Wow, time flies when you’re really, super busy.
The last month has been quite a blur. In addition to our flood saga, Andrew is working on distribution for Pond Hockey and relaunching Little Village, Iowa City’s News and Culture magazine. Liz has celebrated her one year anniversary at the University of Iowa Hospitals and is taking on more responsibilities there.
Of course, the main thread that has woven it’s way through our lives is the flood. Since our last post, we’ve nearly finished the clean-up process, thanks to help from friends and family, including visits from our parents (Thanks again!). The house is now clean (except a final round of mold killer and our nasty HVAC ductwork) and ready to rebuild if we so choose. My first appointment with a potential contractor is with Kelly Heating and Air tomorrow. They will take a look at our ductwork and recommend how we can clean or replace it as well as make recommendations for replacing our HVAC systems.
No word yet on our buyout status, but the city is supposedly looking into it. Until we hear otherwise, we’re going to move forward with rebuilding.
One thing that we’ve been spending much time discussing is how to rebuild responsibly. That means a number of things…remodeling to suit our needs and improve the floorplan of the house, mitigating future flood risk and building Green without outspending our budget. We would like to build a green home and are considering LEED certification and/or the ReGreen remodeling guidelines put forth by the USGBC. It’s potentially a lot of decision making and oversight but could result in a healthier, happier home with greater resale value…if anyone would ever want to buy down there again anyway (that’s a question that weighs heavily on us now).
Of course, rebuilding and refurnishing green (or otherwise) costs money. We’re happy to report that FEMA did give us money, although they fell $7,000 or so short of the maximum grant of $28,800. This grant money and an offer of a low-interest loan of up to $60,000 from the SBA will be what we can use to rebuild. That and the generous gifts from family and friends (and even strangers!).
Since many have asked how they can support us in the rebuilding effort, we’ve set up an account at SmartyPig an online savings account that can accept donations. If you would like to donate something to our cause, we would be grateful. Visit SmartyPig and search for “andrewsherburne@gmail.com” under friends goals to find our savings plan (also below).
Of course, we have also received assistance from the American Red Cross and our neighbors have been helped by Habitat for Humanity and United Way. If you would prefer to direct your donations to these charitable organizations I can personally vouch for their effectiveness. Please think about giving as so many have been left homeless and jobless by this disaster.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest with more posts and photos soon. Thanks again for all of the love.
Please do not feel obligated to send money, but if you would like to, you can make a donation by…
Sending a check to: Andrew and Liz, 1004 Cambria Ct., iowa City, IA 52246
Or give online to “andrewsherburne@gmail.com” at SmartyPig:
