Halloween and a second opinion
We’ve had a whirlwind of activity here over the last couple of days. Let’s see if I can catch up.
First, here’s a little something to jot down in my notebook of life’s lessons: second opinions are a good thing. On Friday afternoon, Bob Ryan and his business partner (who were recommended by Jon and Charlotte) came out and looked at our roof.
Actually, a better word is they examined our roof for over an hour and they traced the leak to a damaged air vent. They actually crawled up inside the rafters and found wet insulation and an obvious point of entry, so they were almost 100% positive this was the source of the problem.
They also said our shingles needed replacing (which I knew), and recommended that we call our insurance agent and have an adjuster come out. We have nothing to lose, that’s for sure.
The best news is they said our sheetrock did not look damaged at all, so nothing inside the house needs to be replaced. We have an ugly water stain, but no permanent damage. It’s nothing a little paint can’t fix. I can deal with that.
It is supposed to rain in our neck of the woods early this coming week, so this afternoon (Saturday) Bob came back, removed the culprit vent and shingled and tarred over the place where the vent (and leak) had been to prevent further water from getting in. He did this free of charge to us (unless, of course, we decide to go elsewhere to have the shingle work done). He’s proposed to re-shingle and install new, updated vents next spring. I’m not sure how much it will cost us; he will submit a bid this week, but Beth and I have already privately decided we would like him to do the project. I can’t imagine this will be anywhere near $7,600. And if insurance pays for part of it, we’ll be doing okay.
The bottom line? Treat people with honesty and respect and it will be returned to you.
So hopefully this temporary fix will get us through the winter months until we can get everything line-up next spring.
I do sometimes feel like I’m being pecked to death by a duck; but more often, I feel like someone is watching out for me and my girls.
For Halloween, we went trick or treating and ended our night at Korey and Shelli’s where we had good food and cold beer and a little Halloween party. We met Brian, Lindsey and their kids there, then they came back to our place around 11:30 p.m.
We stayed up with the Budahns, solving the world’s problems until about 2 a.m. I must say being a world problem solver really is hard work.
This morning we had homemade pumpkin pancakes (with homemade apple cider syrup), bacon, and gallons of strong coffee. We feasted like kings, solved more of the world’s problems (it’s a big, big world, you know!) until the Budahns left for the big city around noon.
For lunch, Beth decided to open a jar of Shelli’s homemade salsa (which was sent home with us the night before). Now, there’s one thing you should know about me. I absolutely LOVE homemade salsa. And Shelli’s will make your big toe pop up in your boot. It is fabulous! One pint lasted one afternoon. I admit, I was out of control.
To go along with the Mexican theme, we went to Baxter’s brand new Mexican restaurant tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Stokes. The name of the place is El Tequila, and if you’re ever in the Baxter area, by all means go to this place. It is run by a Mexican family, everything is authentic, and the food is outstanding!!!
[But I do like Shelli’s salsa better.]
That’s enough for now. Hey, we get an extra hour of sleep tonight. Excellent. It’s good timing because Korey, Travis and I are getting up early and going to the Vikings/Texans game tomorrow at the Dome. It will be a fun time, win or lose.
More later.
First, here’s a little something to jot down in my notebook of life’s lessons: second opinions are a good thing. On Friday afternoon, Bob Ryan and his business partner (who were recommended by Jon and Charlotte) came out and looked at our roof.
Actually, a better word is they examined our roof for over an hour and they traced the leak to a damaged air vent. They actually crawled up inside the rafters and found wet insulation and an obvious point of entry, so they were almost 100% positive this was the source of the problem.
They also said our shingles needed replacing (which I knew), and recommended that we call our insurance agent and have an adjuster come out. We have nothing to lose, that’s for sure.
The best news is they said our sheetrock did not look damaged at all, so nothing inside the house needs to be replaced. We have an ugly water stain, but no permanent damage. It’s nothing a little paint can’t fix. I can deal with that.
It is supposed to rain in our neck of the woods early this coming week, so this afternoon (Saturday) Bob came back, removed the culprit vent and shingled and tarred over the place where the vent (and leak) had been to prevent further water from getting in. He did this free of charge to us (unless, of course, we decide to go elsewhere to have the shingle work done). He’s proposed to re-shingle and install new, updated vents next spring. I’m not sure how much it will cost us; he will submit a bid this week, but Beth and I have already privately decided we would like him to do the project. I can’t imagine this will be anywhere near $7,600. And if insurance pays for part of it, we’ll be doing okay.
The bottom line? Treat people with honesty and respect and it will be returned to you.
So hopefully this temporary fix will get us through the winter months until we can get everything line-up next spring.
I do sometimes feel like I’m being pecked to death by a duck; but more often, I feel like someone is watching out for me and my girls.
___________________
For Halloween, we went trick or treating and ended our night at Korey and Shelli’s where we had good food and cold beer and a little Halloween party. We met Brian, Lindsey and their kids there, then they came back to our place around 11:30 p.m.
We stayed up with the Budahns, solving the world’s problems until about 2 a.m. I must say being a world problem solver really is hard work.
This morning we had homemade pumpkin pancakes (with homemade apple cider syrup), bacon, and gallons of strong coffee. We feasted like kings, solved more of the world’s problems (it’s a big, big world, you know!) until the Budahns left for the big city around noon.
For lunch, Beth decided to open a jar of Shelli’s homemade salsa (which was sent home with us the night before). Now, there’s one thing you should know about me. I absolutely LOVE homemade salsa. And Shelli’s will make your big toe pop up in your boot. It is fabulous! One pint lasted one afternoon. I admit, I was out of control.
To go along with the Mexican theme, we went to Baxter’s brand new Mexican restaurant tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Stokes. The name of the place is El Tequila, and if you’re ever in the Baxter area, by all means go to this place. It is run by a Mexican family, everything is authentic, and the food is outstanding!!!
[But I do like Shelli’s salsa better.]
That’s enough for now. Hey, we get an extra hour of sleep tonight. Excellent. It’s good timing because Korey, Travis and I are getting up early and going to the Vikings/Texans game tomorrow at the Dome. It will be a fun time, win or lose.
More later.
