Jerry and Mary's New House

We started out by walking around Spring Lake which has been pretty well decimated by flooding and mud. It is a man made reservoir surrounded by three dams, but when we have as much rain as we've had this winter it it does flood. We could see flotsam well above our heads in the trees, broken tree branches and lagoons choked with sticks, reeds and brambles. The paved paths and picnic grounds have been hosed down and opened again to the public, but some of trails next to the lake will be under water or mud for awhile.

I have been reporting from time to time on the progress of our friends, Jerry and Mary, since their house burned down in the Tubbs fire 18 months ago. Today, for the first time we were able to visit the site and see the outlines of the house and the layout of the rooms. Mud must be the contractor's bane, especially when there are so many lots that are either cleared and vacant or under construction. There was no shortage of mud here, especially since the roof isn't on yet, but for the first time, they both seemed excited and upbeat instead of exhausted and frustrated. 

There are many houses being rebuilt in their subdivision. The whole place is a massive construction site with trucks from many different construction companies all jockeying for position. Because it is such a unique situation there are necessarily long delays between different phases of construction due to the demand for both materials and workers. Competing companies often help each other out. 

Over lunch  in the Thai noodle place, I told Mary all the things she was getting in her new house that I have always wanted, like a master bathroom with a shower and a freestanding tub. Out of 64 houses in their subdivision, only seven did not burn down. Two of those happened to be on either side of Jerry and Mary. Jerry said that their insurance adjustor was able to see their property before they were allowed back in and told them that their house was what the insurance company calls 'a total loss'. He said he knew that his timing was bad and he realized that they were still in shock, but that it was better to have a total loss and start from scratch than to have to try to redo a badly damaged one. I don't think they really believed that when he first told them, but now that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel they agree. They are hoping to be able to move in by the end of May.

As we sat there eating our noodles Mary said, "Ah here we are back to the same conversation...telling our stories about what happened. I wonder when that will finally stop?" I said probably never, but that once they can move into their new house and start furnishing it, there will be lots of new and better stories....