All fixed up

Yes, Mago... my foot is still attached. And it has healed... but it did require a visit to the Emergency Room to be seen after day 6, when it had blown up rather nastily and was itchier than a dog with a wicked case of fleas.

Just prior to seeing the doctor on Sept. 27th.

24 hours later and it's already looking much better.

While the colour looks worse, this is actually

an improvement as the swelling and itching were greatly reduced.

This is after 3 days of meds.

I got the necessary medications... and then went to see my family doctor and am awaiting allergy testing to make sure future stings won't be even more of an issue. It took weeks for the redness to fade away.

So that's all good.

And so is my crack.

All fixed up, that is.

Okay, so it's my house's crack. And a big one it was. After getting a few estimates on repairs, I decided to tackle the thing myself with a kit from the local hardware store. I figure this is the more affordable option at this point. If it leaks again, then I will hire someone to do something further about it.

Here, in sequence, is a series of photos showing the progression of the repair and the final thing.

You may recall this gaping maw?

This is the inside view. That bit of blue in the middle is

daylight ~ you could see right outside!

First thing was to glue plastic injection ports

every 6 - 8 inches along the crack.

Then seal the ports and the open crack with

quick drying concrete.

Polyurethane polymer foam was injected into the ports, 

starting at the bottom and working up.

Once fully cured (2 days), the ports were nipped off.

That way, nothing will poke holes in the insulation when I

get around to finishing the wall on the inside.

Here, the foam is beginning to ooze out the crack.

Fully cured, the foam looks like some

kind of giant fungus.

I then hacked away at the foam (it's tough stuff, that!) to

trim it to just inside wall level.

The foam was sealed against the elements with

concrete caulking.

For added insurance, I put a clear plastic window well cover over

the repaired area, just to keep rain and snow as far away from the

wall as is practical.

So far, the basement is dry. We've had some pretty good rain a few times and snow will be on the way very soon. I'm hoping this holds out for a long time. Sometimes... the simplest fix works for years. Fingers crossed!

Last... sting? at summer

On Saturday, Maart and I were doing some yard work at his place. It was a beautiful sunny day, turning out to be pleasantly warm.

Needless to say, I just had on my Crocs (go ahead and shudder if you will, but they offer my poor work-abused feet proper cushioning) and no socks. Who needs socks when it's warm out?

We were getting close to being finished, enjoying working together and seeing our hard work accomplish what was needed (stump removal) when I felt a little something on my foot.

Just as I lifted my pant leg and moved my foot to have a look, someone jabbed a high powered electrically charged pointy tipped jack hammer into my foot!!!

I started jumping around and yelling "ow!" and "fuck!" like a madwoman. I briefly caught the look on Maart's face ~ I swear he thought I'd been possessed by demons.

No, not possessed. STUNG. By a damn wasp. What the hell was it doing in my shoe anyway? There's nothing in my shoe fit for any wasp.

"FUCK!" I yelled. "I just got stung by a wasp!!!! FUCK, it hurts! What do you put on a sting anyway!?!?!?" The last time I'd been stung by anything, I was still in grade school. So we're talking well over 40 years. And I sure don't have any memory of it hurting this much!!!

"Vinegar." Maart says. "There's a jug under the sink." So I hop and hobble as fast as I can into the house, find the jug, soak a tissue and hold it against the sting.

It did nothing. Applying an icepack was the only thing that remotely helped, because it numbed the area. Can only do that so often before the risk of frostbite becomes very real, unfortunately.

(the white stuff is hydrocortisone cream applied after the vinegar poultice)

My foot was exquisitely painful for the rest of that day. And at bedtime, it felt like a swarm of electric eels was squirming under the skin. I had to take drugs to fall asleep. Lots of drugs.

Since then, the pain has gone away and it's just majorly itchy. My foot has swelled a little bit, and is very red. At first, I was getting concerned that perhaps I was developing cellulitis, which is quite a serious skin and deep tissue infection that usually requires IV antibiotics (I took the MoS to the ER for just that last year).

