Assessing the Damage
The neighbors are out of the unit, and me being nosy me, I went in after dark last night to see how the place looks. I was worried after peeking through the windows Monday that they might leave the mess I could see. Thankfully, they cleaned . . . some.
But . . . but, the basement reeks of dog crap. I mean, it really reeks.
A couple of times during the last six, seven months, I noticed the neighbors would be gone for long stretches of time, once close to two full days. I knew the dogs were in the house because I could hear them bark every now and then. At the time, I worried the dogs, being left inside so long, might be making a mess of the house. I couldn't figure out how they could be left for so long without being let out to do their business.
I learned the answer to my question the other night, when nosy me peeked through the basement window. Dog crap littered the floor.
Even now, I'm still stunned by this. I simply don't understand some people.
So, I'm trying to figure out a way to chase the stink out of the basement. Lovely Beautiful Daughter sent me a text with an idea from the cleaning ladies where she works: a vinegar wash followed by a Pinesol wash. I'm going to give that a try, but I'm not keen about the strong odors from each that will be wafting through the house. Definitely better than the stink of dog crap, but still. Another idea is to burn sage, which will also chase away the bad ju-ju. I can't imagine the anxiety and fear those dogs must have felt, being locked up in the basement alone, for days. That just breaks my heart. The sage smoke, hopefully, will kindly gather up all the negative energy and take it away.
This afternoon, in daylight, Angel Baby and I walked through the house. Since the neighbors had the electricity turned off, I couldn't see much last night. In the daylight, we saw the damage. Much more than I had initially thought. Walls need to be patched, and all the rooms need to be painted. In the living room, there's something pink that had been splashed against one wall. Looks kind of like a strawberry shake. In an upstairs bedroom, the kids had taken different colored crayons to a wall and made some lovely art. In the kitchen, the knobs to turn the burners on are all gone, as are the grates that go over the burners. The overhead light, a long rectangle of a light, was taken down and replaced by a ceiling fan with lights. A large area of different colored ceiling shows where the previous light had been, along with a crack in the ceiling that snakes out from the ceiling fan. The vertical blinds that had been at each sliding glass door are gone, and we couldn't find them anywhere. The walls right above the doors have large holes where the hardware had been.
It's just really sad to see what they did to such a lovely space. They truly didn't deserve to live there.
I don't think Mr. Landlord has been inside yet. I've not seen him, and I've not heard from him. I have a hunch that when he does go inside, he's going to be quite annoyed by what he sees. I'm already itching to get in and help bring the place back to what it was like when we lived there. I guess we can look at it as an opportunity to make it even more lovely than it was before.
But . . . but, the basement reeks of dog crap. I mean, it really reeks.
A couple of times during the last six, seven months, I noticed the neighbors would be gone for long stretches of time, once close to two full days. I knew the dogs were in the house because I could hear them bark every now and then. At the time, I worried the dogs, being left inside so long, might be making a mess of the house. I couldn't figure out how they could be left for so long without being let out to do their business.
I learned the answer to my question the other night, when nosy me peeked through the basement window. Dog crap littered the floor.
Even now, I'm still stunned by this. I simply don't understand some people.
So, I'm trying to figure out a way to chase the stink out of the basement. Lovely Beautiful Daughter sent me a text with an idea from the cleaning ladies where she works: a vinegar wash followed by a Pinesol wash. I'm going to give that a try, but I'm not keen about the strong odors from each that will be wafting through the house. Definitely better than the stink of dog crap, but still. Another idea is to burn sage, which will also chase away the bad ju-ju. I can't imagine the anxiety and fear those dogs must have felt, being locked up in the basement alone, for days. That just breaks my heart. The sage smoke, hopefully, will kindly gather up all the negative energy and take it away.
This afternoon, in daylight, Angel Baby and I walked through the house. Since the neighbors had the electricity turned off, I couldn't see much last night. In the daylight, we saw the damage. Much more than I had initially thought. Walls need to be patched, and all the rooms need to be painted. In the living room, there's something pink that had been splashed against one wall. Looks kind of like a strawberry shake. In an upstairs bedroom, the kids had taken different colored crayons to a wall and made some lovely art. In the kitchen, the knobs to turn the burners on are all gone, as are the grates that go over the burners. The overhead light, a long rectangle of a light, was taken down and replaced by a ceiling fan with lights. A large area of different colored ceiling shows where the previous light had been, along with a crack in the ceiling that snakes out from the ceiling fan. The vertical blinds that had been at each sliding glass door are gone, and we couldn't find them anywhere. The walls right above the doors have large holes where the hardware had been.
It's just really sad to see what they did to such a lovely space. They truly didn't deserve to live there.
I don't think Mr. Landlord has been inside yet. I've not seen him, and I've not heard from him. I have a hunch that when he does go inside, he's going to be quite annoyed by what he sees. I'm already itching to get in and help bring the place back to what it was like when we lived there. I guess we can look at it as an opportunity to make it even more lovely than it was before.
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