100 year old trees

They were planted by Bob's grandparents when they built their new house in Orange.  I have the old black and white photographs, showing Florence sitting under the arbor, surrounded by holly hocks.  She planted the trees.  

It is almost 95 years later.  Bob is dead, as is his grandparents and his parents.  I am the inheritor of the house with the trees.  I thought they were fir, but I was wrong.

Hurricane Sandy blew one down.  I was lucky.  It went down parallel to the house.  The only damage was a dented gutter.  The problem was its twin.  Its root system was now compromised.  Those 2 old trees have stood all this time with their roots interlocked.  The twin has to come down.

I've owned the house for about 20 years.  When I inherited it, it was a mess.  There were broken windows.  Animals used the house as a winter refuge.  There were pine cones every where in the house.  The roof leaked.    I hired Joe to help me bring the house back from the brink.  He did a fine job.    One of the last things to get rehabbed, was the floors.  They came out  looking beautiful.  Joe admired them.  He said to me that when this house was built, people laid oak or maple or cherry floors.  The Bearmores put in the cheapest floor they could.  Over time, the floors have aged to a beautiful honey color.  They are beautiful.  Joe said that the 2 trees standing on the east side of the house are of the same variety.  I never forgot his remark.

Now it is time to have them cut down and cut up.  I remember what Joe said.  I am turning them into flooring.  They will not be chipped up or turned into firewood.   I asked the company to cut them into 8 and 10 foot lengths.  They did.   The logs lay on the front lawn all winter.  What is the next step?

The tree company gave me the name of a sawmill.  I called the mill and talked to Randy.  Randy told me that Ben will haul the wood to the mill.  Yes He did. 

Two days later, I am at the mill meeting Randy for the first time.  I get instructed on what can be done with this lumber.  It isn't the same as the floors in the house.  My trees are spruce, but still a good wood.   Randy and I agree that He will cut out several "bar tops"...thick slabs  for a bar....and a think slab for something else....and counter tops for a kitchen, possibly for Beth and Don.  There will be lumber for wainscoting, for framing.  I will have a stack of lumber that will fill a one bay garage to the ceiling.

It is early spring.  Randy is also a nurseryman.  This is his busy season, so I will have to wait.  My logs will sit for at least 2 months before they are sawn.  that's OK.  I will wait.

Opinion

So, nobody listens to me.  So, I am expressing my opinion here.  You don't have to agree, but I have to write it. 

First opinion is on Marriage:   There is a lot of controversy about gay marriage.  It is my opinion that hundreds of years of precedence has written a definition of marriage.  It is no surprise that it is a sacred and legal contract between a man and a woman.  To me, this is set in stone.

I think the supreme court was wrong when they ruled that gay people are denied a right to get married.  Any man or any woman can marry a person of the opposite sex. Gay people choose NOT to do this.   That is their choice.  Their right to do so  is still intact.

That still leaves gay people very frustrated, so I propose We set up another category.  Call it what you will. It allows gay people to get married to their same sex.  They have all the responsibilities and privileges of marriage, but in a separate category.    We'll get used to this, after a while.

Second opinion is on guns;   The State Of Connecticut has got it wrong .  They tightened a lot of regulations on purchasing a gun and on buying ammunition.   We have a second amendment  that guarantees our right to have a gun.  That amendment was not written so We can go hunting deer.  It was written so We can protect our self from our government.   What good is a shotgun when the government is going after me?  They (the government)   can use an atomic bomb, flame throwers, lethal viruses,  drones.   If I am to protect myself from the government, it stands to reason I should have the right to also own an atomic bomb, flame thrower, lethal virus and drones....not that I plan of doing that.  I'm just saying.....

What the State Of Connecticut should have done is to dramatically improve our mental health system.  People with mental illnesses need a lot of personal care.  We need research on medications and support services.    You can take away all the guns in Connecticut.  New Town would still have happened.....because the killer was mentally ill and did not receive the treatment He needed.  Of course, this new and improved mental health system will cost money.  It is cheaper to attack gun ownership.  I feel We have done nothing but act foolish....an avoidance to face the problem directly.

