I'm still here... really! We're back in the house now, and between getting unpacked, work (a bigger pain in the ass than usual lately), and various other sundry things, I've been too busy to blog!
But sit tight though, I will be back on here on a more regular basis soon enough!
Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged - it has been utterly crazy around here!
We're still not back in the house yet - likely not until April at the earliest, and that might be pushing it a bit. I will explain this all when I blog next, but for now rest assured that we're okay.
Just to keep you all (or y'all, or all y'all) in the loop - some really good progress was made today.
The fire department was finally able to come and drain the water out of the cellar (plus turn off the main breaker, as a precaution). The electrician is scheduled to come tomorrow - Patti will be meeting with him at the house (since I'll end up needing to be at work), plus she'll be there to start taking photos for the insurance company. And also, my friend Paul has agreed to cat-sit Angel for a couple of days, so she has someplace considerably warmer to stay.
My stress level has gone substantially in the 24+ hours that we've been at our friend's in North Leominster. Things are finally starting to move in regards to the steps necessary to make our house livable again.
Things are starting to look up...
We're all safe and sound and staying with some friends for a few days until the necessary repairs, inspections, and the other "whatevers" can take place at home. While I am very grateful for the shelters and all of that, I very glad that we're not in them anymore (I will save the stories for another day).
Just wanted to let everyone know that things are looking up here at last.
Putting in a quick blog entry just to let everyone where where we're at.
A major ice storm hit New England on Thursday night, and we have been without power since 10pm Thursday. No power, no heat, and the basement (which houses the washer/dryer, furnace and water heater) has been covered by about 8 inches of water. Plus the electrical meter box got pulled away from the house, so Unitil can't do much (other than branch removal from the wires - which is a big step in the right direction) until an electrician is able to make the needed repairs.
We're currently staying at a shelter until all the necessary repairs are done, power restored, and all water heater and furnace have been inspected and/or repaired. As such I don't have any network access except at work, so I can only check in from time to time.
At least the family and I are all safe, warm and dry.
See you in a couple (or more!) days...
I really should be at home resting. I have this really nasty headcold that I thought was on it's way out, but relapsed over the weekend.
I know that all I need is a couple of days of rest, but I don't see how that is possible with all that has to be done. It doesn't help any that the those things I need to get done at work can't be done by logging in from home - oh no, these things require my presence there. So off I go trudging out into the cold, wetness for the train ride to work, doing non-rest there, and then than back home.
My sinuses are clogged, I'm getting a bad cough, my head hurts, and I'm pissed-off to boot.
Tonight's the night. I have somehow managed to survive another year of NaBloPoMo. Admittedly, it seemed a lot easier last year.
Anyhow, I said I would go into a little more detail about the recent trip to New York for the Thanksgiving holiday, so here goes.
We all got up around 4:00 AM Wednesday morning (how we pulled that off with 2 teenagers and a pre-teen, I'll never know!) and got on the road by around 5:30. We usually have to stop every couple of hours for the requisite "potty break", but even with that we arrived at our destination of Fowler, New York at around 12:30 that afternoon. For those of you who haven't the foggiest idea where Fowler is (which would be the vast majority of you), it is a tiny "don't blink or you'll miss it" town about 7 miles south of Gouverneur. As to where Gouverneur is - it is about halfway between Watertown and Potsdam, in the St. Lawrence River area (go up to the Canadian border, and hang a left).
We stayed at the home of Patti's brother, Jeff, and his wife Debbie, and their two kids, Tom and Katie. All five kids (I don't care how old the teens are, they are still 'kids') had fun there, and the adults enjoyed sitting around talking, having our drinks (Smirnoff Ice, thank you), and watching a little television (nice change of pace for us, since we haven't had cable since February!).
In the two-and-a-half years since we were up there last, Jeff and Debbie had gotten a dog named Dixie. She's a brown mix-breed that kinda looks like a cross between a golden retriever and a collie. Cute as could be and very smart. Patti's other brother, Jamie, and his wife Laurie, live next door and also acquired a dog - this one a Siberian husky named Maya. Also very adorable (but I might be a bit biased since I had a couple of of huskies growing up and just love 'em to pieces). Was fun watching the two of them playing outside.
Thanksgiving consisted of watching the Macy's parade, and munching down cheese, crackers, pepperoni, and Croghan bologna (that will need to be explained another time), plus more Smirnoff Ice (I'm seeing a pattern emerging here!). Debbie's folks came over, plus another one of Patti's brothers, Larry (a non-practicing priest who teaches at one of the area schools). We all chowed down on turkey, ham, and all the assorted goodies that go with them. And pie. Later we paid a visit to some more relatives in the area - Patti's aunt and uncle, and the cousins from that side of the family. Plus more animals: a half-witted beagle, a cat, and two rabbits. And more pie.
We get back to Jeff and Debbie's after that and caught the tail end of a Jeff Dunham show on Comedy Central, which was freakin' hilarious (this guy's a riot!)
Friday brought more hanging out, plus a visit from Patti's former babysitter (I'm not going into how long ago that might have been).
We left on Saturday morning (almost not, because the Blazer decided not to start at one point; turned out there was a short somewhere. After a jump start, things started working again - mental note to get the short checked out). We made it back to Fitchburg at 4:30 in the afternoon.
All in all, a good trip.
All in all, a good month of blogging. Then again, any month that I actually get some blogging done is a good month.
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