Canary in the coal mine

We ran into a friend today. She has a friend with the same problem I have, from the same cause - working in a sick building. Her friend has severe pulmonary problems, and brought the mold home to her child. No one has hazarded a guess as to what damage has been done to this child.

I've also been hearing from the folks who are still at the job I had to leave. Although it's been more than a year since they were moved out of the sick building, problems continue in the new location because nothing was cleaned before it was moved. All of the case files - thousands of folders full of paper - were moved in the filing cabinets. Nothing was even wiped off. Ditto with computers and office furniture, especially the chairs with fabric coverings. Now folks who have no connection with them apart from occasionally working in the same are developing unexplained rashes.

Everyone continues to deny that any of this is possible, or that it's happening to them. I made a decision to save myself, and I'm sorry that the folks who were left behind have been treated so poorly. All I can think is this kind of thing is going to become more and more prevalent, and I am not happy that we're on the leading edge of the learning curve.

A Friday Night at home

Last night I was sitting watching some of the shows I had recorded when I noticed the smell of smoke. I asked Mary Fran if she could smell it as I checked our house. Not us. Someone in the hood was burning their trash or their yard debris. Tired of having to close up our house in 80F temps with 64% humidity, we tried turning the window fans around so they would blow out and turned the filters on. No luck. By morning we both are tight chested and using our nebulizers. This is one reason we what at least 9 acres. If you are familiar with quilting terms, what we want is a 9 square. 3 x 3 acres with only the middle acre cleared for the house and gardens. The rest left treed and full of brush. Maybe that will help filter out the odors of our neighbors.

MVA

AAARGH!

I really hate going out in public. Really, really, really hate it.

Yesterday's excursion to renew my driver's license was way too long and resulted in multiple coughing fits while we waited. The cause: folks who just don't get that you aren't supposed to leave a scent trail. I was coughing so hard a couple times that people around us were asking my partner if I was all right.

The building itself wasn't bad. The air vents were fairly clean, and the air turnover is regular because doors open and close all the time time. The few rugs that were in place didn't reek of cleaner. The staff that we dealt with were also scent free.

Maybe next time we'll be able to renew online or by mail. Anything that lets us avoid the perfumed masses is good.

Home, sweet home

Home is the best place. Our house is on the small side, but our yard makes up for it. The best part about it, other than it being ours, is that things here don't make us sick.

The neighbors upwind are another story. When they do their laundry, whatever they use comes out the dryer vent and forces us inside, where we scurry to close the windows between hacking fits.

Our dog groomer is a sweetie, too. Any of you in our region - Petique Groomer. She knows about our problems and has called us in the past to reschedule appointments because of things that happened in her shop that she knew would bother us. Now she's found a scent-free shampoo to use on the puppies so we don't have to take our own in to her. They're home from the groomer today, smelling much better. And since we're not coughing, everybody's happy.