I knew that!

We made it through the rain!

So, how was your week? We’ve had quite an adventure.

Sunday:
Nice visit with Ryan’s parents and Grandma in NW Indiana. We went apple picking at a local orchard, something I’d not done since before leaving Maine in 1977. We found the Cortland trees and filled up our bags.

Monday:
There was a 30% chance of rain forecast for the area as a cold front moved through. I was talking to my sis on the phone that evening and kneeling out of the couch looking out of our front window. Lots of rain. And hail: three times!

The lights went out between nine and ten. We hustled downstairs to see if water was getting into the basement. Yup. We grabbed our favorite things to bring them up to safety.

Overnight, the water rose to about a foot in the basement. The battery backup pump  ran out of juice, and our main pump, which is electric, was out of commission because of the power failure.

Tuesday:
The water couldn’t find its way out, so it stayed put.

Still no electricity. A wonderful thing: we had water and a gas stove. Called the insurance people and a bajillion flood recovery places to see if they could get the water out of the basement. They said there were “hundreds” of people on their waiting lists, which in some cases were “seven or eight pages long.” Sigh.

We went to our neighbor’s place and ordered pizza for dinner.

Wednesday:
No power yet. And the basement’s still full of water. SO glad we don’t have carpet down there. My favorite joke this week: “Was your basement finished?” Me: “Oh, it’s finished, all right!”

As the sun was setting, the power was restored to our neighborhood, but we didn’t dare turn ours on until the water was out. Luckily, our (wonderful, wonderful) neighbor ran a looooooong extension cord to our house, and pumped out most of the water with an electric pump. And, since he’s a daring sort of fella, he turned on the circuits to OUR pump to get the remaining water, then the rest of the house. Yay!

The rest of the week was a parade of repairmen and trades coming through the house and checking out the appliances that were underwater. So, we need just about everything except a hot water heater. (That first hot shower felt soooo good on Friday!) There was also a surreal, wee-hours-of-the-morning visit from a tree service with chainsaws, who felled a tree in the yard that was encroaching on power lines after the storm.
Oh, and this is what the basement looks like now.

I know (I know, I know) this was not a “disaster.” I grew up in Louisiana in hurricanes and have seen people who have had it much, much worse. We’re safe and healthy, plus, our insurance looks like it will cover everything. Hey! New basement!

On Saturday, as the flood remediation people were tearing up our basement and 1-800-JUNK was hauling it and most of its contents away, it was a clear sunny, day, and our 6th wedding anniversary.

And I got these spiffy new boots. Gawd, my priorities!