Things are looking up...

Thank you to all of you who have sent queries and encouragement to me and my sister. I've talked to her most days to try to keep up with everything that's going on after her house flooded.

The good news is that after she was turned down by ALL of the assistance programs, my husband and I talked her into trying a different direction. Since the aid agencies said that her flooding couldn't have been caused by the tornado since she isn't in a flood plain, I told her to contact the city drainage department and tell them that her house flooded because of their faulty drainage (actually, I told her to sue the mayor over the faulty drainage, but I was a little upset at the time). My husband was more practical and suggested that she call her local representative. After talking to various city officials, my sister took my husband's advice. She e-mail her alderman at midnight on a Friday with no expectations of hearing back before the following week. The next morning, Saturday, she got a wake up call at 7 a.m. from the city manager. WOW! Talk about fast!

So...thanks to making all the right contacts, Sis has now been approved for FEMA aid. She has already received a check for the "minimum repairs required to make the house livable." Now she's waiting to hear if she's eligible for assistance with all of the internal losses she suffered - the loss of all of her appliances, much of her furniture, the flooring, her AC unit and ductwork, and the carpeting going up the stairs. She should hear something in the next two to three weeks.

Yesterday, a church from Alabama sent a crew out to repair her walls. She had already purchased the materials, but she and the girls didn't know how to build walls - go figure. : ) Now she has all new inside and outside walls. Well, all except for the one wall that they discovered yesterday that they had never cut open. Since it hadn't been drained, it is now full of lovely green mold. Apparently, if you let mold grow and mature, it glows in the dark! Who knew? Sis is still encountering new hurdles every day, but at her legs are getting a fantastic workout jumping over them. : )

On the quilting front, I have finally finished binding my Stashbusters quilt. Just in time to start the next Stashbuster quilt! I already have many of the blocks made up, but I haven't laid any of it out yet to figure out how I want it to look. Of course, I have been rather slowed down by helping a new friend with her new business. She is developing patterns that she wants to sell, but has needed some pattern testers. I'm on my second quilt pattern that I'm testing. Both patterns are lovely. The first one is made with xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and is in lovely shades of xxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. The second one is much more complex and is mostly xxxxxxxxxxxxxx in beautiful colors ranging from xxxxxxxxxx to xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. I would tell you more about them both, but I'm under contract and have been sworn to silence until the patterns are actually published. Hey, look at that! Even my descriptions have been redacted! Well, you'll just have to wait to see them at some future time.

Thanks to all of you for sticking with me during the past few months when I've been posting so seldom. I hope life settles down enough to let me get back to doing fun things some more and, even better, sharing them with you!

See you later,

Deb

Is 2013 gone yet?

Sigh. It's still here.

This year has been a challenge for my family. The day after posting about losing my little dog and my kitty, my sister and her family in Oklahoma City were hit with flooding.  Her husband just shipped out to Afghanistan the week before and she has four kids. Her home damage was because of the five tornadoes in the area - it was not caused by their house being hit by a tornado; therefore, no insurance coverage.There is a huge, long saga involved with this situation, but let's just say that there is finally hope on the horizon. She contacted her local rep, who has taken her cause to the assistant city manager. She's been in constant contact with the assistant since then and seems to be making some headway.

BREAK THROUGH! I actually just got an e-mail from her saying that FEMA came out at noon today to inspect the damage. She has to wait a week to ten days before she hears what, if anything, they can do to help her, but at least they're talking to her now. Sometimes it helps to get the bigwigs in city government on your side. : )  FEMA may provide assistance with the extensive structural damage she received, but can't do anything about the furniture and appliances. Thankfully, that's where friends and family have stepped in. We're all pitching in to get the inside of her home taken care of as soon as the outside has been repaired. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. She has to wait until her claim has been processed before she'll know anything. Until then, all she can do is hope and wait. And try to stay dry.

Debbi