Flood notes, September 9, 2011

Couldn't sleep all night.  Too much going through my mind.

• Did the water come up to the first floor or did it stay in the basement. 
• How long will we be displaced?
• Will our family have to be separated again?
• There isn't a place for the kids to play ... just mud, mud everywhere.
• Should I call a contractor?  Should I do that now, or should I wait until we see the damage?
• Is ServePro worth the huge price tag to clean the mud out of the house?
• How am I going to go back to work, deal with a whole new situation there, AND work on the house at the same time??
• I want to talk to Dad.

I went upstairs for breakfast.  Jeff made scrambled eggs, toast, and sausage gravy.  I could get used to the  wonderful food, but I'm afraid of my waistline.  We watched a little TV, and took a few phone calls.

Our friends who pastor the church down the street called to let us know that the water did NOT reach their first floor, and that they tried to wade over to our house, but they weren't able to get through.  Then all the "gloom and doom" talk started.

While I know that it's good to be realistic, it's also good to walk away when my ears and mind can't take anymore pessimism.  So I came back downstairs to check my email and answer a few messages.  We'll walk back down to "Check Point Charlie" this afternoon and find out some accurate information, if there is any, and to check the current water levels.

1:30PM ... We decided to throw caution to the wind and take a walk to our house, come hell or high water (pun intended). When we arrived at "Checkpoint Charlie," we were turned away.  The policeman said "we aren't letting people in there to go sightseeing."  I could understand his thinking.  After all, I was sporting a very stylish over-the-shoulder camera bag, and my wife had a heavy duty flashlight.

Susan  was not quite as understanding as I (understatement).  Ahem ... anyway ...

We decided to take a different tactic (yeah, we're capable of that) and were able to get in.

4PM ... we just got back from an adventure.  We took a little "walk" through waist-deep water and were able to get inside our house.  So much to take in ...  

• The basement door was ajar, so I opened it.  There were 2 cans of insect spray floating in water at the top step.  
• There is a dark water line approx. 6 inches up the wall.  The walls will have to be torn out.'
• There isn't any water in the kitchen drawers.  Susan was able to open it (a bit difficult because of slight warping, but it opened).  The cabinets may be salvageable. 
• There was too much water in the driveway and backyard - I didn't dare try to make it to the garage.  

We aren't happy about all this, but at least we know where we stand, and we can develop a realistic plan of attack.  We are armed with the knowledge we gained from the previous flood, so we are going to take logical steps this time, instead of listening to all the misinformation.

5PM ... put chicken spiedies on the grill (Yes, we STILL have to eat, so why not grill?).

6PM ... Got a call from my pastor friend.  He passed on a number of someone who had another number to call, and I was able to get our house added to a list of home that will have their basements pumped out, starting Sunday morning. 

6:30PM ... chicken spiedies, mashed potatoes, garden-fresh green beans.  Yummo!!

7:30PM ... Got a call from a friend who said I should call him the very moment we are allowed in the house, and he will come and pump out our basement.  Maybe faster than the fire department. :)

8:15 ... We were just informed that we should throw away the clothing we were wearing when we trudged through the water today, because of chemicals that may be in the water.  Over-reaction?  I don't know.  

I want so much to make it all better ...