I also wanted to mention, the problem is more than a smell. Septic water will back up in to your toilet, your shower, your tub, your sink, and will stay there until the problem is resolved.

This is true! (except we attract raccoons and possums..lol) Anyway, if you just feed when the cat is there, and take the food back up, it can lessen that problem.

Teens! I'm glad she's ok!

We have two "barn cats" that live outside. They are both fixed. We feed them daily on our porch, and have a kennel outside with blankets for when it gets cold (although they rarely use it). They will disappear occasionally, sometimes for a month or two, and then show up again. We usually find out later that they've been cheating on us with a neighbor ;) Somehow they always remember where home is.

I have to say, not all septic systems are touchy. It really depends on your dirt..lol. The land we live on? There was literally a pottery here a 100 or so years ago. This land has been in the family for a long time. They had a pottery here because of the dirt. The dirt is mostly clay and doesn't drain well. So, if there is a lot of rain, or say beaucoup people flushing, there can be problems. We had a very rainy spring and ended up having to pump the tank. We were unable to shower, wash dishes, flush, etc. for about 3 days. Not fun. We've had septic tanks at other houses and not had any trouble. I just didn't want to scare people away from them.

I remember being made to use the outhouse at my Granny's house as a kid. She didn't want filthy kids running through the house..lol. I hated it, but it was old, nasty and prone to wasps. We used the woods instead.

" My OPINION, for which the OP asked, is that it is rude to lock up two existing bathrooms and ask guests--guests, mind you, to use a port-a-potty supposedly out of vague concerns about a septic system but really based on the fear that the guests will steal her blind. So no, the OP and I would probably not be friends. Even if we were not, though, I would not lock up my bathrooms if she dropped by!" You are correct, this is not a JAWM post, and I have happily read through the responses with no ill feelings. I do however feel a bit confused about this assumption. We have always had a very open and welcoming home, and happily have hosted people from all kinds of backgrounds. I assure you, getting robbed blind is not my concern. I don't think it is unreasonable to not want half the county traipsing through my bedroom. I've already addressed the safety issue of the upstairs. Part of the bedroom being locked is also a safety issue. If I were afraid of being robbed I wouldn't have such an event at my home. Septic issues are a legitimate concern. We actually just had to have the thing pumped a few weeks ago. If I knew you in person, I would still invite you regardless of your opinion of my bathroom situation, and offer you a plate full of the best ribs around :)

Boys, at least around here, pee just about anywhere. In fact, dh's cousins got into SO much trouble as teens because it was discovered that they were peeing out their 2nd story bedroom window instead of hiking out to the outhouse at night. It was discovered because the screen began to rust. :mellow:

Toilet paper and copious amounts of water are the biggest culprits for our septic issues. We have clay dirt, so the drainage just barely passed code. For the record, our entire house will not be locked up, only parts that we cannot keep monitored. This is not only to protect our things, but to protect small children as well. I do not want or need a curious 5 year old slicing off a finger on my paper cutter, or stabbing themselves with my felting needles, and I cannot relocate an entire art studio. I'm sure parents of said curious children will be thankful that I took steps to protect them. A perfectly serviceable half bath will be available on the first floor, easily accessed by anyone with mobility issues. Dh wanted to rent the porta-potty. I thought there might be people that saw it as an insult. I wasn't too far off base, but it seems they are a small minority. So, we will likely rent one (especially since once dh gets it in his head to do something, it usually happens anyway) This thread has been so entertaining. I never knew there were so many potty opinions. Now to figure out where to put the thing that is actually flat, find the Tardis blue spray paint, and entice David Tennant with BBQ :lol:

I have taught my kids to not be offensive, no matter the company, so we do change our speech patterns somewhat in certain occasions. Well, I do. My kids have cleaner mouths than I. Dh cringes a bit at the soft swear words too. Personally, I was raised by a mom that could make a sailor blush, so the things that come out of my mouth are positively sparkling clean in comparison..lol. I do kind of hate the trend of the F-bomb being used SO much. It just sounds vulgar to my ears, no matter the context. That is really the only commonly used one that makes me really cringe.

