Most of you have probably already read in one place or another that I had a house fire. The good news is Piper and I made it out safely. The bad news is my house will need to be completely gutted, sealed and rebuilt. For such a small fire that was so quickly contained, the devastation is unbelievable.
They tell me all this will take somewhere between 10 and 15 months to complete. So, for at least the next year, I have no way to stock, pack and send out orders for Stampeaz. In any event, all the Stampeaz inventory was covered with soot and had to be removed from the house before any remediation could occur. All my personal belongings leave the premises beginning tomorrow.
Four intrepid souls showed up at my house yesterday to empty the basement of all Stampeaz stuff, since it isn't covered by insurance and could not be included in the cleaning and restoring. I'm very glad that this part of my world isn't simply going to a landfill, which would have been the alternative and would have totally broken my heart. I hope they find a way to share the wealth with other lovers of printmaking in all its forms.
There are still 60 sheets of Tan-Z Kut (54 x 12 x 1/4 inch) in the garage. They have escaped most of the soot and smoke damage. If you are in the area and have a truck, come and get them. They, like all the rest of the Stampeaz stuff is free for any who dare come to the site of devastation. (The garage isn't bad at all, compared to the rest of the house...)
The story? So many things went right, for all that went wrong. My alarm clock went off, as usual, but instead of getting up immediately and heading out of the house with Piper, we lazed around for an extra ten minutes and I was just wondering what I'd made for dinner the night before, since I smelled something funny. Mere seconds later, every smoke alarm in the house started screaming. I opened the bedroom door and followed the smell down the hall, through the laundry room and to the basement door and when I looked down the stairs I could only see smoke.
I closed the basement door, closed the laundry room door and dragged Piper out the front door with me and closed that door, too. The fire chief told me that those three things kept my house from burning to rubble, so I still have a structure for them to gut and restore.
Piper and I stood on the front lawn for about four hours, while ten fire trucks full of first responders battled the fire on, of all things, First Responders Day. I'll never forget that date again.
I've closed down the Stampeaz website, but I will still be hanging around here. I even have a series of mushrooming pictures I had prepared for a post, before, well... before. Give me a little while to regroup. It's been a rough few days here.
Sorry about the rambling post. There are so many interruptions right now that it's hard to gather my thoughts into a single, somewhat coherent pile.
15 comments:
Many years ago while we were out at a ballet recital for our daughter, Stilton, my mother left a lit cigarette at the edge of a garbage can filled with her papers. She used a long hand, all of her papers and books and then my father would put them on a computer. Needless to say, it ignited and totally gutted the downstairs adu and killed one of our cats. We were lucky there was a lot of smoke damage, but the upstairs was okay. The downstairs adu had to be gutted and started over. I know exactly what you're facing and you have my deepest and abiding sympathies!
Oh, I'm so sorry you had to deal with this kind of disaster. I can tell you survived, though, and that gives me some hope there's another end to this horrible tunnel! :)
❤️
Sounds like a very scary situation, but I am so glad you both are safe. I know rebuilding will take time, but you will get there.
I am so sorry that you are having to deal with this tragedy, but so thankful that you and Piper are both safe. How wonderful that much of your inventory has been salvaged and will eventually be used by letterboxers. I have carved on/with Stampeaz materials for many years and have so appreciated your excellent service along with the beautiful stamped images you always include with an order . I still have plenty of carving material to last me for a good long time. Yes, please stick around and keep us in the loop. You are so loved! We are all rootin' for you and Piper!
QueenMother
So very sorry to hear of your loss but so very glad you are both safe! Thank you for all your great service provided through Stampeaz and all the entertaining post throughout the years!
Tammy/Shooz
As much as we are all stunned at the unexpected loss of Stampeaz and all that you have done over the many years to provide access to materials, tools, supplies of all sorts, helpful advice, and exemplary service to the letterboxing community, I'm sure it pales in comparison to the drastic upheaval in your life. I hope the outpouring of love, sympathy, and appreciation helps in some measure as you transition to a new phase of life. The very best to you and Piper moving forward. ❤️🙏🏻
Wise Wanderer
I am so sorry to hear of your loss and grateful that you and Piper are okay. Take time to breath, I'm sure we will hear of your rising from the ashes. Let us know if you would consider taking donations to cover your Stampeaz losses.
Amy/sun7flour
Oh! I'm so sorry you had to deal with anything like this! Especially with the loss of a pet. I'm so grateful I was able to get Piper out. ❤️
Thanks, Nature Hikers. I'm very grateful we both got out safely, too. The rest is just stuff, even if some of it is precious stuff. ❤️
Thank you, Queen Mother. I'm very glad the crew came and salvaged the Stampeaz stock - or at least most of it. This recovery process seems like it's going to be a full-time job for months, not just sifting through things, but all the paperwork is daunting! I really appreciate this community. You are the best! ❤️
Thank you! I'll try to start again with the entertaining posts, but for now, it's going to be hit and miss. I'm spending full work days at the house going through and trying to help inventory everything that is a total loss and make decisions about what might not be. It's quite an experience.
Thank you, Wise Wanderer. This is an amazing and arduous process. I'm looking for silver linings wherever possible. The inventory lists of lost items and things that can't be fixed are daunting. I have to go through and give all my stuff a value for insurance. How do you put a price tag on my collection of letterboxing notebooks, exchanges and trading cards? Family photos? Gifts? You can't. But, you're right. I have Piper and we're both on the right side of the grass. I also have my wonderful sister and brother and this great community. :)
Thank you! No, I don't want anyone to send me any donations. I'm just glad the gang came up and saved quite a bit of the Stampeaz inventory to share with all of you. It was all going to be such a waste otherwise! My sister got Piper a couple new toys and I now have my emergency clothing stash, so I have more than two outfits (I've been calling them my uniforms.) to wear. It's the simple things. :)
I am so sorry for your loss but grateful you are save.
Post a Comment