Meet Foster

Because sometimes life isn't crazy enough. In fact, I find that when life seems to crazy, adding a little bit more crazy to the pile seems to balance it all out perfectly.

This is Foster. He's 7 weeks old and weighs in at 17 lbs. He is a very big lump. Except when you go on curvy roads. He whines about being rolled around in the crate and his sleep disrupted. Or when you don't let him play in the pond which he discovered today. He went a little berserk - a toddler trying to demand his way is THE way in the world and not being happy when he finds out that isn't the case. Pretty much par for the course for a pup. But a VERY big lump.

Justin and I took a drive down to Kentucky this past weekend to get Foster. He had been living the life on a 100 acre farm. Mom & Pop were there. Mom (aka - Baby Doll) is a tiny 130 lb. fawn mastiff. Pop (aka - Samson, aka - Sam) is a 180 lb. apricot mastiff ~ very tall, but still small on the weight end of things.

This is Baby Doll. She's a little over 3 years old, is AKC & CKC registered, weighs 130 lbs., and seems kinda tiny for a mastiff. She earns her name well though, she was unbelievably sweet and gentle. She came right up to us and said hi, happy to meet new friends and get petted. This was her 3rd, and likely last, litter of pups.

This is Samson, aka Sam. It was harder to get a clear shot of him, as he was very excited that there were new friends to be made and played with. Mr. Imes, the gentleman we got Foster from, had pig ears in his pockets for Sam & Baby Doll. Sam could smell them. New people to meet, pigs ears to eat ... who has time to stop and pose for photos??? Sam is also 3 years old, a little younger than Baby Doll. He is CKC registered and weighs in at 180 lbs. His height was much more impressive than his weight though. As you can see in the photo, he comes up to hip-height on us. And we're both almost 6' tall.

We went down to Kentucky on Saturday, stopping in Nashville to visit a brewery and a brew pub (check out http://www.soulonebrewery.blogspot.com/ for reviews!). After checking into the hotel we headed over to see the pups. Sunday morning we went back to pay the man, get Foster & head on home. We were well prepared with a collar & tag already made (Walmart in Kentucky on a Saturday night, folks), a leash we brought down, food, toys, blankets, and etc.
It was 9 hours each way. We were prepared for a long drive home, stopping often to let the pup out to potty. Turned out the lump slept most of the way. We stopped to wake him up to potty and try to entice him to eat some. Getting home was much quicker than getting down there.

For the fun record: On the way down there on Saturday, we spent 2 hours driving through VA before we hit TN. We saw 9 cops and one 50' tall cross. Driving through TN we saw one cop as we went through Knoxville. In Kentucky, on Saturday, we saw 0 cops. Sunday morning we saw the only cop we would see in Kentucky, and he was stopped at a car wash, washing the cruiser. We DID see 2 live turtles by the side of the road though (and one big dead one). It's odd, coming from VA, when you see more turtles than cops sitting by the side of the road.

Although Whiskey & Foster got off to a little bit of a rough start (he wasn't too wild about meeting her), within an hour or so they were cool. Here they are, out walking in the yard. Whiskey turned 10 in February, is starting to show signs of dementia, and weighs about 50 lbs. Mostly this photo was taken just so we could remember that Foster was once tinier than Whiskey.

The boys weren't told that we were getting a new pup. They spent the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa while Mommy & Daddy went out of town. I wish I could've captured their faces when we walked inside with Foster in our arms. They are in love. Tristan kept saying "he's cute!" This is a sigh of relief since Tristan is often wary of new dogs.

As usual, we had spent a lot of time reading everything we could about English Mastiffs before getting the pup. It surprises me how many people have reacted with"do you know how big he'll get?!?" as if we wouldn't know that he is going to be a big dog. Yes, we know. Male Mastiffs can weigh up to 200 lbs, and it isn't shocking when they weigh more than that.
They're also VERY gentle breeds. They're known as 'Gentle Giants.' They LOVE children (and not as snacks!). They are guard dogs, but they use their sheer size as intimidation, and are more likely to block an intruder or pin them down than to bite. They rarely bark, only when they think there might be an intruder or other need to, and are actually known as being good dogs for people who live in apartments. Really people, not all big dogs are CUJO.