Still constructing. Still renovating

     I got a call from Justin.  He's the back hoe operator I hired to install a dry well in front of my beach house.  He is a young man with just enough experience to convince me to hire him...and his price is fair.  Justin calls to say the weather won't permit opening the ground.   It is snowing, darn it.  I don't like March snow.  I've had enough snow .   We reschedule for tomorrow.
     Next stop was to take Captain Jack to the groomers.  My little dog likes it at Whose Your Doggie Groomer.  As soon as I pull into the parking lot, He strains to get out.  He has his collar and leash on, but I drop my end of the leash to see what he will do.  He heads right to the entrance gate, smiling a doggie smile.  Jack will be OK for the next few hours.
     I get a call from my insurance adjuster.  She has looked at my bills and spoke to the lady who came to survey the damage.  The pipe froze in the Orange  CT. house.   Ernesto has another construction job for me.  and....He is doing his usual excellent job.  He has demoed the house.  Wet sheet rock and insulation are outside, waiting to be taken to the dump.  The pipe is repaired.  The electrician has been through to re-wire the kitchen.  He will finish his job after Ernesto has finished his job.
     Next the new insulation and sheet rock go up.  The carpet on the stairs is pulled up and discarded.
     Bad news:  my insurance check will be about half of what is needed to complete the job.  Regretfully, I cancel my plan to tile the wall behind the stove...and the carpet on the stairs will not be replaced.
     This house was up for sale until the electricity got interrupted...which turned the furnace off....which allowed the house to cool...which caused a pipe in the bathroom to freeze and break.   I cancelled the sale of the house until further notice.    The good news is the house will look better than before the claim....and....the season will be warmer....which means.....I can ask for a higher price for this house.   Maybe providence is on my side?
     Last stop of the day:  Pick up Captain Jack from the groomers.  He is beautiful and He knows it.  Pretty boy!
     At home:  Stephen is home.  He's been gone for a week.  He walks out of the house without telling me where He is going.  He doesn't say when He will be back.  He has been asked to leave the end of this month.  I would love to help my grandson, but I can't help someone who won't help himself.

FEMA help

Most of  hurricane Sandy damage was at the New Jersey shore and in the New York city area.  But Milford got hit, too.  Some of the old houses are condemned.  The city building inspector pulled certificate of occupancy from many beach houses.   Some houses have their waterside walls washed away...or collapsed.    I wish they had done what they did when they created Silver Sands:   condemn the area , buy every one out and not let any one else build on the coastline.  The area is then open to all as a state park. 

Until they do that, I have to address the damage alone.  Feelings of gratitude:  I am not one of the people living on the New Jersey shore.  Whole neighborhoods were flattened by wind, rain and fire.  However, this is my third rebuild in about a year....something I can not keep repeating.

Phone call to FEMA:   A representative comes to the house and inspects.  She leaves.  I get a check for $1100...the amount that goes out to everyone to help with food and rental expense.  It really helps, but not much.

Insurance adjuster comes and speaks welcome words:    You have sewer backup coverage.  No openings in the house blew in.  The only way that water and mud can come in is up...through the sump pump hole, the drain system, shower drain....any hole in the floor.  I am covered.  The adjuster goes on the roof.  Two thirds of my roof has to be replaced.   Landscaping is sandpapered from the storm surge.  My front lawn is covered with wood, some one's steps, beach sand.  My brand new picnic table is gone.  My recycle bin has floated away, but I find it in the marsh, covered with mud.  It comes home and gets a hosing down.

I can't do this every year.  Some people say that this is the 200 year flood.  Another one won't happen until  200 years from now.  I am thinking that with climate change/ global warming, this type of flood will happen yearly.    Clearly, I need to do something different.  Sell?     Yes I would, except that every third house on my street has a for sale sign in front of it.  I would have to take a financial loss.

Some people are raising their houses above the flood high water mark.  Their houses were on blocks with no basement.   It was easier for them to raise their house than it will be for me to raise mine.  However, this is an option I must explore....or continue to get flooded out every year.  My insurance company will probably drop me....and the cost of flood insurance is beyond my budget...$6000 a year.

The FEMA people are very nice.  I get a lot of booklets to read.  I am told that since I don't have any flood insurance, they can't help me.  However, I may be eligible for a grant to raise my house up to the national standard...above flood level....and....I may be eligible to a loan to pay for the rest of the cost of raising the house.    I am given the application for the loan and told that if the loan comes through, I am not obligated to accept it if my plans change.   Bob Gregory is in charge of the grant program and I know him from his involvement with veterans activities.   It won't hurt to talk to him. As I leave the FEMA office, I am given a gift:   a bucket with cleaning supplies.

This and that

I've skipped from August to November.  It has been a very busy year....two hurricanes and a northeaster have done considerable damage to my beach house.  The tenants in the grandparents house have skipped town, turned off the electricity, left no forwarding address...and 6 dumpsters of trash for me to address.  Cleaning all that up...mildew, smells, things that grow on old furniture that was left downstairs, wet....in all of that, something bit me and I got Lyme Disease.  That will ruin your summer real quick.

No wonder small things escape me....like the missing keys, described in the previous writing.   To conclude that story, I found the keys in the glove compartment of my truck...about a week after I had to call the locksmith in.