(three days post sting)

But after doing some medical research online, I discovered that cellulitis with stings is uncommon, but having an intense localized reaction is not. And given that I have no more pain, I have no fever or chills, I don't feel ill, and the swelling is quite minor, I have diagnosed it as a localized reaction. Apparently this will last for 4 - 7 days. I am already at 4 days. I think I have a few more to go, considering how it is today. *sigh*

It's enough to drive a girl crazy, however, with the itching. I have been applying a fairly strong steroid cream 2 - 3 times a day, as well as the ice packs, and that helps. Guess I will just have to tough it out!

(this morning ~ wearing shoes is a bitch, let me tell you!)

On we go...

Time keeps ramblin' on and on... whether I want it to slow down or not. Funny how it seems time crawls when you're a kid but as you get older, it zooms by faster and faster. That is just soooo wrong!

But... can't do a damn thing about it, can we?

So Maart and I remain a hot item, and all is going well. Much better than any of the other relationships I have had in the past 6 years. That has to count for something, right?

Yesterday we went out quadding (that's riding an all terrain vehicle along provincial trails through the countryside, to those of you who aren't in the know) with 5 other people. The others each had their own ATV, while Maart and I rode in his RZR, which is a 2 seater (side by side type, not one behind the other). He had had a glass windshield and wiper put on it a little while ago, so we were stylin'!

(this is my artsy rendering using Photoshop Elements ~ cool eh!)

First time in my life I got to drive an offroad vehicle. It was a blast! I had been out with him once in June but was just a passenger that time.

(Maart and his RZR ~ a cool little 'jeep' like vehicle)

We saw deer, a couple of blue herons, lots of little birds (the swallows were out in full force devouring mosquitoes ~ yay for them!), beautiful green fields, acres of golden sunflowers, beaver dams, marshes, and babbling brooks. It was dry and dusty that first half of the trip and parts of the trail were black dirt, other parts gravel, so needless to say, we all got filthy!

(you want dirt? go ahead ~ click to make it bigger!)

We drove for close to 3 hours (yes, there were pitstops along the way for port-a-potty use, as well as the occasional cold beverage), stopped in a town for lunch and then headed back. The rain started while we were eating so the ride back was partially on gravel roads and not completely on the trails, as the others weren't prepared for wet weather, and two of the guys (silly men!) didn't even wear helmets. Besides being against the law, it also meant their heads were wet and cold in no time. Not pleasant for them.

Being the considerate guy that he is, Maart gave up his warm sheltered seat to the youngest member of the group (late teens, early 20s?) who was getting cramped hands from hanging onto the handlebars of her ATV in the cold and wet. She rode with me and I gave her my gloves to warm her hands. I also traded helmets with Maart, as mine has a full face shield and his is open faced. Since I was behind the windshield, it only made sense. Good thing my head isn't too much smaller than his! He had a pretty good red mark on his forehead from my helmet by the time we got home.

Maart and I were warm and cozy, with helmets, gloves and rain jackets. Yes, we got wet legs and feet, but being behind the windshield meant we didn't feel the cooling effects of the breeze as we drove. Not until we got back to his place and stood up did we feel the full effect of soggy clothes! Time for a hot shower to warm up after that.

And along with having fun, are the unforeseen catastrophes that go hand in hand with home ownership. In late July, I had a little family gathering at my place and Maart got to meet everyone (that lives here) plus a couple of cousins visiting from the Wet Coast. It was afternoon for the soiree and the beginnings of rain put an end to things only slightly quicker than would have happened on their own accord. We got a pretty good storm that night. The next morning, I found lots of water in my basement. A couple of days later, there was a repeat of both the rain and the wet basement. I was not a happy bunny!

Because the basement is fully insulated and drywalled, I had no idea where it was coming in. I suspected the little window in the laundry room that had been drywalled over but had the dryer, bathroom fan and central vacuum vented through it. I only noticed there was a window when looking at the outside of the house. Couldn't tell on the inside at all!

So down came the cupboard (that I didn't use) above the washer, as well as tearing out some of the drywall and insulation. But nope, the wall and the window were bone dry. So I went back outside to check around further and this is what I found:

(this is on the outside of the foundation)

Of course, this now meant I had to figure out where on the inside this crack was. So I measured from the window to the crack outside and went back inside and did the same.

