Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I would love to report that our house is fully restored and better than ever. But alas, Santa is watching and I don't want to land on the naughty list at the last minute.

Instead, I report that we have problems with our floors. They are going to move us out to refinish our floors. Trees just don't make hardwoods like they used to? Two adults and two medium dogs are just really hard on oak? Hard to say...

We had the HVAC problem repaired. Luckily, no fire this time.

And the plumbing system. Let me just say that it is better left undescribed. And you do not want to see the picture. But I have just sent a get you a** to my house now email to the contractor.

Hope you enjoy our holiday card. Maybe next year the house will be finished and we can invite you over.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good plumbing system.

SOOOOOOOO CLOSE

I continue to be a bad blogger. The house is almost done. We are sooo close. I promise to post pictures once it is COMPLETELY done.

But a funny thing sooooo close thing happened today that is not related to the fire. We participated in the Bailey's Finders Keepers event in Fayetteville. This is a high tech scavenger hunt run by the local jewelry store (where I got my engagement ring). First, it is a total blast. This can come as a surprise to no one that I would love something like this. We were ready, worked as a team and got to explore downtown Fayetteville on our bikes (Paul will tell he was pleasantly surprised; I already knew). Well, we got to the end and felt good. And the more people talked, the better we felt. And then a guy that Paul knows from class told us that we did really well. And we were feeling better.

And did I mention that first prize was a $12,000 diamond ring? Nice, right?

And we were hanging out. And they announced 5th place, 4th place. At this point, Paul and I start having the crazy thought that we might have won. We're afraid to say it, but we're both thinking it. But also afraid to think it. I mean, we don't have that kind of luck. We have incredibly blessed lives that involve the kind of luck that involves flat tires, fire trucks, expensive vet bills for the dogs...

3rd place...not us.

2nd place...us! We think that we lost first place by less points that I have fingers on my hand. I'm so excited that we won second, but sad that we were sooooo close. The couple who won was cute and they have 3 little kids and she had a small ring. They totally deserved it and they were thrilled. And we won tickets to a Canes game, which is super fun and unexpected. But still........we were so close to a very pretty ring.

Maybe next time! Have I mentioned that I am already planning how to streamline our process? Type A much?

Important Stuff

At our house, we all have "stuff" and I have "important stuff." Those things that I consider critical. I have several boxes of "important stuff." I didn't know that I had so many important things until the fire. These are the things that I gathered up in five minutes we were allowed into the house after the fire. They stayed in my suitcase at the hotel. That made me worry about their security. When we moved into the condo, my important things were stored safely in the closet. Now that we are moving out, these things are again out in the open. So they have gone back into the suitcase and they will go with me to Greensboro, where they will again be safe.

So what, you may be asking, are these mysteriously important things? Precious jewels? Irreplacable documents? My huge, secret roll of emergency money in case I need to make a get away (like on the movies)? Nope. Silly things that remind me of my memories. Funny how that works, isn't it?

Moving Back In!

Now that we have passed our final inspections, we officially have a Certificate of Occupancy. So the power is back in our name, coming through a meter on the side of the house. No more temp pole in the front yard. Before you ask though, the temp bathroom is still out front. And anyone whose nose gets within 100 yards, knows it.

We have a lot of work to do before them. Oh, you ask...install washer/dryer, finish installing hood, finish installing lights, install new bathroom sink, install the rest of the kitchen countertops, template the bathroom countertop, re-paint, re-install the exterior lights that were improperly installed, finish trim around the windows, install closets, finish exterior paint, and so on and so forth.

Final Inspection

After a single misfire, we passed our final inspection today! So the house is ready, you are thinking? Not exactly. But we are in the final phase.

This weekend, they painted the exterior of our house. The final detail work isn't complete yet, but we are no longer the plum house with orange shutters.

They started sanding our floors this morning. So we are officially not allowed to enter the house for the next week.

But next week will be a rush to the finish. Closets, changing out a bathroom vanity, templating a bathroom countertop, installing chandeliers, delivering the last of the appliances...Now if we can just pick out a mattress.

Bad Blogger

It is official. I'm a bad blogger. Good thing I don't rely on the blog for income, huh? Bottom line on blogs. One, they are hard work. This isn't really a surprise to me. But I was out of clever, witty things to say. Two, no one wants to hear too much whining. And I have felt like whining and venting ALOT over the last month. Hopefully we are through the worst of it. So we move forward.

