Bitter & Sweet

Just like many things in life, molds are not created equally. Each, and their mycotoxins, have their own unique smells.

There is a sweet mold, or mycotoxin, which smells like perfume, but I know for a fact it's not. It's like a fancy casket to me. It's a light scent and easily dissipates with fresh air. Of all the toxic scents I encounter, it's the most common.

Another is what I call 'baby-powder mold.' It has thick smell very similar to the white substance. Sometimes I wonder if it's not mold but actually baby powder or some other beauty product. It's not as common as the perfume one, but I still smell it on a regular basis.

Finally: the nightmare mold.

Freak Out! (Part 3 of 3)

Part One and Part Two

~*~

Winter has almost passed with weather mostly balmy and luminous. I'm amazed at how alive I feel and how far I've come in physical energy. When we entered the Bub in late May of 2013, a good day involved simply getting out my pajamas. Now a good day is traveling three or four hours to a new campground and still having the energy to write.

Writing is interrupted, however, when water seeps from its designated pathways. Or, in the case of the fourth water leak, floods.

The black water (the stinky tank) was full on a chilly February night, and Mom nor I realized it. We also didn't realize that, unlike all the other faucets which drain into the grey water, the bathroom sink drains into the black tank.

The bathroom faucet was left dripping.

Freak Out! (Part 2 of 3)

Part One

~*~ 

Summer passed in a warm and wonderful blur. My energy returned a little every day, and I was able to write more than half of my long-imagined novel. Best of all, no water issues.

Then reality happened.

In August, Mom announced that once September fell we'd travel to the Airstream factory in Ohio.

"Why?" I asked.

"There's another leak."

Freak Out! (Part 1 of 3)

Okay, actually, let's not. But I have been on the verge of a break down several times since we got the Bub.

Mold & Chemical Sensitivity

One thing tripped me up for a long time about mold illness: how mold, a biological organism, can cause sensitivity to chemicals.

Pondering this question a few months ago, I realized it was not mold itself that made me chemically sensitive.

It was mycotoxins.

This often confuses others because they don't understand that mycotoxins are separate entities from mold spores. Spores are essentially seeds. Mycotoxins are gases that certain molds produce. Some of these toxins are so powerful they have been used in chemical warfare.

The Food Tradition

For thousands of years people have been gathering together over meals. Good food is something all enjoy, and sharing it together is an even sweeter experience.

It's also one I no longer have.

Precision

Whenever my mom and I are at a beach location, we like to take a walk along the sand everyday if the weather's good.

Today happens to be one of the most beautiful days I've ever seen. From our site in the woods, the sky looks like it's threatening to build its cotton candy clouds into a fortress of thunder and lightening. From the beach, it is dramatic collage of shifting blue and white, and the gaps in the shadows on the land and sea make the water a glistening cyan.

The wind made too long a stroll uncomfortable, especially for me who has problems maintaining a consistent body temperature. But the salt air is healing to the lungs, however long we're out there.

That is, if the air isn't contaminated.