I really wish I could figure out why cooking things in the oven makes my smoke detectors go off. I think it is really poor oven placement plus somewhat poor smoke/heat detector placement, but I really do like cooking, Just not also running around my apartment waving air at the smoke detectors. I do not have mold, though, so that is a good thing.

My mother thinks she has mold, but I am not sure. I think she might have mildew in her cellar, but it is a dirt cellar. She is convinced that her house is so bad she is going to have to pay someone to take it, instead of selling it.

Yesterday Tim went to the skilled nursing facility where his dad is (I can't tell if I have allergies or a cold, but if it's a cold, I don't want to spread germs among people trying to get healthy, so I stayed home). He brought back the events calendar, and I decided that I totally want to live there. There's manicure day, every day has a differently themed snack time (really -- one is named "Let's Drink Lemonade!"), there's movies several times a week, lots of exercise opportunities, trivia and other games, and a healthy sprinkling of church services. Plus they do day trips for people who are mobile enough.

I'm really crossing my fingers that Tim's dad is going to realize how much he enjoys all the activities and interaction, because that will make it much less stressful to transition him to assisted living. I feel like if he goes home from rehab, he's going to look around his house and be struck by how bored he is.

He's certainly not loving it right now (and it doesn't help that everyone who calls him says things like "We've gotta get you HOME, Jack!"), but that may change.

What's hilarious, in a sad kind of way, is even my father's unit has a great-looking full schedule of activities. But the people in that unit are all seriously mentally and physically disabled, so the "activities" don't really amount to much. If I remember, I'll come back with a specific example.

One of the fairly common requests we get at the library is, "What did X stock sell for on (for example) March 27, 1976?" Luckily we have all that data - there were books published called "Daily Stock Price Record" for the big exchanges, and if those fail we have the contemporary Wall Street Journal. The callers are sooooo grateful.

I suppose I could send a letter to the public library in Waynesburg to see if they have access to that kind of information on land values back in the 80s. They'd probably at least have a better idea of where to start. With all the mineral exploration in the last few years, this has to have come up. I did some research on mineral rights on inherited land, and it's looking like I may not have to find a cost.

But at least I live in a desert, where you have to encourage mold and mildew to grow in standard living situations. My apartment complex is militant about potential mold. It's why they won't even allow fish tanks.

Timelies all!

We have the standard clutter caused by a toddler. We try to put things away but he likes to throw things around. Silly boy...

There's some mold or mildew showing in the paint above the shower in my bathroom. That's the only place, though. NC summers are basically mildew factories, but I crank the AC as soon as it cracks 80F, so that's less of an issue for me.

I don't have AC and the bathroom doesn't have a built in fan, so that room can be a problem. I have ceiling fans in all the other rooms so I can at least keep the air moving in hot, humid weather.

Ugh. Do you have stiffer-soled shoes you can wear in the meantime?

I mostly wear Docs so that's not an issue. I did switch to canvas ones yesterday to reduce the weight of the shoes a bit. The foot does seem to be improving so I hope I can lose the limp soon. I don't want to screw up other joints by compensating for the foot.

Guinea pigs!!

Guinea pigs? Has Matilda's guinea pig reproduced??

I just had a lovely massage, which I could've enjoyed for twice as long. Man. BUT, the awesome thing was she gave it to me for free (because she'd had to reschedule me twice, this was the third try).

Trying to decide if I want to get off the couch now and go to pole dancing class. I feel like I paid for it and I should give it another shot...but another part of me is saying "screw that, I'm relaxed now, and I hated it and why put myself through that?"

FYI: the United Club does not provide free caviar or brie. But the free house red is ok, and there are worse places to be when your flight is delayed...