House Fires–By Connor Franta

 

This says a lot of how I feel at times and I thought it was useful to share.  Enjoy!

Monday on a Tuesday

Sure does feel like a Monday even though today is Tuesday.  It was nice to have a 3 day break, I just wish that it was a full 3 day break and that I didn’t have to login to run reports.  I am stressed out still from the events of last week and from some of the work that I did over the weekend. 

What I enjoyed most was the toughest job and that was cleaning the deck.  It was nice to leave my phone in the house and unplug from the world at large.  The only thing that mattered to me was what was in front of me.  I caught myself in the moment realizing that I had no phone and no idea what was going on or if anyone was trying to reach me and I honestly didn’t care.  I need more of that. 

I went to my friends place yesterday and the food wasn’t the greatest.  They tried to get me to take some home and I refused.  I’ve already got a ton of food here and since I didn’t care for it, why let it go to waste.  They are giving it to another neighbor and I am sure that she will enjoy it more than I did.  I did appreciate the gesture and it was nice to get away from it all.  I wanted to leave after a couple hours but somehow I always get sucked in and don’t want to go back home.  It was 8:30p when I left and by the time I got home it was 9p.  Gator was pissed at me so I had that to deal with, plus work that needed to be done and then finally going to bed. 

I did sleep most of the day,I was up for short periods but opted to go back to bed partially out of boredom and partially because my back was sore.  I do feel better now and am ready to go at it again but I will be resting up. 

I’ve got my eye doctor appointment this weekend and I think I will make a trip to the buffet.  That’s about an hour and a half to 2 hours drive one way.  You get to see so much and since I haven’t been in over a year I know that plenty has probably changed.  I think of the times past when me and my late spouse used to make the trip.  I’ve always wanted to hit the place up for breakfast but that has yet to happen.  Perhaps later this year if I am lucky. It would be nice to drive down in the evening, check in to a hotel and then go for breakfast the next morning and drive home.  It’s a little on the expensive side.  Gator wouldn’t be happy with me but as soon as I put food in front of her she would forget that she was mad at me in the first place. 

Back work for me.  Hope your having a great day.  Talk with you all again soon.

Sunday– Heart Failure when I saw a black screen

When I woke up, I knew I was going to experience pain as I tried to get out of bed. I was no wear near prepared for the amount of pain but I made it. I fed her majesty (Gator) and promptly got back in bed. She had me up at 7a. I needed a few more hours of sleep as most of the places I needed to hit up didn’t open until 10a. It was a busy & expensive day!

Got up around 9:30a and got on the waiting list for Cracker Barrel. I love their mobile app, it lets you check in and get on the list, then you tell the hostess when your there. It really does shorten the wait time. I don’t know what I was thinking but I got the Country Fried Breakfast, which is Chicken Fried Steak and 2 Eggs. I added 2 extra eggs and by the time I was done with the Eggs I was ready to ask for a doggy bag. However, I pushed through it. I got everything down but the biscuits & gravy. I did have a biscuit by itself. There was a line to pay and the last thing I wanted was to stand in a line with my aching back. I had put on some Ben Gay but it didn’t really do anything to help me, other than create a warm feeling for about 5 minutes.

I hit up Walgreens for my sleeping medicine, then on to the pet food store. Then finally on to the grocery store. I had the doc call in a script for my Sudafed as they had it in stock. Because I had never been to that pharmacy before it sat all week long. The pharmacist on duty had to scramble to find it and then had a bunch of questions for me. It’s an over-the-counter product but he found my insurance and billed them, they picked up 50% which I wasn’t complaining. I had to pick up the rest. Funny thing at Walgreens it’s not covered at all. However, it costs less at Walgreens because I have a savings coupon, which you can’t use with insurance. I’d just as soon go there but this sudden shortage made me change places. I had to stand around and wait for this and I wasn’t angry with the guy but damn my back hurt and if he could have moved faster that would have been nice. Finally got it after about 45 minutes and then had to check out with a basket full of groceries. It also looks like the store is eliminating bagger boys and making the checkers do double duty because they did a remodel. I didn’t ask I am reading into it based upon what I saw today. Perhaps it will be different in the weeks ahead. I like some of the bagger boys and it’s nice eye candy, a plus for doing a task (grocery shopping) that I despise.

I stopped at Sam’s for gas on the way home, only to find out that my membership had expired and they wouldn’t allow me to get gas. I was pissed because normally they send a mailer as a reminder but not this year. I also thought I put it on auto renew but that wasn’t the case. At least I had a ½ tank and just wanted to top off, if I would have really needed gas, I would have been vocal about it. Instead, I just climbed back in the car and motored home.

Put away all of the food and then came to the basement where I renewed my Sam’s Club Membership and did a couple of other minor things. Then I sat with Gator in my room and we fell asleep in the chair. When I woke up, I had to move to the bed and she joined me a few minutes later. I wanted to go back to sleep but wound-up cuddling with her for a bit and then climbed out of bed and moved on with the day.

