Anyone else from Chicago area have problems with water in the basement last night? A very bad storm hit about 8:30 p.m. last night. Our electricity went out by 8:45 p.m. When it hadn't come back on by 9:15 my son decided he should go to the office and check on his computer equipment. We decided to just go to bed. When we first moved into this house we had problems with water but had a crack in the basement fixed and haven't had water since.
I went right to sleep but woke-up a little before 11:00 and started worrying about our son being at the office by himself. He called a little after 11 to say they had water in a server room. Several maintenance crew members had been called in and were helping him. He planned to stay at the office until things were safe. I was glad he had called because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until he came home. After the call my husband and I were both wide awake so decided to check our own house.
Last week several bolts of flannel had fallen off the shelf in the laundry room. Since they were in an out of the way corner I left them on the floor. They saved the laundry room last night. Water had started seeping in that corner but the flannel had absorbed it all. We carried a few quilty things sitting on the floor into the family room and put old towels down to catch any more water.
My husband looked out the window and wondered what the funny reflection was in the back yard. Then he realized it was water. During the twenty years we have lived in this house water has collected in the low area of our yard only twice before. One time we had a freaky rain storm during the winter when the ground was frozen. Since the water couldn't soak into the ground it collected in the yard. The only other summer rain storm that caused this much of a pond was one where a lot of people in the area had water damage in their homes. Our little puddle by the fallen flannel bolts won't seem like such a problem if neighbors are ripping up carpet.
Why did I have bolts of flannel? Last year Hobby Lobby sold it for $1.00 per yard. I was planning to back laprobes with it. I couldn't decide if I wanted to have pieced tops or make rag quilts. Now I no longer have to decide. Since I will have to wash it all today I won't be able to make rag quilts. You aren't supposed to prewash the flannel when making rag quilts.
My studio is in the room next to the laundry room. My shelving is all three inches off the floor just in case we ever got water. Of course there is all the clutter under the sewing table. That would have been a mess had water reached the studio. Maybe this will motivate me to clean my studio better.
I stayed up until about 2 a.m. writing a letter by candlelight. I had just fallen asleep when the electricity came back on at 2:45 a.m. I turned off a few lights and went back to sleep only to awake again at
3:45 a.m. when my son came home. I had left our bedroom door open so I would hear him. He just left for work again at 7:45. He plans to make sure everything is running and come home to sleep. I have a class to teach at 10:00. Hope I make sense. The news reported that 75,000 homes are still without electricity. We are thankful ours is not one of them. I assume the store has electricity as they usually get the businesses up and running before the homes. Now I can gather my supplies and samples for class. I tried to find them with a flashlight last night but didn't have much luck. Thank God for electricity this morning.This afternoon I will wash flannel and old towels. Susan