Dana Daily

The girls were all excited about New Years Eve, and begged to stay up for the ball drop. I wish I would have thought ahead to get some fun 2019 accessories, but instead we settled for sparkling grape juice and cranberry mimosas at midnight.

Rather than use a 1/2 day vacation, I decided to go into work. I figured if I could get into work early enough while Sal and Seth were still sleeping, it wouldn't matter. After I left work I met the two of them at the movie theater in McCandless, and we attempted to see The Grinch. The only seats available were in the front row, and it was awful. About 15 minutes in, I noticed Seth trying to curl up in the chair, and asked him if he was ready to leave. He nodded yes, so we hightailed it out of there and received a refund. I'd still like to see the movie since it looked cute, but viewing the screen from those seats was horrible. We had no plans for the rest of the day so we just cleaned and got ready for a Christmas celebration the next day. When I was a kid, our big Christmas celebration was on Christmas Eve so to not do anything was kind of strange, but next year I'll have the girls on the 24th instead so it'll feel "right" again. I'd like to someda...

Emmy didn't let on beforehand, but she played a duet with another flutist in her band concert. The teacher allows anyone who volunteers to play, and a few of the duets prior to theirs were rough. Emily and the other girl introduced themselves to the audience, and I held my breath. I shouldn't have worried, they sounded good, and the applause afterward was affirmation. Even her dad was impressed. Girl's got talent, that's for sure. When I mentioned that I hadn't heard her practicing Up on the Housetop , she said most of their practicing was done with Mr. Albert during lunch periods. She never told me she was spending lunch in the band room. Between soccer and band, she's found her loves.

The girls never showed interest in dance, and certainly never asked to take dance. However, Seth is a mover and a shaker when there's music. He loves it. It's been in the back of my mind to sign him up for a class, and last week we had that opportunity. A flier came home from Shaler that a studio in Sharpsburg was offering complimentary classes the week of December 10. As it turns out, there's a 3-4 year old Intro to Dance class on Monday evenings from 5-5:45. Sal and I took him, and it was the cutest thing. He jumped right in, and wore a big smile the entire class. The instructor, Jen, broke the class into 10-15 minute segments of elements from ballet, bollywood, and jazz. She also pulled out props for the kids to use - butterfly wings, veils/super hero capes, castanets. Afterward, the other instructor came out of class to say how impressed she is with Seth's sense of rhythm, and his ability to work the castanets. We thanked her and just kind of laughed to oursel...

When I was growing up we came to Pittsburgh every summer for a day to visit my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ron, and their son Raymond. In exchange, they came up in early December for a Christmas celebration. At some point my aunt and my mom changed things up, and now we celebrate Christmas at their house. This works out great for us, since they're only about 20 minutes north in Wexford. I love this picture - it's as if Anthony is asking who are these people and why am I here?

Wheeling is only about an hour south of Pittsburgh, but right or wrong, all I've ever seen of it is the casino (and it's been years). An event popped up on my Facebook newsfeed in November, a family Christmas party at Elmhurt mansion. There were supposed to be children caroling, a self-guided tour of the mansion, a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, etc. Well, it was a unique experience. Santa and Mrs. Claus were waiting right inside the door, and Seth sat quietly on Santa's lap while he guessed what Seth might want for Christmas. Then we started making our way through the mansion, which has been added onto and is now a retirement facility for women. There were no signs where to go, or the history of each room so by "self-guided" they meant "self-guided." We did find a group of children singing, but we caught their last song, which was funny because we arrived shortly after the event started, and it didn't take us that long to find them. There ...

Sarah was chosen to be a part of this choral ensemble by her music teacher, Mrs. West. Tonight was their first performance. The Block at Northway (mall), had a community Christmas celebration, and one group after another took the stage to perform for an audience on chairs in the lobby. Despite a fight with her dad beforehand, which resulting in him leaving and missing the concert entirely, she had a great time. The kids sounded great. I'm so glad she's found her niche. SAES Singers will also perform at The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, but that performance takes place during the day so I won't be able to attend.

