5/7 Ugh, yay, and yay

The ugh is that the offer fell through. The guy didn't respond to my counteroffer because of an unexpected expense that he encountered. Shoot.

The first yay is that my sister-in-law Karen sent me tons of books, for grades K through 4. I will definitely put them to good use, Karen. Thanks.

The second yay is that Jill and kids may be coming to visit in October. I guess it's during school break. I am ecstatic. They just need to find some good ticket prices. And I'm confident that will happen.

Oh, and a mini-yay. I was worried about a huge expense that might happen, but it turns out that I worried for nothing. I called my friend Lou in Kentucky and told her I couldn't make the wedding this weekend in Kentucky because I couldn't justify the expense. She said the room at the B&B was already paid for, all the food was free, and all I'd be paying for is gas. She's so smart. She convinced me. And I'm glad, because I'll see several more of my friends there--some I just saw in CA. I'm looking forward to it and it's only a 5 hour drive or so.

The bad thing is that my family is having a yard sale at my house while I'm gone. Wish I could be there to help. And Jan, Jane, Kris, Deb, etc., I'm trying to get my lawn mowed before Saturday. I promise.

5/15 I learned something

At the meeting this morning with FEMA and some of our construction guys, I learned that if a structure is estimated to have less than 50% damage then it doesn't need to conform to the new elevation requirements. That's critical when it comes to an organization such as ours. If a house needs to be elevated, then we basically have to start from scratch and do a "build" rather than a "rebuild." Lots of complications, not to mention lots of money.

I also learned a little about flood zones. AE means that it's a special hazard flood area. A plain X means it's not a flood zone. An X in a shaded area means it's a 500 year flood zone, so we're still okay there (as long as it's not the 500th year). :)

Quincy slept well again last night, and is at doggy daycare today. She was thrilled to arrive and see her buddies. Hope I can afford to keep this up. It's hard to keep her at home when I work since her "condition" requires she goes outside every hour and a half or so. I'd leave her in the fenced yard but she's a digger and would be to China by the time I got home from work. That worries me--she could easily dig an escape route while alone and bored. Doggy Daycare is $1.50 an hour or $10 for the day (and night). So I'll give up something else to be able to keep taking her there. What can I give up? DSL? Nope. Digital cable? Nope. Fattening food? Nope. Cleaning team? Nope, don't have one here--yet. Lawn service? Nope--gotta get rid of those fire ants and mole crickets. Hmmm...I'll have to think about how to economize.

(Am taking a few minutes this afternoon to post since I only took a 2o minute lunch....)

4/16 In Albuquerque, NM

It's just as cold here as it is in Biloxi but should be 70 tomorrow. That'll be nice. Back home there were horrible thunderstorms on the Gulf Coast.

Great to be here but the timing is bad. Wish I was back home--with all the stacked up boxes and my little puppy. It was hard taking Quincy to the kennel for a few nights, but it had to be done. I acted like it didn't bother me so she wouldn't sense I was upset. As it was, she happily went with the tech. Just like sending your kids to kindergarten for the first day.

What a blessing to be in my own home!!!! A new washer and dryer are being delivered on Friday and I hope to have some guys out to give me an estimate on the fence. Then I need some yard work done--and fire ant hills removed, but after that I'll need to stop spending. At least until something else pops up.

And to the world news...it's unfathomable how humans injure humans. 33 people dead and we'll never know why. I have a feeling someone at this conference will address the issue. And I wouldn't be surprised if some attendees left to help deal with the aftermath of the tragedy. This conference is NVOAD--National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.