh* In all but the rarest cases, good customer service is a dead art.

I'm off to find a chair and curl up with my new best friend!

Starbucks

Our little valley is getting a Starbucks! It's not a free-standing one, it's in the Vons, but it's still a shock. I hate coffee so it doesn't affect me much. Since it's in the Vons I'm assuming it's trying to cater to the tourists, most full-time residents shop at the locally owned markets. The only reason we found out was because I really wanted ice cream and the Rite Aid was closed so we were forced to shop at Vons.

I'm really hoping that it doesn't affect the little locally owned coffee shop down the street from Vons. It's owned by a non-denom pastor and his wife. They are super nice and sell their stuff a lot less than Starbucks does. Paul was given a pound of Columbian coffee that needed to be ground. He stopped by the local store and they were happy to grind it for him! There is no way Starbucks would do something like that.

Wheelbarrow

Malachi received a wheelbarrow as a birthday gift from some friends. Along with the wheelbarrow he received paint so that he could decorate it.

He spent a few days thinking and planning. He is now on his 4Th day of painting, touching up the stripes, it started out black. He is very serious about this project.



At least we will always be able to find his wheelbarrow!

Shortsighted California Politicians

If you haven't heard about the bill that recently passed the California State Assembly and is in the Senate that will require pet owners to sterilize their pets you can read more about it here.

Since I think that the government already intrudes in our personal lives too much, it's no surprise that I think this is a horrendous bill. We are really hoping that it doesn't make it through the Senate. It's typical of CA politicians, either they don't care about the unintended consequences or they know what's gonna happen and they are supporting it anyway. I've heard a number of places having to import adoptable animals, and not just in CA (the area we lived in while in CO sent dogs over to Denver all the time, they couldn't keep up with the demand).

The current costs in our area to fix a female dog are $140, we checked because we are considering getting one of ours done. There are some places that offer low cost clinics but they aren't everywhere. If this law goes into effect they are going to have a lot of people relinquishing their pets because they cannot comply. We already pay 4 times the amount in licensing fees in order to keep Hannah, she is our only unaltered dog. Unfortunately Californians as a group can't think. they won't see the problems with this until it's too late.

I haven't read about any vets who are for this, although I'm sure there are some, because it will seriously affect their practices possibly causing many to go out of business. The economic costs could be far reaching for some areas. Not only could the vets go out of business but the stores that furnish supplies and the groomers could be seriously impacted. In the more rural areas it will be harder felt than in the cities. People around here don't just have one dog most have several. They support 2 vets that have small animal practices and at least one pet store. Since we don't have a low cost clinic to alter pets in this county, many have unaltered pets which they would have to give up. That kind of monetary loss for the businesses in this small area would be serious. I also wonder what this will do to the rodent populations, with fewer cats would we see a serious rise in diseases caused by rats and mice?

One more question- Will this affect tourism? How many times have you seen older people with their little dogs in their car from out of state? If these people have dogs that are not sterilized, they will find other places to vacation and spend their money!

Why can't the state just go after the people allowing their animals to roam and get pregnant? Why should everyone be punished just because a few people are irresponsible? Grrrrr, can you tell this is one of my hot buttons right now?

Math Books

We are finishing up the Intermediate book in Math U See this week so I can't put off ordering Lorna's next math book much longer. We did take a few weeks off to do drills using Calculadder, but there is only so much of that the kids can take before they get frustrated and bored.

You would think that after 6 years of homeschooling I wouldn't fall into the trap of looking at a new curriculum, but I have. I'm just not sure I want to continue with Math U See. I like the old version and I'm not sold on the new one. We bought the first two sets back when we used to attend homeschooling conventions so we had the time to look at it and I didn't have to pay shipping. The cost of the new books is more than what I remember paying for the old ones and is going to be a strain. Each of the older texts took us about 3 years to go through, spread out I think I spent less than $40 a year. I also made Lorna write out her problems on a sheet of lined paper so I could reuse all of the books with Malachi.

So now I'm considering if we should try something new. I'm leaning towards something more inexpensive to get us through until Lorna is ready for Jacob's Elementary Algebra which I've used for tutoring and I love. I really like the idea of the Keys To series of books but I haven't seen them in person.

