Floods, flowers, and not-so-funny business

It's spring. It's June. That must mean I should have had my ark built by now. Oops. Alas. Noah was a much wiser soul than me. However, I fought the flooding once again--and lived to tell about it. Here's the scene. Saturday morning. Way early. I hear the pummeling sound of heavy rain beat against my window. Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. I jumed out of bed and ran to the top of the stairs leading to the basement, held my breath, and turned on the light. I took a peek. Sigh of relief. The basement was dry. Whoo. Dodged that bullet, baby.

With the rain coming down in heavy, sideways sheets, I decide to go down and check the floor drains to be sure. One. Two. Three. Dry. Dry. Dry. I move into the room where the triplets' college stuff is stored for the summer and notice a small wet area along the wall. No big deal. I get the Shop-Vac out and start to suck the water up. I'm getting it cleaned up when my sleepy-eyed son comes down to investigate the noise. I tell him it's fine, just a little water from the window well. No big deal.

Several seconds later I hear those infamous words: "Mom. You better see this."

Not the kind of words that promote peace of mind or serene contemplation.

I follow him into the downstairs bathroom and discover water pouring in from the shower drain. As I stare at the rising water, I hear a weird sound and turn to see a mini geyser shooting out of the bolt that is supposed to secure the toilet to the floor. My son runs to check the other floor drains at opposite ends of the basement. Water. Water. And more water.

I grab the sump pump, shove it into the shower, attach the hose, and with the kid's help, get it pumping water out the hose down the front driveway. Meanwhile, the water is up to our ankles. I call around to get a second sump pump, run and pick it up, purchase a 16 gallon Shop Vac to go with my 12 gallon one and run back home, set the second pump up, and begin sucking water up with the Shop Vac. Water kept coming into the basement through the floor drains and toilet base until four-thirty Saturday night. You can imagine what my Sunday was like.

And all because of a 4-inch rain that came in less than two hours. Since June 1st we've had close to 10 inches of rain.

The basement is drying out.

Today the insurance claim's adjuster came. Nice guy. Like law enforcement officers, I imagine he doesn't get to see people at their best.

The downside of the flood? That's obvious by now. But what about an up-side?

All this precip is great for my vegetable and flower gardens. Here are a couple pics of my 'greenery'. One of my tiny zucchini blooms, itty-bitty Roma tomaters and a flower bed.





I guess I must acknowledge the truth in the idea if you look hard enough--you'll find a positive in most negatives.


However, I'm still looking for positives in my agent search as I await responses from agents who requested material. My mantra has become 'patience is a virtue'. At the same time, I'm getting ready to widen my net.


Hoping your weather is boring and uneventful and that you all have a fabulous Father's Day this coming Sunday. Happy Father's Day to my very own, 'Daddy Buck' who celebrated his 83rd birthday last Sunday. Luv ya!



~Bullet Hole~