Tuesday, September 6, 2011 :: Floating Down the River

There was a meeting today in Mound City where the Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, and MoDOT gave an update and information to the public. These are my thoughts from that meeting.

There's nothing like watching your livelihood float down the river. Don't get me wrong, we are going to be fine. Not great, but fine. And honestly, in the grand scheme of things, I'm ok with fine. There are a lot of people in this world who hope and PRAY for fine. So I'm certainly not complaining.

But there are still things that kinda irritate me. Such as....

• No real plan in place to even try to make sure that this doesn't happen again next year. Add to that the fact that they KNOW not all of the levees will be fixed in time for Spring, and they EXPECT the season to be wet again next year. Sounds hopeful, doesn't it?
• That we have allowed this country to get to the point where we value wildlife MORE THAN people and their "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Want to know why we can't get more money to fix our levees? Because it would jeopardize the Endangered Species Act. That's a long story and I know I'm leaving out about 9/10 of it, but when you go down the path of "where are we going to get the money needed to repair all of these levees?", you end up with "Sorry, you can't take that because you'll jeopardize the Endangered Species Act." YES, I'm serious. And we let it get this way. (If you want to see what's coming down the pipe next, check out this article. It will make you sick, or at least it should.) 
• That questioning what happened this year, what caused this, is always interpreted as an attempt to assign blame. Isn't it true that if we don't figure out what happened, we are bound to repeat it?? So when we're told, "You must focus on the future.", if we're wise, shouldn't that include an examination of the past and what caused this in the first place? I know, I know, the excess rain and snow up north from this year caused this. And I would agree with that to some extent. But have we not learned anything from this experience? Can we not do anything better?? We certainly won't  if we adamantly refuse to examine the past. 
• Newscasters who don't have a clue what they've come to cover. I mean seriously. I had one news channel guy asking me where all the flooding was? (Like he was surprised downtown Mound City wasn't under water.) Was anyone in Mound City impacted? When I told him a lot of the damage was over at Big Lake, he asked me where that was and how far it was from Mound City. I might as well have told him it was flooding on the moon.
• Children who had a hard time being quiet during the meeting. Oh wait, those were mine. If you were at the meeting and those children in the back were annoying you, SORRY!  If it's any consolation, they were annoying me, too. And we are working on the problem.  (And unlike the above, our solutions do NOT impact the Endangered Species Act...at least to my knowledge, but I'm not going to investigate that issue because you never know.)  

So what did I think of the meeting? It was pretty much what I expected. Plenty of people saying they will come and "assist me" as we "recover", but not a lot of effort to ensure this does not happen again. And I know, there's no way to ensure that. But I don't need someone to hold my hand now, I need to NOT GO THRU THIS AGAIN.

Friday, September 2 :: Skunk #6

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...photos of skunk #6!  If you're new to my blog, you might not remember skunks #1 and #2 under the bushes, #3 and #4 that died of...well, let's just say they just died so as not to incriminate myself....,  skunk #5 welcomed us home from vacation, and then there was the illusive skunk in the drain pipe. And before they all died, one did go off in our crawl space   . Oh yeah, it's been a fun summer.

After 4 skunks had been taken care of, I always thought there was one more. But I did NOT think there was yet another after that. And to be honest, I'm not 100% sure this is a skunk. What do you think?

I'm pretty sure it is was a skunk. I will NOT be around when Dustin hauls it off to make sure.

This lovely creature was found under my lilac bushes....about 3 feet from the corner of the house. This also may have contributed to the dead animal smell that plagued our house when we returned from vacation. Ya think??

And although I'm sure examining the bones and what's left of the rest of it would make a fascinatingly educational experience for my children (and I could count it in their homeschool log books), I think we'll just let this little critter find it's merry way to the edge of the bean field.... Ewww.

So there you have it. Skunk #6. I am now taking bets for how many dead skunks will be found in our yard before the end of the year. I'm hoping for 6, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.

I also have been reading that some elected officials are stating that now is not a good time to ask Washington for money to help repair the damage that has been done in preparation for next year. They simply don't have the funds right now.

That's ok, as long as THAT gets to be MY answer when it comes time to pay my taxes this next year. Fair enough?

Lastly, apparently the railroad is done working on the line south of Big Lake and will start running trains across it sometime tomorrow. Here's an article about it, and here's a video to see part of it.



Ah, yes, $300 million at work. Honestly, if they had $300 million to spend, why didn't they help build the new levee this spring and help beef-up the rest of them around here so potentially none of this would have happened in the first place? I've heard that the railroad scratches no one's back but their own.

