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Sissi Jan 31

2010-01-31T12:38:00.001-08:00

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Yuli paw

2010-01-31T11:41:00.001-08:00

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Sissi

2010-01-01T15:14:00.001-08:00

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Sissi loves McD

2009-11-29T12:22:00.000-08:00

Chicken selects, oh yeah.

Lizzie and Sissie

2009-11-26T11:02:00.001-08:00

They love to play all day.

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[pic] beach at Crescent City

2009-11-25T10:30:00.001-08:00

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Sissi birthday

2009-11-24T10:44:00.001-08:00

Sissi turns 1 year today. We are driving to california for holiday.

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[pic] Sissi likes Wii fit

2009-11-11T20:21:00.001-08:00

She does her chewing workout while I do ab workout.

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[pic] backyard firewood place

2009-11-11T15:31:00.001-08:00

The project on the left will be the base for a woodshed.

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[pic] backyard retaining wall

2009-11-11T15:27:00.001-08:00

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[pic] 3rd day of backyard project

2009-11-10T16:08:00.001-08:00

Yuli is standing where the patio will be. Thinking of having exposed aggregate concrete pavers as the top layer. Something like these:

http://www.standardconcreteproducts.com/standard/Exposed-Aggregate-Pavers.html

Probably put some planter boxes in front of the wall and grow some sunflowers or tomatoes.

Sissi has given the raspberries a real beating this year. We need to put a small fence around them to keep them safer.

The wild lilac has been doing well. For as dry as this summer was, there were hardly any bees on the lilac this year. Normally there are tons of bees on the flowers.

The stone work should be done by tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to the results.

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[pic] backyard project day 1

2009-11-07T08:07:00.001-08:00

Prepping the ground, grinding the stump, trimming bushes and trees.

We have hired WEdesign. Have been working with them for several years. Always under budget and on time.

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[pic] Sissi loves crocs

2009-10-25T13:05:00.001-07:00

She doesn't understand the hatred of crocs. They are so chewy!

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[pic] Sissi in full energy mode

2009-10-04T08:50:00.001-07:00

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[pic] Sissi's long-term project

2009-10-04T08:46:00.001-07:00

She loves the Pier 1 carpets.

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[pic] Sissi checks out neighbor

2009-09-29T13:37:00.001-07:00

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[pic] Sissi loves the carpet

2009-09-18T07:30:00.001-07:00

She loves to pull it apart thread by thread. Dental floss for puppies.

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[pic] Yuli and me relaxing

2009-09-08T17:45:00.001-07:00

I lay down to read and she want to snuggle and lick my ear.

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[pic] today's pick of pears

2009-09-05T10:17:00.001-07:00

This has been our best haul of pears ever - must be a biproduct of the best weather ever for Seattle. There must be another 2 or 3 bags worth on the tree still ripening, and many we will never be able to reach. We have so many that we have to give them away.

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[pic] Sissi checking out the chickens

2009-09-01T08:28:00.001-07:00

She stands on the tree stump and looks over the fence at the chickens. This time she has a pear in her mouth while looking. Worried that she may jump over it one day.

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[pic] Sissi chews log

2009-08-30T10:06:00.001-07:00

She loves to bring large sticks (small logs) into the house and chew them on the couch.

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[pic] Sissi likes 2 toys in mouth

2009-08-22T08:47:00.001-07:00

She loves to carry toys around the house, not inviting us to play, just for her own pleasure.

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[pic] Sissi killing couch

2009-08-22T08:42:00.001-07:00

Isn't she so cute...

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[pic] Sissi destroys the couch

2009-08-11T07:56:00.001-07:00

She has finally found that there is a bonanza of chewable cushion under the blankets. She was running out of soft things to chew, having already chewed up 5 dog beds. The couch should last for at least one week.

Are you sure you want a Golden? :)

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[pic] Our new coffee maker

2009-08-11T07:51:00.001-07:00

Our espresso machine needs to go into the shop, so we are going oldschool with the percolator. Looking for a hand grinder as well.

The coffee tastes pretty darn good this way.

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[pic] Lillies blooming

2009-08-10T07:16:00.001-07:00

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92 deg at 9:30 AM #Seattle

2009-07-29T09:31:00.001-07:00

Holy crap what a gorgeous summer. My neighbor has over 1 hundred stalks of corn growing so tall. Hope this happens every year!

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[pic] Straight razor time #wetshaving

2009-07-28T10:11:00.001-07:00

Time to shave before work. Long process to prep and shave, but I like it.

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[pic] Sissi chews dog bed

2009-07-26T21:07:00.001-07:00

No piece of furniture is safe from an energetic puppy.