Also for the record, for anyone curious, just how did we come up with the name "Foster"? We have Whiskey, named not for the drink but for the song 'Whiskey in the Jar'; and we had Jomo, named 'Jomo Lager' after the beer from Starr Hill Brewery in VA. So why "Foster"?? Couple reasons.
1) Bud Foster. -- We're big Hokie fans here. Bud Foster is the defensive coordinator for Virginia Tech. Our defense tends to kick ass. Bud Foster is the man.
2) English Mastiff are good guard dogs, making them good defense. Bud Foster = Good Defense. English Mastiff = Good Defense.
3) Foster is "Australian for BEER." -- Ok, I'm not really a fan of the beer, but it is a beer. And yea, so is Bud. (At least in theory -- please remember we are beer snobs and I wouldn't drink Budweiser if you paid me).
So there ya go. Foster it is. He will be in need of Hokie duds by the time football season rolls around. The Campus Emporium welcomes you bringing your dog in there to try on things, and since I didn't see a "MASTIFF" size in their selection, I think we'll have to do that.

If you'd like to see more photos from our trip to Kentucky, please click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/funkymamataney/sets/72157624050524157/

The Bitch Has An Idea

One thing I get a little obsessive about (I know, I know, just one thing? ha!) is decorating magazines and crap like that. Ok, most people don't likely phrase an obsession "crap like that" but it's me we're talking about so you are not shocked.

I was reading on Natural Home about creating an outdoor oasis. Don't you just love that idea? Doesn't it immediately conjure up wonderful images? Hot tubs, sparkling pools, gorgeous tile work, natural stone that is also a cool waterfall, perfect plants, lounges, throw pillows, and of course the cute couple we think we are in our heads, complete with 6 pack abs (for both of us), bikini-hot bod for me, and sexy accent for him.

........... mmmmmmmm ...........

What was I talking about?

Oh yea. So, I was reading this and looking at all the really neat things they've done around the country. All green of course. All fabulous. All created via hiring an architect.

Well, fucking DUH!!! Of course we could ALL have an outdoor oasis if we wanted to shell out the insane amount of money it would cost to hire an architect to magically turn our ideas into his dream into our reality.
Didn't I already put a toe into this pool once? Isn't that when Structures in Roanoke was willing to gut my kitchen for nearly 10 times the price of my current contractor?? And that was without the ideas. Sorry to be crass, but my sphincter begins to hurt when I think about how much more it would've cost to get the ultra-groovy designer with ideas!

And that is what really pisses me off about these magazines. If someone did it themselves it is likely because they already ARE architects, or designers, or master gardeners, or fucking someone who is.
When is there an article centered around 'The bitch had an idea.'??? Maybe that wouldn't sell. Maybe we need pearls and heels and perfectly coiffed hair. But then would that be real? Seriously .. who in their right minds has an ALL WHITE kitchen, and yes bleached wood does count here, when they have 5 boys?? That snazzy little alcove for sports equipment, perfectly color-coded and labeled is such utter bullshit.

It just ain't real. And obviously I am even less perky and rainbow-kitty-fluff than usual today. Today I was trying to navigate through what was once our dining room & is now a cluttered mess and bumped into a chair. Wouldn't be bad except the chair was holding our antique, cast iron, Lomax lamp. All I heard was the shattering of glass.
It was supposed to have been hung back up on Monday, but the fucking electrician didn't show. Too busy at another job. So it was supposed to be done on Tuesday. Then Wednesday. By the time he got his ass over here on Thursday there were other things he HAD to work on.
So yea, my butt bumped the chair & caused it to fall, but his ass should've had it hung up properly several times over this week. (By the way, in case you're interested in who NOT to call, here is the guy's name -- RON STEVENS. He works in the Salem/Roanoke VA area. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY!)

To replace the entire lamp with a replica would cost $400 + shipping. To get just the glass parts would be closer to $200 + shipping.
But now I am thinking do I want to replace it? Is this a sign to go in a different direction? I've been looking at some Mexican Star Lights and I really like them. I've always been drawn to lighting like that, so maybe this is a sign?
And then we're (because I've talked with Justin about this) thinking: do we hang it there though, or do we want to do this somewhere else??