As if I didn't have anything else to do with my time, now I'm spending hours looking at reviews of math books! Decisions, decisions...

Garden Update

We had this visitor today.





Lorna found him while watering the neighbor's property. He's been making holes at the base of her rose bushes, which the neighbor is not happy about, so Lorna brought him home so he could live with the one who hangs out in front of our house. We have too many bugs and pests for just one toad to handle so the reinforcements should be good.

Here is the view of some of the front squash plants.



This is the one we have been talking to in hopes that the squash will mature faster.



This is the tub where I'm experimenting with square foot gardening. The melon plants are doing wonderfully but the peas have been struggling. Even the bush beans haven't been doing all that well. Next time I'm going to ditch the tub and put all the soil into a wooden raised bed. We have pallets that we've been scrounging so that we can start that in the fall.



These are some of the squash plants in back of the house. These limped along at first which explains why they are so much smaller than the front ones. Now they have been taking off and producing their own flowers. We had a couple of stray pea plants shoot up here, they also didn't do well as you can see.



These are a few of the tomato plants we got out of all those seedlings. We have about 3 green zebras, 2 pearsons, and 15 grape tomato plants going. We do have about 5 or so that we aren't sure about since the seeds got mixed up. We lost a lot when we replanted them and have continued to lose a few every week. The heat was unexpectedly bad for a few days after replanting and some just didn't take root. The loses have finally tapered off and I think we may only lose one or two more.



All in all, it wasn't a bad first try in this new area. We have a lot more work to do on the soil. I need to add a lot more peat moss and compost before next year but I'm not too disappointed with the results. There is always next year ...

Healthier eating

I know that this subject has been beat to death on the Loop (Lutheran homeschooling list) but we've been working on trying to get healthier over the last few years. I reached a new milestone this week, I've finally cut back to 2 sodas a day and I've increased the amount of water I'm drinking to about 100 ounces a day.

We started cutting back on processed food awhile ago. We no longer eat boxed Mac & Cheese, which was a staple in our diet. I gave up buying store bread about 5 months ago when I had bread that didn't mildew for over a month, it really made me wonder what we were eating! Today I'm making my first batch of wheat bread. Up until now I've only made white since it was the cheapest thing to make. I was able to pick up 5lbs of wheat flour last week when I was at Walmart. As much as I dislike Super Walmart I do miss shopping there, we were able to eat a whole lot healthier. We have 2 partially finished stores that have been sitting for over 2 years while they go through court battles over the environmental impact of the stores.

I also made up a batch of granola this week, which is now gone. I used to make it on a regular basis a number of years ago but fell out of the habit with all the moves. One more thing I've been able to do is make sure we are all eating at least one serving of fruit or veggies a day. It doesn't sound like much but it's a start. That will increase to two or more servings once the garden stuff starts to ripen. It looks like we will only have 2 types of squash, lettuce, and tomatoes. The bean plants have all started to die without producing more than 2 beans a piece :( I think it's the heat.

I'm trying to decide what we can do next. I've looked into buying raw milk but at $12 a gallon there is no way we can even buy one gallon a month. More fruit may be the next step if I can find a decent place to get it.

Changing Seasons

As the season changes so does our local community. I've noticed a growing tension between the residents of our valley and the tourists. The letters to the editor of the local paper have started to show frustration. The visitors come, play, and leave their stuff behind for the residents to pick up. Not only do they leave their junk for someone else to pick up but they have no idea how to drive in a small town. They tow these monster trailers weaving in and out of traffic, refusing to use the turnouts provided, and showing no regard for those around them.

Along with the larger community, I've noticed a change in our immediate neighborhood. If you walk or drive around the streets at different times of the year you find very different environments. As the people who own vacation homes once again start to visit them, we find our little streets crowded with boats, ATVs, and dirt bikes. Since we live up a one lane road, trying to get in and out is becoming a major problem. During the week you will find people getting over for one another and waving as you pass. Once the weekend or holiday arrives you find the complete opposite. The dirt bikes ride up the major access road around blind curves as if they own the place, putting everyone in danger. They ride these same bikes up and down the roads all hours of the night.