On to Target for some cat litter and a large USB Drive as well as a few other household items. Home, unload and put things away. Then grabbed the USB Drive and downloaded a 3^rd party app to update the infotainment system in the car. Jesus mother of God what was I thinking. A 3^rd party app that wasn’t endorsed by the manufacturer and had no warranty support. What could possibly go wrong? I saw a video a couple weeks ago and they made it look super easy. I watched a couple of them, same procedure just different people. I followed the instructions and tried it. It all started out okay but then it just got stuck in a reboot loop. When it told me to remove the drive I didn’t because the video said not to. Well once I removed the drive the reboot problem stopped. I had an idea I have multiple USB slots in the car so perhaps I needed to try a different slot. Yeah, that’s the trick I let it go and started driving. It rebooted and then the screen was solid black. I figured I had bricked it. I was working up a story for the dealer in my mind but knew that this was probably going to cost me a small fortune to fix. I said if this thing comes alive, I won’t touch it again except with manufacturer updates, forget trying to get something for nothing. When you try that with software it usually goes awry and I knew that but still managed to get sucked into this. I was so upset with myself. It was supposed to take about a ½ hour to upgrade and I was driving for a ½ hour before I reached the restaurant I was headed to. When I got there, I turned the car off, opened and closed the door and waited for a moment. Then started the engine and still saw a black screen, then finally the logo popped up and like magic my system was back to its original state. Holy shit, I was never so happy. I tested it for a moment and then went inside.

From that point forward it felt like I was in a blender. I ordered food and everything came at once. There was no pace or rhythm to the meal. It was here’s your salad and I took two bites and then here’s the entrée. I wasn’t pleased about that. I looked out the window and for a fleeting moment I had no idea where in the world I was. I was about to start freaking out and looked back at the table and realized where I was. I only at ½ of the meal and then ordered dessert. I couldn’t finish that either and wound up with a nice doggy bag to make another meal out of. Dropped much more than I wanted. Enjoyed the ride home listening to a podcast and was so thankful that the infotainment system was back.

Arrived home, fed her majesty again. Sat on the couch listening to more of the podcast. Grew anxious over tasks that needed to be done and started moving again. Got my bills paid, got my work reports done and threw in a load of laundry. I still have other things to do but I am starting to run out of steam and am ready to go back to my room and rest. Tomorrow is another day and there will be more time to get the rest of it done.

Dinner at my friends isn’t until later in the afternoon so if I get moving in the morning, I should be all set when it’s time to leave. I am thinking of going out for breakfast again but not entirely sure about that. The AC repair really threw a wrench in my spending this month. Sure, I have savings but the idea is to try to not dip into it and thus far I have been successful. However, the other part of me says live a little. It’s only money and you can’t take it with you when you leave earth. So maybe there will be Blueberry Pancakes in my future after all. Kind of also depends on how I feel when I get up. I may spend the morning in bed.

Friday night I did talk with my co-worker who is out on leave. Man, he is having a rough time with his kid. The poor things only will eat from a breast only and won’t allow him to bottle feed. That is frustrating. I think they make a strap on for guys to mimic breast feeding but it’s probably costly and the kid would detect it as an imposter so it might not work that well. The good news is when he comes back the kid will go to day care and be out of the house. One more month to hold it together before were back to full staff and then me and the other guy are taking time off and it will be someone else’s turn to hold it together.

Can’t believe the weekend is over. Thank Goodness for Monday being a holiday. I need more time off. It will be a short week but that doesn’t mean it won’t be packed full of work, problems and stress. Not to mention Tuesday I will be on-call again, that’s always not fun.

Hope your weekend went well and that you enjoy the holiday. Take care and I will talk with you all again soon.

SATURDAY–almost died or at least it felt like it

It was unseasonably cold and I waited for things to warm up and by afternoon I pushed myself to get going. I had planned to paint but based on a recent storm I saw that my back gutters needed cleaning out and I also had power washing the deck on my to do list. I knocked out both of those tasks and it about killed me.

I took a page from my bosses play book and used dishwashing gloves. They work well and you don’t get your hands all dirty. If you have ever cleaned out gutters there is all sorts of stuff in there and you really don’t want your hands touching it. I also purchased a gutter scoop but that proved useless. It looks like a cool tool to have but just didn’t work for me. Once I was done with getting the gutters cleaned out I got out the leaf blower to get the leaves that had been on the deck for a while off. Then broke out the power washer. It didn’t want to go together and it took me about 20 minutes to fight with the hose that attaches to the wand. Your supposed to take the hose and put the end of it in the gun, it snaps together and locks in place. It worked very easily in the past but today it was a fight. Then I started washing, put down some soap/cleaner and broke out a new brush that I purchased. I used the brush to scrub away the loose dirt and grime. I used the powerful stream of the washer to break up and rinse away the green mold that just loves to grow on everything outside. I moved things around and did ½ of the deck at a time. I also managed to get lord knows what off of the glass table. I figured the power washer would break the glass but nope, it held up under the toughest fire. There was dirt and some black film it was a mess and now it’s all clean. I used the brush on it as well. This would have been a very easy task if I was in shape and probably a few years younger or at the very least had some help. It took me 4 hours to complete from starting with the gutters to finishing the cleaning, as well as prep and clean up. What angered me the most was when I was done the cottonwood decided to start flying and of course it landed on my nice wet and clean deck. Well, it was clean for a few minutes. I rearranged things and I think it looks really nice. The neighbors will hate me because the leaves are in the yard and they will eventually wind up in their yards. There are leaves all around the house and the new lawn guy doesn’t seem to want to move them with his blower, I am not totally happy about that.

I only had a bowl of oatmeal and a muffin for breakfast. To say I was low on fuel is an understatement. I also had a horrible case of cotton mouth and my back it was killing me from all of the standing, stooping and brushing. I got undressed in the garage and left my clothes there. I threw away the dishwashing gloves ( I purchased them on Amazon and got 4 pairs, they were a bit small but I made them work). When I went to come inside, I found the damn door was locked. I had to open the garage part way for light and then used my eyesight to dial in the combo on the lock box I mounted just for this purpose because I knew someday it would happen. Retrieved the key and unlocked the door. Grabbed a soda and sat on the couch to gather some strength. I wanted to go on a road trip to the buffet but I had no energy. I thought about pizza but considering that is what I ate most of last week that didn’t thrill me. I wound up at a BBQ place a couple hours later after a shower. Not exactly sure how I made it there but I was on the precipice of sugar shock. Once I ate, I felt better. I grabbed the mail and came home. Everything else could wait a day.

