LHOTR 2: Electric Boogaloo

Yikes

Not the post I wanted to write, nor a new series I want to start, but thanks to record rain and snow melt, our little house on the river is now a little house IN the river. 

Bah dum tiss. 

Getting stuff to higher ground.

Spring cleaning wasn't supposed to look like this.

We went up on Tuesday to bring home the soft goods like blankets, pillows, bedding, and clothing while clearing out lower shelves and cupboards to get everything to higher ground. We also put furniture on wood blocks, up to 4 inches. Why 4? It's what was available, and if it got any higher than that, we were in deeper trouble than merely replacing that heavy, Amish-built futon. 

No more steps left. 

We had always measured how high the river got by counting steps. By 3:30 on Tuesday, there were no more steps left. By 4 PM, the river was well into our neighbor's yard and ours. By 4:30, the two puddles in the yard facing Beaver and 50th Avenue had become one, and the road commission was in the process of closing the bridge and the road. 

Like champagne on the Titanic mid-afternoon. It's a lovely day, what could go wrong? 

Sensing the inevitable, Dave encouraged me to grab a drink and join him on the deck for one last toast to our Little House as we knew it. I didn't want to believe it, and at that point, I was still optimistic that there was no way the flood waters would rise that much or that quickly. 

I was wrong. 

LHOTR is a TV 7&4 b-roll star

RIP deck

Our neighbor Chris took a kayak over to get as close to the house as he could, and the flood waters have heaved the deck away from the house, so that's gone. I still can't tell from the footage how high it has gone, but rest assured, there has to be water in the house. How much? 

According to the River Levels app, the levels have already started to recede, and will be down to 14' by Monday, 13' by Tuesday, and 12' by Thursday. Unfortunately, that means water will have been in the house for as long as six to seven days. I'm going to assume the floor is shot, as are the electric baseboards, the electric fireplace, the fridge, and the stove. Were the 4" blocks enough? 

We just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I plan to collect boxes so we can salvage what we can and put in storage next week. I'm heartsick to think of all the effort I put into laying carpet in Will's room, nailing down baseboards, painting to make everything fresh and new, putting in doorframes and fixing those doors. I was supposed to whitewash wicker and enjoy my new cushions. 

I don't know what the little house will look like by the end of summer; I don't even know what it will look like next week. My girl is going to be getting the makeover no one expected; I don't know how many times something like this takes. 

Yeah, I prayed

We had some regrets this week about what was left behind. I completed the first five years in a scrapbook that was moved to a higher shelf, and I wished I had grabbed it to save those memories. The Ferris Rankin stained glass window. My Mary statue. At different times, both Dave and I had looked at her and thought of grabbing her; I left her behind in hopes that she would protect the house. I hope she did what she was meant to do.