SLOWLY unpacking and getting set

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OK, we got the goods and said, "Yea!" But the truth was, we really couldn't set up. The tornadoes had caused problems, not the least was lack of power for a week, and our contractor couldn't work on putting in the floors. Then, when power came back, he had several people who had suffered damage and needed immediate relief and assistance. Of course, that should come first. So we putzed and tinkered, trying to put dishes in the kitchen, clean shelves in cupboards, and straighten the garage. Remember, we could do nothing in the bedroom or living room because the floor wasn't in yet, and the upstairs floors were also just in plywood.

Trish worked in the kitchen and I went to the garage, sorting, moving, and arranging. One of the first orders was to put the workbench back together. It HAD been together when we last saw it in Virginia. But in order to make room on the van for our load and another, the movers had totally disassembled it and it came out in pieces at various times. I collected the pieces and started trying to remember how it went together. Trish came out to help and we got it assembled in....oh, 2-3 hours. Then I went to put the heavy top on and realized we had assembled it wrong. So piece by piece, we took it apart, reversed the segments and reassembled. But at last I had a workbench. Later we drove to the lumber store, bought some strapping and pegboard, and I began setting up a corner of the garage with tools, equipment, nails, etc. Pegboard went up and at last I had the things we needed to work on projects or fix things.

Meanwhile the contractor had returned and was putting in the flooring in the living room and bedroom. We began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, only hoping it wasn't a train. The floor downstairs is natural bamboo and is variegated and shows the knuckles of the bamboo. It was taking shape and really looking good. Clay (the contractor) took his time and made sure the edges were tight and the baseboard came out and went back in properly. He even made thresholds out of the bamboo for the transitions from bedroom to bathroom. Clay is a Bluegrass music fan and has his own band, so he parked his pickup close to the house (since he had his compressor in the back of the truck), turned on the Bluegrass channel on Sirius/XM, and cranked up the volume while working. Good thing we also like bluegrass.

The Kentucky Derby came and Trish really wanted to see it. The DISH installer had come and hooked us up, so we pulled the sofa out, took the plastic wrap off, and tuned in to watch the race. We still had boxes piled high in the living room, but the floor was done in that room so we could at last sit and watch TV a bit. That was relaxing. I was racing to finish cleaning the shelves in the master bedroom closet before Clay went to lay flooring. There is Closet-Maid shelving, the wire rack with vinyl coating, and every shelf was sticky and gooey with grease (or something). I tried cleaning in the bath tub, tried Dawn, tried every thing I could think of. Finally, in desperation, I took a Brillo pad and individually scrubbed each and every wire. Yup, that did it. I would wipe with fresh water and then use a cleanser to get the few remaining bits of goop off. I used one pad about every 8 feet of shelf. By the time I was done, my hand was so cramped, I couldn't use it. I was taking 600mg ibuprofen and wearing a wrist brace. But we got the closet shelves done. (By the way, ALL the shelves upstairs are also tacky. I'm in for a long haul of cramped wrist.)

Still not able to fully work down stairs with the sawdust, hammering, and moving around, Trish and I spent early mornings in the attic re-arranging and sorting, finding that some important boxes with decor or dishes had been misdirected to the attic instead of the dining room. We could only work in the AM as it got really hot by 10 or 11 AM.

I turned on the A/C for the contractor so it would be cool upstairs when he finally got ready to work there and discovered that the temperature went UP instead of down. Same problem downstairs. That was not right. Fortunately, we got a home warranty with the house, so I called and they sent a repairman. He looked and discovered that the thermostats were set up incorrectly, and fixed that. But he also told us that one of the two heat pumps was bad and the other had issues as well. After calls and waiting, we finally heard back from the warranty company. They will buy and pay to have a new heat pump put in...OR..give me about $2500 and let me make the arrangements. Oh, I still have to pay out of pocket for the re-wiring, re-ducting, and re-plumbing. Apparently that is not covered by the warranty. It is about $800. I talked with the heating/cooling firm and they said they would do it as best they could for low cost but no promise it won't be near the $800. So, when the new heat pump is ordered and arrives, guess we'll have it done. But that is for the downstairs A/C. Still have to get them to fix the upstairs.

One other task that needed done quickly was to get the RV and motorscooters registered in Alabama. I tried to do the RV earlier, but needed the title (with lien listed) from VA. That took almost a month to get. I hated to drive the RV and each scooter the 25 miles to the office so they could verify the VIN. So I got a form from DMV, and called the local sheriff. An officer came to the house and took an hour to go over each of the vehicles, verify the VIN, fill out the form, and sign. Great service!! Then I could drive to the office and register all 3 vehicles. This means I don't have to pay property tax in VA for these vehicles anymore.

