This house is old. Really old. And there hasn't been regular maintenance done in quite some time, as you can see. In addition to ridding the basement of fleas, I am cleaning, clearing, and freshening the place up with a coat of paint. I'm not sure what kind of paint was on this wall before, but it's soaking the primer (the white paint) up like a sponge. It's going to look so much better when it's done! I'm trying to wrap this up before I head to Washington, DC next week for my talk at the International Conference on Positive Aging. I'm getting really excited for that!
I went downstairs and vacuumed the basement today and took the bag out behind to barn to dispose of it. When I peeked inside, I saw NO live fleas!!! Monday will be a week since they sprayed so I'll check again then. If there is even ONE live flea, they're coming back out to spray! OMGosh! What an ordeal!
That is me on my first birthday. Grandma called me "Pet". I think she called all little ones "Pet", but I'm going to pretend it was just for me. I'm painting the living room while I wait for the toxic waste to nuke the fleas. It may be working. Of course, I'm probably going to grow a third arm out of my forehead!
I want to tell you how God works in my life. I've mentioned in some of my posts that I was sexually abused as a child. The first time was the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade at the hands of an older neighbor boy. I estimate he was in high school, but I don't know that for certain. I do know that I was playing under the big tree with my little friend. She is about four and a half years younger than me so I assume she was four or five years old when this incident happened.
One of the greatest things about spending so much time in West Virginia has be connecting and reconnecting with my high school friends...most of whom still live here. West Virginia is part of who we are. You can go away, but more than likely, you'll be back.
This is my favorite picture from Saturday night. My partner in crime...Diane. We didn't know each other in high school, but connected through Facebook. She's the funniest woman I've ever met and I adore her. We travel to the big city of Charleston to attend live concerts at Mountain Stage. We gab and solve the world's problems and laugh till we cry. She's a hoot and a half, this one!
Just a quick note as I finish up lunch on Sunday afternoon and head to the country. Trying to let some of the major heat of the day pass by before I go out and don my hazmat suit and tackle the basement. I went by my friend's house and picked up my paint so I can throw a quick coat on the walls to freshen up the place after the fumigation tomorrow. Please pray the flea infestation is eradicated and the house will be rendered livable yet again. Also, for a break in this dreadful heat! Not looking forward to the garb I need to wear when tackling this job!
One second and forty-five years. It only took one second to drop the cream pitcher that broke this plate. It's irreplaceable, really. But I'll tell you about that in a minute. First, I want to tell you about how mending can take forty-five years to complete.
When I was a young girl, I was already broken in many ways before I got to high school. Childhood sexual abuse and an alcoholic father took a toll on me long before I graced the halls of Parkersburg High School. Come to find out, I wasn't alone. The rigors of adolescence plays havoc with our world view. At least it did with mine. I was inwardly quite shy and insecure. There were perceived slights, teasing, bullying...few of us escaped that brand of pain.
A friend wore this button at our class reunion last night. We're at that age where we kinda know the faces but coming up with names is getting harder. There were many classmates there for the first time. There are too many gone for good. We had a huge class...741 I believe. We've lost about 10%. I had so many delightful conversations. I had no idea how many of my classmates read Marshmallow Ranch. It was touching to hear one tell another. I'm so humbled. And I'm so happy I do what I'm doing. I came home with a great big smile. Looking for more of the same tomorrow!
You guessed it...I used "The Enforcer" on my unwelcome house guests yesterday. It's one step shy of napalm! I sprayed every floor around the periphery then in the center. I kept it closed up overnight. I think I got what few there were in the bathroom from where I danced like a ninja when I found my legs black with the little suckers. Then I went down in the basement for the ultimate test and...those bad boys were STILL doing the Macarena down there. I think I may have decreased the numbers...slightly. That does it...time to call in the pros!!!
We all scream for ice cream!!! Ok, it's 92 degrees as I write this on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30. I'm sitting out in the McDonald's parking lot, eating an ice cream cone. Things are desperate! As I told you, Tuesday I set off flea bombs in the basement and the bathroom out at the farm. I kept the house shut up tighter than a drum for six hours...three times what was recommended. I went in around 8:00pm and opened the windows and started the fans running to clear out the toxic waste cloud.
