busy in the bathroom

Let me preface this by saying that changing a lightbulb in our house can be a major ordeal. Neither Davey or I are what you would call "handy" around the house. We have had some confidence building projects such removing wallpaper and painting the inside...building a deck (under the instruction of a family friend.
We are now faced with a challenge that I am hoping will be a positive, learning experience and pray that this will not sever the something-erruther-teen year relationship. Many of our previous projects often included some of our nastiest, teeth bearing, tearful fights we've ever had but we always come out as happy and calm as we were before we started.

Over the years I have fought a mold problem in the bathroom above the shower. I am ususally successful in removing it before it does any damage. Not long ago, I noticed a different pattern to the mold. I saw a couple little circles. They almost looked like little bulls eyes.
Shame on me for not taking pictures, I know. After doing some poking and scratching, we noticed it was behind the paint, behind the very thin layer of texture and right into the drywall. David grabbed a hammer and in no time, I had a huge hole in the ceiling of my bathroom.

In short, we had to replace the drywall in the ceiling. If you see this picture, it's a special green, "moisture resistant" material. It obviously looks as if a novice relaced it as the cuts are crooked and there are gaps and I fear we did not replace the insulation to the degree it was before we opened it up. I am actually very pleased with the results. It is now up to me to fill the holes with mud, tape up all the seams, apply the texture and repaint with special moisture resistant paint. I know the process is going to be pretty time consuming and meticulous and I know I will be spending days working on it until it is complete.

After this, we replace the sink, light fixtures, flooring. I figure we should be done by end of summer...(yeah, that's reality) but at least it's the master bathroom so if we mess up, we'll be the only ones who notice!

My only advice would be if you have a damp bathroom, get a super powered fan, keep the ceiling and walls dry and get rid of the mold as soon as you see it.

On a side note, when we tore it down, we could see they had already replace that exact section of the ceiling before so it obviously is a problem area. Our thoughts? Get a stronger fan, keep it warm in there and make sure the ceiling is not wet for a long period of time.

lupus gonzales

dog nose
Originally uploaded by Pochagrrl.

My dog has lupus. No big worries as it's not like the human lupus and is not necessarily fatal. If you want, you can read up on it here! Here is my dog and his nose. It's hard to see but he has 3 little stiches that now look like little spiders where they took out pieces to biopsy. Poor nose.

respect her

black & blue
Originally uploaded by Pochagrrl.

Years ago, I fell skiing and hurt my knee. I find out yesterday for a fact that I completely tore my acl. I also have torn cartilage on both the left and right side at the back of the knee. I've had surgery on my right shoulder from dislocations which also happened while playing on Mt. Hood.

Yesterday, Davey went up to snowboard with his friend, Robby and as I sat at my desk in little cube-land, I was happy for them as it was one of those perfect ski-days. No wind, blue-bird skys and not a cloud to be seen and the fact it was a week-day meant that they had wide open runs and no long lines. I worried in the evening as I watched the hours go by and tried to push aside those "worse case scenario" thoughts that popped in my head. Were they in a car accident? Did life-flight have to whisk them off and I did not know because I was not watching the news but a light-hearted episode of "everybody loves raymond"? Did he fall and snap a bone or worse, his neck? Was he OK? He phoned as they neared our home and I was relieved. I felt fine until I met him in the driveway. He was missing his snowboard but brought home a big puffy black eye. As I sat down on his jacket which he had laid in my chair I realized everything he had was soaking wet. Whaaat happened?!?! He learned a valuable lesson on the mountain that day. The eye was a separate injury that occurred when he playing in the terrain park. Not a big deal, he tried riding a rail and ended up coming down on it, face first. Ouch! The rest of the story had me wide-eyed and nervously pacing around the room.

To write the whole encounter would take forever to read (and write) so I will do my best to give the short version. After the eye-incident, he and robby decided to head up to the top and ride down the far right side of cascade. They both like to go very fast…so fast davey said he did not realize he had gone past the orange tape until he was well on the other side in a group of trees. After riding down a ways, he hoped to hike back up to the ridge and ride back down in the designated ski area. He hiked and hiked, only to find himself deep in the forest. He was suddenly lost. Very lost. He could not possibly ride through the trees so he stumbled and hiked while grabbing on the strongest looking branches and carrying the snowboard over his shoulders or using it as a crutch to balance down the extreme, steep grade of the mountain. His knee had gone out a few times and was no longer strong enough to hold him up. Far above a river, he slipped on a log and he lost his board and watched as it slid down the hill into that river and watched it carry his board away. Like his board, he fell, slid, rolled down the hill and found himself pulling himself out of the water, completely drenched.

I don't know exactly what happened but he stumbled and slid down that mountain for hours, considering how he would spend the night should it suddenly get dark. He feared for his life as he knew it was not possible for anyone to get where he was on skis, snowmobile and no helicopter would see him through the thick trees. He could not even see the sun so he had no idea which direction he was facing. He seriously considered digging out a place where he could safely sleep for the night but kept on moving. He slid and stumbled and eventually fell out of the trees onto the highway right where the big sign read "Mt Hood Meadows 8 miles". He staggered off the street and the first car he saw, stuck out his thumb and then clasped his hands together in prayer. As the lady took him back up to the lodge, he realized he had hiked about 10 miles down from the lodge itself. He lost his board but gained respect. When I asked him what he learned from this,(hoping to hear, never ever ever go near that orange tape) he said "respect the mountain, respect her". She can mess you up if you aren't careful.

pending pending pending

I feel kind of bad, neglecting all things downhill lately. It's not that I haven't had anything to post. I actually had a few "drafts" written up, only to delete after I realize I missed the window.
In short and to catch folks up, I still have this "job thing" pending and can't post any specifics until I hear the final outcome. My dog had a successful biopsy on his nose and we should have had the results on Tuesday but those are also pending. On the home front, my shower has a ceiling mold problem so we have started the beginning stages of remodeling...so my regular morning shower routine is now...pending. I have an appointment with the ortho for my knee tomorrow so right now...the status of my knee is still...pending. {bigcheezygrin}

I'll update when I have more time and more information but for now, consider this blog.. yep, you guessed it...pending.

one of my nephew's

max
Originally uploaded by Pochagrrl.

His name is Max and the sister I reference in my previous post is his mama. They spend their peaceful hours up in the vinyard patched canyons outside of San Luis Obispo, California. The last time I was there, too many months ago, I snapped this picture. It feels like it was yesterday.

top 10

Congratulations to my sister for landing top 10 only a day after she posted some artwork on Art Wanted....a very large and addictive online gallery thingey. You can check out other artist’s portfolios and literally spend hours viewing all artistic medias.
Even today, I am amazed by the creativity that pours out of her fingers, mind and heart.

Top 10… I never doubted it!

tumbleweeds...

I know it's been awful quiet this last week or so. I have been extremely busy with a 'work thing'. Unfortunately, I don't have time to go into details but I will be sure to update as soon as I can!
I do plan to post something nifty of fun this weekend!

Have a fantastic Friday!