Sometimes I wonder if this is all due to radically different outlooks. I would say a good portion of our full-time population in the valley, and specifically in our neighborhood, are just trying to get by. Their goals are to get through the day, week or month. They aren't looking at the new boat or trailer or dirt bike, they are trying to raise a family and just survive. Contrast that with the people who come up here to play. They feel they own the roads since they pay taxes on their vacation property so they should be able to do whatever they want (yes, I know I'm making generalizations on both sides). They don't see this as a place that people live and work in. Being that they do own that second house and all the toys I think the differences in everyday life further compounds the problem. The disparity between these two very different worlds is just too much and it causes friction. I know there are exceptions to this, but on the whole I think this explains the tension that you can almost feel right now. I've spoken a few times to people that live in our area, they like the area except at times like these. The main complaints are the noise and traffic, followed by the garbage that litters our town after a long weekend. I can agree with all of that and add one more, I miss the friendliness that disappears when the tourists appear.

The whole reason this came to mind was because Paul and I were discussing how difficult it is to interact with people who's life is focused on different things. When I was reading through the letters in the newspaper I realized it wasn't just me, it seems that we all have that problem. That doesn't mean we can't live together but it may mean that the best we can do is tolerate each other since there seems to be no way to really understand the concerns of one another.

Email problems

If you've sent us email in the last few days don't be frustrated if it takes us awhile to answer. Our satellite internet provider has been having hardware problems for a few weeks and currently our messages are trickling really slowly. Sometimes we don't get them for 24 hours or so. We aren't ignoring you!

Riding Lessons

On the heels of my post a few days ago, I can report that Lorna is no longer the isolated homeschooler! Today she started horseback riding lessons in the hopes that she will gain confidence with her own horse.




I am very excited about this opportunity that she has been given. She has a job watering the neighbors flowers which pays her almost enough for one lesson a month. Her grandparents have all offered to help out with the expenses so that she can have 2 lessons a month. Thank you grandparents!



The instructor is a very nice younger woman with loads of experience. Since the lessons are private she can adapt to what Lorna needs and work with her strengths. By the end of the lesson today she had Lorna riding with her hands raised and eyes closed, which is a major accomplishment!

Clothing for girls

Yesterday, after trying yet another church, we decided to head over to Walmart before coming home. We don't have a Walmart in our valley so I don't get to go very often. We needed napkins and I wanted a bag of chips to go with the chicken we were having for lunch.

Since we were already there I thought we should look for some shorts for Lorna. She's outgrown the ones we bought last summer and really wants a few pairs since the temperatures have been climbing into the high 90s and even reaching 100 lately. What we found was frustrating. All the shorts were really short and tight. They didn't seem to have any of the shorts that I remember buying as a kid, the kid that were not form fitting and came down to just above your knee.

Last year we had a difficult time finding shorts too. We ended up buying ones that were labeled "school shorts". They were made so they would conform to school dress codes but could be altered on the weekends to be shorter. This year we haven't been able to find anything even remotely like that within our small budget. So I guess I'll have to go through the fabric we have here and make her some. I really enjoy sewing but can't seem to find enough time to even finish what I have cut out, let alone start a new project!

Cowdog

I think the kids had a little too much time on their hands today.



I'm really glad that Buster is such a patient dog! I've noticed that the little ones are a lot more tolerant than the larger dogs. Maybe they figure they can't do anything about it so they should enjoy the attention no matter how silly they end up looking.

Eragon

We saw the movie two nights ago and I have to say it was even worse than I expected.

If you read the book and enjoyed it, don't bother with the movie. If you like movies that are a quick jaunt from point A to point B with no character development, than you will enjoy this movie.

They left out major characters and events, more than was necessary to condense the story for a movie. It was like watching the third Harry Potter movie, but not even that good!

What a disappointment...

School Goals

It's that time of year with school that I start to realize we aren't going to finish everything up the way I want to and I start to dream about what we could get done next year.

Each year I think my dreams get smaller, probably a good thing since I never actually get everything done I want. We've ended the year doing very little book work, actually other than math drills we've done no bookwork just lots of read-alouds. Does this make me an unschooler?