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[pic] Chicken teriyaki

2009-07-17T12:03:00.001-07:00

Seattle loves teriyaka.

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[pic] Sissi the raspberry stealer

2009-07-16T20:21:00.001-07:00

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[pic] Flowers in the backyard

2009-07-14T08:50:00.001-07:00

Wife spread out a packet of seeds and we got some pretty nice flowers. We are trying to grow sun flowers, but Sissi knocks them over as she jumps to steal raspberries (in the background).

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[pic] Sissi loves shoes

2009-07-05T08:31:00.001-07:00

The newer the better.

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[pic] Sissi loves water

2009-07-04T19:35:00.001-07:00

After playing in the water she likes to roll in the dirt, making one muddy girl. Will try to put up a video of her soon.

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[pic] chickens destroy garden

2009-07-03T17:59:00.001-07:00

They really love kale.

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[pic] Sissi destroys the house

2009-06-29T20:52:00.001-07:00

Digging a hole and ripping the phone line off the house.

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[pic] First stop: Fort Lewis

2009-06-17T09:32:00.001-07:00

Actually, at the Starbucks near Fort Lewis. Sissi threw up once already, stomach hopefully empty now.

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[pic] How Sissi entertains herself

2009-06-11T20:20:00.001-07:00

She loves wood, and has realized that the outside of the house is pure wood. Yummy!

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[video] Chickens taking dirt bath

2009-06-05T19:20:00.001-07:00

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[video] Sissi and Yuli play for the first time

2009-06-05T19:17:00.001-07:00

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[pic] Sissi and her rock

2009-06-02T18:42:00.001-07:00

It appears that Sissi likes to chew on rocks. Is it a sharpening hone?

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[pic] Sissi made a bed for Yuli

2009-05-31T06:52:00.001-07:00

Custom made artistic bed. Didn't take Sissi long to create this master piece, and Yuli likes to lay on it (claiming it as her own?).

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Sissi update

2009-05-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the new trick at night: leave Sissi in the backyard until she barks/whines too much, then bring her into the crate in the living room (somewhere after midnight). We had a poo free house last night. Eventually she might figure out the dog door that way.

Brought her around the corner to Barb's house to play with her dog for 30 minutes today. She did very well of course, burned some energy. Need to do that more often, since our other girls don't play with her.

Walking her on the leash is tough. Keeping her by my side will probably tear up my rotator cuff due to constant pulling in every direction. I have to drag her out of the yard to get her to walk, and when she knows we are on the way back she pulls ahead and wants to run home.

We need to figure out an AKC name, but Keiko didn't like my choice:
Elizabeth Princess of Poo

Yuli hurt her back somehow. She can no longer jump up onto our bed and has a tough time with steps. Somewhere in the lower back we think, near her hips. Hoping that a week of rest will relieve the pain.

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Video of Sissi the puppy

2009-05-24T14:12:00.001-07:00

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Sissi update 2

2009-05-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

We had to leave her alone today for 7 hours (with Lily). The house was fine, except for the multiple pees on the towels near the doggie door. She knew she had to go outside, but she still can't use the doggie door. Not too bad all things considered.

She and Lily were playing in the backyard this morning: very cute!

This evening she barked near the dog door and I let her out. She ran into the yard, grabbed her toy, and came back in (with me opening the door flap). Later she used her nose to ring the bell we have on the front door handle. I let her out and she played in the front for a while.

Then not much later, quiet as can be, she did a big poo near the dog door. I was sitting here at the computer, not hearing any noise, but then this awful smell reaches me, and damn was it big and smelly when I saw it. She knows to how to ask to go out, but not when it counts. Puppies can be awfully cute, and a pain in the ass.

The other day I walked her for about 25 minutes, and she did not pee or poo. But about 5 minutes after being inside she pooed near the front door. I guess she was too excited when outside to bother with the essentials.

[pic] Sissi's first vet visit

2009-05-19T11:27:00.001-07:00

Waiting our turn. Had to drag her inside and lift her onto the scale - she is 55 lbs. She is quite calm, so unlike our other girls when they have to come here.

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[pic] Sissi's play area

2009-05-17T16:51:00.001-07:00

She loves things that can be shredded to tiny little pieces.

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Sissi update

2009-05-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

She slept in her crate just fine last night, from 10 pm until 6 am. We went on a short walk this morning, Keiko with Sissi and me with Yuli. She is really easy to walk on the leash with Yuli in the lead. I was able to walk both of them last night while Keiko walked Lily - Sissi and Yuli side by side, something Yuli and Lily could never do.

