Finally Chairs.

We finally replaced the burnt dinning room chairs this week. This means that we have replaced most of the large ticket items that were destroyed from the house fire. I'm sure that parties and holidays can now be handled at our house again - since we have a place for people to sit.

Well ... All's Well That Ends ... Well Just End Already!

So, the movers delivered furniture today. Furniture that survived the fire. A few things to note. First they were suppose to be here in the morning and didn't show up until 11:30 and then took a lunch break. Then they worked until 2 when they left again. They also have one more full truck to deliver. And we were suppose to already have all our furniture by Monday. All of that said ... pretty much every piece of furniture I've unwrapped has been beaten up in some way. The bed room set in particular was knocked about so hard and then they used wood filler ... like I wouldn't notice. I've left messages for the company that has done the work and the insurance person. I hope that I get some sort of satisfaction on this soon. I feel like each load they bring in is yet another disaster waiting to be unwrapped. Photos coming soon!

House Update ...

Well we are in the house. We've been here since Friday night and living like college students. Mattress on the floor. No chairs. No tv. No internet (hem ... did you notice the silence). Box by box I've been unpacking and finding broken, dirty and taken apart items. No furniture is here yet (suppose to come tomorrow). Until then I keep cleaning everything and putting away as much as possible. As I unpack the boxes I've been making a large pile of paper (which the crew will take away in the morning). Bend has found himself a home in the rubble. Cats are so adorable!

Thanks for all the warm and happy thoughts! We really appreciate it.

Dreaming of Our House!

This week has been terrible. Work has been crazy for both Mike and I. We want to be back in the house. We are both thinking that we'll just say screw it and move in this weekend. The pain and suffering of the ghetto has gotten to us. We us and Bend. He is really stressed. Can't you tell?

Exile Day 102.

The hardwood floor is almost done. Looks like all they have to do tomorrow is the living room. Fingers crossed that they finish soon.

Exile Day 100.

That is right. We have officially hit the triple digits. 100 days. What happens in 100 days ....


They are leveling the floor where there are issue spots.


Our bed room has been hardwooded. Yep. Flooring is going down. I can't wait to see it finished!

Any bets on when we get into the house now?

Exile Day 92.

This might not mean much to other people. But, this is a photo of the last remaining dry wall to be fixed. Today was an amazing day. The plumber actually showed up. The state inspector actually showed up and passed us. The county showed up and actually okayed everything as well. We are now just a few days out from the hard wood floor going in. Good news for once!

Moving In --- NOT!

Well .... no photo of the house because I'm a little bit disgusted with how things are going. As of Friday we were probably around 3 weeks from moving in. Now we don't know. The plumber finally showed up (four weeks late) and finished up the work on the gas line. Once he was done he put pressure in the line (it has to hold pressure for 24 hours before the state will inspect it and pass it). After 10 minutes all of the pressure was out of the system. The plumber, being the genius that he is, told us there is a leak somewhere inside the house. All of the pretty drywall and paint that has been finished ... will have to be pulled out so that they can find the leak and fix it. Feels like all of the forward progress has just been killed!

Exile Day 88.

This is the wood and glue for the hardwood floors. I think they start in two weeks on that.


Here is our spare bathroom. They have started replacing all of the stuff in it. I'm pretty happy with how it is coming out.

Exile Day 80.

The burnt room is now a lovely orange color!


They grouted the kitchen is done.


The bathroom tile is down - although we still have to pick out the fixtures in there. Can anyone say TIRED of Lowes???


The den has tile and grout. Seems like all the little stuff is taking forever.

Exile Day 67.

The tile guys started in the kitchen today. We are loving the tile - but still have to pick out grout.


Dry wall has been patched - but not textured yet.


They have more of the windows fit in. Shimmed up and getting ready to seal up.


The gas company has dug a trench to move our gas meter (which they need to do before they can finish up the windows in that room.

Basically they say by the second week in June we should be in the house ... but I'm not holding my breath. They guys are working fast - but it seems at every turn there is another issue that keeps the process from going quickly.