The house is starting to look like a house again. WE EVEN HAVE RUNNING WATER!!!! And as of today, for the first time since early afternoon on January 10, 2010, the north side of the house is not protected by a blue tarp and a prayer. We are currently slated to move in at the end of August. Yes, this is later than we thought. And later than we thought after that. But it is within spitting distance, so hopefully we won't need to move it out again.

But enough of my clever discussion, what does the house look like...

The stairs. Check out the reveal on the sides. Love that! This is the benefit to using an architect.

In reality, the lights are huge. Couldn't seem to capture it with the handy point-and-shoot camera. The countertops will continue down the sides of the island as soon as we clean inspection on the electric.

The is the den--composed of the former parlor and den. The wall used to be just the far side of the fireplace. Of course, that was when the fireplace was faux painted cream and baby poo color. The second picture is the fireplace in the dining room--which is covered with the same slate.

And finally, the new downstairs bathroom. The countertop should be white quartz, but the fabrication period is running long. I am thinking about having the vanity refinished white. We hadn't planned to do that before, but it seems like something we need to do.

Deadlines

I have neglected the blog of late. In short, I have been buried at work and busy busy at the house. The hard part about my job is that sometimes you have to things quickly and our deadlines almost never have any give to them. There is no calling the court to say that you need an extra two weeks, or shooting out an email that you're not going to make the motion hearing because (fill in the blank). You hie off to court and that's just that.

Apparently our contractor does not feel the same way about deadlines. Our house was first going to be done in early July. And then it was mid-July. And then when we got our schedule in May, it was going to be mid-August. And they were confident that the schedule was imminently doable. Guess who just doesn't think that he can make that schedule? Guess who needs another two weeks? They can probably be done by early September. seriously?

New Developments

We have had almost no new developments...hence no blogging.

We thought that we might have to rip out the dining room floor, that it couldn't be finished. But they have found a work around, so we remain hopeful. We'll just have to see.

Are the kitchen cabinets installed? Um, no.

Is anything painted? Again, no.

Are the stairs or stair rails installed? No and no.

What about the tile in the new shower? Not just yet.

As you can see, our progress is startling.

Dry Wall

They have been working on installing dry wall in our house since Tuesday. They have managed to do the downstairs ceilings and doorways. Now maybe they have taken a lot of soda/snack breaks. Or maybe they don't have enough fellows working. Whatever the reason, I am amazed at a particular comparison to television. I distinctly recall watching a flip-real-estate-it-is-easy-and-you-will-get-rich television shows and they dry walled the house in one day. One day. Not so much at our house.

But we are making forward progress, so I'm not in much of a complaining mood.

Now if the Historic Society would just get back to us so that we can order new windows...

Paying for our New Insulation

Nationwide sent the check for the repairs to us. But the check wasn't really for us. It was made jointly to me, Paul and Wells Fargo (our mortgage holder). We signed the check and sent it to Wells Fargo. They then protect the money -- make sure that we are spending it wisely. Today I had to meet an inspector at the house. He will release more money to the contractor based on the percentage of work that he determined was complete.

He decided 60% was complete. I am not going to freak out about the fact that it has taken SO long to get to 60%. We are moving into the house in August. That's just that.

But guess what greeted me this morning at 7:30? If you guessed a smelly port-a-potty, you are correct. If you guess oppressive heat, you are correct. If you guessed a REALLY smelly port-a-potty, you are correct. More importantly though, we have insulation. And dry wall has been delivered. Perhaps August isn't such a pipe dream after all.

We also applied to the Historic Districts Commission for permission to change out our windows. Any guesses about the chances that I will buy in a historic neighborhood for the next house?

Funny Habits

Following the fire, our life changed significantly. So have I developed any funny little habits as a result?

Two come to mind immediately. One, I now carry around a huge tape measure in my purse. And in my car. And I have one stored at the house. Two, I also carry my camera with me--almost all of the time. I NEVER did this before. But it just kept coming up that I needed to take a picture. So I replaced my camera (it really is amazing what you can buy at Target for $100) and I now have a smart little red camera. And when I don't have anything at the house to take a picture of, I sometimes turn the camera on The Girls.

Emma and Melissa

Over the holiday weekend, we met my family at the beach. The Girls (Sophie and Emma) went with us. A good time was had by all, but an interesting thing happened.

