Busy, busy, busy...

I haven't been able to check E-mail lately, but might get a little time this weekend...we'll see.  I'll try and post updates here as often as I can.  We're busy all day and in the evenings I'm usually too tired to consider getting online.

They weren't able to get all the new floors down, so the hallway and computer room will have to wait.  The rest did get done, but taking up the brick kitchen floor made a mess.  It was far dustier than the slab work had been.  They had to grind to get some of it up and everything in the front of the house was covered in a fine brown dust.  I ended up sending Reid to a motel because we didn't think he should be breathing all that dust in right now.  Troy and Debbie came over on Sunday and helped me clean and dust.  We worked for hours, but the place is so much better now.  Just in time for Keith to arrive from Austin on Monday.  Thank goodness things were somewhat organized by then.

Reid's latest scan results were good!  The mass continues to get smaller and things are moving forward as far as the stem cell transplant goes.  Reid and Keith have been spending time down at MD Anderson undergoing all the remaining testing.  We spent all day Tuesday down there and today Keith is there for a half day and Reid another whole day.  I did not go today.  Reid assured me he'd be OK and he's feeling pretty good considering he had another infusion on Tuesday.

I've just been exhausted and Friday morning I will be going early with Reid since he's scheduled to have general anesthesia for the CVC.  That was his one request.  He wanted general anesthesia this time since they had trouble inserting it the last time and it was quite painful.

So far all the test results they've gotten back on Reid and Keith are good.  Unless we hear otherwise I'm still expecting Reid to be admitted to the hospital sometime before Christmas.

I need to get my butt in gear now and get a few things done around here today.  I only have so much energy and there's so much to do.  There's just so much going on at one time.

Thank you for your prayers.

Update:  Just heard from Keith.  He's been approved as a donor and will begin the injections to produce more stem cells on Saturday.  Hopefully, within a week they'll be able to harvest the stem cells.  Also, waiting on the last of Reid's tests, but assuming they're OK at this point.

"X" as in X-TRA work for Alphabe-Thursday

 
Yes, I know that's not how extra is spelled.  I'm just spelling it that way for Alphabe-Thursday and I already did X-RAY previously in another round.  So, today it's X-TRA as in lots of X-TRA work.

Even though I feel a little overwhelmed right now, my X-TRA work is nothing compared to what the people cleaning up after Sandy face.  I grew up in northern NJ and had lots of fun at the Jersey Shore.  It's heartbreaking to see what has happened to NJ and NY.  However, I remember Galveston after Hurricane Ike.  Our first ride down there after the storm convinced us that Galveston was finished.  However, we were very wrong and today you have to look for evidence of the storm.  I know Sandy was much more widespread, but I'm confident that NJ and NY will come back.

Now on to my X-TRA work.  In Texas most homes are built on concrete slabs.  Our soil is mostly clay which expands with moisture and contracts when dry.  This causes the house to kind of rise and fall.  Eventually the concrete slab cracks and the slab becomes very uneven.  I've heard them say that it usually takes 20 to 30 years for this to happen and large trees don't help the situation because they drink up so much of the moisture.  We keep soaker hoses around  the outside of the slab and water a lot during the summer, but sometimes that just isn't enough.

It was time for some more piers.  The piers go under the slab and help hold the house up.  They go deep into more stable soil and are adjustable.  We already have piers around the outside of the house and some inside, but this time we needed four more inside where the den and kitchen had fallen off.  What they do is come in and take up the carpet and use jack hammers to get through the concrete.  Then they take out lots of dirt and pour the concrete piers.  Right now the holes are covered with plywood while the concrete cures.  Then they'll come back in a couple of weeks and do all the jacking.  Afterwards, I'll have new floors put down.

I spent last weekend packing things up in the kitchen and den and moving them into the dining room.  I also covered a lot of things with plastic in hopes of cutting down on all the dust. You know how dust is...it gets everywhere!  I especially didn't want to have to wash all the dishes and china in the dining room.

Here are some pictures of the dining room:

And I had to protect my dolls too...

Some stuff was piled in the entryway...

And I tried to protect all my cookbooks in the kitchen.  It would be a real drag to have to take them all down and dust.

After going through the concrete slab they brought out lots of dirt:

And then they started bringing the concrete inside:

Yes, right through the backdoor and into the den and kitchen:

Here's one of the holes in the den floor.  Most of the den furniture and carpet is under the plastic that you see to the left.  They added two piers in the den and two in the kitchen.

