The Broken Pipe Saga

Yesterday, Christopher discovered a wet spot in the dirt at the base of the house. Of course he asked me if I had turned the faucet on the day before. I replied that I had not. Fannnntastic!

This means that we have a broken pipe, and it looks like it is the one to the kitchen faucet. Ohhh great! We had a full day scheduled of birthday celebrations with multiple family members. When were we going to squeeze this in? Do we call a plumber, ON A WEEKEND, or do we investigate first?

We decided to attend the breakfast party then come home and see what we could uncover. Remember we live in a 1908 Craftsman. Fixing things like this can open a can of worms that we don't have money to repair. Fingers crossed at this point.

We returned from breakfast to begin the digging. This is where Christopher really had to step up. (I injured my knee a few days ago and I could not get down on the ground.) It was incredibly hot yesterday, and Christopher began the task of digging around the pipes. He discovered where the leak was and determined we could do a quick fix that would hold until we could scrap pennies together and have the house re-piped. Off to the store we go. We buy what Christopher deems is the best fix. He spent several hours between digging and repairing. At this point we have had to turn the water to the house off. YIPPEE!!! You don't realize how much you need that until you don't have it. Here are a few pictures that don't even begin to cover the scope of this disaster.

Here is the culprit. It is the small rust colored pipe next to the large pipe on the wall.

Christopher is working his magic on the repair kit.

Lots of dirty words taking place here.

We let the first step of the repair cure overnight. Today, we will hopefully have it fixed and the water turned back on. If not, we call in a plumber and try to find the money hidden in the cushions to pay for it. In the meantime, I'm making trips to my mother's house for full bathroom/shower privileges. Oh the joys of owning a 107 year old house. I keep reminding myself that one day there will be more money for repairs and that this is just another bump in the road to a beautiful home.

Hugs,
Jenni

Sharing an Experience

As you know, we are in the process of restoring our bungalow. It will take years for us to turn this into the show piece we would like. Along with that is the decisions to make about what art work we would like to display or even purchase. Last year we took an image transfer class together. It was awesome! We had grand plans to come home and create more pieces and even larger ones. However, life got busy. Then we were having a discussion yesterday and I remembered these pieces we had created in class. It got us thinking that we should attempt a few more and on a larger scale. We will have to decide what images we will use and just how large we want to work. I'm excited to see what we will do together. At the very least, we will enjoy the process.

Hugs,
Jenni

Little Vacation

Hey y'all! A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to San Francisco for the weekend. It was fabulous! While staying there we took a side day trip to Big Basin State Park and Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. Again, amazing! Christopher and I realized the other day that we have been together for 17 years (almost 15 years married) this next week. People who meet us for the first time would have no idea it has been so long. We act like a newly married couple all of the time. We truly love spending time together, and we are best friends. Here is just a peek at how silly we can be on vacation.

What was the last trip you took? Who did you go with? We would love to hear from you.

Hugs,
Jenni

An Afternoon Together

Hey there! It has been awhile, but we have been busy around our little bungalow. In the midst of chaos, we have taken a little time out of the hard work of fixing our sweet space. We spent the weekend hiking the local trails and enjoying each other. After pricing applesauce at the store and thinking about the ingredients, I knew that we could make it cheaper and healthier at home. Yesterday, we decided to try a family recipe for homemade applesauce. Together we peeled and cored the "organic" apples. I did the cooking and Christopher was the taste tester. Other than a FaceTime session with my mom to check that I was doing this properly, we did this with just the two of us. It was fantastic! Our homemade applesauce is delicious. We put it in mason jars, but I did not process them. If I was going to do that I would have to add lemon juice and I did not want it to taint the flavor. It made far more than I expected, and we shared a jar with Christopher's parents and my mom. Do you have a favorite applesauce recipe? We'd love to try any recipe sent our way.

Hugs,
Jenni

Flood Preparations

With the little amount of rain we had a few weeks ago (about 1 inch), it brought mud and debris through our neighborhood. Luckily, it bypassed our house and we didn't have too much damage. The chicken coop was a disaster, but we got that cleaned up fairly quickly. As the approaching storm was being followed by the media, we decided to tackle the job of prepping for flood conditions this week. Sunday we took the opportunity to go to the city yard and grab sandbags. It took several truckloads of sandbags. We spent the past few days placing sandbags in the possible flow paths around our property. This time we were smart enough to place sandbags around the chicken run/coop as well. Of course, Sunday it decided to give us a few downpours and you will see in the following photographs how my mascara is definitely not waterproof. Here are a few snapshots of our past few days of preparations.

Here is a partial truckload of sandbags from the city yard.

Christopher stacking old and new sandbags.

Jenni shoveling old sandbags into new ones.

Jenni, the drowned rat with mascara that isn't waterproof.

Our sandbags being taken over by the falling leaves.

Although we are hoping for plentiful rains, we also are praying for the mud and debris to pass right by our bungalow. Hopefully, we will emerge from the storm with a lot to be thankful for this rainy season.

Hugs,
Jenni

Homecoming 2014

Now that October has come to a close we'd like to share a few of our small town Homecoming events that we attended. First of all, Christopher teaches at our local high school, which we both attended, and it was Homecoming this past month. We never miss the Homecoming Parade. This year we took photos of our bag pipers, the highlight of the parade. The following day we took part in the Homecoming festivities of the university we both attended, the University of La Verne. We dragged our sister-in-law along to join us in the Fun Run. There are a few pictures to show the fun that we had that day. We hope your month was just as fun and exciting, and remember that it doesn't have to be Homecoming to go home.

Bag pipers of Glendora High School-Homecoming Parade 2014

Before starting the ULV Fun Run 2014

Christopher and Michelle during the ULV Fun Run 2014

This was our view of Christopher for most of the run.

After the run Michelle and I are still smiling.

What a great way to celebrate Fall this season! Let's all prepare for the coming holiday season. We can't wait to see how you celebrate.

Hugs,
Jenni

A Craft as Old as Recorded Time

Sometimes the old ways are the best ways. At least, that is how I felt this year when I decided to have a home brewing party for my birthday here at the ol’ bungalow.  This time around the calendar I invited my beer making / beer appreciating family and friends here to the house for a great evening of comparisons between home brews and store bought micro brews.  The result was a hoppin’ (pun intended) good time! There is something pretty great about getting in touch with a craft as old as recorded time. You can do side some research on your own time for that one. Just know that more than a few of us drank of the bottle conditioned snot. The ancient Egyptians would have said “more please” to that one! How about you?