Bogieblog

A Plan Comes Together

The washer repairman was here on Wednesday. And as they say, "He came, he saw, he conquered." Or at least I believe he conquered. I have only done one load of wash, but the washer cycled all the way thru without a problem.

Harry was also here on Wednesday. He got the window ripped out, replaced the framing in front of the block wall (it had obviously been wet several times - best to replace it), did what he needed to do in the former window opening framing-wise, put up sheetrock and got in one coat of mud. Yesterday he did a second round of mud. I believe he will be in today to do more mudding (or paint or something) and replace the siding.

So, it all seems to have come together fairly well. Now we just need to dig up around the back wall and figure out where the problem came from.

Maybe's

Harry was supposed to work on taking out the back window yesterday then come in today and finish off the inside painting. Then, WS and I could get to digging up behind the back wall, check out the drain tile, then backfill with sand and gravel to enhance drainage (can't dig while Harry is threatening to come over because the trench would make his work impossible).

For whatever reason he didn't make it over and we haven't heard from him with a revised plan. It did rain some yesterday so he probably went to another job that is all indoors so he wouldn't get wet and melt (seriously, I don't blame him, If I had my choice I would go with the indoor job when it's raining too).

Today the washer repair guy is supposed to come in and, er, repair the washer. He told me to leave a note with my phone number in case the part doesn't fix the problem and another part is needed. If more parts are needed, I will seriously consider getting a new washer. At $25-30 a week for laundry, and depending on the cost of the repair, it won't take long to reach the point of "just as cheap to buy a new one" - even for a front loader! Of course, I would still be stuck with the cost of the parts he is putting in today (plus his time for the first visit and this visit), which is something to consider too.

Naturally, the washer guy showing up depends on whether there are emergency repairs that have to be done for another client.

Maybe some of this stuff will get done soon!

Aptly Named

Finally, a story about Hillsboro and Henniker.

UPDATE: There is no continuation so don't bother hitting the "continue to read . . ." link.

Main Street Flood

I went to take care of a cat in Henniker a little while ago. In order to get there, I go thru Hillsboro. I was following a truck down Main Street, toward the bypass entrance, when we came upon a car backing up in our lane. We stopped, a little stupified at what was happening. I backed up, and so did the truck ahead of me. The car continued to back until it reached a place to turn around.

Then we saw why the person had been doing strange things, the road was flooded in from the High Tide restaurant down past the Edgewater produce stand. I have never seen this portion of the road flooded - though the High Tide and Edgewater regularly have water really close to them.

The truck in front of me decided to try to make it thru. The water was about 1 1/2 feet deep but they made it safely. I waited to see if they made it (to either follow or call 911 - whichever seemed appropriate), then made my way thru.

Too bad I didn't have my camera with me. I came back from pet-sitting and used the other Hillsboro exit (off the by-pass) to get home. I grabbed the camera and headed out to take pictures but the fire department had it cordoned off and they were turning everyone back quite a ways from the flooded area.

I'll have to go out that way when it gets light and see if I can get pics of the High Tide sign in the water.

UPDATE:

As of 6 PM last night, the road was still closed from the flooding.

Chili Cook Off

Since I really don't have anything to write about except for more flooding news like WMUR was reporting last night that Antrim's Great Brook Dam had a structural breach (but I can't find it on their website or the newspaper's website, so I can't confirm that), I will point you to some funny reading about chili. Thanks to AMCGLTD for pointing it out. I had tears running down my face from laughing so hard (and trying not to laugh loudly as WS is still asleep).

2005 Flood, Part 2

We got 4" of rain in about a 16 hour time period. After dumping the rain gage at 11 this morning (when it read 4"), there is another 3/4" in it already. TWC still insists that we will get about 1/2" today. Yep, okay. Anyway, the whole state is under a flood watch, with portions under flood warnings.

Last night they had mandatory evacuation of a trailerpark in Keene, and voluntary evacuations in other portions of that city. One of the rivers being watched it the Contoocook River. At this point is is overly swollen in Peterborough and Henniker. Hillsboro is smack dab in the middle (actually closer to Henniker, but let's not quibble) and the river is quite high there too. If any backup occurs in Henniker, or any dam bursts happen in Peterborough (though inspections of all dams in NH have shown that those left are still sound), it will certainly be felt down the hill from us.