I wonder if they've ever read the fable of the Lion and the Mouse?  Apparently not.

Thursday, September 1, 2011 :: I Love Insurance Companies

So, you all may remember that the flood insurance we bought on June 4 was declared invalid for this flood on June 6 by FEMA. Apparently we're covered for any other flood other than this Missouri River Basin flood. So I guess if my toilets overflow or my leaking hot water heater really starts to make a mess, we'll be good. (Hot water heater is fixed now, by the way.)

Anyway, today I decided not having to deal with yet another insurance entity might not be such a bad thing. Why? I'm so glad you asked.

My Dr.'s Office called today saying a claim they sent in for Clayton's visit back in February for his Kindergarten shots was denied. Being a homeschooler and all, I figured it was because we didn't actually get his Kindergarten shots until February of his Kindergarten year. Nope. The reason is because they had his birth year recorded as 1904. And apparently they didn't think someone who was 106 needed Kindergarten immunizations. Go figure.

And then I got to spend an hour on the phone with them (mostly on hold) getting it all straightened out. And to be fair, they were very congenial and the problem was resolved quickly....once I got to speak to a real person.

It did make me really thankful, once again, that we did not have any water damage to our house which would have forced us to press the issue with the flood insurance people.

In flood-related news, FEMA was at our house Sunday recording the damage to our foundation and looking at our rigged-up water system since we lost water about 6 weeks ago. If you remember, our water line goes went along the highway over where the Trooper disappeared....you know, where there's a 40-50 foot crater now? I have no doubt that water line is long gone. Anyway, a FEMA guy sent in the report of our damages and loss of utilities (water) on Monday morning.

On Tuesday, a gal from FEMA called and wondered if water had been restored to our residence yet. I was speechless. I didn't know whether to laugh, or cry, or hang up on her. I kindly told her, "no."

She asked if I thought it would be fixed anytime soon.

I wished I could have sent her this picture:

"Ma'am, this is where our water line is  was. I don't believe they'll be fixing it anytime soon."

Speaking of not fixed anytime soon, how about these pictures of the interstate up by Council Bluffs....

Yikes. And to think these were the last to be covered by water and the first to be uncovered.

Can't wait to see what else is under all of this water.

Wednesday, August 31 :: I Know You've Missed Me!

Ok, ok. I hear you already. You're wondering if I'm EVER going to post again. Yes, I know it's been a while. Sorry. Things just pretty much look the same around here, so I didn't figure you all wanted to see more of the same old thing. I know I don't want to see more of the same old thing around here!


But the water is starting to go down, so there are a few new things to post, and hopefully that will continue (both accounts) from now on!

First, the most common question I get now is, "Did they ever find that Trooper?"

No, they did not, although they do believe he is still in that 50 foot cavern under the highway. They told the family they are just going to have to wait until the water is gone and then recover the body. Assuming it is still there. The family is really hurting, so please send up a prayer or two for them.

I said the water is going down. Yes, that is a great thing! But don't misunderstand--there's still a LOT of water left. Case and point:

 Won't this be a fun mess to clean up when it's all over with.

And lastly, look here--Walmart sprung up in my back yard!

Ok, not Walmart. The guys are building a new shop just west of our house. It is nice, amid all of the destruction and inconveniences of the flood, to see something beneficial going on.

More coming soon, INCLUDING a picture of skunk #6!! (Yes, you read correctly! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??  Yes, I bet you can!)

Sunday, August 14, 2011 :: Skunk #5 Welcome's Us Home

You know, I always suspected there was one more skunk. And when we took off for a week's vacation in Branson last Sunday, and Dustin said it kinda smelled like a dead animal in the crawl space when he closed the doors, I wondered what we would come home to.

Well, this is what we came home to....hello skunk #5 (or what was left of skunk #5):

Yes, that's right, it is dead, floating in water in our crawl space.

And goodbye skunk #5:

Seriously, that was disgusting. And the whole house still smells like dead animal skunk.

And you would think that would be enough drama for us to come home to, right??? RIGHT???

Of course not.

Remember that room that had water all over the floor when we put our "new water system" in? Well, our hot water heater is in that little room, too. And today, of all days, upon arriving home and turning the water system back on, it decided to spring a leak and continuously pour water all over the floor. "What caused that?" you ask?? I have no idea. It is less than 10 years old.

I have to tell you, I wasn't even surprised. I just went and got the Little Green Machine and started sucking up water. Two buckets full.


