Venting: Literally and Figuratively

Right now there are six industrial strength fans running in my kitchen. The noise is so loud that I'm camped out upstairs. This morning as I was just about ready to pack my lunch for work I noticed that the floor was shiny. It was reflecting the light we have in the bathroom. Thankfully I turned the kitchen light on before walking in. Otherwise I would have soaked my feet. There was a good inch or so of standing water all over the floor.

Instead of packing lunch I woke Jeff up, grabbed some towels and headed back downstairs to start the long process of mopping up my kitchen. We filled buckets with gray water and hauled them outside to dump on the lawn. We got good use out of the new mop we bought last month. With Jeff using a sponge and me using the mop we were finally able to make headway on the mess. Just as we had gotten mostly under control, our neighbor rang the doorbell and pleaded for help. She was in the same situation. Water everywhere. We helped mop out her kitchen as well.

With the water gone I headed out to work (I'd told my boss I'd be late) and left Jeff to wait for the sewer company. They arrived about 9 and quickly realized that there was a blockage in the main building line. We had taken the brunt of the mess along with our neighbor. Four other units were also affected but with much less damage. Jeff called a company to come in and clean up and they're the ones that set up the fans. They're also the ones that realized that the underfloor was soaked and that the vinyl flooring would have to come up. So not only do we have the charge of the clean-up but we'll be laying in a new floor and new baseboards. An expensive and very frustrating morning.

So right now I'm venting... along with the kitchen. It's hopefully getting dry, particularly the walls. And I'm starting to accept things the way they are. I won't have a kitchen for  probably a week and a half. Jeff and I will be looking at flooring tomorrow. I have the frustration of not being able to use my downstairs bathroom comfortably. And of course the added expense. The only positive is how incredible Jeff has been through this whole thing. He's been the one to deal with the insurance company (we don't have sewer coverage), the sewer company, the cleaning company, and shopping to make things simpler for me. He's been a godsend today. I hope I cool off before the floor dries. Otherwise it's going to be a long frustrating week.

Stressed

{Warning: I'm incredibly whiny and neurotic today. Proceed with caution}

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wake up with a feeling of impending doom? That's this week for me. Just thinking about the week makes me nervous. This morning I honestly wondered if going back to bed would make it go away. It's not Christmas, although that's stressful enough for some people. It's just the wrong combination of things.

As most of you know I'm not a huge fan of winter. In fact I hate it. I hate the ice and the snow and the cold. I'm starting to get over my fear of driving but I'm still terrified of ice. So of course they are planning for freezing rain all week. Literally starting tonight we are supposed to have freezing rain and snow, pretty much nonstop, until Friday afternoon. I'd be upset about that normally but even more so considering we will be traveling this weekend. I'm supposed to head to St. Louis this coming Friday. Heading out of town in freezing rain and sheet ice is the stuff of nightmares for me. Trigger my weather nerves.

Add to that the fact that I'm helping a friend out with some pet-sitting. I told her I would check in on her puppies each day this week. She has someone coming to take care of them but I need to check in daily. Now I love her dogs but I'm not always good with pet sitting. Much like baby-sitting, taking care of someone else's pet or child is pretty stressful on me. It instantly moves me into stress and worry mode. I am constantly worried that something will happen to them on my watch. After watching me babysit one afternoon, Jeff just smiled and told me it's a good thing we didn't have kids. I'd never sleep. Add that worry to the mix.

Last night I came home to find that my upstairs window sills were wet. Well not just wet, soaked and damaged. Apparently my windows are leaking under all the stress of the snow. There is still well over a foot of snow on some sections of the roof and the gutters are filled with ice. So it is now leaking into the house, either through the attic or through the window seals. I'm hoping it's the seals, less worry for mold. The sills are destroyed and now I'm worried that it has moved into the walls. Repair is going to be costly. I'm hoping the association will cover some of it, but I'm worried that it might cause other problems.

Oh and add the fact that I have three people I haven't bought for, a Secret Santa I just picked up on Friday, and you can consider me one walking pile of nerves. I'm a worrier to begin with but I think things are starting to stack up on me. Weather, pet-sitting, home repairs, shopping, and slippery travel. Should be a fun week.

{Sorry all. I probably shouldn't be writing this today. I know I've got it pretty good and that I'm whining needlessly. It was just weighing on my mind.}

Tetramorium Caespitum

My original plan was to talk about going out for drinks with the girls last night and then an incredibly fun game of Hide and Seek our guild played. Perhaps a later post, at least for the Hide and Seek. I had even written part of it in my head this morning. But of course life is what happens while you're making other plans.

Spring has sprung here in Iowa. I can tell in two ways. First happened last week or so. The red-wing blackbirds came back to the state. Robins winter here now so they are not a good indicator of spring.

The other happened this morning....Ants. Pavement Ants to be precise. Each year in the spring and once in the fall we deal with three or four days of ant infestation. The whole complex suffers the same fate. So I woke up this morning to find that there were ants wandering through my kitchen and enjoying the cat's food. Now I'm normally a live and let live person. I have a pact with the resident spiders. They stay on the ceiling and I don't let the cat eat them. Once they come down to my level, they're fair game. But the ants drive me crazy. I know they don't really hurt anything and they just come for the cat food. But...well I'm not letting them live. I've been known to stand in the kitchen with a paper towel just waiting for them to appear so I can smoosh them. I become a serial killer of ants.

So I spent this morning vacuuming and scrubbing. I cleaned up the major infestation and now will have to deal with the stragglers. I know that I should have a professional company come in but I've seen their prices. Plus I don't like the idea of hazardous chemicals being sprayed in my kitchen. Call me old fashion that way. Most websites say that they they are tough to prevent even with the professional spraying. Ants are just fast adaptors. I laid down some cinnamon at the spot they were getting in and I'll pick up some baited traps on the way home. We've gotten good at treating them.

I consider it just one of the hazards of living so close to a creek. I love having that creek access and the open natural areas. I love that the hummingbirds come in the summer and the deer wander into the complex year round. I love that I can step out onto my patio and watch a raccoon wander by. I guess I'll just have to live with the ants. They are only occasional visitors.