the well pump

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10am, Thur, July 8

I have about 20 2 liter soda bottles full of water in cabinets. That's it.

h2o lines burst when frozen. leave h2o at drizzle only, constantly, esp. last winter, to prevent further freezing. That's to the house. the hose spigot worked fine. Now, there is no water at all.

So, no swamp cooler for air conditioning, no bathing, no dish or clothes washing, no flushing urine (I poop in bucket & bury in back yard).

No transportation to lug heavy water home. Think there's a thirty five cent/gallon h2o dispenser at grocer in Belen, not sure.

Neighbors brought me portable heat pump/air conditoner, but it burns a LOT of electricity.

I'll have to seal off livingroom again, like I did in winter, to keep this habitable if possible.

Can't move out.

Haven't heard from landlord in 3 months; hasn't even collected rent.

I'm screwed. It's barely July.

Garden will die. damn

how to water goats?

 

4am Fri, July9

 

I'm not sure I understand what these people say they did, but they built a brumby pump for under fifty bucks. I can, too, if I can figure it out.

Rachel, I still have that little compressor of yours; it's bigger than what they used and water GUSHES out! Would only turn on when water needed. Can store in bottles. Need water for garden, and can attach hose to PVC pipe. Can build this weekend, if I can figure this out.

Here's their video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjYLPW93-EA

 

Hope I can get old pump OUT of well. Will look tomorrow.

5 am

This one has a sensor to turn off/on compressor. don't need that. but it's a pretty good schematic, if a bit TINY!

http://www.airwellpumps.com/HowDoesItWork.aspx

 

I can't find anymore online. I don't really need the balls in the one above. air bubble will drive h2o to surface and will suction more h2o for next charge.

THe couple in the vid. I sent you suggested making small holes in capped off air line.

THey make "fish stones" for aquarium aeration.  I could use that.

http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/shop_image/product/9f4b418494da85c9c4c78d885b5575f0.jpg

 

Gotta check that air compressor doesn't blow it off end of tube, though...

I can buy parts tomorrow or Saturday at a place in Belen.

Sat, July 10, noon

Guy came out and fixed my well. Couple of electrical parts were bad. Don't have a pressure switch now, so I have to run hose on full when water's on for air cond., laundry, etc. then turn off power to well. Can't let pressure build; burn up pump!

So, I'm lyin here nekkid, after hitching back from grocery store, a/c on, laundry going, all my bottles & tubs full, sprinkler running out front in my garden, letting a cat lick my toe.

Got a good deal on marked down rotisserie chickens; bought all seven @ $1.50 each, corn tortillas cheap, lots of marked down cookies, tons of marked down bananas, cheap grapes . . .  I filled my baby stroller contraption!

Gonna make chicken tacos. Weasel & I snacked on some chicken in the parking lot of the grocery while I stuck out my thumb. I gave cats & dogs a whole chicken to fight over... that was fun.

Yesterday exhausted and dehydrated me. I was overheated: headache, dizzy . . . couldn't get enough to drink.

I believe I'll take the rest of today off, except easy, light chores. I've never been so scared in my life. I can put up with burying poop, with only having water part time, with the long walk & hitch hike to get ANYTHING, with the heat, poisonous bugs, missing electricity in parts of the house, blowing sand . . . but when that well stopped working, jesus.

Of course, I immediately made a plan, so next time, I won't be so scared. I have 55 gal drums neighbors can fill. I can get drinking water from a dispenser at grocery, 5 miles from here. I planned how to keep garden alive, do laundry, etc. without running water, using pumps, etc. But that REALLY SCARED ME!

I can probably rig up some way to pump h2o up through the hole for the air cond. to keep the reservoir filled, if this happens again.

All the well and pump guys have been really nice, telling me what I need to do to keep from killing the well pump.

Winter will be very hard, if I can't put a pressure switch on before then. It costs $25, but I am not sure if I can get the old one off. Tried the other day, and couldn't get it loose.

I'm hiding in my house for as long as I can. I am to the point where I really hate going out in public or even talking on the phone.

Like the guy who gave me a ride home today: am i married, do I live alone... I just said I don't like to answer personal questions for my own safety. Fortunately, he accepted it.

