Mystery water - AKA the ongoing saga of my condo restoration

As you have all probably read here before, I was flooded last June and my condo is still under construction. However, there has been a development that will further delay the completion. I went to my site meeting on Tuesday this week and guess what I saw. Water bubbling up between the hardwood floor boards when I stepped on them. They have apparently ripped up a lot of floor and some wall in the kitchen. This is a picture of the first day of exploration. They can't find the source....where does that leave me? not sure, I am in limbo right now...it is becoming rather comical, in the hysterical I'm going crazy kind of way.

I might be jinxing this by posting about it, but what the heck

I have been told that my condo will be done and ready for me to walk through with the contractor on FRIDAY. This Friday, not some random Friday in a month or 2 or next year. If everything goes well, I can start moving this weekend. To say that I am ready to move is an understatement. I will get to live in the condo I have been paying mortgage payments and condo fees on for the last year, 3 months and 5 days.

This whole thing has been stressful to say the least, but I would not have gotten through it without the support of my family. I was able to stay with my parent's rent free during this time, so that took a huge load off of my shoulders. My friends and even people I don't even know were super helpful and supportive and helpful during this time from the mucking out of my apartment and all the other units in my building to just listening to me moan about the delays and issues with the rebuild.

Once I can get my head wrapped around my new home and get everything just the way I want it, there WILL be a PARTY. 

Scritch scritch scritch

I have been scritching and scratching pretty much on anything I can get my hands on these days. So much so that all of my small wire sgrafitto tools have been worn right through. These are some more mugs and yunomis that I have been working on...

In addition to the urn I posted earlier with the "boy and his dog" theme, I was also asked to make a less fat, more slender urn with blue butterflies. The recipient did not want to spend eternity in a "fat" jar :) So, here it is...

In condo news, we threatened the contractors with firing and man, that seems to have lit a fire. There has been work, they are firing some trades and getting new ones to fix the incorrect stuff and move it along faster. We were told that this is a 3 week project now. Once they give us a revised and updated schedule and plan, we will know more. So maybe August 1st? I really have no idea, I can only guess. So far, all of my guesses have been wrong though....

8 more weeks

I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning to attend a weekly progress meeting for the condo rebuild. Apparently they are on schedule and the completion date is estimated to be 8 weeks. So I might be back in on June 3rd??? This pic shows my living room looking towards the patio window that has yet to be installed as one of them had been damaged during the manufacturing process and they are redoing it right now. Not sure when that will be installed.

Pots waiting for the kiln

This week blew right on by. Last weekend was a long one so I took advantage and threw, made glaze, fired a bisque and then a glaze. As usual, I have photos of the pots I have waiting, but none of the finished work. Maybe I will take them tonight. I need to get a batch of pots down to Galleria on Saturday, so tonight is the only option for picture taking. This is an arty shot of a bowl and a casserole with various other pots in the background

These 2 pics are of a lamp base I am working on. Fish seem to be my theme lately...wonder why that is...

On a not pottery note, I met with the contractor yesterday afternoon to walk through my condo to make sure everything looks ok in terms of wall locations and to discuss the kitchen. Nothing was left of it when they got there, so I had to let them know what it should look like and then any changes that I would like to see happen. I really want a pantry, and I hated the peninsula/island so instead I am putting the pantry where the peninsula started and then I will buy a counter top height table with drop down leaves in that space. It will act as a counter as well as an eating area that actually functions. I asked the "when" question as well. He says that there is a 14 week timeline that will begin as soon as they pass the last inspection before drywall starts. So it could be 15-16 weeks. Possibly a move back date 1 week before the 1 year anniversary of the flood. And that's all I know for now.

So close, but still so very far away

It is almost 8 months since the flood, and itt will be exactly 10 months since I was told to evacuate my condo on April 20th. I had a meeting this morning regarding the rebuild stage and although I was not given an exact timeline, it has been estimated that it will take 3 months from Feb 3^rd before we will get occupancy for the units that were destroyed. So I was a little off on my Easter guestimate, but notby much. If all things go as planned, with no supply hiccups, or subtrade shortages/difficulties, I might be back by May 3^rd. My fingers are crossed, but I am not holding my breath. Once the dry walling starts (possibly next week if inspections are ok for the fire stopping work that needs to be done), that would only take a couple of days apparently. Then we will begin meeting with the contractor to discuss finishings etc. The thing that might tip me over the edge will be the 7am weekly meetings with the contractor and the owners. I don’t get out of bed sometimes until 7:30 am. That is going to be tough, but I will just have to suck it up.

On the pottery front, I have bisqued round one for the galleries, but I still need to glaze. I am in the middle of getting work ready for the second bisque firing and it will have large bowls, platters, casseroles etc in it. I threw some really lovely 7-8lb bowls over the last week, as well as some large 5-6lb platters and a couple more teapots, ‘cause you just can’t have too many teapots in my opinion.

No pottery pics today, so here is a puppy pic…

It's been like driving down a washboard road with no idea how long it will be until you hit pavement again.

If I squint, I think I can see a tiny pin prick of light at what I am hoping is the end of this very long tunnel.

I found out yesterday that construction has begun in the main floor units (one of which is mine) of my condo building that were destroyed during the flood last June. There is a week of bringing the units up to code, as this building was originally constructed back in the mid 1960’s. Then, in hopefully a week, they will begin hanging drywall, laying down flooring, installing cabinets and other fixtures. Exciting times are ahead. I will need to go out and buy all my appliances soon, as well as furniture. I just need a timeline so that I can have all this stuff delivered and installed.  