Today is Sal's 48th birthday. We woke up at the bed and breakfast, and I gave him his birthday presents. He had asked for a book written by Neal Peart, the drummer for the classic rock band, Rush. He also wanted an arm for his cymbal to attach to his drum set. I also gave him Beatles book of sheet music for the keyboard. I called my mom to see how Seth was overnight, and he had slept great. She handed him the phone to talk to me, and when I said hello, he replied, with excitement in his voice, "that's my mom." Melted my heart, I'll tell ya. I assured him we'd be home shortly. We had a delicious breakfast of homemade pancakes with fresh fruit, and other treats, and then we hung out with the innkeeper for a bit. Sal played Let it Be  from his new book on the B&B's baby grand piano. He doesn't understand why I like listening to him play. I love piano music, and I love that he has that talent. I wanted to stop into the new bake shop in Franklin t...

For our fifth anniversary we returned to my hometown of Franklin, PA, where we were married at St. Patrick's Church. While I had hoped to go somewhere warm for our anniversary, it wasn't in the cards. An architect from New York City bought a mansion in what had been the exclusive Miller Park neighborhood on a hill above Franklin about 10 years ago, restored it, and now operates a B&B. The mansion was built as a wedding present for the daughter of a man who made a fortune during the oil boom in Venango County at the turn of the 20th century. The mansion is located in what had been the exclusive Miller Park, and this place was magical when I was a child. The homes are huge, even bigger when you're a kid, and I just remember how the owners would go all out decorating at Christmas time. I picked Seth up from school, and we headed north. My parents were going to watch him for the night, but I wanted to get him settled in. He hasn't spent the night without me, or at...

I "spotted" this dog at the At Home store around Halloween. I wanted to buy it for Christmas then, but I resisted. Today when the girls and I were out browsing for outdoor decorations, I saw him again. I knew Seth would love him, and even though the girls rolled their eyes, we brought him home.  I would agree that $35 is a lot to spend on a stuffed animal, but I figured what we're saving vet bills, food, and house breaking more than makes up for it. I told Seth he has to stay on the fireplace, and he's been good about just hanging out with him there. You can see how much he loves him.

Sal and I planned after last Christmas to take Seth on the Polar Express out of Akron, Ohio this year. Somehow the girls caught wind of this, and surprisingly wanted to go as well. Knowing that this event sells out, we joined the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad so that we would be able to purchase advance tickets which went on sale in September. Seth woke up vomiting at 5am. Nothing dramatic, but it was still alarming, particularly when he did it again at 6. I gave him Zofran because I did not want a repeat of the virus/routine that we experienced August into September. He didn't have a fever and he was acting like himself, but without an appetite. We kept his stomach empty, and the girls and I ran out to do some shopping. While we were out, Sal called and said that Seth was having some issues with diarrhea. We weren't able to get a refund on our Polar Express tickets so my mom told me that if he was acting fine and no longer vomiting, we should still try to go. It was ag...

I just could not get into Thanksgiving this year, and it's my favorite holiday! I generally take the day before Thanksgiving off to prep, but I am out of vacation because of Seth's extended illness a couple months ago. So, I went to work and Sal took care of the preparations. This may have played a part in why I felt so blah about the day. Then too, the girls were spending the holiday with their dad so maybe that contributed. I don't know. I went through the motions, but something was just "off." We put the turkey in the oven and 2.5 hours later, after the timer popped and the timer went off, my dad started carving. The outer layers of meat were fine, but the closer he got to the bones, it became apparent that the turkey was still raw. He finished carving and we popped the sliced meat back into the oven while the rest of the food was prepared, and taken to the table. We saved Thanksgiving, but I opted out of eating turkey. After everyone went home, I (s...

In the 14 years I've lived in this township, I've managed to avoid Light-Up Night using cold weather as my excuse. Sarah and Emmy begged me to take Seth this year saying that he would love it. It really was a nice event. Various high school organizations set up food tents in the parking lot between the middle school and library, with a variety of options. No organization competed with another in their offerings. Inside the school cafeteria were various booths from community businesses giving away such things like windshield ice scrapers, or raffling off an outdoor inflatable. Balloon artists were making an adorable Rudolph, or whatever kids requested. They were replaced after a couple hours by face painters. Arts and crafts were available on the first floor of the library, and outside was a temporary ice skating rink. While we didn't skate, it seemed to be a popular option.  Outside bands were playing Christmas music, and the high school chorus sang carols in the en...

