Home Sweet Home

We moved back home on Thursday, 18 days after our "flood". We spent a full 2 weeks living at the Marriott.

This has been SUCH a learning experience!! After hearing horror stories from many, many people about similar situations, we were prepared to do battle with our insurance company and expected resistance at every turn......and OH, THE IRONY!!! While we were busy "keeping an eye" on our insurance company so they wouldn't mistreat us, the construction company doing all the repair work was price gouging us and cheating us at every turn!! And who alerted us to this initially? Our insurance adjuster! Our insurance company, Wawaneesa, couldn't have been more helpful and generous.........

So, we fired the construction company and moved back home to take care of the rest ourselves. With the money we have left, before the contractor could steal it all, we are getting new carpet, vinyl flooring, and some new appliances (hello, new double oven!) AND getting the old mold damage repaired. That was the ONLY thing insurance wouldn't cover, but we're making it work anyway!

Here's what we're living with for the next few weeks:

We'll just do most of our living upstairs until our home is as good as new....actually, it will be EVEN BETTER THAN BEFORE!!

I'm just really glad to be back home and back to my old routine..........

Where are my Ruby Slippers?

Last night was the 7th night we've spent at the Marriott, ("courtesy" of our insurance company) just 5 miles from home......


Under other, more pleasant, planned for circumstances, having a mini-suite at the Marriott all to myself (Son & family have one next door) that I'm not paying for would be fabulous!! But last night, after having been to the house and seeing what shape it's still in after 12 days, when the door to my suite closed behind me, I finally had a meltdown.....real tears and everything. And I am not a cryer, believe me! But I just want to go home! The tears only lasted a few minutes.....I got a grip, counted all my MANY blessings, and went out to dinner with my family....AGAIN! Yes, even going out to dinner is getting old!


WOW! Listen to me complain about hotel suites and dinner out!#@&*!!# Am I having a pity party or what? O.K. enough of that. (Just a minute while I re-read my previous post to myself....)

Trying to keep 3 and 4 yr.old busy and happy during all this hasn't been easy. D-I-L has enough of a challenge keeping up with these two busy kids in our own home with their own things! I think she just may lose her mind if this drags on much longer! Thank goodness for pre-school and friends and family nearby for long daily visits......hotel mini-suites and pre-schoolers are not made for each other!!!

The repairing and restoration part of all this should be completed today and this afternoon we meet with all those involved to pick out new carpet and flooring. The thing making this take so long was the discovery of mold in the wall between a bedroom and the garage, next to the water heater, apparently left there for us by the previous owners 4 years ago......

So......now starts weekend number two in "exile". Daughter has kindly let me set up my sewing in a corner of her living room. I only brought the most basic of projects/supplies but have made quite a few of my favorite flannel blankets this week. This whole situation is causing me to have quite a creative crisis!! I feel like the people in the movie "Alien" where the little aliens come bursting out of their chests!! I have so many apron and sewing project ideas building up inside of me with no outlet right now, like they're just waiting to burst out of my chest! ....O.K.....I know that was kind of a weird and creepy analogy, but I NEED MY OWN SPACE BACK!!...I NEED TO COOK IN MY OWN KITCHEN! ....I need to get rid of all these "aliens" building up inside of me ASAP!!

If only I had a pair of Ruby Slippers so I could click my heels right now......There's no place like home!..........

Thanks for letting me vent. You're a good listener.........I feel much better now!!

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER... whether you want it or not!

I had no idea how involved water damage repair and restoration can be. This has really turned out to be a nightmare!!

This is the culprit:

Yes, this little reverse osmosis unit that came with our house when we bought it 4 1/2 years ago, something WE HAVE NEVER USED! NOT ONCE!!

A little hose the size of a pencil came loose and we came home to find 3 inches of water covering our entire downstairs.....and WE WERE ONLY GONE 7 HOURS!! The contractor helping with all of this says that these units and the same size hose behind refrigerators that connect to the ice maker are the most common reason for household flooding. We removed the unit the very next day and capped off the spigot with a little thingy that cost $1.19.

Yep! 30 seconds of effort and $1.19 and we could have avoided all of this trauma. Please everyone! Take 5 minutes and check all your water filters and ice makers and make sure the hoses are firmly attached!

We had to move out of our house right away. All the water was extracted. Fans, heaters, and de-humidifiers were brought in.

The bottom 12 inches of drywall around the entire perimeter of our bottom floor was cut away.

Carpets and linoleum have been removed.

Insurance adjusters and contractors are trying to work things out to OUR benefit (HA!)

The estimate for the whole thing (not counting the old mold damage discovered during all of this that the insurance will NOT cover) ..........FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!....FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!#*&!#%!!

We spent the first three nights at Daughters house. She has plenty of room for all 5 of us and all the cousins thought it was a great adventure. As of last night, our insurance has booked us into 2 suites at the new Marriott in town for the next week (" one week at a time"). The time estimate on this "project" is 3-4 weeks! (you do the math on that one!)

I am a creature of habit. I like my routine. I like my own room. I like my own bed. I like my own space. This is all such a HUGE inconvenience...... and yet I know that's all it is. An inconvenience.

When I think of all the Katrina victims who will never have their homes back, will never have their own beds, their own space back. Or the recent Hurricane just last week in Texas......those people have lost their homes and belongings forever. Believe me, I don't BEGIN to compare this situation with what those poor people are going through. I've been praying for all those affected every day since this happened. Nothing like your own little inconvenience to really realize there is always someone worse off than you....

Thank You Lord for the following things:

1. This flood was clean, fresh water.

2. None of our furniture or belongings were damaged.

3. It didn't happen UPSTAIRS. Just think how much worse both floors would have been.....

4. It didn't happen 3 weeks ago when were gone for a whole week on vacation.

5. Daughter lives 2 miles away in a big house with plenty of room for all of us.

6. We'll end up with all new carpet, flooring, and possibly kitchen cabinets (?)

7. Son is taking care of all of the details and dealing with all those concerned and I don't have to . (just one more reason to feel proud of one of my children!)

I have my sewing machine and several projects with me, I'm surrounded by family and in a few weeks I'll be back in my own bed in my own space, which should be even better than before, if all goes well.......

Just so you know, I'm really not complaining.....really I'm not! (see #1-#7 above...)