Update 2: Well Issues

Today we got finally word from Roadrunner (the Well Maintenance Company). Considering our approximate well depth it should be about $ 900 to pull the entire assembly out. That's something we pretty much knew already.

In case the pump is the culprit and needs to be replaced the cost would be somewhere around
$ 5,000+. Can't say that I'm happy about that... but there is no way around that. On Friday Roadrunner will be coming out and start pulling out the well assembly. The should take them somewhere around 6 hours. Once that is done we will have a better idea what the culprit is and what it will cost us to fix the problem.

I will keep you updated on that!!

Update: Well Issues

After having it made through the night without any water... the first thing Kenny did was to call at Lunde's (a local water company), to have 4000 gallons of drinking water delivered to hold us over. By 9.30 am the water truck used our fire hydrant to pump 4000 gallons into the holding tank. That really went surprisingly quick and cost us $ 80 and should be good for about 3 to 4 weeks.

Kenny had also called Roadrunner (well maintenance company) as well. In the early afternoon the well guy showed up. He told us that our well pump is only pulling with about 50% capacity... and that explains why the holding tank was empty. There can be several reasons for that:

• The motor of the pump can be damaged.
• The pump itself can have a blockage.
• There could be a damage to one of the electricity wires.
• There could be a blockage in the well pipe (somewhere between well pump and pressure tank).
• The water levels could have dropped, so that the pump no longer reaches the water table.

Without pulling out the entire well pipe and examining pump wires, pump and well pipes... there is no way to tell. The cost of that could be as much as $ 800, depending on how deep the well is. After that we will hear what the verdict is and how much it will cost to get the well working again.

I will keep you guys posted on the progress!!

Well Issues

Last night before heading to bed Kenny wanted to get for himself a glass of water... well, and there was no water at all! Once Kenny told me and I simply couldn't believe it. So I went to the faucet to see for myself... and it was completely dry. So we grabbed the flashlight and headed out to investigate further.

I know that I heard the pump starting around 6 pm or so... and once we got to the pump shed the pump was still running. I know that the 5000 gallon holding tank was completely full, when I checked it a couple of month ago. So we headed up in the dark to the holding tank... and the tank was bone dry. So we went to the pump shed and the motor is still running. By that time the pump had been running for about 4 hours non-stop and the holding tank load is still 0.

I know there can be several reason for that:

• The pump can be broken.
• The pipe leading to the well can have a blockage
• The well can be dry

As long as it's only the pump, the repair costs shouldn't be that bad. If we need to have the well re-drilled... well that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Tomorrow we will call one of the local water companies to have the holding tank refilled. That's a temporary solution until we can figure out what's wrong with the well and how we can fix the problem.

I will keep you guys posted on that!!

Neighborhood Meeting - Round 2

Today we had another neighborhood meeting to further decide how to precede with the 'nutjob' on Caprock, who's been giving everyone problems. So we met at one of our neighbors house and discussed the issue. Another neighbor had pressured his title insurance company to produce a map or any other official document, that clarifies the whole easement issue. We now have a document that has been officiated by the county. This document spells out an easement along what is now Yucca Hills Road long before that patch of land even had been developed and subdivided into parcels of land. What pretty much means that the easement predates any current landowners claim. Sounds great in theory, but in reality that doesn't mean much... especially knowing that 'nutjob'. In order to be able to solve the entire issue we need what is called prescriptive easement. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about here the definition of a prescriptive easement.

A prescriptive easement arises if someone uses part of your property without your permission. A prescriptive easement involves only the loss of use of part of a property, for example a pathway or driveway. Payment of property taxes is not required, as it is to obtain title by adverse possession. Adverse possession of a prescriptive easement involves the loss of an entire property by open, notorious, hostile adverse and continuous use.
The legal test to acquire a prescriptive easement of another owner is that the use must be (a) open, not secret, (b) notorious, clearly observable, (c) hostile, without the landowner's consent and (c) continuous, without interruption for the number of years required by state law. For example, the minimum hostile use varies from 5 years in California to 30 years in Texas.
The most common prescriptive easement arises when a fence is erected several feet on the wrong side of a boundary line. If the hostile user meets all the requirements, after the required number of years, a permanent prescriptive easement results for the strip of land. Prescriptive easements can be shared, that is, the hostile use need not be exclusive. Use can be shared with the legal owner and/or other hostile prescriptive claimants.
To perfect a legal prescriptive easement, the hostile user must bring a quiet title lawsuit against the property owner and prove all the open, notorious, hostile and continuous use requirements.
If, after purchasing your property, you suspect that a neighbor is using land with belongs to you, that person or neighbor being a "hostile user", you can choose to grant permission to your neighbor thus preventing a permanent prescriptive easement from arising. Permission should be documented such as by a letter to the hostile user.

