Wednesday, March 17, 2010

One of the Not So Good Things About Country Life

When things go wrong, you don't call the utility company! You take care of the problems yourself which usually means calling service people. Day before yesterday just about 3 pm. DH came in from doing chores and asked if I knew we had no water............I did not know. Replaced fuses in well house, still no water. Called the well man; he came out and said it was the pump and he would be back in the morning......

This meant a trip to the neighbor's for some water for morning coffee. While there, DH remember he had filled the milk tank about half full of water for just such emergencies.....so that was great. Toilets can always be flushed with a 5 gallon bucket of stock tank water if necessary but drinking water is another thing.

$1000 later, we had a new pump. They hadn't been gone 15 minutes when I found we had no hot water pressure. Return trip, and removing all faucet filters, blowing out line and all seems to be OK. It will take a day or so for the sediment to settle down and the water be back to normal.

Such is life in the country. I always worry about young people who have no experience at all taking on the rural life. The first thing they should have is a sizable "repair" fund that is for just such emergencies. I still wouldn't live any other way, but it certainly isn't a cheap way to live.

Today is bread-making day. I love to make bread.....I may have mentioned that once or twice before! It is also my morning to milk, so it will be a busy day.

Milking went well; she was down about a quart. It could have been the cold light rain that was falling all morning.

Got out the ingredients for our favorite Honey, Oat and Wheat bread and found I was out of the Hodgson Oat Bran Hot cereal it called for. I decided to substitute whole oats. The only other change was I brought the wet ingredients to a boil and poured over the oatmeal and let it rest until just warm. It looks good and rose nicely but the real test will be cutting and eating a slice.

While the bread was baking I did a thorough job of mopping the kitchen floor which to me is on hands and knees.

I am feeling pretty good about the day. Maybe that makes up for the several days when I do very little but read!

4 comments:

  1. Dear Glenda ~ I love your posts. I have mopped floors plenty on hands and knees. Not so easy getting up these days.

    Your bread looks wonderful.

    Sorry you need a new pump. Living in the country would be a change that's for sure to most people. DH and I already have to handle things here on our little 1/4 acre in the suburbs. Part of owning your own property is having to take care of any and all problems yourself.

    We do have county water these days, but still have a well for watering gardens.

    Have a nice evening and a good day tomorrow.

    Hugs ~ Rainey

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  2. Sounds like a busy, nerve-wracking day! Glad you got it taken care of!

    I giggled about the cow being "down a quart". Cream or oil? (like the commercial) Heh.

    We just made an offer on a house with 7 acres on the edge of a nearby small town. It has a nice enclosed pole barn and a working windmill! City utils, though, thank heaven, except for a septic. They counter-offered and we accepted today. If all goes well with inspections, we'll close in mid-April.

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  3. Rainey, I didn't realize you were not in the heart of the city. I can just remember when things went wrong in town, picking up the phone and calling City Utilities. Having the well to water with is a great thing. I understand water bills can get very high in towns.

    Ilene, I am thrilled for you! How perfect. You will become a gardening fool..........then you can have a cow, maybe a pig or two....chickens. The possibilities are endless. The best part is the absence of very close neighbors.......

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  4. Glenda you sound like me--some days I do a ton....others it's just me and my book :-)

    Glad your pump is fixed now and your bread looks yummy!

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