sewer really is just a big pile of ****

What happens when one very ambitious pregnant woman decides to have a big garden this year? Well, first she starts about as many seedlings as humanly possible not knowing if they will even all fit in her yard. She plans her garden plots, buys all kinds of supplies, looks through books, and starts buying more and more canning jars. Of course then the director of the wastewater treatment plant comes knocking on the door. And what does this nice man have to say? Well, of course he says that he needs her and her husband to sign easement paperwork so that the city can dig up her entire yard and most of her driveway to replace the existing sewer lines with new ones. And when is said construction supposed to begin/end, she asks? Well, mr. director responds, the contractor has 6 months from May to finish the entire project, so sometime between May and October. Hmmmm...

I would just like to say that I have been crying for the past week trying to think of some way to still be able to have my beautiful garden. Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to be a possibility this year. I talked to the director again and he has said that they plan to grant the bid to a contractor in the next couple of weeks, at which point he may or may not be able to come up and walk through everything with me. Oh, did I mention that they will also have to remove the stairs to the apartment, because they are "in the way." I'm sure that my NEW tenant that is just supposed to be here this summer is going to love it when I explain that to her. What a blasted nightmare.

In other news, we got a quote for a chimney, and it came in about $2000 more than we expected...will we be getting our wonderful woodstove installed before winter? Nope, not likely. Ahhh...just when you think everything is working out so well, it just starts to crumble at your feet again! On the bright side, we at least have our CSA and the farmers' market.

new renter!

We have a new renter! Yay! She is my mom's age, and single, which is perfect for us! She will be here until the end of August - maybe a little longer if it is working out for us. I'm hopeful that this renter will be a good match for us, as the last couple that was up there...let's just say not a good situation! We were a little concerned when our previous renters moved out because I will be having baby Jack the first week in August, and we aren't entirely sure we want to have a renter after the baby comes home. I will be sleeping downstairs for the first few weeks due to the c-section I have to have, but we are thinking of making the apartment into a master for us and the babies - yes Emma still sleeps with us, and I'm pretty sure the new baby will be in with us for the long haul too :-) They are only little once after all!

This extra income throughout the summer will *hopefully* allow us to have a new chimney built so we can install our woodstove, which will help A LOT this coming winter. And who knows we might have enough to get a fence for the yard and perhaps a *gasp* dishwasher :-) The excitement! I can barely contain myself!