The shower in the basement bathroom had to come out (which I had planned on doing at some point anyway, but not quite so soon). I took that out and Maart came over and helped me pull out the drywall and insulation, and the platform the shower had been on. So we could see this:

(see that blue bit in the middle of the bottom photo?

that is the outside world...)

The plan is to make calls tomorrow to four outfits to get quotes on the necessary repair. I have lots of questions about how this will be done, and whether or not digging on the outside is required. I noticed that my air conditioner is tipping towards the house a bit now as well (it's fairly close to the crack) so will need that shored up too.

Good thing I will be getting the money from my compensation claim for that shoulder injury from 2 1/2 years ago... Seems every time I come into some money, something happens that is expensive and needs to be fixed.

*sigh* So, on the one hand, life is wonderful! And on the other... not so much. But it all balances out, right?

Summertime Blues?

NO!

No blues here.

All is excellent, thankyouverymuch. :-)

The last of the kittens are gone, thank goodness. I had them for 8 weeks and that was more than enough. The final two were taken in to the vet's a couple of weeks ago, to be spayed and neutered at the age of 12 weeks. When the vet got a gander at little Celeste's reproductive parts, she got quite the surprise.

The little minx had been bred! Meaning, that at the extremely young age of (prior to) 12 weeks, Clooney and Celeste had been going at it behind closed doors. The vet had never ever seen kittens that young be sexually active.

I never saw or heard anything, but when I was not home, they were in their room with the door closed (to keep them contained and their food safe from Lila). So they had time on their hands... um, paws. Guess they made the most of it!

They went to a new foster home after they were fixed and I just found out today, that foster family has adopted the two of them together. How sweet is that! They are lovely little cats and Clooney was my fave. I just didn't want more cats in my house, although I was sorely tempted towards the end.

So now it is just me and my girls again. I have the front room back and can get at my computer without getting sliced and diced by squirrelly little kitty claws screaming around playing, using me for a jungle gym. Lila has emerged from hiding most of the time in the basement. Pips revels in having my lap all to herself again.

Lila has even decided that Maart is a good guy. She has come out when he's here, stood in his lap... and then is taken by surprise when she realizes that it is him petting her and not me! She's such a dipstick sometimes. Pips of course loves everyone.

Speaking of everyone, I am having a little family get together this afternoon. Maart will get to meet most of my family, including my two elderly aunts, and a couple of cousins visiting from Vancouver. When I told him I was doing this, and asked if he would come, he said sure. Last weekend, when I reminded him it was coming up and asked him if he was still game, he said (and I quote) "all inclusive or nothing". After only two months of dating me, that's pretty brave! But my family is wonderful (even my slightly loony oldest auntie) and I am sure he will be accepted in no problem.

So you will have to excuse me now, as I have some last minute tidying to do.

Did ya miss me!?!?

I'm not gone... and I'm not dead. I'm just busy and the foster kittens (still have two, the other three went to their new homes last Sunday) are still zooming around the house, although a bit bigger (they are 12 weeks old) and more coordinated now. Pips is much more accepting and will play a bit and try and groom them. Lila remains terrified and growls terribly. Although... it is quite hilarious to see a big fluffy cat leap backwards when one of the kittens jumps in her direction. She is such a twit!

Summer is here in full force. It's been hot (30C +/-) and on the (more) humid side (than I like but...), with tons of sunshine but also lots of rain. That means lots of mosquitoes, damn their pointy little faces anyway. I'm loving the hot weather though. Beats -40 C/F any day!!

Still seeing Maart. It's all great. I like him, he likes me, we get along well. So far, that is the story. It's only been eight weeks so what more can I say!!

I've missed lots, and I have no idea when I can catch up. Between work, kittens and Maart, my time is not my own. But I am happy with how things are.

On a side note, I finally got the decision from the Appeal Commission on my shoulder injury as to whether or not the workers compensation board owes me my wages. It has been 2 1/2 years in this battle, and I am so glad it is finally over. And.... I WON!!! Huge relief to know that I will be able to pay down some of the debt that I incurred through that struggle. *big happy sigh*