I spent the evening with Gator in my room watching TV. Watched a couple of movies on Amazon, nothing terribly thrilling. I had a muscle relaxer on board as soon as I got home. I figured that would knock me out but nope. I had to take some sleeping medicine and then in about 20 minutes I was ready for bed. That’s how I spent my Saturday – productive but also very draining. Got an invite to my friends house for Memorial Day Dinner. I wanted to decline but accepted. Chicken & Ribs are on the menu. I’d rather have a burger but hopefully it will all be good. It’s at least a trip out of the house and some free food, so you really can’t beat it.

Hope you had a great Saturday. Stick around Sunday’s update is coming up in a bit.

Argh, Friday

Something (not sure what) bit me on the palm of my hand close to my wrist.  It itches like mad and there is a tiny small bump.  Not exactly the way I wanted to start the day off.  Gator also had me up early 4a for food.  She is acting a bit strange this morning.  Not sure if it’s the weather or if there is something wrong with her or if she just needs some daddy time. 

Called the eye doctor they don’t have an appointment for me and worse yet they can’t find that I have insurance.  Their computer system according to the lady I spoke with has been doing some strange things lately.  I’m positive that I have coverage so I am going to let them sort that out and then call me back for an appointment.  They have a new office closer to my home and that is where I will want to go. 

Now my Saturday morning just got freed up and based on how I feel today I don’t much feel like doing anything.  It’s over cast here and that doesn’t exactly help things.  Not sure if my energy level will pick up but at least I know one thing is for sure I can do whatever I want tomorrow.  I will probably be lazy but hey only time will tell. 

Happy Friday and I hope you enjoy your weekend!

1 more day until Friday

We have had some severe weather and there is more forecast for later tonight and into the early hours of tomorrow.  Gator and I were on the couch, I was working and she was resting.  There was a loud clap of thunder and we both looked at the other one as if to say what in the world was that.  Afterwards there was this odd odor like something was burning.  I looked outside didn’t see any smoke and went around the house, everything was okay.  A few hours later it smelled musty in my living room.  Compared to the smell of last week this is tame.  Not desirable or enjoyable but better than what I was dealing with.  Were in for a cool wave and temperatures are going to cool off for a bit. 

After seeing the storm kind of makes me want to reassess my priorities and get the deck cleaned off as well as the gutters in the back.  The one in the front of the house needs to be cleaned again because all my leaf blower did was blow stuff around and mostly on to the roof.  It’s all coming back down.  I could see the gutters were flooded today and while that site never used to bother me, ever since my brush with mold it makes me paranoid and feel uneasy. I am very eager to get the painting project started and finished before the dog days of summer are here.  This weekend will be perfect painting weather.  

I also found out yesterday that my GFCI outlet in the garage needs to be replaced.  The AC Repair guy needed power to use a saw and my garage had nothing.  The GFCI won’t reset.  I don’t have any tripped breakers and I did verify with an AC detection tool that there is voltage in the outlet.  Turned on YouTube and it looks like it’s just as easy to replace the outlet and my problem there should be solved.  My late spouse was an electrician and I’ve got tons of tools, meters and gadgets.  Some I know how to use and others I have no clue.  He was brave and would work on a live circuit that’s something I won’t do. 

This week I have also caught myself making stupid errors, a few I didn’t catch and they were brought to my attention.  I hate that.  I’m wondering if I am just over stressed or perhaps the fumes or odor of whatever it is that I have inhaled is affecting my brain. 

Finished up the pizza from last week today.  I made my dollar stretch into several meals and like when I can do things like that.  I am uncommonly tired tonight.  I had a nap early this afternoon and was fine up until a couple hours ago.  It’s also a little humid in here and that doesn’t help things. 

I am cutting my hair tonight, going to get my prescription tomorrow after work.  I’d like to grab a bite to eat while I am out but not sure if I will give in to that considering the unexpected bill from yesterday.  Bills are ready to be paid.  I need to call the cable company and try to haggle on the price of my internet connection and don’t ever look forward to a negotiation phone call because I am the one who is held hostage.  I also have an eye doctor appointment on Saturday but I need to call and confirm because they called earlier via a robo call and said that I need to make an appointment.  I looked on-line and it doesn’t show anything scheduled so maybe my appointment fell off the books.  I do have 1/2 a mind to just not do anything and either show up or skip it.  However, I will call because if I drive there and they turn me away I will be livid.  The appointment is first thing in the morning on Saturday and that would get in the way of whatever task I feel most motivated to preform. 

There isn’t much on streaming media that is of interest to me.  I did see Crown Vic a movie on Hulu it was about the police and was made several years back.  Typical drama/action movie, nothing terribly special.  I also saw a movie that was super crazy called Pawn Shop it had Paul Walker in it and it started off normal enough and then got strange, I finished it this afternoon.  It’s about time to switch over to my DVR and see what is waiting for me. 

I am just tired and bored tonight.  Would be nice to have someone to talk to.  I hope that my weekend is productive, restful and enjoyable.  I suppose only time will tell.  Talk with you all again soon.  

AC–update

So as luck would have it the guy shows up and everything works fine.  However after a few minutes of running it was easy to figure out that the fan motor needed to be replaced.  It didn’t sound good and was overheating.  The guy was here at around 2:30p and just left about 20 minutes ago it’s close to 6p now.  The motor was all rusted on and it was very difficult to remove and replace.  He did give me new capacitors for both the fan motor and the compressor so there is a little peace of mind.  If the compressor goes out then it’s a new unit for sure. 

