Updates

 A photo from a local news source of the condo fire at Grace Village

The blind lady left with her son yesterday to relocate in Florida where he lives. I think she said that she had lived 16 years in that condo. A big adjustment for her.

The couple next to her have temporarily settled in a recently vacated condo on my street. Somebody told me they thought they would be there 6-8 weeks. No work has begun on restoration; the insurance company wanted a forensic expert to investigate the cause of the fire. I saw him there mid-week. The general consensus is that it was an electrical fire. Though the CEO said at the Townhall that restoration was possible and not as much tearing down as originally thought, I have to believe it will be more than 2 months before anybody can live in that part of the building that was damaged by flames and smoke.

The couple directly behind us was going to move back home since they had little damage (maybe some air quality issues), and the power to the building was turned on this past week. Alas, the man now has COVID (was in the hospital one night), and they are isolating in the Grace Village guest room where they have been since the fire. 

I am doing well. My belly button incision is still tender, but I can zip my pants all the way up. I had two incidents of regurgitation this past week: some chicken pieces infused with Greek flavoring on Monday and au gratin potatoes Friday. I was able to finish my tilapia Friday night. Today I had salmon and mashed potatoes at Ruby Tuesday. This was my first restaurant meal since the surgery. I did ask for some tartar sauce to lubricate the salmon. I did OK. Lubrication is still key I guess.

I am going to push ahead some this week. Baked chicken cutlet with lots of gravy tomorrow, crock pot chuck roast cooked in a sauce Tuesday, and ravioli with Prego marinara sauce Thursday or Friday. The Prego will be the first tomato acidic item since the surgery. I am not noticing much dysphagia (swallowing problems). I have to keep doing the waking hours hourly swallow of yogurt, apple sauce, pudding, or cracker until April 1st. Thursday March 2nd will be one month since the LINX was implanted. 

Winona Literary Club starts up after the winter break on March 1st. The GV choir sings in chapel that morning, too. A busy week with choir practice Monday, the cleaning lady coming Tuesday. The week of March 6th I will start on our income tax filing. 

The passing winter weeks have gone faster than I anticipated.

 I have been amazed at the news photos of Big Bear in California; so much snow! The fallout of that storm system has mostly been north of us in Michigan. My husband's brother in the Detroit area lost power because of ice, but he had recently bought a generator so is getting by. Hope you Californians are doing OK, too.

Neighborhood Calamity

 Yesterday about 1 p.m. we encountered a fire engine heading down our cul-de-sac as we were heading out. It realized it could not get through our street so backed up and went one block south. As we drove past the end of our quadplex we could see smoke pouring out of the roof of the building behind ours. We were gone less than an hour; when we returned, we could see fire engines (maybe 5?) from surrounding communities besides the Winona Lake Engine.

From our angle looking at the rear of the condo two doors down, it didn't look too bad, but when we saw images from the front we could see there was lots of damage.

The lady in the purple coat and the man with the cap are the residents of the condo where the flames are leaping out. 

The two photos above are what we could see. There were all kinds of people walking through our backyard so they could observe the damage. We did see maintenance employees working with the firefighters to keep things under control.

The condo where the elderly lady who is legally blind lives is a total loss. The couple's condo is not habitable. They may be able to salvage some things though there was smoke and water damage. The eastern end unit was vacant, the resident having died several months ago. We learned today that our friends who live directly behind us in the western end unit have some smoke damage. They are meeting with an insurance adjuster today. We have not talked with the other 3 people.

Grace Village put 4 victims in guest rooms in the main building last night, with the blind lady in a rehab room they had vacant so somebody could help her get around. None of the residents were injured.

The majority of the folks here know each other and interact in events and activities. It is not just a collection of condos, but a real community. In the 11 1/2 years that we have lived here, there has never been a fire in Robin Hood. 

What will these people who lost their homes do? There may be a few empty units to put them in, but I am guessing the blind lady will end up in an apartment or more likely in Assisted Living. Lots of major decisions and challenges ahead.