Although we weren't sure of the exact day or time, however, the water was still
flowing out of our water heater through the brick flooring to the wine cellar
below. The water was about two feet high and still rising. I quickly shut the
water intake valve to the house and called Roy. He insisted that all was well
the previous Wednesday. After surveying the damage, I called Servpro, the outfit
that deals with house disasters like this and, fortunately they responded with
a team of men in high boots. At the same time, I called multiple plumbing
companies about replacing our now defunct water heater that same evening. It was
Saturday late afternoon one difficult time to round up willing plumbers but after
calling about 7 outfits I managed to get a positive response from one company
who dispatched two men who brought an appropriate tank. They worked until 11pm
to install the heater with the right connections for our solar system. At least
we were able to have hot water that same evening. Servpro worked for an entire
week to bail out the wine seller and dry all the areas. You can imagine the cost
for all this service on a Saturday. Fortunately, my insurance covered most of
the expense, however, it took awhile for on adjuster to make his appearance but
he did a fair appraisal of the situation. This past week, we had a contractor
work on the wine cellar damage and today, Saturday, March 30, the job is over
and we are waiting for the sealant to dry on the concrete below.
It was a difficult two weeks, that began after our long drive from Austin only
to find this situation. We were looking forward to a rest but confronted this
disaster before us. We are now thinking that managing a home of this size may
be too difficult especially since we spend at least 4 months away in Texas.
Despite all the turmoil with The Great Flood, today April 7, we completed our
bottling of 2012 wine. Sadly, it may be our last wine harvest since both of
us are finding the task of growing grapes, harvesting them and finally, the
arduous task of bottling them. I know all of our wine recipients will be
sorry to see us close shop. Right now we are completely exhausted from the
task. An interesting thing happened during the flood cleanout when the workmen
broughtn out some of the debris. They uncovered a stash of wine bottles from
1987 somehow unused. They look intact and in the near future I plan to uncork
one in celebration of our 26 years of wine making. Quite an accomplishment.
The photo below is our now replenished wine racks. The eagle above is on guard.