Sissi won't go out of the house unless Yuli or Lily goes too (that includes going for walks, she will just sit down and not go anywhere). Last night Sissi was whining and I tried to bring her outside to pee, but she would not follow me, just stood in the doorway and watched me. After giving up she peed in the living room when I wasn't watching.

She is scared of doors, any kind of door, even the gate into the garden area. Today's goal is to get her thru the dog door, which will be a big challenge if yesterday was any indicator: she would not go thru even when the flap was held up and great tasting snacks were just on the other side.

She loves towels. Grabs any towel available (bath mats work) and drags them to the dog bed and starts to dethread them.

Loves food, duh. I don't think she even chews, just inhales. Had chicken livers this morning on top of dry food. She is finishing Lily's breakfast right now - Lily tends to leave plenty of dry food, she is a light eater (our only dog with a slim figure). Sissi thinks counter tops are the source of all food and keeps jumping up for a look - our other girls at least wait for our backs to be turned before doing that.

She is an easy puppy to have live with us. So low maintenance compared to when Argo and Yuli were pups. She is still a little restless during this settling in phase, wandering around the house looking for something/someone. Yuli is teaching her the pecking order and off limit areas, and she handles that quite well.

The hardest part is that sometimes she looks exactly like Argo, and we have never seen that in another golden.

[pic] wild lilac in bloom

2009-05-16T18:37:00.001-07:00

This one will attract a lot of bees soon.

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[pic] Sisi and Yuli

2009-05-16T15:00:00.001-07:00

Sisi took Lily's spot when waiting for human mama to come home.

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[pic] Sisi choose Argo's spot

2009-05-16T13:02:00.001-07:00

She went straight to Argo's shady spot, right on top of the plants.

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[pic] Sisi meets Lily

2009-05-16T12:43:00.001-07:00

Introducing the new girl to the old girl.

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[pic] new puppy for a walk

2009-05-16T12:42:00.001-07:00

Sisi (her new name) is so easy to walk with Yuli.

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[pic] bringing puppy home

2009-05-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

Had to stop to clean up vomit, she is not used to cars.

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[pic] reusing plastic bags

2009-05-11T22:30:00.001-07:00

We wash and hang dry the plastic vegetable bags from the grocery store. They can be used many times. Also great for when walking the dog, but please don't reuse after that.

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[pic] handmade scissors from India

2009-05-10T14:39:00.001-07:00

It says "Parveen" on the blade. The store has 3 diff sizes.

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[pic] duct tape gardening

2009-05-10T11:29:00.001-07:00

Nothing says style like duct tape. But it is the easiest way to hold up the maple branches around the raspberries. Notice that we expanded the raspberry field by digging up the non-productive asparagus.

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[pic] next set of plants to plant

2009-05-10T09:03:00.001-07:00

3 Japanese cucumbers and 2 flowering climbing things. Planted mint yesterday.

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[pic] dogs and chickens in the morning

2009-05-09T08:34:00.001-07:00

Yuli is getting her morning ball time and the chickens their free range time. It's finally nice weather in Seattle.

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My favorite apple cider

2009-05-02T17:00:00.001-07:00

Just started enjoying ciders, and this one is my current favorite.

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[pic] lilac flowering

2009-05-02T16:57:00.001-07:00

Our lilac tree looks great every year.

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Yuli playing ball

2009-05-02T16:34:00.001-07:00

Her twice a day activity. Loves the ball time.

[pic] lots of kale sprouting

2009-05-02T16:28:00.001-07:00

We've been big fans of kale this year and hope to grow our own.

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[pic] lily growing fast

2009-04-26T17:44:00.001-07:00

We've had good luck with lilies in Seattle, they come back every year.

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[pic] pear tree in full bloom

2009-04-26T17:41:00.001-07:00

Hope there is no more snow before summer: we want pears this year!

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Plant covers, still cold in Seattle

2009-04-14T08:46:00.001-07:00

Had hail yesterday, trying to protect blueberries and freshly planted carrots.

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Charging iPhone via solar panel

2009-04-11T11:52:00.001-07:00

Using the belkin dual auto charger and USB cable to charge iPhone in Seattle. Have wired 12 volt DC socket (car adapter) to terminals on back of panel.

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Lily among the chickens

2009-04-10T19:22:00.001-07:00

Lily is doing well, but can't be unsupervised yet. Eventually she will learn that the tasty poo comes from their butts and will follow them around licking their butts hoping for a fresh one.

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[pic] View out window at breakfast

2009-04-08T07:36:00.001-07:00

Nice view of my front yard, cherry nicely blooming.

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Lily and the chickens

2009-04-07T19:29:00.001-07:00

Getting Lily used to the chickens. She is doing quite well.