You can do an A coil and new outside unit for $3 thousand or a complete new system for $6 thousand.  I took the less expensive route and think that will last for a while or so I hope. 

The Freon level was spot on and the system is performing well given it’s age.  I spent the time outside with the tech while he was making the repairs.  My feet and back are hurting.  Gator was resting comfortably on the couch.

This was for sure an unplanned expense but that’s why I have savings.  It’s not like I want to spend the money but given the options I would rather pay the money and be comfortable. 

I spoke with the tech about the mystery odor and he couldn’t attribute anything HVAC related that would have caused this. 

Back to normal life for now and going to grab some supper. Here’s hoping everything stays together and nothing else falls apart. 

New problem

I did a load of dishes and finally decided to clean out the spice rack.  My late spouse had tons of seasoning and I never bothered to deal with it.  In keeping with my odor eliminating tasks, I threw out all of the old spices but a couple things of celery salt as well as salt & pepper.  I found a bottle of salad dressing that was never opened, you could tell it went bad despite never being opened because it was discolored. I will bet that had to smell if it was opened but I decided not to find out. 

Things were going along fine and the AC kicked on I kicked back and was resting during my so called lunch hour.  Then I heard this odd noise and went outside to look.  Sure enough the compressor for the AC unit was running but the fan wasn’t turning.  I have a call in to a repair person and since it’s warm weather season they are all busy.  They said they should be able to get to me today but have no idea on what time.  It’s 75 in here now so hopefully they will arrive before I start to melt. 

I think that it’s the capacitors that power the fan.  Those bastards used to go out once per season and then some how I got lucky and managed to get 5 years out of them, that is presuming that is the problem.  It’s got the symptoms but only a repair person can tell me for sure.  It’s been an hour since this horrid event started and I am sweating already.  I can tell you for sure that I am due for a new furnace and ac but just don’t have the money for it.  I’ve limped along on this system for years and don’t see why I can’t get a few more out of it.  Especially since I there is a small possibility that I might move. 

Cats love heat but they need AC as well or they can run into breathing problems.  If things get too hot I will take Gator and we will go sit in the car with the AC on full blast.  If things get real bad I can either get a hotel and try to take her with me or drop her at the vets for boarding.  Right now I am hopeful that this will only set me back a few hundred dollars.  I called the same company that fixed the furnace back when I came home and it was 55 degrees in here and Momma was huddled behind the TV in my room for warmth looking at me from inside my stereo cabinet.  Everyone was pissed off and cold that night.  It was a few hundred dollars and we were all warm again within hours.  The ignitor on the furnace was bad.  I’m hoping for similar luck with the AC.

I will post an update when I know more.  Wish me luck or something like that. 

Exhausted

I have really been wracking my brain and driving my body crazy over this odor.  Sunday night when I should have been going to bed an idea hit me and I just had to try it.  The drain hose from the AC could be clogged and maybe there is a backup of water (humidity) and that would breed bacteria and cause an odor.  I removed the hose and hooked up a shop vac to the AC and it pulled out small amount of water but a lot of built up junk.  Meanwhile I took the hose and came up to my bathroom, sure enough it was part way clogged.  I got it cleaned out and hoped that when I put everything back together in a few minutes that would be the end of the odor. 

The worst part of that wonderful idea was cleaning up the shop vac it was a mess but I took care of it.  The odor now that were on day #2 seems to have subsided for the most part.  I still get a whiff of it once and a while. While I think the battle is over with I am not quite ready to call it a resolved issue just yet but I think were way closer than we were a week ago.  Lord knows what Gator & I have inhaled over the course of the past week. 

My angry orange cleaner came and it didn’t have nearly the strong citrus odor that I thought it would.  Lucky for me I found Citrus Magic at the grocery store and they make a small spray can that works wonders. 

I got through Monday it was a bit of a difficult/busy day but finally the end arrived.  I went to bed only to get woken up by Gator.  I settled back down and then my body woke me up.  I was up part of the night and while I could have easily pushed myself I felt exhausted so I said fuck it and took the day off.  All I really wanted to do is sleep and I have done that off and on all day long.  Let’s hope that I sleep tonight because I need to get back to work tomorrow.  Shit builds up and it takes forever to clean out the pile of work. 

I talked myself into getting on the floor in front of the fridge since I did smell an odor by the fridge.  Man alive I saw 16 plus years of cat fur and it was not a pretty site.  Hooked up the vacuum cleaner and got it all cleaned out.  I think I probably saved myself the cost of a refrigerator.  Not sure how the poor thing hasn’t quit before now.  Cleaning the cover at the bottom was the extent of the cleaning that we did and now I know there’s more to do.  I should be good for a while now since the number of cats has decreased but I know there eventually will be some build up of fur and dust. 

I think with all of the sucking the poor vacuum cleaner has done it might just be time to get a new one.  I’ve got the dust collection bin airing out in the garage after I soaked it with Lysol.  I will need to get in an really clean it and change the filter.  This cheap thing has done a mountain of work but I still to this day miss my Dyson.  It did a good job but the reach on the wand was the best and it was so quick and easy to deploy compared to this cheap thing where I have to fight to dislodge the hose from the base and then get out plastic tubes to form a wand.  It’s a lot more effort. 

As you can imagine this odor fight has not done any favors for my mental state and depression has been working overtime on me.  I am in so much mental pain and feel so alone it’s horrible.  Thankfully my furry friend is still here and she is what keeps me from doing anything drastic.  I know this isn’t something that people want to read about but mental health is no joke.  Add in the isolation from COVID and it really makes things much worse, at least for me. 