Exile Day 63.

Since we aren't in the house we are trying to get back yard projects done. We live in the high desert and are trying to take out some grass - put in rocks - and of course get the gardens up and producing.


Here is the pumpkin patch (with the new watering system) and the super secret project (which is going back by the fence). More on this once the project arrives in the mail.




Here is the general garden area. I had to move my tomato plants (so that the construction guys can get the new window in). 2 of the 3 plants transplanted okay - but the third broke. I hope that the little plant will survive).


As you can see the seeds I planted weeks ago are popping up.


Ah - bulbs still coming up!

Exile Day 58.

As you can see they are getting ready for the windows. They should be in tomorrow. It is crazy to look at all the stucco and crap they are pulling out around the windows.


They have started painting the den. It is sort of hard to make out the brown color - but we think it will look very nice with the floors that we have picked. They still have another coat or two to get on the walls - but it is coming along nicely.

Current estimate for getting into the house ... well they have no freaking idea. Turns out they have to move our gas meter and the line (which falls into where the window will go). As they dig into the walls ... the more they find!

Exile Day 50.

Sometimes we feel like this!

Exile Day 47.

Day 47. What to say. We are still not living in our house. We still don't know what really survived and what didn't. They have started painting rooms that are ready to go.




They have filled the insulation in where it has to go and had it inspected by the county. Which is all very nice and good. But, how long is all of this going to take? The flooring hasn't even been ordered yet! Sign. Big sign. I want to be back in our house!

Exile Day 30.

This is looking into our normally red dinning room.


Here is the floor in the den. It took us forever to lay the tile - and a day for them to remove it. So sad!

Exile Day 25.

This is Mike figuring out where to put our big TV and in-wall speakers.




As you can see there is a heck of a lot of gutting going on. The new windows are ordered - 6 weeks we get to wait for them to come in. Meanwhile we are meeting with the flooring guy on Tuesday.

House Update.

We are watching the taking apart of the house happen quickly. As they dig in and put up plastic (to protect rooms from dust - or to look like a Dexter show) I see all the hard work and back breaking hours Mike and I put into the house being pulled apart in mere moments. I guess that just goes to show you that no matter how much time you put into a house ... it is always easier to undo that work than to do it in the first place.

Exile Day 5.

I know that most of you have been out there wondering what in the world is going on. I figured I could take a bit of time this morning and get you up to speed. Our house is not a total loss. I've posted some new photos now that we are allowed to go into the room that caught fire. The insurance showed up the day after and the investigator was there 2 days after. Our house is now empty of stuff and I think next week they will work on pulling out all the burnt and destroyed stuff and then begin the plans for a re-build.

The investigator found that it wasn't the aluminum wiring but a faulty outlet. The outlet went and started sparking - it caught a mattress on fire. It burned all day and our house was sealed up really tight. Which meant that there was a lot of smoke and ash, but mostly it was contained in one room. This was a picture that was taken off the wall down the hall from the fire.


Inside the room there was nothing left of the mattress or bed (other than what you saw in the previous post). Here you can see Methow's favorite toys and the carpet.


This was a poster as you walked into the room and the door. The investigator said that the fire was extremely hot. It melted plastic in the room, bubbled up paint and was probably over 400 degrees in the rooms next door to where it was burning.


This is the wall that had the faulty outlet. You can see the outline of the bed frame on the wall. This room will have to be gutted. Almost all the furniture in the house can not be saved. Most of the electronics can't be saved. All the flooring, molding and insulation can't be saved. This next week I think we'll be getting the full update of what can't be saved and then what our budget is to re-build.

We are currently staying at a friends house - but all three cats are stuffed in one room. The insurance company is looking into a rental for us (of course having a heck of a time finding one for a short period of time). They aren't sure on how long everything will take. Could be as fast as 2 months or 6. We are sort of living by the seat of our pants here. Being exiled from your home makes you really appreciate everything. We miss the small things. And I think it will be a long time before either of us can stomach the taste or smell of smoke.