The Emperor's New Clothes  was one of my favorite stories when I was a kid. I just always thought it was hilarious that someone could be fooled into wearing nothing, AND going out in public. I was excited to hear it was Mrs. West's choice for the 6th grade musical this year, and that Sarah wanted to audition. Why she was bummed to have a part in the ensemble, and not a speaking part, she got over herself and ended up having a great time. I didn't take any photos during the play itself because I wasn't sure of copyright infringements, but I did snap a couple afterwards when the kids lined up on the stage.

I typically schedule no more than one activity per weekend day, but today was an exception. We started with swim class at 9:30. There really isn't anything left to say about it now. Seth loves class, loves the water, and continues learning new skills every week. We have one class left in this session, next weekend. After swim class we had to run up to Wexford to sign one final paper for our recent car purchase. Apparently we had filled out an incorrect document earlier in the week, and the finance guy needed us to stop in. We had just enough time to run home, eat lunch, and then get the girls to the library for cooking class. With only a 45 minute window, I knew the class would be basic, but all they did was listen to a story and decorate a cookie. They were by far the oldest who attended, but the sign said it was appropriate for children in Kindergarten through 6th grades, so what do you want. They went along with it like the good sports they are. At around 6pm, our babysi...

At about 8pm, as we were winding down for the night, the kids were bathed. Sal was in the shower. Emmy and I were reading in my bedroom, we heard Seth crying downstairs. Sarah brought him upstairs and said that he had tripped, over his own feet she thought, and smacked his head off the concrete floor. She was shaken up, and he was screaming. I got him calmed down and took a look at his forehead. There was a huge goose egg. I'd never seen such swelling. He seemed okay otherwise, wasn't vomiting, was talking in complete sentences, and was able to walk normally. However, I called to Sal that we need to run to Express Care at the hospital. The five of us loaded into my car and we ran over. It was almost 8:30, and Express Care is only open until 9 so I was grateful we would get there in time. We got in to see a doctor quickly, and she checked him out. His pupils weren't dilated and he was walking fine. She suggested we wake him every two hours overnight just to check on ...

I was #113 at my polling location at 11:30am. The kids went with me, and all were impressed with the process. Emmy returned with Sal (#299) later in the day, but she claimed it was just to get a ride in his new car again.

Sal and I went to a wine tasting event at our local library last month. I saw this fundraiser advertised on the library's facebook page, and it sounded like something we would enjoy. Join us this evening for a very special fundraiser with local wine connoisseur John Eld as he guides us through a time of railroad travel when the best food and drink were served in opulent dining cars. The wines will be from France and Italy, plus one from the U.S. by a winery that was in existence at that time. Small bites of various foods will be provided. John is former chairman of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Wine Society. My favorite "wine" was actually champagne, but each wine was served with a complimenting dish, a serving size portion. I didn't think to take any pictures at the event, but you can imagine my surprise when I saw my picture up on the bulletin board at the library. . .not once, but twice.

Emmy's soccer season ended today, with a loss, unfortunately. But, the team had a great season, and she loved every second of it. One of the moms sent this picture.

Seth asks every day if it's time for swim class yet. Whatever reservations/anxieties he had initially are gone. We're not certain he's ready to get in the water by himself without Sal, but we vote him "most improved." Here he is jumping in from the side of the pool. Following swim class, we hit Eat N Park and then the eye doctor to have Seth's frames adjusted. Later we went car shopping for Sal. More about that in a future post. Always an adventure.

According to Seth's teacher, the kids had fun playing in the "Dramatic Play Center." Seth is a pirate, apparently, and just look at that grin. So cute. While it's unlikely Seth will stay in a Catholic school for elementary, I am loving this preschool.

Halloween started out beautifully, but as the day wore on clouds moved in and the rains came. By the time Trick-or-Treat started, it was raining a slow drizzle, but at least it was relatively warm. Sal took the kids out to make the rounds, and I stayed home to pass out candy. For nearly 30 minutes, we only had one kid, and then the masses arrived. I had my usual hierarchy of treats with the best costumes receiving the best treats. At one point, I gave a kid a can of pop, and he turned around and yelled out to the street, "Hey, this house has Coke." Six more kids ran up to the front door. Thanks kid. But really, it was totally amusing, especially given the double meaning. No coke, just Coke, I swear. Eventually my own children returned, after about an hour surprisingly, and they had collected so.much.candy. We took out all the bags of chips, pretzels, and cookies that can be used in lunches and put those in a bag in the pantry. Then we had the kids sort the candy they ...

