Mold Be Gone

Tomorrow, two guys will come over, seal off my bedroom, and demolish the wall under my window and tear out my carpet.  I have to pay them to destroy my carefully crafted room.  In exchange, I can be sure that *B* and I don't get sick from black mold toxicity.  I guess it's a good trade off.

The mold on the corner of the window trim was really obvious.

 

It wasn't until someone came out to give us an estimate that we found out it was underneath of our carpet, too.

I disassembled our room today, and it's a little sad.  Slowly, it's looking more and more empty.  At the same time, the rest of my house is filling up to the point of being uncomfortable.  Given that *B* was at work all day, I was on my own to get the whole room emptied minus the bed.

I have just a few more things (painting supplies) that I have to pick up before they get here tomorrow at 9:30

On the upside, Evie and Wicket like the fact that they now have new playtoys in strange places.  

We've picked out paint, and we've picked out new carpet.  I'm hopeful that this will turn out to be a good thing, a blessing in disguise.

The Sweetness of Doing it Yourself

Tonight, *B* and I knocked out a whole bunch of projects that we've been putting off.  It's amazing how a few small changes make such a big difference. 

Some of the projects were little.  The globe fell off of the ceiling fan in our room weeks ago, and we never got around to putting it back up.  The curtains also fell down (a pattern here?), so we patched the holes in the wall and will put them back up tomorrow.

Some projects were a tad bigger.  Our windows leak both air and water like you wouldn't believe.  The air is awful because you can actually feel a breeze when walking by a window.  The water is only a problem with one set of windows.  There is what I can only assume is black mold that grows on our bedroom window frames.  I've never been able to scrape it off, no matter how hard I try.  More recently I've used vinegar, and it still does nothing.  Ideally, we'll replace the windows.  Until then, I'll probably have to remove the paint to get all of the mold.  Last year, we sealed the windows in with shrink wrap.  This year, we were able to put weatherstripping on the bottoms of the windows.  I can tell the difference almost immediately, and there's no effect on the use of the window.  In the picture below, you can see both the mold and if you look close enough, the weatherstripping:

While we were out getting supplies at Lowe's, we decided to spruce up the bathroom.  When Evie was little, she accidentally shredded the foam/plastic toilet seat that was here when we moved in.  We dealt with it, but it has annoyed me every day.  On top of that, the pieces in the bathroom don't look like they ever really meant to go together, so it's definitely my least favorite room of the house.  We have a white painted medicine cabinet with an oak-ish and faux marble sink.  The rest of the items in the bathroom are a kind of sand color.  So when we changed the seat, we got an oak-ish wooden seat.  It makes all the difference in the world.  Everything just goes together now and makes sense. 

We still need to replace the bathtub though.  It was an early 90s bathfitter job (I think) that was never properly done.  The pieces don't quite fit together:

 

The faucet was obviously not done by a professional because it doesn't actually reach the wall!  I can easily put my finger between the back of the faucet and the plastic of the tub.

This weekend, we'll finish by putting down a carpet strip where lovely little Evie tore up the carpet.  She's been a rather naughty cat over the past few weeks.  We lock her out of the room at night, and she tears at the door when she's hungry in the morning.  When I let her in, she tears at the bed!  I've been keeping a squirt bottle near me, but some damage has already been done at the interface between our bedroom carpet and the hallway carpet.  In the past, when she did this to get to a hamster, the carpet strip kept her from making it any worse.

 Finally, we decided to harvest our carrots and parsnips - in the dark.  There has been frost on the ground for a week, and the western part of the state is calling for 2-5 inches of snow this weekend, so it was time to pull them.  We got two and a half pounds between the two of them:

I'm ever so pleased that they did that well at least, considering I didn't thin them out at all.  Next year I know better.  We've begun planning our garden for next year and are very excited about some changes that will be coming about. Stay tuned for all the details on the new plan :o)

I Have No More Kittens :o(

My little baby has grown up so fast!  Evie, my Christmas present, is ONE year old today!

 

 

She will not be having any part of picture taking though.

 

Maybe just one.

Wow...

