Mould in the walls

Good morning from the tiny wee tubby. :) Whew! It's been a while since I've been on here. The truth is I'm not all that proficient at this blogging stuff but I am going to try harder to get on here more often. Part of the reason for not being here since September (really almost 2 months - yikes) is that we have had some crazy goings on around the old homestead. Now, I said in my opening blog that I wouldn't write about crazy family drama, etc., and this isn't going to be a blog about all the hurts that other people have done to me and how wonderful I am at coming through it all. It's just a wee blog about things I encounter in my day-to-day that rile me up or tickle me in some way. So, although this is house/home related, there will be no angst over spousal issues or kidlet problems posted here today - mmmm, or ever - 'cause frankly, you don't want to hear it and why should you.

I have allergies. Wicked, painful and weird allergies. Most of them are to environmental stuffs like grass, weeds, feathers, dust, mould - ya know all the crap we encounter on a daily basis - but I also have MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity). This is not a formal diagnosis, just stuff I have kept track of and realize do me harm. Besides try getting a diagnosis from any doctor for something they can't test with a petri dish or drug into submission.

 For the most part I have a handle on them, the allergies that is, and can manage getting through every day life. I manage by trying to eat the stuff I should eat, and avoid the stuff I shouldn't. I clean with natural products; don't use beauty products that contain chemicals that are bad for you (whole blog coming on this later - promise) and try to get enough sleep. Lately, and I'm talking the last 6 months, I have been feeling stupendously lousy. Constant sinus issues, achy joints, painful skin. Almost flu like issues. I have had ZERO energy and no appetite. Now before you step in to tell me that these all sound like physical symptoms of depression let me tell you, I've thought of that. But here's the thing: mentally, emotionally I'm on solid ground. I love my life, my husband, my kid. Nope, not fully employed yet but I do work part-time at a fabulous little gallery in downtown Cambridge (Gallery M - check them out), so all-in-all I'm pretty happy. Life isn't perfect but then again it wouldn't be an adventure if it was. But I'm getting off track.

So, like I said, I generally have a handle on all the bad stuff that could make me sick. But lately illness abounds in my bod. My migraines are worse - I get them when it rains but lately they have kept me bedridden more often and last much longer. And, as I said above, I feel like I have the flu - ALL THE TIME. This, as you can imagine, does not make me happy.

Surprisingly, a week or so ago the cause of all this sickness presented itself to us. The hubby and I were doing a "big clean" and trying to organize stuff to take to my parents' basement (we live in 600 sq ft., and there isn't a lot of room for extra stuff). We moved in about 6 months ago and we keep taking stuff to my parents' because there just isn't room here. The hubs started to put stuff on our bed to pack (and consequently vacuum the carpet) and there it was . . . MOULD. A large amount of very gross, black mould. He called me to see and I flipped out. No friggin' wonder I have felt like crapola since we moved into this place - I'm allergic to mould - and even if I wasn't, the stuff we found is bad stuff - the stuff that can make anyone sick if exposed to it for an extended period - Stachybotrys chartarum. This grossness was at least 2 inches high on the wall from the carpet and 6 inches in one corner. So, we started pulling everything away from the walls (including our bed where the headboard sits against the wall) and discovered that whole wall behind our headboard also had mould along the baseboard and carpet. HOLY CRAP! To top it all off I found more of the stuff in the kidlet's bedroom. Not as much as in our bedroom but enough to make me somewhat angry.

We emailed the landlord and let him know. The hubby cleaned off the mould with vinegar and borax, and I have been treating the area with tea tree oil because the other anti-mould stuff would cause me even more sickness. Besides tea tree oil, although smelly, is a natural anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal - good stuff. Two days later the landlord comes to see. Well, of course there is nothing to see because we certainly weren't going to leave it there for him to acknowledge. He brought mould remover and mould preventing paint - which I told him was going to be completely ineffective because the mould was in the walls (due to the fact the roof leaked and had yet to be repaired).  We had a discussion about the issue he was having because of city expansions and why he wasn't going to tear out the wall to fix the issue (which apparently made itself known 2 years prior but he put in a second vent to fix). He said he understood and had no issue with us breaking our lease when we found a new place - duh.  Anyway, long story short - we're moving. Again. Which sucks but staying here would suck infinitely more.

Upside - we believe we have found a place. Somewhere that will allow us each our own space; has storage space; a newly renovated, and cabinet rich kitchen; a soaker tub, and a lovely back yard with a pergola. And best of all, recently inspected and certified mould free. :)