Seth loved swim class today. He was talking about all the fun songs they have adapted for class, for the last two days. . . The Wheels on the Bus ,  Happy Birthday,  and  If You're Happy and You Know It . This week the focus was on learning how to float.  They start by having the child put his head on the parents shoulders, submerging their ears. They have them look up at the ceiling while the parent walks around the pool. This was Seth's take on that task. Six weeks ago I didn't think we'd get to this point.

This is a big week for the 3 year old program at Blessed Seelos Academy. Yesterday a librarian, today firefighters. The fireman arrived with a truck and a dalmatian named Marshall. Seth loved it. Seth's teacher uploaded this picture to the Dojo app she uses to share pictures of the kids' days with us parents. I love this little peek into Seth's world. Seth is standing first in line on the far left, plaid jacket. Just look how little these kids are, not even as a tall as the firetruck's tire.

Sarah auditioned for this "small" ensemble on Wednesday last week, and was told the list of who made it would be posted on Friday. For two days I listened to my usually laid back 11 year old stress, and know she lost sleep counting down the hours. When she came home from school on Friday, I was so excited to ask if she had made it. She huffed and said that the internet was down, and her teacher wouldn't post until Monday. All weekend we listened to how much she needed to make this ensemble. She "just had to!!" I received the following email this afternoon:                      Hello!                      If you are reading this email, your son/daughter has auditioned for                      and been accepted into SAES Singers.  This was the most competitive            ...

Today, at 8:17am, Emmy turned double digits, the big 1-0. She was so excited. We celebrated with a family costume party yesterday, but I wanted to wait until her actual birthday to post. My aunt and uncle came as a Supreme Court justice and a ship captain, my brother was also a justice. My dad wore camo, my sister came as a renaissance woman. Sal and I were Superman and Wonder Woman, respectively. Seth wore his Paw Patrol costume for about 10 minutes, and Sarah was a devil. Emmy, the birthday girl, was Nemo. We're not certain what my mom was, her costume was a mix of all sorts of accessories and costume jewelry she had inherited from my grandmother. Emmy had a soccer game today, and her team beat and undefeated team 2-0. The girls played well together, and were always in motion. Watching from the sidelines, it was obvious the other team never had a chance. Emmy's in the center of this photograph, wearing an orange/pink headband.

Week 4 was Seth's best swim class yet. He actually seemed to enjoy being the water. He let one of the instructors hold him, he enjoyed chasing after the rubber ducks, and he finally seemed relaxed in the water. We'll make a swimmer out of him yet. This was the first time Sal was able to get Seth to lay back and put his head on his shoulder. This is the first step to learning to learning how to float. My mom spent the night on Friday, and was able to come to his class too. We didn't go to Eat-n-Park because there was much to get done before the birthday party which started at noon. I'm going to post a recap of her party on her actual birthday, October 14.

Way back at the beginning of August, Sal and I decided to update our living room. You can see my first post about that here . The fabric I had chosen was back ordered so the six week time frame we were initially given, turned into 10 weeks. Levin's couldn't promise that I'd have the chairs in time for Emmy's birthday party on the 13th. However, our saleswoman called earlier in the week and said they could deliver on Friday the 12th, if that would work for me. I didn't hesitate to say yes. Seth and I were at home when Levin's showed up, and he loved watching the delivery guys unload and bring in the chairs. I think they look awesome, and I am so happy with them. I actually love my living room now. I'm still debating on repainting the walls a more neutral color, and changing the decor on the walls on either side of the fireplace, but this is still an improvement. The rug may need to go as well, but this is so much nicer than it was so I'm happy, fo...

There was no swim class last week due to homecoming, and the week off certainly didn't do this already water-anxious kid any favors. He let grow on his death grip on Sal's neck, but he hated it. Still crying, and trying to work his way into a hug every chance he had. This is progress though. And, we treated him to Eat-n-Park afterward.

For the first time since I moved to Shaler in 2004, we attended the homecoming parade. The kids wanted to go for the candy, and for some reason, I agreed to this adventure. The parade, while barely covering a 1/2 mile stretch of roadway in front of the football stadium, took nearly an hour. It was a chilly too. Emmy was to play her flute during the pregame with all Shaler bandies from 5th through 12th grades. We took her up to the stadium, and then I ran the other two kids home. I fought traffic, and made it back to the stadium, just in time to hear the kids play the national anthem and the alma mater. They sounded great, and Emmy was so excited when she came off the field. She said she wants to play at every football game. In just a few years, she'll have that chance. Emmy has been bitten by the band bug. After the football game, we decided to go to the Dorseyville Pow Wow. I loved the "indian dancers" I had seen as a girl scout years ago, and was expecting somethi...

