Keeping busy while we wait for our dossier

Today is one week since I put our dossier in the mail! I haven't heard anything from the courier service, but I guess they would call if something went wrong. I do know from the tracking that they received the package, so that is all that matters. I'm not expecting to get it back or hear anything until next week at the soonest, but I still check the return shipping tracking number every evening, just in case. :)

We have been very busy working on our irrigation system for our soon-to-be grass patch. :) This basically what our yard looks like now. I guess it is a change from plain dirt. :P

I know it will be worth it in the end not to have to move sprinklers around the lawn every day or to get up early to turn them on in the morning, but right now it is a frustrating project. I think we made at least eight trips to Lowe's or Home Depot this weekend, and that doesn't count the several orders we had to make from the Home Depot's website of parts that are online only.

We got our first shipment of parts last Friday, only to discover that we had ordered one of the wrong parts. So we put together as much of the system as we could with the parts we had and ordered the correct ones. While we were putting it all together, we realized we didn't have enough of the right size pipe to do the plan as it was on paper. After a little creative thinking, [my creative thinking :)] we managed to modify the plan so it worked with what we had. It seemed silly to order another 100 feet of pipe when we only needed 20-30 more feet.

Once that disaster was averted, we tried to figure out how to connect the specialized parts system that can only be purchased online to the timer attached to the faucet. Turned out to be a lot harder than we thought. After visiting the plumbing section several times, trying things that didn't work and stumping the plumbing section employees, we figured it out. [well, I figured it out :)] So we ordered the PVC adapter piece from the specialized parts on the website, bought some PVC and the adapter from PVC to a hose. So in the end to move the water a couple of feet from the pipes in the ground to the faucet, we have the specialized pipe connected to a PVC adapter connected to a PVC pipe connected to a hose connection adapter connected to a hose connected to the timer on the faucet. But in the end, it all works!

Or, it would work if we hadn't discovered we were short one part when we finished putting it together today. So, I just ordered that part online and hopefully it is the last thing we need. :) I guess in reworking the plan due to the pipe shortage, we miscounted how many we'd need of that part. Oh well, what's another six days or so. :) At least it has keep me from counting the days too closely since we mailed the dossier to D.C.