Floor Update

A few people have asked about how the floor is going.  I still haven't put the finished poly coat on yet, but I have stained them.  Here are a few pics for now to show you the progress.

Remember what it looked like in the beginning after we removing the 2 layers of carpet/foam:

Picture of the floor after the sanding, prior to staining:

Picture after the staining:

Another post stain picture.  You will notice a board that is missing toward the right.  Kevan and his dad repaired this and it has now been stained.

So, the floor is ready for the "Finish"....I just have to find the time.  Hopefully, I will be doing this last step on Friday.

Poison Ivy Cure?

If you spoke to my husband and asked him the #1 thing he hates about living in the country I'm sure he would tell you that it is his non-stop poison ivy.  In the spring and summer it seems that it never goes away.  He gets it on his arms and legs mostly, but has had it a few other places.  Here is a picture of his leg after his poison ivy reaction.  Keep in mind that this usually last a couple of weeks and this pic doesn't even show it at it's worst. 

Whenever he works outside he has to come in and go straight to the shower to make sure he washes off all of the oils from the plant.  I'm sure the shower helps, but we have read online that you have to wash it off within 15 minutes of exposure.  This rarely happens.  Then, after the shower we have to wash his clothes and towel to make sure no lingering oils are left on anything because he can still react to it if the oils from his clothing touch his skin.  Even though he takes these precautions he still ends up getting it.  It seems like everyday he finds a new place that is itchy and red.  I feel awful for him.  I am not allergic and either are his parents.

I recently did some research and found out that Jewelweed (which normally grows next to the poison ivy plant) is a natural treatment for poison ivy.  There are even youtube videos out there of outdoorsman showing you what to do with it.  :o)  Anyway, I read a blog regularly by Tennessee Farm Girl (http://tnfarmgirl.blogspot.com/).  She makes her own soaps and tinctures (and even gives classes on how to do it yourself.  I searched her site and learned that she makes a Jewelweed soap and salve.  I bought it right away and gave it to Kevan for his birthday.  Everytime he comes in he washes with the soap.  It has been two weeks and he has not had an outbreak yet.  Yay!

Also, I invested in these for times when he does not have a shower readily available.  He's only used them once or twice so far so I can't really comment yet on whether they work.



I'll update you in a few months and let you know how he's doing.  Tennessee Farm Girl might've developed a cure for my hubby!  Thank you farm girl!!

Adventures in Kitty Land

It has been way too long since I posted.  A lot has happened since my last post.  We've already been to Florida and back to Tennessee again.  While we were gone our porch kitty (I'd call her our barn kitty, but she mostly stays on the porch) was attacked by an animal. 

This is her pre-attack.

The vet said he wasn't sure if she would ever be able to walk again since the nerves in her back were damaged and that her tail would need to be amputed.  She also lost her bladder control.  Yes, bladder control.  Eww!  He said he wouldn't know for sure for 6 weeks and I just didn't want to give up on her.  So, after a few days at the vet my wonderful father-in-law picked her up and took care of her until we were back in TN.  I'm sure it was a treat since he is not fond of cats already and he had to take care of one without bladder control and no litterbox habits.  Thank you dad!  I asked our family and friends to pray for her and God has answered our prayers.  Woolie is doing a lot better.  We kept her in this make-shift pen most of the day.

It was rough in the beginning having to change her pen newspapers 6 times a day and mop the floor several times a day, but over time she has regained her back legs and her tail is functioning again and won't have to be amputated.  Toward the end I bought a pack of puppy training pads and it was much easier to keep the pen lined.  She is back outside and even walked with us to the woods the other day to help us release a mouse we caught in the kitchen.  [the joys of living in the country]  When we released it, she caught it.  Don't worry...she didn't eat him.  Just played with him for a bit and grew tired of him.

Also, our first week back to TN we brought home a cute little kitten we found roaming the wood pallets outside Lowes.  He was soooooo scared.  He hissed and bit at Kevan when he picked him up and placed him in the Lowes bucket we used as a makeshift kitty carrier.  lol! I think anyone that saw this cute little kitty face would've taken this cute little booger home too.  Don't deny it.

He's been doing well.  Now that he is in a safe environment he is very loving and playful.  We took him to the vet to make sure he doesn't have feline HIV or leukemia and he tested negative.  Yay!  So, we introduced him to our kitties.  They do not care much for the little guy and are actual scared of him.  They hiss and growl so we are hoping they will get used to him.  He wants to play with them and they will have nothing to do with it. 

We are having a naming dilemma.  Back when we had our old cat Misty we were trying to figure out what to name our two new kittens. We decided on Aubie (Auburn's mascot of course) and Stormie to stay with a weather theme.  We joked about how if we ever had another cat we would have to name it Partly Cloudy.  We laughed so hard we could barely stand it.  So, now that we have this new kitten we've decided to name him Partly Cloudy since he has blue eyes and white/gray/black fur...sorta partly cloudy, right?  I call him Partly and Kevan calls him Cloudy (sometimes we call him P.C. for short).  Well, the vet and a few family members have told us we need to pick out a new name because it is dumb.  What do you think?  Does he look like a Partly?