Chippin' away, one day at a time

I don't know whether to begin or end with thanks, so I will do both.

David got home from work on Saturday, and took in the mail and there we several Home Depot gift cards, from guests at the shop and long distance friends, and the kids' friends! A couple of guests at work have left little recovery gifts secretly behind after they check out. Family members and long distance friends, continue to call and email and snail mail and offer assistance.
St. Matthew's Episcopal continues to check on us and offer storage and rebuild assistance (when we get to that point). Rachel and Bill Douglas raced over with immediate assistance and continue to make sure we are eating :) Neighbors have created a dinner chain for the families that have been affected most (are without kitchens) and are providing dinners and breakfasts. All in our support group continue to make sure we are okay and are keeping our spirits up. We are so thankful and feel buoyed by all the love and support.

To say that after two weeks, Demolition, loud machinery, working our jobs, and working the phones and email, is becoming routine is not exactly right, but close. We are chippin' away at all the pieces, one day at a time.

All the big pieces of the demo are done at this point. The under house "crawl space" with all the insulation, heating and ac duct work have been cleaned out and new plastic has been laid and the dehumidifiers continue to run. Spraying of the anti-microbial has gone on for a while and will continue for several more days.

The rental equipment of dehumids and air movers will be returned tomorrow. We are keeping pace, if not a little ahead, of every house with similar damage on our side of the street, and we've done all the work ourselves!... with invaluable help from David's brother Park and a huge volunteer effort. Charles Park and his friend Tyler spent the day Saturday with David getting the last bits of sheet rock out and pulling the garage and the workbench together to prepare for the next phase.

The insurance adjuster was here and was as sympathetic as he could be. We will get some help with roof and seepage through the windows and ceiling. So, we will start from the top down. We have had several contractors and HVAC people here and will have 1 more estimate tomorrow so we will understand the depth of the damage, in building materials and in dollar figures. We will need this info for ourselves to plan a rebuild and for FEMA and Ins and any other grant/loan assistance for which we may qualify.

Our appointment with FEMA this past Friday morning went well. It was only an initial intake. We will see... no indication of what will come, only that he was putting down max for what was allowed in terms of HVAC, Flooring, Appliances, Sheetrock, etc.

We could not have kept up the pace without Park's help and strength and aptitude. In situations like these, we are learning that we need the help and advice and guidance and man power to assist us, and literally to just keep us moving forward. We are grateful for Park and the right help, at the right time.

We are both back to work and taking care of the house concerns before and after working hours.
It is a bit grueling, but as my friend Rachel said, "Tired is a given, how are you doing otherwise?"

Thanks everyone for the love and prayers. Keep em' coming!

Thanks to my sister Marie and family, who has called constantly and offered any help, any where and time. Thanks to my brother Frank and family for their love and support and assistance. Thanks to my Mom for her encouragement and care packages and loving calls. To David's entire family, Mom and Dad, Jess and Thurston and Keeler, and Park and Julie and Ronan, for more of the same, love and suppport and assistance and encourgament. Thanks to our darling girl Sawyer, in Pittsburgh for the calls and love and cheering and empathy.

The outpouring of love from friends, and friends of friends, and family has been amazing. There is a silver lining in this big rain cloud. Thanks all for helping us to see the glass half full again. Continued thanks to our Mercantile Family and our Copleland's Cheesecake Bistro family for their understanding and felxibility during this trying time.

Love and light,
Gloria and David