The nightmare goes on…

The Katrina nightmare will never end for so many of us here on the Gulf Coast. I consider my ongoing Katrina problems a piece of cake compared to so many others here. At least 6 of my neighbors have found out they have Chinese drywall installed in their Katrina flooded homes. When everyone was just starting to rebuild here, because the entire region was devastated and wiped out, supplies were far and few to be found. So guess where most everyone’s sheetrock or drywall came from….yep, China. Good friend’s of ours have to file bankruptcy, walk away from their Chinese dry walled home, and start over with nothing but their lives. They put their life savings into rebuilding their home after Katrina. This past year after all their appliances started exploding, they investigated. Chinese drywall was the culprit, it erodes all the electrical wiring and appliances in the house. Everything in one’s home begins to smell like to rotten eggs (sulfur) and is no longer able to be salvaged. Not to mention the serious health effects that can be incurred if you live in a home with Chinese drywall. There are many law suits pending but for now there is little hope available for people that have to move out of their homes because of this issue. 4 of my neighbors have moved out, left their homes, who knows what will happen to these homes and my neighbors.

I pray every day that we don’t have Chinese drywall. I consider us lucky that we don’t, so far. We do have a myriad of other Katrina related problems due to faulty workmanship, rip-off artists, and unscrupulous subcontractors as we were so desperate to rebuild and get back home. This is our biggest issue and project #1. We have hired the PREMIER custom home builder on the Coast and are willing to pay more so that HE deals with the subcontractors, not me. And, yes, he started today, a week before Christmas. But I’m feeling lucky and blessed and promise to roll with it. My husband has been after me for 4 years now to get all this fixed. I just couldn’t deal with having workers in and out of my house. Until now. The week before Christmas. UGHH!

WARNING: These are NOT pretty pictures, so turn away now if you have a weak tummy!

I’ll be showing the progress of big issue #1: Our Master Bath shower:

All this was brand new, installed after Katrina. Almost lovely until you look closely at the details. The grout or lack of, was not applied correctly. The step-up that the glass frame and door sits on should have been beveled. It also was incorrectly grouted.

The shower seat as well, should have had some type of beveled edge, the grout is nasty and falling apart. You can see mold everywhere as the grout issue allows water to seep in.

See the hole right in front of the glass below? One of the many OOPS! And the nasty, falling off grout? I want gross you out anymore, I sure ya’ll get my point.

8:00am this morning, the glass surround and door was up.

A few minutes later, the glass company arrived to take it down. Assuming it would be an hour project. HA! 6 hours later, blow torches, screws sawed off and broken glass I now have this:

This is what should remain, ready for the granite guy to come in and start ripping up tiles. And the granite guy is Brazilian and really cute. Supposed to be the best around. I feel blessed. I wonder if he’ll let me take his picture?

No, really, I do count my blessings. We don’t have Chinese drywall.

A SHAMLESS P.O.O.P.I.E.

Thanks, Nester, for allowing me to realize my foibles, my shameless ways in decorating my home!
I am guilty, welcome to my front door

Oops, these are real below. At least I digress a little. They were begging to be photographed.

Entry hall

Way too guilty in the kitchen

still guilty in the kitchen

still kitchen

Oh my, still in the kitchen, time to get rid of these things

My very favorite. I made this centerpeice to go with my beloved SUSAN LUMPKIN "DINE ON THE BAYOU" handpainted dishes. We live on Rotten Bayou, yes, that is really it's name, so these images and textures are so relevant. Tried to bring in the cat-a-nine tails, the sticks, the moss, the ferns, and the fuzzies....all lovley items that Mother Nature has blessed us with here on Rotten Bayou.

in my bathroom

in master bedroom

So, now that I see everything published and public, I realize how bad I've got this disease.

Maybe time to dust, redo, and toss some of these things! Way to go Nester, keep me focused!

On the eve of our 3rd anniversary....

I'm sharing these images, thoughts , and memories with you. We were blessed, we still had a structure despite 4 feet of water. Thanks for being my ROCK to lean on! We had to hike a 1/2 mile to get to home, so many trees down

Water came in fast and left fast, tipping over furniture.

