Phlood Fotos

Time for a few flood photos.
But first a bit of a summary. Today we spent much time eating and washing things. The boys ran the power washer. The girls ran the wash/wash/bleach/rinse/dry/stack/sort/pack area. The girls' area was frankly more butch than the boys' area because we had fire. We heated water on Fred's propane cooker. I had to pressure Sher a bit to get her to let us use one of her giant antique enamelware coffee boilers. But seriously, it was the best thing ever for heating water over an open flame (what with it having been designed for that.
Today Hiltje and the girls came up from Waterloo and helped clean the floors again (these will be the cleanest floors ever ripped up). Once Pam and I got our lazy butts over there, we got the washing started...then had lunch. Sher's friends Bill and Sandy Bright brought some roast beef for sandwiches and plenty of fixin's. Someone had been there in the morning and dropped off "apple bars" (this is really a cookie sheet sized apple pie). The Brights brought chocolate cake. Not knowing anyone was bringing food, Pam and I stopped at the store and got salad stuff...and cake. We are stuffed with cake.

A bit later Cathy and Joe Avery came by. Joe sprayed the basement walls, floor, ceiling with bleach 2 more times. That f'er is clean. Cathy joined the ladies on the wash line. When Hiltje and the girls went home for some kid event, Pam's boyfriend Rob took over on the drying table.
I was on water heating and transport.

A few more people stopped by to check and see what was needed but Sher couldn't direct anymore staff.

Anywho, here are the photos:

This is the kitchen in its current state.












Sher's cherrywood cabinets are doing OK. The linoleum has been torn up to allow the subfloor to dry. The oak floor is in the rest of the house except bathrooms. It may have to come up. pretty warped. They still have hope it will flatten a bit and could be sanded...but....
The fridge is running but it looks like the washer is dying quickly. Doesn't seem to like grit in the spinny bits.
Don't know about the dryer, freezer, stove (thought that looks hopeful since they have lots of spare parts for it), hot water heater, boiler-furnace, airconditioner, water softener, and on and on.


This is the lovely 3 season porch featuring cousin Sara Jane.












This area is about 6inches lower than most of the main floor and took on more water. BUT, it has a cement floor so that was fine. The walls are a bit warped but doors and windows work so can probably live with the warpage out here. It usually features tons of plants, a lovely view of the river, and nice little seating areas. Right now, it features dead and dying appliances and the cleaning supply station.


Here is the washing station. Pam made me use this photo because she isn't in it.
We hate her.












There are the girls, Aja and Marissa. You can see Fred in his waders bringing things that have been powerwashed and are ready for the wash/wash/bleach/..etc process.
You can also see their camper, the lunch area with umbrella, and the front of their house. It is a nice house when not flooded.

Here's the back yard and the river. The railroad bridge beyond the trees is the one visible in the aerial photos.












Usually the backyard has a nice garden and is kept like a golf course. But, now things are drying and begin power washed and whatnot back there. All the yards in town look like someone is having a really crap yardsale.


These are the sandbags from Sher and Fred's temporary levee
Quite a pile.














I'll have to get a photo of the piles and piles of sand that was deposited by the river. The street in this photo is actually about 2-3 inches deep in sand that dropped out of the water. The park beyond the sandbags was covered several inches deep. The city is going to keep the sand to use on the roads in the winter.

We're hoping the towns decide to get rid of their little dams. They don't generate enough power to pay for themselves and they DO slow down the rivers, causing sedimentation and making the rivers shallow. This makes flooding worse (also makes fishing worse!).

Fred pointed out that fishing is killer right now. The river hasn't been this clean in ages. It's crystal clear now. Walleye are ready for the picking.

As for last night's wii curling tournament...we all sucked. Tonight we did wii fit. It tests your fitness age. The first night I was 66. Today I am 41. I'm hoping to be in my 30s by the time I leave.

Thanks for all your comments and thoughts!