Hell or high water

As suddenly as it had arrived, the flooding has drained away. Yesterday, coming home meant wading through about three feet of muddy water, with a backpack that held bread and two thermos bottles of boiling water so we would at least have some hot coffee. This morning, the street was almost dry except for a layer of smelly sediment covering everything. Only the cellar is still half full of water.

I shudder to think of what to expect down there when the water has gone. Most likely, I'll curse myself over every single postponed decision I stacked down there. As it is, the muck and water will probably make a lot of those decisions easier. And I might berate myself for procrastinating about painting our bedroom and rearranging some of the shelves in my living room, as both the paint and brushes I bought for the former and the wooden shelf parts I wanted to use for doing the latter are certain goners. 

Apart those, the cellar holds several boxes of china currently not in use. These should be salvageable after tossing the newspapers I wrapped the stuff in, unless the incoming water broke something. 

What also is unlikely to have survived are my christmas decorations. The box they are in is supposed to be waterproof, but I don't think they meant proof to being submerged for several days. 

Then again, nothing of all that is especially valuable. So, I should not be too upset.

And we were lucky on another front, too. 

As it had been raining cats and dogs on Saturday, we did not drive for our usual start-of-the-month grocery shopping. Which means the freezer is half empty, and we did not fill it up on Saturday. As everything in there has spoiled after two days with no power, any money we might have spent on refilling it would have fed the trashcan. 

The stuff in the refrigerator has been keeping until now, to the exception of some steaks I bought on Saturday as a special treat and decided to save for today instead of cooking them on Sunday. Oh well. 

Yesterday, I picked up some burgers and fries for dinner- not what we usually eat- and I will have to pick up something else tonight, or eat out with DH. Not what I budgeted for, nor were the stainless steel thermos bottles I bought for carrying the hot water. 

And the weight loss project has to be suspended for the duration. Not being able to cook anything is a real obstacle there. 

At least, from what I can see from my office window, the tram is operating again.

Keep calm and carry on.

Julia