I was looking through a few homeschool blogs this week and feeling like such a failure. There were lists of subjects like music, art appreciation, science projects, etc. When we first started this I used to plan and dream about stuff like that but life got in the way. There always seemed to be one more book we wanted to read, so music and art got pushed aside. The only really successful year of science projects we did was when I bought a self-contained kit for electricity and physics. No planning involved, the pieces were all there together and the questions we already printed. Maybe next year...

Talking this over with Paul the other night I realized that although I haven't reached my goals, I have instilled the ability to read and try things. When the kids have questions about a topic they go to the bookshelves, find a book and read about it. Usually an hour later then are instructing me on the neat things they've read. These things don't usually fit into my plans for what I want them to learn at the moment but they are still learning. Even more important than that, they are retaining what they learn. More and more I'm finding myself trying to fill in the gaps instead of planning every minute of our day.

Still, next year we are going to get back into Latin, read about a different composer each month, learn to play and instrument, do one science project a week, and... I guess I do still have big dreams, after all each year in a new opportunity to try.

Good Friends

I just got off the phone with a good friend who I rarely get to talk to and even more rarely get to see. She lives in Nebraska with her husband and 5 kids. Our relationship is the type where we are always comfortable with one another and pick up where we left off as if we talk every day.

I always feel so much better after talking to her. We got married within a few months of each other after meeting during our freshman year in college. She was actually one of my roommates but left after that first year to start a family. We had our first kids within a few months of each other as well. Paul and I are the godparents to her 4th child so there is also that special bond between our two families.

There is something to be said about friends who are at the same stage in life. I can tell her things and she understands because she homeschools too. I can vent my frustrations and worries and she's there to pick me up, commiserate, and just listen. I think it's impossible for that to happen with friends who are at a different stage or have never experienced the same kinds of hardships.

I've spent a lot of time recently questioning my life and myself. I've come to realize that I need that pick me up from someone who understands. I need to be able to tell someone my frustrations about being a SAHM without being told that it's my choice and I should go get a job. I need to be able to share my difficulties about finances without being told that I shouldn't complain, I've made my choice to live like this. Sometimes it's just nice to be told that it's okay to be sad and disillusioned, instead of the response to just be happy. I admit that my personality tends to be pessimistic and I sometimes wish I could be more happy. But as much as I have tried to be that way I am miserable trying to pretend to be something I'm not. I guess, sometimes, I just need to hear that it's okay to have doubts and it's also okay to express them.

So right now I'm exceedingly thankful for my friend in Nebraska, I can be myself and share my life and not be faced with anything other than acceptance and loving concern.

Wireless

It's done!



The land line has been disconnected and we are officially a wireless household. After taxes we will save $30 a month, that's not too bad! Over the entire year we will save $360, it's amazing how quickly that adds up. Every time I think of yet another person I have to notify I just keep reminding myself of that savings.

After being without a cell phone for over a year, it's really odd to have one again. I'm used to hunting up the cordless receiver which is easy to see because it's so large. Now I'm trying to train myself to put the cell in my pocket when I go outside to hang up clothes and water.

I had to get the most obnoxious phone I could find, I think it fits my personality. At least I won't ever get it confused with Paul's which is a boring silver, perfect for trying to be professional but not much fun.

Not gonna apologize

Editted: I just wanted to make sure it isn't misunderstood. This post is not aimed at anyone who has comments posted on this blog. I enjoy getting comments that have a different opinion and discussing things. This is directed to the person(s) who has said that we are too picky and was offended by our beliefs.

To the person that was offended by my post yesterday, I'm not gonna apologize. When I started this blog I wanted to focus more on the paring down aspects of our life, but it's turned out to be a place where I can come and vent just a bit about what's going on in our adventure. So I have a hard time apologizing for our needs when it comes to a church. Instead I thought maybe I would explain how we ended up here and why we are soooooo picky.

It's gonna be long and not so pretty so consider yourself warned...

Paul wasn't Lutheran when we were married. He was a theistic evolutionist who had occasionally attended non-denominational and Baptist churches growing up. I was a non-practicing Lutheran who went to an LCMS church until I was 12. The first place I saw contemporary worship in a Lutheran church was at Concordia Irvine. Not what I remembered from my childhood and I still wasn't all that committed to going to church so I didn't really care much.