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A volt meter was what I needed

2009-04-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

Had to learn how to use it by trial and error, but I finally got the wiring correct and can tell how many volts the solar panel is putting out. I can also test the rechargeable batteries to see which ones need charging. Solar addict now! Want bigger projects.

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Solar project

2009-04-04T09:54:00.001-07:00

One small panel, advertised as 10 watts, but does not deliver it, so it was on sale. Connected a female cigarette lighter adapter but do not know which wire is pos and which neg, so have to experiment. No charge yet, but maybe need more direct light.

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Was Frontline Documentary Edited to Reflect Health Insurance Industry Interests?

2009-04-03T19:35:00.001-07:00

The producers of the Frontline piece had a point of view – they wanted to keep the for-profit health insurance companies in the game.

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Was Frontline Documentary Edited to Reflect Health Insurance Industry Interests?

2009-04-03T19:34:00.001-07:00

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Carnitas burrito

2009-04-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

Last meal in California: burrito. Organic brown rice and black beans. Ukiah Brewing Company.

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Pit puppies

2009-03-31T11:41:00.001-07:00

Last day walking at the shelter before heading back to Seattle. Puppies got some good play time today.

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Walking in the pear orchard

2009-03-31T08:05:00.001-07:00

Next to the Ukiah animal shelter is a bankrupt pear operation. The trees were not pruned this winter, and who knows if they will be picked. I worked here a couple summers during college; sad to see another Ukiah business go under.

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Penny the hound

2009-03-30T12:20:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. Everyone's favorite.

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Shadow the Queensland Heeler mix

2009-03-30T12:19:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. Beautiful coat, loads of energy. Wants to walk on the lead.

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Elsa (?) the oldie

2009-03-30T12:16:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. Lots of energy still in this one, she walked quite far.

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Diego the border collie

2009-03-30T12:14:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. Another extra sweet boy. Always checking with the human as he walks.

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Rodeo the cattle mix

2009-03-30T12:10:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter.

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Clover the terrier mix

2009-03-30T12:05:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. Listed as a patterdale terrier, but so obviously not. She is no 12 inches tall and 12 lbs. But I really enjoyed walking her. I'm going to call her a "pull terrier". She has more energy than all the others combined.

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Humphry the pitbull

2009-03-30T12:01:00.001-07:00

So very gentle and easy to walk. Ukiah animal shelter.

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Poppy the lab

2009-03-30T11:57:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. Can't believe this sweet girl is even there.

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Lucy the pitbull

2009-03-30T11:49:00.001-07:00

We walked the pit puppies again today. Really sweet.

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Dean the pitbull puppy

2009-03-28T13:04:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. Another really easy to walk doggie.

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Jude the pitbull

2009-03-28T13:01:00.001-07:00

Ukiah animal shelter. She has been there 2 years now, and is really sweet and easy to walk.

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Charlie the corgi

2009-03-27T18:19:00.001-07:00

Hello from Ukiah. Weather is awesome!

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Old compost bin gone

2009-03-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

It was time for the old compost bins to go and replace them with the green ones (made of recycled plastic). The chickens love all the bugs and worms leftover.

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Thai Tom

2009-03-15T13:15:00.001-07:00

Lunch today at Thai Tom on University Ave in Seattle. Best Thai food i've ever had.

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Snowing again

2009-03-15T08:36:00.001-07:00

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Plum tree

2009-03-14T17:19:00.001-07:00

Flowers trying, but the weather is not cooperating.

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Dry well

2009-03-05T08:16:00.001-08:00

Dry well installed yesterday. Rocks are under that top soil.

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Removing the old pipe under the house

2009-03-01T11:26:00.001-08:00

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Waiting for the inspector

2009-02-27T18:13:00.001-08:00

Now that everything is hooked up we have to wait for the inspection on Monday. So we have a big hole under our house for two more days (at least).

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Plumbing essentials

2009-02-26T21:20:00.001-08:00

Have a backup ready for those long days without sewage.

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Roots in the pipes

2009-02-25T21:31:00.001-08:00

Here is a piece of the concrete piping with lots of tiny roots all throughout.

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Plumbing keeps getting worse

2009-02-25T14:58:00.001-08:00

It appears that the construction folk that put in our addition had put down a slab right over the concrete piping, whereas they were supposed to extend the cast iron part all the way out. Now the crew has to dig under the house for about 8 feet to get all the way to the cast iron part. They need a hole about 6 feet deep and 3 feet wide and 8 feet long. The cost has just tripled.

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Plumbing step 3

2009-02-25T14:27:00.001-08:00

High pressure water, attempt to clear out blocks and break apart roots.

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