Seth's teacher uploaded a few pictures from the kids' nature walk today. I just thought this was the cutest, and Seth loved looking for leaves and taking in the fall sights. Seth is third from the right in this photograph.

Yesterday I found out that my position, project coordinator, had been eliminated. I've been given a technical writing opportunity for 30 days on a trial basis. If at the end of those 30 days everybody is happy, I'll have a job and continue with my employer as per usual. If not, I'll be given severance. This is going to be a stressful month.

I hope our recent illnesses aren't an indicator of how this winter is going to go. I woke up with diarrhea early Monday morning. This is a highly unusual occurrence for me, even when sick. I blamed it on a combination of ice cream cake, which had previously upset my stomach, mulled apple cider, and peach tea. While I didn't feel well all day, I dragged myself into work and actually felt "okay." Not great, but okay. By evening I was feeling more like myself, but exhausted too. I went to bed at 9:08pm, just after tucking the kiddos into their beds. Tuesday I woke up and felt like a million bucks; the best I've felt since the weather turned. I had tons of energy and just felt really good. Unfortunately this high energy continued well into the night, and I didn't sleep a wink. I heard Sal wake up around 4am with awful diarrhea. Not unusual for him, but the fact that I had just had this issue a couple days ago threw up a red flag. He called off work an...

Today was a much better swim class. We had told Seth that if he got through class without screaming, we would go to Eat-N-Park afterwards. He did have some anxiety, but he was calmer too.  He knew what to expect this week so maybe that helped as well. He still can't relax in the water, but he has weeks to improve, and there are many levels ahead of us.

Seth was finally able to start swim class today. I wanted him to start like the girls had, when he was a baby. However, with his ear infections it just didn't seem like a good idea. Now I'm confident those issues were resolved, and he has a fear of pools, of course. He's fine in small "baby" pools, he likes the bathtub, and he's okay with his own plastic pool in our backyard. However, larger pools terrify him. . .so of course it's time to start lessons. I would say today was nearly a failure. He screamed and carried on the full 25 minutes, but he didn't try to escape the pool either. Next week I'm getting in, and I'm bribing him with Eat-n-Park afterwards. His last swim class isn't until mid-November so he has lots of time to get over his fear.

Seth's first day was delayed by about a week due to his illness, but we finally made it. He had no issues with me leaving.  We arrived early and I walked him to his classroom. We met his teacher, and Seth spotted a fire truck and other toys along the wall. He wasted no time pulling a couple a out. He gave me two seconds of his time to snap and a picture, and then he was ready to explore.

(9/3, Day 15, p.m) Seth was being admitted to children’s. He’s lost too much weight, and they don’t know what’s wrong. He just had an MRI to rule out a mass on his brain since tumors can cause vomiting. The drs are optimistic it’s not that because he has diarrhea as well which would be atypical. He’s also throwing up more than once a day (also atypical for tumors). My mind never went to something so serious or traumatic in all my worrying about him so I completely broke down when the dr said he was ordering one. My poor baby. UPDATE 1: Seth moved a lot during the MRI so some of the pictures were unreadable, but from what they could see from the few that were clear there’s nothing abnormal. My feeling is if they were convinced that’s what it was, they would retake them. Instead they’re admitting him to gastroenterology.  UPDATE 2: (9/4, Day 16, a.m.) We slept! Seth was fine overnight. The doctors are puzzled by his combination of symptoms. This morning he’s asked fo...

Seth had a good night, and a good early morning for that matter. He hasn’t had zofran since yesterday evening, and he hasn’t gotten sick. He freaked out with the IV in his hand, but once they put the sock over it, he calmed down. He hasn’t tried to take it off, and never asks about it. The tractor came from child life, and there’s no way he’s going to part with it. The GI team will be back in sometime before noon to update us. Update: We are cleared for discharge. There are no further tests to run, and he is keeping food and water down. He'll continue his recovery at home.

