This is one of those times that I still cry sometimes when I think about it. I don't think I can laugh about it........
So we have rented this home (154.....) for 2 years, continued renting on a month to month basic, for 2 months. We couldn't rent another month because the landlord had found a tenant that would take up a year's lease. We had to move out by the 31st July 2015.
Thankfully, there was a friend (Frs), living alone, in the same gated community park, who had told us, before she left for a few months of summer holiday in another city and state, that we were welcome to move into her house (241.....). She did ask that we pay $500 for a month's stay, which was less than half of what we paid ($1,050) to the place we had to vacate.
Mike was in the process of hearing from a potential employer in the month of August, so this temporal housing was a blessing for us.
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Disappointed with 2 people (R&K). They came in the morning, gave us the key to the house of Frs that we were moving into, told us that they would be coming back at 4 pm to pick up the unwanted furniture and stuff for another lady. R&K didn't turn up nor call us.
Disappointed also with another 2 friends (E&J) who came twice in the morning to pick up our unwanted TV, VHS & DVD player, entertainment console and a book shelf. Said they would be coming back, also at 4 pm, to help move stuff to the Salvation Army store. They also didn't turn up nor call us.
Moving 2 x 2 drawers metal cabinets, 2 wooden computer desks to the outside of house was not easy for Mike. I am small built person and I don't have the strength at all to help with those furniture.
We moved packed boxes, of what we needed to Frs's home and the rest to a storage unit. Bought lunch and dinner from fast foot restaurants. By the time we got done with the clearing and cleaning of the rented house 154 and by the time we got back to Frs's home to call it the night, it was already 1:00 am the next day!
Friday, 31 July 2015
On opening the front door of Frs's home, I heard water gushing and found the master bedroom's bathroom's floor flooded and water moving into the bedroom. I ran out and cried to Mike. After a couple of calls, Frs called back. BK (Frs's maintenance friend), who happened to be our friend as well, came to the house. Mike had already shut off the water supply, outside the house, successfully. He had to use a rock to hit the frozen switch.
I was too emotionally to do anything but cried and cried. I was extremely tired and sleepy. We had been up since yesterday. Amazingly, Mike was calm. BK took control of the situation. Between him and Mike, they soaked up all the water with towels, jeans, bedsheets, throws, etc.
Went to bed about 3 am!
Thankfully later, on this day, 2 friends (J&N) came and moved all the unwanted stuff, that Mike had moved onto the front yard of the 154 house we had vacated yesterday, to the Salvation Army store, that E&J didn't do yesterday.
Another disappointment! I tried to machine dry all the wet clothes that had soaked up the water but unfortunately the dryer was not working as it should be. It took 3 cycles of run to dry just the towels! It was like 3 hours! We ended up taking 3 trash bags of wet clothes to a commercial laundry dryer.
*****
This was my 1st experience with water bursting from the pipes. And it had to happen when I least expected it, when all I wanted to do, was to sleep. I know it could happen during freezing temperature in the winter time, if the pipes were not insulated. I know of friends whose home have been flooded because of that. Was it meant to be, that we came to Frcs's home at the right time? What would have happened if the water was left running and nobody was there?
