Thursday, January 10, 2013

I'm Bailing Out

No, I'm not quitting my JT2 or my BTCT, I'm bailing water. Grrrr. Tuesday night was guild night, but since it was pouring rain and pitch black, M and I decided to go for Mexican food in town instead of driving to the guild meeting. First we got her quilts all bagged up and put in her car, and looked at everything going on in my sewing room.
When I came home, I made sure all the drains outside the front of my house were clear of debris, then I came in and was looking forward to an hour or sew of hand quilting, wrapped under 'the tank' and catching up on some tv.
But I needed something, (I can't remember what it was) so I ran downstairs and started walking through water.
Needless to say, my plans changed in a heartbeat. I grabbed the first stack of towels, threw down a rag quilt that was handy, and headed back upstairs for the second stack of towels and throw rugs. Anything that would soak up the water hit the floor.
Once all the items on the floor got moved to the garage, the towels hit the washer on spin, and got reused until there was no water left to mop up. At this point, I realize that a drain out the back wasn't draining and the water was building up in a catch area. I called my Dad, he's in AZ, but all I got was moral support, (what did I expect??) He said to call the guys from my work, so I called T. Again, moral support and "call a plumber". I called the plumber, and yes, they can come....... the next morning at 8 a.m.
So I started bailing. Then I decided I needed sandbags as the water was coming into the drain area as fast as I was bailing and it was going to breach the concrete slab and just push through again into my downstairs. OK so here I am in a tiny border town driving around at 11 p.m. in a torrential downpour, going from gas station to grocery store to truck stop, looking for sandbags. No luck. But I did see Border Patrol so I drove over to where he was parked and asked if he knew where I could get some sandbags. He offered up a phone number so I hurried home and called. It was the county emergency number and after I was transferred three times, the last lady told me the fire dept had been dispatched to my house. Good grief, but maybe they could help me.

When the big red truck came around the corner into my driveway, I was out there, standing in the rain, waiting for them, and no, they weren't hot and single! :-) but I got some more moral support. He told me "keep bailing"! I guess they had already been to several houses that were far worse than mine. I must have hauled about 30 of these buckets of water out of here.
By midnight I was too exhausted and too wet and too cold to keep bailing so I went inside, rolled up a fresh batch of dried towels all around the walls of my room, went upstairs, got dried off and went to bed; but not before I set my alarm to wake me up at 4 a.m. No need for the alarm, I was wide awake at 3, and I laid there, listening for rain. When I finally convinced myself that I had to put on my big girl pants and go back down stairs to check things out, I was SO relieved to see the water had receded and the rain truly had stopped.

Short version, my floor is ruined, the upside, no quilts were damaged in the process. Of course my home owners insurance, which has me covered for EVERYTHING, along with an additional $1 million umbrella, doesn't cover this. Let's just say this insurance co will never see another penny from me.

I'm not sure if I was more upset about the flood or the fact that I didn't get to take a stitch in my quilt.
So that's how my week has been, that's my excuse for not showing anything quilt related, and thank goodness I had a massage appointment today, I think I earned it!

Sharon

15 comments:

Laura said...

No fun!!! I feel your pain. Hope your week improves from here!

julieQ said...

Oh wow...I am so sorry, and yes...drop that insurance company like a hot potato!!

Pat said...

How unfortunate - what an awful situation -hope you can locate a more user friendly insurance carrier. And the weather is so unbalanced. We are in dire need of more moisture and you receive too much.

Take care.

Nifty Quilts said...

Bummer! Glad you're changing insurance companies. Hope all is dry now. Good lesson--don't store quilts on the floor.

Marlene said...

What a bummer. luckily you needed something from downstairs or it could have been much worse. hope it is all dry now.
Why do we pay these insurance companies?

Lori said...

I'm so sorry! What a pain in the a%$#@^&*!!! And expensive!

Sharon said...

OMG, how horrible! I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you. And so terrible that the insurance co. is being a pain in the patootie. Yes, I'd be shopping for a new one too. I'm glad all the quilts survived and things weren't worse.

antique quilter said...

oh no I am so sorry this means your going to have a wonderful weekend :)
sorry about the floor, nothing worse when insurance companies don't cover and we pay for years and never put in a claim....
do you need flood insurance to cover this?
Kathie

Missie of Traditional Primitives said...

Oh Gosh...I'm so sorry this happened, plus the insurance scam! I too wonder why we purchase it at times! I hope today brings a little good news for you. Keep pressuring the insurance company!

Mimi said...

Oh, you poor thing. I am so sorry that happened to you. Sure hope you can get things back to normal real quick. Too bad about the firemen. I think about that time you could have used a couple "calendar" guys. LOL

Brandie said...

Oh Sharon, I'm so sorry! That's a terrible story. I'm glad the rain stopped.
Enjoy that massage, you definitely earned it!

Nancy said...

Good Grief Sharon what a nightmare.
I am glad the rain stopped before you washed away or died from exhaustion.

Rose Marie said...

Oh my, you have had quite the time! Hope all is well in your world again.

Browndirtcottage said...

Oh my Sharon!!! I am sooo sorry for your ordeal! I know you must have been so frazzled and Don't EVEN get me started about insurance companies!

I'm sorry about your floor and 'the mess' you will have replacing it!! Just thankful it wasn't worse than it was!!

We'll be cheering you on!

Unknown said...

You bailed the all water alone? That must’ve been an exhausting night for you! But I would rather do it as well had it happened to me, than leave it alone and wait for the water to fill the house. That would mean a worse outcome, and more damage to boot! That being said, I hope nothing was damaged in that particular flooding. Take care!

Gail Wallace @ Emergency Flood Masters