Still here

We're still here, still working on cleanup. I've been too depressed and too sick (just a bad cold) to blog. And in fact I'm headed for bed in a few minutes. We had some nice helpers come today and help us clean, but the mess in the backyard is still tremendous and overwhelming.

I'm convinced that the reason I have a cold is my body decided it wasn't going to participate in the cleanup anymore, so it became too sick to do much.
Today we found a bunch of old books that Rocket Boy had always meant to donate to the CU library. We called the library, and they said bring them down, but they were so muddy and mildewy that the staff decided they had to toss most of them. They told us they're going to freeze two of them and see if they're salvageable.

They might have all been ruined anyway, even if we'd pulled them out of the basement on September 13th, but a week later they're impossible. As is everything else out there, pretty much. And I still can't get myself to go through more than a box or two at a time. I get too upset. Rocket Boy is having the same problem. It's a weird feeling, turning into someone you'd see on the TV news after a disaster.

The FEMA inspector is coming tomorrow. We'll see what they say. The big issue is the furnaces in the two houses. We don't even know if they still work -- don't have any idea, really. Then there's the mold issue, but that's just beyond us. Everyone has a different opinion: use bleach -- no, don't use bleach, it doesn't work -- use boric acid -- use vinegar -- use baking soda -- use various expensive products you can buy at Home Depot -- no, don't use those, they're toxic. Etc.

OK, bedtime.