Monday, January 30, 2012

AHHH...Life in the Country

Well, it's sorta the country. I mean, we have a septic tank. Does that qualify as "country living"? (Which I think needs emptying because it smells kind of funny around here. Though I suppose it could be because we are "upwind" of a horse farm. Randy says it's the neighbor's tank but I think that's just wishful thinking on his part. How is anyone supposed to know anyway? Do they have gages that let you know when they are full or does one just "wing it" and hope for the best? Oh well, as long as I'm not the one emptying it. Plus, I think I'll make sure I'm gone that day. You know, so I won't get in the way and all that.) Another reason that I think it qualifies as "country" here is because there are no streetlights anywhere. Nary a one. When it gets dark, it's black as pitch. If I go out in the evening and forget to turn on the porch light, I can forget about finding my way back home, too. After living in the city all my life I was clueless as to what true darkness is. Good for sleeping though...or it would be if that darn wolf would just shut up. Randy swears up and down that there are no wolves out here but Michaela and I remain unconvinced. After all, my nephew lives in the same town and there was a bear strolling through his yard a while back. We all know that where there are bears, there are wolves, right? Coyotes too.

The REAL reason I know it's the country is that there is no trash pickup. Yep, gotta pick up your own trash  and bring it to the dump. They call them "dump runs" and it's what we do for excitement around here. As in, "Hey guys, you wanna go on a dump run?" The dump is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays so you have to time things just right. Like, you wouldn't want to change the kitty litter on a Sunday or anything like that.

Compost pile you say? What's that?

I DO have to change litter boxes now. Michaela got a kitten and mom got the litter box. "After all, Mom, I'm only eight you know. Do you know any 8-year-olds that change litter boxes?" I tried to think of a few but came up blank, so I gave in gracefully and only gagged about twenty times during the first cleaning. Not bad for a newbie.  (Kittens are FOUL little beasties, let me tell ya. They put puppies to shame...even puppies with Giardia.)

I wonder if puppies can be trained to use litter boxes too? Actually, I wonder if puppies can be trained at all at this point. My carpet wonders, too.

Speaking of carpets, I caught the puppy and the kitten working in tandem the other day unravelling the carpet on my stairway. I KNOW McKookenstein was the culprit who instigated the whole thing but Skittles happily joined in. There was no paw twisting involved. I caught them redhanded and they didn't even have the decency to look ashamed of themselves. They chewed up the corner of a new area rug too... before the price tag was even off of it.

I wonder if it's okay for a kitten to eat puppy food and a puppy to eat kitten food?

43 comments:

  1. Welcome back. I hope you're settling well in your new home and pray that you and your family will be happy there.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Victor,
    It's good to be back! I love the new house and the town too. It's very peaceful around here (wolves or no wolves). I can't wait to catch up on my blog reading - we are finally settled in. I have a bit more unpacking to do but I have the next couple of days off thankfully. I didn't realize how much stuff we have! Maybe it's time to get rid of some of it.

    I hope you are doing well, Victor. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So good to see you back, Mary! Your country life sounds delightful. We've lived in places without garbage pick up and street lights. Yes, little inconveniences but the peace and quiet... wonderful! Btw, do you have town water? We hated having to rely on tank water especially as it never rained!

    I have bad news for Michaela. Gemma-Rose cleans the kitty litter tray. She's done it since she was six. But not every day. The girls take turns, but I think she does it the most and I have to say, she's the most willing. She doesn't seem to mind dirty jobs, unlike her mother...