I tracked down the tenants by calling the water company.  The water company had their forwarding address.     The small claims process is started.   I know where they are living now.  I know where He works.  I will get what is owed me.....well, maybe not everything.  What price shall I put on Lyme Disease?  

All the paper work is done.  Then the water company bills me for my tenant's use of water.  If I don't pay their bill, the water company will put a lien on my property.  So, I paid some one else's water bill.  To add that bill to my claim, I had to petition the judge to let me add the water bill to the total...which is now about the maximum amount that goes through small claims...about $5000.

Meanwhile, a hurricane hits the shore.  A big tree falls on the front lawn of the grandparents house in Orange.  ....so lucky it did not fall on the house.  It has a twin.  That tree's roots are now compromised.  It will have to come down, too. 

And......(are you adding up the disasters?)    the in-law apartment at the beach house got ruined by Hurricane Sandy.  I replaced the hot water tank, the sump pump and battery back up, and the heating plant....a hot water/boiler system.    This time, my insurance company came through for me.  They will pay for the new roof and some other items.   I thank God for my wonderful contractor, Ernesto.

I want a vacation....away from here.

Lost Keys

     I've looked every where for them.   I checked the kitchen drawer....where the keys should be.  I checked the pockets of my jackets and jeans.  The keys are no where to be found.  The only other person who uses my 3 bay garage, is my grandson, Stephen.  

      Stephen isn't answering his  phone, so I drive to his place of work.  Nope.  He doesn't have the keys.

     It is tearing out my hair time.  Where are those darn keys?   Inside the garage are items I need to access.  I have to move the paint to the basement, so it won't freeze.   The contractor needs to store some concrete in the garage.  He is installing new front steps for my tenant..  He stores the concrete in his own garage for the time being.

      My tenant, Tina, comes out to see what is going on.   She is very good with a screw driver.   Tina gets the screws out of one hasp.  The lock hangs on the hasp.  The entire thing has to be replaced.   The second hasp has screws that are hidden by the configuration of the hasp.  I can't get to them.  A hacksaw proves useless on hardened steel.    This is so frustrating!

      Could I have accidentally locked the keys inside the garage?    Tina and I break a window to get inside.  She looks all over.  No keys.

     There is nothing else to do accept to call the locksmith, Bud.  He comes over in the afternoon.  With a bolt cutter, Bud removes the locks.  He works long and hard to get the hasps off the doors.  They have been there for decades, rusting in place.   Bud installs a one piece unit that is both lock and hasp.   Both locks are keyed the same.   He hands me the keys.  "Don't loose them" Bud says.   I put them immediately on my key ring.

     The chore for today is to install the new glass in the window.    It seems you can't buy glazing compound for just one window.  I have about 2 cups of glazing compound. That is the smallest amount I can buy.    This is more than I need.  The rest will dry out in the basement until I get around to throwing the container out.  At least my 3 bay garage will be back to normal. 

    

Eviction

Tenants have left by early July.  They call me to tell me that there is water in the basement, so the man who was moving them out, can't move their stuff out of the basement.  and....oh by the way...We turned the electricity off the 3rd week in June.  WHAT!!!      That means the sump pump was running on battery until it was exhausted.  Now it needs to be replaced. 

Upstairs, they had pulled the battery out of the smoke detector.  This was a hard wired detector.  No battery and no electricity means the house was not protected from smoke detection.

In the girl's bedroom, there are burn marks on the floor.  It looks like they left a curling iron on the floor.  The contractor says it will take about $500 to refinish the floor and maybe cost more, as some of the boards may have to be replaced.

The door knobs are missing from the bathroom and the bedrooms. 

I had talked to the tenants that they are forbidden to hang anything on the walls unless they use a 3M stick on hanger.  If you bang on a plaster wall , you loosen the plaster from the lath.  Walking around doing on inspection, I see at least 10 nails in the walls. 

In the sun porch:  a  window divider is broken.  Does this mean the whole window has to come out and be remade?   

The basement is stuffed with junk...much of it holiday decorations...all wet and growing mold.

Out in the yard, 2 Bull Bags are sitting, filled, waiting for pickup.  The Barbaritos have ordered these canvas mini dumpsters.  I expected they would call and the bill would be theirs.   Several weeks go by.  The tenants refuse my phone calls.  I call the Bull Bag people, who inform me that I must pay to have the bags picked up and emptied.

It is time to clean up and make repairs.  My attorney says that since they left the keys and left the house for parts unknown, they have legally abandoned the house.  I can enter and take possession.  I empty their security deposit and start paying bills.  It may cover about half the loss.   I thought We were avoiding Housing Court, but I see this will be impossible.