How to camp in the rain??

It is inevitable, if you go camping, eventually at some point you will be camping in the rain.

You can choose to be wet and miserable, or you can accept that camping in the rain is a part of camping, make sure you are prepared, set yourself up for staying dry, and enjoy another beautiful side of nature.

I love the rat-tat-tat of the rain on our tent, the rain smell in the air, and sometimes just even sitting under our tarp, watching the water fall. And at night, I love snuggling with my friends and family, cozy, warm, and dry in our tent while listening to the rain

Now it is not something I would want to happen on every camping trip...but we are always prepared for it, just in case. Share with me your ideas of how to have an enjoyable time camping in the rain!!

KEEP THE RAIN OUT OF YOUR BASEMENT

It is rainy day season here in Flagstaff. Do you know the number 1 reason why water ends up in the basement and what you can do to avoid the water ending up there?? The number 1 reason water saturates the perimeter is almost always because of improper drainage.

Drainage around a house generally depends upon two things: grading —the slope of ground — and properly functioning gutters and downspouts. So make sure you do not have any puddles or areas of severe saturation around your homes perimeter. Gradating the lawan at a down slop would be advised and keep thiose rain gutters clean.

ROUND THEM UP AT THE ROUNDUP THIS WEEKEND!

It's coming ..The Rescue Roundup is this Saturday at Wheeler Park downtown in Flagstaff from 9-3. We are happy to announce this event and we even have supplied a super cool water filtration system for the raffle drawing that will be drawn around 2! So get your tickets folks!

If your not sure what the Rescue Roundup is, well, It is the BIGGEST event in N. Arizona to educate the public on adopting animals from rescue organizations and shelters.

The event will have tons of neat things to see and learn about! Some of the the things to expect will be sheep hearding, flyball oh and that AWESOME raffle that we contributed toward!!..come see what there is to be had!!  So why not take a a walk or drive down town and hang out for a a wonderful cause!!!?? See you there!

rain rain come what what may...i shall save you for another day!!

If we try to think outside the box and try to consider other sources where we can get water, then comes in our mind is the rainwater. It is free and abundant, and it certainly has its usefulness if we simply know how to recycle it. Recycling rainwater is a practical way to conserve water to lessen water bills and would also help us appreciate its importance to our environment. Here is some method to recycle rainwater: The most inexpensive method is to use empty containers like jugs, cans or gallons. Just place these containers right below your roof gutter where the rainwater falls and these will fill in the containers. Just remember to thoroughly clean your roof and gutters of dirt and other debris to ensure cleanliness of rainwater filling your containers.
You can also make use of a large container tank to collect the rainwater. Although a bit costly because you have to buy one that is made of steel and fiber glass for more durability plus some pumping system and installation, it is still considered useful in the long run. The recycled rainwater collected in the tank can be used for cleaning the bathrooms, cleaning the surrounding areas and for watering plants.
Recycling rainwater is also practiced in some buildings which have what they call rainwater tanks. These collect the rainwater that is usually used to water the gardens and for cleaning purposes. The collected rainwater in these tanks can be stored to be used during the dry months.
The rain barrel is also a good container for recycling rainwater. This is more expensive to use but for just purposes of information, the rain barrel is good for collecting rainwater from rooftops. You can use the rainwater for watering your plants and lawns and for cleaning purposes too.
Another way to collect and recycle rainwater is to divert it to some parts of the lawn or streets where there are trees and plants that may need it. Instead of letting the rainwater drop through the sewerage system, you make some sort of shallow cuts or pathways leading the rainwater into where most plants and trees are, thereby watering them instantly. This is usually helpful during the dry season where recycled rainwater contained in rainwater tanks is used to water the plants.
The importance of recycling rainwater is now being given due importance by most environmentalists and industries. They know that recycling rainwater is good for the environment and beneficial to humanity. Why don't you give it a try..... and If you do, let us know how it goes!!

The Fire ban has been lifted as of Wed!

It will be OK soon to build campfires and barbecue with charcoal again in nearby national forests, the city of Flagstaff and private lands on Coconino County.
The Coconino National Forest is lifting all fire restrictions and reopening Fossil Creek to the public on Wednesday morning.
All fire and smoking restrictions on the Kaibab National Forest are lifted as of today.
The city of Flagstaff is lifting restrictions on Wednesday, and so is Coconino County, regarding campfires on private lands in the county.
Flagstaff's airport has received about 1.5 inches of precipitation this month and 6 inches since Jan. 1. That is about 3.5 inches below normal for the year to date, as per National Weather Service data.

Congrats to our contest winners!!!

Congrats to our contest winners Brant & Janalyn Brown! We want to thank them for the opportunity to come to their home to install their prize and for sharing their stories with us. You've read their winning essay. Now read their story of how their lives have changed since then:

Most people cringe when they wake to the sounds of kids in the kitchen, however, what we heard the other day didn’t make us cringe at all. In fact it was quite the opposite. It sounded like someone was unloading the dishwasher on their own without any nagging or threatening?  We went to the kitchen only to see our six year old son ask, “Can I load the dishes too?”  Sweet music to our ears!  Honestly since we have our new sink it has been assembly line precision as dishes are rinsed and placed in the drainer or loaded immediately. I don’t think a dish has sat in the sink un-rinsed yet. Seriously! Even just tonight I asked my 6 year old if he could take my dish to the sink for me. His response was, “I’d love to.” I think that is quite a unique experience and the new sink has definitely been the catalyst for new and exciting occurrences such as this in our home. We are thrilled that, as we had hoped, the increased ease of taking care of the dishes has made the kids more willing to help out.

