Week 2 ---Busy as bees and having fun doing it.

  The day after we got the Goblin home, we were able to get him started.  A run down the road to the mail boxes and back for each of us, now it's time to get to work.

But first, John had to get a play pic with the Green Goblin

    We put the gazebo we had originally purchased to provide shade and protection from the elements for the pups over the Goblin because we couldn't find his cover.  We left the snow plow in storage as it is too heavy for us to lift.  That in itself was an undertaking.  The box says 3 minute set up, but I don't think they imagined 2 older folks (with arthritis) setting it up.

  Later that day, we finally found a home for the industrial size egg incubator/brooder that we'd acquired with the land.  The lady we gave it to raises chickens and was ecstatic to receive it.  It took 4 strong men to remove it from the shed and put it in her pick-up.

   We can now make plans to use that shed for John's "Man Cave".

  On Monday, I'd taken a water sample to Matanuska Water for the "free testing"  They tell me they only test for hardness, iron, and chlorine, but they were nice enough to give me a kit for full testing.  They'll call me if anything is found.  In other words, no news is good news.
  The DirecTV tech came out.  No line of sight for the satellite, he recommends Dish.  With so many trees on our land, I'm wary of satellite again (DirecTV was called as we are still under contract) so I make arrangements with MTA (Matanuska Telephone Association) for TV, DSL, and phone, but they can't come out until mid August.  Oh well. C'est la vie.
  Tuesday, we set out for Palmer to take our tests for an Alaskan driver's license.  On the way, I dropped off the new water samples to the lab.  Same story, we'll call if we find anything.
  The way Alaska has their DMV set up is phenomenal.  Take a number and while you're waiting, fill out the forms.  Within 15 minutes I was taking the test.  Missed 2/20.  I PASSED, but I didn't bring the proper documentation with me (passport, proof of Alaska address), so I'll go back tomorrow.
  Back at the homestead, we build a better set of stairs to make it easier to enter and exit the RV.  What a team we are!  Measured, cut, and put together in under an hour.  What a difference they make.

  Our next project is to start on skirting in the RV for winter.  To Home Depot we go.  $580.00 later, we head for home with a quick stop at The Three Bears (a local version of a Costco or Sam's Club) to pick up a 10 x 20 "portable" garage.  We need this to store our building materials to keep them out of the weather (later for Trooper and Goblin).

  Surprisingly enough, the project went very well.

       This was also John's 57th birthday.  He says it was the BEST working birthday he ever had. 

  The following day, we drove into Anchorage to register at the MTF for our healthcare and do some shopping.  By the way, did I tell you all I FOUND the diamond I'd lost from my ring?  Dropped it off at Zales for repair, I'll pick it up on 8/13 when I come back south for a doctor appointment.

  We also got word this day from the water lab.  We need to chlorinate our well.  EGADS!  They don't tell us what's growing in there (+ bacteria of some sort).  To the web I go to find out how to do this.  Multiple steps and over 24 hours to complete it.  Luckily, I have bleach available so no additional $$$ out of pocket. (It was $120.00 for the testing)  We decide to wait for Friday (8/2) to do this.

  To chlorinate a well, you must first know how deep it is (ours is 30 ft.).  You then take the well cap off, pour the bleach in, run all faucets until you smell chlorine in the water, shut them off and wait 24 hours.  Meanwhile, we get plenty of bottled water into the fridge for drinking, and get our 5 gallon back-up supply out for other uses.

  During the no water hiatus, I use the time to heat tape and insulate our water lines.  We also put the power cable up and attached it to the well house.  More "stuff" off the ground means less chance of us tripping in the winter time.  

Before

After

  We also plan to change the sewer drain from the RV corrugated type to a solid PVC, but will wait until we clear the chlorine out of the lines since we need to drain the gray water tanks onto the land to prevent killing all the "good" bacteria in our septic system. 

  So, we finish the week smiles and a sense of accomplishment.  Until next week when I'll show pics of our finished, hopefully, projects.