And this is what brings me back to being irked at these stupid magazines. These magazines that make it look so fucking easy, but if you're actually thinking for yourself and making the decisions for yourself, it is anything but.

Maybe I'll start my own damn magazine. I'll call it "The Bitch Has An Idea Y'all"

My boys

Some days you're just really proud to be a parent. Too many days are filled with anxiety, most of it self-induced. Fears that you're not doing whatever you ought to be doing to ensure that your child/children will be all that you hope for them.
So, indulge me if you will in this moment of bragging. Here are some recent things that have made me sigh with relief and know that life is good.

*This was Shannon's first official year of homeschool, and boy did we take the unschooling route. Some days he did lessons out of workbooks, but mostly he did his own thing. And how did that go??


1) He can read surprisingly well (no more sneaking stuff past him with ease). Without any days spent studying in a classroom, without any memorization, the bugger can read. He's also doing pretty darn good when it comes to spelling and writing.
2) He's learning bits of both Spanish & Russian. Spanish from PBS shows and all other media that is shoving Spanish down our throats. Russian because I'm sick of having Spanish shoved down our throats. Neither he or Tristan say the following words in English: Please, Thank You, You're Welcome, or Excuse Me.
3) He's learning responsibility. He now feeds & gives water to the rabbit. He walks Foster on a leash when he needs to go out. We've bought him some eco-friendly cleaning cloths so he can clean the windows as he sees fit. He dust-busts.



There are just those moments when you're really proud with the way your kids are turning out. Like, when we were at the beach and Shannon was playing with another kid in the sand. Shannon's "check this out" moment was showing the other kid 'Tree Pose' in yoga.

Or, when people ask them who their favorite cartoon character is and rattle off several currently popular ones, my kids stare back at them with a blank expression. They have no clue who most of those characters are. The cartoons they watch are older than I am. (Though they do get to see a few movies on DVD here and there)

Or, when one of them gets all bent out of shape because a light got left on and electricity is being wasted. Or they check the bottoms of plastic containers to see if they can be recycled. AND they both demand to go to the recycling center & help toss stuff in the bins!!!

They're both learning to swim without any real formal teaching. We may enroll Shannon in a class at the Y, but we may not. I haven't decided yet. Tristan is finally willing (though not every time) to put his head under water, that's a huge step for him.



They're both kind to other kids. They don't mock them, they don't make fun. They don't try to exclude anyone (except maybe each other). They think their friends can and are people of any age. They are just as comfortable talking to adults as they are kids.



They are open and honest. Shannon will bust your balls in two seconds with his honesty. I've come to admire that, though we're also having to teach him to not always do so. Like at the restaurant when the food is taking too long.


Also, in a stroke of semi-geniusness, I've gotten them trained to an alarm. I set two during the day. One goes off at 10:45 am and it means it is time to clean up toys for lunch (yea, they eat an early lunch). The other is for 5:21 pm. Justin gets home between 5:21 & 5:30. That alarm means Daddy is about home & it is time to clean up for dinner.

When they here the alarm they both know to immediately stop what they're doing and begin cleaning up. AND THEY DO!! Even when we were at the beach! Actually, even when we were in the car they knew what it meant and didn't question it. They just pointed out that their toys were already packed away, so the work was already done!



These are my boys. And I couldn't be more in love with them or more proud of them.

Yea ...

I was trying to think of a good title for this one and couldn't. I did think of a good photo for it, but you'll be grateful I spared you ---- don't worry, that will make sense in just a minute.

So we all know we're currently living in absolute "where the hell is ___" renovation clutter. Another fact of renovation clutter: it is harder to walk through your house in the dark without walking into things & cussing loudly. Much Harder. And then your spouse tries to say you've really just had too much to drink, but you're pretty certain you don't actually own a shop-vac, so how could you expect one to be sitting in the middle of the hallway (ok, maybe I wasn't walking SO straight a line officer)?

We also all know I am not your fluffy-kitty-fuzzy-rainbow-butterfly kinda gal. I think Justin smells the best when he smells of burning wood (tsk - you perverts, not that kind of burning wood!! bbq, campfires, THAT type!) or garlic. Seriously, he needn't buy cologne (which is good since he doesn't), he just has to rub garlic all over himself.
I also find humor in being gross. At least sometimes. Yes, farts are funny. Except when they're not. Other than that, they're funny.

