Things Begin to Fall Into Place

 Well, things look much brighter today.

The worst part is not knowing. The last time we had a problem, the plumber told us how we were going to proceed. One of the things that he said he would take care of had not been taken care of several days after speaking with us. We went ahead and did it ourselves, and it wasn't a problem to do it. It was just aggravating that we thought it was taken care of, and it hadn't been. And...he's just not very good about keeping us updated.

Our issue is no small problem and it cannot be put off indefinitely. We've got a tenant in the house. 

He contacted an excavator. Part of the job involves ripping up the street, and the plumber did not have the equipment for this. He told us the excavation alone would be $6000. But when we did not hear anything back for two days, we had questions. Did we need to sign paperwork for the excavator? Did we need to make a down payment? 

Remembering earlier 'unticked boxes' we called him to make sure. 

He did not call back yesterday. We waited this morning hoping for a call back that did not come.Tim said, irritatedly, "If we do not hear anything by 9:30, we're just heading out to work on the soffit at the new house."

"No," I said firmly. "We have to speak with that excavator. We need to make sure this is a done deal. I can't take another night like last night." 

He said, "I'm not calling. I am going to go talk to them in person," and out the door he went.

What great people. They were on top of everything. They had the permits done, the secretary gave us the name of the man that was doing the work, they were waiting for one more utility provider to contact them (to verify that they were not going to hit any underground utilities). She didn't know a start date, but he was coordinating things with the plumber. By the time that Tim got home, he was receiving a call. Work starts Monday morning.

Tim talked to Deb. He explained that she could take her dog to the hotel. He explained that she could come and go from the house as she pleased, but that she just couldn't live there or put water down the drains or flush the toilet. We explained that the City guy would be calling back Monday to verify she was living someplace else, so what ever decision she made had to be made before then. She has a brother, two daughters, a sister-in-law, and a friend all who live very nearby, so we were not sure if she would rather just bunk in with them for a week. 

In the end, she picked the hotel, so we stopped in on our way out of town. They listened to the situation, and then set everything up. She has a reservation, and all she has to do is show up. They will not begin charging us until she signs in. They are giving her a room at the end of a hall so that her dog is not unduly upset by unfamiliar noises in the hall. They even gave us a special discounted rate due to the special circumstances.

We both feel so much better than we did last night. We know what is going on. We are able to get details settled. A bad situation is a lot easier to take when you feel like you are making progress in getting past that bad situation. 

With that, we went to the new house and worked comfortably together on a gray day.