Things have been REALLY crazy. Last week was Camden. I got one day with *B* between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, then we had family stuff to attend to for Father's Day. On Monday, I started one of my summer jobs. At 6 am, before I walked out the door, Hailey ripped the fur off of Evie's tail. It was a huge lump of fur. And my baby is little. My friend, who originally owned Hailey, picked her up until she can be placed in another home. At the same time, another friend (from Oklahoma), showed up at my door. See, I knew she was coming here for the week, but I sort of kind of forgot that she was staying HERE for the week. On my couch. And she brought her fiance. Whoops. Oh well, we enjoy the company. This weekend, we're going on a camping trip, then Monday through Wednesday I'm going to a conference. I can't promise any posts for the week, but I'll try.

Simple Pleasure Thursday Plus

My simple pleasure today is a BIG one. It's the first day of spring break! I started to read a book in bed round about 8:30 last night and passed out two chapters in. I slept in until 9:30 am. It. Was. AMAZING! I haven't felt so good in so long.

Though I will say...

This morning I made myself a really good breakfast - two waffles, a fruit cup, and a raspberry yogurt. Very healthy. I even ate it outside on the picnic table. It was wonderful. I went to let Hailey in after I was done eating, and it happened - Evie got out. AGAIN! Hailey chased her down and kept her busy under the picnic table. I couldn't get a hold of her. I stepped back, and Hailey managed to chase her straight into the house.

Okay, I thought. The one bad thing for the day is done. So set about washing up dishes, and documenting the garden's progress (which I'll post about later). I heard this very distinct sound coming from the basement. From my experience with rushing water and our basement (see posts here and here), I ran down the steps as fast as my little legs could carry me. The cats had knocked Shamrock's return tube out of his tank such that the filter was pulling dirty water out of the tank and dumping clean(ish) water on my carpeted basement floor.

While I was cleaning up the soaking mess that was my floor, Evie hopped up on the edge of the turtle tank and started punching Shamrock in the face. I've seen this before; it was Wicket's favorite pasttime as a kitten. Then, it was funny. Now, it was infuriating. It was her third strike for the day. I swatted her ever so gently straight into the tank. I've never seen a cat clamber so fast. I'm hopeful that she won't do that again.

Now, after a very delicious, very healthy salad lunch, with laundry in the washer and hanging out on the clothesline, things have settled down. I'm going to have my siesta, then, back to the spring cleaning extravaganza.

My Brother is Amazing!

My little brother is absolutely amazing. We had asked him over to barter some help - exchanging help building our square foot garden with Indian food. A few weeks ago, he asked to stay the night for a few days. He said he'd build us a cat tree. Long story short, we now have a cat tree, but no garden yet :o)

And oh what a cat tree it is!
You can tell my baby cats absolutely love it! We were worried Wicket wouldn't be able to fit her tush into the house, but she squeezed through there.

About midway through construction, I fired up the grill and made honey-butter shrimp (chicken for *B*). So yummy!

My daffodils and crocuses are just now peeking through the soil. As soon as they show their colors, you bet I'll be posting pictures! With any luck, our garden will be underway this weekend. Welcome to spring :o)

Houdini in a Fur Tuxedo

We've had Evie since Christmas, so we've only known her in the capacity of it being cold and snowy outside. Now that it's been warm out (65 today!) I'm seeing a whole new side to her personality. While I've told you of her greatest escape, she's managed to weasel her way out of the house twice yesterday and a few times over the weekend. With Wicket, you open the door with a foot in the corner, and she'll stay. Evie is the most lithe, agile creature you've ever seen. Figure skaters have nothing on her ability to jump my foot and rotate midair to make it through a 2 inch gap in the door. While I love that she's my little cat, I just might have to fatten her up to make her escape resistant.

They're Back!

Oh, how I missed posting pictures. While my laptop is still dead, I finally got a camera cord to connect up. Enjoy the last few weeks!

Pretty Evie cat, watching the snow.Our cars were totally covered by the blizzards. It took forever to shovel that path.

Those are normal sized trashcans. By the end of the snow, they were 100% covered.

*B* gets bored/creative with our snow mound.The snow covered our entire first floor.