Then they put plywood on top of the holes and put the carpet back down.  We have two bumps now under the carpet in the den.  They placed plywood over the holes in the kitchen too.

I just have to remember to look where I'm walking for a while.  They'll be back in about two weeks to finish the job and I must remember not to break my neck in the meantime.

Then I'll have the same tile that I have in the dining room put down in the den, kitchen, utility room and hallway.  I really like the brick pavers I have in the kitchen, but I don't have enough extra this time to make repairs, so it will have to go.

I thought I'd try and be a lady of leisure the next two weeks.  No sense in cleaning or dusting until the job is done...right?

Please drop in on Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of other participants in this week's Alphabe-Thursday event.  Thanks!

Busy Days Ahead...

I've been meaning to write a quick post for almost a week.  I kept thinking I'd get some pictures taken to go along with an update, but never got around to doing it.  I did go to the Houston Italian Festival this past weekend, but forgot my camera.

Reid finally got the results of his latest PET scan last week...almost a week after the scan.  He had called and left a message a couple of days after the scan and never heard anything, so he called a second time last week and the P.A. called him back pretty quickly.  I guess they hadn't gotten the first message.  Anyway, the scan still shows activity (cancer), but it's gotten smaller again.  I was hoping it would be completely gone, but smaller is still good.  Originally his oncologist was thinking about 8 or so treatments.  I believe Reid has now had 7.  The drug was approved for up to 16 treatments, so we'll see what the doctor says when he goes back for the next treatment on October 23rd.

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready to have slab work done on the house.  Unless you live in this part of Texas you probably have no idea what slab work is, but I can tell you it's a pain in the "you know what."  Homes here are built on concrete slabs.  The soil is mostly clay which expands and contracts with moisture.  This causes the house to kind of go up and down.  Eventually, the slab cracks.  You can tell when doors stick, windows don't close easily, and cracks appear above doorways.  The problem is made worse by dry conditions and large trees which drink up the water and dry out the soil.  It usually takes time to happen...20 to 30 years.  Anyway, we've had work done before and now need some additional interior piers.  That means they have to come inside, rip up the flooring, and go into the concrete slab with jack hammers.  Needless to say, it's a big mess.  We were originally scheduled to have this done last June, but when Jim died I put it off until the end of October when hopefully it would cool off.  I need to put the dog and cats in the garage.  We've only had a few cooler days a week or so ago.  Other than that the A/C runs night and day.  It's been in the 90's, but today felt better and I think it was only in the 80's.  I just hope it will be cool on October 29th.  I'll be sure to take pictures.  Seeing is believing!

I miss the old Blogger Dashboard!

The Bad "C" Word and other stuff...

I've been busy for a while trying to get some much needed stuff done around the house.  We had let things go for years.  First we had my Dad with Alzheimer's living nearby and that required almost daily visits for a long period of time.  Then Reid was diagnosed with Hodgkin's and more recently Jim was diagnosed with prostate cancer and lost his battle. So, getting stuff done around here wasn't exactly our first priority for a number of years.  Everything overlapped and there was never a break in between to have a somewhat normal life and get things done.

So, I finally hired painters for the dining room and then had a handyman put up crown molding (which I probably should have done first).  Afterwards I had to caulk and paint the new molding.  It took me forever because: 1.) I'm old, 2.) I'm tired, 3.) My back bothers me, 4.) I had to trim bushes and do some yard work,  5.) I still have to vacuum, dust and grocery shop occasionally 6.) I wanted to watch some of the Olympics.  7.) My friend, Coletta, visited from California!  I forgot to take pictures, but she brought me roses and Ashely said they were delicious.

Anyway, the dining room is done...sorta.  I still have stuff to be hung.  I can do some of it, but I asked Troy today if he could come by someday and hang the stuff that needs those molly bolt things.  Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks that will all be done.

Meanwhile, Reid received a call from MD Anderson about coming in to see the stem cell doctor this past week.  We did think that was a little odd since he had been sent back to his regular oncologist for the Adcetris treatment.  We both decided it was probably just a routine follow-up visit and so he went down by himself to see him. Normally I go with him if he's receiving test results or having a treatment and might not feel well enough afterwards to drive.  This time I did not go with him.