Trust me this is all leading somewhere. And it may not be anywhere you want to see/read so consider yourself forewarned. But if you've read this blog before you're already pretty damn demented.

SO -- I had minor mouth surgery about 2 weeks ago. Quick recap - I had to have my tongue clipped when I was very little because it was connected too close up. Roughly 18 years later I had my tongue pierced. Fast forward another 14 years & there is now a receded cleft of sorts behind my two front lower teeth caused in part by the tongue ring and in part because there was little there to protect the area in the first place. So .. mouth surgery it was.
They used cadaver tissue. Have I told you all this? I think I have. Anyway, Frankenstein jokes abound. Grossing Justin out has been the highlight of this whole damn experience. I now offer to do all the things husbands want their wives to do .... ok ... well, ONE of the things. His look of horror and disgust leaves me rolling on the floor laughing. I think I may be off the hook for that for a WHILE.

But the thing is, the tissue is getting loose. I can fold it over. It is annoying as hell. I am very OCD. It is also starting to smell. Like, 'Night of the Living Dead' rotting flesh smell. At first it was minor, now it is full blown B horror movie smell. I am seeing the doc today (apparently this is normal). The only thing that has gotten me through to this part is 1) the smell makes my wait in lines a LOT shorter. And 2) grossing Justin out with endless details and views.

Which brings me almost to a point of this rambling little whatever. ??

So I get out of the shower the other morning and am air-drying (better for the skin!) in my bedroom. I spot the cell phone. Evil thoughts go racing through my head. I hold up the camera part of it trying to get photos. NO .. NOT NUDIE photos!!! Photos of my Frankenstein Rotting Zombie Mouth. ~ Seriously, you guys are perverts!
Here I am, trying to figure out how to take a perfectly disgusting picture to email to Justin at work and really mess with him. And I hear a "Hello..." ----- it was the contractor. (PS -- This is the photo that you're now very glad I didn't post)

Normally the kids are great warning bells when someone comes over. The day I'm sitting naked on my bed holding a camera at my mouth, they're quiet and have no intention of letting me know someone is here.

I quickly race into the 1/2 bath in our bedroom. He says "sorry" though I am not sure he saw me at all. At least I hope not. I am not sure really how to explain any of what he might have seen. I reach an arm around, slam the bedroom door shut and quickly get dressed. He was there to tell me he wouldn't actually be working in the house that day. Phone calls are seemingly impossible. Somewhere Karma is rolling on the floor --- I really think Justin has some mind control to keep me in my place when it comes to stuff like that.

There is my story. There is my weirdness. Most women like fuzzy rainbows and are more interested in sending sexy photos. I nearly get busted by the contractor trying to send pictures of the Zombie grossness that is my mouth to my husband. *C'est La Vie*

The Renovation Continues

It has been a long day. Actually, given the amount of days since my last post, it has been a series of long days. Clutter everywhere, piles that make me feel like I should be on the show "Hoarders," and a general sense of despair. The kids went with their grandparents this afternoon & I have spent the majority of the day asleep.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here are some photos for now.

~ This is where the old shower stall was in the old back bathroom. I like how the floor looks like a weird tile pattern (it's really rotted wood)~

We've gotten lots of flack for getting rid of the bathroom since it knocks us down to one full bath & one 1/2 bath. But most people didn't even know the thing was there. It felt like going outside to go to the bathroom due to it's placement in the house.

~New Laundry Room!~

The floor is now real tile. The washing machine (on the left in the photo) is where the shower was. I will have better photos soon. The wall was fixed up, shelves have been added, and all my guys (aka - Justin, Shannon, & Tristan) took turns painting the room. I can't begin to express the joy I feel in having a laundry room!!

~The 1/2 bath in our room~

We decided to have the flooring redone in the 1/2 bath in our bedroom. Turned out that the toilet had started leaking, which is why you can see wet wood in the above photo. We ended up getting a new, efficient toilet that will more than pay for itself very quickly. We also got the "comfort height" style which is about an inch taller. Kinda snazzy, probably a perk later on.
The 1/2 bath had some REALLY cool flooring in it. I think I will have to dedicate an entire blog or something to it. Maybe I just spent too many drunk nights staring at it, but I swear Jim Henson (or whoever helped design the goblins in 'Labryinth') designed this floor. Funky little faces EVERYWHERE. I really kinda miss the old flooring, but it was time.

