Time to Remodel the House....

It started with a garage door opener which kept spontaneously opening the garage door in the freezing winter nights....it was like a demonic attack, everytime I shut it, it opened itself....I called Sears...they promised to fix it...I took a few hours off from work to wait for them...they were late...I called....annoyed. Then I heard water running...no water should be running...checked all bathrooms...washer hose...nothing....peeked into garage...the door was OPEN all night..pipes froze and broke...flooding the first floor....where is the damn water shut off?? call 911..."sorry lady, not a police matter"...call a plumber...find the shut off...what a mess! glad I was home..could have been worse, I think...call insurance...get quotes...and then...began the demolition and removal process...and the discovery of just how much damage can hide behind the walls and hidden parts of your home....I am learning to survive in a mess of what used to be a home...right down to the July 12, 1968, 41 year old newspapers stuffed in the walls....when LBJ was president and neighborhood boys were dying in Vietnam and GE refrigerators were on sale for $135...and this was once a brand new home, with brand new pipes, and floors and walls..and gagage doors that were opened manually.....h-m-m-m...progress!