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The vermiculite set-back

 As part of house salvage after a fire / flood, materials are routinely tested for asbestos. Varykino was built in 1987, we didn't think that there was going to be any asbestos containing material. BUT to our dismay that pop corn ceiling is made of vermiculite and apparently is know for false negatives, something about the distribution of fibers may not be uniform and the EPA in CT treats ii as if it contains asbestos. This has triggered the application of an emergency permit from the state and a special crew with HEPA filters and all sorts of rules to follow....They are arriving this morning (2 weeks after the initial fire) to start clearing the two upstairs bedrooms that have been sitting under wet smoke permeated attic insulation.... In other news two sweaters were completely felted and two partially felted by the dry cleaners that are working on salvaging our clothing. The pantry was emptied yesterday, the oldest food item was black truffle oil from 2010, but in reality there w...
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My new morning routine musings

 Thursday May 2nd I have a new routine now, wake up early with a shock, rush downstairs to make tea, there is no kettle in this beautiful house that we are staying in, but a small pot works just fine. Ive been drinking assam all week (thanks Gwen). Then I look out the window to the view of long island sound and fisher's island and the soft colours and realize that this is just another project to manage and get through, new hurdles and challenges that life is barreling at my family. Then its a quick catch-up on correspondences, notes for the day, what perceived essential item do I think that I might find at the house today? To quickly realize that I don't actually need that item. Each day we find a treasure, something that we've forgotten about. Thirty years in one house where the girls grew up end up containing so much stuff and oh so many memories. Then its of to Mystic market (thank you SuzyQ) for a large earl grey tea, Leo makes me an egg and cheese bagel with spinach an...
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Mini update

 Tuesday April 30th Yesterday was Day 5 of varykino content removal.  With Gwen's help I rescued all my hand knit sweaters, they were nicely tucked away in a dresser and didn't get wet, they just smell of smoke and the lovely people with CRDN will take care of cleaning them. The kitchen is almost packed away, we didn't get to the pantry, but Gwen photographed each shelf.A few miscellaneous kitchen draws await sorting today. The electrician and a rep from the power company came yesterday, it will be awhile before power is restored, there have to be inspections and permits, much like the situation with the popcorn ceilings.  One day at a time, the insurance adjuster keeps telling us that its a marathon not a sprint..........
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Varykino Fire Update

 High Level Update Monday April 29th  Most importantly we are all okay, Natasha and Mateo were visiting at the time of the initial fire. A huge Thank you thank you thank you for all of your support, messages, love, food, IPA, taking care of Andri, Vit E oil for my scar, tea, places to stay, generators, toiletries, notebook,  and so so much more. The outpouring of support has buoyed us beyond measure. We couldn't have gotten through the first week without you. 1. The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical wiring that was slowly disintegrating over time. It was the lighting circuit upstairs, a perfect storm, the heat from the fireplace, gusts of wind up to 25mph and compromised wiring (the original was 37 years old). After this fire was put out there was a rekindling overnight with subsequent flooding by the fire department. 2. This weekend we moved out of Michala's cute borough house to L...
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