Much to our surprise the stem cell doctor told him that he needs a donor stem cell transplant while the Adcetris is still working and before his tumor becomes resistant to the drug.  This came as a complete surprise to us as we had been of the impression that the Adcetris alone had a 30% chance of giving him a cure and if not a donor stem cell transplant would be a back up plan.  The doctor said that if the Adcetris hadn't worked at all he wouldn't have even recommend a stem cell transplant.  The stem cell transplant will give him a 40-50% chance of a cure.  Needless to say, we're devastated by this turn of events.  Reid is not even sure what he'll do.  He already knows that the stem cell transplant will be hell.  He's done it before.  They practically had to kill him to in order to try and cure him.  (At least it seemed like that!)  Is it worth the extra 10-20%?  He's just not sure anymore.

He hasn't felt well for years.  This is his third round of chemo and even though the Adcetris is much milder than the past chemo it's still not a walk in the park.  Besides, prior to transplant he would have to be admitted again for the "really strong" chemo that will end up destroying his immune system.  The last time that was pretty horrible.  He developed a scab that ran through his entire intestinal track from his throat on down.  It was extremely painful...not anything like a normal sore throat and they had to hook him up to a pain pump. He wasn't able to eat.  The whole ordeal was pretty horrific. Then he developed pneumonia while his immune system was suppressed and at first didn't respond to the antibiotics.  So, we know what to expect the next time.  Reid remembers hearing that a donor stem cell transplant also means a longer recovery period.

If  he decides on the transplant Keith will have to come from Austin for a week so they can harvest his stem cells for Reid.  Then Keith will come back for the transplant and work out of a Houston office so he'll be here to help me.  They won't even consider doing a transplant unless there are caretakers.  Once again, he'll have a long hospitalization and then we'll have to live down in the Medical Center for a while.

My heart breaks for Reid.  He's been through so much already and it just doesn't seem fair.  Most people his age don't have to make life and death decisions.  It's very difficult to watch your child (and they're still your child no matter how old they get) have to endure so much. This has to be his decision.  I will not twist his arm or try talking him into it.  I've seen what he's already been through and can't be that selfish.  Whatever his decision I will support him 100%.

To be honest, I'm worn out and  hope and pray I'll have the strength and endurance to give him the support he'll need in the months ahead.  I had so hoped after losing Jim that we'd be able to get back to some sort of normalcy in the coming months, but I guess that won't be happening anytime soon.  We're going to desperately miss Jim's support this go around.  I am thankful that Jim died not knowing that Reid had relapsed.

It's been years since we've had any normal carefree days.  I think back five years or so and how we took those kind of days for granted.  It seems like once the "the bad C word" enters your life there's no going back.  Life becomes one big emotional roller coaster ride.

And I had put off having the interior slab work done on the house until the end of October when it would be cooler.  Now I might have to postpone that again and there are so many other things that need to be done around here (like new attic duct work and a new kitchen counter and sink) that I didn't want to have done until the house was level.  I sometimes think I should just sell this house "as is" and walk away.  I just don't have time to get everything done.

 For those of you who have supported us with your warm thoughts and prayers...THANK YOU!

We'll see what Reid's regular oncologist says on Tuesday.  It will be another long day down there.

A Long Day With Good News...

Yesterday Reid saw his oncologist at MD Anderson and got the results of his latest scan.  The scan had been done on the 5th, so we had been nervously awaiting the results for five days.  This scan was done to see if the Adcetris was working.

We left the house at 10:15 for his 11:15 blood draw.  The doctor's appointment was scheduled for 1:00, so there wasn't really time to go anywhere.  We plopped ourselves down in the waiting room and waited.  He didn't get called back until almost 1:45, but the Physician's Assistant came in and gave us the news right away.  His scans looked good!  The spot on his lymph node had gotten smaller and there were no new spots.  (Gosh...I didn't even think to worry about new spots.)  The liver numbers that had been elevated in his previous blood work had now returned to normal. All good news!

His appointment for the infusion was at 3:00, but they were running 1 1/2 hours behind, so we waited again.  They went ahead with the infusion at the reduced level of the drug that they used the last time.  It sounds as if this is the level they'll keep him at from now on.  The infusion takes a half hour, but they won't order the drug until he's had his vitals taken and he's in a room with the IV ready to go.  It's my understanding that the drug has to be thawed and if for some reason he can't receive the infusion they don't want to waste it.  So, we had to wait for the Adcetris to come from the pharmacy.  I don't remember what time we got out, but we stopped at Subway on the way home and picked up a sandwich for him.  He hadn't eaten all day.  I think we were home at 7:00.  It was a long day, but the news was good so we weren't complaining.