My sister-in-Law Melissa is nearly four months pregnant and Emma was obsessed with her. As soon as Melissa would walk into the house, Emma was right by her side. As soon as Melissa sat down, Emma was right there, sitting beside her. At one point, Emma curled up with Melissa in a way that Paul swears she has never done for him. Emma clearly knows that a baby is on the way, and was just getting to know Baby Lehman before the rest of us!

New Doors on a Crookie House

So the new french doors in the dining room have been installed. They look great. Or they will, but I can see the potential.

However, this week, our GC has told us that we need to buy new windows because ours are in such bad shape. And oh by the way, they need to fur 3.5" off of the living room walls because our house is crooked. I'm not joking. Three and a half inches!!! In case your house is plumb, furing a wall or ceiling basically means that they add 2x4s to the existing frame of the house. What a mess!

Bored

Ever feel bored of yourself? I don't know if I've ever felt bored by myself before. And maybe I'm not bored by myself, so much as bored of talking about myself. There are some people, all of them well meaning, who always ask me how the house is going. It is going slowly. It is a source of frustration. It is a source of stress. I don't really want to talk about it. I would imagine that all of these kind people think that they are asking me about something good -- like how is the wedding planning coming or how are the kids. They're not. I don't really want to discuss the house. I'm tired of thinking about it and I'm even more bored of talking about it. But, social rules dictate that I answer their questions with a smile. So ask me if you must. I won't tell you that I hate talking about the house and I will put a positive spin on what is going on.

Better still, ask me how Sophie and Emma are doing.

This and That

The kitchen cabinets are in production and the countertops have been selected, so it is time to start filling in the gaps for finishing items.

As of this weekend, we have now ordered all of our big lighting fixtures. For the most part, we are using can lighting. Not a big surprise to anyone who has been in a home built in the last ten years. However, we are having pretty big fixtures in the front hall, dining room and over the island. For the front hall, we bought a caza sputnik light. Kind of funky and definitely a departure from the builders grade non-descript fixture that previously lived in the foyer. For the dining room, we have a vintage sputnik. And over the kitchen island, we are installing HUGE lights from Restoration Hardware. After two months of looking at light fixtures, I have tried my best to find budget friendly options. My final decision--lighting is not the best place to save money.

We have also ordered the new kitchen sink, bathroom sink and dog door. Of these three, I am most excited about the dog door. The Girls will now be the proud owners of a fully electronic dog door. If doors were like cars, they would be getting the mid range luxury. Perhaps the BMW 3 series of dog doors. Not the $1K+ model--that would be the huge Mercedes. But we're still excited about their upcoming freedom, even if it is tantalizingly out of reach for the next few months.

Advice

The funny thing about telling people that you've had a fire is that they usually don't really know how to react. Everyone you know will, at some point, experience the loss of a loved one. So when they share that news with you, you know what to say. Not so much when someone shares that they have had a fire.

Most people are great about it. Although, to be fair, I am really kind of tired of talking about the fire. So if you see me, you don't need to ask about the fire or the house or our renovations or anything about this stuff. I probably don't want to talk about it. And if I do, I will bring it up.

To avoid the conversation completely, I am currently telling casual acquaintances that we are just renovating the house. This is true, so I don't feel like I am lying, so much as avoiding a longer conversation.

A few times, someone has really offended me when talking about the fire. For example, the other day, I had to tell someone at a furniture store why we were shopping for so much furniture. I didn't say anything like, "but we're so lucky." So he said it. In a scolding kind of tone. I really did NOT appreciate it. Guess who didn't order any furniture that day!

Kitchen

This weekend, we ordered our kitchen cabinets and countertops. After talking to a couple of different outfits, we ended up going with Home Depot for both. Who would have guessed? They were running a great sale though, so we saved about $5000. And who doesn't like to save money?

If you are interested, we ordered KraftMaid cabinets--Madison style, Peppercorn color. For the countertops, we went with Maple Blanco Silestone. It is supposed to be virtually indestructible--far more so than granite. Never has to be sealed. I'm pretty sure it can also cook for you.

And yes, we are doing countertop pieces down the side of our island, like in the picture above. It should be fun.

If we get a kitchen and some indoor plumbing, I am officially going to feel like a princess.

Say hello to my little friend...

