Tidings of Comfort and Joy?

Not exactly.

Last night part of one of the trees around this place came down on the house. It took part of the chimney with it, but as far as I can tell the roof is still okay. The tree is filling up the space between the back of the house and the garage.

I've called the insurance company, but I don't really know what to expect. You'll recall they left it up to me to get rid of the tree that fell but *didn't* hit the house. I don't know if they'll claim that I should have known this tree would come down and refuse to pay, or if they'll cover it. Or how--I hope to god I'm not supposed to pay the contractors and then get reimbursed by Allstate--although they don't work that way with cars.

The claims adjuster is supposed to get back to me tomorrow.

I suppose the worst danger is that a squirrel may decide to go down the chimney...

It was about 11:30 last night--I was doing last call with the Ts, out the back door to try to avoid the wind from the west. Timber had just come in and I was putting the flexi on Taenzer, and there was this incredible booming crash and the house shook, and Taenzer decided she didn't want to go outside afterall. I ran out to look--in my beloved Lopi sweater which kept me warm and dry despite the wind and ice--and saw the tree and thought "whew! it could have hit the house!" Course it was pitch black, and I couldn't figure out where the tree had come from. I didn't realize the chimney had taken a hit until I took pictures this morning and noticed a big square obviously man-made object in the tangle of branches on the ground, so then I ran back out to take a look at it, and saw it was the cap with the squirrel netting on it, and a few bricks.

I was worried about how to get rid of the tree. Now I'm worried about the chimney. I guess it's safe to be here--I guess the chimney orifices are still open, as long as some squirrel doesn't decide to investigate.

One good thing is that Alice is going to be able to make it to the Quad Cities airport, I think. We didn't get much snow, so even though there's a lot of wind, she ought to be able to make it to the Quad Cities if she starts early and is careful. She's got a 4WD Rav4 with traction control, so she shouldn't have any trouble staying on the road. So she ought to be able to make it to visit her son and grandchildren.

It's so cold out. Yesterday I took Taenzer walking without a coat. Today I need to go out and shovel and it's just so cold--like 15 degrees with a windchill of 1 tiny degree. The sun's been out--hope it stays. It's supposed to warm up over the next few days.

I wish I knew someone who knows things--I don't know whether I should be worrying about that chimney or not. ALthough I don't know what I'd do about it if it turns out I'm supposed to be worrying. I mean--Sunday? Two days before Christmas?

I think I'll go have a small nervous breakdown now.