Remember me? (update: more bathroom news)

[Marigold2]

Dearest Kristen I am sending you the very best wishes. You give so much joy to everyone with your pictures, may the joy come back to you 10 fold.

[Kirsten]

Thanks everyone! Today is another bad day where I'm feeling kind of strange, can't even put it in words. Wonder if this is a menopause thing... I'm feeling like a stranger in my own home, probably because I WILL be a stranger here for the next week, with the workers around. I hate not to have any privacy!

I spoke to my landlord about the mold, but she doesn't want to think about it. She's an old lady, and she doesn't want to be bothered with these things. Guess there's no chance she would pay for such a test (re. the black mold), and since I figure these tests are expensive, I cannot pay it myself. And if it was really black mold, they would have to remove the entire outer wall and the ceiling, and that way, I would have to move out. I bought a spray to remove the mold, of course it doesn't disappear entirely, but maybe it helps a bit...

Re. these lamps... I just got one from my neighbors which I'm currently testing, maybe I can buy it from her. Don't know why I cannot stand the darkness lately! I always liked the dark season! Maybe another menopause thing.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kirsten, I'm sorry to hear that you're not doing or feeling well these days. I hope that you'll start feeling better and that your bathroom remodeling goes well. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent your way.

[phesina]

Dear Kirsten, I'm so sorry you are feeling so bad, both physically and emotionally. And I'm so sorry your friends are not closer. How hard to go through everything you are going through now by yourself.

My kitties and I are all sending our love and good wishes and warm thoughts. So are all your Pet Talk friends. And we are just a few keystrokes away.

You will have a nice new shiny bathroom soon! And Luna and Lily are there to look after you and cheer you up. I hope the new lamp will help, too. I've heard great things about those lights.

Love, {{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}, and ~~~~~PURRS~~~~~,
Pat, Sydney, Poppy, Elmer, Bob, and Sparkler

[Laura's Babies]

Sorry to hear all this Kirsten. I know if I didn't have Caramella, I would probably be deeply depressed from missing so much work. She has been a lifesaver for me during this time! The last thing I ever thought I needed or wanted was a bottle baby but now I know I would have never made it through all this without the distraction she has been.

Life has a way of throwing curves into our life that we never expected without a thought to what we had planned but I look around and see so many with a lot more problems that I have and see how lucky I am....

Hang in there!

[dukedogsmom]

Sorry you're so lonely, don't forget you still have that good friend,,,your camera....those pictures you post are just awesome. Some magazine or art gallery will pick up on them if you're persistent.

Great point! I know how much better I feel after having been out taking photos. I could have had the most stressful night but its all forgotten after doing something I'm so passionate about. We'd love to see more of yours. I remember your beautiful photos and how you added some Photoshop things to them. I hope you can get to feeling better soon. Wish we could do more for you. I'd love to make you a card if you'd like. Just PM me with your info.

[anna_66]

Kirsten I'm very sorry you've been so down in the dumps. I know I've seen how your hating the darkness here lately on FB. I like dark dreary days, but not when everyone of them is like that! Here in Ohio, we've had weeks of dreariness, so I understand the feeling.
Do you have tanning beds over there? Sometimes when I'm feeling like that I go and take a tan. Just seems to make me feel a little better (and warmer!)

I'm glad that you don't have to pay for all this work to be done yourself, that's a plus. Just getting rid of that old tile and seeing it all new will improve your spirit, if only a bit.

I like every one's idea of selling your artwork. It's definitely worth a try!

Big (((HUGS)))!!!

[Kirsten]

The work in my bathroom has just started half an hour ago. Right now, the old constructions are being teared down, so there's some noise. I also figure that there's a lot of mold in the air right now, since the wooden construction on which the tub was set up is soaked with it.

I'm in the bedroom with Luna and Lily, and they don't like it at all. While Luna is inquisitive and would love to get out and have a look, Lily is hiding. She's afraid of all the noise, and very nervous.

Anna, we do have tanning beds here, but I don't like how they make your skin look. Besides, Hashimoto patients shouldn't use them, as far as I know. I'd rather use my daylight lamp, which has the same effect, but without UV rays.

Re. selling artwork... it's not as easy as it seems; I was never lucky when I tried that.


BTW, this is what my old bathroom was looking like. You can see were I removed the tiles from the tub, after the mushrooms grew last summer. You can also see how ugly these old tiles are. I'm actually glad to get rid of them!




Lily yesterday in the empty bathroom:

[Kirsten]

As the work progressed today, I got some very bad news. Parts of the outer wall are completely rotten and need to be replaced. Right now, I'm waiting for the carpenter to take a look. I was told that it would take two weeks until all this is done...

I'm feeling ill and nauseous right now, I'm very exhausted, and this is only day #1!

Luna and Lily are great; so far, they accepted all the restrictions without complaining. My brave little girls!

[jennielynn1970]

Kirsten, about the lights for SAD(Seasonal Affective Disorder), do you have one of them? I have one and it helps tremendously. I also just got a sunrise alarm clock. It has a light that is on a dimmer/brightener so that the "sun" slowly rises and I wake up slowly, but can bask in that glow of the special light. Mine is by a company called Biobrite. Maybe you want to check out one of these?? I can also go to sleep by it doing a "sunset" setting as well. It's really nice.

[gini]

Kirsten, how I hope that you can weather the next two weeks along with the cats - and then really get to enjoy the new bathroom. Finding that the wall is rotten may be a good thing because they will have to repair everything and remove the mold.

I will say a prayer for you especially that you will soon feel better.

[Karen]

At least the work has begun, and that's one day closer to the problem being over! It may be that getting rid of the rotten wall will help you feel better physically, all that moisture can lead to unhealthy air!

[wombat2u2004]

Hang in there mate
And make sure the tilers use anti-mould grout.

[Laura's Babies]

I have always found that Rule #1 is always NOTHING is as easy as it seems. #2- If anything can go wrong, it WILL!

I expect this sort of thing to happen when I try to do anything. Only once and awhile, things go as they are suppose to and that is always a pleasant surprise but I expect things to go wrong.

[Kirsten]

Yup, things look really complicated right now. The carpenter was here this afternoon, and he even suspects the kitchen wall being affected, too. If that's the case, it has to be removed, too. Guess that means I cannot stay here, for the time being.

Turned out that the damage of the outer wall was not caused by the broken tiles but by the window which is slightly aslope. Also, someone has blocked the draining holes of the window frame, so rainwater remained inside the frame and leaked into the wall - probably over decades!! Now they want to try to make it an insurance thing - because this is something that's clearly been messed up by the company that installed the windows once.

Learned an hour ago that the carpenters will be here tomorrow at 8, trying to replace the rotten beams in the wall. Please keep your fingers crossed that they won't have to remove the kitchen wall as well!