Having prepared the night before I had my stuff ready, and my day mapped. I love it when I am that together and ready to achieve wonderful things. The plan? Going to the Mountain Farmlet to demo the rotten shower while I wait for the roofer to meet me there. Also on the plan is a leisurely stroll through the woods and along the stream with the dogs. I couldn’t wait!
Showered, dressed, breakfast eaten, lunch packed, tools, dogs and dog water loaded into the car, and I am finally down the road.
First stop, gas the car, empty the trash bag so Tucker won’t eat the wrappers, water the dogs, and take them for their first pee break. DONE! Now it’s my turn…
Returning to the car I see Tucker up to his shoulders in my big carryall and he has eaten most of my sandwich!
Bad dog, Tucker, very BAD DOG!
Still seething, I realize that he couldn’t get my Fritos, and I still had my water and an apple. Well, better than nothing I thought. (I can hear you saying: Well couldn’t you eat out? The short answer would be, No, not with my Celiac/Gluten intolerance issues. I don’t have time for being sick.)
Second road break, same as the first. Seems that Tucker was intent to find any leftovers he may have missed.
Third road break, I took the lunch bag and tossed it into the truck bed so he couldn’t get it. 😉
BTW, I must mention it was already in the 80s in the morning, I have discovered that if I take my door lock remote with me that I can leave the dogs in the car with the air on and they don’t overheat. YES, I know, but I figured with Buddy the big dog barking and frothing at the window it would be an excellent deterrent! Yes?
I am within 8 miles of the Mountain Farmlet and stop for my favorite Sugar Free beverage. Not seeing any in the case I ask for some from the back. The cashier yells at the other girl working there, “…any more are available in the back?” and she mumbles something and walks out the back door with some bait. I left without purchasing any more water for the dogs and just went up the mountain. I wasn’t going to patronize the store if they were going to ignore me, now was I?
Upon arriving I am stoked about setting to work. I am on time and the roofer is not there yet. A FIRST for me! I become aware of how really hot it is, and the lack of a breeze. Never mind, I think, as I unlock the door and turn on the air. Nothing. I flip a couple of switches. NOTHING! They never turned on the electricity! Oh well, I will water the dogs and just wait for the roofer.
PROBLEM! The Octogenarian told the water company to turn off the water on the 10th. I had called the water company and told them she made a mistake and, please don’t turn it off on the 10th, because the account had already been transferred to our name! “No problem.” the nice lady said.
It is the 11th and there is no water.
I’ve got hot dogs, and no water. (Where is that roofer?) A light bulb moment and I think, OK I will let them drink some of the cat water out back on the deck.
Buddy: “No way man, that’s not my water, and you can’t make me drink it! OK, I’m really thirsty so I will taste it. NOPE, NOT MY WATER!”
Tucker: “Nope, Buddy didn’t like it so I’m not drinking it either!”
Me: (panicking!) “Come on guys, it’s almost 90 degrees and we’re having air you can wear up here! You have to drink water, now DRINK WATER.”
Another light bulb moment. I go into the house thinking, “I’ll just fill their water bowl from the toilet tank. It’s fresh.” The bathrooms are totally dark. No windows, no light, no dice. But wait! I have a little flashlight in my purse, so grabbing it I go in to find that the Octogenarian, being the neat and clean person she is, has installed some sort of device that pumps cleaner into the water tank to keep your toilet bowl sparkly and nice. (You don’t care what I was saying or thinking at this point. Trust me.) I gave the dogs my water.
MAN, WHERE IS THAT ROOFER!
I try to call him and realize I left his number at home. I call the realtor, who knows him well BTW, and he gives me his number. Whew!
The Roofer: “Oh sorry, I had something come up and I told the office this morning to cancel all my appointments for today.”
Me: “Well, I was on the road early this morning and didn’t get the message.”
The Roofer: “OH.” I’m really sorry, but…”
ME: “I have been waiting for you since 11:00. It is very hot and humid, and the utility companies have not turned on my electric and water. I drove all the way here from Hazel Green to meet you. It is an 80 mile drive one way, and a lot of gas to return here tomorrow.” (I was polite, I promise, but I was not happy on the inside)
The Roofer: “I’ll have someone there in 45 minutes! I’m really sorry, mam!”
Me: “Thank you.”
The other roofer fellows call to tell me they were on their way, but that it would take an hour. I repeated my tale of woe, and suddenly an hour turned into 30 minutes, they arrived on time, too!
Estimate is done, the dogs and I took our leisurely and shady, woodsy walk. I am thinking, Hey, they can get into the stream to cool off and get a drink!
