How much biohazard is too much?

Soon after we moved into these apartments, I began noticing these weird little growths coming out of the window trim in our bedroom. I assumed they must be caused by an insect and tried not to worry about it. They grew. They are weird. They are in my bedroom. But, alas, this is where we can afford to live and Britt doesn't want to deal with the hassles of moving again. And truly, neither do I. So I ignored the little "wood boogers" and tried to go on as though nothing were growing out of the window sill in multiple places.



We came home from living in another state for two months only to find that the apartment had turned into one biohazard after another. Apparently it was a rainy summer, and the water was not draining away from the building properly, so it pooled in our wall and rotted the base board and apparently the whole lower half of the wall in general (it's hollow and moves when you touch it). A few days after we got here, this little gem appeared. Ava thought it was a squash and could hardly wrap her brain around why it was growing in the corner by her high chair and why we weren't eating it. Yeah, kid...mushrooms aren't supposed to grow inside.



Upon further inspection, I discovered that there must be some more water damage in the wall above our refrigerator, as the corner is sort of rotting out and peeling around the recently-installed (last summer) cabinetry. Strike three. Are we out? No. We had not only already signed another year-long lease, but we had also painted Ava's bedroom and our living room before we left for summer, rationalizing that I might feel better in this apartment if I could personalize it and make it feel like a home. Plus the moving hassles.



We notified the apartment maintenance people of our mushroom. They promptly sent a guy out to take a look at it. I believe his response was, "Well, I'll be." Yeah. Mushrooms aren't supposed to grow inside. He said they would come back to spray some bleach-like chemical on the area to prohibit further microbial growth. Great, so now my baby has been exposed to sheet rock dust last summer when the bathroom ceiling had to be replaced, no telling what kind of particulate in the air when they sawed through the ceiling several times last year for various management-mandated projects, paint fumes, noise during countless naps, and now fungus followed by a "bleach-like chemical spray" that should fix the fungal growth!!? Super. I pointed out the other problems too, and the guy told me they would schedule a time to come and let me know when to be gone from the apartment if I didn't want Ava to be exposed. (That's important.)

In true Squire Hill style (excuse me, Abbington Crossing...they changed the name this summer after the drowning...), we heard nothing from maintenance for about a week. Just when I was getting ready to call and complain, the new head guy passed by one day and stopped to ask me when they should come. They had been waiting for ME to call and tell them exactly when to come. WHAT!? That is NOT what the guy said, and Britt was my witness. So this time, I told the new head guy (Tom, the same guy who last year came to fix my dishwasher and purposely broke the rack to "fix" my problem, which he had already fixed 10 minutes earlier and I had told him I was satisfied...now it is rusty) that I am here all the time, so they need to schedule a time when I can count on them to come and then tell me so I can arrange to have the car that day and be gone while the work is done. No problem, ma'am, sorry for the confusion. Oh, and he also said I really wouldn't have to take Ava out of here, that the chemical spray is really not harmful, it just stinks. Oh, right. "Bleach-like chemical" is not harmful. Sure. Whatever.

In the meantime, more mushrooms arose.



And we found a horrible section of mold growing on our wall behind the dresser in our bedroom where we'd been storing some boxes (big mistake). We've been breathing this stuff in every night for at least nine months (minus summer) since the apartment flooded last December!! I was horrified.



In summation, it took them two "miscommunications" and almost two weeks to get here for the mushrooms. They sprayed their magic spray to make them go away and never return. A few days later they were invited back for the aforementioned mold in the bedroom to do the same. While they were at it, they plucked the little wood boogers with nary a word. And today, lo and behold, they were invited back yet again for a new mold patch recently discovered in our dining room.



The property manager was contacted directly this time, so she came over personally and assured me that it is not the Texas-feared black mold. It's green mold, which apparently is less threatening. They sprayed the magic spray on it, and Voila!--it looks as though it never existed. She also assured me that the spray really does take care of the biohazard I'm concerned about living with (especially Ava). Though I am skeptical of the magic spray, I must admit my sinuses have settled down since they took care of the latest mold patch earlier today. She left here with a list of all the projects their maintenance people have never followed up on, and they are expected Friday morning to replace the rotted out wall.

It's hard living here amidst a constant stream of construction projects and maintenance problems, but it's what we can afford with a washer/dryer in the unit. I'm feeling guilty after so many other moms have asked me How can you stay there!? What about Ava!!?, and I ask myself the same question time and again. I feel like an irresponsibly flippant parent not to worry about it. But on the other hand, the house I grew up in probably had more than one mildew-smelling closet, and I hardly even had allergies until I moved away. It's a toss up. The property manager has assured me that we can break our lease if we find more mold. That's at least a little peace of mind....even if it does mean a costly and very annoying move across town to a place that will harbor its own unknown maintenance needs for us to deal with. I think.

I have spent time, money, and effort on making this place "home." I don't really want to have to leave now. (That would also mean painting all the walls back to horrible stark white.) And they just put in a new playground this summer, which we are really pleased about. It would be a shame to end up somewhere with no playground within walking distance since we only have the car one or two days a week. Why did all the mold have to present itself just when I was accepting this place as home?