    I hope you're back to regular blogging. I missed you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad to see it all went well! Moves are never fun! Isn't the country AWESOME!! I grew up on a farm, but moved in town when I got married. Now I'm finally back in the country again!
    And it's VERY dark here...we are also in the woods. So the star/moon light is even less! I can't see my hand in-front of my face!
    Ya, it can smell from time to time from neighboring farms, but if that smell continues for more than a week you might want to get that tank checked. We had the owner get our tank emptied before we bought the house. They tell you to get that done at least every 5 years for an average size family. (For us they recommend every year!! It's the 9 kids!)
    Best of luck with the fun little critters! I made my kids up set when I said no pets in the house! I'm a mean Mom, but I figured I had enough to clean-up with just the kids! We have three outside cats. Maybe a dog soon!
    God bless, glad you're back!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Missed you here in the blogosphere Mary!!!! So glad that you are settling in to your new home-I enjoyed this cute and clever post and I took extra delight in your label! You are precious! Prayers for you, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Sue,
    Really? Gemma-Rose cleans the cat tray? How did you get your kids to take it on? Our kitten is really stinky! Worse than the puppy!

    We have well water now and it tastes better than the city water. We had it tested and it's good water thankfully.

    I'm back but will be posting minimally for the next week or two :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Jennifer,
    Your "mean mom" comment made me laugh! You forget I've read your posts and know what a great mom you are. I hope you are recovered from your surgery.

    I can relate to not being able to see your hand in front of your face! I couldn't find my front door the other week! Now I leave the light on!
    Yes, I think we have to have the tank emptied. Can't blame everything on the horses :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Anne,
    I missed you too! I'm looking forward to catching up on my blog reading. I think this is the longest I've ever been without an internet connection.

    I hope you and the gang are well. Thank you for your prayers! You are in mine too!

    Want a cat? (Don't tell Michaela I said that but that 1 cat smells worse than 10 horses!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Mary,
    So glad you are back. Sounds like your move went well and that you have some interesting
    neighbors~wolves~Yikes!
    God bless you and your new home.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the light comment! I'm married to a want-a-be electrician and my dad is an electrician, so when we had to remodel the outside of the house they added enough lights to land a plane!!!! If you see a bright light as you look across the horizon it's my house! ;-)

    And I'm recovering well. A bit slower than I thought I would, but I keep forgetting myself and picking up my little "Cherub"!
    Ouch!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are too funny my friend! So, so happy to see you back! As for your question: According to our vet...it is okay for dogs to eat cat food (but it will make them fat) but not okay for cats to eat dog food (as it is missing nutrients cats need).
    hugs,
    Esther
    PS: I agree, cats are stinkier than a pup could ever be. (I love the smell of dog BTW) :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's like $150 to get your septic tank pumped and $5000 to get a new septic system. Call the septic service. ;-)

    THe documentation with your house should have indicated the last time the thing got emptied, but if not, get it emptied anyhow. It's not worth the risk.

    BTW, we have a private trash collection company that comes and takes our stuff away. $35 a month, totally worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Karin,
    Thanks, it's good to be back! Our yard abuts conservation land and there are moose, deer, foxes, coyotes, fisher cats (which look NOTHING like cats let me assure you - they EAT cats), and all sorts of creatures. My dog and cat will be staying in the yard!

    Oh yeah...bears too

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jennifer, next time I have to make an emergency landing in my plane I'll call you ;)
    I'm glad to hear you are recovering well. I popped onto your site and read the story you posted. You are a remarkable woman! Praying for you!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Esther,
    I'm happy to be back! I wonder why cats are stinkier than dogs? This came as a surprise to me. For some reason I always thought it was the other way around but now I KNOW for a fact that cats are stinkier.
    I'll have to work on their eating habits - I don't want Caesar or Skittles to be unhealthy. They may have poor manners but they are very sweet :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Jane,
    Well that settles it then :) To be honest, I don't like the thought of someone else's "stuff" floating around in MY tank. Is that gross or what? Lol.

    Thanks for the info about trash collection. I would definitely be interested in that and will look around. I didn't know there was such a thing.

    How about you? Would you like a cat? I have a feeling Anne passed on the offal little beastie. Oops, I meant awful.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Colleen,
    I missed you lots too :) I'm coming to visit in a few minutes to see what you've been up too!

    ReplyDelete
  18. No thanks on the cat. We just got a new kitten of our own, and I'm trying to keep my sanity.

