The False Ducks Blahg

You know you’ve been writing a blahg for a long time when things that happened long ago start happening again. That happened last year when we had to replace our dishwasher and our washing machine and I referenced a blahg in 2012 when I wrote about the new washing machine then.  Little did I expect that this new blahg would reference a catastrophe that happened ten years ago.  I don’t know about Karma or what comes around goes around but I could do without what happened this past week. 

   Ten years ago, in April of 2014, I penned a blahg entitled  THAT WAS THE MONTH THAT WAS…OR MORE.  The gist of that blahg extolled the tale of dealing with an oil spill at my parents’ home and what followed. Here are some excerpts from that blahg and a later blahg detailing some updates:

There had been a slight warming in the weather and all of the snow and ice that was on the roof began to melt. I wish I had taken pictures of the roof before all of this happened because you wouldn’t have believed the size and thickness of the ice and icicles. So, there was a thaw and you can guess what happened next.

We discovered that a large chunk of ice from the roof had fallen and landed on the oil filter and had severed the filter and line from the tank. Over 800 liters of oil had spilled into the ground.

The next few days were a flurry of phone calls and meetings. I had to meet with two different insurance adjusters, engineers, a safety and standards agent, as well as numerous emails and texts to my siblings regarding what had happened. My mother was immediately relocated to my brother Dan’s house while Dad and Bryan stayed in the house. It was so cold that Dad eventually went to stay with my sister and Bryan came to stay with me. In fact, Bryan stayed with me until this past Sunday (more than a month) until he eventually moved in with his niece. There was a short period of 4 days while my mother also stayed with me while Dan was having surgery on his foot.

During that short time that my mother was here, I managed to track down a house rental in Belleville and worked with Dan and my sister Wanda to arrange to have furniture moved in to that house. Eventually my parents were reunited in this house and everything has gone well there. I was still dealing with an insurance adjuster who took almost the full month to get some compensation for my parents. Their insurance policy will cover the cost of their current location but getting the cheque for the expenses took some doing. Eventually the engineers came back and said my parents’ old house would have to be torn down because oil had seeped under the foundation and the garage and there was no way to remove it without demolishing those structures.

——————————-

What else? The ordeal to get a new house built for my parents continues. I’ve had to deal with Insurance companies, banks, lawyers, and contractors. At least the basement has been poured and the contractor is starting to build the frame. I really don’t have anything to complain about when it comes to our contractor. Geertsma Homes out of Belleville have been excellent and my parents really liked the model home they toured. The picture on the left is of the model home. I have flipped the photo to show the orientation with the garage on the left as this is how my parents want theirs built. Now it’s just colour selections inside and out.

Here are some the videos of the old house.  The first is a walk-through after the house was emptied and waiting for demolition

Next are two videos of the demolition: 

I’m not sure if I have any photos of the new house that was built but the picture below is of the model home at the time.  I had flipped the photo to show the orientation with the garage on the left as this is how my parents new home was built. 

   So what happened this past week?  Well, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Look below. 

That was October 14th, Thanksgiving here in Canada.  I received a phone call around 4pm from my brother Dan that there was a fire at my Mother’s house.  My wife and I rushed in and to the scene above.  First, everyone got out safely.  My Mother was living there, along with my brother Todd, and my mother’s live-in caregiver.  Also, two dogs and two budgies were rescued.  Unfortunately my Mother had to go to the hospital due to smoke inhalation.  She is still there while we try to figure things out and where she goes next.  We’re looking at a retirement home.  Unfortunately, I’m the power of attorney and have to deal with the hospital, the retirement home, and the Insurance company.  I did all that ten years ago.  That’s why twice in a lifetime is too much. 

   At this point, we don’t know what caused the fire.  We know that the fire started in the garage and where it burned the hottest was around the electrical panel box.  The Insurance company will probably do a determination and find the cause.  Here are a couple more photos of the house after the fire:

Here’s a close-up view of my brother Dan’s motorcycle in the garage: 

Yeah, that should buff right out. 

   I’m still waiting to hear from an Adjuster.  The property is fenced off and we can’t get access.  My brother Todd is living with my brother Dan and we’ll have to find them a two bedroom apartment.  Then there’s the live-in caregiver who had to move in with her family and the birds and dogs.  We’ll have to do right by all of them.  A couple of retirement homes were going to do assessments on my Mother this afternoon to see if she is suitable for either of those retirement homes.  I’ve yet to hear back from them or the Insurance company.  I remember ten years ago it was tough to get them going and to get them to loosen their purse strings.  It may be twice in a lifetime but this isn’t my first rodeo with the Insurance people.  That too, will need to be determined.

   Last week, in the midst of the chaos, I did get to go to Toronto to see Scott Mulvahill at the Horseshoe Tavern.  I got to meet him in person and I told him one of my favourite songs by him is “1000 Feet.”  He did a shout-out to me during his concert and dedicated the song to me.  I think the lyrics to the song are appropriate to what’s facing me:

There’s a great video of Scott Mulvahill performing this song while in Iceland:

The lyrics are my life now.  I’ve got quite the road ahead for me.  I’ve got a thousand feet to climb.  Wish me luck!