Toby Had a Tough Day

Marley and Toby were in absolute heaven -- it was sunny, warm, they were in their own yard, and their entire family was at home.  What more could a dog ask for?  After playing, running, tug-of-warring, swimming, digging, and running, running, running with wild abandon Sunday afternoon Toby (somehow) cut his foot.  It was actually quite a serious cut.  It was an inch long and very deep.  Worse, it cut an artery.  So, when they finally came up to the house, Toby's paw was spurting blood in large pools.  We rushed him to the local emergency vetinary clinic, Loomis Basin, and they rushed him in for treatment.  Unfortunately, the artery had retracted too far for them to retrieve it and tie it off without major surgery. 

So, they packed the cut with a gel, stiched it up tight, and sent us home with sedatives.  Being an absolute goofball, Toby has kept us all in stitches with his "sedated" antics.  It is now day five with the cone.  Thank goodness all of the walls are slated for repainting and there is minimal furniture in the house, because although Toby doesn't seem to mind the cone very much, he does run into everything with it.

We are so grateful that the "fix" worked.  The important thing is that we are all home and happy.  Life is good . . .

We’re Back!!!

It feels really good to be back home. Even though it’s unrepaired and largely unusable, it’s still our home. We have said our goodbyes to all of our new hotel friends, goodbye to a full breakfast every morning (cooked by Sue), goodbye to maid service, goodbye to pizza Tuesdays and baked potato Mondays, goodbye to walking the dogs three times a night, goodbye to daily trips back and forth from the hotel to the house, and finally, goodbye to takeout dinners.

It's good to be home!

70 + Loads of Laundry

Burton decided we should do the cleaning of our clothes and linens since there is only minor smoke damage to them. So, he picked our "stuff" up from the fire restoration company (two giant truck loads). They had cleaned about 40% of what they originally took out of the house. We were left with over 70 loads of laundry and a huge amount of dry clean only items. It was a real chore sorting through the smelly mess. But, we did it.

Last night we folded and packed away the last load of laundry! Thank goodness that part of the job is done! Now, if only I had a nice, big, clean closet to store all the clothes and linens . . .


Quick tip: Adding a tablespoon of vodka and a tablespoon of borax to each load helps cut the smoke smell. Amazing!

A Day with No Fog

This past week we hit the 52 day mark in our hotel and it was a low point for me.  I  was feeling that we had nothing good to report. No rental house, no repairs made, no contractors hired, no
progress. It seemed like we had been working really hard, but had nothing to show for it. Yesterday the fog (literal fog) cleared and we were finally blessed with a sunny day. Only then did I realized that we do have good news to report.

Burton has contacted and gotten bids from multiple contractors for the framing, roofing, electrical, and stucco work that needs to be done. We also met with an engineer who is going to begin working on our engineering issues.

Yikes! I don’t think we have told anyone yet about our “engineering issues.” Because our roof is very big and very heavy (concrete tiles), and because of a framing decision made by our original builder (that probably never would have caused any problems at all if not for the fire), and because of the fire causing all of the weight of the roof to concentrate onto what support beams are remaining up there, our house has shifted. The upstairs hall-wall is now supporting the entire roof, causing it to sag a bit (about 3/4 of an inch). So, new support beams will be added in the first floor ceiling and a new support post along the wall. The upstairs hall window will also be reinforced as the beam resting on it is causing some buckling. I doubt this will reverse the “big shift.” So, I guess the windows in Alex’s room will always be difficult to get up and down, and certain doors will stick from here on out. Isn’t it amazing was a little fire in
the attic will do? The great thing is that only a little more drywall will have to be removed. Most of the engineering repair areas are already exposed because of the fire/water damage. Yet more good news. 

Mom and I have the playroom almost completely packed up and shipped off.  We plan on turning it into somewhat of a temporary living room. The guest room is back in working order and Troy’s room has been plastered and painted. Now it just needs to have wood floors installed and all the trim and baseboard replaced. Yeah!
 
Speaking of the boys -- Alex and Troy loved their surf trip to Costa Rica. Alex got back just in time for school last week and Troy got home Tuesday night. They had a blast and can’t wait to go back again. They don’t know it yet, but we ALL plan on going with them, although we may not be staying at a surf hostel with them. . .

We did have good news to report. I just needed the fog to clear so I could see it.

One Month and Counting

January 1^st marked the beginning of the new year and was our one-month milestone. None of us can believe that it has been an entire month since the night of the fire. We also can’t believe we have been living in a hotel for a month. Even with all the searching that our agent and I have done (and millions of phone calls), we only have one decent prospect for a rental house.

In a moment of desperation, I even threw out the idea of living in a travel trailer in our backyard. Burton, of course, loves the idea. The boys, of course, are not big fans of the idea. Being gracious, easy and always supportive, Nana and Papa are okay with whatever we decide.

The friends in my congregation have all been keeping their eyes open for potential rentals while they are out in service (got a call on one today - yeah). So, the search continues. And, although we will miss the new friends we have made at the hotel, we really do need to be in a house.

We had a bit of a scare on Friday. Marley ran into the street (to greet a neighbor) and was run over by a car. He was not hit by the tires, but was rolled under the car a couple times. He has lacerations on his head, paws, and feet. We had the vet check him out and nothing is broken, there were no signs of internal bleed, concussion or bruised lungs. She glued shut the largest cut and gave him some pain pills for the next couple days. Poor puppy!!!!

  

We are so very fortunate we still have our precious Marley.

Our blessings just keep stacking up, don’t they . . .

The Water Stops Here . . .

On Tuesday our kitchen and family room ceiling was removed.

It has been 17+ years since the room last had exposed beams, and then it smelled like freshly milled lumber, not damp and smokey insulation. The hope is that the removal of the ceiling will finally put a stop to the migration of water through our walls.

Unfortunately, it has only been 18 months since we completely replastered and repainted this entire room.  It was a really big project for us to squeeze into our spare time (6 pm to 1 am for two weeks straight -- ggrrrhh).  Here we go again . . .

In the meantime the cleaning of the undamaged spaces continued with Mom & Dad’s room. We now have one  very clean and non-smelly room.  Progress!

Emotional Moment

We were just notified that more water-damage has been discovered. The ceiling (and a portion of the wall) will have to be taken down in the kitchen and family room.   The heart of our home. There is no rational reason for me to be upset about this. I know this is an important part of the process. Black mold is NOT something we want to risk. You’ve see the pics from the upstairs – a lot of drywall and insulation have already been removed and we're just fine with that.

But, now our family room is being invaded. I feel like we are losing our last safe place. Everything is still clean and orderly in the kitchen and family room. It’s smelly, but not too bad. We like spending a little time there every evening. It’s warm and comfortable. We listen to music and talk about our day. We have even eaten dinner in our home a couple times since the fire (Thank you Sharen!). The dogs beg for cookies from their cookie jar and nap in their usual spots. It’s our "family" room.

Well, on Monday our family room will be sealed off with plastic walls, empty of furniture, and without a ceiling. I’m having an overly-emotional reaction. We'll all be okay, but today it’s just not okay.