Remember the dining room that I started painting before Christmas last year?  I've been trying to get the dining room ready for the painter that I've hired.  I decided at the rate I was going I'd never get it done. The walls where the china cabinets are have been painted, so those pieces of furniture won't have to be moved and I won't have to pack up the china and glassware again.  But, I've been busy today taking down pictures, shelves, and moving smaller pieces of furniture out of the room.

I've decided that I have too much stuff.  I used to weave baskets and there are baskets all over the place.  This is the pile I took out of the dining room.  Perhaps I have too many baskets?

And too many bears?  This guy is a permanent fixture in the dining room because I have no other place to put him.  He's really a Christmas bear that I won years ago at a Hallmark store.  I just can't seem to part with him for some reason.

And Reid's cat Ashely has been enjoying all the dining room action.  He likes a bird's eye view.

Here's some more stuff that I dragged into the hallway to get it out of the way for now.  The hallway is going to be an obstacle course until the painter is done in the dining room.  You can see some of my dolls in the hallway.  I have too many of them too!

The painter is supposed to be here Friday and Saturday.  I sure hope he gets it done on time.  I'll be glad to get the room back in order.

Meanwhile, we've had a lot of rain.  After last year's drought we're not about to complain.  Everything is nice and green now.  My poor outside cats are getting tired of hanging out in the garage.  It cleared up a little and Blackie and Baby came out, but I guess they don't care for the wet ground.  They've taken refuge on the top of Reid's truck.

I always keep towels on the deck chairs for them.  As soon as it cleared up I put dry towels on the chairs, but I guess they don't realize it yet.

I've got a few more things to get out of the dining room and tomorrow I'll vacuum it so we don't get cat hair in the paint.  I'm off to bed early tonight.  I just wanted to quickly get a post up to share our good news.  Thanks again for every one's prayers.

Things that are going on...

Reid came home from his trip last Sunday morning. He had a great time on the cruise and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. However, he developed a cold during the week and by Sunday evening had a fever.

He E-mailed the Physician's Assistant at MD Anderson on Tuesday since he was scheduled for a CT scan and the clinical trial on Thursday. She told him to come to the Emergency Center to be evaluated. It was determined that he had some pneumonia in his one lung and he was given an antibiotic. They also did a flu test and the following day that came back positive. So, now he's taking Tamiflu too. He did have a flu shot last October, but I guess this is a strain that the shot didn't cover. However, the fever is gone and he doesn't feel all that bad. The CT scan and clinical trial have now been re-scheduled for next week.

Meanwhile, Jim was also down at MD Anderson on Tuesday for his regularly scheduled appointment. His PSA has gone up again, but he was given a new injection and hopefully this will bring it down. He's feeling well and did a bunch of running around today on his day off.  He even went grocery shopping with me this afternoon.  Tomorrow I'm going to make some Chicken Noodle Soup just like a Jewish Grandmother!  If you remember my Secret Santa gave me the Cooking Like A Jewish Grandmother Cookbook in the swap and this family could use a little Jewish Penicillin right now!

Some months back I bought myself Family Tree Maker 2011 and I've been entering all my documented genealogy information into the program. (I did some research back in the late 1980's and early 1990's before we all had personal computers.) With Family Tree Maker I received 6 free months of Ancestry.com but I've been waiting for things to calm down a little around here before I activated it. I'm starting to think that there's no time like the present, so I'll activate the Ancestry.com subscription this weekend. Last night I decided to set up a second blog just for genealogy. (What was I thinking??? I don't even have time to post on one blog very often and now I'll have two!)  All the catchy little names were taken like "In Search Of My Roots" or "Climbing My Tree."  Oh well, I tried.  I settled for "My Trip Back In Time."  It will probably be dormant for a while, but it's there for when I get a little ambitious.

Oh yes, and after this summer's drought our house now needs some more interior piers. That will mean ripping up carpet and my beautiful brick kitchen floor, bringing in jackhammers and drilling through the concrete, digging out the dirt, and putting in the piers. Yes, it will be a big mess. We're thinking about what we're going to do right now, but there really isn't anything to think about. It has to be done at some point. I just dread the whole thing.  We watered around the slab with soaker hoses all summer long, but we do have some nice big trees in our yard and they soak up a lot of water.  Such is life in Texas.

Note: This is not our home.  Our home really doesn't look crooked to the naked eye.  I'm just exaggerating a little here.

 Did I tell you that I'm old and tired? That's my usual punch line these days.