Along the way we stop to throw some fish food to the catfish in the pond. I open the lid and there inside on the edge of the chest is a shiny, black, Scorpion! We have Scorpions? I closed the lid, and with apologies to the fish, we left.
Down by the creek I am telling the dogs, “Drink water, drink water, HELLO? You are thirsty, DRINK WATER!” Both of them looked at me like I was out of my mind and flat-out REFUSED to even TOUCH that stream! Grrrr…
So back to the house, to lock up, and pack up, so we can all go to the nearest place to get water! I walk in and begin gathering my things, I am in a hurry to get going because, as you will recall, what little water I had, I have given to the dogs. I turn the corner in the dog trot (the center part of the house) to get to the living room and suddenly I am seeing stars and trying not to pass out. (Another moment that you do not want to know what I was thinking and saying. Suffice it to say that the dogs are cowering and being exceptionally good.)
Why was I seeing stars? Because having been outside I came inside and it was too dark, and in the dark I didn’t see the dang shelves the Octogenarian had placed in the doorway that she kept closed all the time. The lower of the two was exactly nose bridge height.
The sad part is, that I knew they were there, but in my hurry to get going I temporarily forgot. I tried to see what the damage was but again, too dark in the bathrooms and the littlest flashlight in the world wasn’t helping. All I could see was lots of blood! Hoping my nose is not badly cut or broken, I grab a dry paper towel and do my best to clean up so we can just get going.
By now I’m thinking I must look like something you’d find in the ditchbank at the side of the road. My hair is in wet strings around my neck, my light blue overalls are filthy and then I see them… TICKS! Hyperventilating, I begin picking them off and throwing them into the bushes. Yeah, I know but what else was I going to do with them? Then it hits me, If there are some on the outside of my clothes there must be more where I can’t see.
At our next rest stop, I go into the Ladies Room, and drop my overalls to find that my suspicions are confirmed. MORE TICKS! Thankfully, there were only three.
For the uninitiated, pulling ticks is downright horrifying. You never feel them biting (how do they do that?) and when you try to pull them out they are latched so tightly, that you skin pulls up with your efforts. This is very horrifying for yours truly.
The rest of our trip back home was uneventful, and I was relieved to find that on inspection at least the dogs flea and tick meds worked! Later, after a long shower, and drinking a half-gallon of water I was feeling much better too. My nose is not broken, and I did not require stitches, just a wee little band-aid and some antibacterial salve. My eyes were only very slightly blackened in the corners… but not enough to keep me from going in public. 😉
We, the dogs and I, went back yesterday, the utilities are on and the rotten shower is halfway removed! Bob and I will finish that tomorrow.
~*~
OH yes, and yesterday I packed my lunch in a Tupperware box!
So, take that, Tucker!
😉
Life on the Farmlet 
You’re right – that was one of those days and then some. Glad to see you bounced back so well.
Lillian
Thank you, Lillian. There isn’t often a circumstance that a good shower and clean clothes can’t fix. We were tired, but happy to be home, and I was especially grateful about my nose! 😀
oooooh!!!!! Im not even laughing WITH you! I hate those days when it seems the Universe is conspiring, at every turn, to derail your day.
Im glad you didnt knock yourself out !
And yes, scorpions, ticks, biting flies, wasps and giant horseflies (my least favorite) all make living out here in the farm a true experience.
Take care of yourself! Connie
Thanks, Connie, me too! Now that you mention it, there was a horsefly, and dear flies too. But they weren’t as tenacious as the ticks! 🙂
Sounds to me like you are “home”. Be it ever so humble, that’s the new farmlet, ticks, scorpions, and all. Don’t forget some of us are still hoping for lots of pictures.
Hahaha! True enough, Anita, but it won’t feel like home until we make it livable on the inside and get our personal items moved in. 😀
I am getting pictures! I promise!
Oh my goodness, Lynda! I’m sorry but I laughed so hard, with a new outburst of hissy fit each time you mentioned another tragedy, that FD finally came back here and said, “What the heck are you laughing so hard about?” Thank you for the entertainment… my mother always said I had a weird and warped sense of humor and I guess she is right. A lot of what happened to you wasn’t very funny at the time… but oh, what great story-telling it made for you!
We have scorpions here too… and likely you will find all sorts of varmints you didn’t have in Hazel Green. I didn’t like ticks, snakes, scorpions, and spiders when we moved here, but I’ve learned to respect them. This is a bad year for ticks, but I DO feel them crawling on me and I DO feel the bite… and it’s no fun to get them detached. You must put your warrior armor on and become Mountain Farm Woman!!! The Octogenarian didn’t live there that long without slaying a few dragons and putting out a few fires! You can DO IT!!