We met on my way to work on Friday morning.

When you move downtown, you pay extra. They call it ambiance. LOVE IT!

Vibram Five Fingers

For Christmas, my parents gave me a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. For those uninitiated into the wonder of Vibrams, they are like gloves for the feet. It feels like you are running barefoot, but you are protected from the heat of cement and the sharpest of rocks.

I was really excited about them. The first time I ran in them, I ran 3 miles. Well, you can't heel strike in Vibrams. And since I am usually a heel striker, this means that to run in Vibrams, I have to change my whole stride. Needless to say, I couldn't walk the next day. I was in the process of acclimating when the Vibrams fell victim to fire.

I have finally replaced them and took my first run yesterday. They are so fun to run in, that you really can't help yourself. I knew to take it easy. But your feet are stretching out and you just want to take little leaps, it is so fun. So guess who ran too far in her Vibrams yesterday, so that she can't put her heels down now?

It was worth it though and I'll do it again.

Keeping Score

As evident in my last post, I was mad with a capital M when we got the letter from Nationwide. And then I got even more mad when Paul called our agent yesterday and the agent didn't return the call. I mean, Paul called at 8:30 am. The receptionist said that our agent (who I should mention, I have known since I was about 14) would be in within the house. Either he came in and didn't bother to call back or he just didn't come in. Either way, it is a good thing that we weren't holding our breath for his call back. My anger rose a notch or two over this.

And then I realized...Nationwide didn't stick it to us. We stuck it to Nationwide. We have owned our house for less than five years. I don't know exactly what we pay in homeowners insurance, but let's just assume it is $2000/year. That means that as of the date of the fire, we had paid approximately $9000 in homeowners insurance on the house. As of today, Nationwide has written checks for $170,000. Not a bad return on our investment, huh?

Don't get me wrong, Nationwide shouldn't have sent me the letter. And they certainly shouldn't have put it on letterhead that said "Nationwide on your side", but now that I know all the rules to our game, I know that we can play a little rough. And as it stands, the score is Nationwide 9000, Katy and Paul 170,000.

MA241

When I was a first semester freshman at NC State, I took MA241. It was the second in the three class series of engineering calculus. Well, my professor was horrible. Literally, he explained that derivatives were like babies and integrals were like mamas. That was his total explanation. Needless to say, when we started doing problems with sin waves and manipulating them, I struggled. I would always study with my friend Henry. Our tests were on Fridays, so on Thursday nights, we would study. We always joked that the professor just told us to "assume the position".

Well, after a fire, you start feeling like everybody has told you to "assume the position."

The day started when our contractor told us that, oops, the kitchen cabinets were going to cost 115% more than he thought originally and the countertops were going to be about 75% more. No explanation, he just emails about it. I was irate. I got to work later than usual because I was drafting an email manifesto on the subject. I am livid.

So then we got a notice that our insurance is not being renewed. Now, I don't really care about the fact that Nationwide is ditching us. But the principle behind this is really bugging me. We have a lot of insurance--we have for years. Literally the only claim we have ever made is for the fire. Seriously, you make one claim for a couple hundred thousand dollars and they show absolutely no loyalty. Want to bet that I can buy some loyalty from Liberty Mutual or State Farm? What company has that commercial about doing good things? Maybe I'll pick them. Certainly not the company with that little lizard. He creeps me out a little bit.

I just need some business ethics right now.

Aunt

I'm going to be an aunt. Couldn't be more pleased. I've known for a bit and Melissa is officially out of the closet: http://livinwiththelehmans.blogspot.com/

I think that Kathryn Stewart would be a wonderful name.

Surreal

Do you ever look around your life and think, this can't possibly be my life? Not in a bad way, just in a surreal way. In my mind, I am probably about 21 years old. It is amazing to me that I am a lawyer. And not a baby lawyer any more. When I first started, mid career lawyers used to ever-so-gently remind me of my baby lawyer status by asking "well how long have you been practicing?" That doesn't happen anymore. They still go behind my back to senior partners when they don't like the answers I give. But I remember. And I am patient. And one day, when they really need a favor, I am going to remind them that pay back is hell. Petty, maybe. But sending a catty little email would be more petty.

Same thing with the condo. How did I come to be living in a downtown condo? And how is it that we have been in the condo for nearly three months? Hard to believe.

