DH is still sleeping, hunkered down under the covers in a ball so that all I can see is dark hair peeking out from under the edge of the coverlet. Eddie our furball (see pic at the bottom of my blog page) is flaked out, too, flat on his back, jackrabbit-style, ears tossed out, pink belly hanging out there, on top of the covers snuggled up to DH's legs. They're totally adorable, if I do say so myself. DH is coming down with a cold and so snorrrrrrrrred all night, poor guy. He often snores and I deal with it by jiggling him, poking him, or, (with some regret but, ya know, because I have no choice) just whacking him, and then he turns over and quiets down. But last night I didn't have the heart. And Eddie was snoring too, so it was wicked stereo noise.Great night to sleep, too, darn it. It's been raining here for three days and after a little teaser of a break yesterday the rain started again last night and is still coming down. Pouring, actually. Atlanta's a hilly city (this often surprises people who imagine us perched amongst flat cotton fields down here in Dixie, but we actually sit up on an Appalachian/Great Smokies foothills plateau and we are not only very leafy and green but also quite hilly), and much of the city's low-lying areas are under a flood watch. As beautiful as those parts of town are, wow am I glad I don't live there today.
We've suffered our fair share, though. Sometime during the night on Wednesday our roof sprang a big leak that ran from the attic down into our closet, melted out a chunk of sheetrock ceiling and caused a huge mess directly onto most of my hanging clothes and into my pajamas drawer. DH hauled a couple of loads to the dry cleaners when he left for work and I spent most of Thursday dealing with getting the leak temporarily "plugged" and the sheetrock mess cleaned up, doing load after load of laundry and calling roofing companies. This, by the way, all happened as we were having to say goodbye to DS #1, who left Thursday on his Journey (see my post "My Son the Cliff-Dangler"). The roof damage was no doubt a good distraction for me, I must admit -- who had time in the midst of this roof situation to get weepy for long? (I had a moment when he left. I'm entitled. :-))Thank God for our wonderful friend-for-life contractor, who came over as soon as we called him on Thursday and climbed up onto our roof (treacherously) in the rain to throw on a patch and a tarp. The bad news from him was that the damage appears to be pretty extensive -- hidden until this bout of rain and wind was the last straw. So we'll be interviewing roofers next week because our contractor tells us we're probably looking at having to replace the whole roof. Cross your fingers for us that once things dry out and we're able to get a good look at the leak we'll discover some underlying cause that is INSURED! Otherwise, you beautiful gals will be seeing me lurk but not shop for a loooooong time. Grrrrrrr.
It looks like I've lost a couple of my newest (wouldn't you know) J. Crew summer sweaters -- the dirty water stains were just too gross and indelible -- but all in all I can't complain because most everything was salvageable and it's not like I don't have enough clothes! But ya know, it takes more than all of this water hullaballoo to dampen my mood when I've got an awesome (still startling when I pass a mirror) new "do" AND there's been a new JC rollout and fun new ensembles to imagine, whether or not I can own any of them right now. Looking forward to seeing all of your great ideas, Crewsers!
Oh my gosh! I am so sorry - water/roof issues are so unsettling. We replaced our roof 3 years ago. I (I am the first round negotiator here, then hubby gathers my info and we make the decision, haha) interviewed a few roofers for a roof repair when my husband was very ill, about 6 years ago (long story I should write about one day, he is doing quite well now, thanks to a stem cell transplant). I learned so much from the roofers/contractors then. I was able to replace the sunroom roof as well as 5 skylights on my house for LESS than some roofers wanted to do a "repair". When it came time to replace the ENTIRE roof (converting from cedar shake to dimentional roofing (I think that's what it's called), 3 years ago, I interviewed 3 roofers, (knowing who NOT to call from the first round) and we had our entire roof replaced for much less that the popular roofer in our neighborhood. The roofing quality was better (50 years) than what our neighbors were getting, and the job was flawless (some neighbors have had some minor issues needing addressing). Our best friends were getting ready to sell their house, and wanted to replace their roof and called to get our roofers name. The husband/our friend called and said "I'm coming to give you a big kiss, you just saved me several thousand." HAHA It's a funny world - roofs - but it sure feels good and secure after it is all done. Houses just cause so MUCH emotion, don't they? Good luck - can't wait to hear your happy ending (and that son arrived safely on his journey!). Take care!
ReplyDeleteSuzy, what a great story from you, and how wonderful that your DH is well. I look forward to hearing that tale when you have time to write it. And I may be calling on you for expert advice as I interview roofers! DH and I make decisions exactly the same way you and yours do.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words about Journeying Boy, too. He called home last night to say that they were en route to the New River Gorge in WVa to climb and camp for a week, and that they've decided -- this is so sweet to me -- they're then going to drive to New York to spend a couple of days visiting my DH's mother (who is over the MOON about this news). After that they're heading up into New England, then westward bound.
So far so good, then. It's hard to succumb to the worrying when he calls and is clearly sooooooooo happy and excited! :-)
What a mess! Home ownership is constant upkeep. I hope you didn't lose too many valuable J Crew things. It seems like it has been raining here for weeks. I believe my hair is getting mildew!
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