We are also very happy with the new water filtration system. The benefits of this we did not even consider, but the kids enjoy getting a drink of water from the “baby” tap and we are certainly enjoying some new healthier habits as we are all drinking more water now.

Finally, we need to mention how awesome the new disposal is. The fact that we were able to have it installed on the other side of the sink has been awesome. It has been a big part in making the dishes easier to take care of. Also, this disposal is so quiet. I am excited to have friends over without worrying about needing to run the disposal since you could hardly talk over the noise of the old one.

Mortensen Custom Plumbing, we “sink” you’re amazing!

Thank you so much!

Brant  and Janalyn Brown

FLOOD WARNING TIPS..SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND DURING THE MONSOON SEASON

1. Move costly possessions and important documents - shift valuable and electrical goods off the floor for their own protection, ideally upstairs.

2. Protect soft furnishings. Rugs can be moved upstairs if flooding looks likely and you can throw curtains over their rails to protect them

3. Stock up on sandbags - buy in flood boards and sandbags to block doorways with, as these will help you fight the flooding and protect your home.

4. Protect irreplaceables. Items of sentimental value, such as photos, should be packed in waterproof bags and put somewhere safe, ideally upstairs. No amount of insurance money can bring these back, so put them out of harm's way.

6. List useful contacts - write down important numbers such as your home insurance provider and policy number, and ... remember... Call us for any questions or any situation you may find your self in. We are here for YOU!

                 928-774-4357
          Mortensen Custom Plumbing

Beautiful Northern AZ....

http://azdailysun.com/lifestyles/announcements/photos-of-the-month/article_e078b7b3-9c70-5989-8052-9968c6b82e1c.html

Take a hike! You may like it!!

http://azdailysun.com/sports/recreation/outdoors-one-weird-hike/article_84fbbd67-77f3-59b6-a9ee-568b870e9ddc.html

MAX IS A SWEET HEART..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/09/max-page-darth-vader-heart-surgery_n_1658980.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news&ir=Good%20News

CATS AND LEAKY FAUCETS!!!

Curiosity did not kill the cat in this case! Instead he gets to sip on fresh cool water and chillax in the cool bath tub...ppaaw yeah! Oh wait, but he isn't so smart being so cute and rolling around in the tub!! He just brought it to your attention that you are wasting precious money by letting that seemingly "no big deal" leak, go unfixed. Don't let uour cat pressure you into his "spa day" everyday in the tub! It cost you more than you would think, plus...think of all the money you could save by fixing it! Maybe YOU could afford a spa day for youself! .. just think..relaxation, fresh artisian water..pampering... ahhh.....

Let Meowzer sip in his kitty bowl and you rest assured if you got plumbing problems, we got options for a resolution.

WHAT A FRESH IDEA

VISIT THE FARMERS MARKET THIS SUNDAY :
CHECK OUT THIS LINK FOR THE DETAILS!

http://calendar.azdailysun.com/eventview.cfm?ID=59509

Determined to make a a difference.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/austrian-family-goes-plas_n_1635852.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news

 We'd like to congratulate our contest winners, Brant & Janalyn Brown, on their award-winning essay, entitled: "Why I deserve a new kitchen faucet". Brant & Janalyn are now the proud owners of a Spring Fresh Water Filtration System, an E-Z Clean kitchen sink, with a fruit and vegetable sprayer, and a Whisper Quiet Food Waste System.(and we even moved it to the side of the sink where Janalyn always wanted it). Read their awesome essay, featured below. And check out the Before Picture, taken just before we installed the new equipment. We're sure you'll agree, they definitely deserve to be our contest winners!

Next, look for our upcomming blog showing the After Picture, along with the story they will be sharing with us on how their lives have been changed by the new kitchen features. 

And here's that award-winning essay:


I would like to outline two reasons why we deserve a new kitchen faucet:

First, our kitchen faucet helps us teach our children to work. This is an important characteristic for us to teach our children. Each morning our children do one chore. We have a 10 yr. old and a 6 yr. old. They take turns having their chore for the day be doing dishes. A great kitchen faucet will make this chore more enjoyable and help us to continue teaching our children the value of work while enjoying the work just a little bit more. This is especially important right now because our current faucet is in pretty bad shape (even if we don't win we will need you to come take a look at it).

Second, we like to have friends over for dinner rather often and a great faucet would facilitate preparations for those gatherings in a more efficient way. We love to have barbecues and you need to be able to wash your fruits and veggies as well as the dishes to host a great party! Therefore, a great faucet would lead to more happy memories being made in our home.

In addition, a great faucet would probably make our kitchen sink look bad and then we would likely need to have that replaced and I know just who we would call to get that done. : )

And finally, if you choose us, all your wildest dreams will come true. ; )

Hopefully yours,
Brant & Janalyn Brown

                                                     Broken, leaking, and barely useable!!!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYBODY!!!

YUM!!

YUM!! ..oh my goodness! check out these HEALTHY AANNNDD DELISH recipes! My favorite: The Inside Out Cheeseburger!! NUM! I know what I am making tomorrow....

 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_4th_recipes

START YOUR WEEK OFF GOOD

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/good-news/