Rain Water

Well, if you haven't heard. . . our latest challenge. . . no water! That's right Mother Natures refusal to send any tears our way has run the well dry. So much for spare time during recovery! Our days are now spent saving our milk jugs and refilling them at friends or the town garage along with packing up our shower supplies and heading to same friends to shower. Did you know that two gallons of water weighs 15 lbs.? Yeah, and we have a 10 lb. weight limit. Can you imagine how many trips that takes to lug those things around when you can only lift one at a time? Good Grief!!!

Well, someone got the bright idea to have water hauled in to fill the well. Say what??? It is just going to run off says I. . . but what do I know? We got 1,000 gallons delivered on Tuesday night and it was gone in the morning. Couldn't even get a shower out of it...1,000 gallons! They say that was only a half a load. So yesterday they brought 2,000 gallons more. Wow, we got to flush all the toilets naturally, I got to wash the dishes and Matt just barely got a military shower this morning.

Yesterday while I was out and about I stopped at the Super Walmart to buy a large garbage can to use for a rain barrel since the weather man says rain for the next two days. Where are the good. . .quality rubber 30+trash cans? Good Grief! I wasn't about to drive all over creation looking for the trash can I wanted. So I bought a cheepy for 7.97. Brought it home, adjusted the gutter so it would drain into the can. Guess where the water was this morning? I can tell you it wasn't in the well!!! So I got my work out lining up all our 5 gallon buckets on the porch. Found a small bucket (about 2 gallons), that is the little blue one and unloaded the water from the overflowing rain barrel :). It took about 15 trips with the blue bucket to fill 6 tubs on the porch where we could easily access them for toilet flushing. I took turns carrying with the right arm then the left and if you turn your arm with the palm forward you use different muscles than if you carry it with your palm back. You can also lift them up and down, bending at the elbow while you're walking or hold the bucket out in front of you (I didn't do that...to hard). I found this a little heavier than the 3 lb. weights I got the go ahead to use. :). Well, that was my work out for the day. No exactly my work out plan but I figured I'd make the best of the situation. I will gladly do it again for the opportunity to flush many more toilets. Ahhh, the pleasures of life. Gives you a new respect for the pioneers huh? We will have to fill the blue bucket and carry it in to flush toilets. There is a rain dance in my future. It was going to be yesterday however, I think the "Rain God" feared our dance and poured rain upon us to spared himself such a scene :). I hate to break it to him but it will take more than two days of rain to fill all the dry wells so he better keep it coming or else..... :)

I am now going to go bake some chocolate chip cookies that I have been wanting to make and after that I am going to EAT THEM :-)))

We must have gotten a little more rain since the rain barrel has more water in it. Guess I need to transfer it before it overflows again and all that water is wasted. I still have 5 gallon buckets to fill. Water is so precious...among other things. You don't realize it until you must do without. Pay attention to all those things that you take for granted and remember . . . Always be Thankful for what you have there are so many more with much less.

My next challenge will be to get Dave to use the rain water to flush the toilets rather than the precious little tap water we do get every couple of hours when we flip the water pump breaker.