Sam is feeling better after six days of fevers. He was able to go to school this week! The water damage mitigation is all done and I have an appointment to meet with the reconstruction team tomorrow.
We decorated Halloween cookies Ben and I went to see Shaun of the Dead at the Alamo last night. Today I woke with a cold but was able to teach my primary class still. Ben let me take a nice long nap. Now we are watching a classic together. The boys think Snoopy is hilarious. Things are pretty good.
The Omuras popped by yesterday to drop off a new heirloom:
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Linda quilted this blanket out of Brian’s shirts. The front framing and the back fabric are new, but all the square piecework is authentic Brian shirt. She had enough to make a quilt for Travis, for me, and for herself.
Brian had some real snazzy shirts 🙂 I’m sure friends will remember several of these prints.
Linda made a beautiful quilt and I’m so honored to have one!
Mason maison is making progress. Tuesday they set up the extra work areas for decontamination and by Wednesday night they were done. We got our living room back to partial use. Here’s the before and after:
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But we lost use of the last toilet, so now we can only use the outhouse.
Here’s a shot of the exposed, offending pipe:
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Thursday they disinfected all the surfaces and took out the damaged wood floors. They put a high power fan/dehumidifier thing in there to dry out the wood.
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Our project manager came over this morning and took measurements. He said it’s still a few marks shy of normal level so we should leaving it running another night. A crew should arrive first thing Saturday to take the fans off. Then Monday they paint on the encapsulation barrier to prevent future growth/contamination, and let that dry over night. So we are looking at mitigation being done by Tuesday next week if all goes well. I’ve put out a couple requests for a plumber but haven’t been able to get one over here yet. Hopefully this afternoon. We’d really like to get the leak fixed so we can use those upper bathrooms again.
Particularly for this guy:
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//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js Sam came down with a virus. Diarrhea, high fevers, croupy cough, and stridor all night. Poor guy. He’s doing better today. Taking a nice long afternoon nap now. But it’s hasn’t been fun for him to get dragged out to the backyard loo when he has to go in the middle of the night.
//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js We had tickets to see Miss Peregrine tonight but I cancelled so we can be closer to home. My new sitter’s mom is ok with her watching a recovering kid, but I’m not comfortable having her be in charge for 4-5 hours while we are all the way across town in a movie theater with limited communication. We’re just going to get dinner closer to home. A nice meal out with my husband, away from the noise and disorganization of home, sounds lovely.
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In other news, I stopped by a locksmith shop and they gave me a couple locks they were going to trash. Got them picked within an hour each!
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Also I bought Jack these Chewbacca jammies. Couldn’t resist. 
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To my surprise they got the permit first thing this morning and were over before 8:30 to start the real sealing. They had to put in additional taping and decontamination units. They let the kids poke around at the end of the day.
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We also got a temporary outhouse. I suggested this as an alternative to staying in a hotel and they readily agreed. I’m sure it’s cheaper for them, and a lot better for us to sleep in our own beds, have all our possessions nearby, and to be able to care for the animals ourselves. 
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The worker was very sympathetic to locking off the bathroom and offered to leave it like this overnight, doing the final seal in the morning. (Weird fluorescent lime paint and vintage wallpaper revealed in the bathroom tear our.)
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My kitchen is filled with overflow from the work area. I didn’t feel like making a mess in the kitchen and dining area, so we did Mcdonald’s for dinner. Now we are watching The Force Awakens in the basement. Things are crazy, but we are making it work.
Mini-movie night for me and Sam. He picked the movie.
I have a new hobby.
So as you saw, we have a leaky pipe under our master bathroom that pooled into the living room below. Aside from structural damage, the dog bed was the only thing destroyed. Sam auditioned the replacement bed for Jem.
Today I met with the project managers for the abatement and the reconstruction. It looks like it will be 2-3 weeks to complete the asbestos/mold removal and dry out, then a couple weeks to plan and approve the reconstruction. Depending on how much needs to be done it could take 3 weeks or more. The minimum we are looking at is new drywall, new paint, and sand and finish the hardwood floors. It could be as extensive as replacing the flooring for the entire main floor, redoing the master bath, and maybe even fixing unseen damage into the basement. We won’t know until the abatement is done and they can safely investigate.
Luckily our insurance will cover the abatement and the reconstruction. We are only responsible for the plumbing repair and anything we request beyond the “return to normal” repairs (I figure if they end up tearing up the master bath we might as well upgrade it).
I spent today re-organizing the living room and basement so we have comfortable spaces for the next couple months. Currently we can’t use the upstairs toilets. For a short time we will be cut off from most of the main floor and possibly the basement. This will probably cut us off from all house toilets. I’m working on a solution so we don’t have to stay in a hotel during the abatement. That would really suck. For now, we are trying to keep smiles on our faces.
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Halloween is coming! Pumpkins and crispy leaves and sweaters! School is super fun for all! We read Harry Potter and loved it! Ben is taking a staycation next week! There’s a lot about which to be happy and grateful.
Happy Monday to us!
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