Continued...

"To be continued..."

Well, we went to Puppy + training class, and Ember decided she had her own agenda.  All the puppies seemed to be extra vocal, so I had a hard time understanding what we were supposed to be doing.  I left class feeling... deflated?

Anyway, I proceeded to recoup by signing her up for a Tuesday evening session, instead this week, since the weekend classes are NOT going to work with the family holiday plans.

Ember was tired and didn't know that was her problem.  She sat at the front door, clearly asking to go for a walk, but fought getting the harness on.  I clipped on the leash and we tried that way.  She fought that, too.  This was at 2:30 p.m.

We got as far as the yard next door, at which point, Ember picked up someone else's poo bag (don't know if it was filled or an escaped bag with nothing in it, but either way she should not have it).  She would not give it to me easily, and I had reached my limit.  I hefted her 31 pound puppyhood in my arms and carried her home, to chill in the crate for a while.

Evening brought more rain, and since Ember wasn't going to be going on any more leash walks that day, she got to play in the mud.  She could give a masters class in how to play in runoff water and get muddy!

In any case, she went to bed pretty well, and let me sleep in my own bed.  I got up to let her out twice, but she did not need the second trip, and in fact then slept through to cat's breakfast time without incident.  So yes!  The medication is doing the job, and I noticed in Monday morning's poo patrol that the piles were well-formed and fairly solid (not rock hard or anything like that).

And this morning, she went on a good leash walk before the working folks showed up!

Monday:  the electrician cometh and the landscape work continues

This morning the electrician came to do the safety inspection.  No, I'm not selling the house or anything of that sort, this is a service that comes with my subscription to the Plumbing, HVAC, Electric company.  They have been trying out this kind of model since 2020, and I like it.

Bruce inspected the circuitry, and we went through my list of things/concerns.  He replaced three outlets with GFCI versions, because they were in places that warranted it, bringing it up to code for the 1990's... the house was built in the 1970's.  

Three of my issues, the over-counter light in the kitchen, the light that lost its shade in the laundry room, and an exhaust fan in the MBR half bath required ordering fixtures.  We did that, too.

And while he was here, replaced light bulbs on the motion sensor security lights, including getting rid of a broken light bulb "remains".  He also tightened them up so that they will point in appropriate directions.

We talked about security cameras, including doorbells, and he showed me what I would need to measure.

Last but far from least, he disconnected the power from reaching the stub where the shed had got its power from the house.  The shed was taken down in 2020, but that was done by a handyman, not an electrician, and a certain circuit breaker had tripped more frequently since.  That has now been corrected, so that the power inside the house won't be interrupted.

He left the line buried, in case anyone in future wants to reconnect power to that part of the yard.  

Next up came Nate, the irrigation specialist for the landscape dudes.  He was here to answer the question:  Can this watering system be saved?

Nate replaced a couple of parts, turned on the water, and this particular junction box filled with water (something broken).  He pumped the water out and continued his investigations.

If the little junction box below looks "recessed" it is because over the intervening years, it had been grown over.  Two of them had to be dug up!

Once the junction boxes were accessed, he manually turned on the water, and we could see what sprinkler heads were broken, or needed cleaning out, etc.

The conclusion was that this is a repairable system.  The boss man sent me an estimate for the modification on the south side to extend the retaining wall and river rock fill, as well as a rough estimate on what the irrigation repairs would likely cost.

I closed my eyes and said yes!  So the patio and edge-wall will be done tomorrow or Wednesday.  No dates yet on the irrigation work or the sod, but the general idea is to do the repairs to the irrigation system before they lay the sod, so I'll (in theory) be able to just set a watering schedule and no more hose pulling!

Today's progress on the South side and West side (front)

The corner, heading East on the South side.

And the South side looking East.  This is the extended part.

These are the pavers that will form the front patio.

So, for now, life is still a bit disrupted here in Emberville, but Life is Good.  Spark on!