Lori, I understand. It is easy to laugh at others calamities, and I have done it too. 😉
RESPECT. Yup, that will be necessary on the Mountain. I have never had to contend with cotton mouth or copperhead here in Hazel green, because we have no close water near us. But up there with the pond and the creek I will have to be more aware. The insects and arachnids will also take some getting used to as well.
As for the ticks, I think I didn’t feel them because I was so hot and sticky, but I am still mystified as to why you can’t feel them piercing your skin! You would think it would HURT. (???)
LOL, and yes, I can do it, but on a day like that, can it be agreed that I don’t have to like it? 😉
And by the time you dealt with the ticks, you didn’t even sound ticked-off!
I confess I started laughing about halfway through, but that’s only because I certainly have “been there and done that”. I don’t even remember the details now, but we all have experienced those times when life started turning into just one d*** thing after another, and we knew there wasn’t anything to be done about it.
Glad you survived. All things considered, it was a pretty productive day!
Linda, I think I was numb and delirious from the heat and lack of hydration!
You and Lori! But, as I told her, I have been guilty of laughing at others calamities too. After all, none of them were life threatening. Right? (And, to be fair, I did tag this under humor.)
We have lots of work ahead of us, and plenty of time to get it done. And so it will be a long process, thought hopefully not so frustrating as last Tuesday.
So, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
😉
The joys of pet ownership fully exemplified once again. I hope they appreciated the nervous anxiety and personsal injury you suffered on their behalf. I am glad you avoided serious injury.
Tom, I cannot argue, they were an absolute pain that day! Thank you, my nose is much better, although still pretty bruised.
Oh my goodness. Your day sounds like some of my days. You see all of that excitment and good fortune of finding your new home has come back to bite you. Good karma is a come and go thing. Maybe. 🙂 Just joking here.
I am thrilled that you have this lovely place but as they say everything has its price and so I suppose one must be prepared for a lot of emergencies when you leave home.
Thank your lucky stars yes, even those that you saw when you almost knocked yourself out, that you did not break your nose. 🙂
What a day of disasters. Again you were fortunate to get the roofing estimate. My luck is usually not as good as yours.
And the dogs were too funny. Just proves that a dog can be as finicky about some things as a person.
I can identify with the gluten thing but I don’t have celiac disease. I am just plain allergic to all major grains and that includes corn, and a whole host of other things. I can eat rice.
For some reason your day of disasters was good writing and funny even if it was at your expense. Nice post.
Regards,
~yvonne~
Yvonne, I had to take a few days before writing and posting this to be able to see the humor in it. Now that my nose is not so inflamed I felt it was a good day for it. 😀
And just so you know, you aren’t the only one who found it hilarious, so, not to worry. 😉
I felt almost guilty clicking Like, but wanted to let you know I read evey word. I felt guilty chuckling, too, but it sounds just like me. I can get a tick, and my dog just sits there smugly looking at me. You write insanely well and I love reading your blog.
Hello, Rosemary’s Granddaughter! Don’t feel too guilty, as it would seem that you, and everyone else, were chuckling right along through this post. 😉
Your comment makes me smile. Thank you.
What an ordeal! I couldn’t believe that the clamities just kept coming. But it sounds like things are back on track now. We had loads of ticks and scorpions when we moved here, but the chickens have brought their numbers down a lot.
I am so glad that day is history. Bob was there with me yesterday and things went ever so much better! It will be some time before we can bring the chickens and the guineas up to the Mountain Farmlet, because first we have to finish the repairs to the home. I never thought of the poultry taking the scorpions on as a food source! 😀
Wow. That was some adventure.
(Don’t tick bites cause Lyme disease if left untreated? Or have a got the wrong type of insect?).
(and my nose hurts just reading your story, Lynda).
Victoria, thankfully that day is in the past! As for ticks, yes they do carry lime disease and rocky mountain spotted fever too. However, they have to stay attached longer than a day (three days if I recall) to transmit the disease. I found and removed the culprits pretty quickly. (They are so nasty!) As for my nose, well it is tender to touch, but you can hardly see a thing this morning. 😉
oh my goodness! that tucker’s a mess!
when you spotted the scorpion, i stepped back! yikes! i would have tossed him to the fish!
the nose whack hurt all the way here. you poor thing! i probably would have passed out from fatigue, low blood sugar, dehydration, etc!
hopefully the devil had a good time with you and haas now moved to someone new to torment!
z
Lisa, he certainly is! As for the scorpion, well, if I could’ve brought myself to touch the dang thing I might have tossed it to the fish, but of course, that thought never even occurred to me! Thankfully, my nose is feeling and looking much better this morning. 😀
Oh my goodness. This is priceless. I’m glad your injuries weren’t worse and that the scorpion (?!!) wasn’t feeling too defensive. I admit to guffawing while reading this story and appreciate your mention of trying to find a gluten-free lunch on the fly… not an easy feat.