    ReplyDelete
  19. You too? I caught ours unravelling the rug and playing with the blind cords again. Good luck keeping your sanity!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Soooooooooo good to see you again Mary. There was an emptiness/void when you were gone. Now you replaced it once again. Blessings to you dear one.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm very happy to be back! I hope you are doing well, my friend. Sending you a great big hug (and praying for you too).

    By the way, I got a smelly little kitty to go with poopy puppy :) They sure are cute despite their poor potty habits!

    I missed you!

    ReplyDelete
  22. and yes kittens can eat puppy food and puppies can eat kitten food. I mean they are both carnivores. I mean it won't harm them, as for will they like them- that's a try it and see.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Puff,
    Who knows what's in the pet food these days? Is it even meat? Lol. All I know is that the kitten loves the puppy food and the puppy loves the kitten food :)

    I hope you, Bear, and the kids are well.

    You like cats?

    Kidding! Michaela would be so mad if she knew I was making jokes about getting rid of her cat. He attacked my curtains today.

    ReplyDelete
  24. So glad you're back! Congratulations on the new house. Sounds like you're already making memories:)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Kathleen, it's good to be back!(Not that I'll be able to do much blogging for the next week or two but at least I'm online.)I'm not the only one making memories around here, the cat and dog are hard at work making all kinds of surprises for the new house ;)

    ReplyDelete
  26. So glad to see you back. I loved your report on the new house and the animals. I'm allergic to cats so I didn't know they were stinky since I can't be around them or my bronchial tubes close up.

    When you get back to blogging regularly, I'll be looking forward to more tales of the new place.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Barb! At least you're not allergic to dogs ;) That would be awful, wouldn't it?

    I'm sure I'll be bombarding all of you with tales of the new house for some time to come and the good thing is:
    You can yawn and I'll never even know. Lol.

    I hope you are having a good winter and feeling well!

    ReplyDelete
  28. You have been missed my blogging friend. Welcome back and God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks, DG!
    I won't bother trying to pawn the cat (who just walked all over the keyboard)off on you. I have a feeling he's mine for good ;)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Well, this just made me giggle. I think an 8-yr-old can clean the litter box no problem! Her animal, her job. Simple. Your job is to pay for the food and vet bills. That's it. You tell her. ;)

    Speaking of funny smells . . . Christian needs to clean his guinea pig cage up. It gets rank fast!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi Sarah,
    Yeah, but do you really think it will get done? Without complaint? Not likely :)

    Our hamster cages are smelling a little rank too!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Actually my mom has two and I am allergic to cats. I am constantly covered in eczema, when I visit her

    ReplyDelete
  33. That stinks, Puff. Do you like dogs? (Worth a shot - you don't live all that far from me ;)

    I hope the flu is out of your house and you're feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
  34. GOD BLESS YOU in your new home!
    And...YEP...sounds like you've joined us COUNTRY BUMPKINS!
    Nice to have ya'!
    WELCOME!
    If you don't want to do a dump run...you could always do a "trash burnin' " LOL

    ReplyDelete
  35. I have missed you...and you are so funny!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hi Judy,
    So you can relate I see :) Everything is different and I love it. Dump run here I come! (Haven't done a trash burning yet but it's on my to do list...lol)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Here's a meme for you to have a break from your country living: http://inadequatedisciple.blogspot.com/2012/02/current-favorite-3-religious-books.html

    God Bless You!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Glad you are getting settled!

    You posts have been missed.

    God Bless you.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hi Mary! I have missed you too! I'm going to come by for a visit and catch up on my reading a bit :) Hope you are doing well!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Love the new site, JBR! I left you a comment over there. Sending you a big hug!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hi Colleen! Thanks for the tag - I'm ready to take a break from my dump runs and tackle a meme ;) This one sounds interesting because I'm a total bookworm!

    Praying for you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Thanks, Michael :) I'm a good one for stretching out these blog breaks as long as possible, aren't I? LOL

    ReplyDelete