This weekend I am supposed to be going to the eye doctor but I have to call to confirm I think my appointment might have fallen off the books.  I would like to get the painting on the garage trim done and if I feel up to the task the deck power washed.  Knowing my body & energy level I think that each of these tasks are meant for separate days.  I know we have a 3 day weekend upon us and I might be able to take 2 days to get these tasks done based on how I feel right now I would just as soon spread them out. 

I am off to grab some left over pizza and find something of interest to watch to occupy my time before I call it a day.  I need to cut my hair and am still taking that task upon myself for a bit longer.  I don’t feel ready enough to go back to the salon but I am sure that it will happen.  It’s nice to see things opening up and being able to go into certain stores without a mask on.  I still hear rumblings of a fall surge in cases and don’t understand why that is a possibility now.  I’m fine with spending the rest of the year working from home but don’t think that I will stay here when I have time off so long as I feel up to it.  Eating out has been super enjoyable I just wish more places would open up and I know that too will happen with time. 

Even though I didn’t see any comments or feedback I hope that my odor search will be of help to someone in the future.  As long as you have money you can own a home but that doesn’t mean that you have the knowledge to fix things when they break and that’s kind of where I am at.  I have some knowledge and can do basic stuff but anything complex needs to be farmed out.  I really hope that I am at the end of my home problems for a very long time.  Cheers!

Saturday

I am tired, sore & exhausted.  Last night I thought I found the source of the lingering odor in a bookcase.  I took everything off the shelves and cleaned it.  I put some baking soda in a dish and let it sit overnight as well as vinegar in a different dish and placed them in different locations on the bookcase.  The bookcase no longer has the odor but the odor is still present in the air. 

This morning thinking about wood and how it can absorb odors I cleaned my cd case (yep full of music CD’s) and also a bookcase in my room.  I was surprised to find some D cell batteries and when I lifted them up I saw that they had began to leak.  I had to scrape away the solidified acid and that ruined a shelf but it’s my fault. 

I did manage to get rid of a lot of junk that had accumulated but unfortunately the odor is still present.  Talking with my boss on Thursday afternoon he thought this would be a simple fix.  He said it’s probably sewer gas go run the water in all of the drains that you haven’t used and if you have a toilet in the mix flush it a couple times.  Your P traps ran dry and that lets sewer gas into your house.  I followed his advice and for a short time everything was hunky dory and then just like that the odor was back.  In fairness the windows were open.

I’ve also run the hell out of my ozone machine and the basement actually doesn’t appear to have the odor any longer it’s just an upstairs thing.  I have also pulled out the refrigerator and cleaned behind it.  I am literally going out of my mind trying to track this down and get it resolved.

This afternoon I sat in my room watching Looney Toons on YouTube relaxing with a gator in my lap.  She buried her head and fell fast asleep.  She was not pleased with me when I woke her up.  I said bed and she moved over to the bed.  I got up and joined her.  She let me hold her paw and rested her head on top of mine.  I think she understands that I am worried and upset about this odor business. 

I’m sniffing everything from the wall to the floor with no luck.  After my brief period of rest where I thought for sure I would fall asleep I got up and decided to wash the outside of the house.  As I was spraying I thought I smelled what is inside of my house on the outside.  I got all of the green off the side of the house (there wasn’t that much) and managed to shine up the dormer it went from dirt black back to original white.  I screwed up when I was using the solution and had the bottle on Spray when it should have been on rinse.  I used Mold Armor house wash.  It was in a bottle you hook up to your hose.  There was bleach in the solution.  Bleach actually doesn’t kill mold it feeds it (look on line I’m not kidding.  I had a guy tell me that in person and found a couple sources on line as well.).  I expected that when I went inside my house that I would find wet walls or wet floorboard but nope, bone dry. 

It’s either my neighbor is running a meth lab or something has had to get into my attic be it debris or an animal.  I have run out of options at the moment but I will still be thinking about this.  I don’t like to let my problems win and I also don’t give up.  This may turn out to be something horrific or it may be an easy solution.  My nasal passages are irritated and I kind of wish I would go nose blind if only for a day.  I think about whatever it is that we are breathing in and just hope it’s not something that will cause harm to either of us. 

Tomorrow is going to suck because I will be much more sore than I am today.  I need to hit up a pharmacy since the Sudafed shortage in my area continues and the grocery store.  I am going to try to take it easy for the rest of the night and hope that I can get a good nights rest.  I sure am tired on multiple levels. 

I saw an ad on social media for some new apartments in the area and wow they get more than my mortgage payment each month in rent for something that is super small.  It’s marketed as ‘luxury living’ but unless that luxury includes free blow jobs or a chef it sounds like a rip off to me.  I am very much on the fence when it comes to moving but if this odor business keeps on going it may well be the final nail in the coffin.  While I don’t like to give up and walk away, we all have our breaking points granted mine is probably longer than most, only because I’ve learned that if your patient enough eventually there will be a solution.  Here’s hoping that the solution presents it’s self quickly and that it doesn’t cost an arm & leg or require me to move sooner than I really want to. 

Still open to any ideas or suggestions that any of you might have.  I have yet to find any dead bodies, evidence of any kind of infestation by rodents or mold.  If I open the windows and get air circulating the odor can be knocked down within an hour or two, depending on how much the wind is blowing.  Close the windows and within 30 minutes the odor is back.  It’s baffling.  My next idea is to run my ozone machine in the attic.  It’s vented (there are 3 dormers) so I don’t think it will cause any problems. 

