One Day it's Here...

... and the next day it's not. Or at least two weeks later it's not!

I am referring to my furnace, of course. As mentioned in my previous post, my furnace had a small leak, that if it had not been detected would have ruined my laminate wood floor. As it were, it did a small amount of damage, thankfully all of which can be repaired.

Anyhow, the tech came out and replaced the part and all was well in the world again, for about a day and a half anyway. I came home the following Wednesday to no hot water. I attempted to fire up the furnace, but to no avail. The following morning I put in another call to the burner company and was told that someone would be by after I got home at 3:30 that afternoon. However, by 5:30 I began to wonder just how off schedule the tech could possibly be. I placed a call, got the "emergency service" line and had to leave a message. This is the beginning of my horrible experience with the company. Someone calls me back and when I ask where the tech is, I was told that he wasn't coming... that no one had been scheduled to come out to my house at all. The person I spoke to checked with the other guy I dealt with in the morning, Joe, and he told me that Joe must have misunderstood me. He thought I had to check with my husband to see if I wanted the work done.

Now, I have to laugh, despite being pissed off, because outside of NOT having a husband, thank you very much, I can't imagine why I'd have to check with him to see if I actually wanted to have heat & hot water. I thought we no longer lived in the stone age where men dragged their woman around by the hair, but maybe I'm just confused.

So after getting over the shock of this last comment, I tell the guy that I expected someone to come by, after all, it was their error, and a big one in my book. It was pretty chilly out, and both my son and I need showers. He said there was absolutely no way they could get someone out there. By now, I'm floored. I remind him it's their error and again he tells me there is nothing they can do for me that night. They can be there first thing in the morning, except that I need to be into work by 7. He tells me I can leave a key. Now, come on... I'm a woman, a woman without a husband to make all the decisions... He thinks I'm gonna just leave a key?? Umm, yeah, I don't think so. I tell him that I'll be home by 3:30 the following day and that someone better be there and on time.

After stewing for a bit and calling other burner companies, all of which would charge me emergency rates and not guaranteeing they would be able to fix the problem that night, I curled up under a few layers of blankets and went to bed.

3:30 came and thankfully so did the tech. However the problem is that the overhead oil line is taking in air somewhere and because of that, the burner won't prime and stay on. This is ultimately what the issue has been all these years. It all goes back to the Packrat's half-assed installation of this system. It turns out that the company that did the job didn't bother to replace the overhead lines, but instead spliced them together, which apparently is a huge no no. That I've managed to go the 7 years I have and not have it permanently shut down is a miracle. It's also a miracle that I haven't taken a sledge hammer to the darn thing, but I digress...

The owner of the burner service company, Jim, calls to tell me that I can have a new line run overhead from the garage to the kitchen. I think this is a total waste of time and money. After I saw what damage was done with the water leak I decided it was time to move the furnace all together. They had priced it out for me about a year and a half ago. I tell Jim that I'd rather just move the burner. I realize it's coming into the busy season and that it would take some time to schedule the necessary crew, but it was worth a few extra days of inconvenience. My son had headed to his dad's for a few days and I could use the shower at my parent's or my brother's homes. It's Friday afternoon. Jim tells me work should begin on the following Wed. or Thurs. I can survive that long. I've got my pellet stove for heat, and I can boil water for dishes and washing. People have suffered through worse... I'll manage.

So I begin my wait. And this is where the fun really begins... Stay tuned.

They call this Progress??

Today marks a milestone at the Campi. Today, I removed the last of the nasty carpet and tiles from the house.

I could get all nostalgic and misty eyed about how I'll miss never being able to smell The Smell, or how there is no more carpets or tiles to rip out of this house... but I don't think so! No, as I ceremoniously tossed the last of the carpet out the door and brought out the last bag of tiles down to the curb, the corners of my mouth began to turn upwards into a smile... my little Campi has one less problem, one less project....

Until I realized that the GD furnace wasn't working... again. Yes, despite my having it cleaned & tuned up over the summer, the evil creature that resides in my kitchen realized it's fall and soon I'd be turning it on for the heating season. This time, among other things, it's leaking water out of a release valve. The guy at the oil company said so long as it doesn't blow and start shooting water all over the place I should be able to hold off on them coming out until Monday to take a look. But if it does blow, I may want to call. Gee, do ya think??

