Friday, September 30, 2011

on things exploding & other big news

if you know me well, or even not at all, you might know that i have a weird irrational fear of things exploding.

I.E.

if i drop a battery, will it explode? if i improperly connect the barbeque to the gas tank, will it explode? if i dont open the air release valve on the wood stove, will it explode? if i pour water just off the boil into a glass, will the glass explode into a million shattered pieces and cut me as they all go flying every which way? the list goes on...

ok ok, you might be thinking im crazy, or maybe you agree with some of these examples. but let me tell you, after this past month or so i believe that my fear has been confirmed! now, i don't mean things actually bursting violently as a result of rapid combustion or intense internal pressure into a fiery ball of rage, but i mean many many life shaking/changing events all happening within close proximity to eachother...

I.E.

explosion number one.
we impulsively moved to the country! yes, we left the comforts and conveniences of the city and up and decided to move out. i had been feeling for awhile that the house we were living in was just too big for two people. i mean, there were rooms i never really went in unless it was to hoover and dust them! thats just craziness i tell you! downsize and simplify! so yes, that was a big reason. also, the house that we found straight away was right on the harbour so my husband could walk out and fish anytime his heart desired! oh, that look of hope on his face when we were viewing the place! how could i say no?
now, i know me listing all these reasons make our move sound like it was diligently decided and thoroughly thought out, but i can assure you, it wasnt! on the day i found the house online, and sent the link to my husband (on a whim, to cheer his spirits on a tough day, to give him an imaginary place to go to) he rang the landlord and set up an appointment to view, that day!! and within the next day or two we made the decision. it was moving time!


explosion number two.
after the first day or two of living in the new place, my sharp nose picked up a strange uncomfortable smell. at the same time, i noticed that the skirting board was a good inch off the carpeted floor and every time i got down low the smell worsened, so i was convinced that it was coming from inside the walls and was just a general old muskiness odor considering the house was an old one. it took a couple weeks to convince my husband that the smell was real and i wasn't imaging it, that i really do have a special nose to pick up on these things! once i nagged him to no end, he reluctantly agreed to remove the skirting and lower it.
oh, the horror!
meanwhile, we noticed another wretched stench, this time coming from the box of the electric shower (click to see what one looks like) every time we showered. again, i convinced my husband to remove the cover and have a look inside the thing.
oh, the horror!
meanwhile another meanwhile, i decided to look in the tiny space under the counter and on top of the washing machine just for fun. why do i do these things? i don't know.
oh, the horror!
would you like to know what these horrors are? ok, maybe i am being a tad dramatic, but i like to know the ins and outs of my surroundings, especially the ones that i call home. everything has a place, and every place i must know, and every place is to be clean and also be a right angle (the right angle part is kind of a joke...kind of).
horror number 1. after removing the first skirting board we were startled (but i guess not all that surprised) to discover the drywall beneath to be damp to the touch and eaten with black mold. yes, black mold! the kind that is really bad for you! we continued to remove the boards, and continued to find more, right through the sitting room and into our bedroom. because of the exposed mold and destroyed skirting in our bedroom, we consequently had no where to sleep! so on the floor it was for the next week or so.
horror number 2. as clay removed the cover to the electric shower, he found two dead mice. two mice that were being roasted and cooked and boiled in the inner electric workings of the shower, every time we turned the thing on to take our shower! the time we are meant to get clean and wash away the dirtiness of the day, the stink of two dead rotting mice fills the bathroom within the steam of the hot shower surrounding our supposedly clean bodies! yuck! (you can shudder if you'd like)
horror number 3. i asked my ever patient husband to move out the washing machine to further investigate what i saw. and i was right, the entire top of the washing machine, covered in mice poo and pee! and behind the washing machine, there was more black mold a-plentiful!
would you like to see some evidence? click to enlarge if you dare!


explosion number three.
as you can probably guess, because of the throughly explained explosion number two, we decided that we needed to move house again. and for a big reason (see "big news" below) it was very important for us to move to a safer, drier, healthier, more comfortable house. after working things out with our landlord, who was nothing but amazing and supportive throughout this whole process. it was moving time! (again)
so as of last week we moved to an even smaller terraced house down by the water in a little town outside of waterford called passage east. and we are glad we did! we look forward to spending a warm winter by our little wood stove, making a big christmas dinner in the beautiful spacious kitchen, enjoying walks on the beach thats right over a wall outside our front door. all for less rent than we were paying in the city and less than what we paid at the horror house! 
we are still settling in, and things are becoming more and more like home around here. 


mini explosions happening all throughout.
-all the things on the usual moving house checklist. call and change your address with every company you can think of, getting the utilities changed and switched over, figuring out how to get internet and a cell phone signal in the country (still working that one out), TWICE over. 
-planning and preparing for the second annual Calvary Ireland conference. then attend it, of course!
-going through the motions of ending our twice weekly coffee stall in the local markets. the church is getting too busy to give up two days of the week to continue the stall. it will be missed, but we will never be too far from Badger & Dodo, naturally! we need coffee to survive, right?
-and of course, our usual weekly schedule of duties, which musn't be neglected! 


big news
now, if you are still with me, and suffered through reading all of that, then you well deserve to read this next bit of information!

we are with child! yes, its true! i am 14 weeks on, over a third of the way through! 


also, this time next week i will be in sunny california for a nice, long, (lets not forget, sunny and warm!), overdue visit to our family and friends. its gonna be so awesome! ill be there for the first couple weeks without clay, then he will fly out and our usual november craziness will begin. i am excited, clay is excited, even our unborn baby is excited! woo! 

there you have it. a long update to fill the long gap in updates.
in the weeks to come, expect some nice pictures with nice words to illustrate our time back stateside! hope to see you's while we're out there. email us!

love,
the worrells
(all three of us)!