August 24, 2010

Everyone's getting antsy. Things take so long. The relocators, who find and pay for the alternative housing, called today. Are we ready to give 30 days notice? No. We're not. The builders are waiting for us to get back to them on changes we want made. Even so it seems to be moving slowly.

Our basement is white. Seal coated to prevent the smell of smoke from ever returning. No new windows yet. My work has heated up and I have less time to fool with fretting over the house which might be a good thing, except now is the time to make choices.

If I'd been born rich, I might well have walked away from the house and let someone take on the rebuilding problems. Does it work that way, if you can afford to take a loss on the home? I doubt it.

Like most people we are still recovering from the "dip" in our 401K and, I used these next words lightly "stock portfolio." We can't afford another hit. So I am plunging ahead trying to make time for all the things I want to do plus all the things I need to do.

Being raised on fairy tales is hard on us. I want the fairy godmother with the magic wand. I want the prince on the white horse. I even want the troll who can spin the straw into gold. And before I whine way too much, I know others are going through worse times than I am. But I believe in the Secret. I believe that God's in His heaven and all's right with the world. I believe nothing bad will ever happen to me.

Except that it did.

8/15/10

The contractors appear to be finally through with demolition. The basement is one big room - no furnace, no hot water heater, no washer and dryer, no walls except the outside ones, and no insulation. For the first time, the windows, which have been boarded up, are uncovered and set for replacement.

Everything is white from the smoke sealant. Four months and twenty days since the fire, we are finally ready to rebuild.

We met with the plumber last week and tweaked our changes. We're adding a steam shower downstairs and a doggie wash in the basement. The basement windows and the lead paint on the windows are subject to be replaced this week, except for one.

We have honey bees. Wild ones that my husband is in the process of trying to domesticate. Yes, somewhat it is like teaching pigs to sing. Anyway, the bees chose us, we didn't choose the bees. They moved in one day when we weren't looking.

You're probably thinking, moved in? What? You had a bee hive just waiting with a vacancy sign out?

No. We had a in-ground box that previous housed plumbing for the sprinkler system that the last owners dismantled. Once the bees had put up a do-not-distrub sign, we realized getting rid of the bees or relocating them was going to take more effort than we were prepared to give it. So my husband added a bee hive over the top.

We've tried the honey and it was wonderful. The contractors, however, are not as thrilled as my husband to discover that all the windows that need replacing are within five to seven feet of the bees. They really don't care how good the honey is.

There is good news. Honey bees become inactive when the temperature drops to 50 degrees. So some of the windows are scheduled for replacement in late September.

If one was to look on the plus side of home fires, you do get to gain a whole lot more knowledge about stuff you never, ever gave a rip about, prior to this.