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Monday, September 5th, 2005 04:50 pm
Today we backfilled the sewer line, mixed concrete and poured it over the dirt and gravel backfill. Below, are the

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That was the first step - putting some of the dirt and gravel we'd dug out back in the hole to cover the pipe and protect it from the concrete.

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Second step, mixing the concrete. This is back-breaking, dirty, sweaty work. On top of that, breathing concrete dust is not pleasant. I mixed two bags while MrBug took a much-needed rest; he did the other six and a half necessary to fill the hole.

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This is MrBug making a "concrete smoothie".

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If you look closely in the photo, above, you can see the towel MrBug used to stuff in the gap between the floor and the wall, last night. We left it in there until the last bag of concrete was poured into the hole and then MrBug pulled it out and troweled concrete into the gap. All I could imagine was a mischief of mice, gathered back there, lamenting the loss of their thoroughfare as the trowel slowly but surely blocked off their passage.

MrBug explained to me how the foundation/block walls were built in old houses like these but I can't remember, exactly, how it works. All I know is he said there's room (about 2" worth, I think) for mice to scuttle along behind the block wall and, now, a mound of concrete is pushed back in there and blocking their path. Makes me all the happier to own a cat! Thankfully, in all the years we've lived here, I've never seen a mouse inside our home until last night.


After getting cleaned up late this afternoon, MrBug took Savagefuzzball out to an empty parking lot and began teaching her the fundamentals of driving. She's taking driver's ed at school, this semester, and will be behind the wheel in about a month. Rather than send her to the teacher with no clue, whatsoever, we thought it would help if she had a feel for what's what (and where). They just came back a bit ago and MrBug gave our baby a glowing report. She picked up very quickly. :)

By this time tomorrow, I should be gainfully employed. I'm excited and apprehensive, all at once; it's been years since I was in the work force. The nice thing is the hours are flexible and I don't have to dress up. My kind of work!
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Monday, September 5th, 2005 09:48 pm (UTC)
What a relief to have the floor back in the basement - good work!

I busted out lauging at your mouse pic - too funny!

Congratulations on the new job! I hope it's just what you're hoping it will be. :-)
Monday, September 5th, 2005 10:13 pm (UTC)
It is wonderful to have a floor back in the basement. Now, if it'll only dry faster so I can hose the whole of it down and scrub it clean again. That area is the where I set the clothes basket, unload the dryer and stand while folding wash. If I dropped something on the floor, now, it'd be dirtier than before it went into the washer!

I'm glad you got a chuckle from the mouse pic -- that's why I went to the trouble of making it. :)

Tuesday, September 6th, 2005 04:07 am (UTC)
Cool Pictures!!!:-))


Learning to drive at school?! That's weird...
Tuesday, September 6th, 2005 10:35 am (UTC)
Here, it's not unusual at all. Our public school system has been teaching Driver's Education courses since I can remember. The only time someone around here would have to take an independent driver's ed course is if they failed it in school. :)
Tuesday, September 6th, 2005 04:56 pm (UTC)
Hmm... the only thing here we get from school is a few hours off when we go and take the test. But I guess driving is just more important in your culture.