The Aftermath

A number of you have responded to my last post wondering what the aftermath was of the day from hell. Of course, I didn't post an answer for over a week. Anywho, here's the scoop:

• The carpet pad in the guest bedroom is toast. Well, actually it's exactly the opposite of toast: it's soggy and moldy. Apparently Joe didn't really grasp the full extent of the damage when I called him on the phone shortly after the incident, because when he got home the next day he was shocked. He said, "Jenny, you can't leave the basement that wet!" It took all my strength not to smack him. Anyway, we promptly pulled up the carpet and threw out the pad. I was all for ditching the carpet as well, because it happens to be ugly as sin, but we draped it over some chairs and left fans running for two weeks, and now it's still ugly as sin, but dry ugly sin. And Joe's sister is coming to visit and is sleeping in that room for the weekend! Fun!
• I managed to get all of the soaking dirty laundry clean before any centipedes, moths or spiders found it and before my neighbors called the police about my new landscape decorating. However, in the hours of alternating between folding laundry and trying to suck up water from the carpet with a shop vac, I apparently forgot the last load of laundry in the washer. I kept thinking (hoping) the carpet would have to be thrown away because something sure smelled awful down there; then about a week later I went to do more laundry and nearly fell over when I opened the lid on the washer. Yikes. Two more heavy-duty washings later, those clothes are fine again. Except I do have these unexplained hives on my legs that the doctor says is a reaction to something I'm wearing...
• And finally, the moth explosion seems to be slowing. Now that I say that I will be attacked by a swarm next time I open the door, but we've had a few days of 90 degrees and sunshine, and I think the drying out is helping reduce the birth of new moths. Just to prove that I am not crazy, here are the places I've found moths in the last week: behind the curtain in the window in my shower, meaning the moth had to get behind the shower curtain and behind the window curtain, all while I was showering; in the supermarket while I was looking at cereal; inside the tennis bubble while we were playing in the semifinal mixed doubles tournament; smooshed between my bedroom door and the doorjamb; and inside my oven. Yes, my oven. I opened it up after preheating, ready to insert my dinner, and there was a moth, crispy and dried on the bottom of my oven. What the?? This of course does not include all the moths circling my ceiling light every evening, of which Joe refuses to kill more than three in one evening if it's past 10:30.