I remember my grandma telling me that when I was barely 5, I told her that someday I was going to live in Pittsburgh. She had grown up on Polish Hill, and my grandfather was from Verona. They lived on a farm outside of Butler and never felt the pull of the city, but I did. We were always back and forth visiting family, and even as a child the city spoke to me. I loved the city neighborhoods with tall, thin houses stacked one upon the other, the small specialty shops for any  item you wanted, and traffic jams made for great people watching. The city has an energy, and I was mesmerized. I was going to live here. I moved “down here” and dove right into learning my way around, navigating the random one way streets, sometimes in the wrong direction. Never panicking if I got lost, but looking for a sign for 279N so I could reorient myself. Now I can get people from one neighborhood to another, and to points downtown. From my living room I can hear the fireworks when the Pir...

We took Seth back to Children's this evening. Over the course of the day he stopped eating and drinking, and he's already lost so much weight. If nothing else, he needs fluids.

Sarah and Emily started sixth and fifth grades, respectively, today. Nothing has changed for this year. They're both still in the same school, same bus driver, same everything. Next year we'll shake things up, but with the madness of late, it's best this year is old hat. Sarah's looking forward to joining choir, and the cooking after school club. Emmy is playing soccer, playing the flute, and looking forward to trying volleyball for the first time. I'm so ready to get this year over and done. I just love summer so much.

Fortunately Seth seems a lot better today, so plans went forward as planned. Our sitter picked him up about 5:30 to take him to a baptism party for the daughter of one of his daycare teachers. Because he was going to know so many people in attendance, and the party was right around the corner from our house, we agreed she could take him. I was a bit anxious buckling him into someone else's car, but we all need this. Shana promised to have him home around 9pm, so that gave Sal and I plenty of time to enjoy dinner. It was strange after Seth left. It took us about another 30 minutes to get ready after he left, and the house was so quiet; unsettling even. Finally Sal and I were on our way. I had mentioned wanting to try Andora , the former Cross Keys restaurant in O'Hara Township, and it did not disappoint. It's rumored this inn was a stop on the Pony Express, although I can't find confirmation of that online. For celebrations we always go all out with drinks, apps...

Seth is sick again. He got sick twice in 30 minutes, 5 times in an hour. Here we go again  😭 My poor baby  😭 😭  I just want him well. I didn't want to spend my 41st birthday cleaning up vomit, but such is the mom-life.

My mom called me Saturday morning and said that Emmy, who had spent the previous two nights at their house, had thrown up twice. She was just calling to let me know, and that I didn't need to rush to come get her. We had planned on her coming home Saturday, so I bumped up the pick-up time and arrived in Franklin just before lunch. Emmy was dressed, but definitely not herself. Since it seemed like she had the same virus I had, I cautioned her to stay away from Sarah and Seth when we got to home, and to have a simple dinner if she was hungry because in all liklihood she'd be sick again. Sure enough, at 11:30pm, she came downstairs and 30 minutes later she threw up. Sunday she was better once again and we attended church and the church picnic as a family. It was an otherwise uneventful day. Monday morning Seth woke us by crying out from his room. Sal got up, and I heard the vomiting not long after. I ran in as well. It was 5am. He continued to throw up every 30 minutes ...

After coming home from my nephew's birthday party on Sunday and finishing my fireplace project, I started to fell like there was a kettle bell in my stomach. I didn't feel sick exactly, but I certainly wasn't feeling well. I went to bed at my usual time, and slept all night. At 6am, I knew the party in my stomach was going to erupt, and erupt it did. I felt awful from 6am Monday until about 3am Tuesday morning, but still wasn't feeling great on Tuesday. I forced myself to eat some plain chicken and some watermelon for dinner, and started feeling better at that point. For how I felt I should have lost 10lbs, but alas, only 6 came off.

With the new furniture on order, I knew something had to be done about this fireplace. It's a huge eyesore and a focal point of the room. I've been cursing this behemoth for the last five years, and researching how to fix it for nearly as long. Sal told me to do whatever, and my mom was a proponent for leaving it as it was. We talked to someone about demolishing it, but not only is that an expensive option, it could lead to even bigger and more expensive structural issues. I had a carpenter give us a quote to build a surround, and it was over $5000. That just seemed outrageous, and a surround wouldn't change the stone. I discovered a white washing technique, but knew if I went that route, there would be no going back, and I might hate it just as much. We had tossed the old screen, and spent a couple hundred dollars on new doors which was an improvement, but again, it's the pink stone that was at the root of my issues. removing the failed whitewashing  I'm ...