 Tomorrow I'm going to start taking down the Christmas decorations. It's time and I really want it all down before Easter. I brought most of the boxes and containers over from the storage place yesterday. The one cat keeps climbing the tree. You can only tempt them for so long.

I'm either crazy or brilliant!

You make the call. We were supposed to have a new dining room floor put down a year ago this past September, but that's when my Dad died and Reid relapsed. The company had already ordered the tiles, but they said they'd hold onto them and put the floor down whenever we were ready. They told us not to worry because we had enough to worry about already. (Aren't people nice?) So, they waited and when Jim was diagnosed with cancer this October I decided we'd better go ahead and get the floor down while the going was good.

I finished packing up all the dishes and glassware and we moved all the boxes over to the storage place where we keep our Christmas stuff. They came in and put down the floor. It was actually the entryway and dining room and the old floor had to be taken up and the furniture moved. It took about a week to get it all done.

We've lived in this house for 20 years and we've never painted the entryway or dining room. The wallpaper had become dated and this area of our home was long overdue for an update. However, with Thanksgiving right around the corner we've run out of time! I need to get the dishes unpacked, but we haven't painted yet. I don't want to unpack just for Thanksgiving and then pack them all up again so we can move the furniture to paint. What was I going to do?

This is where the brilliant part comes in...or perhaps the crazy part. I've decided to paint just behind the furniture for now. That way I can unpack the dishes and move the furniture into place. Then we'll throw plastic covers over the furniture and paint the rest after Thanksgiving (hopefully) or maybe the beginning of next year. Granted, it will look kind of odd for a while...especially since we're changing colors.

Today I started washing the woodwork to prepare it for painting.

There's a lot of wood and I've only done three walls for now. I'm hoping to patch holes where pictures were hung tomorrow. And I bought another dining room hutch at an antique store so I'll have more room to store dishes. The hutch I bought isn't antique, but it goes well with the furniture we have. I really wanted an antique, but this hutch holds a lot more and I need the space. Tomorrow I'm going to get Reid to take me in his truck to pick it up. Then I'll hopefully get the painting done before the end of the week and we can bring the dishes back over this weekend.

Does it sound like a plan? Would a sane person do it this way? Sigh...I wish I was 30 years younger. I get tired just thinking about painting.


Meanwhile, I did have time for a little fun. I won two Muffie dolls on eBay a while back. I never had a Muffie as a child. I was (and still am) a Ginny doll person, but over the years I've tried to surround the Ginnys with a few different faces. These Muffies were definitely in need of help and the price reflected that need. Here they are right after they arrived and getting ready for a bath and shampoo.



And here's the blond after her makeover. It was her first day of school.

And here you can see more of her curls. Her outfit was made by Susan Dart. She's adollsewloved on eBay.


The second Muffie still needs some work. She might have to wait until after the dining room.

Welcome Fall

The last couple of days have been wonderful! Very low humidity and the temperatures have dropped into the 80's and low 90's. Granted, we still have to run the A/C, but the low humidity is a real treat.

I had already decided that I'd put up some fall decorations in early September. After the 100+ temperatures I wanted to pretend it was fall. On Saturday I ran to Michael's and bought what I needed to make a new wreath. The silk leaves have a tendency to act like blotters and absorb moisture from the air. In no time they mildew, but I still use them for a while. Real leaves aren't perfect, so I figure the black spots are OK for a couple of  years.  It was now time for a new wreath and some new leaves.

Here we have our artificial fall foliage, artificial pumpkins, artificial gourds, etc. I've given up on the real stuff...it rots too quickly. And our leaves don't turn pretty colors. They just dry up and fall off over the winter. They need cooler temperatures to trigger the pretty colors. So, we use pretty make believe leaves.

I know it will get hot again, but for now I'm enjoying what we've got.  I just wish we'd get some desperately needed rain to put out all the Texas wild fires.  It's really getting bad.

Flag Of Honor for 9/11

Have you seen these flags? We got our 9/11 flag at Lowe's. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but then I read that a portion of the proceeds will go to The Voices of 9/11 Museum at Ground Zero, the Flag of Honor Fund, and the Wounded Warriors Project. This is just a quick scan of the folded flag.



It's an American flag with the names of everyone who perished as a result of 9/11 as the stripes on the flag. We also purchased the yellow banner that says Honor & Remember. I'll fly it on the 10th anniversary this year and then every year afterwards.

