Day 2: Front Porch Project

So why is it that every time I want to start a "little" project.. where I think it I could get it done quickly it always ends up a "BIG" project and more time and money has to be spent? I blame Bob..

Bob is Eric's grandpa whose house we are living in now.

So this weekend we spent more time on the front porch project.
After looking at options for insulation and looking at the ceiling some more it was decided that the ceiling had to come down. So that was this weekends project. And whooboy it was a dirty one!

Remember the ceiling...  ?

So much dust, dirt, debris and other stuff fell on our heads. We went through 4 or 5 face masks so we didn't breath in too much of that crap.

Husband working on removing the last board from the ceiling

This is how it turned out!  Not too bad i suppose... 

Then we started to survey the damage.

Ugg.. well this will obviously need to be replaced..  The cross beam is completely rotted and we will be putting a new one in.

old water damage

We found somethings nest.....

A nest.. fortunately already vacated.

The bone? we found in the nest!  Looks like a rib bone.. of what I have no clue!

So things we will be working on next...

Replacing that rotted beam.  Adding more as the beams are like 3 feet apart!  So we will add more for the support of the new ceiling.   Jacking up the roof....  So I don't have a picture and I will try to take one before we start working on it.. but the roof is sagging at the peak by 4 or 5 inches so we are going to jack it back up so it's level and add more supports so it doesn't start to sag again.
Then install the insulation and hang the new ceiling!

not much.. not much at all...

Hopefully the temperatures don't drop to much too soon so that we can get this work done before it gets too cold and before I need to paint.. but there are always space heaters!

Till next time!

Total: still only $7 but that is going to change pretty quickly!

a journey (on my head): day 2

So today my head itched like crazy and it is flaking really bad.
So that is good news.. means it is working. I'm already seeing a lot of it breaking up! I am beginning to think that this WILL be cleared up by next Wednesday!
How awesome would that be to have all this cleared up by Thanksgiving. Now that is something I can be thankful for!

So I have some pictures. You can see that it is flaking quite a bit.


I won't bore you too much with this.. but here is a close up of my scalp today. Though it looks bad it is really breaking up and a lot of the scaling came out today. Though a lot of hair fell out today also.


I really hope in the next few days I have pictures that don't make me feel sick to my stomach.. cause these just look nasty. Aren't you happy I am so sharing!?...



Oh.. and here's Poe.. just can't stay out of anything.. even my blog.

Till tomorrow!

a journey (on my head)

So I want to take you on a journey. Perhaps you will join me?

This is not a journey that will show you pretty places or things to do. Does not involve driving or walking for that matter.. Actually this is a journey about healing.

See.. ever since I was 22 I have been battling psoriasis on my scalp. This is a hereditary disorder of the immune system. My scalp essentially creates new skin cells faster then it sloughs them off. My understanding is that my body is creating new skin cells in 6 to 8 days vs the normal aprox. 30 days. (now don't take my word on that.. this is just from what i remember reading.. thought i suppose i should look it up.. but naah). Oh.. and it's not contagious. phew..

Over the years I have had this psoriasis come and go. I had an instance in my early twenties where i lost a lot of hair on the crown of my head because of the scaling from the disorder. I have used a lot of creams, pills, ointments, oils and shampoos. That is really the only way you can treat this problem. There is no cure.

Well recently my scalp has exploded again. It's almost as if i have a wide headband of psoriasis scaling across my head. I had been avoiding going to the doctor. Not sure why.. money was an excuse, I guess i also just thought it might go away if I use some special shampoo.. I think some of the stress in my life just got the better of me and i just didn't take care of the problem as soon as i should have. But I went to the dermatologist on Wednesday this week. He seems to think with proper treatment that it will be cleared up in a week. 1 Week People! I have been suffering with this for months and he says it will take 1 WEEK!.. Yes, I may feel silly at the end if it does only take a week but it is what it is. So If you would like to join me and you don't have a super weak stomach.. lets go!

This is me:



HI Guys!!

Right now because of the problem I always wear my hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail and a little head band to hold some of the shorter hair and to hide some of the scaling.


Hair up & Hair down

You might already be able to see some of the damage. I've lost a lot of hair so it's really hard to hide now.

More pictures:
You can see the scaling a bit and some of the hair loss. This stuff itches and is pretty uncomfortable.


The right side of my scalp. The hair can clump in the scales.


Top view.. I have lost quite a bit of hair.


A view from the back.


Happy girl i am not.. I miss my hair.


You may have noticed a bit of flaking in my hair. That is because on Wednesday night I started my treatment that the doctor gave me to get this cleared up. So all these pictures are after one treatment. He said 1 week.. so I'm going to try and chronicle the healing process.
I had to take the pictures tonight by myself as the husband was out slaying dragons or something like that. So hopefully the pictures will be better since I won't be trying to contort my arms in weird ways to take pictures of my own head.

Aaanyway.. I will take pictures and post them everyday right before the next treatment. So tomorrow evening I will post pics after two days of the treatment and so on.. Lets see if this will actually clear up in a week.

My arsenal:


Left to right: Neutrogena T/Sal Shampoo: have to wash my hair every morning with this leaving it on for 3 to 5 minutes. Fluocinolone blah blah and something else (I have no idea how to pronounce that stuff): is a oil drop i have to put on my scalp after i get out of the shower in the morning. Derma-Smooth/FS: Another oil i have to use on my scalp at night. I have to dampen my hair and scalp, put this stuff on it then cover with a shower cap and leave on over night.

It's not fun but I'm already seeing flaking so that means it is breaking up already after only one treatment.

Wish me luck..