Who knows, I might even be moved in before Easter (fingers and toes all crossed).

Interview

What is it like to live with family for extended periods of time? Well, the CBC asked me that question on Wednesday night last week. The interview aired Friday morning leading in to the thanks giving weekend.
Here's the link:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Alberta/Calgary+Eyeopener/ID/2411646086/

New Weight Loss Program

I stood on the scale this morning and was shocked to find that I had lost, at minimum, 10 pounds. What is this amazing, fat dissolving diet you ask? I guess it all comes down to water. It has always been said that a person should drink approximately 8 glasses of water a day, but that is not what I did. The water came in the form of a massive flood. So I guess flooding, stress and moving back in with your parents is a way (not a good way) to lose 10 pounds in 3 months.

For those interested, here is an update. My condo is still uninhabitable. In fact, nobody is living in the 16 unit building. The work for the mechanical and electrical has only just begun and my understanding is that they are still waiting on parts for the electrical to arrive. There were delays caused by asbestos removal that was required as well as some issues with the heating system in the first floor units. We were given a very tentative move in date for the upper floors of approximately mid October, just in time for Turkey day (maybe). As for when my first floor neighbors and I can move back, not a clue. Construction can not begin on our units until the heat, water, power, etc are all installed and inspected, and it is almost October, so I am guessing we probably won’t be in until February? Who knows, it could be sooner, but it could be later.
By the time this is all over and I am back in my little home, I may need to re-buy the wardrobe I just had to replace. But instead of losing it all to a flood, I will have lost too much weight. I will say that my Mum eats extremely healthy, so that might also have something to do with it. When I was living solo, I would grocery shop like someone with a split personality. I would try to shop healthy, but would get distracted in the ice cream section, or get sucked into a bag of chips, so that was a problem. If I want a snack at my parent’s house, it usually looks like a bunch of sugar peas, or trail mix.

Flood Relief...

This post is for everyone that has offered to help me out with donations of stuff. By “stuff”, I mean everything that a person would need to rebuild their life from scratch. I really do appreciate all of the offers. However, at this point, my life is going to be a bit in limbo for the next 4 to 6 months while my condo undergoes renovations, quite literally, from the ground up. I am currently staying with my parents in their house in Douglasdale, so life is not so bad right now.

I guess what I am trying to say is that at this point, I don't know what I will need until the flood relief money comes from the government and I can put a list together of what I can afford to buy new, plus I just don't have a lot of room to store things until I move back in.

When I know more I will let you all know via this blog.

Thank you again,

Ashley

I will survive...

I might be a bit crazy when this is all over though.

I met with the buildings insurance adjustor yesterday. The good news is that they will restore everything to original conditions (how it was when the condo was first converted). The bad news is that this could take up to 6 months before I will be back in my little home. I am torturing myself right now by searching paint colours, furniture and appliances on line. With an entire rainbow to choose from, how do I narrow it down?!
This is the view of my "kitchen" right now. Everything looks so much smaller with no walls to define the space. I keep saying to myself  " how did I ever fit a Queen sized bed here?"

Flood mugs

Once the flood was over and as soon as I was able to get back into the studio, I decided to scratch a few mugs. Of course the only thing on my brain was water. There are 4 units in my building in Mission that were totally destroyed by the mighty Elbow river. It is normally quite calm and shallow, but on June 20 - 24th it was mighty indeed. Anyway, as a means to commemorate this life altering event, I created this mug, and am working on 3 more as gifts for my 1st floor neighbors. If you are in the Calgary area and would like a Flood mug  for yourself, I may make more of them if there is the demand. Rough guestimate on price is ~$40 per mug. The final colours will be black and creamy white. If you want to contact me regarding a mug, shoot me an e-mail at ashleymorrow@shaw.ca

 

There are 2 Kinds of People

Thankfully, this city (Calgary) is mostly comprised of the best kind, the helpers & givers.

The other kind of people are thankfully few and far between (in my experience anyway). They are the “tiskers”, complainers and are just generally mean spirited. During the time I was down cleaning up my apartment, the other units in my building as well as other buildings on other streets, occupied by people I did not know, I was surrounded by the best kind of people. The atmosphere was almost like a party, except we were all covered in river mud, and were throwing people's entire lives into the back of garbage trucks. The gawkers were out though, and although I tried to ignore it, it was probably the rudest thing ever. I understand the need to see the devastation with your own eyes, but these people were almost gleeful. Taking pictures of other people's despair is NOT COOL. If you are the press, that is one thing, but the busybodies that are so obviously not there to help were like salt in a gaping wound.

While I was in mid disaster clean up, I was keeping my eyes on the news, the blogs and the comments and there are some really really nasty people out there that do not feel our government should be giving out the disaster relief.. I wont name names, because both you and I know who you are, and naming names is not my style. However, you need to know how hurtful your comments are. Apparently, according to some, the prepaid debit cards being handed out by the Alberta government should not be handed out to people in my neighbourhood, and I am assuming other lowerv income ones, because the recipients will just go down to the bar and drink it all away. WOW, your sympathy knows no bounds. I am one of those recipients, and so far have managed to not drink it all away. In Fact, I have some amazing friends that have offered me their cards. They were displaced, but did not sustain damage except for rotten food and missed time at work. These are the very same people that are supposedly just going to drink it all away. So, in closing, SHAME ON YOU if all you did was prance around my neighborhood with your camera and designer clothes, but did not lift a finger to help, only to wag in a disdainful manner and made disparaging comments about the crap on peoples lawns. You can sure bet that KARMA is a B@#$%. Good luck to you when you need help.