Saturday, August 25, 2012

Round Robin: Inside Out

For the Round Robin Challenge: Inside Out, Outside In, I asked to see stuff outside that you would normally find inside, or stuff seen inside that you would expect to see outside. My first post tonight (scroll down) was of outside stuff seen inside recently, namely critters. For this post, I'd like to show you the consequences of leaving inside stuff outside.


It was late September, 2011. John thought the monsoon was over. Tucson's rainy season officially runs from June 15th to September 30th, but is by no means that predictable. But John was anxious to start organizing stuff in the house, and to do that he needed the space. So he took a chance, and took many boxes of stuff in storage - books, magazines, papers, collectible figures, part of John's vintage and not-so-vintage Star Trek collection, our college films, old electronics, etc. - and put them outside temporarily. You can guess what happened next.


It was a major, major storm, with lots of rain and flash flooding. Water on the concrete slab in back was about two inches deep in no time. John was at work, so it was up to me to salvage what I could.


I spent a lot of time that afternoon moving boxes near the wall to help protect them from the elements, and stacking them to keep at least some of them from sitting in the water on the ground. Unfortunately, wet cardboard doesn't stack well.


I also managed to bring in a number of things, but nothing was completely undamaged. I spent several days sorting through the rest, saving what I could. And yes, it rained at least once more as I worked. What a disaster! Seeing so many irreplaceable bits of our past either damaged or ruined was truly heartbreaking. But on the plus side, it did motivate us to sort through our junk and get rid of many boxes of less important items.

That's it for me for this week! Let's check out the other Robins' entries:

Linking List
as of 8/25/2012, 3:05 PM

Karen - posted two entries!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/mavarin
@mavarin

Jeanette - Posted!
Net On The Net
http://netonthenet.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Sue - Posted!
A picture is worth 1000 words
http://susiesphotospace.blogspot.it/

Sinder Ella **Welcome, new participant!** - Posted!
"A Modern Day Cinderella"
http://sandysinderella.blogspot.com/

Rita - Posted!
Cashjocky and the "Old Salt"
http://cashjocky.blogspot.com/2012/08/inside-out-or-outside-in_25.html

Carly - Posted!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com


And don't forget: everyone is welcome to join in on the Round Robin meme. Click here for details!

Karen

6 comments:

Sue said...

oh what a pity to see all your memories ruined.
I understand your heartbreak!
Sue.

Jeanette said...

Oh that's a shame...all that stuff so wet!

Unknown said...

Wow!
That's a lot to sort through.....

Jama said...

That is a lot to go through, I hope you didn't loose much.

Carly said...

Hi Karen :)

Sorry to be so late coming by, busy, busy, busy! Anyway...

About ten years ago, Alan and I placed most of our things in a storage place. We had just moved into the little cottage, and we just couldn't move it all in with us. Long story short, a couple years later someone broke into the unit and took everything! All of it. Gone. It was heartbreaking, but at the same time we accepted it because in the end... It's just stuff. Stuff can be replaced. Here we are years later, and it's a good feeling to know that stuff really doesn't matter all that much. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are things I miss dearly, but I almost never think about it. Never really did think about it too much. Its just stuff.

It sounds like you guys rode it out well. Thats a great testament to you guys as a couple! Good for you guys. But look at the pups... Cayenne looks so sad. Poor pup. :( Does he pick up on vibes the way Hendrix does? I just love the red dog, such a pretty, and expressive face. I would like to hug that pup one day!

:)

Kranky Granny said...

I know how sad this can be. I've had to deal with a few flooded basements in my time.

Sorry, for the lost of your treasures and all that hard work that was required.