Drier Days

We are currently 'all dried up'. No, not in the way that term is generally used, but in the true sense of the word 'dry'. The flood waters in the first floor of the house have subsided and the wood framing and flooring of the house have returned to their normal levels of humidity. The clean up crew removed the noisy fans and dehumidifiers, and quiet once more has returned to our home.

This is an exciting time, with all the hustle and bustle of contractors, painters, repair people in and out. We're somewhat tied to the house during business hours, so that we can be available to whichever contractor/vendor calls to set up an appointment, which has most usually been for that day. It's good for us that things in the construction world are slow, because these people are hungry to get here and work. We're pleased that we don't have to wait weeks for service people to put our house back together.

Yesterday we got the estimates and allowances for vinyl floor coverings to replace the master bath, the half bath, the laundry room and the kitchen. They had just what we wanted, and it all fell into the range that is covered by insurance. That is a blessing, because we will replace the carpet in the living room with wood flooring, and that will cause us to shell out a little pocket money above what is allowed for the carpeting. I look forward to getting that set up, too, but am still waiting for those numbers to come in before we can make choices.

We're living in rather rustic conditions these days, and spend a good deal of time on the front porch, just to dodge noise or contractor traffic. We've still got piles of things stacked up in the sun porch, and have yet to remove the heaviest of furniture from the bedroom and living room. We're sleeping upstairs in what is dubbed 'the Grandkids Room', and it's been an adjustment getting used to another bed...a double size, rather than our Queen-sized one. We're campers, though, so we're quite used to managing when conditions are not perfect. At least we have 'facilities'... showers, toilets, sinks. (Did you notice I hesitate to use the words 'running water' ?)

It seems as though we'll be put together faster than we thought we would, and we'll have nice new flooring of our own chosing, rather than that which the builder put into his 'spec' house. That is an exciting feature, too, in all this.

I guess every cloud does, indeed, have a silver lining. I've seen quite a few of those in the last ten days or so, and my heart is very grateful for them.