A Few Updates
Wow. I can't even find words that are remotely adequate to thank the folks who hit that PayPal donation button over the last few days. You've not only rescued my horrifyingly empty bank account, you've uplifted my sagging morale like some kind of miraculous antigravity emotional wonder-bra. Thanks to each and every one of you!
There is, however, depressing news on the electrical front. An electrical contractor came by yesterday to give me an estimate for upgrading the wiring, but he took one look at the situation and shook his head sadly. Rewiring a big old two-story house is, apparently, an unthinkably major undertaking that would involve tearing down the walls and ripping out the ceilings and second floor. Essentially rebuilding the entire house. No can do.
So our only hope now is to find somebody, somewhere, who will insure it with the knob and tube wiring. My fabulous realtor Marla is frantically looking for a rogue insurance company that won't slam the door. We're also having a roofing contractor come out today to give an estimate for reroofing. But if it's impossible to obtain insurance, I'll have to declare bankruptcy and just turn the house over to creditors. Ha, let them deal with the damn mess! I hope they're getting severe migraines at the mere thought of it.
In happier news, and this is an extremely exciting milestone: I gave myself my very first post-chemo haircut last night! I just trimmed a little off the fuzzy tufts that were sprouting behind the ears. It felt good to be squeezing my trusty nail scissors, though it didn't trigger my old compulsive hair cutting disorder so far. But what fun it was, seeing that familiar little pile of hairs drifting around on the sink again! I think this is as long as I'm going to let it grow, so this will be the final Monday Hair Growing Progress Report. From now on, it's only going to get shorter (especially if the CHCD comes back). Woot!
Still a little thin in places, but the curls manage to achieve a pretty effective combover.
The author sporting ridiculous flip-flops and newly trimmed hair.
There is, however, depressing news on the electrical front. An electrical contractor came by yesterday to give me an estimate for upgrading the wiring, but he took one look at the situation and shook his head sadly. Rewiring a big old two-story house is, apparently, an unthinkably major undertaking that would involve tearing down the walls and ripping out the ceilings and second floor. Essentially rebuilding the entire house. No can do.
So our only hope now is to find somebody, somewhere, who will insure it with the knob and tube wiring. My fabulous realtor Marla is frantically looking for a rogue insurance company that won't slam the door. We're also having a roofing contractor come out today to give an estimate for reroofing. But if it's impossible to obtain insurance, I'll have to declare bankruptcy and just turn the house over to creditors. Ha, let them deal with the damn mess! I hope they're getting severe migraines at the mere thought of it.
In happier news, and this is an extremely exciting milestone: I gave myself my very first post-chemo haircut last night! I just trimmed a little off the fuzzy tufts that were sprouting behind the ears. It felt good to be squeezing my trusty nail scissors, though it didn't trigger my old compulsive hair cutting disorder so far. But what fun it was, seeing that familiar little pile of hairs drifting around on the sink again! I think this is as long as I'm going to let it grow, so this will be the final Monday Hair Growing Progress Report. From now on, it's only going to get shorter (especially if the CHCD comes back). Woot!
Still a little thin in places, but the curls manage to achieve a pretty effective combover.
The author sporting ridiculous flip-flops and newly trimmed hair.
posted by Lymphopo at Monday, May 21, 2007
11 Comments:
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glad to be able to do SOMETHING. every little bit does indeed count. now we just need to send a publisher your way :)
sorry for the deletes-i asked you a very silly question that i figured out the answer to a few minutes later.
Love the hair! I'm so happy that your spirit is infused with joy again!
CUTE skirt, even with ridiculous flip-flops, cute hairs, cute author. You are just CUTE! (Yes, you can BE cute at 52 and change).
I hope someone can come through - yours canNOT be the first house with old wiring that has been ensured and liveable. I'm certain my own house probably has that as well. It's a mish-mash of electrical nightmare, and I can totally relate to the concept of what it takes to fix that - last estimate was like $6000 to redo my wiring (I don't have a second story). I hope it all works out and Marla can find someone!
Hi There ,
I had an old knob and tube wired house . Problem is that to replace the knob and tube wiring, you create a ton of damage with the walls requiring patching the walls and replastering . I know that when I originally bought my house I purchased interim insurance that was conditional on me replacing the wiring in a specified time frame . Ask your realtor to check into that .....
I have a paypal account but I'm not all that familiar with it. If I want to contribute to the cause, what goes in the "Payment For" field?
Sorry to hear of your situation....do try another electrical contractor to get another opinion, especially one that specializes in retrofitting older homes. Often times someone else can offer a more economical solution.
Chuck
http://www.ContractorHired.com
What about the state's insurer of last resort, the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.? When I couldn't get my Baton Rouge house insured for the same wiring situation and various others (too old, not on a slab, not owner-occupied) they wrote me a policy, which I've kept in effect for more than 15 years now.
My Craftsman Bungalow is only 90 years old, but I got the wiring updated more than 10 years ago without damaging my lath & plaster walls. I have a nice little breaker box out on the side of my house by my meter now. Look at Old House forums and preservation/restoration sites for a referral. There are plenty of us who refuse to defile an old house through modernization, but still need to plug in a hairdryer now and again (well, someday, as I'm still in the throes of chemo).
I am sorry to hear of your insurance woes. My house in California was built in 1850 and is the wreck of the Hesperus, being built before electricity but having great swaths of tubes and fiber-looking cables (yikes!) from when it was "updated" in the 20's. My insurance company is the Hartford; when we bought the place three years ago from my mother-in-law they covered us with no questions or pics. Do they write in your area?
I hope you find coverage quickly!
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