Ugly Betty arrived once I had bathed and rested yesterday. The box was almost three feet square! FULL of stuff! I have beautiful, cheerful, hand made things all over the house from the show now. It was just like xmas, opening the wrappings to see what was there. I got a lot more stuff than I had thought. A lot is much better quality than I had imagined, and cuter. Everything has tags or stickers from the auction house that states it came from Ugly Betty. When I woke this morning, it was like the day after xmas. I couldn't wait to get out of bed, wander the house and see the wonderful things I got! What a treat!

There's even a weird coffee mug with a face on it, hand made, I think by a kid, marked "J. Hernandez" on the bottom. I'd love to use it, but don't know if it could stand the microwave, as I warm pre made pots of coffee, since I can't function right for several hours in the moring, plus the mug has an auction sticker on it. It comes from the kitchen of Betty's last apt. in Manhattan, season 4. My husband's name is Juan Hernandez, by coincidence.

Lots of coincidences with this lot of stuff, really. Just little things in common that make me smile.

Have gone through all Ugly Betty DVDs on Netflix, except Season 4 (final) which will be released in August, in time for my birthday.

The auction, and rewatching old Ugly Betty episodes, inspired me to go back to my old ways of dressing in interesting colors, textures, etc. with off beat accessories. I learned a lot about wardrobe from UB. It isn't just Betty, either: as the show goes on, you begin to see even the stylish people dressing in patterns, textures and colors you wouldn't think would go together, but look really sharp. My favorite is Michael Urie, who plays Gay Marc. His wardrobe gets AWESOME by the end of the show. He played Vanessa Williams' assistant. Here's a BEAUTIFUL ensemble:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2320406784/nm1235530

 

 

July 10, 3pm

Thanks for noticing my skill. I was always smart (not something I take credit for, but feel responsible for). But I was raised middle class female in the San Fernando Valley in the fifties & sixties. All institutions in my life expected me NOT to fend for myself; someone else would take care of me.

So, a lot of my anger as a young woman came from not being taken care of, even though I was a teen runaway, hanging out with radical Lesbian feminists, Olivia Records, the Women's Building, the Lesbian Tide, etc.

I was powered by terror and righteous indignation, mostly.

My standard of living has degenerated gradually over the years. The economy's much tighter now than it was in the seventies. And I've progressively lived more and more rural, until now I find myself in a harsh, desert frontier. I've been thinking about my neighbors' indifference to my life threatening circumstances recently. I have finally come to the realization that the influence of the Conquistadors and Patrons of New Mexico are very old world values: empathy and compassion are not practical survival skills here. It's a very predatory system of sizing others up to see if they have any value, ignoring them if they don't.

I accept it. I don't like it and I think.  No, I know it is wrong and counterproductive. But I accept it because that is how it is.

So, over my life, I have been brought down to basic survival, alone. I HAVE to apply my intelligence to resourcefulness and problem solving. NOBODY is going to help me, least of all the people in the agencies who are supposedly paid to do so.

I have been forced to put my feminism where my mouth is. If I want gourmet food, by gawd, I'd better learn to cook.

If I want a running vehicle, I'd better learn mechanics.

If I want a garden, I'd better study how.

If I want animals, I'd better know veterinary medicine.

If I am injured, I'd better know HUMAN medicine.

It is REALLY TOUGH at times. But I have learned I can trust myself. I think that is the greatest accomplishment of my life.

The way my animals feel completely secure, trusting, relaxed and happy under my care, I KNOW I could have been a good mother, partner, friend, lover, community member... if I had been wanted. I no longer blame myself for not being wanted. I don't understand all the reasons why I am so rejected, but I accept that, too.

It's been a big relief not to call myself a failure as a mother anymore, because my baby died. Did I tell you about her?

I nearly killed myself over her death, until I realized my suicide would be the only memorial to her life: rogi killed herself because her daughter died. no way. Viri DIana has not CURED my suicidal impulses, but I can no longer indulge them or flirt with them; I made a contract that I won't kill myself, for her. Her life has GOT to have had some meaning, so I am giving it THIS one.

I feel the water has evaporated from the swamp cooler, so I need to go out and turn water back on.

Thanks for noticing that I just get down to business now and solve problems, rather than wallowing in self pity, panic, pleas for rescue, pointless rage... thank you for noticing.

Time for some air up in here.

You want something from Ugly Betty? I feel like gifting a bit of it. Just a little pottery animal or something? There's a psychedelic green squirrel from Mexico that grins. It is very nice.