Anne, you and Gary are real troopers. I'm so sorry for all the clean up, expense, exhaustion and frustration you must be feeling. Hang in there and continue doing the best you can one day at a time.

Sending big dry hugs your way !!!

Anne, so sorry to read about all that you and Gary have gone through. We feel just terrible for you. My daughter just told me they are forecasting 40-70 mph winds arriving with the nor' easter on Wednesday....not good news. We will be keeping our fingers crossed for all of you in the North East! Hang in there.....

We so appreciate your comments. It's a little better every day, even with setbacks. We are approaching exhaustion - which is nothing close to what the workers who are helping us are feeling. Rough day for them today. We found our regular contractor, who gave us advice on where to go from here. Tomorrow, we'll have to close the house back up and ride out the nor'easter. With the dunes gone at the ocean, the flooding will be worse. If it moves through quickly, no more water in the house for us. If not .. well, let the mold remediation begin again.

For those on the shore who are riding it out, the gas lines were shorter today; ice is readily available and we are now limited to running D batteries in to our neighbors in NJ for flashlights. There are still in short supply in grocery and hardware stores.

We will get through this .. and I feel so bad for those who are trying to sleep in unheated houses as the temps drop and it's entirely possible will get snow out of tomorrow/Wednesday's storm.

On a VERY bright note, I heard back from our leaders in the D'Iberville recovery effort. We were able to jointly brainstorm and help out a long time volunteer in NJ who is completely stuck without housing or adequate clothing for the cold temps. I snagged a storage unit nearby to hold household goods as it's becoming clear we need to remove significant parts of the kitchen and the baths to then dry out and then renovate. HVAC duct clean out and reconnection is crucial to keep the water pipes from freezing and to raise the temp to finish thoroughly drying out the subfloors.

Geez ... I never wanted to be a contractor but I'm beginning to feel like I are one


Cheers, Anne

Anne,

I was surprised to find that Danbury has no gas lines, cheap gas prices (relatively) and flashlights and batteries. Connecticut seems to be back to normal...for now. Westchester is not back to normal, but surprisingly things are normal 1/2 hour north. If I can pick up anything for you, let me know. I will be in Morristown on Sunday and will be glad to drop off some supplies.

Thanks, Andy. We are commuting from our Bucks County home - which is much the same as Danbury. We are far better off having easy access to the gas, batteries and ice. That said, FEMA's set up at Monmouth Park Race Track and the outside supplies are arriving each day. It's definitely getting better as far as immediate needs.

Enjoy your trip to Morristown. Hope they are well on their way with the clean up process.

cheers, Anne

Glad to hear things are easing up, Anne. I have so many colleagues and friends from New Jersey and Long Island who are still without power and who suffered property damage.

Any updates from all, especially with latest storm??

The latest storm knocked out LI again. It dropped about 3-5 inches north of NYC. Roads were awful Wednesday evening. Fine today. NJ folks still suffering outages and losses.

Thanks, Andi. Did you lose power? Sounds terrible for so many; wondering about Anne - had to be a setback, I'm sure.

I'm not sure about NJ and how it affected the area except that it slowed down repairs. LI was the area affected by the last storm. It was ok for the rest of us. It stopped travel on Wednesday.

Tom's relatives on LI were hit hard with Sandy and still don't have power. They're staying with other friends and family.

His nephew had a real double Sandy whammy when a big tree fell on his car and another tree fell on the roof taking out the upstairs bedroom where his 2 daughters sleep. Thankfully they weren't in the room at the time. I have no idea when they'll get their home repaired...get in line.

Andi, I'm sure glad you and Doug are ok.

Monmouth County's affair with the nor'easter was largely slushy, icy snow. It was treacherous driving home just before it took off with full force. I-78 (north of Monmouth County) was closed due to icy conditions whilst it blew through. Freehold was reported to have either 8" or 14" of snow (let's split the difference and say 11"). The main effect was for some who had just gotten power back to lose it again. The main intersection for us to access the house was blocked by a downed power line. No problem .. I know the back roads to get to the house via the southern route.

We powered up today! Woo hoo. Unfortunately, the day before there was a gas leak, so the gas company stopped service until we get it repaired. that is hopefully tomorrow - then the 2 days needed for the gas company to satisfy themselves it's fixed before they let us fire up the furnace. Weather should be beautiful this weekend.

We got all the remaining furniture out of the house today. It's barren in there, but necessary to rebuild from the subfloor up. Saved a lot of the cabinetry. One insurance adjuster will show up Wednesday; still trying to track down the other one.

Get this: adjusters are getting 200 claims. A good day means they get to 5 homes. That's 40 working days just to do the initial assessment. That means it will be well into December before they reach everyone. So what does a thoughtful claims company do? Limit the voice mail box to 20 callers. I managed to get the e-mail address of the adjuster. I'm hoping the insurance agency is open come Monday and they can intervene.

