posted June 15, 2003 07:24 PM              

we took the drop ceiling down to reveal the original plater ceiling which is CRACKED and STAINED and UNEVEN...so..I have to get a new ceiling.

The previous owners loved air fresheners...i threw them out and as the house began to "air" I realized WHY they had air fresheners. I liearned from a few of the neighbors that the previous owners used to have an old old german shepherd (17 years OLD) and from the smell of things, the poor thing develped a weak bladder in his old age...the smell is hard to get rid of so i have to buyt his stuff called "odor gobbler" that's supposed to kill those enzymes....

so my Dad and I begin the task of tearing the capret out of the first floor since I want to expose the hardwood...he also started chissling out the old ceramic tile entry (the carpet was green and the tile had a green vein through it...kind of stupid if you ask me...what if you get tired of green? so I chose a tile that's more "neutral" to go with everything) ANYWAY...so we were up there today...and guess what my Dad killed? a FLEA!! so now my house apparently has FLEAS! LOL luckily, I'm getting rid of the carpet...but I'm still going to "bomb" to kill any that might be left.

So my Dad says...Sher...it was only 1 FLEA...and I'm like...FLEAS have FRIENDS....not only that...but my parents had their dog up my house last week...and wouldn't you know it...2 days later, my Mom picked 2 fleas off of him...this dog has never had a flea on his body his whole life!!!

posted June 15, 2003 07:35 PM              

Good luck with the roof and get lots of estimates, shop around on tile too, and buy extra. Green isn't a great color for a floor or black because it absorbs light and you want light to bounce off the neutral surface to highlight the rest of the room. It draws the eye down too. The previous owners of mine, had green/black vinyl in one room which I tore out. What a difference.

posted June 16, 2003 10:02 PM              

my next step is to finish one wall...deodorize the floor (concrete..smells from the dog) and then seal it with a concrete sealer before ordering the carpet.

The contractor hasn't started on the ceiling yet. My Dad and I finished chissling out the ceramic entry and sanding down the old thin-set. I bought tile...it's a very neutral color...a cream color with a browish red vein through it...almost looks like stone.

I'm painting the walls "vanilla custard" and the trim mis called "pot of cream" I was thinking of doing one of the fauex finishes...either "ragged off" or "sponged off" but it seems like WAAAAAAY too much work...unless I can get my scorpio best friend Erin to help me.

posted June 16, 2003 11:41 PM              

Good Luck with it, find a nice Virgo to help.

posted June 17, 2003 01:22 PM              

Please keep the reno stories coming... my favourite stores in the world are hardware stores, really!

Reminds me of helping a friend do reno... she bought a small duplex and the prior tenant upstairs had owned 10 cats... she discovered that the floor was 12 layers of linoleum soaked with cat pee... she had to rip everything out, and yours truly helped with that nasty linoleum (which can be quite sharp!).

Chiseling, paint-stripping, and ragging with you in Spirit,

posted June 17, 2003 04:10 PM            

Borax and Salt. Equal parts: Mix together, pour onto carpet (fleas do not live on hard surfaces). Take a broom and push the granules down into the carpet. Leave for 24 hours then vacuum.

The mixture will kill the eggs, without harming animals or humans. We used to use it all the time when I worked at the ER Vet hospitals and fleas would hitch rides home with me and drive my cats nuts.

You can also order direct from flea busters www.fleabusters.com

posted June 18, 2003 02:53 PM            

You can get it at the supermarket. It's actually a detergent. You can also just use 100% salt and leave that on for about 2 days and then vacuum. Make sure that the dogs are washed right after you treat the carpet to make sure their fleas are gone too.

For adult animals I like to use that Sentinel or Advantage. It's a treatment that you put in between their shoulder blades and acts as a growth regulator for fleas. I used it on my cats when my friend brought her dog over along with the dogs little hitch hiking fleas. LOL

Funny Story: Okay, I was married to a Virgo that was very analytical and when my total Sag nature popped out it drove him NUTS.

He was on a biz trip for 4 days so I invited the girls over for pizza, beer and movies. My one friend brought her big old dog over, who was super cool. At the end of the evening the dog had to poo so she let her outside. I said "Hey, where did she do her business because I should clean it before Mr. Virgo comes homes". She said "Hey, it's dark and I think she went clear in the corner.

Then the following weekend I look out the glass sliding door and I see my hubby scratching his head and looking around. I start to giggle a bit, because I know that he is really thinking hard about something.

So I say "Hey Honey, what's up?"

Mr. Virgo: "Wow, you'll never believe this".

Me: (hiding the devious smile) "What won't I believe"

Mr. Virgo: "I think someone must have jumped our fence and took a huge dump in our backyard".

Me: (About ready to have a fit of giggles) "Really, you think a person did something like that?"

Mr. Virgo (thinking real hard now) "Well, either that or the neighbors cat pooped and it's really quite big to have come from a cat. Do you know anything about this?"

Me: "Hmmmmm, well, now that you mention it....." So I told him the story. But BOY!!! that was too funny.

Until....we got fleas:

posted June 18, 2003 03:52 PM              

Thanks for the advice on the Borax. So, if I go to this guys house and do this than there will be no more fleas, right?

I mean, he's an Aries, and I'll have to hear about it if it doesn't work

posted June 20, 2003 07:56 AM              

Haven't gooten a digital camera either, I took reguarl pictures that I'll have to put on disk. I just haven't had time to get a digital camera...totally not a priority right now....I need to get this house done so I can move in.