Up until the birth of our first child, neither of us really discussed religion much but that changed when Lorna was born. She had a genetic disorder that required surgery and I felt this need to have her baptized. We discussed it and that was the first time I realized how different our beliefs were. Of course, Paul didn't understand infant baptism and I didn't understand his idea of making a decision for Christ. In the end, the campus pastor came and talked to us and Paul decided it would be a good thing.

It was a small start. We tried a few churches in the area we were living in at that time but nothing worked. Years went by, we had lots of problems with money and life, I graduated from college, and we had another kid. After working at an insurance company for a few years I was frustrated and unfulfilled. We decided that maybe I should try teaching. Not what I went to school for but it would give me the opportunity to be with our kids more. We found an apartment closer to my job and Paul surprised me by saying we needed to start going to church. Now this wasn't out of the blue, we had talked about it many times, but our differences in belief were so different that it seemed too difficult.

He agreed to try the local Lutheran church. We got heavily involved in a short amount of time. Eventually becoming praise singers for the contemporary service although we still attended the liturgical service. At this time we had Malachi baptized and we both started adult instruction classes. The more we learned, and for me it was a refresher since I had attended an LCMS school, the more we questioned the practices of this church. To make this long story a bit shorter lets just say we saw what happens when an LCMS church decides it needs to be an outreach into the community. We watched as the services slowly lost the Bible readings, the reciting of the creeds, and focused more on being relevant for the times. Eventually the kids were shuttled off to children's church while the adults listened to an uplifting talk (sermon).

At this same time we had decided that I would quit working and that we would try homeschooling the kids. Malachi had been in daycare since he was 6 weeks old and it was a difficult transition for all of us. We were exceedingly unhappy at the church we were attending but since we were so involved it seemed impossible that we would leave. Ultimately we found you can't change a church, no matter how hard you try. We decided what we needed was something a bit more conservative. We were naive in thinking that this experience hadn't left a huge mark on the way we looked at things. Because of the changes we saw and the way they were implemented, we were very leery of a church that didn't strictly follow the hymnal.

Our next church was a place that we shouldn't have stayed at. We got hurt and people that we had a budding friendship with were hurt. We needed to be at a place that wasn't in transition but this church was, which wasn't the right place for us. In the end we found that we had made a huge mistake and left. It wasn't pretty and I only wish things could have been different.

The next place we attended was the church where we are currently members. It was a very good place for us, and still would be if it wasn't so far! We were able to regroup and start to heal. Unfortunately we couldn't stay there since Paul took a job transfer to Indiana.

I can't believe you are still with me!

We moved in the attempt to get a better handle on his job and finances. This was another tough move for us when it came to churches. We tried to find someplace close to a decent church but that's a difficult thing when you live 2000 miles from the place you are moving to. It was a good church but yet again in transition. The pastor was wonderful but the situation wasn't so great. We were all reeling from culture shock and in a church that had had a large split in the not so distant past. The church was in serious financial straits and we stayed against our better judgement. In the end, we once again hurt people we really liked and hurt ourselves as well. We still hadn't healed from the first church and this just added to our problems. We ended up attending a church an hour away, never really joining but going regularly.

Then Paul lost his job and was transferred to Western Colorado. That move was a nightmare, the place we ended up was worse, and there were no choices of churches. We tried one but it was just too much. I don't want to ever hear that we are an answer to a pastor's prayers again. Every time we have heard that it has turned out horribly. I admit it, we ran from this one. We had a very different idea about confirmation than this pastor did. Lorna had been confirmed and communing for about a year when we went there. This church didn't confirm this young and although they would accept her confirmation, there would be a problem with Malachi when he was ready. He would have to wait until he was much, much older. We were told it was the church's job to instruct the kids. Instead of fighting we left. There were other little things but this was the biggie.