The fire was three months ago today. So, three months ago at this exact moment, we were blissfully unaware that our lives were about to get run over by a mack truck. That night, while Paul and I lay in our twin beds at the Marriott (our home for three nights), we talked about looking back on this experience and knowing that we made the most of it -- that we made lemonade out of lemons. So, surreal or not, we are on our way!

Evolution

I love to read. LOVE LOVE LOVE to read. This fits in nicely with my job as I spend about 90% of my time either reading or writing. I love to read frivolous beach reads (think Nicholas Sparks) and murder mysteries (think Phillip Margolin). But I also like to read non-fiction (for the non-bibliophiles, this means true). When I was younger, I largely devoted my time to WW2 books. I know more about the concentration camps than I should. And then I went through a phase of interest in polygamists (who in their right mind wants to be married to more than one person)? And now I find that the books on my shelf are even more varied.

I don't have any of the books from before the fire--they are somewhere in Cary in storage. But I am looking at books on faith, the financial crisis, food, politics, WW2 and biography. I love Amazon and even more, I love seeing the box arrive with the books so neatly packed inside. Sometimes I read the new book that night. Sometimes I wait for weeks or even months.

It appears that my taste in literature is not the only thing that is changing. When we bought our house five years ago, it was modernized classic. A made of style to be sure, but I'm going to imagine that you know what I mean. We had the cabinets finished in a nice distressed white. We painted the kitchen green, the dining room red, the living room cream, a guest room brown, and so on. Well, now that we have a fresh canvas, we are going transitional/contemporary. We have yanked out walls, we are painting muted shades of gray and we are looking forward to a whole new feel to the house. I hope that we NEVER have another fire, but I could get used to starting with a fresh canvas every five years -- just like starting a new book when the old one gets stale.

Beach

We're at the beach with the family for Easter. Small problem...Paul and I don't really have any summer clothes. Had to scrounge around for a swim suit and I don't have a pair of shorts to my name. So far, this has not been a huge problem. Perhaps I didn't really need all that stuff to begin with (not that it will stop me in the future, but this is something to think about).

Appliances

We are going to replace our appliances. The appliances that we had were not damaged in the fire. We are making this decision for aesthetic purposes. I have never bought an appliance before--unless you count a dorm size refrigerator. I have learned two things during the process. One, appliances are expensive. Two, if you want something special, the appliance will be even more expensive. For example, we want a counter depth refrigerator. This means that the refrigerator will be more shallow. Nonetheless, counter depth refrigerators cost MORE. Smaller, but costs more. Genius marketing; a total rip for consumers.

Throughout life, there have been several instances where I have felt like I was getting ripped off. Exhibit 1 -- wedding. If you are buying anything for a wedding, it suddenly costs more. Birthday cake = $100. Same cake for a wedding = $225. It seems that we have arrived at another, similarly expensive juncture.

Kitchen Cabinets

We need to make a decision about kitchen cabinets. Surprisingly, I love the Ikea cabinets. I am also impressed with Thomasville and KraftMaid. Do we get slab door style or have a bit of an edge on them? Oh, and can we decide by yesterday?

Of course this is just one of a million decisions. And I'm pretty sure that the contractor told us to assume the position today. Not in so many words of course, but there it is. I've put it out there and I don't want to take it back. Why is it with some many people that you do business with, that you feel like you are being taken advantage of?

Pictures of Progress

Starting at the street, you can tell that we are making progress.

For starters, our living room is now a storage depot of used "parts" from the house.

The windows and window frames are broken.

We have also made some discoveries. For starters, the hardwoods that were "original" to the house appear to have been laid on another set of hardwoods that were more original to the house.

And who doesn't love temporary walls to hold up your house?

It is funny to think that we are seeing wood and parts of our house that no one has since 1921. That's right, the last time someone saw certain bricks, the Great Depression was still nearly a decade away. Hard to believe.

And the real individuals portrayed as characters in my new best show, The Pacific, were not even born. And yet, here I am, another Sunday evening spent absorbed with the television. Is anyone else worried about what is going to happen to Lucky?

The Economist

At our house, The Economist comes on Fridays. Without fail, if I get home first and check the mail, Paul asks "Did The Economist come today?" Well, The Economist is not nearly as regular at the condo. Paul has probably gotten three magazines since we moved in, and I think that two of them came at the same time--several weeks after their publication dates.

