The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up

What were you doing in the wee hours of the morning of January 1st? (Umm... actually it was the 2nd at that point?) Were you sleeping soundly? Watching the heavy snow flakes/clumps drop? Playing one more tune on Rock Band?

My sister and I were out in the side yard, up to our ankles in freezing water, bailing out the area around the garage side door and digging a new trench through the sodden, muddy grass to funnel flood water to the street.

Yup, fun and games!
Did I mention the heavy snow clumps?

It was cold and wet, but oddly satisfying when the water finally went down. Not a bad night, although we wanted to smack ourselves in the head for not buying sandbags earlier.

Everything that was on the floor along the north wall of the garage is now sodden. That means I've lost almost all of my notes from Law School (and some of the texts). There are several boxes of fabric and crafts gone, and probably two cabinets that we had in storage, waiting for our dream house to be built. Also a couple boxes that survived the flood waters but seem to have housed Nancy Bui's mouse for a month or so. ICK!!

The worst part - I think my entire collection of original X-Men comics is a loss. *cries* Still have to find out about that, but I've given up hope (even though I did have them stored in plastic sleeves... so maybe...)

The good news - the water was all clear, not muddy, so clean up just means throwing things away. The suitcases that are storing my Russian souvenirs had wheels and kept the bottom of the case far enough from the ground that everything should be saved (I still haven't been able to get to the second case, it's kind of wedged in the back.) And the rest of the things were in Rubbermaid tubs, so no leakage.

What's more, I feel an odd sense of freedom. I can finally clean out the garage without obsessing about every little piece of paper! We're just going to rent a tip, toss everything that can't be recycled, dust our hands off and walk away.

Wow! What a great feeling to start the new year!
I think I'll need to have a flood more often...