So a year goes by, our life has turned into a nightmare, and Paul loses his job again. We move back to CA with the promise of a good job and we decide to make the 200 mile drive back to the one church where we felt at home. Now, we have seen some really interesting stuff over the last few years and not all of our experiences have been bad, but our church experiences have been molded by what we saw in that first church. We saw how the slightest innovation can be the beginning of something really bad. So we are picky, exceedingly picky. In order to accept something different you have to trust the pastor who is doing it. That trust is something that comes over time. So we continue to search, understanding we are never going to find a perfect church, they don't exist. But also understanding that we can only handle certain things. Trying to make ourselves stay somewhere that practices things that make us really uncomfortable is a sure way to make another mistake.

Church

We decided that since we can't get to our home church every Sunday due to finances, it's a 3+ hour drive each way, we would attempt to find a church around here to fill in the rest of the weeks.

The first one we called is a few miles up the road. Being that we are VERY picky, we had a few questions. We decided that since they practice open communion and have female lay readers this was not the place for us. It seems they feel that since they are the only "Lutheran" church for 50 miles that they can't turn people away from the rail. They see this as loving but I have a hard time seeing it that way.

We did find a pastor 50 miles from here in Bakersfield that seemed to be a bit better. They use a hymnal, LSB, have closed communion, and no lay readers. Sounded too good to be true. Of course being the EXTREMELY picky people we are we just decided that wasn't enough. The people at the church were very friendly. There was the less than stellar children's sermon focusing on Memorial Day, um...why do people feel the need to do children's sermons? Do the kids really need everything so watered down? I don't think so. But I can handle that, barely... The sermon was more of the Bible trivia type with no Law & Gospel, I could probably put up with that since the liturgy is good... The announcements during the service were just too much. After the offering but before the prayers was where they decided to discuss the youth group raffle, Sunday school, VBS, etc. To my horribly picky sensibilities it seemed disrespectful. We are supposed to be there to be receive God's Word and to interrupt that to discuss the goings on of the church was just too much. I'm sure it wasn't meant to be that way but I can't see it any other way.

It's frustrating! There was a few more things that we didn't care for, communion only once a month was one of them. But all together we know it's too much. Everyone has different tolerances so it might work for some but not for us. We've made a lot of mistakes at churches over the years, leaving when we could have stayed and staying when we really should have just left. One thing I have taken away from all those experiences is that when your mind is telling you not to go back, don't. Forcing yourself to fit into a church that's practices are more than you think you can handle is a very bad idea. People get hurt, especially if you end up leaving a year down the road. You become a part of that church and when you leave it hurts not only yourself but the people of that congregation. Even if you are leaving on good terms people get hurt and it has the potential for ruining any relationship with these people you might have had outside the church.

So this means the next closest church we can try is 1.5 hours away and that is stretching our resources. I knew there was a reason we decided to drive 3+ hours when we first moved here, I guess needed to be reminded...

Addresses

We live in a rural area. There is no mail service in most of the area so we are assigned a post office box instead. What makes everything worse is that our street isn't on any map and we are the only house with an address on this street. The street curves and before and after our segment is a street called Macguire but our address is on a different street.

Most rebate forms won't allow a PO box mailing address. Most websites use post office guides for street and zip verification, so if you don't have mail delivery you don't exist.

We have decided to go wireless for our home phone to save money. We had to order the phone through Cingular (the only company with reception in the valley) because the local stores charge for the phones the company offers for free. The phone was sent out 2 days ago via FedEx for 2 day delivery with a scheduled delivery of today. We tracked the package and were frustrated to see that they decided we had a bad address. Ummm, it's not the best sounding address but it's not bad!

Paul called customer service and they said the driver said it was not a valid address. Well, he was calling from said address so obviously it's just fine. He left directions to our home with the agent who said she would forward the info to the driver. A few hours later the tracking info said the package was back at their facility. What happened to our delivery?!?

Another call, more explaining that this is a good address, not an apartment, not a new house (it was built in the 50's), and UPS is here numerous times a week. Maybe the dig about UPS made an impression... but after talking to a supervisor they decided they would try to find someone to deliver it tonight since they don't come up here on Saturdays. Some more waiting and the guy called back to say they found someone who lives up here and he would meet us in town at the gas station.

I'm pleased that they relented and agreed to deliver the package. Why do places like UPS and FedEx insist on relying on USPS records in an area that doesn't have mail delivery? The UPS guy had trouble the first time too. I've even seen the FedEx truck pass our home so I know they come up here on occasion.