Apparently the USPS is a little questionable on the whole forwarding mail thing, especially as it relates to magazines. Maybe this is why I have just now received my renewed license.

Pacific

I love television and movies, especially documentaries and based-on-real-life stories. Naturally, I am watching Pacific on HBO. We are only on part 2, but the series is utterly fantastic. I can only imagine that all Americans who are watching this are having a similar response.

First, I am terrified for these young men as I watch. Keep in mind that this is a movie that I am watching on TV in my very comfortable condo more than sixty years after the fact. Nonetheless, my heart is racing and I want to cover my eyes. I can only imagine the magnitude of emotions felt by these soldiers as they really faced these events. Was it a thousand times more intense? Is it any wonder that this was the Greatest Generation?

Second, I am beginning to wonder whether we are holding up our end of the bargain. Two generations later, do we, as a society, continue to act in a way that is worthy of these kinds of sacrifices? And more importantly, do we as individuals, act in a way that is worthy of the sacrifices that have been made for us?

Recovering from a fire really is only a minor inconvenience in the scheme of the world.

Horrified

When last I blogged, I recounted a little encounter in another part of downtown Raleigh. Well today, I recount an encounter that took place a little closer to home.

Having heard that we made progress this week, Paul and I stopped by the house to check it out. As we got out of the car, we saw a gentleman coming out of our exterior bathroom (also known as a port-a-potty). I was horrified, Paul thought it was hilarious and the young man in question seemed to be mortified.

Note to self--ask the contractor to add a lock.

Piers!

Our house is moving forward! That's right, we're on track to have an almost good as new house that is nearly 100 years old. We are getting 11 new pier supports. They have been hard at work preparing our new piers and we hope that by the end of next week, that piece will be complete. The next step will be a framing inspection. Loving it!

The Wire

Paul and I both loved the television show, The Wire. We both agree that it was one of the best television shows of all time. Seriously, all time. Good plot. Great characters. Who didn't love Stringer Bell? I could go on. Anyway, the plot centers around a group of Baltimore police officers. Several seasons are devoted to a ring of drug dealers and their constant efforts to foil the police and sell ever increasing amounts of drugs to the poor of Baltimore.

Well this evening, on the way home from pilates class (it sounds like The Wire already, right?), I was driving through a slightly questionable neighborhood near downtown. There was a lady standing in the middle of an intersection. Just standing there. She didn't seem to be on her way anywhere and she didn't seem concerned about the fact that she was standing in the middle of the intersection. She just chilled for a bit and then started smoking a cigarette. Clearly she had been buying someone's product.

What looked like her drug dealer was approaching when I decided to use the old front wheel drive sleigh to get the heck out of Dodge. I bring this up not because this was such an amazing event or because I am so naive as to believe that this little drama is not played out in infinite variety across the country every day. Rather, I bring it up to illustrate how different my reality is from the reality of this woman. My days are filling with work (for which I am luck enough to find both enjoyable and challenging), family, friends, pilates, running, reading, hanging out with the dogs, the constant quest to return the house to its pre-fire state, and the like. (As further example of the good things in my life, at one time I would have used "etc." rather than "the like." But Charles Meeker was kind enough to show me the error of my ways.) I can only imagine that this woman is not lucky enough to have such a list of things that fill her life.

But life is what you make of it. So best of luck to us both.

Correction

In an earlier post, I blogged that nothing spelled class like a port a potty in the front yard. I have been forced to re-evaluate this position. I now believe that a toilet in the living room is even better! Yes, we do have a toilet in our living room. It has been there for weeks. I'm not sure why it is there, when it will be leaving or where it will be going. I am hopeful that it will be going somewhere soon though.

In fact, I am hopeful that we will just get some movement on our renovations sometime soon.

Permits

We have permits! I couldn't be more excited. We have settled into life at the condo, but we are ready to be back in our house. After several weeks of only behind the scenes action, we are ready to see some progress (pictures will of course be shared here).

Food

No matter how long you wait between trips to the grocery store, you always have groceries. Ketchup, mustard, spices, rice, pancake mix, weird vegetables that you bought for recipes that you never made. When you have a fire, everything like that gets thrown out. So when we moved into the condo, we literally had no food. Not one thing to put into the pantry and probably only a half full bottle of water for the refrigerator.

This is really not a big deal but somehow it makes you feel like you are not really a grown up. Grown ups have food, right?

