Good, Bad & oh so Ugly

Where in the heck has summer gone & did it really ever begin?  Usually, July & August are so hot & muggy that I am unable to even move, but this year the weather has been absolutely gorgeous.  Warm days but without the humidity that I dread.  I turned another year older & with that has come more memory loss as I can't even remember what I did in June.  How awful is that?  Onto July and the "oh so ugly".

My step-daughter came for a short visit over the 4th of July & while staying in the upstairs "Martha Room", a word of caution to her about the tricky toilet & how it needs to be watched to make sure it has finished its cycle.  We decided it would be fun to go to an annual Barn Sale in Bangor, so off we went for a relaxing day of shopping & tasty food.

The sale is held on the grounds of Silver Creek Acres & several dealers set up their tents & wares.  Faith & Nick Lukianenko are the hosts & have constructed a wonderful barn to showcase their antiques.  This is the "good" part of the story & will post more pictures later as this post will focus on the "ugly".

After leaving the sale we headed off to South Haven, MI where the whole town was jammed up getting ready for the 4th of July parade, so a quick turn about & we were headed south to St. Joe, MI where again we were met with hoards of people making their way to the Lake Michigan beach.  We finally found a parking spot & a charming place to eat.  A quick phone call home only to learn that the upstairs toilet had overflowed while we were gone and the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom was soaked & the adjoining ceiling in the computer room had fallen down.  The "ugly" was beyond comprehension & to say I was shocked by the mess is an understatement.  Plaster, plaster bits, old lathe & water soaked items were everywhere.  I spent the next 4 days vacuuming plaster, wiping down items, throwing away soaked items.  I was and am still not a happy camper. 

A call to our insurance company & a visit from the adjuster made me feel a tad bit better.  This was going to be a bigger job than just a quick weekend fix.  July 4th - remember the date & now one month later, drywall removed from 2 walls, more ceiling removed & in typical fashion "when it rains, it pours", our shower tub faucet seized up resulting in the shower & tub

 

 needing to be removed.  Granted, we have had this combo for over 20 years and it was time for a replacement, but this is getting ridiculous and just plain wearing me out.  During all of this chaos, I agreed to help a friend hold an estate sale for her late mother's belongings, so it was almost impossible to get to a Lowe's or Menard's to even begin to look for a replacement shower.  We have been forced to use the original shower upstairs & for the life of me, can't remember when it became so small.  Issues were met with that shower head & of course, a replacement was needed.  I've come to the conclusion that what I needed was a "Calgon take me away" moment, and would do so except for the fact that I no longer have a bathtub! 

There it is folks, the "good, bad & ugly".  The estate sale?  We made it through & sold off a lifetime of goods & memories.  My friend was happy, I was happy and have to admit it was nice to be in a house where the toilets worked, the shower intact.  It was hard to leave that peaceful serenity.

I spent the day at Lowe's looking at shower bases, shower walls, doors, faucets & came away with my head whirling.  Decisions, decisions & more decisions to make.  It's all so overwhelming and where to begin?  Not sure, but will leave you wondering exactly will happen in the upcoming months.  September will bring my sister & brother-in-law & hoping as family they will understand the situation & ignore the mess!