When Things Don"t Go As Planned...

I've been looking forward to this week all summer long...a week of visiting with my sister's family, enjoying the last week of summer before sending the kids back to school, one of them for the last time!

All that changed on Thursday evening.  All I did was bend over to snap a cow's chain to her collar, when something "flew into" my back.  If I didn't know what that meant before, I sure do now!  By Friday morning I was unable to sit or walk at all, and on Friday evening was diagnosed with a herniated disk in my lower back, and another one bulging, pressing on a nerve that I'd rather not even know I had!

It's a helpless and humbling experience, to be laying on a mattress in the middle of the living room floor while someone else does the dishes, cooks the meals, does the laundry, gathers and washes the eggs, sweeps the floor, and basically does everything for me.

I am SO VERY THANKFUL for my family, who have been really good sports so far.  Jim has had to rely on others to help in the barn...Jenna has taken over the laundry...Eric's been getting up extra early to help before cross country practice...my sister who lives nearby spent Friday with me, cleaning, and even picked, shelled and froze my lima beans...my visiting sister's family (on their vacation) has taken over the daily tasks that we take for granted!  My Mom mopped my kitchen floor and went for groceries...my Father in law mowed the yard...my Mother in law brought us a whole lot of yummy food... (Olive Garden!!) and the list goes on.

I am SO VERY THANKFUL for all the people who have cared for us by providing meals!  My refrigerator is FULL and overflowing.

I am SO VERY THANKFUL for pain meds!

I have no idea how long this will go on, but after only five days, I'm going crazy!  I really want to just get up and go!  The earliest I could get an appointment with a specialist is next week.

I'm going to take a break from blogging until I'm on my feet again, or at least until I'm able to sit for longer periods of time.

What do you do when things don't go as planned?

Filling in the Big Hole...

Last week I posted about the new drain field aka the big hole that we had in our yard.

This week, the excavator finished his work.

Yesterday we had the old septic tank pumped out and he destroyed the old one by tapping on it with the bucket of his track hoe and smashing it to pieces...

He then dug out a larger, deeper hole for the new tank, which is three times the size of the old one.  It was fun watching him...that bucket just seemed like an extension of his hand!

Early this morning the new tank arrived on a crane truck...

It was lowered into the hole...

...and centered to line up with the existing pipe from the house and the new pipe into the drain field...
(the crane operator has a nifty remote control in his hand that he used to maneuver the tank)

Once it was in place, the excavator hooked up all the plumbing and began covering the tank. It was only a short time that we couldn't run any water from the house.  I put notes on the faucets and we put books on the toilet lids as reminders.  I'm sure it wouldn't have been fun to be hooking things up, only to have some "not so clean" water come shooting out the pipe!

Everything has now been covered up, and we have a lovely dirt yard to play in...

Jim just finished going over it with the disc to get out the large clumps, and the landscaper has already been here to take a look at it and give an estimate for reseeding!  He was only a mile or so away when he got my email that we were ready for him...how's that for quick service?

We aren't sure when all that will happen yet, because the dirt needs to settle around the tank for a while. Regardless of how long that takes, it sure is nice to be able to do laundry, take showers, wash dishes and know that we should be in good shape for many years to come!

The Big Hole...

I know, I've been in a blogging slump lately.  There hasn't really been anything "exciting" happening, and I've been busy with other things, I guess. Hopefully I can shake it off soon, and get back at it!

I guess I'll start with what's happening here today...there's a big hole in our yard!  Someone was hoping it was for a swimming pool, but that's wishful thinking! :)

It looks like it could be a pool...

Any thoughts yet as to what it is going to be?

Yep...boring...a drain field / septic system...

Actually, it's rather interesting and has been fun to watch.  I learned a lot just this morning by observing and talking to the excavator.

The process began weeks ago, with digging a probe hole, doing a perk test and getting a permit. Today was step two...digging the bed and laying the pipes and stone.  Next week the tanks will come, and they can hopefully finish up.

It's mid afternoon and they're starting to close in the hole...

Check out that beautiful Lancaster County soil!  It's almost a shame to not be planting something in it...

The yard won't look the same for a long while, but it's one more thing that will be crossed off our checklist for this year!