Because the water has been leaking for some time, a part of my laminate wood floor (hidden from everyday view) has been ruined. I'm pretty frustrated at this point, and I think I've decided that the time has come for me to move this blasted thing out of the kitchen. I got a quote to have it done last year, and as much as it is to have it done, it will still be cheaper than waiting and having to replace the entire system in a few years. So when the oil guy calls back on Monday I'm gonna put the wheels in motion to get this thing moving.

Hey, it's just money, right??

Boring Flooring

Yep, another post about floors... I'll keep it to a minimum, promise.

Finished Little Mr. Man's bedroom floor this weekend. Now we're down to just the small bedroom to finish. Hoping to get in there very soon to start the process of ripping out the carpet & tiles and get the temporary carpet in there for the winter. Must stay motivated even though I am sick of floors at this point.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the final photos of the floor. The first is the plastic moisture barrier, followed by the finished floor.

He's already moved in all his "stuff" and I'm sure in another week or so I won't even be able to see what was accomplished.

And, as always, thanks Dad... Love you!

Smell Be Gone

I can honestly say for a while there, I never thought this day would get here... the day my bedroom floor was finally laid down.

This project started back in September of 2005 out of pure necessity... to sleep in a room that didn't smell of mildew most of the year, and reek of it in July and August. Back in 2005, Dear ol' Dad and I had finished the floor in the family room and had a huge area rug that was no longer needed in there. I got it in my head to pull out up the gross carpets and tiles in my room and use the rug "temporarily" having no clue that nearly 4 years would go by. Between other projects, lack of funds and Dad and I both finding time to get together, it got pushed to the back burner. The smell was fine for the better part of the year, but then there would be those days, those hazy, hot, humid days. You know, the days where there wasn't enough Febreze or scented oils in the world to mask what lurked below.

So now here we are in 2009 and after 2 days in 90 degree weather, we finally finished. Dear ol' Dad was set up with the saw in the "Cutting Pavilion" (lol) and I was forced to stay in the air conditioned bedroom where I tapped in the pieces as he gave them to me. It's not that I wouldn't mind being the "cutter" but between Dad being Mr. Tap-Happy with the heavy hand chipping planks left and right, and the risk of me cutting off my arm or in the very least my finger, we settle into our jobs and work like a well oiled machine.

Sort of...

This years Tap Happy Award goes to me, who didn't destroy any planks by tapping too hard, but crushed the fleshy part of my hand between the metal hammer and the metal pull bar, leaving a circle of purple surrounding a 1 inch line of red in the middle. I do, however, get points, for not uttering one or even a string of swears. Nope, like the professional I am (ha), I finished tapping in the piece and left for the bathroom... where I silently screamed while running cold water on my hand for 5 minutes.

Of course, if that wasn't bad enough, on day 2, I managed to slam my finger between the afor mentioned hammer & pull bar. It was my left hand both times, so it shouldn't be so bad, at least in theory. I can't believe how much I actually use that part of my hand.

But I digress...

It's at this point I wish to say thank you so much to my dad, my Dear ol' Dad, for all his hard work, patience and undying faith in me. I love you so much. You'll forever be my role model and inspiration. I can't begin to thank you, but I'm sure a case of Bud will go a long way to help.

(Click any photo for larger image.)

Holy Moldy BatGirl!

As if I don’t have enough to do in order to ready myself for Dear ol’ Dad and finishing my bedroom floor, my son has finally seen, or more like smelled what I’ve been telling him for years… that his room is a pig sty and smells. He’s only coming to realize this because I put it out there that if he finally cleaned out all the toys he’s outgrown and gets rid of all the clutter, I would consider putting the old TV in his room.

Amazing what bribery can accomplish.