A slightly, only kind of funny story about the first year we did the 4th at this property (This will be our 3rd one at this location). We were trapped in some sort of monsoon season. It was ridiculous how much rain we had for mid-summer. We had just built, and the yard was nothing but red clay slop. We had rescheduled once, hoping it would dry up, but it didn't. We went through with it anyway, and thankfully only around 40 people came. It POURED rain and we were all forced to remain on the porch and in the house. We didn't even have anywhere to put up the pop up shelters because of all the mud. Then, just as we were getting close to time to eat, the power went out. Thankfully I have a gas stove and between it and the grill we were able to finish cooking. The last batch of homemade ice cream didn't make it. At least now we have grass and a barn in case of rain.

No, we probably won't go all out for the deluxe version. I just can't spare the $$ for that...I'd rather buy more ribs!

Oops.

We did, but we may be a little more relaxed than some Christians. My thoughts are that they have to live in the world. Sheltering them from what is taught to the general public isn't helpful. We've talked about evolution, what we believe about it, why some of our beliefs may be a little different than the mainstream, and why others believe as they do. It isn't something to be feared or hidden from them, IMO. I have a dd that is headed into the STEM field, and I would have done her a disservice to not let her learn about the different theories out there.

Oh, and I assigned additional lit that went along with the time period. It has been a long time since I did the Ancients, or I'd post a list of the books we read. It seems like I loosely followed the Sonlight list?

We ended up using all 4 years. She is kind of chatty, but I found that the girls actually retained a lot of what they learned. We did most of the activities and research that was assigned with it, and I think a lot of the learning comes from that. Most people either love it or hate it. :)

This is our property, in case some of you are envisioning a postage stamp lot with 150 people crammed on it. :)

Oh, and I NEEEEED a Tardis Potty. Can #10 be the bathroom attendant?

We have Costco sheets. They've been awesome. Dh has restless legs and has been known to rub holes in sheets over night (through a brand new Target brand set!!). So far, these have held up to his night-time marching. I think I've had them for around a year.

The responses this morning have made me giggle a little :) We live in rural TN, so peeing in the back yard (which is actually a small forest at my house) is not that unusual. There are a couple of reasons for closing off part of the house. One, my art studio is at the top of the stairs, and has no doors to lock. Dh is the one that wants to close off our bedroom for his own reasons. We live on acreage. There is plenty of room for an outdoor event of this size. We also have a large covered front porch, and will have seating inside for anyone that cannot handle the heat. The reunion that we are absorbing was traditionally held on the property across the road from us (a family home), so the people coming from that are used to it being outside and at a home. I'm being extremely stubborn and refusing to move locations. I was pretty adamant that we weren't going to let the reunion take over something we've done for over a decade. (but it is going to have a big impact, whether I like it or not). We've always had an open invite and don't want to change that. This will result, at least this year, in a lot more guests than we've had in the past. This will be a testing the waters event, to say the least. That said, we love hosting this party. I love the cooking, the fireworks, and the socializing. :) Moving it to a different location would entirely change the feel of it, and we wouldn't be able to shoot fireworks. (I don't want a debate about fireworks. We are careful, very rural, kids aren't allowed near the shooting location, and several trained fire fighters are usually handling the lighting)

No steps. Actually our half bath is pretty accessible (we planned it that way when we built).

It will be a mixed bag, with quite a few elderly people. A few men might go out back, but most won't for fear of being "caught" by all the teen girls running around here..lol.

Thank you all for making me feel a bit better about this. Although *I* personally don't think it is rude, I know that there are some that would. I wondered how worried about it I should be. Dh is totally for the porta-potty. Our annual 4th of July party will be going from mostly our friends, to catching all the people from the annual family reunion (large) that the older generation has given up on due to failing health. We've always had an open invite to our party for family and friends, so absorbing some extras is ok with us. However, word is getting around and I have a feeling that we will have a huge number of people here this year. We are trying to be prepared. I'm a little scared..lol.

No well, but we do have a septic tank.

added this info in first post :)