This is the snow coming in through our first floor window.

So much snow!!

Evie's hanging out! Look at how big she's getting!I love my kitty!My mom's kitten, Shadow. Doesn't she look JUST like Wicket?This is Wicket...I think.One of our new birdie friends.Another one of our new birdie friends.My new seedlings-to-be! I'm so excited to watch them grow :o)

An Exciting Day

It is only 10:30 AM and it's been a very exciting day.

This morning, I decided to try to shovel off the deck. The top three inches or so is ice, so it took me a good 20 minutes to get a path one shovel wide out to the yard. *B* bravely trekked through the snow and ice to drop off our compost and to get me some planting soil from the shed. When I opened the back door to let him in, both our cats slipped out. I managed to get Wicket back in, but Evie ran along the edge of the house. Before we could get her, she slipped through a little hole in the deck. I was so panicked!

*B* shoveled faster than I've ever seen anyone shovel before. In about 10 minutes, he got a 6x10 square foot patch shoveled out. We managed to pry up the cellar cover, and *B* coaxed Evie out from under the deck. I was soooo scared she was lost and gone forever. We haven't gotten a chance to microchip her, so if she made it under the fence, we'd never get her back. But I had her safe inside, gave her a bath (she was a muddy little girl) and held her tight in a bath towel until she clawed me to get away. Ah, kitten love.

After the initial excitement died down, I decided to start my herbs for the spring. I have cilantro, parsley, and lavender. I used an egg carton to start the seeds, and will transplant them when they get a little bigger.

The final excitement of the day (so far) was my decision to bite the bullet and order my gamma buckets! They will be here in 1-4 days. I have been waiting for this day for so long. I'm just jumpy about ordering things online. I can't wait to re-situate my pantry!!! Between the major earthquakes, tsunami warnings, the THREE blizzards we've gotten this winter, the birds acting funny, and some normal paranoia, I am definitely revved back up for getting my pantry stocked.

Surviving the Blizzard

Well, we've survived the blizzard. I got a text yesterday that my school is closed for at least the next two days. And on Tuesday/Wednesday, we're supposed to get another round of snow. *B* and I shoveled so very much, but we weren't able to dig ourselves out. Someone with a snow blower came to our little row of homes and helped us out. I believe it's the same person who helped just before Christmas, but I don't know who he is. I need to find out so that I can give him some kind of thank you card/token. The snow in our front yard is taller than I am by a good two feet. We got about three feet of snow total.

On the upside, our office is now clean and fully functional. I was able to set my desktop computer up for the first time since we left the apartment. It really took no time at all to clean and organize everything - maybe an hour. But it was such an obstacle mentally. I'm very happy with the results. The only thing that drives me a little nuts is that the wireless internet has a mind of its own. If it wants to work, it will. If not, its your problem.

Our 72 hour kits now live in our office closet. In setting up my computer, I needed batteries, so I pulled them out of my kit and left the kit out so that I could put the batteries right back in when I went to the store. That was, apparently, a bad idea. This morning, when I came in, the bag of cat food stowed in my pack was in the middle of the floor, wide open - again. This is the second time this has happened! It's in two layers of freezer Ziploc bags. I'm a little afraid to find out how they got the cat food out of my pack, because I don't quite remember where it was. I'm hoping and praying they didn't chew through the pack to get to the food. I swear I do feed my cats well and on a regular basis! They don't need pack food!

Wicket has really changed since Evie has come into the family. She's definitely not the alpha cat. Evie dominates all. But Wicket is now lovey and purrs a lot. She will come ask for love and to be pet. Right now, she's sitting here on my desk next to me, watching the world go by. I've often secretly envied people whose cats sat all over their laps and desks while they worked and play.

Evie, however, is a little hell raiser. She chases Wicket, sinks her claws in Wicket's tail, and even as I type, she's trying to claw my curtains because Wicket's tail is making them move. Earlier today I was sitting at my desk and heard tinkling water. I was worried that my pipes had frozen or something. Nope, it was Evie, laying on the toilet seat, lazily batting at the water.