Took a long time to clear trees away just to open garage. Inside garage was OLD BLUE and a new Corvette. They flooded, we were not worried about the vet, but OLD BLUE was a family member. She was a 1985 528e bmw, our son came home from hospital when he was born (1987) in OLD BLUE. Fast forward, daughter got her license to drive, OLD BLUE, being the safe, reliable tank that she was, was daughter's car to drive till she left for college. Then son, driving at 15 1/2, inherited OLD BLUE. He drove her from his sophomore in high school thru graduation, went off to college with a new car. We retired OLD BLUE to the garage, she served us all so well. Our plan was to have her completely restored. She was a classic and in 2005, she reached antique car status . She was the saddest thing that we lost, the most difficult thing to say goodbye to, and the only thing that we regret to this day. Sorry OLD BLUE, we miss you!

Just an exhausted hubby and I, dragging all wet items out, ripping up carpet.

Trash heaps.

We had 25 trees that fell over and eventually had to be cleared away.

Every morning when we came back to the house to work, our trash piles had been picked through. We had 7 wing chairs stolen/salvaged/borrowed. Hubby says I can't say stolen cuz they were out in the yard. We could have saved these chairs and eventually had them reupholstered. But when you are going through the motions of a disaster, you don't always make the best decisions.

My beloved Chinese pink & green rug, trying to dry it out. Eventually we tossed it trash heap, later pulled it back out when we saw hope of getting it cleaned. It is not the same. But it is still a cherished friend, scarred but still giving us pleasure.

Heroes from Missouri....they were the first outsiders we encountered. They arrived about 10 days after Katrina hit. They were cutting up fallen trees to make roads passable. Below was a huge 200+ year old tree that the root ball came right up out of ground. How lucky that it fell towards the street and not on our house.

I think I kissed them all, sweaty nasty mess that I was.

All our files with important papers, drying in the sun.

Yea, I've been pink & green for many years...even my house was pink & green to the embarrassment of my kids when they were growing up.

There are a few sensations that will always be ingrained in my mind. The stench of death that was everywhere, it permeated into our nostrils, heads, and psychic. The only noise we heard, day after day, as we worked so long and laboriously, was the overhead helicopters and gunshots.

I recall, in one of my shameless moments of desperation, waving and yelling at those helicopters to do something to help us. Instead they tortured us with the hint of civilization but no help, no relief. The gun shots came from locals, like us, shooting half-dead animals, to put them out of their misery, killing alligators, and taking up our own defense from the looters that quickly descended upon us. Not pleasant memories.

Hubby on the roof, trying to BLUE ROOF IT, to keep potential rain out. Why? We still had pictures, LAMPS, dishes, furniture, etc that we were trying to keep.

Wished I had taken more pictures. There were days that felt so heavy with exhaustion, despair, and disbelief that I couldn't bring myself to pick up the camera. Next we had to smash away at the wet sheet rock, haul it out, and bag it. What a horrible task that was, have you ever hauled wet sheet rock? Trust me, you don't want to. Still hubby and I, all by ourselves. All other neighbors and friends were doing the same. Except for the poor people that were slabbed and had nothing.

It has been quite an experience, these past 3 years. We still count our blessings and have such an immense respect for Mother Nature. We did not have flood insurance so our losses were a heavy financial blow. We have flood insurance now, as should everyone, no matter where you live. Our home is 20 miles from the Gulf waters.

And LIFE goes on....

So back to my Gustav preparing. It's going to hit someone and I'm praying for all of my neighbors on the entire Gulf Coast.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers...

Stay safe, ya'll know we will!

One more room repainted

This room has been one of those everything rooms: desktop, elliptical, TV, sofa...the sofa hubby or I stretch out on to watch TV in the night when we can't sleep. Close the door and the TV doesn't wake up the lucky sleeping spouse. Banished the elliptical to the garage, couldn't dust around it. Plus we can sweat that much more riding it in garage! Ha....garage is likely 100 degrees.The room color is not true...way too dark....something funny with my flash and I'm too lazy to fix the picture. Had to keep desktop and all the mesy cords.

Below is better color of walls. Enjoying the light coming in.

My file cabinet....threw some Parakeet Green on it...

Valances were Pre-Katrina and high enough that they didn't flood. But sofa & rug are new and they really don't look right with treatments. Not putting them back up.

They are silk dupioni, definitely a mistreatment with straight pins still in it. I think I want something different. Don't want the room to be too dark. Actually enjoying not having any treatments up. Don't worry, I'll change my mind one day and do something different.

Door to keep the late night TV noise out. Screaming Meme....will you come and put that beautiful black paint and gold swirls on my armoire like you did for someone else? I'm so jealous!

I want to slip this sofa. I'm growing tired of it after 2 1/2 years. Told you I'm so fickle.
Plus seeing things in pictures makes me see things that I don't normally see....way too much red going on.