Day 2

 

(Back to real-time blogging without post-dating.)

How nice to wake up in an electrically illuminated and heated home (it's actually gas heat, but the thermostat and controls run on electric power).  One benefit of the tree crisis of the past three days - at least I wasn't thinking about the upcoming election, our so-called "president," or politics in general.  It's only two more days until Election Day - I can take two days of "politics" or whatever you want to call this current campaign after three days off.

Another silver lining: I don't have to worry about that tree any more.  For 16 years now, ever since I moved into this house in 2004, I worried about that tree during every major storm.  I imagined its trajectory, where it might hit the house, where I would want or not want to be in the event of its falling. It was right outside my bedroom, so many a dark and stormy night was spent sleeping on the sofa in the den, as far from the anticipated impact zone as possible.  In fact, I was sitting right there on that sofa when it finally did fall.

But now it's done and over - the tree fell, I survived, and the house took a lot of damage but didn't collapse and is still functional.  The good news is that it can't fall again.  It's over.  Sure, there are other trees and other threats, but that was the one big bad boy that had literally kept me up nights.  It lasted through so many previous storms and events I was beginning to think it would last forever, but like all things that go up, it finally came back down.

I went over to the unsellable condo in Vinings today are retrieved the food I had moved to its refrigerator and went shopping to replace the spoiled food that I had to throw out.  And sometime while I was out and about, cable and internet access were restored, so that I'm now finally able to post this from home, and I get to watch Sunday-night TV (Fargo and whatever HBO's got on tonight).    

Today's November 1, the first of the month, and normally on the first I go online and pay off a bunch of bills.  This month, they're going to have to wait a day - I've been through a lot the past few days and owe myself a little down time and some rest and relaxation, so I'm going to kick back, pour myself a glass of wine and watch some tv, and take care of the bills tomorrow.  They can afford to wait a day.

A glimpse of the week ahead: tomorrow, the tree company returns to finish the job and haul off the wood they removed from the roof on Friday.  Tuesday, a roofing contractor is coming by to tidy up the hanging gutters and errant woodwork and wrap the remaining exposed gaps in the roof from rain and small animals.  Thursday, the Allstate adjustor comes by to start whatever process the insurance company has in mind.   

And I guess there will be an election somewhere in there, potentially accompanied by riots, insurrection, and the start of a new civil war..  

Good times!