~The new 1/2 bath!~

Now with a new toilet and tile flooring. We also decided to go ahead and give the gal a new coat of paint. Haven't gotten to painting the trim yet, but I do have the paint (it's hiding behind the toilet if you look carefully). The trim work in the laundry room & 1/2 bath aren't done yet, but we're getting there.

~Oh Yea, there it is!~

No before photo, that was a couple of blogs ago -- aren't you following this??

So the new ceiling is almost completely in. The new lights are a couple of days behind on getting put in. They SHOULD go in tomorrow. But I love, love, LOVE the ceiling so far!! We chose the color Sedona Red for the stain, but, as you can tell it turned out a very Hokie Maroon color. What can I say .. we're Hokies!

The old floating laminate tile flooring came out today, along with the older vinyl flooring that was underneath that. The new stove is in, but is sitting in our front room, along with the vent for it and the new lighting & fans for the back hallway. And tomorrow promises to be a very full day with hopefully lots of advances. Wish me luck, or at least a sound night's sleep.

One of those days

A photo can't quite capture it properly. But it was one of those days. One of those 'no matter how hard you try, you still self-destruct' days.

I had minor mouth surgery last Tuesday. I had woken up not feeling quite well, noticing the lymph node on the left side of my neck to be swollen and my stomach was upset. To be honest, I haven't been well since Jomo's death. Anyway, the surgery was slightly better than having a cavity filled, if only because there was no sound of a drill to dry and drone out. Still not fun, but "better than getting a cavity" filled has to count for something, right? Plus, I since I was having a graft done, the doc used cadaver jokes. FRANKENSTEIN jokes will forever be funny. A mouth full of ... well, whatever they put on top of the graft and I was still making Dr. Frankenstein cracks to the doc!

It's gone downhill from there.

Within a day or so I lost my voice. Normally, people who have to live with me would count my silence as a blessing, but Justin knows better. Tuesday evening when I didn't think I could talk and remarked how happy he would be about that, he noted that it would STILL fail to shut me up. And he was right. Mouth surgery .. still talking. Lost my voice .. still talking.

I know, I know .. but it's Saturday now. Almost Sunday. Why the hell am I talking about earlier this week & complaining about one of those days?? It's called setting the mood .. so go away if you don't like it.
I didn't mean that. Just shut yer trap and read, ok?

All week I've been a little down. Lack of voice, neck hurting from swollen lymph node, gnarly hacking cough. Oh yea .. I'm bringing sexy back muthafucka!!

Southwest VA has also been hotter than usual. And the hole in the ceiling of our kitchen is keeping the kitchen about 20 degrees hotter by mid-day, than the rest of the house. Today was no exception.

I decided to try and doll it up (a sure sign of doom I'm learning) today. My favorite long skirt, a cute green tee. Left my hair down for a while because it was looking cute. Sacrificing comfort for looking cute is a sure sign of femininity, right??? (Another sure sign of impending doom when I'm trying that avenue).

We ran by the Co-op, I didn't over spend. So far so good, and I'm still looking relatively cute. Or at least as cute as I can tell from the pollen-covered reflection of my car window.
Off to a friend's Plant Sale/Yard Sale. It was insanely cool and hip, just like she is. I'm envious. I spent more money than I ever had at a yard sale, but walked away with a good amount of goodies.
Then to Wine Gourmet so Justin could spend the gift card he got for his birthday. Got a call while I was there from Mom. My 91 year old grandfather had been in the hospital and was trying to reach me & her. Hung up near tears, wanting to run. Got snappy with Justin for taking to long to browse over beers when I thought Dandaddy needed me. Got snappy with the kids for being kids around LOTS of glass bottles. Wanted to leave NOW. --- Turns out one of Dandaddy's friends had to go to the ER. Dandaddy followed him in the guy's car & needed a ride home, hence all the phone calls. Here's his idea of a message (to my mom): Marje, I'm in the hospital with Harry. I'll try to call Carrie. *CLICK* --- Thanks Dandaddy for the heart-attack. Glad you're ok. Gonna shoot you as soon as I recover from this nervous breakdown.