We are now contributing to the floodwaters as Deering's hills are saturated from last week's rains and the steady drizzle and sprinkles all week. We are seeing ponding and runoff from the rains last night. All that water, from our side of the ridge anyway, is headed towards Hillsboro and the Tooky River (Contoocook River).

The local TV channel is continually putting up more videos and slide shows (they are up to 5 slideshows now), so go check them out.

According to the Keene Sentinal, Rt 101 is closed in Dublin this morning. With Rt 9 still closed (there is a detour at the Hillboro bypass for westbound traffic to take 101 from Peterborough), that means there is no easy way to get to Keene. That newspaper also has a section where readers have sent in their pictures.

The Contender, a Hillsboro newspaper, has some stories (with pictures) on the flooding too.

Relatively Cheap

My blog is worth $28,791.54.
How much is your blog worth?

My blog is a bargain compared to Deb and Jay's (where I got the link)!

More NH Flood News

More rain is expected starting later this afternoon. A prediction of 3-6" has renewed flood warnings for Hillborough and Sullivan Counties (we live in Hillsborough county). It has drizzled and sprinkled since the rain stopped on Sunday. The forcast calls for rain every day thru Monday. We are forgetting what the sun looks like!

WMUR, the local TV station, has put together photos of the flood damage - click on "Images"  (click on Part 2, and starting with the second photo, there are pictures of Hillboro). Other photos, contributed by readers of the Union Leader, can be found here.

Henniker is in danger of losing one of its bridges already. More rain certainly won't help with the delicate balance they are trying to keep with the Contoocook river (the river that runs thru Hillboro).

I heard on the radio that The Hopkinton dam is letting water out in order to make room for more flood waters, should they arrive. That dam is in good shape and is holding at well below capacity at this point.

Should be an interesting couple of days!

Changing ISO Cats

Busy week this week. Last night a customer called me and needs me to take care of her cat starting this morning until Monday. This person is in Henniker so it adds about 20 miles to my daily commute not to mention a bit more than an hour (gotta give the kitty some lovin' ya know).

Actually, the customer will be at her house until Friday. She needs help giving the kitty her antibiotics for a bladder infection. MT has horrible arthritis and can hardly hang onto a jar, much less a pill for the cat. Then she will go to her house in Weare and entertain a whole bunch of family, while the cat relaxes in the calm of the Henniker apartment.

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Then, Thursday and Friday is our audit for ISO certification. That means I am there until the audito decides to take pity on us and lets us go for the day (figure 5 or 6 PM - doesn't sound bad until you realize I am there at 6 aM).

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I will leave you with this little pearl of wisdom about the new buffalo nickel. Someone was all agog at work yesterday thinking that we would all be millionaires if we hung onto the recalled change. Yep, I busted her bubble.

Flooding in NH

The Governor has declared a State of Emergency for NH. In some regions 10+ inches fell in about a 30 hour period. Keene is flooded up to a couple of blocks from the central square and there is mandatory evacuation for parts of that town. Many roads in the southern portion of the state are closed. Mudslides have teaken houses off their foundations. There are also concerns about dams in Alstead and Warner giving way. Smaller rivers are not expected to crest until late this afternoon. Large rivers are not expected to crest until tomorrow.

The good news:

1. No reported injuries (fingers crossed that it stays that way!)
2. the rain has stopped and it is just drizzling

News is sketchy at this point - should get clearer as the day goes on.

UPDATE:

Rt 202/9 in Hillsboro is closed, as are many other roads in the town. We drove around and found that the Sampan was underwater, the old Cricenti's building was being threatened, the Ford dealership had to move most of its vehicles and several bridges had water almost to the top of the spans.

UPDATE:

Forgot to mention that water was to the back of the new Shaws building - and there is quite a stretch of ground between the river and the building. Don't ever recall that area being flooded when it was the Valley Home Center, but that just may be my memory.