We had a board fall off our chimney during hurricane Rita in 2005. Nailed it back up.
Our chimney fell to pieces during hurricane Ike in 2008 (a very scary few days), and rain cascaded into our living room. We tried to escape to Austin for The Duration, but (a) the insurance company told us we had to “remediate” or they wouldn’t pay for any mold damage and (b) my workplace was only closed for one day. One day! Dang, it is not like I am mission-critical or I have anything to do with patients. I could’ve happily worked from Austin for a year.
But I digress.
Our excellent insurance company gave us some money to patch siding and replace carpet. Then a few Enormous Life Things happened, as they do, and we somehow got to last month without having fixed the siding. Then our neighbor invited us into her yard. Where about a quarter of the siding on that side of the house was lying in her yard.
I hate home ownership.
So there were phone calls and estimates and walk-throughs and blah-di-blahs, and then all of a sudden a crew was starting in four days. So we have had trees trimmed, fencing removed, a stump ground, insulation replaced, siding replaced and painted, and two window frames rebuilt (one with a new window). After a weekend of painting and cleaning, we still have a bunch of painting and gutter hanging left to go, but already we no longer have the ugliest house on the block.
That’s a relief, but UGH. Loud, messy, expensive. And one project always necessitates three more. One of the windows that needed to be re-framed is in the master bathroom, and now we have to replace the tile. That used to be low down on the list and has been bumped up to first place.
In the middle of all that, one of Dingo’s brothers got married (to a wonderful woman) in Austin on Thursday at this awesome place followed by a fun and yummy lunch here, and although it was a fun day and a beautiful wedding and I’m thrilled for all of them, we were a mite stressed out about a mid-week trip out of town while our house was torn up.
Somehow I have to stick it out until my vacation in July. How this will be possible, I do not know.
In the meantime, happy writing news:
My poem “Laying Small Ghosts” was accepted for Jabberwocky 5;
“The Wolf I Want” made the Locus Online recommended reading list for March!