We get home, I try laying down, feeling awful on many different levels. All ideas of cuteness are lost and I am not feeling so cute anymore. Quite the opposite.
Kids have haircuts this afternoon. Whole family arrives for it -- it's a shocking event when my kids get haircuts. Grandma and Grandpa take the kids out for icees (or something like that) after the photos and Justin & I run by Lowe's for a looksy for laundry room storage.
Get home, still just wanting to lay down.

Mom & Barry arrive. I get up and show her all the work that's been going on. We're looking at the "new" laundry room and I manage to run my arm into the handle of the ice maker in the back hallway. Lots of cussing. I tell Mom what a bad day I'm having, how I just don't feel good. She reaches her arm out to hug me and says "I know, I can tell you're feeling ugly." -- UGLY!! She immediately retracted it. She meant to say bad. I'm laughing -- there is just nothing to make a gal feel better like saying THAT. ----- PERFECT.

They leave, I go back to bed. Justin feeds the kids, I get up before they go to bed. He gets drive-thru for us. I feel like crud, but eat it anyway. I end up accidentally biting the hell out of my tongue .. it's bleeding. Go figure. My fish sandwich oozes a big glob of tartar sauce onto my skirt. Oh well ... any ideas of cuteness have long since vanished.

Now I'm drinking. And the stupid rum has turned to slush. At least I didn't spill it all over myself. It DID drip condensation all over me. Need to get a proper Tervis Tumbler for Summer. But I didn't spill it on me. Perhaps there is SOME hope.

Remodeling - Plumbing

~Oh yea, we got pipes.~

Today, May 13th, we had our plumber over. We have the best plumber in the WORLD and, even better, he came with the house!! (You can also read that as "this is the plumber Mom has used for years and so he knows the house better than anyone else"). Who is this Mr. Fantastico Plumber?? J.D. Williams!

J.D. came over to take out all the old plumbing for the "back bathroom" and put plumbing in for the washer.
The back bathroom is truly one of the dumbest rooms I've ever seen (no offense Mom). To get to it you had to walk into the back hall, which normally meant passing by several large & often muddy-pawed dogs. Since we've moved in, the door from the back hall to outside has often been left open, making the back hallway more of an open-aired porch than anything else. Making it all the more like going outside to go to the bathroom. And this town just ain't so fond of out-houses. No matter how much it might help the value of the house. So .. it is becoming a laundry room.

The pipes went in without problems, indeed we found out it was rather well insulated, though J.D. went ahead and insulated the pipes just in case. One really cool thing we did that was slightly out-of-the-norm?? We had J.D. make sure the pipes, and more importantly, valves for the water would sit above the washer. We had him put in ball-valves on the pipes, making it VERY easy to switch the water on & off. But WHY??

Several years ago my Uncle and Aunt came home to find that a hose on their washing machine had burst. The laundry room was on the main floor, behind the kitchen. By the time they got home the water had flooded out to the living room. That water ruined floors & rugs and many other things. The wall boards began absorbing the water. 3' up the wall!! Yea, THREE FRIGGIN' FEET UP!!! All gone, had to be replaced. But, the damage didn't stop there. There were exterior walls where this damage happened, meaning there was insulation, and by the time they were able to fix it, mold & mildew had taken hold. They never really, fully fixed the house back to how it had been.
Ever since then my mother has always turned off the washer between uses. My grandfather does this as well. When I told J.D. about this he regaled me with more horror stories of flooded dwellings and insane damages.
SO -- I figure if I can see the pipes, if I have to look at the handles on top of the pipes everyday, then MAYBE I might get off my lazy butt and take the two damn seconds it takes to turn off the water. Two seconds. Could save us thousands of dollars. Um .. yea .. I'm sold.

Now we're just waiting for tomorrow when the new walls are supposed to go up. When Harmon "muds the walls", making them ready to be pretty again. Then, this weekend, we'll paint the room ourselves. Since my washer is now completely unusable, I will be VERY happy when it is hooked back up!!