For now onward to rest and cuddling with the Gator.  She will enjoy it!  I did leave for a bit and grab a pizza.  Never in my life I have ever spent $40 when dining out for pizza but today it happened.  I got a side salad and that helped shoot the price up but I haven’t really had anything to eat all day and felt like total crap so it helped to give me some energy even though I really wasn’t hungry.  Got a nice view of a hot waiter while I was there.  Cheers!

Trouble

I am once again plagued by an unknown odor in my home. This is something that has happened off and on for the last year or so. Weather change seems to trigger it. It’s difficult to describe but I can tell you that it does irritate my nasal passages. Rather that sit by and hope that it passes I have really dug in this time but am not finding anything.

I’ve heard periodic noise of feet on the roof but we have tons of squirrels but I figured it might be something else or maybe my roof was breached and something is in the attic. Having a fear of heights and fallen off a ladder I am not keen on going high up but I made it. Into the attic. I stayed on the ladder and used a flashlight to look around. All I saw was darkness and insulation. I did this in the day time so it would be obvious if the roof was breached as I would see the sky or some form of day light. STRIKE 1

My basement is finished with a drop ceiling and I inspected inside of it with a flashlight and looked at multiple tiles. Nothing obvious sticks out and there isn’t any sign of mold (other than what I treated a couple years ago, which I will cover in a bit). STRIKE 2

Perhaps it’s something in the carpet, I gave up cleaning the carpet other than running the vacuum years ago. I found it odd that a change in the weather would cause this but hey I figured nothing ventured nothing gained. I didn’t do the whole house just parts of the living room and my room. I found an old cat toy that had the smell in it & figured maybe this was it but it wasn’t. On the bright side the carpet turned out really well. I had purchased some super pet carpet shampoo and thought that at the very least the smell of the shampoo would mask the odor. Nope. STRIKE 3

I’ve got an ozone generator and have used that. The odor is gone for a short period but comes right back. Even when I treated mold it would wipe out the smell for a couple days before it came back. STRIKE 4

I’ve looked under furniture and around windows for anything obvious. I’ve checked outside of the house and again nothing sticks out. There is some green mold growing in spots on the siding but that is easily wiped out with a pressure washer (on the list of things to do for the weekend). STRIKE 5

Last night I went to Lowe’s to purchase something called Gonzo Rocks which are volcanic rock that claims to absorb all sorts of odors. You have to give it 4 to 8 hours to work. The bin where it was supposed to be was empty but the website said they had it in stock. The stuff was $10 a bag. It’s in a mesh bag, you just remove the plastic covering the bag and then set it out for it to work its magic. I had to go scour for help and it took 30 minutes for the guy to find the stuff with my help. This sounded like it would do the trick. I got 3 bags. 1 for the living room, 1 for my bedroom and 1 for the basement. I put them out and did my best to try to sleep despite the odor. Gator woke me up in the middle of the night and I knew then it didn’t work. STRIKE 6

A couple years ago I got an audio book it was about life & death in the ER and the lady referenced something called Angry Orange and said that it was the only thing that would mask the smell of a dead body (after it was removed). Sometimes in her particular hospital bodies would sit idle for hours before they were taken to the morgue. Remembering that and also doing some searching I found Angry Orange on Amazon. I’ve got 2 small bottles on the way and they will be here on Monday. Of all of the times I hope Amazon delivers early this is certainly one of them.

The odor only appears to bother me. It affects everything from my mood to desire to eat, sleep and my mood. It’s like my house is killing me. Gator appears to be unaffected thus far but she did get sick yesterday a couple times. While in the short term I’d like to remove, I would like to know what the odor is and where its source is. Finding the source is difficult at best but is the best assurance of a positive outcome and being able to put this behind me. Considering I don’t know what the smell is, much less I can’t identify where it’s coming from I at my wit’s end. Add this to the list of reasons why I’d like to move. There is an ammonia like smell to this odor. It is in my living room/kitchen and bedroom, as well as my office in the basement (which is directly below my bedroom). The master bedroom and spare guest room are unaffected. In fairness both of those rooms have the doors closed because they are used for storage more than anything else. I have opened the windows to the house each morning rain or shine and after a couple hours the odor disappears but as soon as I close the windows the odor is back. I should add that I also changed the HVAC air filter, even though I knew that wasn’t the cause, I figured it could hurt.

I had something similar over the winter and thought for sure that something died outside. This was an unfamiliar smell and it would make me want to vomit just smelling it. This time around I am nauseated a bit but overall, I can still eat. I kind of wonder if I am just going insane and fighting with something that doesn’t truly exist except in my mind. What occurred in the winter lasted for 3 weeks to a month and then it was just gone. Presuming it is something that is dead and decaying I know that once that process is over with the smell will be behind me but I would just as soon not wait and would much prefer to solve this mystery.

Around 3 years ago in the summer I got seriously ill, it was close to pneumonia and knocked me on my ass like pneumonia (I had this as a child). I was recovering and then out of no where I got drastically worse. I was out of work for a couple weeks but at home. I started to recover and then one day happened to look down at the back door and saw large objects – they were large moldy mushrooms. I got rid of them and didn’t really investigate like I should have, by the time I did investigate I learned that I had black mold in 2 bays of ban board (also referred to as a rim joist), it was into the carpeting and all a result of a water problem. I had a gutter issue and didn’t really think anything bad would happen but boy was I wrong. I called a guy to fix the gutter and confirmed that resolved the water issue. Then called another guy to work with the mold issue. He wanted a small amount of money and was just a demo guy who was going to leave me with a large hole in my dining room floor and would rip out the infected part of the rim joist. I elected to research the subject and I ripped out a small portion of the subfloor and what mold from the rim joist that I could. The rest I treated with Concrobium mold killer which is an encapsulant that seals the wood and crushes/kills the mold. I then painted over it with mold killing paint. The lingering strong odor is what lead me to purchase an ozone machine and it worked really well. The sad part is that I waited a bit too long and this spread to other bays on the rim joist so the small job turned into a medium job. I also purchased air purifiers to help clean the air. I spent far less money but really only treated part of the problem, being the inside of the wood. The outside of the wood is still moldy and while the water has been cut off so the mold can’t grow it’s still present. I just figured out earlier this week that you have to rip off the siding and pull the entire joist and replace it. If you don’t do that part of the job correctly your home will collapse. Fortunately for me the wood was/is still in decent enough shape. There is a persistent musty smell in the basement and the aforementioned unknown odor is way different.