The only really serious issue we've had was with Amazon. They offer free shipping but not to us. Malachi ordered a book, computer game, and joystick a few months ago. The joystick could not be delivered to a PO box but they said they would only ship via USPS unless we wanted to pay for shipping. We ended up sending everything to my in-laws house. We don't order much from Amazon anymore because it's too much of a hassle.

I guess it's just one of those things you have to deal with when you live in the boonies.

Socialization

I realized today that we have become the stereotypical isolated homeschoolers. I used to counter questions about socialization with how we go to the store, church, etc. But I find that I can't even say that anymore. This is what having only one vehicle and high gas prices does to you I guess.

I find myself wondering how I'm going to respond to the inevitable questions when we attend the CAH clinic at UCLA in a few months. One of the members of the group of physicians is a psychologist who is there to determine how well dd is handling her condition among other things. The surgeon also wants her to meet privately (not happening without us present) with the psychologist to make sure she is okay with the surgery. There seems to be great concern because of the type of surgery and her age.

I am so out of touch with what's going on in the world that I didn't know how to answer questions about the way Lorna dresses when we were at the hospital last week. She wears jeans and boots everywhere. The nurse wanted to know if that was what the kids in our area were wearing. How do I know and why would I care? Of course asking Lorna inevitably brings out the, "I don't have any friends" comment that raises eyebrows. It's difficult to get angry with her, she doesn't have any friends in the area, there just aren't many kids here. The vast majority of houses here are only occupied a few weekends a year and then the people spend most of the time at the lake. Not that the kids are suffering in any way, they can hold a conversation with people just fine. But try to explain that it's not a necessity that the kids have friends their own age to people who can't imagine life any other way.

Maybe I'll just confirm everyone's suspisions that we homeschool and keep our kids isolated. At least then we will have earned those strange looks

No more library books

This morning I received an email notice from the library saying I was being fined for "badly water and chew damage". I called the number to find out what book they were talking about since it wasn't listed on the notice. I was told to call another branch since the fine didn't list any specifics. After being told that they couldn't find the book and would look for it I hung up frustrated.

They called back a few mintues later saying the book was the paperback Old Yeller that I had Paul return yesterday. When it left our hands it was in perfect shape especially considering Lorna never got a chance to read it. The library hours are 10-6 which make it difficult to get in during since we have one vehicle. I had Paul return the books early since we only had a few days till they were due and I didn't want to forget and get fined. Something obviously happened to it in the book drop and we are being held responsible. I figure a rat got to it but they don't care. The lady just kept saying that this is the chance we take by putting it in the book drop. I admit I lost my temper, yelled into the phone and slammed it down. This was the last straw in a very trying day financially.

Paul will pay the fine on his way home and this weekend I will go in to have my library card removed from the system. Honestly, I can't take the chance and check out any more books, I can't afford to pay for library-incurred damage to books. We've been using various library systems for 6 years and have never had this kind of problem but I can't take the chance that it will happen again.

Starting Early

Yesterday we made our first trip into the forest to cut firewood. We found that we are only a few miles from the boundary and we only had to go 7 miles from our house to find enough for a full truckload.

Here are the stacked rounds that haven't been split yet.


Here is the small but growing pile that was split yesterday.


Paul should have all the rounds split by this coming weekend when we will go for another load. We figure we will only have to make 6 more trip to have more than enough wood for winter. Considering how many trip we had to make while living in CO, this seems almost too easy.

If you are wondering how we can cut wood in a national forest, here is how it works. Each year the USDA sells firewood cutting permits at the Forest Service Offices. It's $10 per cord (4x4x8 split and stacked) with a minimum of 2 cords purchased at a time. Each area is managed a bit differently but here we can go up into the forest from about April 1st to sometime in October. They do restrict cutting times depending on the fire danger, right now we can't cut after 1pm if we are using a chainsaw. There are a bunch of rules about what you can cut and where you can cut, but it's a lot cheaper than buying firewood and very satisfying. All total we figure we spend around $25-30 per cord for all the permits, supplies, and gas. These permits are only for household use, you have to get different permits if you want to sell wood. We went through probably about 2 cords of wood last winter and I want to get 4 stacked this year just so we don't have to worry and be frugal with burning. The great thing about this system is that it not only provides us with a cheap source of heat but it also clears out the fallen and dead trees in the forest, reducing the risk of fire. They still do controlled burns of the forests around here but that also helps the giant sequoias reproduce so it's necessary no matter how much dead wood is taken out.

