We recently met with our contractor to level set. Two big updates came out of the meeting.
The move-in date is realistically August 2025, which is painful. Five more months of this limbo.
Perhaps most amazing is that he assures me that based on his opinion after seeing thousands of home fires and that of one of the fire inspectors, the third and final theory as to what started the fire is this:
The red line drawn on the left side of the back deck is representative of a wire UNDER the wood which I never knew of and which I doubt the home inspector would have been aware of. I did not even know there was a plug there. It’s on the opposite side of the electrical panel that I was aware of on the back deck. It was an extension cord that was plugged in apparently from years ago. It had live electricity. Over the years rodents may have very feasibly chewed on that wire. This does explain the extreme damage to the kitchen area where my refrigerator even melted, although there was certainly plenty of damage to go around. This also explains why some of the items on the opposite side of the deck (what I call “ground zero”) are actually NOT THAT DAMAGED. I have been able to repaint them and have them as decorations once again. I previously thought that was random.
This helps me to cope with that trauma. After the fire inspectors ruled out arson, the preliminary report 24 hours in called it an accident and electrical anomaly. That report thought it was the couch with a charger and extension cord that caused the fire. The previous “final” fire department report determined that it came from the back deck, but on the right side. Before the very first report the guilt and questioning were consuming me, not to mention the blame I had for others. There are still countless things that could have been done differently that day which would have yielded a very different outcome, but it’s not productive to run through those constantly.
Shea visited the house under renovation again today when he was out and about. To my glee, the three sliding doors went in, as well as a lot of the windows.
After very frustrating delays, we swung by the house under renovation when a neighbor advised us that they were putting windows up finally, which includes sliders. I’m so relieved. Some of these pictures I took by putting my camera over the fence and had to look at them afterwards. Even the half circle above the front door is installed!
I continue my painting projects inspired by many DYI and upthrifting Youtube videos I’ve been binging. I love thrift store purchases and some of the haul I’ve gotten from Facebook Marketplace, but I’m also glad I didn’t discard every fire-damaged item. Many items I’m spray painting are damaged from that terrible day. There are many things when I look back at the fire damage pictures that I regret not pulling out of the debris pile on my driveway and from the soot-covered insides of the house, but I was living in a fog at that period.
The few things that survived the fire, even if they were in the backyard , often had lots of paint damage to them. A fresh coat of paint helps a bit, although I might redo some of the colors. The red is a little too bright for some of these objects.
Here’s a picture of my house being renovated as of today. I was encouraged a few weeks ago when I saw the insulation (or whatever that is) being placed on the siding, but apparently, nothing has changed for a few weeks even though this step was done after the holidays. Hopefully I’ll get an update soon, but frustratingly the contractor’s new insurance carrier doesn’t allow me on the premises of my OWN house at this juncture for liability reasons. I’m not even bothering to challenge this as the house is close to being done structurally and supposedly it’s ready for a roof inspection. I’m torn between feeling helpless and giddy with excitement about moving back within a few months. Saturday is the one-year anniversary of the fire.
I hold my survivor dog Snoopy and my new dog Bonnie extra tight, especially because she reminds me so much of the blind dogs I lost that day, but I miss the presence, warmth, and personalities of Pancho, Cappy, Polar, Snowball, and Matty so much since I didn’t get to say goodbye to them and I lost them before their time.
I am very triggered by the footage of my hometown Los Angeles (yes, I was born there). The nightmares continue, even sometimes when I take a nap, but I see the pictures of my lost dogs every day on my screensaver, whether that’s wise for me to do or not. I have video footage of them too, but it wasn’t enough in hindsight.
We had a wonderful visit with Nick Dong. He is a world-renowned master designer/artist/genius and a good friend of many years who, like so many, helped me find some resilience and silver linings in the horrible event from last January (my catastrophic house fire and the loss of five precious canine souls). It was a privilege to revisit his custom home and for Shea to get to know him.
Nick inspires me to manifest my dream house with this rebuild and find ways to live my best life. In the footage Shea took you’ll see a reflection of the three of us in a small sampling of Nick’s mind-blowing kinetic pieces. If you ever get a chance to see the work of Studio Dong in person, don’t miss the opportunity!
One of his two amazing koi ponds with the most friendly fish I’ve ever met in my life!
While I’m still counting the days to go home as the house is being rebuilt, since I have these tapestries that are so nostalgic for my siblings and me, I found a place to hang them for now, which cheers me up a little. A year ago I was taking pictures of all these dogs I miss so much with their xmas outfits. I don’t know if it’s healthy to constantly see their pictures rotating on my slideshows around the house. Still, it’s so important that I remember them and their distinct personalities, not to mention the other dogs I lost in more expected endings where I had a chance to say goodbye. This is the first time in my life I don’t think I will put up decorations or a full-size tree because this isn’t the home I planned to be in, even though I’m lucky to have a partner and two amazing dogs to be with this season. My mom’s ceramic xmas trees survived, so they will suffice. I might change my mind and see what other holiday decorations survived the fire, but this is the current plan. Shea doesn’t seem to mind that I’m not rearranging the house for the holidays and there is plenty of other projects we’re working on so it’s not a priority.
