May not be blog worthy but here goes.

M1sterEd

M1sterEd

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 7, 2025
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Today I am at the laundromat with my wife. We do laundry 2 times a week because we live in an Rv with 4 dogs and a cat. Things get dirty faster living in limited space than when we were living in our house. The same is true with buying groceries, limited pantry and refrigerator space prompts us to buy groceries 2 times a week rather than going to the store once a week.

If you are routinely present at a given space or activity, you recognize people who routinely occupy the space with you thus forming friendships and acquaintances. We see more people we recognize at the laundromat than the grocery store. Perhaps because people at the laundromat are more consistent than the fluid motion of people buying groceries.

Go figure?
 
Work continues on restoring my house after a pickup crashed into it May 2024. The damage was substantial, requiring a new foundation, new well site, demolition and restoration dining room and master bedroom, new roof and windows replacement.
So far, the foundation is complete, dining room and master bedrooms wall are with windows installed.
The electrician is due to arrive next week, followed by new sheet rock and a fresh coat of paint.
Appliances destroyed by the crash are to be replaced, furniture and stored item will return and hopefully by the end of July our house will be livable again.
Since June 2024, we have lived in a 5th wheel Rv supplied to us by our homeowners insurance. Water was hauled in and stored in a large container inside of an insulated trailer with a direct connection to the Rv by a heated hose to prevent from freezing during winter months.
Prior to winterizing the water source, water was stored in 2 smaller plastic containers and pumped into Rv water storage tanks.
In the beginning, electricity to the Rv was provided by a gas generator that had to be refilled 2 times a week. The same was true about propane use and storage. Two 30 pound propane tanks used for heat and cooking had to be filled 2 times a week when the furnace was in use. Eventually we signed up to have propane delivered to the Rv.

As I stated in my previous blog entry, we share the Rv with 4 dogs and a cat. The other 2 cats stayed in the house because they felt trapped in the Rv. Dog rugs everywhere.
 
Yesterday my wife and I met with a therapist to help us put into words our experiences and frustrations associated with the loss of our house. It has a been over a year since the crash and we are still living with trauma. On the bright side, substantial progress is being made on the restoration, however, the tight living space in the Rv doesn't help.
Recently, I walked through the house able to pass through the newly rebuilt dining room from the kitchen to the living room. I was amazed at the easiness passing through the dining room instead of having to go through the front door when the dining room and master bedroom was demolished for restoration.
Going into therapy was my idea, my wife and I want collaborate on a book and I thought by telling our story to a third party would be helpful.

Next week, the electrician is scheduled to restore electricity into the house. From there, the newly dug well will be connected to the house, sheetrock, painting and buying new appliances will follow.
 
Monday, 06/23/2025
Bought groceries this morning. The heat is horrendous 90* before noon. My wife defrosted the Rv fridge 2 hours. Moseley stayed in side the Rv for the air conditioning dogs & cats rested to avoid the heat.
 
Another laundry day, it is hot. 90* degrees at 11am. When you routinely visit certain places like the laundromat you begin to recognize people who frequently visit the same places as you do. So you make friends, not necessarily longterm friends but friends and acquaintances just the same.
I like people, I find people fascinating. Everyone has a story I think that is what makes life interesting.
 
Drugs are great, I love them. I'm amazed by the multiple effects of drugs and chemical properties. I knew right away I would be a psychedelic tripper by the music I got off on, waiting for that day when LSD came into my life. My brother and 2 buddies of ours decided to go Six Flags over Ga opening day with Fritz the Cat blotter acid. After sitting inn the parking lot waiting for the park to open my brother who was experienced in tripping and the other guy sitting in the back seat took 1 ½ dose while my friend and I took 1 blotter each.

Crazily we split up my friend and I went to the front entrance of the park and stood in line to enter the park while my brother and the guy who sat back seat went to the rear entrance of the park...and got in the park. Meanwhile we are feeling the effects of LSD waiting in line and decided to go back to the car. It is a wonder we found the car and more miraculously my bother and cohort found us in the car waiting for them.
My friend drove us back to my house where we tripped the rest of the day and bid our guests goodbye.
 