While J.D. was here I asked him to look at the 1/2 bathroom floor. Some weird brown liquid has seemingly been coming up through the floor lately. We're going to tile that room, but wtf??? Well, apparently, that old toilet and it's old gaskets (or whatever) are .. well, old. It is cheaper and more efficient to get a new toilet ... though we have to cough up the $$ for the toilet, but it should only cost us about $40 more than fixing the old one. So .. apparently we're getting a new toilet now too. Luckily the leak on the old one is new, new enough that it hasn't been able to cause damage to the flooring.

I am grateful that J.D. was here today. It was nice to have him. I've really liked Harmon and his guys, but it was nice to have someone here today that I know without a shadow of a doubt I can trust. It was reassuring and comforting.
Remodeling and renovations are amazingly stressful. It was nice to have someone familiar here to let us know we're doing good.

Today, I am thankful for J.D. Williams.

Remodeling - the work begins!!

After a couple delays, the work on the house finally started on May 6th. May 5th they brought stuff over & May 6th they got to work. That day they took the chimney down off the roof. Friday he started working on taking down the chimney inside the house.


~Before the chimney came down. You can see sheets covering surfaces from the soon-to-come, massive invasion of dust.~




~ I got the first swing with the sledgehammer. This was always something I've wanted to do and given Jomo's death & an asshole comparing us to Micheal Vick because we put Jomo down, the sledgehammer proved VERY therapeutic!~


~The chimney is 1/2 way down now. David Harmon has a guy named Josh working for him. I absolutely adore Josh and think he is a fantastic worker!! Watching him take the bricks apart was interesting. He didn't need anything other than his hands, as the mortar was that old and crumbly.~


~Here Josh is showing me how clogged the chimney was. The chimney has been used to vent gasses from the boiler heater. We had thought there was a metal flue inside, there wasn't. Where Josh is showing with his hands is where it is clogged up from him taking it down. Everything below his hands is STILL clogged up (and the chimney goes all the way down to the basement) and WAS clogged up before he got started. It is scary to think the gasses have had to try and go around all that crap. I will be very happy when they install a new metal flue~

~The chimney is down! This is before Josh cleaned up, which he did a FANTASTIC job of!! Major points there!~

~Sorry for the cellphone photo. Here the chimney is down, the old wall is down, and the bottom 1/2 has new drywall up. This photo was taken May 10th. We've been delayed on finishing the drywall due to rain.~

Along with the work in the kitchen they've also started on the old back bathroom that we were using as a pantry. Everything bathroom related has come out, including the flooring we had put in. We're waiting for our fabulous plumber to come by this evening so that the washer & dryer can be moved into the new "laundry room." Yesterday Josh cut the doorway to a much larger size so that all would fit through there. Photos will come soon, I promise.

So -- what are my thoughts about all this renovation?? How are we liking it so far?? In no particular order, here are my thoughts:

1) "Contractor Time." It has been difficult for me to get used to this. I am usually a very big stickler for times and schedules. Contractors are known for running on time schedules of their own, so I can't really take points off of Harmon for doing so as well, any contractor would likely be the same. But it is still something I'm having a little trouble with just because that's me.
Also, some days work begins around 9am and then they're done for the day by 2pm-ish. This is something that is odd to me, just because we're used to typical work day hours. Again, perhaps that is just the way things are, I don't know. I'm trying to just focus on being happy about work being done.

2) Cleaning up & stuff like that has really gained them points. They've been wonderful about that. They're really great about trying to stay out of our way - not that we had an issue about that, it's more something their trying to be really conscientious of & we appreciate that.

3) The Workers. Harmon has had a couple different guys in here so far and we've liked them all. Josh is who has been here the most and we've been REALLY pleased by him.

4) The Work. Well, so far, everything is been in a taking down & taking out stage. That makes it kinda hard to rave (or complain) about the work. They've done a great job taking things out, haven't caused more damage or anything like that, so I would say that so far, we're happy with it all.

All in all, it's a positive experience so far. I wasn't happy about the delays, but there was nothing I could do about it either & we're trying to be understanding that things happen. We aren't the only people out there in this world. The weird work hours are something else we're trying to get used to. But it could be a lot worse, and we know that, so we're happy with everything so far.

