Canadian's Always Talk About the Weather

Our tendency to talk about the weather is one Canadian stereotype that I'll accept.  It's true.  That's because it's usually something worthy of discussion.  Like yesterday's storm, that brought in over an inch of rain in less than a half hour.

My most excellent boss gave me the remainder of the week off so that I can get the basement cleaned up.     (Also, kudos to the ever-cool co-worker who is picking up the slack while I'm away.)   Truth is, I haven't made a lot of progress yet.  I think I'm still in a state of shock - and I'm overwhelmed.  Do I start filling garbage cans, or should I do as some suggested and get a dumpster delivered to take everything away?  Unfortunately, as much as I prefer not to take things to the dump, there isn't a choice in this case.  The water wasn't clean rain water - it was full of silt.

Anything electronic or upholstered is destroyed, as well as hundreds of books that are out of print.  I think that's what I'm most upset about.  Except for the wood and tools (drills, miter saws, sanders, nail gun, air compressor... you get the idea) that insurance will pay for, most of what was in the basement was there because I wasn't using it regularly.  It's stuff that I can get along without, if I need to.  But, the books can't be replaced.

Another problem is finding stuff.  Anything that didn't have significant weight floated around.  The unfinished basement, with only the stairs in the center, didn't leave a lot of barriers.  Anything that didn't float away was moved last night as we tried to save as much as we could, and get rid of as much water as we could.

Anyway, I came upstairs between my many blind and stunned turns around the basement this afternoon, and was drawn to the sound of another storm blowing in.  It poured again.  The streets filled with water again.  For about 15 minutes, I rotated between watching at the window and running downstairs for signs of more leaking - there was none.  There was, however, a lot of hail.

I took these pictures through the window so they aren't as clear as they could be.

2:35

2:37

2:40

Also, that chair is out there to motivate me to paint it.  When I decide on a colour, I will.