Postponing

Our fire was July 8th, or the neighbor's fire that spread to our house.  While nothing has happened at theirs, just slow progress back to nature or rat infested crack house (that's back to nature in our city), big renovations have begun at our place.  Our contractor started on Monday.  Of course, as renovation began, more damage was uncovered.  We are about $20k over the payment from insurance.  Some of that is because we had budgeted for the state credit on our new windows, which we have missed out on because the windows were not installed "in time."  We had also planned on replacing our boiler, that's a $2,800- $3,500 project we had planned on doing and purchased the supplies for before the fire. 
 I'll be heading to home depot tomorrow for new paint and lighting.  There are perks to the renovations, we aren't there to live through it- thanks to insurance we are at a hotel, and all of the rooms will be repainted and there will be updated and more electrical.
Our savings, which I had planned for the adoption are gone.  I was really hoping to be a parent by the time I was 35, but now that isn't a reality.  I'm really bummed.  Its frustrating that you can work really hard, plan carefully and that someone else's disaster ruins everything.  The most depressing part, is that we have no other options.  We can't have a child.  Our state contracts out all foster to adoption programs (and foster care), so that's not a cost effective option.  Private adoptions are expensive and there is no timeline.  We are all out of options.  We are either postponing.  In reality: giving up. 
I'll add pictures of the renovations later.  I guess this isn't an adoption blog anymore. 

House renovation

I am happy to say we finally recieved our estimate from insurance.  This is our first fire (or major damage) and we didn't know what the timeline should be.  Our adjuster kept telling us "any day now," and 5 weeks seemed like a long time to be living in a hotel- especially when for 3 of those weeks there was literally nothing happening at our house.  Our tenant's adjuster, at the same company, started telling her to find a new place to live because "nothing's happening at the house."  That's when we understood that 5 weeks is not only unacceptable, but violates our rights as policy holders.  A few calls to his supervisor, and a few hours later at 1:41 AM we had our estimate. 
We met with our contractor Tuesday morning at our house.  We went through and looked at everything that needed to be done.  It took the estimate and will get back to us with by the end of the week to let us know if its fair.  In addition, we're going to make some updates while the house is all torn apart.  We already bought new windows, which will be installed.  My husband and his father, who is a retired pipe fitter, will be updating our boiler and we are getting quotes for central air conditioning.  These updataes are, of course, not covered by insurance, but we figure its better to do it now while all the walls and ceilings are opened up. 
We should be back in our house by Thanksgiving, maybe in Halloween.  Once the contractor has the go ahead, it doesn't take his crew long to update the electrical, sheetrock and paint- what the insurance is covering. 
Everything seemed to be going well Tuesday.  My husband was working from home and I was resting after meeting with the contractor, then we had an unusual earthquake on the East coast.  My husband is a West Coaster, but his first instinct was run out of the building.  Not what you are supposed to do.  You should get in a doorway or under a sturdy piece of furniture.  But the noise and the rumbling made him think explosion- we just don't have earthquakes here.  We are staying in a high rise hotel downtown since the fire.  Buildings, bridges, transit systems, etc here are not designed for earthquakes.  Everything seems to be ok here, but 2 of my sisters live in Northern Virginia and have experienced damage. 

Fire Updates

The fire at our house was July 8th.  I am trying to be patient and grateful for the outcome so far, but 6 weeks in a hotel and no progress on the house is driving me nuts!  I am grateful that no one was hurt, most of our belongings are salvageable and that insurance is putting us up in a hotel.  I hate to complain about living in a hotel because I know it could be much worse- we have cable, air conditioning, Internet, fitness center and breakfast every morning.  But I am tired of the food choices and not being able to cook.  Going to the laundromat, instead of being able to run laundry whenever I need to in my own house, having to wait for my car to be brought out of the garage instead of just pulling it out of the driveway.  We're staying at a hotel downtown, so traffic is a real problem.  My commute is much longer though I am technically closer in distance to work.  We can't have our pets here at the hotel, luckily my parents were able to keep both of them at their house because we would never be able to board them for 3 months.  The worst part, though, is that we are in the middle of our home study.  We can get most of it done, but the social worker needs to see our house and its in no state to be evaluated.
I suppose I would be more comfortable with the situation if I felt progress was being made.  But it isn't.  When I met with the insurance adjuster a few days after the fire, he assured me he would have the estimate ready in a week.  That was 5 weeks ago.  We have a contractor who is ready to get started, but he can't without that estimate.  Insurance needs to tell us what they are paying for and how much they are paying for it.  The contractor needs to go over the estimate and determine if it is fair and complete before he agrees to the job.  I trust the contractor.  He's hardworking and honest, he's worked on our house before and done major renovations on other old homes in our neighborhood.  I am losing faith in this adjuster.  He can't get his work done in a timely manner and he doesn't keep us up to date on progress, if there is any, on our house.  My husband is afraid if we press him, we'll be considered a nuisance and he'll low-ball our estimate.  I just want to get back in my house.   I don't hate it here at the hotel, but it's not home. 

back in town!