Once the court has awarded a prescriptive easement, it becomes part of your title. That would solve the problem with that 'nutjob' once and for all, since he would no longer have any rightful claim to the disputed stretch of land.
For now we've decided to send out an agreement to all the neighbors on Yucca Hills Road to see, how many people want to join the lawsuit. If I counted right there are at least 7 property owners in agreement, that a lawsuit should be filed. Considering the time it takes to get all the necessary paperwork together, considering the fact that one of our neighbors does it pro bono and considering the fact that every property owner on Caprock and Yucca Hills Road has to be officially served with the lawsuit... we're looking at early December when the lawsuit can be filed with the court! And the litigation process takes somewhere between 14 month and 2 years.

I will keep you guys posted on the progress!

Kenny's 40th Birthday

Today was Kenny's 40th Birthday Bash. Kenny got up at 7 am to get a head start on cleaning and getting things ready for the BBQ Party. I got up at 10.30 am and helped him with the top of the tent. I held the tent while Kenny nailed it to the deck and taped the joints. We did a really good job as the tent stayed the entire time where it was supposed to stay. The tent came in very handy once the temperature got above 100.

After the tent Kenny and I continued cleaning up the house. Around Noon Kenny left to pick up some last minute supplies. I just got out of the shower when the first guest started to arrive. So I spent about 40 minutes hanging out with Kenny's uncle Robert. Around 12.45 Kenny got back from the store and more and more people started to arrive.

Kenny's brother was working at the BBQ, but Kenny still didn't really have time to chill out and relax. Suddenly someone mentions birthday cake and it hit Kenny and I that we both completely forgot about the birthday cake. Kenny started to call people and I mentioned to him to call our realtor/friend Mary. She was gracious enough to pick one up... and pretty much saved the day!! Thank you so much Marry!!!

Around 3 pm it just got to hot outside... it was about 108 F... and so we went inside, turned on the AC, sung happy birthday and Kenny opened his birthday gifts. Around 5ish people started to leave. By that time Kenny actually got really time to hang out with people and chat with them. Soon there where only a handful of people left and we went back out on the deck, since it was cooler now. So Kenny and I got to spend one on one time with Troy, Luis and Will. Around 7.30 Luis left and by 8 pm Troy had left as well.

All in all the party was great, about 40 people showed up... and everyone seemed to have fun. Surprisingly Daisy was in a particularly good mood and she didn't mind the big crowd at all. She even let 4 or 5 people, she had never met before, come up and pet her... and that's huge for her!!

Diet Management

I've known for quite some time, that my diet regimen is pretty bad. And that I'm overweight is not really a surprise either. Turns out that my current BMI is 27,9... and that's pretty much a disaster. That was the main reason for me to change something. But there was another reason: When I stepped the last time on the scale I weighed 208 lbs and that almost gave me a heart attack!! I'm still not going to start working out, mainly for 2 reasons: First of all with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis working out is anything but fun and rather counterproductive. The second reason was that I've seen the results Kenny has been having with his workout regimen. It just doesn't seem to deliver the results that you would expect.

So the only way to get some results is the diet. So I sat down an looked the my diet during a average week. Turns out that I eat roughly about 2 to 2.5 servings per meal. That certainly explains my being overweight. There was one result that surprised me a little. Turns out that I eat on average 12 times per week meat... and that isn't really helpful with rheumatoid arthritis.

I know that I should cut down my meat consumption to to about 3 or 4 times a week. But having gotten used to eating that much meat, that's way more difficult that I imagined it to be. For now I've chosen a compromise. I've cut down the meal sizes to about 1.5 servings. I know that is still too much, but for now it has to do. Then I've cut out all meat of all lunches and have them replaced mostly with salads, veggies and veggie soups. And of course I watch a little the amount of carbohydrates that I eat per meal. So far that has been working pretty good. A positive effect was that I have lost 2.5 lbs in the first 4 days. I was quite pleased about that.

Once I've gotten used to my 7 meat servings per week, I will try to slowly cut my meat consumption down to about 3 or 4 times per week.

With the beginning of fall and with cooler temperatures I intend to take Daisy hiking on a more regular basis. Apparently moderate hikes are something to work best for the onset of rheumatoid arthritis and it will be very good for our dog as well.

I will keep you guys posted on the progress!!

Lesbians Glow in the Dark

Equally hilarious & definitely a MUST Watch !!!

LESBIANS GLOW IN THE DARK from visual concepts on Vimeo.

Gays are Magnetic

That's really hilarious!! Definitely a MUST Watch!!!

GAYS ARE MAGNETIC from visual concepts on Vimeo.

True Blood

Everyone has been talking about True Blood and Kenny rented it and today we finally sat down to watch episode #1. I still wasn't completely sold on the entire idea, but agreed to watch the first episode. After that I would decide if I was going to continue to watch it or not.

We watched it and then a few moments later we watched the second episode and would have continued to watch if there were more then 2 episodes on that disc.

Needless to say I LOVED IT.

