Update...

The carbon monoxide detector went off because our HVAC damper had shut and the exhaust was blowing back into the house. The repairman cleaned out gobs of soot and all is working well again.

He gave us some good advice that I'd like to pass along:

1) Have a detector in the room with your unit.
2) Have a detector outside this room as a backup.
3) Calm your nerves by testing your detector. Take it outside to the vent where the carbon monoxide exits and place it underneath the vent. It should immediately go off. Then place it back inside. You will now know for certain that the detector is working properly.
4) Have a battery operated and a plug in detector. (this will eliminate the "eh, it's just the battery" response that I had.)
5) Change the batteries along with your smoke alarms with daylight savings. This particular admonition has always irritated me, b/c as a minimalist, I think that you are just wasting perfectly good batteries. Just put those semi-used batteries in their own Ziploc and label them "post-detector". They can be finished out in a camera, flashlight, etc.

....tune in for more exciting adventures from the "Beckett diaries".....

Shut it down...

Today, I have a public service annoucement....

if you have these (those that breathe in your house, human or beast) , you should have a carbon monoxide detector. Ours went off this morning. We were eating breakfast and I started to hear a beeping that I couldn't find. At first I thought it was part of Mad's program on PBS, but I finally discovered our detector going off in the basement. I shut it off and almost attributed it to a faulty battery, but the alarm went off twice more after that. I called Jeff who called John H. Coleman ( highly recommend them) and they thought it was exhaust from our unit. Our home inspector had us place a detector on the other side of the wall from the unit, and thanks be to God that he did. We shut the unit down, raised the windows, and I began to plan the escape route for me and the girls. Literally, I am running up the stairs and packing clothes for us to leave the house. We called KUB who told us to call 911, and then ...



here comes the brigade. They came into the basement and took a measurement (it should be zero) and found a 5 or a 6. We told them that we had shut the unit down and aired out the room, so we tested it with the unit on and closed off. The numbers on their scale climbed to 50 within a matter of seconds.

I can't help but think how slowly the gas dissipates compared to how quickly it fills up a room when there is a leak of some sort. I did feel nauseous and headachey while I was down there shutting it off and raising windows for ventilation, but I attributed that to more stress and "mama bear".



So, as Coleman works on the unit, we pull out the auxilliary heaters, employ our fireplace, and return to potty training. Yep, that's Mad sitting on a towel, extra pair of sweatpants by her side. It's just another week with the Becketts.

Etsygazing (an ongoing saga)

Is there anything more lovely than shopping online for the holidays? Maybe supporting a homebased business by buying a handmade gift? Social consciousness wins again!!!


Teether by Little Sapling Toys



So that's what you can do with all of those miscellaneous buttons...

Mongram pillow by Letter Perfect Designs




Seriously, a mini mini Bundt pan? In lavender??? Ahhhhh!

Mini pots,pans, and dishes by Cupcake Social




I want to throw a party and have these everywhere!

PomLove

Pass me the Jane Austen.....

Hydrangea pillow by dedeetsyshop