A Beautiful Sound

Evie is getting better. She has an upper respiratory infection. I have to give her amoxicillin twice a day for a while. We did find out, however, that petsmart was wrong about her age. She's five months, not three. Not that I love her any less, but I have less kitten time with her now.

After just about a week of quarantining the cats, I'm currently listening to the pitter-patter of eight little feet. Wicket chases Evie up the stairs, then somehow Evie ends up chasing Wicket down the stairs. While we won't go anywhere without separating them, they seem to be okay together while we're here. We only let them out together for a little while. Wicket's still scared of her and hisses at first, but overall we're doing just fine.

We had a lovely little New Year's party. There were only nine of us, but I enjoyed it immensely. My friend from high school confirmed that *B* will be performing his wedding ceremony! I'm very excited. *B* has only performed one other ceremony, and that was for his sister's wedding a few years ago. It does mean, however, that we have to get up airfare and hotel to get to Indiana for a weekend. It's two months after *B*'s best friend's wedding, too. I guess I'm getting to that age :o) I'm hoping that I'll be able to post news about me in that respect, but I don't know when that'll happen. Right now, I'm just hoping and praying that it'll be soon. As Billy Crystal said in When Harry Met Sally, "...when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

I decided to join a gym a few days ago. It's $30 a month (less than normal because I'm a teacher). I had been putting it off because of the expense, but I realized my health is worth more than $30 a month. This place is open 24-7, is less than a mile away, and has brand new equipment. I went for the first time yesterday. I was so excited to get back into it that I spent almost two hours there. I loved it so much. Now, though, I hurt SO BAD. I'm going back tomorrow for some light cardio. If I don't, I'm not sure if I'll ever go back :o) *B*'s aunt gave me a cute padded journal that looked like a sweatshirt. This is a journal something like it:

My access card fits just in the pocket, and I can keep track of what I'm doing. I like keeping data on my progress. When I first got it, I was thankful but ambivalent, though now it seems like it perfectly fits my needs.

Once I get into the habit of going to the gym, then I'll work on eating better. This year will be a much more relaxed endeavor than the usual "lose a bunch of weight" campaign. I want to be healthy. If that means I end up losing weight, great. If not, at least I'll be fit. Maybe, as if by osmosis, *B* will follow suit. Not that I'd ever critique his physique, his family's history of health problems is cause for concern. And anyway, he's the one that pushes vegetables all the time. Maybe now I'll actually listen to him :o)

You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!

It snowed last night! Not like a little dusting, but real snow! We're at about 1-2" and still falling. I can not remember a winter like this. My dad claims that it shows that global warming is hooey. From what I've read, if we didn't have global warming, this would happen more often. I don't know. Either way, we've had three major snows and it's only December!

My new baby, Evie, won't stop meowing! I'm thinking she's teething, or she's upset that Wicket doesn't like her. Probably the former. The other thing that worries me, though, is that she is sneezing as well. And her nose was running yesterday. I thought she was being cute, rubbing her nose on my face, until I realized she was wiping off the snot! She has a vet appointment in about half an hour. I'm praying my baby won't be sick for the new year.

What a Surprise!

I got the best Christmas present ever. While it wasn't what I was desperately hoping for, it was very good nonetheless. May I present to you:

EVIE!


My mom, along with my dad and brother, got me a kitten! As you can see, she's a gorgeous tuxedo cat. She's purrfectly symmetrical (I couldn't help myself). She just loves to purr and be cuddled, which is what I do best. Her name, Evie, sounds like the letters E and V. It's a common nickname for Evelyn, and was the main character in V for Vendetta. Wicket is not at all happy with her being in the house though. It will be a long, slow few weeks until they get used to each other. I'm praying for a somewhat quick acquaintance period.

We went to see all of our close family on Christmas Day, but went to *B*'s parents to see extended family yesterday. We ended up sleeping over because it was closer for *B* to get to work. Then, we saw my extended family today. Talk about running around!

To top it off, we went to Ikea tonight to get some pieces of furniture that we really wanted for the house. Yes, we could have lived without them, but I think they complete our rooms.

I am totally beat from all of the running around. I will post much more extensively tomorrow.