LOL, Thanks, Wildninja! As for GF on the fly, well, the Gluten Intolerant could go extinct here in the Deep South if they didn’t pack their own sustenance! And, lesson learned, I will pack mine in a large, Tucker proof, Tupperware from now on! 😉
You survived! I, on the other hand, am exhausted from reading this hehehe!
Thank you, Julie, I did! We were up there again yesterday, and things went much more smoothly with Bob to help and the utilities turned on! 😉
I read this on my phone so couldn’t answer, but what a terrible, rotten day. And yes, bad dogs!! It’s so frustrating when tradesmen are so inconsiderate.
Nancy
Nancy, I felt rather silly after the fact, because I stood there for at least two minutes before I caught on that they were simply blowing me off. In Buddy’s defense, he was a perfect angel. He stayed in the back seat like a good boy! 😉
As for the rotten day, well it is over, and thankfully my nose is on the mend too.
oh no. But surely dogs will drink water in a stream if they really are thirsty…? I think they are having you on! Really enjoyed your writing and I’m glad your nose is still in one place 🙂
Perhaps you are right, Anna, but I do worry with Tucker’s Cushing’s disease, because he can become dehydrated very quickly without enough water. Do you think I am an over protective doggy mom? Most likely, LOL! 😀
I think you are a lovely over protective doggy mum and I believe that he has you wrapped around his little fin…paw. 🙂
I do hope your move goes smoothly and I look forward to the next post
Love from across the pond
Anna
Oh, and I am owned by a Cat, Master of all He Surveys, by the way! LOL! 🙂
Aww, thank you Anna, and yes… he does! Our animals come to us and take over our otherwise calm and sane lives, and you know you are correct. They do wrap us around their little paws, and wheedle their way into our hearts, and we let them, because they are a great comfort to us.
Next post? Coming right up! 😀
Hi Lynda, you know, in spite of this ending humorously and well (this time), I have a few suggestions (’cause “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, right?; )
Two large thermos’ of water: One for you and one for the dogs – if you get heatstroke, you’ll be no good for them OR yourself – and there’s no such thing as too much water (to drink; )
Transport Tucker in a crate if he can’t/won’t behave – if you have low blood sugar, again, you’ll be no good for anyone.
Get rid of that eye-level cupboard: In case of a house fire – there should be nothing at anyone’s head-height.
And, speaking of getting rid of things… Please remove the “Tidy Bowl” – fresh water is our planet’s dearest resource – so next time the dogs could drink “from the toilet”; )
Sent with love and best intentions, Deb
(And, now you know why there are some who just call me “Mom”; )
In Tucker’s defense, he is usually a very good dog. That said, his Cushing’s disease rules his life at the moment, and he feels ravenous all the time. I also had a gallon jug of water for the dogs, but by the time we got there they had drank most of it all up. (He also has a ravenous thirst.) Buddy weighs 60 lbs. and Tucker only 15. Tucker drinks four times as much water as Buddy in a day! 😯 In my defense, I honestly expected to have running water since I had paid my deposit and signed on the dotted line too. 😉
As for the ‘cupboard’ it was in the plans, as I want to use that doorway, of course at the time I wanted to take the sledge hammer to it, but held myself in check… Bob took it out for me yesterday. 😉
And now that we have lights too, I see that the little mechanisms in the tanks are empty, but yeah, they are going to be removed as well. LOL!
And as for being a “Mom” well, get in line… Bob calls ME that ALL THE TIME! 😀
What a ghastly day you’ve had. I’m so happy you survived more or less intact. I could not live in a place that hot – my heart goes into alternate overdrive and spasm when it gets over 80 and I have to stay indoors.
Yes, it was, Viv, and yes, I did survive it. LOL!
When I first moved back to the south I didn’t think I could survive the high heat and humidity. However, I have learned to go out early to work, and then stay in at the height of the temperature and humidity that we often have during the summer days.
I am sorry to hear about your heart condition. That does sound uncomfortable!
As my grandmother would have said: Oy vay! The follow-up post tells us you survived.
Yes, and the bruising is almost gone, but the bridge of my nose is still tender. As for the ticks, well, when the add says that the guinea hens will only be sold in groups of 25 each, well, I am not even going to raise an eyebrow. I will just pay it! 😉 Meeting the plumber and the foundation man tomorrow…
What a day! I guess we need one once in awhile so we appreciate those that are more “dull.” 😉
Yes, Patti, sometimes a little less excitement and mayhem is a good thing!