I think the best thing working for a school district is the schedule.  Its very conducive to having a family, in fact almost all my colleagues are parents.  This summer, with no kids to look after and my husband working, I took a trip to Bulgaria to visit.  I hadn't been back since I COSed (Close of Service) from the Peace Corps 5 years ago.   I traveled with a friend who had been a PCV in Uzbekistan. 
I'll just stick with the highlights, because I traveled for about 3 weeks.  I flew into Istanbul, saw all the sites.  The highlights of Istanbul are the food, Hagia Sofia and the Cemberlitas baths. 

Here's the Blue Mosque and a Whirling Dervish.

Took a night bus to Burgas in Bulgaria.  Then a little bus called a Marshutka to Primorsko.  If you are going to the Bulgarian seaside, I highly recommend Primorsko.  It has beautiful beaches, and plenty of inexpensive accommodations.  You can stay with a family for 10 Euros per person per night. 
From there we headed to Plovdiv, a beautiful town in central Bulgaria.  Plovdiv has an amazing preserved old town where you can seen an ancient amphitheater.

From Plovdiv, my friend and I traveled to Shumen.  Shumen is not a particularly noteworthy town, but my counterpart from my Peace Corps days is now living and working there.  Shumen has a monument built to honor the 1300 years of the Bulgarian Republic with one step for each year.  At the top of this hill is also an ancient fortress.  Not far from Shumen, is a UNESCO World Heritage site- the Madara Horseman.  This ancient stone carving is on the coin currency (except the Lev coin) in Bulgaria.

Researchers are still studying this amazing carving.  It is probably 80 feet from the ground and it is not known how or why it was created.

From Shumen we headed to Veliko Turnavo.  If you could visit only one town in Bulgaria, make it Veliko Turnavo.  This town has a beautiful fortress and well preserved old town.  Veliko was once the capital of Bulgaria and has a thriving artistic community. 
We took a train to my former site, Vidin, on the Danube river.  So much has changed and so much is the same.  I met up with old friends and visited the orphanage where I worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Unfortunately the director I worked under had recently retired and was visiting her family out of town. 
The bridge connecting Vidin and Calafat, Romania is finally underway.

After spending a few days in Vidin, we headed to Chiprovtsi.  Chiprovtsi was my husband's site as a volunteer.  Here's where he stayed (lucky guy didn't have to live in a communist block apartment like most volunteers).

Chiprovtsi is a town in the Northwest of Bulgaria known for its carpet weaving.  The kilims they weave are similar to the Turkish style, in that wool threads are woven to create a flat pattern that is the same on both sides.  During his service, my husband and a volunteer from the Japanese voluntary service (similar to the Peace Corps) worked on reviving the carpet weaving industry and focused on reestablishing the use of organically dyed wool.  The carpets are beautiful and last a lifetime, they are about 100 Euros per square meter- amazing considering it takes about 2 months to create a kilim that size. No trip could to Bulgaria could be complete without visiting the capital, Sofia.  Most Americans mispronounce it, saying it like the girls' name Sophia.  When talking about the capital, don't emphasize the second syllable.  Important sites include Alexander Nevski Catherdral.  Don't miss the changing of the guards by the St. Georgi Rotunda.

If you are not renting a car, you can still visit the Rila Monastery UNESO World Heritage Site.  Hostel Mostel in Makedonia Square organizes daily trips to the Monastery for 20 Euros.  It takes about 2 hours to get there.  First stop was at Ivan Rilski's cave.  Saint John of Rila lived in this cave for 7 years, 14 years, it depends who you ask.  Bulgarians write prayers on little notes and stick them between the rocks, tie them to the trees.  Apparently, if you squeeze through the cave, all your sins are wiped clean.  So I'm in the clear for a while.  We then wandered through the Monastery, which is currently undergoing a renovation. 

Notes to St. John of Rila and martenitsi bracelets from the March 1st celebration.

Climbing out of the cave, don't try this if you are claustrophobic!

Catching a night bus from Sofia, we arrived in Athens 12 hours later.  Athens is beautiful.  Don't let the media scare you, the austerity measure riots don't affect the tourist areas.  We even went to Syntagma square, where the riots were centered, but the police had restored order.

You can still see remnants of the riots, but there were crews cleaning up and fixing what was damaged a few days ago.  Of course the most important thing to see in Athens is the Acropolis.

From Athens we flew back home.  It's good to be home and see my husband again.  I am disappointed that our insurance is taking its sweet time and nothing new has happened at our house.  We are still living in a hotel.

