A Wise Investment

So what's up next for the Green Jar?  Before the Camino, that was the only thing on my "Bucket List." But crossing that one off has apparently opened the flood gates.  I have so many 'wanna do's' and 'gotta do's' and 'would love to do's' on my list that I'm either going to have to rob a bank or win a lottery. Instead, I'm investing in shit.  Literally.  And it's a sad use of good travel money.

Here's what's happening...

My house is about 37, 38 years old.  Home ownership is all about upkeep. And nothing lasts forever.  Things break down, need repairing or replacing.  I started with my trees.  The cedars I planted to replace a fallen fir did not grow into the cedar hedge I was promised.  They're frigging behemoths and had gradually gone from shade for the back deck to overtaking said deck. They needed thinning and my fir trees needed a little limbing up away from the house.  Not a job I could do myself.  Hire tree guy.  Cha Ching.

Next up, the fence.  It was put up when I bought the house 24 years ago.  It's one of those cedar plank things with the lattice top.  Twenty four years is a good run for a fence but it's end has come.  Actually the end came a couple of years ago but I tend to put these things off.  But I could no longer ignore the fact that it was falling to pieces.  I'm pretty sure I can save a few bucks doing it myself.  And it's amazing what you can accomplish with a hammer and a couple of screwdrivers.  Fence down.  I'm only replacing some of it -- the part surrounding the deck and the part between me and one of my neighbours.  You know what they say about fences making good neighbours.  Well in this case it'll take a little more than a fence but for now it's all I got.  I bought new panels -- Cha Ching -- and they've been drying out in the garage for a couple of weeks.  Today I started staining them.  There are fourteen panels.  It takes an hour to stain one side.  You do the math.  Four hours later, two down...

And here's where we get to the shitty part.  I tried -- I really did try -- to ignore that growing wet spot in my yard that started last year.  But it had to be done.  I called in a guy with a bobcat to dig.  Please, please, please, oh please tell me there's only a broken pipe in my septic system. What's that?  No broken pipe?  My entire septic field has out lived its usefulness and needs to be replaced?  What do you mean there are new rules?  Having the tanks under the garage is not allowed anymore?  I have to replace them too if I ever plan to sell the house? And with that Bobcat Guy filled in the massive hole in the yard and with a wave and dollar signs in his eyes told me he'd see me in August or September when the ground dried out.  Cha Ching.

Shit.


Book Review:  If you picked up a book called The Enchanted with golden horses on the cover what kind of book would you expect to be reading? Something fantasy?  Would you expect the story to take place on death row in some horribly run down prison?  Yeah, me neither, although I probably knew that from reading reviews back when I ordered the book from my library many months ago and just plain forgot.  Thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written novel by Rene Denfeld and I really have no idea why.  The scenes of prison rapes and the violent crimes that put the prisoners there were hinted at but never described in any detail.  I think that made it a little more horrifying.  Not that this was a horrifying novel.  Quite the contrary.  It's kind of hard to explain.  But this is a recommended read.