Is this seat saved?

Today, cousin J graduated from high school, and her graduation started promptly at 1:00. Due to the hour, D-man and I decided to leave church around noon to get there with plenty of time to park and find the rest of the family. We usually sit on the second row (behind the empty first row that Baptists apparently have an aversion to using), and today we sat 3 rows from the back. Every person that passed us made some comment about us usually sitting way down front. I'm not lying. Every single one. Those little old ladies notice everything!

To make up for our sudden heathen-like tendencies, D-man made sure he told people we brought extra Bibles so we could sit farther back. Obviously, the farther back you sit, the more Bibles you need to be holy.

At any rate, it's good to know that people that we don't know all that well at church recognize us, even if only by where we sit.

Sink update

Since we moved it over a little bit, the pipes don't actually fit with the sink anymore. So, we're having a plumber come out tomorrow to set the sink and hook up the garbage disposal and dishwasher.

In other news: I took my test today, and I am glad it's over, though I have no idea how I did. I started cleaning the front bedroom today. Tomorrow is dedicated to finishing that up (maybe). Saturday night is dedicated to Mexican food at home with homemade margaritas. Mmmm!

SINK

D-man got the sink put back in the kitchen last night. There is sawdust everywhere. The appliances are back in, except the refrigerator.

We had to buy a new kitchen sink. The old faucet had rusted enough to be corroded, and the new sink is shiny and pretty and deeper than our last one. That means not as much splashing myself when I wash dishes. It's set, but needs to be clamped down. The pipes might need to be moved. I don't know, but I won't worry about it until this afternoon (Thursday), when I can rest easy that my exam is OVER. More updates to come.

Eckeltricity

Today's project was small, but very important. Since we're adding counter space, the refrigerator is going to be moved down a little. That means the plug had to be moved over to the next stud. That involved turning off the breaker, taking apart the plug, D-man climbing up into the attic, drilling into a stud, moving the wiring over, threading it down the wall, putting the box in the new hole in the sheetrock, attaching the box to the stud, reconnecting the wiring, and turning the breaker back on. Once we get the kitchen cabinets screwed into the wall, we can put the refrigerator back in place. That's one step closer to having a fully functional kitchen.

I put sheets back on our bed today, and I hung the shower curtain back up. There is at least some semblance of home in our bedroom and bathroom. Enough to move back in without cleaning everything else first. All that cleaning will wait until I finish my exam on Thursday.

Kitchen Cabinets.

We have them. The bottom ones are in place (but not nailed in), and the top ones are sitting in Papa Funk's garage waiting to be stained. Countertops are next (probably before the top cabinets), and when they're in, we can move back in. Yay!

D-man is over at our house today finishing up the kitchen floor. I am here at Papa Funk's house studying. (For real this time)

My pharmacy law exam is in less than one week, and I have been doing some practice questions. Let me just say, it's bad business. I forgot how much information there was to learn (even after reading the 575-page book), and how much people like me loathe the law. Not following it, just studying and memorizing it. I have a lot more to review before I'll feel like I'm ready.

I finished sanding today (thank the Lord! The dust gives me allergies and massive headaches) while D-man finished cutting the kitchen floor. He sent me "home" to study and he's installing the floor tonight so it can start curing. My other amazing feat for the day is getting the bathroom and our room back to normal -- swept 50 times, mopped, and furniture in the right places. There is definitely still some dusting to do....

Tomorrow is for priming and texturing the sanded places, so that we can get to paint soon (though we can do that after we move back in). I am guessing that kitchen cabinets will at least start going in on Saturday, and that really means we can move back in. Of course, we can't move back in until we have at least a kitchen sink (and a few cabinets). That day is coming soon.

PROGRESS

I haven't posted much about the remodeling process, mostly because I've been so over it. D-man has been working like a madman, and it's been slow going, because sheetrock takes forever. First, there's the floating. Then, there's the taping and compounding. Then, there's 24 hours between compounding and sanding so the compound can dry properly. Then, there's the extra coats of compound, making sure that there are no cracks. We're on the final sanding, priming, and texturing.

The kitchen floor had to come up, and glue has to be scraped. The new kitchen floor is going down soon, and the kitchen cabinets are next (with more counter space than we had). Cleaning up is first thing after the sheetrock -- that dust is killer!

I forgot

In addition to having no kitchen, I have no car. It's currently in the shop getting dried out and cleaned and diagnosed, which will take approximately 6 more days. In place of the nice, pretty Camry, I have an old (read: almost 20 years) Dodge Caravan that belongs to D-man's parents. It has no air. The check engine light is constantly on. One window is tinted. Only one. It has 170,000 miles on it. The gears don't match the dash (i.e., when it's in reverse, the little line isn't on the R). These are definitely days to be grateful for the car that gets me where I need to go!

I have no kitchen. I mean, the refrigerator is still plugged in and working, but the other appliances are in the garage. I tried to help D-man move the stove out there and gave up after about 2 seconds to avoid throwing out my back. There is no kitchen floor. Wish we had left it in, because the smell is painful. Home Depot and Lowe's are definite stops today, because all we can do right now is let things dry a little more. And pick out kitchen cabinets and a kitchen floor. My hands smell like a combination of pigskin gloves (without the swine flu) and sheetrock. My eyes are itchy. My nose is dry. My house is dusty. The A/C isn't working as well as it should, because we have holes in our walls. Without insulation. I fear next month's power bill.

Remodeling a house during your first year of marriage wouldn't be something I'd recommend, but we're handling it pretty well. Of course, there wasn't a choice -- well, the choice was stinky flood house or dry house. We picked dry house and all the adventures that come along with it.

Help!

My kitchen cabinets are being ripped out. The one exciting thing about that is that I get to design our new kitchen with a little more counter and cabinet space. I had a moment of trauma when D-man started cleaning out the drawers -- it's one thing to decide you want to remodel; it's quite another to have it decided for you by a natural disaster.

Clean-up has begun!

As I type, D-man is cutting sheetrock and pulling out insulation, which is still soaking wet in some places. It is quite stinky, so I'm glad we're replacing it. I am in charge of the paperwork (and eventually, cleaning), except what his mom or dad has to fill out and sign. We're living in a house that was D-man's great-grandmother's, and it's been in the family since it was built in the 50's. It's cute, and a perfect first house (even though it's not technically ours). 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a livingroomflowingintoadiningareaflowingintothekitchen, a garage.

Next project is the kitchen cabinets. We're going to try and replace them, so I get to design my very own kitchen (within the limits of a 96" x 160" space on two walls, one of which holds a door to the outside)! I'm looking forward to increasing my counter space and pantry space. Any kitchen amenities that you can't live without? I'd love to know!

Flood, 3 days later

We are still in the process of drying out, but the insurance adjusters for our cars and our house have been out to inspect. My Camry (bought brand new in December -- uggh!) is first on the car list, as the water surrounding it was 23 inches deep and 10 inches above the bottom of the door. There was actual standing water in the floorboards. It's drivable (and almost dry!), but I'm sure we'll find some electrical issues before it's all over.

We have begun the process of writing down things that need to be replaced and/or cleaned, and throwing them away. We went to the dump yesterday and will go several more times in the near future. We're currently staying with Papa Funk (D-man's little brother, who lives 5 minutes away) and working here during the day.

I realize that those of you who haven't ever lived in a low-lying area will have a hard time visualizing the depth of the water, so here are a few pictures.


The backyard

Inside the house (you can see the depth of the water on my legs -- this was NOT the highest point).