A follow-up thought: I forgot to mention that a lot of the woodwork is being done off site. The wooden tongue & groove ceiling has been stained at his shop, saving us the hassle of the fumes and probably working better for them as well. Same with the wooden cabinets. This might (and likely does - at least hopefully does) account for "afternoons off." It is hard to remember that they could be working very hard on our stuff but that we just might not be seeing it. Since everything else so far has been positive, I'm going to go with this on this one too.

Heartbreak

Today is full of sadness, tears, and heartache. We had to put Jomo down this morning. It was unexpected and there is a gaping hole in our lives that simply can not be replaced.

You may know Jomo from previous posts such as 'Bark, Growl, Runaway' or 'The Fridge of Death' (which was the previous blog).
He was our 2 year old American Bulldog/Bandogge Mastiff mix. He was beautiful. He was the baby. He was scared of EVERYTHING. And that was his undoing.

We got Jomo when he was 8 weeks old, and have always treated him right. Still, he was always scared of everything. We did everything we could to try to assuage his fears, but to no avail. He would get used to people if they made enough visits to the house, but still he was scared of everything. Hence the two other blogs.

Jomo was close to 80 pounds, was slightly on the skinny side, and was pure muscle. He followed me around, wrapping himself under whatever chair I might be sitting in, farting, snoring, and just wanting to be loved.
But lately, something was off. We don't know what. The last two weeks he just wasn't himself. He wasn't as playful, he was more inclined to just lay around. He was more aggressive with Whiskey, snapping at her if he thought she was near food.
Last night, Shannon was in front of him and was trying to love on him. I told Shannon to get out of his face and apparently just in time. Jomo snapped at him, without warning, without a growl or anything. It was a nip of a snap, it didn't touch Shannon at all, but if it had it would've gotten him between the eyes, on his nose, and his mouth. Dead center on his face.
He had nipped at Shannon once before, just barely scratching his face. That week Shannon had been nipped at by both dogs. Boys ages 5-9 are several times more likely than any other age group to get bitten, and so we worked hard to try and teach Shannon better behavior around dogs. But there aren't many second chances given, we can't risk the welfare of our children and we won't keep a dog that bites.

So, our initial reaction after last night's nip attempt was that he had to go. We talked to people who could help us, but we worried about Jomo still. He was scared of everyone, so anyone who took him he would be terrified of. To bounce him around would be to undo him. We looked into what could we do to rehabilitate him. This morning I called the vet and made and appointment for the first appointment they had.

I had a doctor's appointment of my own so I had to meet Justin, the boys, and Jomo at the vet. Even getting him into the car was an awful experience for both Justin and Jomo because the contractor was in the driveway.
When I walked into the vet room Jomo was in a muzzle. The vet had tried without one and not felt comfortable around Jomo, not sure he wouldn't bite. Our vet is one of, if not the best vet in Salem. I knew what he was going to say as soon as I stepped into the room saw Jomo, and saw the vet's face.

He said that Jomo had a mild fever. That he could run tests but with a dog that young he doubted he would find anything. That some dogs are just anxious dogs and while some grow out of it, some just get worse as they get older. That anything else we could try would be like pouring gasoline on a fire.

So, Justin and the boys said there goodbyes to sweet Jomo. We told the boys he was sick and wasn't capable of getting any better. Justin took them home and I stayed with Jomo.
The vet came in and gave him a tranquilizer to put him under. He said after he gave it to him that Jomo wouldn't know anything that went on. As he got sleepy I petted him and loved on him, removing the muzzle and telling him what a good dog he was. Every time I told him I loved him and that he was "the baby" he would lick his nose. I petted him till he was asleep and then as they shaved a small patch on his leg and gave him the final shot. I kept telling him what a good dog he had been, how sorry I was, and how much we all loved him as he drifted off.
I stayed in there with him for a bit, then went back up front to pay. I paid but still couldn't bring myself to leave and had to go back in and talk to him some more. It was with great difficulty that I pulled myself away, knowing he was gone.

They are taking care of his body. Simple logistics of his size made it unrealistic to bring him home. I brought home his collar and leash though. His beloved shirt is still here. I haven't brought myself to look at it just yet, but I have decided to bury it along with his collar.

Goodbye sweet Jomo. You were the baby. We loved you so much and we are so grateful to have had you in our lives these past two years. You will be forever missed.