Soon after he digs in he finds, down by the side of his bed, a furry little clump of mold that obviously came from contraband he snuck in despite me constantly telling him no food in his room. He’s horrified by this latest discovery and thinks it all due to the moisture issues we’ve had with the carpeting. He’s so horrified, in fact, he tells me he refuses to sleep in his room anymore until the carpet is removed.

Seeing as he’s heading over to his dad’s for a few days, I tell him I’ll get started on striping out the carpet and padding and pop off the tiles so I can waterproof the concrete and prepare his floor for the next time Dear ol’ Dad is available for a project.

Seeing as it’s August, and the heat and humidity is through the roof, it makes perfect sense that I tackle this project. I mean after all, it seems like every time I’ve ripped out the carpets it’s been this exact kind of weather! But on the other hand, this might just be the right time. By finishing off my room, and prepping Mr. Man’s, I will be able to take the temporary rug I’ve been using over the concrete floor in my room and transferring it to his until such time as it gets finished.

I was able to get about half his room stripped down to the concrete and bleached the other day. Mr. Man came home for a night, moved everything to the “clean” side and slept on the couch before heading back to dads’ for the weekend. I’m hoping to get the other half done on Sunday, as he’ll be coming home for the week for vacation.

Meanwhile, Dear ol’ Dad is heading over tomorrow morning so we can begin finishing off my floor. I can hardly wait, as my room has been in disarray for the past week. My dresser and vanity have been moved out to the 3rd bedroom and my bed has been pushed into the middle of the floor at an angle so I could still access my closet. I’ll be pushing it up against the back wall tonight so we’ll be ready to go first thing in the morning.

As always, I’ll be sure to document the events for your viewing pleasure. Meanwhile enjoy a few of Little Mr. Man’s room. The bottom one is the concrete foundation before it was vacuumed and bleached down. The dark spots are from where the adhesive was for the tiles. The white stuff is concrete dust from where the moisture was forcing it's way up through the seams of the old tiles. I don't have a picture of it after it was vacuumed up and bleached, but looks much better than this.

Garden Living

Well, it's been a while since I've updated here. Between rain and humidity, not too much has gotten done around the Campi.

Planning on laying down the laminate flooring in my bedroom with Dear ol' Dad in the next few weeks. For those that don't know or haven't read that far back, the carpeting in the house has serious olfactory issues in the heat and humidity due to the concrete floor no longer having much moisture protection after all these years. I've re-floored the living room, kitchen and familyroom and only have the 3 bedrooms left... and I can hardly wait. I've managed for the past 7 years to deal with this, and for most of the year it's really a non-issue, but during the summer, especially this summer with the rain and humidity I'm ready to move on this project. I'll upload photos and keep you posted.


Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, here's a look at this year's annual yard/garden photos. Enjoy and thanks, as always, for stopping by the Campi.

Click on each one to enlarge.

Cat Scratch Fever

So tonight after dinner I decided to take the camera out back to snap a few shots of the flower bed I revamped during school vacation last week. I've got one other bed in that area I need to update, but I need to find some free time, some dirt and yes, a few rocks before I can tackle it. Here's a pic of the first bed.

While I was out back, one of my "outdoor" cats came by to visit. As some of you know I have my indoor cat "Autumn" but during the spring and summer I also have outdoor cats. I don't know most of their real names, so I've dubbed them each with a special nickname that suits them. Tonight, one decided to stop in for a roll in the mulch. I wish I had a "before" photo of this cat, but since I do not, you'll have to use a little imagination to guess why I call her "hairball". Well, my neighbor took this poor cat to the vet to have her trimmed her fur was so matted. When they came out of the office, this is what sweet Hairball looked like:


She reminds me of the Lion King, with her big mane around her face, fuzzy paws and feather duster tail. She's so precious and tiny under all that fur, I had no idea.

While I was snapping photos another one of my outdoor cats got herself into a bit of trouble by getting stuck up in a tree. Her name is Shelby. (no clever nickname for her) So after a few minutes, Hairball notices that the other is stuck up in the tree. And what does she do, but climb up the tree, touch noses with Shelby and then manages to climb down, showing the other cat a way out of her predicament. Sure enough, a short while later Shelby made her way down.

It was like watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom right in my own backyard.

Amazing!