The stink
I spent a miserable night last night counting out the worst migraine I've had in years – throb by throb by throb. I took so many different pills trying to make it stop, that I finally had to give up and just live with it, for fear I might poison myself, or be unable to drive myself to the emergency room if I did poison myself, or maybe my head would actually explode and leak brain matter all over my lovely new pillow, and nobody would find me until Mr. A got home from his business trip tomorrow night.
Eventually the Imitrex seemed to kick in, or I just got so exhausted I couldn't stay awake any longer ... and next thing I knew I was waking up, headache-free but with a strange sense of something still not quite right ... a strange smell. Unpleasant. Kind of like burning plastic.
Since I'd fallen asleep in kind of a fog, with my head propped up on a plastic bag of ice, my first thought was that the bag might've fallen off the bed and landed up against the heater (nevermind that the heater was not on). But no, there it was on the floor, totally intact and still full of cold water. Then I thought maybe it was an electrical fire. Maybe the mice were back, and had finally chewed through the plastic coating on the wires. I checked the kitchen, the garage, the attic – no fire.
Then as I was wandering back into my room through the living room I noticed a movement back in the corner behind the couch. It was Tater, cowering and ashamed, and as I approached him I realized that he was the source of the smell – not him exactly, but the skunk he had gone mano a mano with sometime earlier that morning.
Ugh. I had been so out of it with the migraine that I didn't smell it until the odor had permeated the entire house. By the time I found him I was already running late for work, so all I could do was lock both dogs in the back yard with the dog door closed and plan to run home at lunch to give him a bath and try to deal with the smell in the house.
When I got to work everyone could tell immediately what had happened – I totally reeked of it. So I wasn't too surprised when my boss offered to let me take the afternoon off for de-stinking. I got my work done and left, and spent the next six hours opening windows, turning on fans, washing the dog, walking the dog (to help him get dry), washing clothes, washing towels, burning incense, and finally giving him a fancy fall haircut in hopes of getting rid of at least some of the fur that seems to be totally saturated with this unbearable odor. Then I soaked him for a second time in Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor Remover, which I hope will do its magic in time for him to sleep inside tonight. If he has to sleep in the garage, it will be the first time in the entire nine years of his life that he hasn't slept inside the house at night.
Mostly, I've been kind of shaking my head and laughing. What else is there to do? It's a terrible smell, but still – it's just a smell. I can't tell anymore if it's faded at all or not; my nostrils feel singed and my eyes are still watering, but that could just be from handling all the contaminated towels and chemicals.
Now I'm off to look for the hair dryer, in hopes he will smell a little less after he's dry. About the house I'm less sure what to do. Is there some kind of anti-stink bomb you can set off that will permeate the whole house, like those flea bombs? Because I don't know how else I could reach everywhere the smell is; it's EVERYWHERE. I will need to do more research.
Eventually the Imitrex seemed to kick in, or I just got so exhausted I couldn't stay awake any longer ... and next thing I knew I was waking up, headache-free but with a strange sense of something still not quite right ... a strange smell. Unpleasant. Kind of like burning plastic.
Since I'd fallen asleep in kind of a fog, with my head propped up on a plastic bag of ice, my first thought was that the bag might've fallen off the bed and landed up against the heater (nevermind that the heater was not on). But no, there it was on the floor, totally intact and still full of cold water. Then I thought maybe it was an electrical fire. Maybe the mice were back, and had finally chewed through the plastic coating on the wires. I checked the kitchen, the garage, the attic – no fire.
Then as I was wandering back into my room through the living room I noticed a movement back in the corner behind the couch. It was Tater, cowering and ashamed, and as I approached him I realized that he was the source of the smell – not him exactly, but the skunk he had gone mano a mano with sometime earlier that morning.
Ugh. I had been so out of it with the migraine that I didn't smell it until the odor had permeated the entire house. By the time I found him I was already running late for work, so all I could do was lock both dogs in the back yard with the dog door closed and plan to run home at lunch to give him a bath and try to deal with the smell in the house.
When I got to work everyone could tell immediately what had happened – I totally reeked of it. So I wasn't too surprised when my boss offered to let me take the afternoon off for de-stinking. I got my work done and left, and spent the next six hours opening windows, turning on fans, washing the dog, walking the dog (to help him get dry), washing clothes, washing towels, burning incense, and finally giving him a fancy fall haircut in hopes of getting rid of at least some of the fur that seems to be totally saturated with this unbearable odor. Then I soaked him for a second time in Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor Remover, which I hope will do its magic in time for him to sleep inside tonight. If he has to sleep in the garage, it will be the first time in the entire nine years of his life that he hasn't slept inside the house at night.
Mostly, I've been kind of shaking my head and laughing. What else is there to do? It's a terrible smell, but still – it's just a smell. I can't tell anymore if it's faded at all or not; my nostrils feel singed and my eyes are still watering, but that could just be from handling all the contaminated towels and chemicals.
Now I'm off to look for the hair dryer, in hopes he will smell a little less after he's dry. About the house I'm less sure what to do. Is there some kind of anti-stink bomb you can set off that will permeate the whole house, like those flea bombs? Because I don't know how else I could reach everywhere the smell is; it's EVERYWHERE. I will need to do more research.
4 Comments:
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That reminds me of a time I was driving with my little nephew and we smelled a skunk and he said, "That stunk stinks"
Come on Tina...think. Think back to the 70's when Keith Partridge (or was it Danny) got sprayed by the skunk just before the big show! TOMATO JUICE. You need a tub full of tomato juice. All I know is it worked on TV.
Good luck with the stink.
B
Yeah, I've heard that tomato juice is supposed to do the trick, but maybe that's just an old wives' tale perpetuated and reinforced by reruns of The Partridge Family.
Anyway, I hope it fades on it's own--soon. How exhausting to have to deal with that in the aftermath of a draining migraine.
that's funny that Brad-o-ley brought up the Partridge Family. I totally remember that episode. Well, that's one way of getting out of work--come to work reeking! Maybe I'll try it. Be well, Tina--I can't believe you had to deal with this after such a harrowing migraine. Talk about adding insult to injury.
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