G'day all,
First let me say a massive thank you for all the kindness shown to me by my worldwide steam friends over this eventful 2020.
We are starting to have our house back to normal. There was just under $250,000 worth of insurance repairs done and by next week the tradesman will be completely finished
and Jenny will be able to have her home back and put out all her nick knacks that make a home a home. The insurance company has been excellent, they even allowed for 2 of their restoration people
for 4 days to clean every engine and wipe down all the furniture and re-paint the ceiling in my steam room in the scope of works. I had to turn this down, as you can imagine I didn't want people touching
all my engines etc so they gave me a cash settlement on what it would have cost them to have it done so I can do it myself.
The majority of the houses that burnt down have now been demolished, no rebuilding has really started as yet. The bush still looks like an atom bomb has gone off, I think its going to be a decade or more for it to really start coming back. Everywhere we look there are stark reminders of what our area went through. Its been a pretty shitty year to be honest, bushfire of a magnitude that was just unbelievable, then 4 weeks later a flood and then this dreaded COVID which seems to have no end date.
I've started to clean the ash off my engines the last week and just working through one section at a time. Using vinegar solution on wooden surfaces of things like the legs of tables is taking care of the mould. My workshop is all back together and its nice to be out there that's for sure!
Once again, thanks for the support one all, I can't tell you how much it was truly appreciated.
Thanks for the update Jim , it's really impossible for me to comprehend everything you folks have been through , it seems overwhelming just to go through the Covid, but you've been through so much more. Good to have you back
ooh wow so lucky and yet so unlucky
We are raising our old family cabin 15 feet in the air on steel i-beams. It is becoming a never ending hassle to keep the old dwelling after it went thru a record of 127 days of Mississippi River floods last year. I can relate to the bleach, the vinegar, and the mold. Snakes have been numerous.
But I can not even begin to imagine the stress and fear you went through with a firestorm too.
That fire would have broken me , I’m sure.
You have a lot of courage to rebuild and I am sure you, and your homestead, will be stronger when you finish.
Great to see you posting again Jim, you have been missed
I hope everything goes well for you in the future!
Good to hear from you Jim, you have certainly been through extraordinary ordeals with all the stuff that has happened over there one thing after the other. Very pleased to hear you are gradually starting to rebuild things slowly but surely.
Sure has been a year of extremes for you guys, well done for keeping up the spirit Jim