the story of the mysterious puddle

it all started back in september: the puddle.

but where were the drops coming from? after investigating each unit one floor at a time, we made it up to the top floor. BINGO. water leaking under their sink. problem solved.

a few weeks went by with no more puddles (the top floor neighbors had agreed not to use their sink until a plumber came out to fix it). but then...it started again. and this time those tiny splashes of water had turned into constant drops, filling up the buckets underneath. we held an association meeting and decided serious action was needed. plumbers came out to investigate, as well as mold abatement specialists, and it turned out we not only had a leak, but mold as well. bummer.

in the meantime, a tiny hole was cut in my ceiling so the water could drain through and not continue pooling up and billowing out. by now it was a few days before the end of october. about a month and a half of water dripping into my dining room.

then one day i came home to this giant contraption, which i named: the monster.

apparently the leak had been fixed, which meant the mold abatement team could start their magic. they cut a hole in my ceiling, confined the space, and attached a special fan through the only exit so that the mold spores would be captured. ps: that fan was incredibly loud.

but unfortunately in the next few days i noticed water still dripping (and by dripping i mean there was more water pooled up in my dining room than ever before) from outside the monster. see the two buckets i set out? yep. another leak (or two) had sprung.

so the next day the mold abatement crew and the plumber were back. they doubled the size of the hole in my ceiling -- therefore doubling the size of the monster -- which was now taking up the majority of my dining room. you can see the section of plumbing that was repaired, the wood surrounding it was painted over with a special white paint.

fast forward almost another month when the mold was officially proclaimed obsolete, and i finally got to say goodbye to the monster...and hello to a completely useless dining room, taped off in plastic (note: this was not the first time this room has been plastic'ed off).

now it was the carpenter's turn. his task: repair the ceiling.

so far the carpenter's been at my house for six straight days, and i think the end is finally in site.

what's left? once the ceiling is ready, the carpenter will repaint the ceiling. then we'll hire a painter to re-texture the ceiling and then the carpenter will be back to repaint (both the ceiling and part of the teal wall). and then hopefully i'll have my dining room back.

unfortunately i've been told that won't be until quite a while after the turkey day holiday is over...

tinseltime

not only is black friday a time for before-the-dawn crazed shopping, but it is also the day i am officially allowed to decorate for christmas.

now, i don't have many christmas decorations yet, but i do have a few boxes of ornaments and decor to spruce up my house for the holidays. plus, i already have up paper snowflakes, so i'd say my house is pretty festive -- and that makes me happy.

a snowflake blizzard

a perfect project while watching a movie on a chilly night...paper snowflakes. and because it's a "winter" craft versus a "christmas" craft, i can actually leave them up until spring, instead of a month!

luckily for me, my overly drafty windows and doors keep the snowflakes spinning in the breeze.

pumpkins in the window

i know these pumpkins aren't anything to write home about...but if you know me, these are pretty extravagant. the past few years i have either skipped carving pumpkins all-together, or drawn a smiley face on them with permanent marker. so i was extremely proud of myself for making my pumpkins and showing them off in my windows for all to see (and by "all" i mean, those few people who walk on the sidewalk by my place).

i even made a batch of perfectly crunchy, deliciously salty pumpkin seeds! yum yum :)