I believe it was Hartlenn’s idea to have people drop tips into my tip jar, and Mark at The Niche Store Builder took that idea and blogged about it.  I am sincerely touched by all the support and donations that have been so kindly given.

About three weeks ago I started a new job and am not currently able to work, nor do I know how long I will be away from it.  Of course, this also means I am not able to spend any time on my niche stores.  The donations that you are giving will definitely be put to good use.

I am not able to personally thank each of you who have given donations but please know that I appreciate every one of them.

With gratitude,

Rochelle

We are back home after the third day of cleanup.  Day one was getting contaminated carpet and carpet padding out and sucking up water with the Shop Vac after getting it up.  We didn’t finish this on Day One, so Day Two was a continuation of the same job.

Day Three was focusing on the garage, which is practically toxic (my husband’s job) and beginning the process of inventorying damaged items for our insurance (my job).

The Red Cross was on our street this morning.  I never knew exactly what the Red Cross does in a crisis, but now I know one aspect of their help.  They were giving away breakfasts of biscuits and gravy and scrambled eggs, as well as bottled water.  It was such a great way to start today’s work to have a hot breakfast.

The Red Cross also handed out buckets with cleaning supplies in it.  The contents are great (various sized scrub brushes, a collapsable mop, a collapsable broom, work gloves, rubber gloves, sponge, bleach, and a few other cleaning supplies).  I thank them.

A garbage truck also came by our neighborhood today.  It was a truck from Cocoa, which is a city about 20 minutes away.  The drivers were collecting the carpet and matting, as well as any other garbage, from my neighborhood’s flooded homes.  Several neighbors, and the two truck drivers, kindly helped me take all the waste from our porch to the truck.

The smell is disgusting.  I can tell what got wet just by smelling it.  And to think I let my children play in this water before I knew better.

I actually got several infections on my feet from the contaminated water.  Fortunately I have prescription strength Neosporin and I have been using that.  I have also been much more careful to keep any open wounds dry and away from the water.

I am deeply saddened to say that my brand new Sanyo camcorder did not survive Fay.  Of all the things I have lost that is the one that is really pissing me off.  Yes, it will be covered by insurance, but it means I can no longer video what has been going on.  It died on Wednesday, so I have videos up to some time Wednesday.  After that it is just photos.

This is very taxing.  This is the most physical labor I’ve ever done.  I’ve made the decision that I will not become a physical laborer!  It hurts to simply roll over when I’m in bed.

But the worst aspect is that I’m not sleeping.  I am going to bed more tired than I think I’ve ever been but I CAN’T SLEEP!  If I have gotten four hours of sleep each night the past few nights then that is a lot.  My sister-in-law, who is a nurse, said I am running on adrenaline.  I had no idea adrenaline can last for days.  What I wouldn’t give for just a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow my dad is flying in to help us out.  My mom will arrive later in the week.  I have assured them both that there will be plenty for both to do.

Rochelle

You have no idea how touching it is to see all your kind words and positive thoughts.  I sincerely thank all of you.

We just got back from visiting our house this morning.  The water has mostly receded from our home, but we still can’t drive on our street.  In the house the water was up to about a foot high at it’s highest point.

The most disgusting aspect of this is that the water is contaminated with sewage.  It smells like a porta potty in our home, and that’s just after one day.  It will certainly get worse as the days pass.

Now we begin the cleanup and recovery process.  We are leaving in a few minutes to go back and begin doing what we need to do.

Rochelle

I have been staring at my computer screen for several minutes and I honestly don’t know where to start or what to say.

We are not at home right now.  Our house is flooded and just about everything in it is either damaged or will be damaged (by the humidity and mold).  This includes our two cars, which are currently under water. 

BUT

We are safe and our cats are safe. 

Some very wonderful friends called us this morning and asked if we needed sandbags.  I said, “Yes.” 

It became clear within about 30 minutes of this call that we would need to leave our home.  They kindly offered to let us stay with them. 

So, I now had about one hour to pack up whatever I wanted to save, get our cats in cat carriers, and pack clothes for us.  In addition to all that, we attempted to raise up whatever we could as high as we could. 

I never thought I would be faced with having to decide what is most important to me in a one hour period.  I sincerely hope no one reading this ever has to do this.

We left out house in a boat and are now safely at our friends house.  Tomorrow we might be able to go back to our house and see how bad it is, but since there were five inches of standing water when we left I have no idea what to expect.

Good thing I bought three gallons of milk yesterday!  At least Ned got to eat his wings.

Rochelle