Circa 2023 after it was professionally cleaned from an April 2016 fire at my mom’s house, but before my January 18, 2024 fire.
Summer 2024 after it was professionally cleaned a second time.
Replacement from Warsaw, Poland with me on November 22, 2024.
Yes, I know this blog title is a corny Michael Jackson song, but after what I’ve been through this year, indulge me for a moment, as this is quite the saga. I always stress that NO material thing matters nearly as much as the five precious souls I lost with my dogs taken from me that day. Still, through some miraculous connections, a bit of my heart (I’m sure my siblings would agree) was restored today when a hand-carved (or is it?) piece of furniture that I mistakenly thought was one-of-a-kind was delivered from Warsaw, Poland, of all places.
The original piece, which my parents bought when we lived in rural Catalonia, Spain (my dad was in the United States Coast Guard and was stationed there in the mid-1970s), was transported with our military moves, in the normal course, from Spain to New York and then to California, where my parents retired. In 2016, it survived my mom’s house fire and was professionally cleaned. After my mom died later that year, I kept the piece, which my siblings did not want, only for it to get pretty incinerated in my own house fire this past January 18.
At first in the chaos of my soot-laden wrecked home, I had it in the junk pile on my driveway, but it meant so much to me. The damage seemed somewhat superficial, so someone convinced me that I could have it professionally “cleaned” again and/or repainted. Unfortunately, it came back even after being treated still smelling of fire, so I’m storing it in the rental house’s garage for now. I was frustrated by the daunting task of having it professionally restored to what it looked like in the pictures. I was ambivalent about whether it would be worthwhile.
On a whim, I posted it on social media, and a friend of mine who I used to swoon over regularly on the subway when I saw him during our commute years ago when I lived in New York chimed in and said he found a replica for sale in Warsaw, complete with the Polish language e-commerce link. I contacted the seller, who spoke no English. With the assistance of a translator website, I explained my unique interest. I was pleasantly surprised that it was selling for only 1,000 PLN, which amounted to about US$255. I knew the challenge would be shipping. I asked him if he would ship to California and he said he would not. I think he was only looking to ship within Europe.
Periodically, over the last several months, I would check the Polish site. It continued to be on sale, which blew my mind, but I’m sure it’s a niche market. Several weeks ago it occurred to me, after a few false starts with distant connections to Poland, that I had some of the people on my annual holiday card email list who I have been in touch with for years who are Poles. So on another whim, I wrote an email to all of them with the the before and after pictures and the Polish e-commerce link. I think there were 19 who had working emails, and one of them who I’ve had a reciprocal crush on since at least 2008 replied. His English is excellent because he lived in the UK for a while, so he was a perfect candidate, especially because he also lived in Warsaw.
At first, my handsome cub friend Artur suggested that if the seller was unwilling to ship it to California, I could have it shipped to his house and then he would facilitate shipping it to me. It turns out, that by having him communicate on my behalf, and after securing a quote for shipping that I obtained from DHL at his suggestion, the seller agreed to let it be picked up from his location. Artur, who I’ve never even met, even took care of the Polish customs paperwork for me! It was then purportedly en route! I could hardly believe I was able to track the progress online. I remained on pins and needles, thinking it would take months, but spending US$717 to ship it was enough to get it here in under two weeks. It arrived today, just in the nick of time, because Shea and I are getting on a plane to Hawaii tomorrow morning. To my glee, I didn’t even have to make arrangements for it to be brought inside from the pouring rain.
It’s now safe and sound in my rental and will be ready to transport to my home months from now when my house is ready. I want to take some pictures of the two cabinets side by side at some point. I’m also still contemplating what I should do with the original. I might use it for gardening supply storage outside if I can avoid it getting water-damaged. That way any remaining smell will hopefully diminish, but I’ll still have it on the premises and can tell this story. It will make a fine storage cabinet, as long as I don’t let it succumb to the elements in my mild climate here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
So for under a thousand dollars, I have a beautiful nostalgic piece in excellent shape to look at, together with the two very similar tapestries that my siblings and I had growing up. For the rest of my life I’ll be able to enjoy the memories that pieces bring me, even if they are facsimiles of the originals and they are pieces I would not have bought if I just saw them in a store myself.
As for what I’m putting in the new cabinet, I think I’ll start with the ashes of the beloved five dogs who I lost that day.