It's a family affair when we cut and split wood. Paul gets the difficult job of using the chainsaw while the kids and I make a line to carry the rounds to the truck. We found it's a lot easier to have each of us only walk them a few feet to the next person than it is to have all of us tromping back and forth to the truck. When we get home, all four of us unload and stack the rounds. Paul uses an 8lb. maul to split the rounds and the kids stack the wood neatly. After the wood is split, Malachi goes around and picks up all the little pieces that flew off, these are saved for kindling. As much as the kids grumble sometimes about the hard work, they are always willing to help knowing that it's better to do this now and be warm later. My favorite part is the cutting in the forest, I love to watch the wildlife and smell the clean scent of all the trees.

Parking and Trucks

Yesterday Lorna had to go in for an outpatient procedure at UCLA medical center. We started out the day with the check engine light coming on again, grrrr... After driving through horrible Los Angeles traffic we found we had to pay $8 to park at the hospital! When we go to the medical plaza, the parking costs are $7 so we usually park a few blocks away and walk, making sure to be back before the 2 hour time limit is up. We didn't have that option this time since she was going to be there longer than 2 hours.

I ended up dropping Paul and Lorna off at the door since I couldn't immediately find a space. I drove around and around, frustrated at the lack of parking that I could fit into.

We have one vehicle, a largish truck. As you are driving from our place to UCLA you pass this point where the small cars start to outnumber the pickups and SUVs. Once you get into the cities around downtown it is rare to see trucks the size of ours, and ours isn't all that large. The parking structure at the hospital has clearance of 6'10" and we barely fit. The overflow parking is 6'7" so we couldn't go in there even though there was plenty of spaces. Did I mention the spaces are also very narrow? I finally found 2 spots, one had 2 minivans beside it and they had both parked over the line so there was no way I could fit. The second space was next to a small car and one of those "toaster" vehicles, you know the ones that are blocky and are supposed to be SUVs. The car had parked over the line but I was just able to fit. Problem was I couldn't open either front door enough to get out. I finally just crawled out the back. All this for the bargain price of $8!

We have to go back in November for a longer procedure that will probably require a few days of recovery there and I worry about how we are going to find and afford parking for numerous days. When did hospitals start charging for parking? And for all that money you'd think they would provide parking that was a little more user friendly.

Seven things

I was tagged by my friend Susan. I'm supposed to write seven unrelated, random, uninteresting things about myself. Trying to narrow it down might be difficult...

1. I dislike coffee, tea, and most alcoholic drinks so I primarily drink water and Diet Pepsi (3+ a day).

2. I dislike baking intensely but frequently make homemade bread.

3. Every room in our first home was a different color because I hate white walls.

4. Once I conquer a new skill, like knitting, I lose interest in it.

5. I love working outside but hate getting my hands dirty.

6. I love wearing tennis shoes and would wear them everywhere if I could.

7. I can offend someone just by looking at them, even when I don't mean to. Remember that scene in "You've Got Mail" where Meg Ryan is at the market in the cash-only line? Tom Hanks smooth-talks the cashier and as soon as he leaves the cashier scowls at Meg Ryan. That's me. No matter what I say or how I look at people, I tend to rub them the wrong way.

Wading Pool

Yesterday we saw Gideon, the large white dog, trying to fit himself into one of the 5 gallon buckets we have for water in the dog run. All he could manage was his front paws and his head. This explains why the dogs go through so much water in one day.

We thought about trying to find a salvaged bathtub but saw this wading pool at the hardware store this morning. Malachi insisted we needed the bigger one...for the dogs of course.

We got it home and he promptly got in with 2 of the dogs, as I suspected was his plan all along. Being that we have had a streak of hot weather, I'm sure the dogs appreciated the cool water to play in. Malachi sure did.