Another unpleasant thing that happened is that we had two male cats (the strays that lived here part time until we had enough and made them full time residents) that loved to spray. One more than the other, he peed on everything in this house that he could. He was young, full of energy and all of momma’s family hated him. Both of these cats have since passed and I have had to clean the house with the help of a black light and gallons of cat urine remover to get rid of the smell. Cat urine has a very strong ammonia smell to it. It is by far one of the worst household odors in existence.

Later today I plan to make a Target run to buy air fresheners to help cover/mask the smell. If you have any ideas on other things, I can/should try or know who one might call to help with a task like this I’d appreciate any feedback. Meanwhile I hope that I am at the very least successful at masking the odor so that I can maintain what little sanity I have left. I know we all have our problems but mine seem to be so bizarre and difficult to solve. I’m good at fixing other people’s issues but not my own. Here’s hoping whatever it is I am inhaling doesn’t negatively impact me or my gator which is a much stronger concern. I am more worried about the cat than myself, if I know that something is harming her and I can’t fix it that will crush me.

I’ll keep you posted but again would appreciate any help or ideas that you might have.

Ye old Sunday

Today just doesn’t feel quite like a Sunday to me. I’m also very board. Last night I downloaded Hinge. It’s the dating app that is meant to be deleted. I’ve also deleted it but I did give it a spin. Like all other dating apps, they want money for extra features. They require 6 photos of you to create a profile. There are built in captions that you can tag your photos with to be witty. There is plenty of room to expound and tell people about you but the questions are generic and you don’t really feel like you’re creating what traditionally is known as a profile. You have to either use location services or scroll on a map for your area. You can specify an age range and if that is a deal breaker. I set mine for 27-50 but I still got guys as young as 18. Interesting to see what was out there but I honestly didn’t give it much of a chance. I found a couple of semi-cute guys that I was interested in but I started thinking about all of the particulars with a relationship and dating in general, it was enough to sour me and that’s when I jumped ship.

I would like a guy to curl up with (snuggle & sex as well eventually) and talk with. I think I am more in the market for a really good friend that could develop into something more. Plus, in my mind were not out of the woods yet with the pandemic. I think about just radically changing everything in my life from location (home), vehicle and work as well. It would for sure shake thing up but I know that is not practical and that should I fall on my ass there would be no one or nothing to catch me. Life in general is comfortable now, I just need way more friends and I’ve known that for a very long time.

Shifting gears, all of my chores with the exception of putting the laundry away is done. Gator surprised me I vacuumed up stairs and was really hot & sweaty so I took a break and got some ice-cold water to help cool down. I eventually was ready for a nap. I pushed myself and opted to finish vacuuming downstairs. I had just finished my office when I turned around and there she was. She doesn’t normally come downstairs. Even now as I type this, she is crying upstairs wanting me to come back to her. I kind of wish she would get a little more comfortable with the basement. For one thing it’s cooler down here in the summer and it’s a nice change of pace for me, plus I’ve got 2 monitors and a much better seating situation.

Anyway, once I was done, I pushed myself to go get something to eat. I wasn’t hungry but know that I have to eat. I decided to try a new Mexican place and man it was horrible. One guy is the waiter, bartender and cashier. He was up to his eyeballs with people to take care of. I had a short wait before he noticed me and sat me. Then I looked over the menu and was paralyzed once again by choice. They must have satellite radio because it was on a Spanish station and every word spoken, sung or a commercial was all in Spanish. It was annoying because they were blasting it. It did help to set the mood but beyond that it was annoying to me. The food just didn’t taste right. I ate it with the hopes that it stays down. I feel fine right now but once I was finished, I had a slight touch of nausea that faded. Hey I’ve wanted to try this place and now I can say that I did. I have no plans to go back. Plenty of other good Mexican restaurants in the area.

The weather today was all sunshine but rain is in the forecast. It changed just as I left to grab dinner. I should have hit up the home improvement store to grab a paint scraper so that I can tackle my next fun project of painting. It’s pretty clear to me that the lawn guy isn’t interested in that job. I should have also worked on the gutters in the back and trim away some ivy. It’s not as if the work is going anywhere, I will get to it eventually. Speaking of the lawn guy, I finally got a bill from him. I wasn’t terribly pleased that he waited so long because the bill was large and even though we talked about weekly service, he chose to put me on a bi-weekly service but it costs $5 more. It’s not the end of the world and I wanted bi-weekly when I went into it. There were one or two cuts that he didn’t charge me for at all when they did weekly service for a short time and I figure it all balances out. I just hope that he sends a bill much sooner next time. I’m used to paying by the month and not for a couple months at a time.

Today was one of those days where I could and probably should have just gone for a long drive, it was in my original plans but I scrapped them. Gas prices around here are back to sky high, $3 plus per gallon. Remember this time last year the prices were so low. Guess that is when we all should have stocked up but every one was shuttered in their home trying to stay away from the virus. What a world it’s been one yell of a year and a half, nothing that I would have thought I’d see in my lifetime.