When I started using of course it was marijuana but oddly pot affected me different than the people I smoked with. I didn't feel happy or loose I didn't feel anything. My buddies tried to get me off but to no avail. Finally marijuana made me comatose and psychotic so I quit but it took me a long time to realize I wan't having fun.
Smoking pot is a social event as it was for me back in the day, to refuse a joint for health reasons was not cool. Neither was psychosis. I stepped away from recreational drug use when my mental health got so bad I couldn't recover. Now 50 years sober want to trip, however my psych meds blocks serotonin reuptake receptors. To remedy this I have to take a short vacation from my medication to experience a tapered down version of tripping.
Will it be worth it? Maybe...
 
I'm at a low point in life where I wish everything was behind me to start again. Stress is high due to delays and costs of home restoration after pickup truck demolished house at speeds of 90 mph. I stopped taking antidepressant and anti-psychotic a week ago however, not ready to resume medication as this is only a temporary lull in mood.

There is a discrepancy in payment from insurance claim to pay contractors for work done on the house..
Summer heat is overbearing
San Pedro cactus on the way I don't know how wife will react.
 
It’s been awhile since my last post, the cost discrepancy was resolved at the original price of $61,000 and restoration continues.
The dining room and master bedroom walls are primed for painting and electrical boxes were installed 6 feet apart according to code.
There is no projected time yet when our house will be available for occupancy until then we will continue to live in an Rv.
 
Yes, just before the crash my wife was in the laundry room, she had just sat down to watch tv when the truck crashed through the dining room and laundry room. Our Bernese mountain dog who was in her crate, the dining room wall crushed her crate down on her, emergency services had to cut her crate to free her. Meanwhile I just brought home a golden retriever puppy who was in the crate with Sadie, she escaped by running into the downstairs bathroom.
 
M1sterEd said:
Yes, just before the crash my wife was in the laundry room, she had just sat down to watch tv when the truck crashed through the dining room and laundry room. Our Bernese mountain dog who was in her crate, the dining room wall crushed her crate down on her, emergency services had to cut her crate to free her. Meanwhile I just brought home a golden retriever puppy who was in the crate with Sadie, she escaped by running into the downstairs bathroom.
Click to expand...

It all sounds just unbelievably traumatic. Both dogs were ok?
 
Toilet in the Rv overflowed 2 nights ago getting Rv carpet, floor and dog beds wet.
 
Internet has been out of service since 3:00 am. Supposed to have been restored at 7:30 am..now by 10:30am
Home restoration workers have not worked on house 3 days now. Perhaps waiting for inspector approval to install electricity? There is no communication we never know when work will be done on the house..., waiting and waiting in the dark for someone anyone to work on the house.
We had to have a new well dug much further from the house than the original site. A new pipeline to the house needs to be laid and connected to compression pump in cellar. A new partial foundation for the house was installed that divided the cellar into two rooms. The new cellar floor is 18 inches taller than the old cellar floor. This is where the water compressor pump for the new well will be installed.

We don't know if the furnace is in working order after setting idle for more than a year. Washer, dryer and hot water heater will be replaced with new appliances. Don't know if the electric stove, refrigerator or freezers will work as before the accident either.
 
Dining room, master bedroom, laundry room are painted. Next week new well pipeline and electrical cable will be dug and connected to house.
Inquired about dollar amount of additional funds to replace washing machine, dryer and hot water heater that were destroyed as a result of truck crash.
Two months of reimbursements for Rv living expenses were delayed because insurance adjuster went on vacation.
 
It's been awhile since my post and a lot has happened since August 23rd.
Workers are scrambling to complete restorations before our emergency housing funds are depleted September 30, 2025 and the Rv goes back to the Rv rental dealership. Servpro emergency property recovery screwed around and let the time slip by instead of managing work crews, work crews would go day and weeks before coming to work on the house.
It is especially stressful seeing the lack of progress on restoring to a livable condition and the very deadline of having no place to live at all as of September 30,

I complained to the Better Business Bureau about Servpro and Servpro's representative called me yesterday to get me to retract my complaint. Servpro will milk as much time as they can in restoration projects to gain the most profit at the victims expenses.

The electricity is installed, the new well is hooked up the house. I bought the wrong kind of hot water and fortunate to be able to exchange for a new one on the same day the hardware store picks up the old hot water heater. We have a washer and dryer on backlog to be delivered October 10. The new hot water heater is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.

Inspection criteria for livable conditions are smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detector, running hot water, gas where applicable and electricity.

The furnace has to work, stove and refrigerator need to be professionally cleaned.

Our furniture, bedding, couches, curtains, rods, etc was stored by different disaster restoration outfit in another part of the state. They are scheduled to return items September 30th.
 
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