blue skies ahead

we are on speaking terms again with mother nature as she has gifted us today with bright, sunny skies and a consistent, dry breeze to help us as we begin the big flood clean up.

we are still drinking bottled water until we test our well and get the all clear.  we've been flushing it for a few days so i think we are getting close.  we are also being very cautious about using our water as our water table is so high, it is affecting the leach field.  yuck - don't want to be messing with that!! 

paul has ordered truckloads of crushed asphault and road base to rebuild our driveway.  he's worked on many neighbor's driveways as well, enabling them to finally get their cars back to their homes.  he is tireless!  schools were back in session today after being closed for four days.  life is looking more familiar and i feel that things are beginning to return to normal. yay!

gabi's and my trusty, dusty wellies.  they have worked so hard these past days.


i'd like to close this post by sharing a few things that have made me chuckle through this whole ordeal:

- when our octogenerian neighbor duncan was told he must evacuate, he exclaimed, "over my dead body.  i'm going down with the ship!"  i'm happy to report that duncan is alive and well.

- enormous, awesome mushrooms have been popping up everywhere

- finding a beach ball in a pine tree

- the alien green frogs that have appeared out of nowhere

- watching the squirrels happily bury black walnut pods in our now very, soft soil. oh yea, and while my back's been turned, they've stripped all of my sunflowers of their seeds.  that did not make me laugh.

- while we were helping to clear 4 feet of water from the basement of our friend's house, gabi found a soccer ball in a bathroom sink.  it had been on the floor of a bedroom and floated down the hall.  we actually all laughed at that one, even my friend.

- when i checked in with our strong, pioneer type, ranch hand neighbor who has a heart of gold and warned her not to drink the water, she said, "pffffft, our well's bin contaminated fer months.  we never drink our water!"  she is a crack up.