I am thankful I have a place to call home. Even if it's moldy. I guess we'll stay.

Show Opener Junkie Speaks

What is it with TV executives and the need to mess up a perfectly fantastic simple show opener after season one is successful!? I am a big fan of creative show openers. A show wins HUGE points with me just by having a great intro. Catchy music, maybe clever lyrics, good graphics or choice of show snippets. I realize they probably give new shows (especially mid-season replacements) a short, simple opener because they don't want to spend money on a show that might not take off. But sometimes the simple ones are the most well-crafted of all. I HATE IT when they up and change a GREAT show opener for a new season. That drives me crazy! You know as well as I do that Friends would never have been quite the same if one season they had decided not to try putting a show snippet in to match the multi-clap section of the theme song. One of my longstanding gripes is the changed theme song since season two of King of Queens. That's a great show, but it lost a little appeal for me after they created that dorky theme song with the cheesy lyrics and staged acting to match. It was so much better when it was short and simple, catchy music with the logo on the screen for a few seconds. Perfect. And then they up and change it the next season! I have been complaining about that for, gosh, how many seasons now...five? six? Anyway, now they've done it to Grey's Anatomy. I couldn't believe it. After all the work ABC has done to up its ante (and successfully, I might add), what on earth made them decide to change the Grey's Anatomy opener!!? It was exquisite just the way it was during season one! I was so looking forward to it after I breathed a sigh of relief that they hadn't messed around with the Desperate Housewives opener. And then, to my shock and amazement, they hardly had any opener at all!!!! A little background music at the end of the first scene, flash the show name, go to commercial. What is that!? They better not be working on some new ER-style medical drama opener. That would be missing the subtlety of the show's uniqueness entirely. Guess I'll have to wait until next week to find out.

Happy Autumn!

Autumn has been sneaking up on us! In case you hadn't realized it, today is the Autumnal Equinox. The night will come sooner and sooner from here on out. I like to watch my favorite nearby tree changing ever more golden every day. I was surprised at how early the trees near the law school began shedding yellow leaves. It's as though they have been telling us to make the best of what's left of warm weather. I have been doing my best! This afternoon we are headed to Britt's softball game (he's playing on the "Married Guys" team this semester). I must admit that even I am a bit anxious for cooler weather. Then we can enjoy the sun on our faces while we are at the park!


August 31

September 6

September 15

September 22

What's wrong with this picture?

We have had our shower curtain since we got married over six years ago. It was one of my favorite registry selections, even though it was marked "Dry Clean Only." When we got married, we could scarcely afford to dry clean my work clothes, much less our shower curtain. In our old house, it hung in the seldom-used guest bathroom, so I figured it wouldn't get all that dirty anyway. Over the years, however, it has collected some very large water stains toward the bottom, not to mention six years' worth of dust and who-knows-what. I have simply tried to ignore the obvious so that we wouldn't have to pay for dry cleaning a large household item. There are more important things to spend our money on, like credit card debt and student loans. Well, during this "home rejuvenation" phase I seem to be in, I have finally had it with the dirty shower curtain. I took it down last week while I was cleaning the bathroom, not knowing whether I would actually bite the bullet and dry clean the thing, or if I would just take a chance and wash it. It sat there in a wad atop the laundry basket for several days and was finally moved to a random box in the hall outside the bathroom. I walked past the sad lump time and time again, and to my dismay, it did not go away and neither did the need to clean it. So, I finally decided to just take a chance and wash it in the washing machine. "Surely it won't draw up too much," I thought. I nervously sprayed the water stains with Shout as a loud rush of water filled the machine behind me and dropped it in the water with a twinge of fear. But what was done was done, and I'd learn something no matter how it came out. At the very least, I would have a clean shower curtain for a change and not a filthy pile of finished fabric haunting me.

When the dryer stopped, I eagerly collected the curtain and it looked good, except it was obviously no longer crisp. So as not to drag out the chore, I went directly to the bathroom to hang it up and get the job DONE. When I finally had the last curtain ring in place, I dropped the mass of fabric down to hang and laughed aloud at myself as I stepped off the toilet to discover the unfortunate shrinkage!

At least I did something, even if the results were questionable and rather hysterical. It makes me laugh at myself now rather than shudder at the knowledge of its uncleanliness, so that's a positive change anyway. Something in the Pottery Barn catalog last night inspired me to rig it with an old sheet I have laying around, so perhaps I'll have an update to share soon.

I'm sure everyone's heard that old adage "Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused." I am definitely amused.

mixed veggies back to normal!!!

I fixed it!! I figured it out and fixed it!! I still don't know how it got messed up in the first place (there was a bit of coding missing on the HTML template), but at least I was able to figure out what was missing and put it back. Now you can read easier with appropriate line spacing!!! I have conquered my blog befuddlement for today, and it took me less than 30 minutes. This calls for a hearty "HOT DAMN!"

BLOG FRUSTRATION!!!

I cannot adequately express how frustrated I am that all my posts now appear single-spaced and therefore far more difficult to read! Maybe it's not bothering you, but it's sure bothering me! They didn't use to look that way, and now they do! I am consumed by figuring out why and FIXING IT. PRONTO.