What's that about "hindsight" being 20-20?

The Saga of the Carpet (continued)...

As last reported here, last Friday, that seemed like Friday the 13th, provided us with several moments of frustration, anguish, and out-and-out panic! The saga of the broken sump pump outlet pipe, and the resulting soaking of a good portion of the brand new carpet, was the subject of my last post. And after trying diligently to Shop Vac the water out of the carpet, we realized (and were told by the carpet folks) that it was valiant--but fruitless--to continue in that fashion. They said that our best bet would be to pull up the affected part, get rid of the soaked padding underneath, and get fans going.

The owner of the carpet store even made a house call here last night and assessed the situation. His first suggestion was for us to rent a couple of blower/heaters and put them under corners of the carpet. Of course, it was too late to obtain them last night, so we had to wait until this morning. As I type this, the two powerful blowers are working full tilt and doing what they're supposed to do--we hope!

Had we the good sense to contact the carpet people soon after we discovered the "mess" in the basement last Friday, we may have been able to save more of the carpeting by not frittering away a whole day and night trying to vacuum, a pointless endeavor to begin with. But we didn't, and the good old truth about hindsight has lurked around here for the past few days.

Right now, it is uncertain as to how much of the affected carpet can be salvaged and put back together. The person who installed the carpeting less than two weeks ago will be back late Thursday morning with more padding and the remaining carpet from the original job. He's good at what he does, and we're hoping he can get things back in order. What the heck, it's only money!

The Writing Life...

I now have seven chapters in the draft of my manuscript. The hard copy of chapter eight lies patiently before me, awaiting my attention. It has been hard to focus and be enthused with all of the drama that began last Friday. I am hoping to regain some sense of direction and enthusiasm as the week wears on. In the meantime, I watch the carpet ripple and dry, causing me once again to think: "What if...?"

Another road trod; another one just ahead...MLA