Wild weather, waiting, and mishaps

We had thunderstorms roll through last Saturday evening, and through the night. While other areas of the city got pummelled in the earlier storm, my area didn't see a whole lot of rain until 1:30 a.m. A loud clap of thunder woke me, and my son came up the stairs to join me in the sun room so we could watch the lightning. For about 30-45 minutes the storm raged, with lightning flashes coming one on top of the other. My lightning app showed that there were strikes just a couple of blocks from here. The rain poured down and my back yard became a pond again. I had gone out during the evening and pulled my vegetable containers closer to the shed, in case we got hail. Thankfully, while other areas of the city did see hail, we did not.

The following morning, I went out to check and found the rain gauge (Wednesday's photo), indicating we had received over 1 1/2 inches of rain in just over an hour or so. The lawn was still soaked but the standing water had receded. One of my tomato plants appeared to have taken a bit of a beating but by the afternoon was standing tall again. Sunday was a cooler day, but we didn't get any more rain, and by Monday the temperatures were on the rise. Can you say mosquitos?

The construction saga continues. Jason, the contractor called on Sunday to advise that they would be delivering the flooring late on Monday afternoon. The reason: he has sold his house, possession date is next week, and he and his wife (who is pregnant) haven't found a new place to live. So, he's using his crew to move his household goods into temporary storage while they continue their search. He thought at that time the crew would be here to work Tuesday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Friday, and assured me the project will be completed next week sometime. There was no point in arguing with him, I can't change his circumstances, and I want the job done properly and not rushed. 

The crew showed up on Tuesday, all of us assuming that the flooring would be installed in the two spare bedrooms, and the hall. However, after doing some prep work, it was discovered that there is a hump in the floor. It could be resolved in a extended period of time by adjusting the teleposts in the basement (Carter suggested up to 2 months!), or they could use a leveling compound. Not leveling was not an option or the laminate flooring would pop as one walked on it. I chose the most timely (and expensive) option. The guys spent the rest of the day mixing, spreading, and cleaning up the material. It couldn't be walked on for at least 8 hours - which meant no access to my bedroom, so Saku and I spent the night in the sunroom. I have a recliner out there; with a blanket and pillow it was quite comfortable.

Wednesday was a quiet day, I did get out to stitch and chat which was very nice. There were only two of us, I crocheted a dishcloth, while B worked on appliqueing tooth fairy pillows. I've asked to purchase one for her for Eli. It was good to get out of the house; everything is covered in drywall dust. When the crew isn't here I vacuum and dust, but I can't seem to keep up with it. Living in a construction zone is not only a nuisance but oh so tiring.

The first mishap of the week occured on Wednesday, when C advised that the downstairs toilet was clogged. We, unsuccessfully, took turns using the plunger, then he ran to the local Rona to pick up a toilet snake, however that wasn't enough to clear whatever was causing the blockage. While the water did eventually drain, it just won't flush. A plumbing company was originally scheduled to be here on Friday to deal with that issue.

The next mishap occured on Thursday, when I decided to repaint my master ensuite as there were a couple of dings that have happened over the last few years. All went well, until the stool I was standing on slipped out from under me as I was painting the top of the wall above the mirror.  On my way down, I managed to break three of the four light bulbs in the light fixture and splashed paint on the mirror and vanity. After checking the linen closet, I had to run out for more bulbs, but first I finished the rest of the painting, and cleaned up my mess. 

Carter arrived around 4 p.m. to do another coat on the drywall. He assured me they would be here at 8 a.m. on Friday. 

We had more thunderstorms roll through on Thursday night, with accompanying rain. When I checked the gauge the next morning, we'd had another inch and a quarter of rain overnight. There was flooding in various parts of the city which had traffic backed up. Carter's drive, normally fifteen minutes took over a half hour. The rest of crew live even further away in the north end of the city, and their commute took an hour! 

This is one of four underpasses in the city that consistently flood every time we have a good amount of rain. And, as usual there are at least a couple of drivers who tempt fate. As I said to my brother, who sent me this photo, "exposing idiots, one storm at a time." 

Once the crew arrived, it didn't take long for the saws to be set up and the guys got busy. One of the crew was installing the flooring in the hallway, while the other two worked on the railing for the steps from the kitchen to livingroom. When they left about 3:30 p.m. both spare bedrooms had flooring (including the closets), and the hallway was near completion. The railing is up, but needs to be sanded to round the edges, and the pickets put in before it can be painted.

While all of this was going on, the Roto-rooter guy showed up to clear the blockage in the downstairs toilet. Thankfully it was nothing more than that, so he was in and out in less than 30 minutes. After he left, I went downstairs to wash the floor. 

We had more thunderstorms and rain again last night, with another 1/2 inch in the rain gauge this morning. As you can imagine, I haven't had to do a lot of watering of the containers this week. Today, we're expecting a high of 30C (86F), so I'm sure I'll be pulling out the watering can again shortly.

I'm off to go garage sale-ing this morning with my friend C this morning; my son and I will move my bedroom furniture to one of the spare bedrooms later in the day. The crew will be back Monday to pull the carpet in there, and prep the room. I'm hoping they will be able to finish the hall, and start that bedroom flooring that day too. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!