A wreck after preparing for the wreckers

THIT means Thank God it's Tuesday -- our day of deliverance from a grueling Easter weekend spent endlessly packing or tossing a huge amount of s***. Even though we put in three whole weekends before Easter preparing four rooms for demolition, we were still in a mad rush to be ready for plumber, electrician and wreckers. One nasty surprise: Bob and I had quite forgotten about the two freezers in the basement that would be decommissioned when the electrics went off -- both full to the brim with apple juice made by Bob, and various foodstuffs. Incredibly, the freezers in the garage took almost everything except a turkey, now defrosting in a puddle on the counter of our townhouse, where I have fled. Bob is staying over in the dark of the farmhouse while I have returned home to the comfort of a hot tub and meal guiltily enjoyed.

At this moment the wreckers, having disposed of debris left behind, are now pulling down the drywall. The pink insulation, stained and old as it is, is still recycled by a company that reuses the fibers so long as they are dry. The entryway to the part of the house to be kept has been sealed and boarded up and sheets are over all the furniture. Down in the basement, the water heater, which is loaded up almost to the brim with iron and other mineral sediment, sure won't ever be of use again in this area of hard, hard water and is lying on its side near the oil furnace. It also will be replaced. We will be using an air-to-air heat exchanger, which is like a geothermal system only not so wildly expensive and almost equally as cost efficient.

The cliff-hanger is: will we ever get our permit? Tay township still asking for more and more information. Out in the field, Ross Hastings is making test holes for the new septic, which represent yet another piece of the information puzzle before this important document can be issued. And where is the Johnny on the Spot? Not just our family dog, but the wrecking crew are using the bushes until it arrives.