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10/06/2005: "Cleanup: Day One"
I know I was supposed to get this post up yesterday, but I was having trouble with the photos. I still don't know if they will post properly, but we'll see.
The first day of cleanup was a short one. I'd been driving all day from Georgia, so by the time I got to the house, there wasn't much light left to do work on the house. Plus, there was a curfew in effect, and if you weren't off the streets by curfew, you would get pulled over by half a dozen cops who assumed you were looters. True story; just ask my husband, the looter. (Of course, it didn't help that he and his friend were pulled over in a van full of salvaged stuff from the house...and the two morons (hubby and friend) had forgotten their Coast Guard ID.)
So anyway, I got to the house, and to be honest, I was so shocked by the condition of the land around me that I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that our house didn't look that bad.
On the outside.
Here's the backyard.
Here's the bomb sitting in our backyard (it's the neighbor's giant fireplace propane tank.)
Here's our garage.
Not bad, right? Let's go inside now.
Here's inside the garage, after the door was torn down.
Utility room (I really liked my washer and dryer.)
This next one just kills me. It was my den. And now that's all that's left of my desk, my computer, my writing books. Another angle that shows my ruined bookcase that was full of all my writing books. The whitish stuff you see on everything in all the pics is mold--one of the three kinds we found in the house. Man, I'm gonna miss that Easy Cheese there on the floor.
Here's my exercise room. Loved/hated that treadmill. Lost a lot of pictures in this room.
My son's room. Note the mold on the antique frame. 
Didn't get much cleanup done on day one. Mostly, I just walked around in shock. Grabbed a few things I hoped to run through the washing machine at my friend's house. Fortunately, I'd brought some food from Georgia because no stores were open in Ocean Springs, and all the food in my house had been destroyed--even the canned goods had spoiled when the salt water corroded the cans.
Anyway, we drove to my friend's house, unloaded, ate some spaghetti made with contaminated water, and then crashed. The next day was hellish, but I'll describe that on Day Two.
Replies: 14 brave souls responded
on Thursday, October 6th, Danica said
Oh man... Is there anything that was salvageable? Is there anything else you still need?
Hugs!
on Thursday, October 6th, PJ said
Larissa: I don't have a large library of "writing" books, but I'd be happy to send you one if I have one that you're really missing. Drop me a line and let me know. (We need a hug smilie) 
on Thursday, October 6th, Jean said
"Man, I'm gonna miss that Easy Cheese there on the floor."
Yeah, I know what you mean.
This had to be even worse in person. Some of it looks almost normal. Then there's the oddity that parts of your fence are still standing. Bizarre.
I'm with PJ. When you're ready to reconstitute the writing book library, pick three, and I'll send them your way.
on Thursday, October 6th, Larissa said
Aww,thanks, ladies. I have a few donated writing books now, and some gift certificates/cards for Barnes and Noble, so I'll be able to replace a few of the books I loved the most. Maybe once things are settled, I'll see if anyone has doubles of some of the ones I still need. 
As for what we managed to salvage...very little. The water came up to about 9 feet outside and 6 feet inside, so everything below six feet was lost. Really, the only salvageable things were in the tops of closets that didn't collapse, though there were dishes in the top cupboard levels that we saved. Oh, and my recipe books made it--they were on the top pantry shelf. And a box of video games were saved because they were in a plastic box that floated when the water came in.
I think more might have been salvageable, but because Bryan was out doing search and rescue for over a week before he came home, the mold had taken over and ruined what little would have been salvageable. 
on Friday, October 7th, Sylvia Day said
((hugs)) Let me know if there's anything I can send you.
on Friday, October 7th, Amy said
I'm speechless. At first glance, it just looks like a really big mess. But then the mold...everywhere. And the odd things, like the blinds in your office. I can't imagine the force of the water to do that.
(Guess, I wasn't actually speechless, huh?)
on Friday, October 7th, Tori said
I haven't been able to get the pictures to load properly, but I have a good imagination, so... you and your family continue to be in my prayers. *hugs*
on Friday, October 7th, Teresa said
((hugs))It looks so overwhelming. Let me know what youneed anything. I'll be happy to forward.
on Friday, October 7th, kacey said
wow. Just wow. It must just be so overwhelming. I'm very glad you have family you can live with in the meantime.
on Friday, October 7th, Shesawriter said
Larissa,
You may want to consider books on CD while you're doing the clean up. Seriously. It will help you during those moments when you want to mentally leave and just be a robot about the task. What you're doing has to be so overwhelming. A book on CD by one of your favorite authors may help you through this.
Tanya
on Friday, October 7th, Jean said
Another good source of audio books is Audible.com. You can download them to an iPod or write them to CD. For several months, I had the two books per month download. I stopped the subscription before I deployed last year, but I have a nice audio library now.
on Saturday, October 8th, alisonkent@alisonkent.com">Alison said
OMG, the CHEESE! How can you stand not having Easy Cheese! Though, doesn't that defeat the purpose of the treadmill, ahem? *ggg*
on Sunday, October 9th, Michelle said
Hugs, Larissa. It must be overwhelming for you. Hope you can save some of this.
on Tuesday, October 11th, Jill said
Ack, it's overwhelming! I with there was more we could all do for you.