With the 10th anniversary approaching I'm finding myself a little down in the dumps. It makes it all seem as if it just happened again. I'm flipping channels and seeing some of those awful images again. I'll never forget, but I think this flag and banner will help make me feel like I'm doing something to honor and remember the people we lost that day when I fly it each year.

I do have a problem with companies and individuals profiting from this tragedy and I realize the flag company will be making some money. It is an American company however. Anyway, I have mixed emotions. How do you all feel?

Mowing The Back 40...

This morning I headed out to mow the back 40...40 inches that is!  Well, not really.  For this area I guess our yard is bigger than a lot of them which is one of the reasons we bought here.  Also, I knew how important the big trees would be for shade.

I've only mowed once since spring.  Very unusual, but our back doesn't get mowed as much as the front anyway.  Because of the shade the St. Augustine grass won't grow and it's too hot for Fescue so our backyard is Monkey Grass and weeds.  Monkey Grass is normally used around the edge of flower beds or trees.  It's not usually grown in place of regular grass, but we didn't have a choice.  It sends out runners and spreads.  I keep it high where I want it to edge something and then mow the rest shorter.  It grows rather slowly compared to regular grass.  It needs very little care and up until this year I thought it could grow with never being watered.  However, we haven't had a good rainfall since January and even the Monkey Grass has been dying out.  I started watering the back when I realized, but now they're asking us to mow on even or odd numbered days depending upon the address.  Starting Monday we can't water at all because there's a broken water main that they'll start repairing then and the water pressure will go down.  I'm not sure how long the repair will take, so I'll water tomorrow for sure.

These pictures show how the Monkey Grass is dying where it has to compete with the trees for water.  I guess the trees are winning.

This is along the garage wall and usually it's filled with ferns, but only a few came up this year because of the lack of rain. 

This is where the Monkey Grass edges a small deck we have in the backyard.  It should be all green.

You might have noticed in some of the pictures my Naughty Gnomes.  I thought they were kind of cute mixed in with the nice gnomes.  The ones I have aren't too naughty and make me smile when I see them peeking out from behind the tall Monkey Grass.  I bought them online from a company in NJ.

Yesterday, someone wrote on their blog about their new self propelled lawn mower.  Since I had mine out this morning I thought I'd show you a picture.  This is Old Bessie and she's a real work horse.  We bought her in 1986 or 87 before we left Houston and moved to Oklahoma for a couple of years.  That's how I can place the time frame.  She starts up with the first pull of the cord, but now burns oil just like an old car.  One of these days the EPA is going to come along while I'm mowing to see where the smoke is coming from.  We've only had her tuned up a few times over the years.  My husband does change the oil and spark plug each year.  When you consider the fact that we mow about nine months of the year it's pretty amazing that she still runs.  Every year we think this will be the year we'll need a new one.  In case you're wondering Old Bessie is a Honda self propelled mower.  She cost about $500 and that's about what they still cost today.  Before that we bought cheap lawn mowers at places like Kmart and replaced them every few years.  I'll never own anything but a Honda again.

And here's a cute wagon I found at an estate sale a while back for $15.  I thought it would make cute yard art, but I want my husband to drill holes in the bottom so if we ever get rain again it won't rust as quickly.

Have a good weekend!

Jacking Up The House AKA The Constant Thrill of Home Ownership

I know this is going to seem strange to many of you, but today we had our house jacked up. Homes in this area are built on concrete slabs. Our soil is made up of mostly clay or "gumbo" as some call it. The soil expands and contracts with moisture and this eventually causes the slab to crack as it rises and falls. I've been told that this happens to approximately 50% of the homes sooner or later. I think it usually takes around 20 years or so for the cracks to appear, so new homes are safe for a while.

Our house needed to be jacked up again along the back. We have a lot of trees and they cause the soil to dry out even faster than normal. We're not about to cut trees down, so we have to have the house jacked up. During the summer we run soaker hoses around the perimeter of the house in hopes of keeping the soil from drying out under the slab. Unfortunately, last summer was very dry and it was a losing battle.

First they bring in jack hammers and open up any concrete. Then they dig holes next to where the piers hold up the slab. The piers were put in under the slab the first time the house was jacked up.

Then they position their jacks.

A man climbs in each hole and they jack up the house.

One of the men comes inside with a long level and keeps checking until the house is back where it belongs.

When they get done they take out their jacks and I believe it's then held up by concrete blocks. They fill in the holes, pour more concrete, and put the deck all back together again.

We knew the house needed to be jacked up because a couple of doors were sticking and some cracks opened up in the drywall. Within about five house everything was level again.