Though it's been out for a while I didn't really know much about it.. I mean I knew it was about vampires and that the main characterSookie was telepathic. But that was about it. I didn't know the Vampires "Came out of the Caskets" and were fighting for civil rights. Which was AWESOME because it pretty much mirrors gay people and how they are fighting for their rights, minus the undead, killing people part. :) Lot's of blood, which I expected and didn't mind. Lot's of sex which I don't mind or course.. but I guess I'm not use to it in TV shows, though I did watch Sex and the City a bit. But the one thing that really surprised me about the first few episodes was the humor.. both Harry and I laughed out loud, though out both episodes. There was some great dialogue.. and I liked how you cared about the characters so quickly. The main characters were charming, funny and charismatic. I mean we've only seen two episode but when Sookie was getting . attacked you just wanted Bill to come and rescue her and kill that couple. Which he does in the next episode but man I was hoping he would make them suffer a bit.
Anyways... I'm bummed that there are only two episodes per disc and that it will take at least 2 days to return the disk and get a new one.. I might have to go out and buy me theDVD's for my Birthday unless I can find a friend who has them already.

I can't wait to see more of this series.

Late Night Visitor

Last Night I had, what you could call a late night visitor. I had to be around 3 am and I could clearly hear someone taking pieces out of the dog bowl. I knew for a fact that I couldn't be the dog, since Daisy was asleep. So the only reasonable explanation was, that the field mouse is again on the prowl.

This particular mouse appeared for the first time a couple of days ago and I've seen her late at night twice on the kitchen floor. In both instances she looked at me, turned around and disappeared under the dishwasher. So far this mouse has managed to avoid the mouse traps.

So this night I went to investigate further. Turns out that the mouse steals the dog food out of the bowl, carries it underneath the old kitchen cart in the pantry and eats it there. So I grabbed the big flashlight and point it at the mouse. You would think that would get her attention, or she would have at least the common decency to stop eating. Not this mouse. This one has the gall to continue eating, while I put the flashlight on her. She just looks with the beady little eyes at me probably thinking "screw you, I'm safe underneath that kitchen cart'! So much for Daisy being a guard dog!!

The first thing I did is to move the doggie food bowl onto the counter, where the mouse can't reach it and tomorrow I'll be setting a mousetrap underneath the kitchen cart!!

Little Big Berlin

WOW!! Absolutely incredible!!

Neighborhood Meeting

Today Kenny and I went to a Neighborhood Meeting at one of our neighbors who happens to be a lawyer. On the agenda was the 'idiot' on Caprock Road, who apparently doesn't quite get the meaning of an 'easement'. If memory serves me right we had already one meeting about the very same issue at another neighbors house about 3 or 4 month ago. At that time we all agreed that we would be taking any further legal steps against the 'nut'. Over the past few month that guy has gone from being just annoying, over accusing, to verbally assaulting and threatening people. So some sort of action is definitely required.

One of our neighbors happens to have a sort of prescriptive easement on his property deed. He will have his paperwork by LacFD and Regional Planning checked, if this is in fact a prescriptive easement from the county road to his property. Regardless of the outcome... as far as I understand the definition of the Prescriptive Easement, this would only apply to him and all people officially residing on his property. So it wouldn't help anyone else.

The way I see it we will have to file a lawsuit against everyone on Caprock Road to have the court decide once and for all, that all property owners that have to use Yucca Hills Road have a prescriptive easement. Once that has been accomplished the prescriptive easement will become part of the deed and the issue will be over.

By the time the meeting ended about 2/3 of the people attending had given their statements about their personal experiences with that 'nut'. It was decided to meet again in 2 weeks to see what the outcome of the investigation of LacFD and Regional Planning is and what legal action - if any - will be taken next. I will keep you guys posted on that.

Happy Fairy Tale Day

Here we are again, facing the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 fairy tale. That tale is not only getting annoying but has gotten quite boring as well!

After 9 years it is time to grow up, move on and get the hell over it!! The constant yammering and whining over a minor skirmish, that's barely worth being mentioned at all, is absolutely ridiculous!! People it's time to get over it.

Let me be brutally blunt: The World has spent the past 9 years listening to the American government feeling sorry for themselves. We have had it!!

Once the Taliban have killed 250.000 US civilians, then you can start with the complaining again. Until this time comes it would be appropriate to shut the hell up!!

Phone Call with Family

Today I finally got around to calling my mom and wishing her a happy belated birthday!! She was really happy about that. We ended up having a phone conversation over Skype that lasted for about 1 hour and 15 min. We were talking about how the vacation went, they just came back from... and a ton of other stuff. It was great hearing, that both of my parents are still able to go hiking, although at a decreased difficulty and intensity level. Considering that they're both 72, that's small accomplishment. It was interesting hearing about the changes that are taking place in the mountains, where they spent their vacation at. The one thing that was kinda sad is, that the general loss in glacier mass is quite substantial. Guess I'll have to visit certain mountain groups earlier rather than later, or there won't be any glaciers left.

It was definitely great getting caught up on how the rest of my family and relatives are doing and getting a quick overview about the things that have been going on in hometown. All in all it was lots of fun.

I just wish I would have to opportunity to hang out with them on a regular basis!!