Happy Birthday to my Daddy!

Today is my Fathers 98th birthday.  On his birthday he loves to go to IHOP or Denny's for a pancake breakfast.  Being 98 is a pretty momentous occasion isn't it? My niece Kelli let her two kidlets, Nathan and Emma,  skip school today so they could go to breakfast with their Great Grandparents!  During breakfast, I sent him a TEXT via my sister's phone.  He just shakes his head at all this technology. He has seen a lot of changes in the world in his years.  He can still tell you what he paid for a gallon of gas or a bale of hay in 1935, and exactly where he purchased it.

 My Mom will be 90 on Saturday the 9th, so it will be breakfast at Denny's again that day.  Last year Hub and I were able to go be with them on their birthdays.  We had a big family reunion, with all the Aunts/Uncles/Cousins and celebrated both their birthdays.  It was such great fun.  They are the patriarch and matriarch in my very large family.

Mom and Dad, I love you both and feel so very fortunate to still have you in my life.

This is my Mom and Dad on their anniversary on Christmas Eve 2012.

It's a Three-Way Tie

I've been living in Homeowner's Hell since before Christmas.  I was so glad to finish the month of January with all the stuff that was going on.  With the water being turned off for at least 6 to 7 hours each day, I haven't been cooking, or doing laundry.  So yesterday morning I began to tackle the laundry.  First load..........I'm talking on the phone with my Sis and I hear Hub screaming from downstairs.  The water is flooding out the downstairs commode again.  Just like it did in the beginning of this problem.  So now I am scrambling for towels to soak up the water, and have a washer full of wet clothes that didn't spin all the way out. We call the plumber...the FIRST one, who worked on the sewer in the beginning and did the tunneling under the house.  They showed up 5 hours later.  They ran the camera scope, cleared the clog, found another break.  Same story as the first time. They also made comments about the work the second plumber did, which was on an entire different system, the water, not the sewer. But both plumbing companies have actually worked on the water system.  They ponder about the work the city did last week, since it was also on the sewer.  We call the city again, hoping they can send someone out Monday.  They had a crew in the area and they were here in an hour.  They camera scoped as well, took photos and video, and say they don't think they broke anything.  Of course the 3 techs criticized the way the other 5 guys had done the previous city work.  Ha Ha   They gave us a contact at the city so we could get someone with more authority out to take a look on Monday and see if it could possibly be their responsibity.  With the entire side yard being dug up by three different parties, it is going to be a contest to see who really caused the problem or if it was just another coincidence. 

Oh, and I read that Darn Phil did not see his shadow.  I know peeps in most parts of the country look forward to early Spring.  But here in Texas, I want winter to last as long as possible!   It's supposed to be 72 here today, which is just about right for me.

Last night Hubby had to run to Office Depot and dragged me along and ordered me to buy something fun to try to get me out of this blue funk!   Look..Scotch brand masking tape.  They had lots of different designs and colors.  I chose these 4.  Maybe I can tape some stuff today.  I'm going to try and do some Valentines, and tonight watch the Super Bowl with the hubster.

Early this morning Hub sent me this photo from the golf course.  Nothing like a sunrise to put life into perspective.  I resolve...NO thinking about house problems today!

Since I last posted, the plumbers have been here 5 times and they are coming again today. A new problem crops up each time they are here, but they assure me they will be done today.  Yesterday from 9 to 6 there were carpet guys tearing up the carpet, a drilling crew, the insurance adjuster, the engineer who was camped at my kitchen table with his computer most of the day.  I had to take everything out of the china cabinet and find places to put it so they could move the cabinet. I wrote a long post yesterday, amidst all the drilling and pounding, but when I went to post it, blogger ate it.  So, a catch up here, if you're at all interested.  The photos tell the story, somewhat. I tried to put together a cohesive timeline.  At one point yesterday I lost it, and cried for a few moments, right in front of the adjuster and the engineer.  But I got over it. I went to sleep at 8 last night and slept till 5, which was nice for a change.  I've been sleep deprived throughout this entire month.  A lot of the time Hub has been able to be here, but I have been dealing with these men myself, most of whom are nice, but there have been a couple of them who, if I say they were horses A's it would be an insult to the horse!  The carpet installer came back this morning to retack the carpet and move the china cabinet and table back. The plumber told me he thought they would be able to close the trench today.

Plumbers, January 25th and 28th

CITY CREW, JANUARY 29TH

 

 

 

 

 

PLUMBERS AGAIN, JANUARY  30TH

 

 

 

DRILLING, JANUARY 31ST 

 

 

This drilling and extracting of soil samples was repeated in 3 other rooms, and twice in the garage. The boxes you see in the 4th photo
above are mostly books and art supplies that I had to get out of the area in the family room so they could get to that corner. Hubby had a huge telescope there also that had to be dismantled. And the last photo I'm going to show you is all the STUFF in the living room. We had to move things from the other rooms so they could do this drilling. Then I am going to try to post this because I am having serious issues with blogger today. I think I need a nap already. What a week this has been.

Me and the HOUSE!

