Flood!

Have you been following our remodel saga? If so, you'll know that we have been consoling ourselves with the thought that the job is near completion, and that all major expenses are now behind us. It's not something we would have contemplated from the start, had we known what was to happen to the economy, but the decision was made nine months ago and now we're stuck with it. Still, we thought the end was in sight.

And then, this morning, our architect knocks on the door. He says he always visits his job sites after the first rain--and it rained last night. It came bucketing down. So Kirk, our architect, having noticed that the garage door was unlocked, stopped by there first to check on progress, and found the place flooded. When he brought it to our attention, we imagined just a little leak like the one we had discovered earlier, from one of the light fixtures. No. This one was a flood. The entire floor of the garage and storage area, newly reconfigured as more usable space than we'd had there before, was flooded--inches deep in some areas.

The contractor arrived. The situation was investigated. A mystery. It took a good hour to find the probable source of the leak--and it will take more time and more dollars (surprise!) to get it fixed. The contractor summoned one of the guys who had been moved on already to another job, and he's down there now, in front of the house, shoveling dirt away from the foundations to prepare for a new drainage system.

We have much to be thankful for: a brand new kitchen, much more workable than the old one, dating from the thirties; more closet space in our bedroom, and in the small room that doubles as a guest room and my office; and much more space downstairs in which to store accumulated "stuff." But the problems persist. More rain tonight, we hear. Wish us luck!