Well in the interim, we have fixed this problem -- sort of. And I have found a wonderful service that is going to allow us to fully rectify this problem. Online grocery shopping. I was skeptical at first. But 20 minutes later, I had my online list. I agreed to pay the $4.95 for them to grocery shop for me. The grocery store in question is only a few blocks from Paul's work, so he picked them up on his grocery, I mean lunch, hour. He didn't even have to get out of the car. $4.95 and you don't have to go to the grocery store! If you agree to pay something like $18/month, you can shop as much as you want in a single month. This is a no brainer--this is the best deal going in terms of "finding" time.

Sundays

Our fire started on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The Sundays that followed were anything but lazy. Nomads don't really get lazy Sundays where they go to brunch, lay on the sofa, maybe do a little work, take a long slow run and go grocery shopping. But lazy Sundays are back!

Even Sophie and Emma are getting into the act!

Stuff

I am admittedly someone with a lot of "stuff." I don't think of myself as someone with lots things, but if asked, I think that I would have always admitted as much. Well after a fire, you have to make a list of everything that was destroyed. Furniture, clothes, everything. It is amazing how the list grows as you mentally tour the rooms and go to the cleaners. Even more amazing is when you start putting dollar figures on replacing your things. I have been surprised. Astounded. Shocked. Bamboozled. How can it be that we had that much stuff? We did though. And we will again I suppose. But in the interim, we are just trying to survive the post-fire process and enjoy a life with less things.

The up side to having fewer things is that a small condo feels big.

For your pictorial enjoyment, I have included pictures of some of our furnishings after the cleaning process. As you can see, some of our furniture is not quite the same.

Unfamiliar

Whenever you are staying in a place that is not your own, you have to adjust. You have to try to turn off those automatic habits that you develop at your house. Sometimes that is easy. For example, the light switch at the condo is on the different side of the front door than at our house. No big deal. Last night I forgot all of this. I am going out of town for work again and I was trying to finish some last minute laundry. I haven't done much laundry here and I'm not used to the dryer. Well I wasn't paying attention and promptly slammed the door--catching my thumb.

It is a good thing that my nails are painted a very dark color right now because I'm pretty sure the thumb nail is that color on its own right now.

I am not related to my brother.

My brother and I are very different. We do not physically resemble each other. Our personalities are polar opposites. We don't like to do the same things. For years, I have suspected that we might not be related. (From 8 to 18, I hoped that we weren't related.) As of today, it has been confirmed. We are not related. Pat is not really a Lehman.

When Lehmans, e.g. me or my Dad, think about a major purchase, like a car, we THINK about it. We shop for months. We shop on the Internet. We test drive. We think. We plod. We consider. My brother, not so much. Apparently he saw a car that he liked earlier in the week. He is now proud owner of said car.

This proves it for all time...Pat is not a Lehman.

This is particularly funny to me because I have been considering a purchase of similar scope--an additional bathroom in the house. I have been thinking for five weeks. I have talked to no less than three real estate agents. I have talked to at least four different bankers. I have been going through the process--the Lehman purchase process.

Insurance

Paul and I are very fortunate that we were fully insured on the day of the fire. In short, our insurance company paid for our hotel room for the nights immediately after the fire, our temporary apartment, our staggering dry cleaning bill and so on. It reminds me a bit of the old Tom Cruise movie -- Far and Away. His love interest was Nicole Kidman and she came from a wealthy family. Well, in a land grab at the end, you saw her parents and they had lost everything in a fire. No insurance. So we weren't rendered paupers by the fire. We were just so very lucky.

What I don't understand is why the insurance company sometimes treats us like we are the enemy. Why do we have to argue about whether the insurance company is going to pay for structural engineering? Perhaps the next time I receive a bill from the insurance company, I should tell them that since I didn't use their insurance last month, I should get a credit. Anybody think this would go well?

Clothes

Immediately after the fire, Paul and I were given an opportunity to select those clothes that we needed to be cleaned asap. Well those are the only clothes that we have. In a moment of simplicity, I selected only black and gray clothes. I am done done done wearing the same clothes. I'm certainly not suffering...I have plenty of clothes. I just miss the rest of them.

