Friday, March 7, 2014

Hints of Spring

I still have a couple of feet of snow in my yard, but it was above 40 today.  The sun has been shining this week, which has been nice.  It has also been a stressful week, and I'm tired.  While my recovery is going more quickly this time, I am still tired, and I am lacking energy.  Wednesday the property guys met.  They had two main issues to address-- the ice dam on the roof and the steadily increasing water bill.  I realized that when they don't know how to solve a problem, they get rather contentious.  One of the men volunteered to take on the water bill.  He decided he needed 2 years worth of water bills so he could chart usage and analyze it out.  He also decided he'd stop by and record what the water meter said. 

The ice dam was more problematic.  They had decided there was nothing to be done until the ice was gone, but had identified a couple of experts they wanted to come assess the situation.  They have done a number of different things in an attempt to solve the problem, and while they thought they'd made progress, they definitely had not solved the problem.

After they left, as the sun moved over the roof, the water began to flow from the roof into the building.  I found water the telephone closet, and began mopping.  Administrative Assistant was trying to figure a way to direct the water into a bucket.  I called one of the property guys, and told him he was needed.  He wasn't thrilled, but came.  By the time he got there, we had discovered a river running through the basement hallway.  We ended up with 3 property guys at the church.  They got out a couple of shop vacs and began doing battle with the water.  They weren't able to keep up with the flow into the building.  Someone suggested we contact our insurance company.  The insurance company told us to get a  roofer over to get the ice off the roof. 

It became a very stressful afternoon as we tried to finish preparations for the Ash Wednesday service amid the chaos.  The guys were there over 3 hours, and finally rigged a way to collect the water.  The claims adjuster called as the readers were arriving to practice for the evening service.  Thursday the roofers were back.  They said the ice dam was the largest they had ever seen.  They spent the day putting salt on the ice and slowly chipping it away.  It was noisy, and there was a steady stream of people through the church.  The water bill investigator discovered we'd used 1600 gallons of water overnight, and acknowledged we had a serious issue.  They targeted one of the toilets as a probable cause.  They cut the water off to it, and made plans to repair it.  I managed to get the sermon done, but I was dragging.  Administrative Assistant offered to take Daughter home after choir, so I could come home early.  I took her up on the offer.  I knew she was tired too, but she encouraged me to go home and get some rest.

Today was my day off.  The surgeon is pleased with my progress.  He gave me permission to rejoin the hand bell choir.  I took my largest hand bell to the appointment, and he checked out the weight before saying it was okay.  I'm thrilled.  I called Administrative Assistant.  She looks forward to quiet Fridays at the church.  It wasn't quiet today.  There were three men there working on toilets.  She said one went home to get a saw.  We aren't sure why they needed a saw to repair the toilets.  The insurance adjuster came by to assess damages, and recommended two restoration companies.  They are going to have to open some walls to dry things out.  I'm not looking forward to working in a construction zone. 

I've hung up on Daughter a couple of times this evening.  She's mad because she has to exercise.  She's blaming me, and was getting abusive, so I hung up.  She's apologized, but I'm tired of it. 

I'm grateful for the hints of spring, and hope that as the weather warms up and the sun shines, my energy will return. 


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