Nicor came out and swapped out the meter, then turned the gas on.  We lit the pilot and now have a working stove/oven!  Thursday am is the first shipment of water heaters (probably in the greater Chicagoland area!) and our guy had ordered one for us yesterday – last one available.

People from the village and county came by, going door-to-door, asking about damage.  Well, to say that I was skeptical would be rather an understatement.  I walked out the back and said “What do you want?”  They said they were from the village and county (had name tags) and I replied “I see the government car.  Again, what do you want?”  ’cause prior experience with the town and floods have not been very helpful — to homeowners, that is!  One of the comments I made was all the garbage sticking out and no pickup, but they have street sweepers?  Apparently this was the wrong thing to say because they both assured me that the garbage was going to be picked up today and probably Saturday.  I said the garbage truck had showed up at his usual 7 am time, driven to the end of the block and turned around.  As I type this one truck has already gone through the first block and our turn should be next.  yeah!  I also (with DH, when he could get a word in) said that State Farm was refusing payments for a couple of houses, claiming that the town and county weren’t doing anything to prevent this type of disaster happening in the future.  Another thing they probably didn’t want to hear.  Oh well…

Tomorrow will be spend tossing all the disgusting stockpile food out into garbage bags.  Quite a few of the items came through unscathed.  Foods like coffee, soup, tuna fish and peanut butter, pop and water.  All my lovely boxes of Better Oats and my apple pie and key lime pie Extra dessert gums are gone.  Heck, I’d eat them even soaked in sewage, that’s how much I like them!  Here’s a shot of that side of the basement.  If you squint closely, you might see the tube/cartons of quick oats (had lots of those, too).  All those racks were so beautiful!

This shot is of the stockpile side with non-food items like toilet paper, paper napkins and paper towels, etc. Also lots of destroyed hair color. Not showing is the next room – the laundry room – with all the toothpaste and other personal care items. The toothpaste will be fine; it’s just the boxes that got wet so toss those. And I already tried one for safety’s sake. Totally untouched by Mother Nature.

One of the benefits of extreme couponing is getting gas discounts…now you see high prices, now you don’t. First shot is the regular Shell pump prices, second is after my Jewel card and the third is the total. It’s kinda like reliving my youth…those evening drives with Mr. Ford.

Here’s some of the latest pictures from today.  I’ll explain them all up front.  You see the driveway still covered in mud.  Nasty, stinky stuff.  You see how the garbage piles along the sides of the road have started breeding.  Tuesday is our usual garbage day – around 7 am.  Truck showed up, drove to the end of the block, backed up and headed for Dodge.  However, we just got a visit from the street sweeper!  Who is having some difficulty in navigating a street piled with garbage.  government…

Also of note is that we had visits on Saturday from NICOR, who told us they were cutting our gas off and would replace our meters (the entire area).  No new meter, no contact.  Neighbor across street says she got her new one on Sunday.  I call NICOR and learn that they have NO RECORD OF MY EXISTENCE!  No cut-off, no new meter, nothing.  Dante’s Hell has no circle for this…

Latest news on non-payment of claim from State Farm:  In 2001 we filed a claim (among other things) for sewer backup damage.  At that time I said that I had no knowledge of anything that the town or county was doing to prevent this sort of event from happening in the future.  So in 2002 State Farm sent me a letter denying my sewer backup damage endorsement because they would not cover a situation where there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again (I don’t have a copy of letter, that’s just paraphrasing what was told on the phone).

Now mind you, this was 11 years ago.  Since that time we have had two pumping stations built on the river and (I believe) they strengthened the dike down the same river.  They also dug a trench parallel to the sewer line and placed a large-diameter overflow pipe, which runs directly to the river/pumping station, bypassing the sewer system entirely.

State Farm said that I never notified them of any of these projects. I replied that they’re located (my agent’s office) ACROSS THE FRIGGIN’ STREET and thus, they get the exact same village newsletter as we do with all the information of flood and sewer control.  So even though I’m the insured and pay a premium for one of the largest (and ostensibly best-handled) insurance companies in American, it is also my responsibility to monitor everything that will impact my policies, rather than my local agent?  hmmm.  Then why do I not have the 800 companies give me insurance for a cheaper rate, since I’m now expected to do all the work.  Again, if they weren’t across the street, there might be some rationale to their position, but when did they go from a “cover you” company to a “cover our ass” one…

So far we still have no furnace or hot water (haven’t replaced the old meter), I’ll post pictures nf the streets lined on both sides with all my neighbors’ belongings.  We still have received to word as to when or even if the village will pick it up (there’s rumblings that they will require everything to be placed into bags with garbage stickers).  We have scavengers driving by at least several times an hour and a neighbor out walking her dog at night saw a car parked in a driveway with a person peering into the windows (owners  had evacuated and the house was vacant).  The police would have to be parked here 24/7 to be effective – one neighbor ran out with a broom to chase the vultures away.  I have no problem with people taking stuff so it doesn’t get dumped in a landfill, but ripping open bags and scattering the contents isn’t the way to do it.

FLOOD UPDATE:  We have power but no gas, so no heat, stove or hot water.  Basement has been pumped out – total disaster.  Called State Farm agent this am, only to be told that I don’t have the sewer backup endorsement!  They are the professionals about this stuff, not us!  Said that I tried to add it in 2002 (obviously I was on top of it then), only to BE DECLINED!  Yeah, State Farm?  My entire neighborhood has insurance that is working (as I type) to demolish & repair or replace the homes, and State Farm thinks my home is any different from those?  DH wants to hire an atty, but I said to wait back to see what response we get from State Farm, since they don’t have any more info about this 2002 declination for sewer backups.  The fact that FEMA is coming out here in a couple of days for interviews – which usually means lots of media coverage – should help move things along.  I’ve been known to be slightly vocal upon occasion…

We went over to my brother’s house for dinner – he took over Holidays a few years ago when my mom finally said enough is enough; she still drives over to micro-manage the production and tell him what he’s doing wrong.  I volunteered to host, but there’s something about having 187 dogs that’s off-putting to many people.  And offering to bring food only serves to reinforce my belief that people can’t distinguish between the Extreme Couponing and Hoarders shows.  Either way I get to eat out for free in a house whose retired owner has no kids, wife or pets but has a cleaning service.

So he has this mammoth flat screen with all sorts of electronic gadgets hooked up to it – this is what guys without kids, wives or 187 pets do to waste money.  It’s always on and with a direct view from the dinner table, often annoying.  We watched MIB3 (no Frank the dog – bummer!) and then part of Game of Thrones.  Since no one at the table had ever played the game or watched the show before, we pretty much agreed it was incomprehensible and my brother hit the button.

The Bible came on.  Watched it for a while before leaving and I’ve got to tell you that things were not looking good for this Jesus guy.  Seemed odd that the entire country of Britain had suddenly been overrun with hot sun and deserts, but maybe that was what they call artistic license.

Hope your day was enjoyable, however you chose to spend it.  On a side note, this was the first time this year I was able to hang clothes out on the line – with those strong winds they dried fairly quickly (brother asked if we had a dryer...sigh).