Insurance

Here's some quick pictures of the evolution of the dining room- now severely damaged by fire.
One year ago before we renovated:

During renovations:

Renovation complete:

Now, after the fire- all the damage is from water, the actual fire was upstairs in the neighbor's house.

Please make sure your home owner's or renter's insurance is up-to-date.  I was looking over our home owner's policy, bundled with our car insurance we get a discount and its only about $55 a month (less than most cell phone plans), renter's is much less because they are only insuring your belongings, not the structure.  I don't even want to speculate the cost of damage.  Our insurance is covering the water abatement, renovations, cleaning, repairing or replacing our belongings and relocating use for the time being.  We feel blessed to be safe and to know that everything is going to be ok. :-)

House Fire

Friday morning we were awakened to our next door neighbor's house on fire.  The fire started in their toddler's room and quickly spread throughout the house.  Luckily the family, including the baby, a 6 year old and an elderly great aunt were downstairs having breakfast and got out quickly and safely.  Unfortunately, all the boys' stuff is destroyed.  We got out safely and my husband was able to catch our cats before they spooked and ran off. 

firetruck in the alley

The good thing about living in an urban area is the emergency response time.  The firefighters were there with 2 ladder companies in about 90 seconds- one on the street and one in the alley.  The bad thing with urban housing is that row houses share a wall and fire spreads quickly.  The firefighters ran into our house and cut holes through the ceiling out on to the roof.  They doused everything with water.  Our house thankfully never caught on fire, but the damage is immense.  The dining room ceiling fell in, the nursery has a hole to the sky, the bathroom is damaged- all the rooms we worked on remodeling this year.  The water damage goes into the kitchen, dining room, the sun room, spare bedroom and the basement. 

Our bedroom

Although we've lost a lot of our things, we are all safe.  I am sad to see my Bulgaria pictures from Peace Corps and my Kniga za Pechati (stamp book for Bulgarian National Sites) destroyed, most of the things can be salvaged or replaced.  Some important things were ok- my husband was able to get his trumpet, an antique and gift from his grandfather who passed and our digital photos were backed up on a hard drive at his office.

The insurance company is like a parent who steps in and takes care of everything.  Immediately after the fire, they had a contractor out at our house boarding up windows, skylights and putting a temporary patch on our roof (you can't put a tarp on a flat roof).  They have put us in a hotel across town, not far from home.  The insurance company has hired a fire response company to catalog all our belongings, salvage and clean what they can and store them while the house is restored.  We can choose our own contractor, and we are choosing the contractor who did our bathroom.  He's reliable, experienced, honest and likes restoring this old row houses.  All the hardwood floors need to be replaced, the windows (yes, the new windows) need to be repaired/ replaced, the skylight, interior walls, electrical, etc.   They've already started moving our belongings out to their warehouse to be stored and cleaned and tearing up walls and floors to start drying everything before mold can grow.
It's been an inconvenience, but not a tragedy.  The fire happened on my husband's second day at a new job and my last at a part time assignment.  We've been stressed because we both have travel plans this summer: I'm heading to Bulgaria to visit some old friends and he's heading home to see his parents and grandmother who isn't doing so well.  I am thankful that we are all ok and that the insurance company will handle the clean up while we are out of town.  I am so grateful my husband installed smoke detectors when we moved in and replaced the batteries a few weeks ago.
I'm including the evolution of the nursery bedroom.  I am thankful that no one was hurt and that no child was asleep in the room during this. 


Nursery when we moved in





Remodel almost done, new lighting and door added later





as of now

The new furniture, ceiling fan, door, and the damage goes beyond it to the spare bedroom and the water seeped into the walls and floor and through the ceiling.

All we can do now is count our blessings and move forward.  Stuff can be repaired and replaced and no one was hurt.  I am grateful the fire department responded so quickly and saved our house.

Not such good news

I posted a week or 2 ago about our failed attempt to get new windows.  We had a contractor out today to take a look.  He pulled back the drywall and behind it was poorly made- exterior wall framing needs to be a certain size lumber.  The aluminum siding needs to sealed up properly so that water cannot seep behind it.  We are going to need to shore it up with proper framing- up to code. 
The addition had originally been a screened in sleeping porch, and when the previous owners decided to close it in (themselves) they just tacked windows in the openings and hung sheet rock over the paneling and put aluminum siding outside.  No permits, no inspectors, nothing up to code.  We didn't know how bad it was until we tried to have new windows installed.   Why didn't this come up in our home inspection?
I was concerned about financing the adoption, but now I don't see how it will all get done.    This is going to postpone our homestudy, ugh.
I know it isn't as bad as houses on this show, the main part of the house is solid, but the addition...

So clearly not my house, but I wish Ty Pennington would come and fix it up for us! ;-)  Or that TV show where they come in and fix what bad contractors did.  Actually, that house doesn't look bad, I mean before they started tearing it down.