Field Project

This morning Daylight Savings Time started.   The photo was taken at 8:40 DST.  I was a little late getting up and out the door this morning because of the time change.  However in real time that means the photo was taken forty-five minutes before it was normally taken in actual hours.  It makes my head hurt just to think about it.  I am not fond of the day that we change the time.  It takes me a few days to get used to the changes, because I am can generally tell what time it is by looking at where the sun is. 

Anyway, the field is clear once more.  We had snow last Monday, and it remained on the ground until yesterday.  There are still a few patches around here and there this morning, but not as much as yesterday.  We had a welcome warm day yesterday.  The temperature was seventy degrees Fahrenheit.  My husband and I were out washing our cars to get the road salt off of them.  It won't be as warm today, only in the upper fifties.  Next week there is a wintry mix forecast again. 

I have not sealed my Garden Art ball yet.  An unfortunate event has knocked me completely out of working on art this week.  Our home is an older home, and a cast iron drain pipe located underneath the slab has rusted out, allowing water to seep into our finished basement.  The pipe had rusted completely away for about half an inch across the bottom of the pipe.  We had to have a plumbing company come in and jackhammer up the floor to get to the pipe.  It was rusted out all the way across the room.  Things were a horrible mess.   Then a second company was hired to come in and clean up the mess left by the first company.  They will have to pour a new slab, and replace the flooring.  Before they can do that, they have had to steam clean the remaining concrete slab.  At the moment, there are huge dehumidifiers and air movers operating 27/7 to dry everything out.  I'm hoping the concrete will get poured tomorrow, but that may be optimistic.  There is a fine layer of concrete dust on every inch of the downstairs.  I expect that in rooms not directly affected, I will have to do the clean up.

Dealing with the work crews and the insurance company has kept me busy all week.  FYI: from what I have learned from my insurance policy, since the pipe was under the slab, not in it,
the insurance will not cover the cost of having that pipe dug out and removed.  I have heard from other people that most insurance companies work this way.  However, they will cover the clean up and the replacement of the flooring.  I have not yet received word as to whether or not they will cover the cost of pouring the replacement slab.  In a second room they may want to patch the flooring rather than replace the whole floor.  I am going to be arguing for them to replace the entire floor because I want it to match rather than look like a repair job.  The insurance agent is supposed to come tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed for me. 

All in all, this event has been rather distressing.  I am trying to keep in mind that this is also an opportunity to redecorate a bedroom.  New paint, new floor.  I'd like to get a new headboard and new bedside tables, but it does not seem like the best time for that since we have to pay out of pocket for the rusted out pipes.  I'll see what happens.

Hopefully, the worst of this will be over within a week or so.  I will post about the new project on the next post.  I just haven't been able to get to it.