Let the Games Begin...
My aunt arrived from Texas on Saturday. Since we just got through a holiday weekend, she doesn't have her furniture yet. She just has an air mattress and working on cleaning up the basement to make it into a studio apartment type of thing. Let's just say that the basement was a wreck. The people that my grandmother hired couldn't get a whole lot done, grandma wasn't willing to let a whole lot go. My mother went over Thursday and managed to get quite a bit thrown out. The fireworks are beginning between my grandmother and aunt. The air mattress that my aunt brought up somehow tore beyond repair and she bought a new one. Kicker is that since she doesn't have any of her possessions yet except a couple changes of clothes, an air mattress, her dog's crate, she asked for a fitted sheet and a blanket to borrow until her stuff arrives. My grandmother had said that she only has 3 sets of bedding and wasn't about to let my aunt borrow a fitted sheet, blanket and pillow. But my grandmother finally said that where she sits on the couch, my aunt could use the blanket that my grandmother supposedly washed. The thing smelled like urine. I'm not completely sure what exactly my aunt is doing for bedding until her stuff arrives. I know she is working, at least, attempting to clean out the basement to make it liveable. I think that my mother and I are going over tomorrow to help my aunt out a little more. If we are, I will bring a couple shirts for her and probably stop at our drug store to pick up a couple pairs of socks and maybe let her borrow a couple books. I know my aunt is stressed because of other things. My aunt is reminding my grandmother that they agreed that the backyard will be fenced in for my aunt's dog but my grandmother is now digging in her heels about the fence even though my aunt will pay for it. I am building a little gift basket for my aunt and her dog to help with her stress.
Is your Grandmother's basement set up to be an apartment? Like is it finished or unfinished? Does your Aunt have a window in her future bedroom in case she needs to escape from a fire?
Has the basement been tested for radon recently? Many forget that if someone is going to sleep or spend a lot of time in a basement, it is very important to check radon levels. Kits can be bought at Home Depot/Lowes, or hire a company to come out to set up a tester to check the levels.
If the radon reading comes back high... oops, not good. Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas. There are ways of getting rid of radon, and Grandmother needs to have that done, no ands ifs or buts.
How sweet of you for putting together a gift basket for your Aunt and her dog :)