...inches.. within inches... groan

Tuesday - 10/13/20 - After our little vacation to California over the weekend, Jim was up bright and early this morning to make the drive to the cabin to meet with the plumber to find the end of the pipe underground that seems to be alluding us... The plumber showed up, and within 5 minutes, had run the snake down the line (with camera attached) and found the end of the pipe... and, nope, it wasn't cemented in, buried in the dirt, it was within INCHES of where Lowell and Jim were digging... inches...  $350.00 later, the job was done, and the pipe found and now we move on... groan...

Jim called the people with the septic tank liner and asked if they delivery on Saturday....nope.. So, the plan is Lowell and Jim are going to go down to the cabin this weekend to prepare the septic tank hole by leveling the bottom, and putting in the gravel, and then the tank people will have to deliver and place the tank without us being there.... scary thought, hope they do it right.

While Jim was there, he worked a bit more on the electrics..

This is the main level bathroom... It's pretty... After the fiasco with the stupid septic system, every little bit of positivity gives me hope.

On our last visit to  California, my friend Debbie presented us with a gift she and her husband picked up in Colorado... All I can say is, I LOVE IT!  I love moose, and these placemats are going to be amazing!

... We found the pipe, and now to move forward...

We found the pipe, but the problem remains that we need to prepare the hole for the concrete septic tank to be placed.  Jim and Lowell dug the hole, to the length of the boom of the backhoe and were still about a foot short.  We have tried to get a couple of guys with bigger track hoes to dig the last foot, BUT, apparently, they are too busy.... and, just don't show up.  So, we are left with the solution to use a pick axe and shovel and dig it out by hand, or use our backhoe, and dig in a ramp six feet down, and then dig the rest of the hole with our backhoe...  It's still up in the air.  But, this is where we are at this point.

The wood is 13 and 9 feet long.  This would represent what we need.  What we have is 13 by 8 feet.

And here you can see the trench that brings the sewer pipe out of the cabin and over to the septic tank.  We just have to make sure everything is running downhill.

The hole is 12 feet, 6 inches deep.  Once we add the gravel in the bottom it should be the perfect depth.

We will be back at the cabin in a couple of weeks...  we've had a whole lot of everything going on the last month, the most important being Jim's total knee replacement surgery on the 19th of October... it's been a long, painful journey, but, Jim is recovering nicely.  I won't scare you with the pictures right out of surgery, but here's where we are now... staples have been removed, and the healing continues.

And, on another note, we lost our longtime housemate and friend, Mokie, our cat... He left cat hair everywhere, hogged the bed, howled for Cheri's special ham treats every morning, chastised us when we went to work, and we miss him more than we can say... We will not forget him, and hope he remembers us.

I get a little frustrated with everything cabin related taking so long, but Jim keeps telling me that it's the journey that makes it worthwhile...  I've wanted go quit a million times...but, Jim keeps me going.  I so appreciate the work that Jim and Lowell have put into this project this year.  We could not have come this far, this year without Lowell's strength, and motivation... much appreciated.

Till next time.... the adventure continues, 

Love, Jim and Cheri