Send Ark!

We knew before we moved here that the basement had "moisture problems." Unfortunately for us it is not only often wet, but the musty smell is so bad that we cannot store much of anything down there. This means I had to give us the finished attic to storage. The attic was supposed to be my artist's room for escaping, blogging, crafts. Not that I'm bitter. It is a rental and Lord willing we will buy our own house next spring or summer.

Since moving here three months ago (yep it has been that long already) we have experienced one major flood where the water was higher than the blocks that the washer and dryer are on. The sump pump couldn't keep up with the downpour. The streets were flooded as the sewers couldn't keep up either. The basement floor isn't flat which means you have to mop the water over the hump in the middle to the sump pump. Mark and I spent hours cleaning up the mess mainly because we didn't know it would flood that badly and we had stuff in storage down there. We did not receive compensation for our work or time (not that we asked) or discount on rent.

So, we wised up and moved almost all of our stuff to the attic except for items that are really high and won't absorb the musty smell. Since our landlord is a bit of a pack rat, the basement is still full of his crap, such as an extra (broken) washing machine, 2 (working?) refrigerators, a Christmas wreath, tables, and all manner of other junk. Seriously.

Last night we continued to get torrential rains from the hurricane (or tropical storm, whatever). This morning we looked downstairs to discover that the sump pump was broken and there is standing water. We called our landlord at 8 and again at 9. He finally called us back to report that he had been trying to find help but that everyone is booked because everyone is flooded. I've heard that flooding basements are a real problem here, even in the insanely expensive homes, so I believe him.

This time, however, Mark and I will not be working in the basement once a new (or fixed) sump pump arrives. The landlord assures me that his guy will be here "by the end of the day" to try and fix the pump. I was very clear in stating that he needs to understand that he cannot just fix it and leave. We won't be cleaning this up and he agreed. Such is the benefit of renting I suppose.

In the meantime it is still raining. As the water continues to rise I will go about my day. I'll be making a batch of chili for dinner. If I didn't laugh, I would cry.

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