November 4, 2003

• It just has to be this time of year...

  
  

  From the middle of August through the end of the year, anything that can go wrong, DOES!

  
  

  Remember the fiasco I had with my catchment liner? Well, yesterday, I found a split in the lower galvanized ring of the tank, about a foot long.

  
  

  There had been rust there, where water dripped over between the rings because of the previous liner that had shrunk & slipped away from the rim, allowing water to collect between the liner & the ring. When I replaced the liner, I thought it was still okay enough to hold water. I was wrong.

  
  

  I cut out a section of a cracked plastic garbage can to slip between the NEW liner & ring after finding the problem, since the new liner was bulging through the crack. I didn't get it shoved into place, waiting for my son to help me.

  
  

  This morning, I wake up to a flashing alarm clock, my TV & computer (which I had left on) off. The rain was pouring down hard, apparently the initial cause of the power-outage. When I used water, I noticed the pressure drop & thought that my pump might have quit from overwork with the past problems. When I went outside, I heard it running & saw the filter canister only partially full of water. Ohoh. I figured then that my siphon from the tank might have floated up & started to suck air.

  
  

  I unplugged my pump, then thought about the rupture in my catchment tank. As I walked up to it, I saw the cover dipping toward the opposite side. My worst fears were founded... It had completely given-way, dumping over 3k gallons of water, draining into the lava tube or crevasses beneath the ground. $250 & lots of hard work down the tubes! I'm without running water... AGAIN! *SIGH* With no money to buy what I need!

  
  

  
  

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  What happened Halloween Eve was bad enough. I guess I should have gone out to the VFW for their 'party.'
  

  I was cooking supper & got up to check on it. On my way back, in the dim light, I accidentally started to step on one of my cats who's insisted on laying right in the pathway. This cat has a litter of kittens (3) she also insists upon leaving under a piece of furniture that's on the other side of the pathway from the end of my loveseat.

  
  

  When then stepping over the momma kitty, I started to lose my balance as I then stepped on one of her kittens. Picking it up, I found blood dripping from its mouth & nose. I had crushed it's fragile skull.

  
  

  I took it into the bathroom & tried to clear away the blood, hoping it wasn't as bad of an injury as I feared. He died in my hands a few minutes later. This had been the healthiest of the litter & very active, coming out often to find his mom & saying 'hi' to us. He was only 2 weeks old, born on the 15th of October.

  
  

  I think I'm going to get drunk... after I make a trip into town for some food & swing by the longhouse for water. This isn't a good time for me. I'm tired of 'dealing' with crap. I should be paying my monthly bills.

  • 5:15 pm
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