Got a message from our friends two towns over. They got power this evening. I had fun calling to say It's good to know we are the SECOND to last people in Monmouth County to get electricity

Cheers, Anne

Thanks for the update Anne - good to hear a little bit of hope is coming your way. Lee

Anne, so sorry for all you're going through and the work ahead. Praying that things go smoothly for you from here forward. ENOUGH ALREADY!!

Oh Ann, my heart goes out to and the others. Stay safe and keep your cin up

Anne, my friend, I do know something about what you are going thru. I am soooo sorry. I hope every thing will go well with your repairs. More sooner than later!! You and Gary are in my thoughts!

Thank you all for your kind words and support. Many of you have also gone through this special kind of emergency restoration of your homes, and while it's a hassle on steroids, it does all get resolved in the end.

Yesterday was A+. More progress on necessary rip-out work was made; we're down to removing tile from two bathroom floors and a stretch of engineered flooring. Next up is treat the crawl spaces then blow warm air to dry the space, joists and subfloors.

The plumber fixed the two gas leaks, so I confidently called NJNG to get someone out to remove the lock from the gas main. Ummm .. no one was answering the emergency line, let alone the regular line. Isn't that kind of dangerous? Hmmm .. time for a little ingenuity. Our neighbors thought the same - they sprung a gas leak, so called the fire department. Can you imagine trying to roll fire trucks up a 50 foot wide street with cars parked on either side and debris still spilling into the pavement? Dicey!!

Just then, we get another code red call from the borough - there are volunteers in town who need jobs from homeowners. I had not signed up for help, as the interior of the house has too many tripping risks, spent nails, etc. I saw one crew raking the river debris off my neighbor's yard. That's a great idea! No risks to the volunteers, so off to borough hall to find a crew to help with the outdoor stuff. Along the way, I spy a big NJNG gas truck in a parking lot. He managed to dispatch a crew over to the house and - voila!! heat, glorious heat. That party only lasted a few hours, The mold specialist shut it down overnight until he can spray the crawl spaces with the microbial mold treatment.

I asked for 2 and got 5 terrific volunteers. In 2 short hours, they had the entire yard raked, debris bagged and smiles on their faces. A big shout-out to Siobhan, Allison, Pete, Katie and Brian and their fellow 65 volunteers for all their help and friendship. That allowed us to run the gas situation to the ground, finish a sweep-out of crumbled drywall, nails, beach sand (! - we're a mile from the beach) and the like. Mr. Clean saw the light of day as I even made one pass on the remaining tile floors to clear off the residue of the flood water.

We are nearing the end of the time-sensitive work needed to dry the house out and do necessary mold remediation. Constantly conflicting information on these topics makes separating what's fact; what's urban legend; and what should actually be done difficult. Ask 3 people who have experience with wet homes, and you'll get 5 opinions.

The government websites are equally confusing. The stuff on the FEMA website includes a 52 page power point presentation - probably a response to a Congressional committee inquiry; EPA only discusses air borne issues; broken links to other promising documents prepared by the National Park Service.

I am a tireless internet searcher. Homeland Security! A three-pager filled with language I equate with "under certain circumstances" - good enough to tell you certain do's and don'ts.

Lovely dinner with the friends who were the last to get power. We were struggling to stay awake so were not very good company. Sharing salty caramel ice cream, though, and the two weeks to get basic services back following a superstorm, makes that friendship all the deeper and dearer.

Hopefully, it's a half day today. Maybe even a football game in our future tonight.

Cheers, Anne

Anne, keep thinking of you, and after reading this, I'm overwhelmed! Have been through plenty of hurricanes growing up in Miami, but never any damage like yours!

Our only recent house problem has been squirrels in the attic!

Take care of yourselves please!

Squirrels in the attic is a big deal. Get those bad boys & girls out of your attic insulation!! Thanks so much for your good thoughts coming our way. One key .. if any of you find yourself in a super disaster .. get a binder, put everything in it, keep a detailed log (who did you talk to? what was the purpose? What's the next step) that includes inventories of items scrapped WITH MODEL NUMBER AND SERIAL NUMBER, lots of pictures, and keep calling until they show up to loss assess your property.

We're holding up OK. I will earn my Construction Apprentice license in no time.

Cheers, Anne

Anne, you have such a good attitude, I am not sure if my upper lip would be as stiff as yours!!!

Anne, you do indeed have such a great attitude. I would be biting heads off by now. We have had squirrels in the attic. No problem, we just put Feistycat up there and she cleared them right out.

No cat here, Animals B'Gone put in a one-way door and he/she didn't know what hit him! Heard racket, squirrel hanging, hitting window glass and I guess, fell; was almost dark. Lots of noise early next AM but observed next afternoon and for 3 weeks, no squirrels in yard! Guess the word spread!

Company removed door 3 days later and installed heavy duty screen inside the louvers of the gable roof, (guess point of entry-old stuff deteriorated) Now have seen 1 or at most 2 squirrels outside, not climbing the big tree closest to house, and not filling birdbath, as they were drinking more than birds!

