I am happy to report that it is raining, has rained yesterday evening and hasn't stopped. A light rain, but much appreciated. The counties north of us have heavier precip, but I am happy withthe way it is right now. The well is still very sluggish and we are buying water and have rain fill buckets for flushing and rough clean-up, but every bit counts.

James, Here in Love County, our snowstorm was a joke....maybe a half-inch of very fine, powdery snow but lots of very cold air and very strong winds. Howling winds and a pretty cold wind chill are mostly what we received here. Oddly, the interstate and especially its bridges turned into a skating rink and our emergency personnel were dispatched to a rash of accidents (DH said his work involved at least 12 vehicles that either crashed, rolled over or slid off the highway in about a 1-hour period) last night, and it has already started up again this morning, with a truck wrecking out on the I-35 Red River Bridge. Our roadways are dry here near our house and not bad at all, but there must be something frozen on the bridges. Even though the snow amounted to virtually nothing here, I'm still glad I covered up all my cool-season crops and early, emerging perennials and herbs, because the cold wind alone has been enough to dessicate and damage foliage of young plants. I think I'll leave them covered until tomorrow because the wind chill and winds are still brutal. All of you who have lots of snow be careful and stay warm today. I'll be playing in the dirt inside, starting more seeds and might even venture out to a store later today. It depends on how messed up the roads remain.... Dawn

Hi Katlan, Take a snow shovel, or a board or a stick with a bit of a flat area across the top end (so that the branch doesn't slip off), lift the branch that you're worried about and give it a gentle shake, back and forth, to encourage some of the mounted snow to continue its journey to the ground. If the stick is too narrow and the branch falls off, possibly the drop along with the extra weight will cause it to break off. (Recommend wearing a parka with hood pulled all the way up, and tied if there's a string, during this operation). Or ... using one of your big, come-hither smiles ... get some sucker to do it for you. ole joyful

I don't see how any toilet - save one on a boat or R/V - could possibly function without a vent stack. "but the vent goes to the garage" would not be approved by any building inspector anywhere in this country. Perhaps it was a "SPOT" - stupid previous owner trick. There is one possibility - other than installing a toilet and vent properly - which apparently was not done. The vent or soil pipe could have been pierced by a drill, nail or screw, especially if PVC was used. As an appraiser. I've seen that happen before. And yes, I *almost* made that rookie mistake myself, installing a new cabinet over the toilet. Since this is a 1938 house with plaster on lath walls, I was using a stud finder and drilling pilot holes. One was in an unexpected location, but it was *perfectly* placed. But it wouldn't drill...and that's when I realized it was the cast iron vent stack. No harm done....