“Your House Smells Like Poop” and other fond memories from today.
These are the kind of text messages I get at 6:30 on a Friday night.
Those about getting up early and running on a Saturday morning.
Welcome to my world.
Actually I was very happy to have company on part of a 12 mile run. Lord willing, I’m doing the Thanksgiving Half Marathon in the ATL on Thanksgiving and since Thanksgiving is 12 days away — do you believe that — I needed to do one last long run.
So running buds Kim and Melissa were showing up on my door at 7:30 today and Melissa’s son was coming over to hang with my kids while we ran.
Melissa leaving my house after getting her son settled.
Flash backward about three minutes.
Young son and Melissa knock on door. I smile and let them in.
“Your house smells like poop,” comes from mouth of young son.
Oh.
Amazingly I had a reply real quick. And it wasn’t a made up wicked fib like the Grinch to Cindy Loo Who.
“We have a dog and I think he makes things smell.”
“Dogs aren’t supposed to poop in the house.”
No. No young child. Dogs aren’t to poop in the house, just as you think old age will never happen to you.
Good grief.
Does it really smell that bad? Granted I keep Imodium AD in my medicine cabinet for my dog. But still.
I don’t smell it.
Or maybe it’s like the pulp mill stink in Brunswick. Every time I’m down there I’m like “how do these people stand it?”
Maybe they don’t notice because they breathe it all the time.
And my to my friends. Why didn’t you tell me? I would tell your if your zipper was open or if your breath smelled bad. Or if your house smelled like poop.
Okay. Maybe I wouldn’t.
Obviously there is little I hold back from telling you people.
When I get a moment to catch my breath, I’m going to rent a steam cleaner. Because the back-of-the-house renovation we need is not going to happen EVER.
So that was the start to my day.
I did get 12 miles in but had to come home to a poop-smellin’ house. That I still can’t smell.
What do you do? People that live with animals?
HELP.
Omg… My paranoia! I have a dog. Two cats. A bird. Two smelly teens. A mildews basement..and garbage that the two smelly teens are forever forgetting to take down. BIG SIGH.
I always have scented candles going any time someone is set to walk into my house. Walmart carrys Better Homes was tarts for those Warner’s.. You know…cancels with out the wick?? They have amazing holidays scents out… The rum spice cake..OMG. Right now I have crackling fire going. It completely does the trick.
Good luck with your race!!
Out of the mouth of babes. I regularly steam clean my carpets and use arm and hammer carpet powder on all my carpets once a week or so. It really makes a big difference. Other than that there’s not too much you can do when you have animals… I guess, you could stock up on Febreeze and room fresheners. Whenever the little guy comes over you just spray some and hope for the best!!! 🙂
Ginger — I love scented candles and usually have them burning from late afternoon on (this time of year). Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, etc. Guess I will have to starting burning them 24/7.
Susi — I think that steam cleaning is the ticket. We have wood floors everywhere else in the house, except the back room which is carpeted. I would love to redo it and have a great tile or wood flooring put down but till then I guess I’ll just have to do damage control.
I walked into Daystar the other day and caught Kim red handed with the Febreeze in hand! 🙂
You are a funny girl.
Dear Jani ~ I bet the dogs in Ethiopia are much better mannered.
Oh, man. We have 4 cats, so I’m always paranoid that our house smells like an animal hoarder’s house. (I often wonder if having 4 cats makes us borderline animal hoarders.)
Lately, our oldest cat occasionally pees on Cat #4’s beds. We vigorously clean the areas and spray Nature’s Miracle on the floor where the bed was (we have wood, no carpeting). We’ve had to throw out beds if she does a repeat performance — note that she can’t stand this cat.
Even so, I can still smell a faint pee odor that eventually goes away. But I don’t know that it really does. Maybe I’m just used to it too. I would want my friends/family to tell me if it smells like pee in here!
Bee — yes, add two cats to our mix. And my daughter is in LOVE with her cats. It’s definitely a trade off. If animals are going to be in the house, they are going to affect the environment.
Oh goodness! What a start to your day, huh?! I admit I giggled … good luck with your race and I can’t say how much I admire you guys for getting up early and running for 12 miles! To me .. that sounds pretty impossible. I run on the treadmill for five minutes and am puffing like an 80 year-old smoker with pneumonia after a whooping cough.
Larrisa ~ five minutes is about all I can take on a treadmill, as well. I have to be outside. Freezing rain is about all that will drive me to the gym.
Hmmmmm. . .now I’m paranoid that my house smells. I can’t smell anything, though! But I do have three very furry Australian Shepherds. I also have a Dyson animal vacuum (true love, there) and I borrow a friend’s steam cleaner whenever she goes out of town. That thing is amazing!
I feel you with the renovation thing, sigh… I just have to resign myself that certain things are never gonna happen around my house. (Our first steam clean in the whole 5 years we’ve lived here was this summer, as a birthday present to me from my husband.)
Also, I love the word “varmint”. We don’t use that enough up here in the great white North.
Oh the things kids say….
I’ve got two Boxers (one’s still being potty trained–we’re really close though) and a cat in a condo, so we keep Febreeze and Yankee Candle in business.
As a Brunswick native, let me say this: Ga. Pacific is kind of like the dog doing its biz in the house–it will take you by surprise unless the wind has a chance to blow the smell just the right way. But it’s a fact of life, it ain’t going anywhere; you light a candle and you move on.
Kathryn, I thought of you — and you are right, sometime you don’t smell it at all. The wind must blow westerly — right onto 95.
Okay, as this is my first visit to your blog, this is going to be tough, but I am going to guess #1. Here’s why: your photos are lovely. Now, I think these women are gorgeous and so sophisticated in their age (so if you disagree, please don’t be upset because this is intended as a compliment), and you remind me of a beautiful, gracefully aged Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, or Lucinda Williams. I am guessing you’re not as old as these women, but you share those qualities of natural grace and beauty in the images up on this blog.
What the hell? My comment ended up on the wrong post somehow. It was in response to November 12th post.
Angela — whoever you are sent from heaven. I need to have you on speed dial. Thanks for the lovely words.
So funny, my house probably smells like poop too but not from my dog!!!!
p.s. I subscribed to your blog via email and it doesn’t arrive in my mail. I forget to check my favorites unless they are in my inbox…