And God said....

"You thought you were through dealing with repairmen? Oh, my dear, that was nothing more than a dress rehersal before the real event."


The huge oak tree that moved into my house wouldn't pay rent so we had to remove it, and now I'm dealing with contractors so we can get the back of the house rebuilt. All things considered, we're blessed. The kitchen, family room, living room, dining room, bedrooms and bathrooms are untouched and liveable. It's only when you walk to the rooms in back of the house that you start smelling the damp and notice the water stained ceiling and walls, the soggy carpet, and the sunlight shining through where the walls are no longer attached to the ceiling. Then...when you open the door to the storage room, you notice you're -- outside. No roof and the back wall of the house is leaning and only attached to the house on one end.

So. The back of my house is now opened up to that view of the lake I have always wanted. Word of caution. Be careful what you wish for.

Yep. If we can afford the ungodly deductible on our insurance we may be able to make the entire house livable once again. The new insurance deductibles have stunned everyone I know. It seems that in one of those form letters insurance companies are so fond of sending out -- you know the ones. The ones you never take the time to read. Well, one of those informed us that our deductible was now 6% of the value of our home. How did that happen?

Oh. And if the monster now in the Gulf known as Ike comes our way and does more damage, there's another deductible. Right now I don't give a crap. Tomorrow I probably will, but right now I just want to get some sleep so I can face the contractors J's sending my way. I wish I could pay someone to knock me out for eight hours.