Testing Tuesday

Ah, the day I have been awaiting. Not really. I have to go and have the echo cardiogram today. I am so unaccustomed to the whole medical scene. The last time I went to the doctor for exams was when I was pregnant with Ben. He is 12, so it has been awhile.

Yesterday, we decided (almost on a whim, of sorts) to run to Carly's house and drop Ben off to help her. We got there kind of late in the afternoon, but it was OK, as Carly and her kids had to take all of their stuff out of the basement first. By the time we arrived, all of their stuff was sitting in the driveway, and they were ready to "roll"!

Carly's husband, Jeff, has problems with spring allergies, and this year has been excrutiating for him. Carly has been working on the basement, removing a *room* down there. I am not too sure what the previous owner was thinking....he built a room in there. He used just regular framing lumber, instead of "green" lumber, which is used in damp areas. As Carly was pulling out all of the mess, she noticed there is mold growing all over the wood. It really needs to be removed. Once she gets all of the wood out of there, she can crank up her dehumidifier, and the results should be a nice dry basement!

Carly, her son, Kyle, and Ben worked fast and furiously. When Mark and I arrived back there about 2 1/2 hours later, the change was startling! They removed a wall that contained wet drywall and almost all of the stinky plywood raised floor. We were so happy to discover that under the wooden floor was a *terrific* concrete floor in excellent condition! The basement is built from cement blocks, so when that dehumidifier gets going, it will be able to "breathe" much better without all of the restricting walls, and it will be nice down there! Once all of the wood is removed, she will have to rewire a lot of electric lines, as they were left hanging mid-air, hidden behind the walls!

After Carly cleaned up the floor, I used a spray bottle, and sprayed down the damp wall with bleach. That should kill the mold. The cement walls really look much better than the damp wood did!

Boy, was Ben tired when we arrived home! Before we left Carly's house, we all helped carry their things back into the basement.

I took the picture below on Sunday, and I just love the expression on Angus' face! Scotties have pretty "soulful" eyes, and this picture expresses that fairly well!