Hurricanes, Sand, and Frustration

What is going on and why haven't we posted to this blog in 5 months?

Well first, this little thing called Hurricane Ike came along and turned our life upside down. We live on the west end of Galveston Island where the storm surge was 8 feet. By the time the surge got by the row of beach houses in front of us and across the state road we live on, the surge was "only" 4 feet but very strong. The result was heavy damage to our garage and store room. Speaking of the store room, even though we had most of our "stuff" above the 4 foot waterline, what was on the floor was literally tossed everywhere and knocked many things off the shelves we had most things on. What a tangled mess!

Secondly, Sand was everywhere. The beach we love was now in our yard, in the garage, in the storeroom, and every nook and craney. Our house, sitting on pillings 12 feet high, had damage to the deck and roof, as well as our screened in porches, and some interior damage due to wind driven rain (105 mph). The net result was 2 feet of sand in the garage and storeroom and 1 to 2 feet in the yard. Try driving in that.

Now the frustration. Since roads had to be cleared of sand and debris, no one was allowed on the west end of Galveston Island until 12 days after the storm, we were unable to return to see or assess the damage immediately which resulted in fighing mold first. Also, since electic, water, and sewer had to be restored, we were unable to live in our house and were "stuck" in a hotel 90 miles away. 5 weeks after the storm, we moved back home and began the physical work required to "dig out" and start the repairs.

The frustration continues with "fighting" with adjusters, insurance companies, and restrictions of what you can do and not do without the money you need to do it all. The endless hours on the phone trying to get insurance companies off their posteriors is mind boggling.

We thought we would take a break and finally make this post to let out some frustration and to let all of you know why we haven't been posting. We'll be back soon telling about our hurricane experience and picking up where we left off about diets.