Fire - Day 5

This morning we had to get to the house early. The landlord's insurance adjuster was scheduled to arrive at 8:30. We needed to be sure he could get in. We left Martha's house by 7:15 and arrived in plenty of time. The adjuster and his restoration firm came. They took their photos and measured.

Thomas and I continued what cleaning we could do. My specialty became the little collectibles. Stephanie has a lot of snow globes and Disney figurines. The ceramic ones are the easiest to clean. But I was able to discover a technique using Mr. Clean Magic Sponges and a lot of patience. The Scottish Castle globe that we had brought back from our trip seemed to resist cleaning. However, in Edinborough, many of the buildings still have a layer of black soot from the days when coal was the primary fuel. So, if there is soot remaining, it just makes it seem more authentic!

Stephanie arrived in the afternoon. After the first tears, the work of salvaging began. Kevin and Debbie had been house sitting. It was good they had been there, because the fire was found quickly. The fire had started in their room and most of their belongings were badly damaged. However, it was amazing what they were able to recover from that room. Items in suitcases seemed untouched, with minimal smoky smell. And items in a plastic tub seemed to have weathered the fire much better than I would have expected. There were music CD's that were in soft storage notebooks that appeared untouched. I have not heard whether they actually still worked. I suspected that the heat from the fire would have damaged them. But, for their sake, I hope not.

Stephanie had also brought another worker, her friend, Sarah. With so many people helping, there wasn't as much for me to do. And, by the time evening came, I was extremely tired. Thomas and Stephanie have had a challenging marriage. They are separating - the grief sets in. Things always seem worse when you are tired. I am so tired, i cry most of the way back to Martha's. I don't sleep well that night.