My shit don't stink!

After I moved in to this house, I started noticed a smell in the basement. Eventually I figured out it was from the bathroom that was added just before I moved in. I found this in a very calculated and ingenious way: I shut the door to the bathroom for a while and then I didn't smell it anymore.

Countless people have come through my basement and offered opinions on how to fix the smell. A very special thanks goes out to my sister's boyfriend, Paul, who told me to fill the shower drain with vegetable oil. I HAVE NEVER BEFORE EXPERIENCED THE SMELL OF ROTTING PLANT MATERIAL CONDENSED INTO SO SMALL A SPACE.

Ordinary Glade fresheners didn't touch this smell. Oust, Febreze... nothing. So... the plumber came in.

House traps, vents, terra cotta, bellies, routing... these are all words I picked out of the conversation I had with him. OK, get to the point. Our waste is sitting in old mangled pipes and stinking up the joint. What's the damage?

$8,000 to rip up all my lines and replace them.

I have a second opinion on the way tomorrow.


Our weekend was great... we spent Friday night at the Pirates game with our friend Jeff who breezed through town from Chicago. The Pirates won! No, seriously, they really did.

It was Zoe's first ballgame, and it went exactly as I predicted:

"Can I have ice cream now?"

"Is it time for cotton candy?"

"Mommy, I'm hungry."

"Can I get a hot dog like that guy has?"

"How about popcorn?"

"Can I have ice cream NOW?"

"Mommy, that guy's selling beer, don't you want one?"

Like, what's WRONG WITH YOU MOM, you're almost halfway through the one you have!!!







We saw Jeff off and swung up to my dad's camp for an overnighter.






And when I got home in the afternoon on Sunday, Aimee came over and we finally sealed my front deck like I've been threatening to. Oh. My. God. It looks so great. It came out a lot darker than I expected -- I bought sealer that had a "natural cedar tint" -- but I like it a lot. I decided to not do the lattice for now so I can still maintain that trailer park air that seems to permeate along with the sewer smell seeping from the innards of my house.