Day 26, Monday, August 27, 2001

I was awake at 4:30. Things to do, things to remember all racing through my head. I contemplated getting up and going to the shed to do some calculations but I figured Laurie would have me committed. I lay awake till 6 then fell asleep. Woke up at 9:30. Shit! Half the day is gone.

The well guy arrives with his rusty old truck. He has the filled 1000 gallon water tank and delivered it for us to use until the well is ready. The tank is built into the truck itself. He parks it out of the way but close enough to be accessible. He IS a nice guy.

Laurie and I go out to the hole. We admire our handiwork, then get out the transit and shim the forms level.

Level forms should mean level footings. Over 34 feet, an inch or so out of level is not a problem. Ours is less than a half inch from perfect. We lay out the drains for the basement floor. I want to be able to park my snowy ATV in the basement and have the snow melt into a floor drain, and I want a floor drain near the water heater so I can easily drain the water while I'm away so the pipes don't freeze.

Laurie does calculations for how much block, mortar, rebar and gravel we need for the basement. I order the goods.

We decide to knock off early and take the ATV for a spin down to the stream. It is so peaceful. We walk around, ride around and snoop on my neighbor's land. When we get back to camp, I hook up the hose to the 1000 gallon tank and turn on the valve. Water comes pouring out, but not from the hose.

A closer look reveals that the ancient, corroded two inch ball valve is cracked. It looks like water froze in it last winter. It is unusable. I chuckle and ask Laurie if there is a reason that I am constantly challenged with luck like this and is there a divine reason for it. She states emphatically "yes!" I ask what the reason is, but she can not give me one. Undaunted, I get out Dad's 36 inch pipe wrench and my hydraulic floor jack. I manage to loosen the valve. Tomorrow I will get a new one and change it myself. Laurie says "how can you take off the valve without the water rushing out?" I answer that you can't and I will probably get a little wet. Or a lot.

We take quick showers and off to Panda Parlor for dinner and ice cream. After, Laurie practices the piano in the camper and cooks eye-of-newt. OK, I made up the eye-of-newt part. A good day all around.

8 Hours, cloudy around 75, occasional drizzle.