We are both cracking up..and not in a good way. Not only is the house cracking up, it is leaning backwards!  Ever since the plumbing fiasco over Christmas, we have had a steady steam of people parading through the house.  More plumbers, the Insurance adjuster, the Engineer, the Inspector, sounds like a board game doesn't it?   Then we have interviewed several foundation repair companies who are trying to show us why their system is the best.  They have all measured everything and each one presented a plan. There seem to be only 3 systems that are used across the industry and of course the one that works best over the long haul here in our Texas soil, is the most expensive.  The fact remains, that for our type of damage, there have to be interior piers under the house as well as around the perimeter.  They all suggest the method where they cut through the concrete foundation from inside the house.  Sounds delightful, no?  I've spent countless hours reading and doing research on all the health hazards from this.  A few of the contractors agree that there are some, but most of them deny that any exist.  We will not be using any of the ones who just say "no worries", I fear.  Anyhow, it will more than likely mean moving out of the house for the time it takes to do the repairs.  This also means moving most everything we own.  Most of my art supplies are already packed up and we have filled both our storage units.  One of them hubby uses for business, and he can now barely get in there to get things he needs for trade shows, etc.  OY!!  My hair seems to be thinning...I must be pulling it out in my sleep.  Which I haven't been doing much of, sleeping, actually.

More Plumbers tomorrow, and the Engineer is coming back to drill several 3" holes thru the foundation (yes, inside the house) to get soil samples. Both these plumbers and the engineer are being paid by our insurance company.  They seem to be spending a lot of money to either prove we don't have a claim or that we do. So far it seems they may pay for some of the plumbing, but not the foundation unless they can prove there was a water leak that caused the foundation issues.  That doesn't seem likely from the bits and pieces I have overheard in conversations.  At any rate we are getting some things done that we would have to pay for ourselves otherwise.  So I am grateful for that.

Yesterday, the first plumbers finally hauled off the dirt and shrubs that have been there since Dec. 27th.  The second plumbers have another section all dug up, they are the ones who are coming back tomorrow.  To make matters even more hilarious, I get a letter from the Home Owners Association, saying I have an "unsightly" pile of debris in my yard that needs to be removed from public view.  I kindly told them that in case they hadn't observed, when they did a drive by to take the photo, there was also an open tunnel from whence that dirt came.  There have been enough foundation problems in my neighborhood that one should know right off, that we don't just decide to stack a pile of dirt in our yards for decor purposes.

Hubby has had to be out of town several days this week for work, so I've been fielding all of the phone calls and trying to keep the appointments straight.  So the beat goes on, with another new adventure every day.

No photos, no artwork, just maintaining day by day.  However, I have had thoughts of running away from home.  But then I put on my big girl pants and get to work on  research, cost analysis and other things that need to be done.  I alternate between that and wanting to sit in the corner with a blanket over my head. This situation is causing both Hub and me a lot of worries right now, but it will work out in time. I know that.  We have so many other things to be thankful for, this is just a temporary setback. I'll just be glad to get through it and move on to other things.

My mind is cracked and broken

Ever since our plumbing disaster around Christmas time, life has been in constant turmoil around here.  We've had a steady stream of people through here, starting with Insurance adjuster, Engineer, the insurance companies plumber, our plumbers, people measuring and checking elevations, taking soil samples, you name it.  We've had a giant pile of dirt in our yard for a couple of weeks,an up-ended shrub and flags and spray painted markings, indicating where city utilities are.  The city came out the day after Christmas and located a problem near the street, which had nothing to do with the line from or into our house.  But affecting us and our neighbor.  Said they'd return to fix it, we've seen nothing of them.   I've spent countless hours online, researching foundation repair.  Interviewed several companies, none of which I have been too impressed with.  Spoken to all the neighbors about the various companies they have used.  There are only 3 or 4 methods of foundation repair being used by all companies, and most reviews of all but one say they don't work.  Of course that one that supposedly does work(over the long haul) is the most expensive.

To add insult to injury, I got a letter from the Homeowners' ASS!  Oops.. I mean the Association.   About the "unsightly" pile of dirt/sand in my yard, and could I remove it from public view.  I sent them a nice little note about being observant when one takes a photo, that most people didn't just drop a pile of dirt in their yard without their being a reason for it. 

New Year's Eve

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This wreath is almost the only concession I made to Christmas decorating this year.  A few ornaments hanging around here and there and a handful in a bowl.  The only crafty thing I did at all is to decorate a few tins to put candy in.  Drank a bit of coffee and had some Hershey Dark chocolate while I was filling the tins the other day. 

November and December have been filled up with challenges.  Right now we are in the midst of plumbing and foundation repairs.  The decade long drought in Texas has caused a lot of soil problems, and our house, among many in our area, has basically cracked in half!  So we are in a bit of a mess right now.  There is a tunnel dug under my house and that is just the beginning. The entire house will have to be "put back together". So we are packing things up and moving them to certain rooms and into storage, before the guys with the Jackhammers arrive next week.  We still have water(limited) today, but have been told we won't have tomorrow while they repair one of the main drains. That  could take a couple of days.  We may be able to stay in the house while they do some of the work, but it is still kind of up in the air. Therefore, no decorating for Christmas or having company over.  We are working today, and both trying to keep our sense of humor intact.