Mother's Day came and we were still working hard. We decided to take a break and go for a short motor scooter ride. We got about 12 miles out and I asked Trish if she wanted to turn around. She noted that a state park was "close by" and we should take a look. Well, that park was another 12 miles and when we got there, it was closed because of the tornado damage. So we headed back. We came to a major highway and I went right, hoping to catch a cross road home. Turns out without a map or GPS, we didn't realize the road did NOT parallel SR 75 and we were, in fact heading further from home. We ended up by Lake Guntersville and the state park there that had been decimated by the storms. Saw absolutely beautiful lakes and woods ripped apart and cluttered with trees and debris. Homes were damaged and destroyed, beaches no longer accessible. But the ride was nice, though long. At last we came to the town of Guntersville and figured out where we were. By the time we got home, we had logged over 65 miles. This on what was supposed to be a short, easy ride.

Clay finished the downstairs flooring and started in the the rooms upstairs. We had selected a bamboo laminate there (cheaper) and it went in quickly. By week's end, Clay had finished all the flooring and done the closet downstairs with leftover laminate. He did some minor things around the house and then packed up. Clay mentioned he and has band would be playing at the VFW in Scottsboro on Friday night. It would be country, not bluegrass, but we thought it would be fun to go. We got the directions and headed off for dinner and music. It was about an hour's drive over along the lake and we could see the results of the tornadoes as in some places whole lakefront communities of cottages were gone. We were on the west side of the lake this time and the destruction was the same as we had see on the other side of the lake earlier.

We found the VFW, then headed out to get a bite to eat before going to hear some music. When we got back to the hall, parking was hard to find. The VFW is in a county park with lighted ball fields for softball all around and the fairgrounds (with a local fair going on) right across from the hall. We squeezed into a spot and went in. There were over 70 folks in for the music and we slid into seats along the back wall. Clay had seen us and waved from the stage and then welcomed us when the song was over. The band was called Brothers and Others and it was Clay, his 2 brothers, and several other players. They were doing Country this evening and it was good. Trish, who grew up in Wheeling, WV and listened to the WWVA Jamboree, knew almost all the songs. But the really amazing thing was watching over 85% of the folks there dance...almost every dance. They did the 2-step, the waltz, line dancing, and even threw in a twist once. No, we did not get up; these folks were good. We need to go get lessons before we step on the floor. And everyone had fun. There was no alcohol inside and no smoking. It seems most of the folks knew one another and danced with friends, partners, and strangers. We had a really enjoyable evening and plan to go hear Clay again when he is playing.

We continued working on putting away things, putting up shelves, and looking for those elusive items we KNOW we packed carefully but somehow forgot to label on the boxes. Where are our slippers for in the house? We had over 6 shoe horns to help put on shoes; we saw them labeled on a box, but now can't find the box. OK, where is that box with all the bills and stamps so we can make payments; it was one of the last things packed and we thought we had labeled it IMPORTANT. But we get up when we get up, work until we feel tired, move from room to room. and take a nap if we want. We'll get it all done. But not having to go to work and being able to help around the house is nice. And now I can finally do some of the cooking and fixing of meals, which I love. We continue to explore the community and learn more.

We had a goal of getting the downstairs in shape before leaving for Florida to spend a week with Josh, Jen, Drew and Kim. We pretty much met that and were able to take off on the 23rd of May to go see the kids. More about that later as well as some interesting stories about adapting to Alabama culture and life.

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Photos

Kitchen
Because the floors were not done in the living room or bedroom, the kitchen had to hold many boxes while we worked around getting the floors done.

Attic filling up
The young boys did a great job of stacking...early on. Then as more and more went up there and they got really tired, it started getting piled in clumps. We are sorting and rearranging in the AM when it is still cool.

Some progress in kitchen
You can see that slowly we have cleared out boxes and gotten things put away. It's like a giant maze puzzle--move boxes to cleared space to empty them for new space. Arggh.

Clay and Marvin working
Clay Varner and Marvin worked long and hard to put in the flooring. Excellent contractor and a fine bluegrass and country singer as well.

Dining room being unpacked
Once the living room and bedroom were done, we could move some boxes and start unpacking in the dining room and putting away china.

Huddle House (former)
This used to be the Huddle House in Rainsville. When the tornado came, there were 20 folks inside having dinner. Almost all were killed.

Damage to furniture
Most of the boxes we packed were fine. But some furniture was put in on its side or crammed with things on top. This antique Japanese chest had a door ripped off as a result.

Setting up the den
We brought new bookcases from Ikea and had to put them together before putting out the book shelves. Trish is working on finishing off the frame. Note the laminiated bamboo flooring--came out really nice.