Seriously....Stop it...

Yesterday the bobcat was delivered to the house. They wouldn't let me tow it with Big Red, but instead allowed me to pay them an additional $80 to have it dropped off. Grrrr. However, once I got going I was able to get quite a bit accomplished. I think I need to buy me one just to have. It is a blast. I do have to say, I am quit at home sitting in the drivers seat working the controls. Maybe I can get me one and spend my time off digging holes in the backyard or just driving in circles.
Anyway, the first project I did was clearing out some dirt and moving the gravel into place in the front yard. There is a ton of extra gravel that will have to be moved to the backyard someplace once we get most everything else finished. I would have taken pictures last night but I didn't want to get out of the bobcat and waste time just to take a picture. ;)
Once I completed the gravel, I headed to the backyard to spread out the road base in the location of where we plan on putting the shed. By time I got this completed, it was time to take a break to eat dinner since Scratz got home.



The dogs spent the next 10 minutes barking at the thing.



I took today and tomorrow off work just so I could make some progress on the yard. This morning, we got up early to get a jump on the day. I started by leveling out the dirt on the north side of the house, then I made my way to the front yard to do a little leveling out there. While I was working the bobcat, Scratz manned the shovel and was re-digging out the area where the first sprinkler box is located. The box gets covered in dirt and mud every time it rains. Once we get the decorative gravel in there, I don't think we will have this issue.
One thing we did notice last night was there is one area out by our new cement work that was really wet. I started to dig at it today, only to find even more water. I don't know if there is a leak or if that is just where the water has been collecting. I guess we will be digging up that area once we get most everything else taken care of.
Since we found that nice wetland, I took a few minutes to walk around the yard to see what needed to be flattened out or whatever when I found a little mud spot that had water bubbling up out of it. I dug down to find a connection in the pipe that had not been secured. I was getting ready to fix that when it started sprinkling. I figured that it would be a quick little storm, so Scratz and I decided to go get some food and head to Lowes for a few parts that we needed. Well, the storm didn't just pass by in a few minutes, it is currently still raining. It has been raining for about 4 hours now. I cant believe how much it has rained. I dont know how I am ever going to get this yard finished at this rate. The yard is now a muddy mess and the sky doesn't seem to be finished falling as of yet.

Here is what my mud pit looks like now.



This is craptastic.

Rocks...

Yesterday, I had the day off and was able to do a little work in the yard. Scratz arranged to have the cobble stone rock

delivered at the house since I was going to be home. The guy showed

up to drop the rock off around 11am and I had him dump it off onto the park strip, to try and

keep it off the street.

Since I was already out shoveling dirt, I decided to fill in a small section of the park strip to see how it would look.

I don’t plan on doing a lot by hand because today I am getting off early to pick up the bobcat. I have a big day today. Hopefully the ground has had the time to dry out a little bit since the rain has stopped for a little while. It isn’t suppose to rain at all today, but there is suppose to be a little scattered showers later in the day tomorrow. If I can figure out how to work the bobcat without many problems, I believe I can get most of the items on my “to-do” list done before it rains. As far as driving the bobcat, I have only driven one a long time ago when I use to work construction. However, I was able to find a driving simulation online where you can hone your skills. If you want to practice yourself you can go to http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/skidsteer-sim/skidsteer.htm

The biggest thing about getting the bobcat is whether or not they will let me tow it with Big Red.

I have called a few times and depending on how I talk to the service person says I can or I can’t tow it. I really don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to tow it. After all I am paying for insurance on the bobcat and the worst that can happen is Big Red will fall apart on the way home.

That is all for now, look forward to the update of the bobcat action.

Sprinklers...Day 16

As you read in the previous blog about sprinklers, I had finished installing all of them only to find out we had ZERO water pressure. I spent the whole night wondering how I would go about finding the blocked or broken pipe. Well the next morning scratz made a call to the city and found out the problem was on thier side of the system. Apperently they had a break in the main line in our area and were working to repair the problem. This was the biggest relief to me, so yesterday was the day that the water was turned back on. I went and checked my system and the only problem I found is it appears I forgot to make the little hole in the main pipe where one of the heads connects. Out of 30+ heads only having 1 to fix isnt that bad at all.

Tomorrow we get to move onto a little more land scaping fun. Scratz ordered 3.5 tons of cobble stone that will go into the parking strip in the front of the house. From a co-worker, She got the name of a guy who gets and delivers the rock for a great price. So tomorrow around noon, I will have a ton of rocks in front of the house. This gets the rocks here just in time for me to have the bobcat on Friday. I am hoping the sun will come out and stay out for most of the day tomorrow and then is out for the rest of the weekend. If not I am going to have a heck of a time trying to drive that bobcat without causing more damage to my yard then it already has.

I have a secret...

Since I am at work today and extremely tired, I decided to take a slight detour from the sprinklers posts and post something a little more interesting for the masses. I have decided to pass along a little known secret that I have. I have been keeping this secret to myself for a few months now and so far my fellow co-workers haven’t figure it out. What is the secret? Well the secret is that when they replaced our 1980’s microwave, they replaced it with a microwave/convection oven. You might wonder how no one else knows this secret…Well I was here when they delivered it and the delivery guy handed me the manual. So in my boredom on that day, I read it. That is where I found out the microwave has a darker side.



It is the coolest thing ever. (Don’t worry I hid the manual.) The best part about it is this allows me to have a wider variety of foods to eat at work. I don’t get stuck with the typical microwave meals any longer.
For instance, today I am having a Tonino’s cheese pizza.



Mind you, this couldn’t pass for gourmet cuisine, but it sure beats the pants off of Hot Pockets.




Anyway, I am typing this up while my pizza cooks in the oven. Soon it will be nice and crispy and not that soggy mush you would normally get if you tried cooking a regular pizza in the microwave.
Well that is all for this minute, it’s time for me to eat my pizza.