Paul took a completely different approach to his selection of "immediate clothes." He selected four pairs of work pants. Apparently he has somehow managed to go to work since the fire with only two pairs of pants. That crumbled on Monday. He had to make an emergency pants run on Monday morning. Do you think this is covered under the loss of use portion of our homeowners policy?

Neighbors and Construction Progress

During our Sunday afternoon run, Paul and I ran by the house. Quite by accident, we happened to see our next door neighbors from both sides. They were both curious about what was going on. They said that so far, the construction has not bothered them. I hope that continues. However, real construction has not really begun.

It is really amazing how little progress we have made in more than a month. We don't even have permits yet. This is fairly amazing to me because when they renovate a house, they always seem to do it in about two weeks. Knowing that we are looking at nearly five more months, I am beginning to think that the shows on TV may not be accurate.

For the record, the picture does in fact show a toilet in our living room. Also not something you see on home renovation shows on TV.

The Devil is in the Details

It has now been more than five weeks from the fire. We are settled into a condo. We have clean clothes. Construction has begun on the house. In short, we are moving forward and are living some type of normal life. Every once in a while though, something happens and it is like you are slapped in the face again. Not in a bad way really, just a blunt reminder that life is not normal right now. This happened yesterday.

I am currently in scenic Lebanon, Tennessee. What more could a girl ask for, right? Well, I got home from work late because I was getting ready for the trip. I laid out the clothes that I wanted to pack. I ate dinner. I wasn't worried about anything other than the 4 am alarm clock. I started to pack, but I don't have any luggage. So I sent a frantic email to a friend who graciously lent me her carry-on. I doubt that it was a big deal to her to lend me the bag. She wasn't going to use it this week and I probably won't hurt it. It was just another reminder that our lives are out of sorts. I can only imagine the corner where the next reminder lurks.

I won't post a picture of the bag--but I have posted a picture of the nicest hotel in Lebanon.

Mortgage

When we bought our house, we were so excited. We were scared about how much money we owed the bank and daunted by the idea of 30 years of payments, but we took the plunge. Well, now that our house doesn't have nearly as many walls as before, we have a much better idea of what we bought for 30 years of payments. I'm still sure that it was worth it. After all, our house is still standing. Nonetheless, my eyes have been opened.

Nothing Says Class...

like a port-a-john in your front yard. I think it is safe to say that our neighbors are loving this!

Engineers

Today's dispute relates to whether the insurance company will pay for engineers. Apparently the insurance company is taking the position that until the City dictates that engineers be used, that they are not responsible for paying for them. Since floor joists, stairs and load bearing walls are coming out, this seems amazing to me. Perhaps I am foolishly underestimating our contractors. Or maybe I am just underestimating the ability of other parts of the house to just sort of hang on while the rest of the construction happens.

This is especially clear for me since our last trip to the house. On Saturday, Paul and I decided we would make the trip -- all 10 blocks. The walls were gone (except the kitchen, dining room and bathrooms). The den had no floor -- no hardwoods, no floor joists -- nothing but dirt. You haven't lived as a homeowner until you have stood in your house (the same house that requires sizable mortgage payments every month) on the dirt floor and been able to look all the way through.

I'm meeting with the architects tomorrow, so I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be bring forward progress (or maybe just hope for future forward progress). In an optimistic view of tomorrow, I am posting a very cool fireplace covered in rock veneer from norstone:

Background

Four weeks ago today, we had a fire. Not a catastrophic fire -- no one died or got hurt. But a serious fire. Our house is still standing, but it no longer has walls and is missing some floors. I understand that as of tomorrow, the stairs and most of the rest of the stairs will be gone. How crazy is that?

Our neighbors, friends and family were amazing on the day of the fire. I remember that. I was definitely in shock, but I do know that everyone has been amazing. The thing about fires is that you never think it will happen to you. And even after it happens, you still think that it can't have happened to you.

About a week after the fire, we moved into a one bedroom condo in downtown Raleigh. It is about half the size of what we are used to having, but we are adjusting. We don't really have much stuff, so it feels bigger than it is. It is filled with rented furniture -- a fire restoration company is busily working to save our furniture. We have some of our clothes back and a few plates/cups/etc., but otherwise, we haven't seen our stuff in about a month.

I bought a new camera tonight and have decided to keep a record of this crazy journey that started less than a month after I turned 30. Sorry, none of my pics tonight as the battery is charging. But I am providing some pictures taken by the firemen (yes, they take pictures at fires!)