Friday, March 29, 2024

And So It Goes

 My father was a writer and I remember as kid that it was always an issue that he had to have the perfect place to write.  I decided that I wanted to be able to write anywhere, anytime.  So, as I am writing this, there are three plumbers going under my house to find the hot water leak.  There is lots of noise and upheaval, but I am determined to work anyway.  

I did get an extension on Classy Yarns because even though I am able to work on it, it is not as efficient as when there isn't all this going on.  Hard to get in the flow when I am being shown what it looks like under my house.  

It felt like a Molly moment yesterday when  had the insurance adjuster and two people from the restoration company doing there things as Jakey  and the rest of the family were ignoring all that was going on while they wanted food, etc. Personally, when there is chaos, I lose my appetite.   The insurance adjuster was from Montana.  Apparently, there has been so much damage from the rain that my insurance company had to bring in adjusters from other places.  It has to be culture shock for him as he said the whole state of Montana has about half the number of people in the San Fernando Valley.     

Because it is Jakey's spring vacation we did take a day trip before all that work started.  We took the scenic route to get to Ojai.  It was totally refreshing to pass through the rural areas and see the citrus groves and mountains with clouds sitting on top.  Ojai was the stand-in for Shangri-la when they filmed Lost Horizons.  Needless to say it is very beautiful.

The highlight of Ojai for Jakey was the fabulous playground.  I liked the different atmosphere and being away from all the problems for a little while.  The nice thing about a day trip is that you get a change, but don't have to deal with packing anything more than snacks.

It left me better able to deal with all this.

11 comments:

Patty Jenkins said...

Good morning -- Sounds like there is a lot going on at your house -- all leading up to something good. Hang in there -- it will get done!!

I remember the first time I was in the Los Angeles area after moving to California from Nebraska. I was used to lots of space between towns -- in LA, everything just melded together and I had no idea what town I was in. I've never been to Ojai but it sounds beautiful -- a stand-in for Shangri-la.

We're doing our annual Easter egg decorating at my son's tonight -- that is always fun. I have no artistic talent so my eggs usually just have squiggly flowers on them. Danny does all sorts of elaborate designs. I'm taking dessert -- two kinds of dump cake -- cherry pineapple and apricot pineapple. The apricot is a version I've not made before but Mama used to make apricot pineapple preserves so I think the two pie fillings should be yummy together.

Tomorrow is drop-off day for Project Linus -- I have a nice stash of blankets to take. There are actually a few empty spaces on the shelves where I store my yarn so I am using it up. Of course, I also have five big plastic tubs full plus a stack of skeins in a big basket -- I won't run out anytime soon!!

Enjoy your day as best you can -- and have a great weekend.

Betty Hechtman said...

Patty, your son's Easter eggs must be beautiful. The dump cake sounds delicious. The Project Linus people must be happy to see you.

I was hoping for a day without any people connected to the water mess showing up today, but the restoration guy is coming to look at his equipment and he wants to know if I have heard from the insurance company. And we are supposed to get two days of heavy rain. But next week the sun is supposed to be out and warmer temps.

Have a Happy Easter

Patty Jenkins said...

Fingers crossed for sunshine and warmth!!

Linda O. Johnston said...

I admire your ability to write despite chaos, Betty. And all that insurance interaction definitely doesn't sound fun.

Sally Morrison said...

You are a trooper Betty. I hope all the repairs turn out exactly right. Happy weekend to you and your family!

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, it got more complicated yesterday. I thought they could just fix the areas of the floor that were damaged, but they need to do stuff to all the wood floors and need the rooms completely empty. Luckily, not all of the house has wood floors, so having to move things around so we can function while the work is done. With better weather, we'll have outside, too. I notice that the older I get, the better I deal with stuff like this.

Betty Hechtman said...

Sally, the good part in all this is that it is forcing me to clear things out. We've been in this house for over 30 years and now with Jakey here, there has been a whole influx of more stuff.

Happy weekend to you and your family as well.

Linda D Osborn said...

Now my sons' house has a water leak under the floor--of course they are hosting Easter dinner tomorrow and it is raining. We have teens who want an egg hunt. Sigh...
When I had the great flood the insurance company sent a crew to put everything in Pods in the driveway--30 days !! When they brought it back in they put boxes and shrink wrapped stuff randomly around the house. i still have a few odd boxes l never put awway--nothing i have missed in almost 10 years. i guess i need to do some cleaning out !!

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda Osborn, I'm sending sympathy to your son. I hope it's not a hot water leak as they cause the most damage. The rain certainly doesn't help. It seems like a lot Easter egg hunts got cancelled. I hope the dinner works out.

We are about to experience the same with the crew to pack up stuff and put it in a pod. The restoration guy said one to three months. I am trying to reorganize stuff so that we can function during the time. I know what you mean about random boxes. I still have some from when we moved here over thirty years ago. They want to start on Wednesday, but I realize I need more time to move stuff around. I have a knot in my stomach just thinking about what to move and where.

chkntza said...

Good luck with the packing and repairing of your home.

Betty Hechtman said...

Chkntza, Thank you for the good wishes. Luckily, they do the packing, but I need to do things like move stuff we will need into the part of the house not being done. Thank heavens for having that!