Surfing the net, I randomly found a nice photo of a guy showing off his rear but fully clothed and I thought I would share with you (see below). I hope you enjoy it. Something about a guy’s rear end just drives me wild. Take care and we will talk again soon.

Happy Weekend!

I hope that all is well in your world and that you had a great week. As for me I am hanging in there. A little bored & depressed. There is a Sudafed shortage in my area and it’s the decongestant that helps make life manageable for me. Since it’s used to make meth, I have to have a prescription to get it in the quantity that I need and at an affordable cost. I’ve been forced for a couple weeks to pay retail price and I am not terribly happy about that because the 2 packages that I have purchased cost ½ of what I would pay for a much larger prescription. After trying to fill the prescription for a week the pharmacy just gave up and put it back in my file. I am not pleased about that but rest assured it will be taken care. The one thing that I hate is the use of the word “controlled substance” if you are getting a pill via a prescription then it’s a controlled substance in my book, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Anyway, I tried to get my prescription transferred to a different pharmacy but since it’s a “controlled substance” they can’t do that. What a bunch of horse shit.

Friday between Gator waking me up in the middle of the night and my head & sinuses I opted to call in and take the day off work. Not what I really wanted to do but at the same time mentally I needed the break. It’s been non stop and high pressure. I put my phone in airplane mode and set it on the dresser. I didn’t take it off of airplane mode until around 7p Friday night. I had already turned off work email so all I got was personal stuff and turns out I didn’t miss anything.

Earlier this week I was shocked to learn of the sudden passing of Alex Riley a porn star who worked for Helix Studios. He was only 22, so this isn’t something you would anticipate happening. He had an amazing smile and that is one of many features in guys that I have come to appreciate.  Lots of people are wondering what happened and I can say I too am in that group. However, I realize that may or may not come out with time. The death of any young person is a hard thing to process for me. I also struggle processing death when it’s some one I know and the closer they are the worse it is.

Thursday afternoon I got some pretty good shots of Gator and added them to her digital photo album. I started to look over the album and just got overwhelmingly sad thinking that some day this album is all I will have left. I also thought about the rest of her family that has departed and that made things worse. I eventually had to stop looking at the photo album and move on to something else. My mood changed with time. This morning (Saturday) as we went back to bed, she was curled up next to me and put a paw out to touch my hand. I placed my hand on what I thought was the top of her paw. When I woke up my hand was on the top of her head and she was in dreamland so peaceful and still that I thought she passed away. That would have been horrible to wake up to but she sprang to life and wasn’t terribly happy about it.

I finally got up the nerve to open the box for the gutter attachment to the leaf blower. I played with it and had to use it a little differently than it was designed. I cleaned out he gutters in the front of the house. They aren’t spotless but have a lot less crap there. It didn’t do a perfect job by any means. The best and only true way to clean a gutter is by hand. All of the other methods that I have tried fall short of just getting your hands dirty. At least the water will flow a bit better. Plus, I stirred up some leaves in the front yard which won’t make the neighbors terribly happy but that’s why God invented wind; it helps move things along.

After I was done, I got a shower and sat in front of the TV watching 20/20 about Scott Peterson. My upper back was shot and I had the shakes from over use of my muscles. Once things calmed down, I got dressed and went out. I wanted something to eat but just didn’t know what. I fought the urge to visit Denny’s because of the cute waiter. However, after some driving around that is exactly where I wound up and much to my surprise he wasn’t working. I didn’t ask about him but may if the next time I stop in and he’s not there. I kind of felt like it was fate just to ask him out and had he been there I would have gone through with it. I would kind of like to scratch it off of my to-do list. I am not optimistic about getting a yes but asking is half of the battle, especially when you don’t know if the guy is gay in the first place.

Back home, caught up on work and personal stuff. Working on laundry. Gator is crying her head off wanting me back up stairs and I am going to give in reluctantly. I would just as soon stay in front of the computer a bit longer.

One of the things that I have enjoyed watching this week is Chiropractic videos. I like watching the guys take off their shirts and get worked on. It’s a turn on and also a nice way to relax. I just love the cracking sounds and I try to imagine how good that must feel. I could benefit from having my neck & upper back worked on but Chiropractors want to work on everything and my lower back is the no zone, I don’t let anyone ever touch that because I have some serious damage there. The few times when getting a massage that I didn’t speak up I regretted it the next day and for days after. I get the idea that you want to work on everything because it’s all connected but I have limits on what I will permit. An interesting adjustment is the Y strap or another Chiropractor has patented the term Ring Dinger, while his adjustment is done differently, they both appear to me to accomplish the same thing. Look it up on You Tube if you’re not familiar with it. I can’t say that I would ever like to experience that but it’s neat to watch peoples face after they get adjusted with either method. It wakes them up and opens their eyes for sure to say the least.

COVID restrictions are easing and it’s like people are starting to put the pandemic behind them. There are still plenty of people trying to get shots but even mass vaccination clinics in my area are either reducing their hours or closing up. Local pharmacies are full of people getting shots. I am glad that I am done with it but I think that we may move too fast to ease restrictions only to wind back up in this mess again. It’s not any fun and I don’t enjoy wearing a mask or staying home but I’ve gotten used to it. I feel like we need to hang on a little longer before were in the clear, just my opinion.

Well off to see the furry girl and spend the evening catering to her every need. Tomorrow will be breakfast out and the grocery store. Not sure if I will do anything else. It’s supposed to be a rainy day and rain for all of next week as well. Temperatures are unseasonably cool it’s like we actually get to have Spring this year, which most years that season lasts for a week and then were in to the dog days of summer and it’s super-hot.

Take care and we will talk again soon!