9.30 this morning, the insurance adjuster was at our door.
Hello? Hello? was coming through the open window of our front door.
At that's what we hoped it was, as hearing anything in this house right now is a challenge.
The movement of sound is practically non-existent.
The result of the fans keeping the upstairs cool, the dehumidifier/fan combo in the living room keeping things hot, and Frankie's frantic barking, with Tikka barking backup.
And it is very hot.
Especially downstairs.
Normally, heat rises.
But not in our house.
We are subverting the very laws of nature.
Coming down the stairs, just before the front door, you hit a wall of heat that extends into the living room, kitchen and even into the downstairs bathroom.
Even the office upstairs is warmish, the result of the fan blowing hot air into the walls to eliminate moisture.
But the running-all-night-$175.00-a-day-increasing-my-power-bill-by-the-second-dehumidifier/fan combo was nothing compared to the news from the insurance adjuster.
Nothing.
It would seem that the leak coming from this crack. . . .
. . .this little crack. . .
. . .has caused a significant amount of damage.
Damage as in needing to completely remove two walls, perhaps replace the entire only-put-in-a-year-ago living room floor, repaint the entire living room and the office kind of damage.
As in well over $6000.00 damage.
Thank God for house insurance.
If the repairs cost more than $6250.00, we won't have to pay the deductible.
But we do have to pay the plumber.
Who was here ALL morning.
I can't wait for that bill to arrive in the mail.
And now have to think about what color to paint our front to back living room.
A very large room.
Two picture windows, which flood the room with sunshine regardless of where the sun is.
I'm thinking red.
Not a bright oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-she-did-that red, but more of a oh-this-looks-like-a-an-old-English-library kind of red.
Mer moving home and house repairs.
Can this week get any better?
Or even this day?
Because I am meeting Mer at 1.00 to take her grocery shopping.
But for now, to keep my sanity in tact, or at least what's left of it, I am going outside to move rocks.
In spite of the heat.
Sometimes, all that keeps you from a complete mental breakdown is your ability to move rocks.
6.15 pm
The fact that I am here blogging is a testament to the fact that I survived grocery shopping with Meredyth.
Actually, it was a rather pleasant trip to the grocery store.
Keeping in mind that pleasant and grocery store are not two words I put together easily.
She stayed within her budget.
Didn't ask me for any money.
Didn't buy anything she didn't really need.
Success.
I hope this is a good omen of things to come in the next several months.
At this point, I'd take any omen I can get.
We were so hoping that the contractors would return today and unplug the heat-creating dehumidifier and the fans.
Everytime Frantic Frankie ran to the front door barking, Tikka joining the chorus from where ever she happened to be laying. . .
. . .because unless there is actual proof that someone is actually anywhere near the front door, she isn't going to waste her energy moving.
No such luck.
And as it is almost 7.00 pm, it is unlikely that the contractor is going to arrive to unplug the monstrosity in our livingroom.
Further, the adjuster said that it'll have to continue running for a couple of days.
Stephen is likely to implode solely from heat if this continues for another day.
As it was, he slept in the basement last evening.
Our unfinished basement full of all of the things we don't know what to do with.
He claims it was because he was concerned that the heat-creating equipment would cause a fire in the living room.
I think it was because the basement is about 10 degrees cooler.
And while he was certainly cooler, he didn't sleep well.
By the time I returned from the grocery store, he was so tired he could barely remember his name.
I had to fight with him to get up at 5.45 for supper.
Tonight could be a long night.
Supper was chickpea burgers.
Red meat isn't something we eat very much of, and summer just seems to be made for bbqs, especially burgers and steaks.
Chickpea burgers were a chance to try something new.
And to prevent Stephen from eating another meal that included chicken.
I swear a beak is starting to form just above his upper lip.
Unfortunately, my chickpea burgers were more like hummus with a binder.
They were okay.
Stephen was a trooper, claiming they tasted fine.
I didn't think they didn't taste fine.
Just dull.
And I've made them before.
Years ago.
I recall they were much better than they were this evening.
So if anyone has a recipe for tasty chickpea burgers, please, please share.
Title Lyric: I'll Repair for You by Weird Al Yankovic
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