… almost.

Jake found something really nasty and rolled in it. We think. He’s had this odor of rot, vinegar and poo following him like a cloud - David says it’s like Pigpen.

It’s so cold, we haven’t washed him. He’s too big to wash in the house, and the weather is so frigid that we can’t wash him outside, and David doesn’t want to pay for a groomer to bathe him.

So I pulled out the baking soda, and rubbed it into his fur. I remember that when I was in high school and wore one particular pair of shoes for 3 years or so (my favorites) then got them soaked, I experienced embarrassingly stinky shoes for the first time in my life. Grandma Jo suggested putting baking soda in each shoe, and I STILL have that pair of shoes. They’re only stinky if you stick your nose in and sniff.

In like fashion, the baking soda has completely removed the aura of yuck, and almost neutralized the smell. Unless, of course, you get down with him and take a big whiff. I’m thinking that if the smell doesn’t fade and if it doesn’t warm up, I’m gonna take the dog into a groomer regardless.

David doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, but if you’ll recall, he couldn’t smell the stench of the sewer smell before we covered that drain in the basement, either (where the previous owners had cut a hole directly into the sewage line for basement drainage). We don’t trust his nose, no matter how big it is. =)

… was a GREAT day.  It was a good day at work (I got a lot done, I got assigned a couple of fun projects, I got to relieve my boss of a little bit of pressure and take on a task management role, and I got a couple of overtime hours).  It’s been a great evening at home (it’s gorgeous, and we’ve spent the evening relaxing outside on our fabulous deck looking at our fabulous lawn - which David just mowed for the first time).  And, most importantly, today is Friday.  The first day of the weekend.  =)

On another note, my dog looks almost human (in an alien sort of way) when he stands on his hind legs.

We had a *stack* of people over here on Sunday night. 25 or so. This get-together accomplished two purposes: 1) it was our 2nd annual pumpkin-carving extravaganza with the Gardners (and expanded to friends and family from all over), and 2) it was a great opportunity to show off our house, to give everyone the “tour” at once. =)

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so I won’t spend time talking about the shindig. (I disagree with that saying, by the way.) Here are some photos:

The first bunch

 
Trogdor rage (he did a Trogdor pumpkin)

 
Racoon rage?  (she did a racoon pumpkin)

 
one of my favorite pictures.  this is one NEAT kid.

 
Robin’s yuck-this-is-gross face

 
mmm…  this was Rosita’s (left) first pumpkin carving experience.

 
Trogdor and Rather Dashing

 
my very favorite pumpkin design - James’ Zim and Gir.  isn’t this amazing?!

 
Most of us.  Check out James’ head (on the coffee table)!

So…  the smell.

Turns out that our basement floor was too close to the sewer to install a trap between the floor and the pipes.  In the 60s or 70s when they updated the plumbing in the house and/or got tired of the basement flooding, they put a drain in the middle of the basement floor, then just ran a pipe directly from our basement floor into the pipe.  The smell I’ve been gagging over is sewer smell - straight from the sewer into our basement, and into the rest of our house via the space around the basement door and the heating/cooling system fan.  Which draws air straight from the basement.

And David couldn’t smell it. 

And people lived like this for 40 or 50 years.

Not us, not anymore.  We paid a plumber $50 to tell us what the problem was and to bring us a cap contraption they designed for folks like us.  Until we get that from him, we’ve improvised with a gallon ice cream bucket - it’s turned upside-down over the drain from whence the smell comes.