I'm still waiting for a contractor to come repair the length of my road from the highway. We need to scrape off about 18 inches a fine sand and replace it with clay road base that can be packed down. The road base is hard to come by these days because there is so much demand for it. I don't know if looking for a supply is the reason my contractor is three weeks late from when he last said he was coming, but then the cold weather came along, and he says he's waiting for it to warm up. It was really warm three weeks ago when he was expected.



This is the better of the two contractors I was talking to, the one who tore down a farmhouse for me a few years ago. The other contractor took $6500 from me back in October, and kept promising to come get started, but I finally got fed up and asked for my money back. I didn't hear and didn't hear, and then when I gave up and hired the other guy, this first guy sent his employees with a piece of equipment to get started. I sent them away, because I didn't know if they would finish the job, and I had already hired a replacement.

So then, I got an email from his wife: "This isn't the way we run our company...this has never happened to us before. I am so sorry...Earl had to leave the state because of personal problems to get straightened out. We don't have your money right now, but will refund it as soon as we can." I told her I'm sorry to hear this because Earl is a fine young man (he's about 35 and grew up in this area), but I still want my money.

I know that he has had lots of work since the flood, and the pressure from all that probably overwhelmed him. They should have lots of money owed to them, so I told her she could send out invoices at the end of January, and payments should come in by the 15th, and on the 17th she can let me know that my money is coming.

Anyhow, once cars can finally get safely to my front door, I'm going to invite everyone I know to an open house. I don't really want a lot of people to show up, but it will signal a big milestone in our flood recovery progress. Maybe they will bring gifts! Nothing wrong with that.