Life is Sometimes Ugly, but Always Good

Life is many things: good, bad, frustrating, and sometimes plain ugly. So you ready for the ugly? Don't worry, these aren't medically ugly or “not for the squeamish” pictures. They are rotten bathroom from the 70's ugly.

We've had our house checked for mold, because so many people said that maybe that's why I'm so sick all the time. Never found any mold, not even in the dank, dark, dungeon of a used-to-be-crawl space turned aquaponic room. Well, now we found the mold. Accidentally.

The Transporter takes a shower, and The Engineer starts screaming about the flood of water in the laundry room. An argument ensues. “I didn't do anything differently. I didn't splash against the faucet! I didn't splash against the corners!” These are spots that in the past have had leaks that The Engineer-Handy-Man fixed. So like any good engineer would, he investigates. And is able to just flick off some tiles around the soap holder. He keeps going. Finds this. The elusive mold.

Oh goody. A major remodel is just what our budget needs at this time of year and when medical bills are arriving like Harry Potter's acceptance-to-Hogwarts letters. Flying into the house through every possible entrance. Sigh.

We decide that IF we're redoing all the tile, we should take out the 1970's vintage “goldenrod” tub. Good decision. Here's what we found under it. 

The missing floor was so rotted it just sort of fell out, 

and what's left 

will take a bit more effort to remove, but by now The Engineer has been Demo-Man all day and stops.

So yeah, the ugly. Very ugly.

*****

Now for something good, and SWEET.

The wonderful Jo of Jo on Food, My Travels,, and a Scent of Chocolate  has gifted me with The Sweetest Blogger Award. She said some very encouraging stuff about me and it just made my day. I'm to answer the following questions, which is going to be quite fun since I'm hypoglycemic and can't eat sweets...and then pass it on to five sweet bloggers.

Questions: 
    1. Cookies or Cake?

       Pizza. I like artisan, weird pizzas. One of the best was at          Serious Pie in Seattle. It had roasted garlic, mushrooms,            arugula, and something else unusual which I cannot                  recall at this time.

2. Chocolate or Vanilla?  Chocolate. I will sometimes sneak a very dark piece of chocolate with my wine. Then I have to go eat some slices of roast beef or something else to counteract the sugar...

2. Favorite Sweet Treat?
   Another glass of wine. It's what I'll order for dessert in a restaurant.
   
   
3. When do you crave sweet things the most?
   I've really gotten beyond craving them since it's been so many years. I crave shoe string french fries daily though...
   
   
4. Sweet nickname?
   Pizzalatukit. The Engineer IS weird. But you already knew that.

Here are the five Sweet Bloggers that I'm passing this award to. Please go say “hi” from me! (This was almost impossible to narrow down to five...I realized how many truly sweet and wonderful people are part of my world. Love to ALL of you.)

Amanda at House Revivals. She doesn't do awards, but I can still tell you that her sweet friendship of 21 years means a lot to me. We met at church and she moved away, but thanks to blogland and fb, we're still close. 

Gary Pennick of Klahanie. He's the most generous and giving of bloggers, spending most of his “farcebook” time putting up links to other's posts, and of course leaving his witty and heartfelt comments all over blogland. A tireless crusader for the mentally ill, he's a treasure and a “sweet guy” for sure.

Hilary Melton-Butcher of Positive letters...inspirational stories...  I just can't say enough about her.  She's a dear friend, encourages me daily through chatty emails, often sharing hilarious personal stories to cheer me up.  Thanks, Hils.

Jeremy of Being Retro, and so many other places and endeavors. He's like a brother to me, and always cheers me up when I'm feeling down. His digital art is amazing, and his t-shirt shop is not to be missed. 

JoJo of Tahoma Beadworks and Photography. She's just such a fun person to hang out with (we banter on fb) and I love her photography and crafts which she shares on her blog.

~Tina, proving that life may be ugly, but it sure is good and “sweet” too :-)