WHAT A SIGHT

DAY 7----May 27th (thursday)

The morning dawned with much improvement from my dizziness. Along with the dizzy spells being a lot less I was very glad to take a shower and feel refreshed. I felt like I could face the day with making some kind of plans instead of staying in bed.
The last time the insurance adjudicator called he said there would be a cheque for me at the insurance agency. (I'm not sure if it was tuesday or wednesday).
Two phone calls that morning were good news. One was from the restoration office saying I could go into the apartment and view the damage. The other phone call was from a co-worker (Linda) letting me know that her Uncle & Aunt had a 2 bedroom apartment available in Morden plus it was immediate possession. I knew the couple and so I called them. They were sympathetic in regards to my loss and said they would really like me to take the apartment.  (Mrs. Wall may have even said we'd love to have you in there. How sweet). So here was an available apartment suite and it was mine even before I said yes and even before I saw it. We discussed seeing the apartment that day, but a time would have to be determined once I was in Morden. (The Lord was working things out for us. PRAISE THE LORD).
Meanwhile before leaving the house to do my errands Ruby called to see what the conditions were like at the apartment. We discuss seeing the  damaged apartment together. I didn't want to go in by myself and it was something we needed to do together because we knew it wouldn't be a pretty sight. Plus I was also able to give her the good news about the other apartment.
My first errand that day was to go to the insurance agency for my cheque and deposit it into my bank account.  I was very glad that I was able to function and I felt safe driving the car on my own (no driver needed). The cheque was a large amount for the many immediate belongings we would need, it definitely would help.
Before going into Morden I also needed to buy hard hats and rubber boots. This was a requirement from the restoration office for when we were going into the apartment. When I got into Morden I picked Ruby up from the school.  Next stop was the apartment and I was nervous. We find a security guard and check with him about entering our suite. As we go inside and to our suite I asked Ruby "ARE YOU READY TO SEE IT?", The security guard opens the door and leaves us alone as we go in. I can hardly describe what we saw next,  it was almost unbelievable. I think I was more overwhelmed by the damage then Ruby was. So much was just charcoal black from the fire and very little was in its orginal place. If the items weren't fire damaged they were smoke or water damaged.

(Here are some examples of what it looked like. The TV was totally melted down and the VCR & DVD players were melted together as well (they were individual units) since it was all in the direct line of fire. The recliner's fabric was burnt to a crisp with the coils showing and the sofa was just as bad. Any type of plastic was melted or quite shrivelled depending on the level of the heat and its location. The freezer's coils were visible from the outside. The  kitchen cupboard doors were blown off. In the bathroom the shower curtain had melted and fallen into the tub, but the  bath towels were still hanging on the shower rod in one piece. In Ruby's bedroom the window shades were shrivelled as well from the intensity of the heat. Our clothes were all smoke filled along with water damage. Our shoes that we had at the entrance were nowhere in sight. It literally was a disaster zone.)

A person from the restoration crew was assigned to our suite, but I had just missed that person by about 30 minutes. I didn't know where to start so we just looked at what we could and took some pictures. We didn't remove anything from the apartment that day. We went back outside and I made a phone call to the restoration office. I was informed that the crew would be back the next day and that someone would call me when they were at the apartment. So that was the extent of our viewing of the apartment. I let the security guard know we were done for the day and that the door could be locked up again. Another thing tenants were informed about was about our mail. The post office was holding our mail and we would have to go in and ask for it.
After seeing the apartment I brought  Ruby back to school and discuss what I would do on friday. I also wanted to know how she was doing and how her subjects were scheduled. There were some tests or classes that she couldn't miss on friday so she wouldn't be able to leave until those were done.
Then I call Mr & Mrs. Wall to see when they would be in Morden so that I could see the apartment.
The new apartment was a ground level suite with no stairs except for the outside step into the apartment. Wall's greeted me as I enter the apartment. The thing that appealed to me right away was the size of the kitchen & counter space and I was quite certain that Ruby would like it as well. The bedrooms were a reasonable size, the bathroom was adequate plus there was a nice open area between the bedrooms & bathroom. The storage room had several shelves and a storage cupboard which we could use if needed. The living room looked narrow to me so I thought it might be a bit of a challenge to arrange furniture when the time came. The laundry room wasn't in my suite so I would have to step out to go to the laundry room which was located in the middle of the apartment building. Everyone had their own entrance, no joining hallway.  We discuss rent and a few other things, so my decision was YES I'll take it and when could we move in. (moving in with nothing really). They  gave me the keys and we were free to move in immediately if we wanted to.
After I was finished in Morden I headed back to Diedrich & Judy's. This time I was able to enjoy a good supper with them at the table. Plus the medication was working and I was starting to feel much better, but still made sure I didn't make any fast moves. I also enjoyed the grandchildren's company as I was up and around them. I discuss my day with them and how things had turned out at both apartments.
In all it was a bittersweet day. Seeing the fire damage was overwhelming and yet securing a new apartment the same day was a blessing and an answer to prayer. THANK YOU LORD for providing in such a timely matter. So much to be thankful for even in these difficult times.
It was a tiring day due to all the emotions so when it was bedtime sleep came quite easily. This was going to be my last night at Diedrich & Judy's. Goodnight.