And it just kept coming. So, of course you would think, "Just turn the water valve off to the hot water heater." Oh yes, it should be that simple, shouldn't it. But not here, in twilight zone world. No, the only way to shut the water off to the hot water heater is to shut the water off to the whole house.

And our plumber would have had one in stock, but for some reason that didn't make sense to me and doesn't really matter, he doesn't. So, I guess we're living without water, once again. 


But here's the best part. Realizing we couldn't have water draining out of the hot water heater onto that floor anymore (we're starting to fear the floor might cave in at some point....), Dustin takes a drill in there and drills a hole through the floor. So the water can drain into the crawl space. (which is full of water anyway) And as he puts the drill away, he comments, "There are advantages to living in an old house--when the water starts to pour out on the floor, you just drill a hole."

So either we've officially gone crazy, or we've learned the lesson of just dealing with a crisis rather than reacting to it.

Speaking of crisis', (and one that is bigger than skunks and hot water heaters) they apparently have not found the State Trooper that disappeared here nearly 2 weeks ago. The search has been scaled back significantly, although as of tonight, it was still ongoing. We've heard the Red Cross and the Mobile Command Unit will be leaving soon. I hope they find him, at least so the family can have some sort of closure.

Jamie and/or Rick Barnes posted another video of the Railroad work going on. It is interesting, especially when you think they have raised the actual highway in order to accomplish the work they are doing on the rails. (The highway would have been under water most, if not all, of this way.) Of course I wonder what one does with that partially one lane highway once the water recedes. As if the state department didn't have their work cut out for them already...

Here's the video:


On the bright side, we had a fantastic vacation. It was so nice to get away and just spend some relaxing time not dealing with anything but what fun thing to do next. No hip-waders, no boxes to unpack, no SKUNKS, no check points, just fun. Of course, we live surrounded by water, and where did we spend most of our time on vacation?? Yes, IN WATER.

August 5, 2011 :: Quick Update and a Funny Story

It is raining a little here today. Search efforts for Trooper Fred Guthrie are still ongoing--I can hear an air-boat when I go outside.

I posted this on facebook, but thought I'd re-post here--the video below was taken in June, but this is the area they believe Fred disappeared from and are searching in. Most people cannot imagine how much water there is, so hopefully this will help you all understand. The water also extends for miles in every direction of where the video was taken. This is a 360 degree view, and about half-way thru, you can see the current rolling over the highway.


I've also read people are tying blue ribbons around their trees to show support for Trooper Guthrie and the search efforts for him. Of course I didn't have any wide blue ribbon, but I did have wide blue strapping, so I tied that around our tree. From a distance, you can't tell it isn't ribbon...don't tell!

The water situation remains the same, although some of the very last areas to flood are draining away a little. I imagine that is due to the lack of rain and the slightly lower release level from Gavin's Point.

Our indoor water situation remains the same. We can go a little over a week on one tank, and then it has to be hauled into town, refilled, hauled back out here, and re-hooked up. Makes a person thankful for the times you just throw on your water, and out it comes.

Having realized very recently that we can now put my 4-year-old's hair in a pony tail, it reminded me of a funny story. I always love a funny story, and since there seems to be a lack of funny things going on around here right now, I decided to point you all over to my personal blog (where I use code names for my children...yeah, probably should have on this blog, too...), to a "situation" that occurred about a year and a half ago. It is the most non-life-threatening-yet-ultra-dramatic....maybe ultra-traumatic....thing that's ever happened to me. Some of you read this post way-back-when, but for those who haven't, or those who just want to laugh until they cry again, here you go:

Why Moms Get Gray Hair

Enjoy! And have a great weekend!

August 1, 2011 :: More from our neck of the woods...

Well, if you have heard about the missing Missouri State Trooper, that is unfolding just about in our back yard. Ok, so not in our back yard, but very very close to us.
Click here to watch the newscast about it.

This newscast was recorded 1/4 mile to the east of our house. In fact, my brother emailed me tonight and said, "We're watching the news and the news guy is right by your house."  Yep, that's true.


The truck and boat was found 2 miles on the other side (west) of our house, down at what we call Newburg's corner. Remember this photo?

That's where the trooper disappeared from.

And although I've checked twice to make sure all of our doors are locked tonight, we're probably the safest we've ever been with 30 State Troopers driving back and forth.

I hope the guy is fine. Even if he just fell in the water, the current down at that corner is massive. Seriously, please join me in praying for him.

It's now midnight and the patrol cars are still driving by like crazy.