Last May we attempted to "forge the river" and lost both our ox, our home, and sanity. Our ferry broke right before we reached the banks and Luke got dysentery (... no, not really but it was close!). After our ferry (My beautiful Rav4) had a viking burial at sea we sloshed our way to a Walgreens and then to a Publix, laptop and pup in tow. A few hours later we were rescued by family in a monster truck and the real journey began.
It has been a year since we were hauling our appliances, belongings, new furniture and other worldly possessions out to the curb and yet panic still set in when we woke up and realized we were near the one year mark. We had only owned this new riverfront property for four months but neighbors have been here for years.
The rebuild is still in progress and a very slow progression at that- but we are getting there. The "drizzle" happened to hit the day after I completed my graduate studies and a couple of weeks after my dear husband purposed in our vary kitchen... that we were ripping out. We had already made memories in this place and now we have a whole lot more! We also planned our wedding during this mess and I have been looking for my "big girl job"- so don't judge... the house will be completed at some point. Until then I will continue to be thankful that we are no longer floating, that we were not seriously injured in the events, and that we are young enough to recover.
Here are some pictures that really stick-out in my mind when I think about that day.
Our "ferry"... I was driving and got trapped in the currant. Thank goodness you know who was able to slide across the hood and get my door open as you can see how high the water was. Pup was in the back (we had adopted her a few days before... she just looooved us by this point!). Who would have thought you could not kick your own door open or kick the window out... not me!
A big stinky muddy mess!
Darling husband in our kitchen...which was in the midst of getting new paint. The fridge was full of swamp water and mud. I am not sure WHY he is smiling... *Can you see my pretty pink mixer???* It was the first item I "rescued" and it turns out these babies have an encased motor so if they get sloshed around in some water they can indeed survive!
When we demoed the walls between the kitchen and the living-room we found Pepsi Bottles from 1972, when our humble abode was constructed. We also found old milk cartons with perfectly preserved printing- red and blue. Additionally, we found an artichoke statue floating around from someone's home inside our house- it will be displayed as a keepsake.
Stove/Oven, Dishwasher, Fridge, Laundry Room Doors, various parts to the HVAC... I felt so redneck.
Bye Bye new hardwood floors, new treads, new stairs... landing... on the up-side my father-in-law reused some of my shelves to make a half-staircase later on so we could actually access the bedrooms upstairs. I wish we had actually unpacked boxes in the four months we were there because all we had left upstairs was a bed, a computer and clothes.
A big mess. We filled the carport over and over again. Insulation is nasty stuff and it has to be bagged for disposal. The problem with this stuff is that it HURTS. Tiny shreds of fiberglass float through the air when you touch this stuff and I have a nagging feeling that when our house was built in the 70's they were not quite as eco-friendly as manufacturers are now-days.
Our "front yards" that front the tiny creek that ended up in our houses. It looked like one big muddy flea market.
Lastly, the "creek." This baby cannot even be seen from our house at any other time. Those specs floating around include (from what I remember): a drum set, a backboard from the local fire department (which we returned), a keg, a half-empty bottle of tequila, pictures and photo albums, clothing, a green plastic children's chair, an inflatable raft (overturned), ores, manhole covers, trashcans, recycling bins, tons of gasoline from the nearby gas stations, babydolls, and various other household items.
Perhaps by year 2 these images will no longer haunt my daily thoughts- but until then I will continue to count my lucky stars and try to convince dear husband to get flood insurance.
