Progress!

Well we got a dumpster, that is a lot to be said in this area right now! So we got the drywall out, the carpeting, and all the non savable stuff, which was quite a bit. My dear stepson got hit the worst. He lost a lot of his boyhood possessions, (being he is a teenager you know!) his collectible Pokemon cards, clothes, DVD player, Gameboy, we lost a lot of bedding stuff and other stuff we had stored down there. So 4 dumpster fulls later, (it was a small dumpster) and one more to go, we have most of it gone. We have used a watertight mildew and mold resistant paint on all the cement walls. We really couldn't find a "crack" in the foundation, but where the water was pouring in at was the chimney area. I think that old brick just wicked that water right in. So we probably will have to do something there. Whether we paint it with that paint, or what I have no idea. Then we need to re-insulate, re-frame, hang the drywall and stuff and get going. That will probably take us until Christmas! LOL

Suck it up

Okay the past couple of posts I've been whining about the basement. Now it's time to suck it up and move on. This house has been one thing after another after another. Then with the seeping basement walls and floor it seemed like that was it. It was just too much for me to handle. We lost my stepson's room, all the carpet, half of what he owned, all the drywall and a lot of other stuff. But it's just that stuff. It took 5 days or so of me whining and being just overwhelmed with the nasty flood smell to get over it.
Today we went through another little Hicksville town to get to my son's daycare. His daycare has been closed because it had over an inch of mud in it. They had to sanitize and clean and rip out drywall and stuff. We saw people who have a right to whine. They are living in tents, in RVs, in their backyards, or their homes have just been condemned. I saw old bungalows that can never be restored. I felt I could not take pictures of such tragedy, it was just too personal. I have no right to whine. No right. No excuse my past few posts. It was just me re-prioritizing the to-do list on my old money pit here.
Here are some pictures run in the local news. This one was a park my kids play at.

We are so...

We have had the most rainfall in history of Hicksville. And we are SOL. I give up. Dear hubby hasn't yet, but I give up. We simply cannot keep up. Our lovely old brick is seeping the water in and we just cannot keep up. (Governor Doyle has declared a state of emergency, but there are people that are much worse off than we are, so that is where the help needs to go now.) It is just so bad. So so bad down there. My stepson's room is just not pretty and the chimney area where the brick is, that is where it is seeping in at, well that is just, you could really sit there all night with the shop vac. You'd keep up, but still. I'm to the point I'm almost crying, I'm just so overwhelmed.
Okay I'm done venting, off to the basement to vacuum up some more water!

Well then

Dear hubby is starting to slowly hate the house. Between the exterior windows, a newly found hole in an overhang roof, and a new problem I think he's reached his breaking point. In his former life he used do stuff in construction. Then he got a job at the prison where he works now. I really don't think buying an older home this time around was in his "big picture." But here we are.

It's been raining a lot here. A LOT. About 15 inches or so. Our basement sprung a leak. I really just think the concrete absorbed the water and it is just seeping in. It's not pretty down there. There's not a lot of water, but it just keeps coming. It's supposed to rain until Thursday here. We're screwed.

Beers and Ears Party

Well we had our first "party" in our house! Dear hubby and I had a beers and ears party! I thought it might be a good way to meet the neighbors we don't know, which is a lot! Since dear hubby works quite a bit, as do I, and then we have our hands full with other things, you kids house repairs...stuff. Anyway! I had a bright idea to have a party, invite the people on our street and cook for them all. So we did. Dear hubby and I had time off of work together and this weekend was it.
Of course the weather couldn't be nastier.....rain rain go away PLEASE! We have the PERFECT backyard to party in and we are in the garage. But I bought a canopy and things went well! We have some really nice neighbors and they have cute kids! :-) We all had ears of corn, some grilled some boiled, I made of bunch of other goodies as well, it was so good! We had a pinata for the little kids and then we all talked and ate some more!
Oh and we might have had a few adult beverages as well!
All in all, despite the rain it was a really nice time!

Clawfoot Tub...Now What?

Okay, so we loaded the tub into the back of dear hubby's old beater truck. Tore up the lovely couple's lawn, (Sorry Milt and Lorna!), and put my back wayyyy out in the process. I'm hoping to bribe some nice strong men with alcohol into getting up my stairs when it's done. Meanwhile it will sit in the back of dear hubby's truck.
Anywho, the couple we bought from, the gentleman used to be a painter. He put a couple of coats of epoxy paint on this lovely tub. I want to remove them. So I was googling the web tonight and I found this, from the Loctite website
"Epoxy is considered a permanent adhesive. However, if you need to remove it, apply acetone or Easy-Off Oven Cleaner to the epoxy and let it sit for awhile. Eventually, the epoxy will soften and can be pried from the surface with a putty knife. Remember to test the oven cleaner on an inconspicuous area before applying over a large area."
HUH?
I think I might have to try it!

Found!

One clawfoot tub! Yahoo! I happened upon it doing my daily craigslist search on Sunday. The people who are selling it are holding it until tomorrow, when I come with cash. Dear hubby and I will load it into his trailer and then take it home to refinish it! I'm sooooo happy!!!
Hopefully pictures will be following within the next couple of days!

Steppin Out In Pink

This post has nothing to do with my house.
This post has to do with my job.
I love my job. I love the patients I see every day.
Steppin Out In Pink is a fund-raiser that the hospital and medical center I work at puts on. We are one of the top 3 Centers for Breast Care in the USA. Yup, right here in ol' Hicksville USA. All of the funds raised stay locally to fund the research that we do for breast cancer.
Please visit the below link for more information and if you are in Hicksville, come and Step out in pink with me!
Steppin Out In Pink

Writing

While stripping paint off of windows, we found some writing. I took one picture before we moved on, it was in an odd awkward place, and we're still trying to figure out what it says.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.