Waiting for next urban wildlife advenure; shortly previous to this was a raccoon imside the big outside trash can, There are evidently 6 deer in the immediate small neighborhood + a coyote; this is inside the city limits of Atlanta - not that large a geographic area, unlike Metro ATL.

Anne, how was progress today and the impending weather??

Anne: we wish you only godspeed in fixing your home.
But do not get me started on squirrels.... I could have taken a very nice cruise with the money I spent getting rid of the critters over the years. (ok, maybe I would have had to cruise alone, but the point stands!)
Rats with tails, to my mind. Give them no quarter!

And in NY we were not allowed to kill them. We relocated them to the Bronx. (let the grins begin!)

Doug

Doug I agree rats with tails - hate them

I'll trade you 5 Huge Racoons and 15 Canada Geese for 10 of your squirrels any day.

Son in Raleigh on a pond had a nightmare with Canadian geese! Agree, squirrels nothing compared to that!

Here is our squirrel damage. When we moved into our house we couldn't figure out why most of the ac/heat vents didn't blow any air. It turned out squirrels were nesting in the air ducts and and shredded them. They had to cut holes in our walls and ceilings to replace them all.

Anne

Russ and I have been thinking about you. 1 1/2 years after we lost our lake house in the Texas Wildfires we are still rebuilding and still dealing with insurance. The contents are what has been the slowest and most tedious with the insurance. We have the check for the structure quickly, however we are still have to buy replacement items and turn in receipts for the content.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, just hang in there. As a friend said to me " well now you can move that light switch that was in the wrong place."

Let us know if we can help.

Oh my, Karen! That's unreal! Hope we're rid of them permanently!

Thanks so much for the offers of help. If I could figure out what that help might look like, I'd happily accept. We're entering the 'wait' part of 'hurry up and wait'. As so many of you know, it's a roller coaster ride. Staying the course and seeing it through is our top task. Once we are stabilized, I'll look into where and how to help the rest of nearby communities get back on their feet. Neighbors have provided meals and moving boxes - a huge need right now - and then the gruesome task of cleaning up after the clean up will begin.

At last, we can turn the heat back on to speed up the drying process. Not sure how long that will take. It's just as well, We have to think through the best approach fairly soon. Contractors, water heaters and the like are in short supply. So is rental housing - it's possible we'll rent the house for several months to help out a displaced family. So many in town do not have flood insurance as they no longer have mortgages on their property.

You would think by now there would be clear, agreed steps to take for a flooded house when it comes to cleaning, drying and mold prevention. Talk to 3 certified experts and you'll get 5 opinions. So frustrating!

I am dreading plowing through 10 years of paperwork to find receipts. The sooner I start, the sooner I will be done. Finding the boxes now is a challenge. They are somewhere in the room that recently acquired all of the household goods. The sight of large stuffed black garbage bags is getting to me.

Another Kathy - so glad you're in the house and the squirrels are not. Raccoons? Geez, they were a pain in the neck to get out of the Florida house attic. Critter busters got the job done.

Sounds to me like Feistycat has many choices for a tasty squirrel appetizer. I'm worried about getting critters back in the house as we have had to leave it open nearly all the time to speed the drying process.

Karen - what a mess! so very glad you've gotten the house back on its feet.

One day closer to having this mess behind us. It's my new mantra

Cheers, Anne

Wow, hang in there, Anne. Just how bad it all is is in no small part affected by your attitude. You really are an inspiration. I am sure that I would be much more angry/aggravated/depressed than you are!
My brothers on LI had 2 very different exeriences, one lost his power for 18 hours in total and had no damage, the other one who is maybe 1/2 mile closer to the water just got his power back yesterday!! I will be in a mid town hotel for Christmas Eve and travelling to LI for Christmas Day, hoping all is well by then. The storms are just unrelenting this year. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by this terrible weather.
------------------------
Helen

I hope so too, Helen. Enjoy your Christmas visit - time goes so quickly when family lives far and wide and you get the chance for a holiday visit.

Cheers, Anne

Anne, Hope your energy and attitude last! Just thinking @ finding receipts that old! (My filing system's suffering of late!) How long a commute do you have between the 2 homes? I'm sure you're both exhausted!

But, please tell...........how did raccoons get in the attic in FL? How big was the opening for them? Didn't think they'd go that high!

Know I'm thinking of you and many more. Still reading horror stories from NYC!

Raccoons commonly get into attics in Oklahoma. They climb a tree then jump over to the roof and chew there way in. They can make huge holes, as can squirrels. We. Hd plenty of experience with both in our old wood shingled house.

I wish I knew, Kathy. One day I saw insulation sticking out from the roof vents. Upon further inspection, my neighbor told me about the mama with the little babies up there - eeeek! They are so destructive. Took a good 2-3 months to get the last of them out of the attic.

I made it through one box of receipts and fished out several invoices. More invoice fishing tomorrow!

Thanks so much, Anne

Anne, any updates?? Hope you were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with some respite!