False prophets, locked up

So on Sunday the guy that redid my pool screen a couple years back stopped by to hand out business cards, hoping for more business.  He doesn’t know that I was less than pleased than his work so there is a chance I might not use him again but I don’t have a clear picture until I talk to my home owner’s insurance company.  However I was more interested in other news he told me.

The mediocre screening guy said he talked to a utility crew doing work down the street before he stopped by.  They told him that power to the street should be restored by Sunday night or Monday morning at the latest.  I thanked him for the good news.  I of course immediately told Cindy the news which excited both of us.  We were hopeful the info was indeed accurate.  Well of course we still have no power as of 9:45 PM Monday night.

To say I am frustrated /annoyed is putting it lightly.  At the same time, after 8 days of dealing with the situation, like anything else, you adapt to it.  I have two generators, working water, and two window AC units so it has made day to day living about as good as it can be without utility power.  Of course Cindy and I are both always hoping for that magic moment where the house lights back up and our lives can start to return to normal.  I wish I had an idea when that may be.

Tonight I had another source of frustration as I had to rip the mower deck off the tractor.  As I tried to mow Sunday night the tractor all of a sudden came to a loud and violent stop.  When I looked under the deck I was not very happy.  Someone had left a red dog run lead in the high grass.  The wire core cable instantly ensnared the blade and wrapped itself around the spindle like a boa constrictor.  I spent close to an hour trying to futz with it in the yard before darkness made me relent.

Tonight I decided to just bite the bullet and pull the deck off the tractor so I could turn it upside down and have better access to the tightly wound mess.  Even after doing this it was still a major hassle getting the wire out.  While I had the deck off Cindy helped me clean it up.  Our soggy yard coats the deck with wet grass shavings that turn into grass cement.  With the deck off we were able to get it pretty clean.  Once I reassembled the deck I mowed the section of the back yard I did not get to complete the night before.

So I still have not heard from the insurance adjuster assigned by my insurance company however I took a step today to further aid me in getting a fair settlement, contacting a public adjuster firm, a suggestion by a friend.  He used a public adjuster for a recent claim and he wound up getting a LOT more for his claim than the insurance company originally offered.  It sort of is a no lose situation.  The public adjuster charges you 10% of the final settlement.  The insurance company adjuster is working for them, a public adjuster is working for you.  The better they do for you, the better they do for themselves.  I like that sort of built in motivation.

So our holding pattern continues.  I am hoping soon I can get off the $30 a day gasoline bill that it costs to keep the generators humming.  I was at least glad to see the forecast path of Hurricane Maria, which originally was being pitched down here as a possible Irma 2.0, instead is forecast to hook safely northeast and back out to sea, after it smacks the hell out of the leeward islands and Puerto Rico, again.