Memory Loss

Sharon hasn't lost her memory, or her memories, but she has lost her mementos. This picture of Jordy, one of the many champions Sharon has bred over the years, was in her house when it was destroyed. Fortunately, Pam, Jordy's human companion and chauffeur, can make a copy for Sharon.

Helping Sharon replace her photo archives would be a nice way to support her in this difficult time. Because there is so little space right now, it might be a good idea for breed clubs to designate someone to receive pictures, and collect them until she has a house to put them in.. It would probably be easiest if that person had the know-how and computer capacity to collect digital images because scanning pictures and sending them via email will be best and most affordable for many. Not everybody has a scanner, but most of us know someone who does, or we have access to a scanner at a camera store.

For those who attend dog shows, it might be worth asking the professional dog show photographers to help with this project. Also, think about photos of the offspring or ancestors of Sharon's dogs, both candid and show photos, and pictures of happy times like parties and events. Let's replace the irreplaceable!

More Angels

Things are moving along at bureaucratic pace as excavation, plans and permits go forward for the new laundry at the kennel. There are now two phone lines in good working order, so the message machine is in operation again. With the RV on "real" power instead of a generator, things are wonderfully quiet, and Sharon and her house critters are enjoying that.

There seem to be more angels out there than some of us would have guessed, and a couple of businesses with wings deserve a mention. First, Sharon enjoys audio books, and sometimes orders from a company called Sounds True. When they heard that her recordings had been destroyed in a fire, they replaced several she'd ordered from them at no charge.

As most friends have observed, Sharon is not exactly a techie when it comes to the Internet, so a friend has been ordering flea prevention medication and some other items for her from an online business called PetCareRx http://www.petcarerx.com/. When they learned that a large recent purchase had been in the house when it was destroyed, they immediately offered a free replacement, worth over $200! Their generosity has made them at least one new customer.

Power Progress

Aren't these women beautiful? They are members of the laundry brigade, seen here dropping off bins of freshly washed and dried bedding and towels. Many many thanks to them and the others who are keeping the kennel supplied day after day. For some reason, their halos don't show up well in this picture, but believe me, they're there!

Another worker who deserves a pat on the back is the electrician, who is working long hours to restore utilities. The kennel, the well, and the parking lot are now on regular PG&E again instead of operating off the temporary service or generator. That's a big step forward in comfort and convenience. The phone company is also working on the service there today. Since all of the utilities were burned, a temporary line has been serving the kennel. Now an underground connection is going to get both phone lines working again in normal mode.

Plans are also moving forward to make a laundry facility at the kennel. This is a challenging and complex job, but in the long run will be more convenient than the old system of taking the laundry to the house and back. It's still in the prep and permits phase, but it will be a fun project to watch.

Life Goes On at Bundocks

In spite of the loss of Sharon's house, the kennel continues its busy work. Let's all be mindful, in telling people about the fire, to make it clear that the damage to the house has not slowed the usual boarding, breeding, grooming, feeding and all that goes on at Bundocks Kennels. These Corgi puppies, now old enough to go to new homes, are a good reminder of that! The holiday season is the busiest time of year, and Sharon's livelihood depends on the public making a distinction between her personal loss and the ongoing, undamaged business. It's still a good idea to make a reservation.

My two Cairns have enjoyed Bundocks vacations for their entire lives. In the past two weeks, as we turn and head up Occidental Road toward Coffee Lane, they begin those excited cries that are roughly translated as "Oh boy, we're going to camp!" When we get to the parking lot and pick up a bag or two of laundry without even letting them out of the car, they are shocked and disappointed. I've had a lot of explaining to do.

Talk about angels!

There is some fantastic news to report. Lynn and Christine, generous friends, have given Sharon a commercial washer and dryer! It sounds like these are serious machines, and just right for the job. Huge blessings and gratitude to them for such a wonderful gift.

Of course, a space needs to be created to house these laundry miracles. That's a big job, requiring planning, construction and a great deal of money, so it won't be an instantaneous installation. Laundry helpers are still needed in the interim, but there's hope for a new facility that's better than ever to handle towels and bedding for the kennel.

Speaking of money, some clarification is needed on the special fund that has been set up at Exchange Bank for Sharon's benefit. In the first blog post, information was given for the Sebastopol branch of Exchange Bank, where the fund was established. However, any branch of Exchange Bank can take donations, and they can also be mailed to the main Exchange Bank PO Box. Checks should be made to Sharon Curry Fire Fund (not "trust fund"), but if you've sent a check that's written slightly differently, the folks at Exchange bank should make sure that all variants get to the correct account. If there's any confusion, the check would be returned to sender. Here's a recap of the pertinent info:

Sharon Curry Fire Fund
Exchange Bank
720 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472-2808
707 823-3800

Thanks so much for contributions of any size.

Housing and Laundry and Storage, Oh My!

Everyone is concerned about Sharon's situation during this difficult period, so she wants to reassure friends that she is comfortably housed in an RV lent by James, who drove down from Lake County to deliver it. He was ferried back by Ann and Buff. The RV is parked in the parking lot, but please don't disturb Sharon if she's there. Life is overwhelming right now, and that is her retreat.

Sharon wants to pass some information on to the kind laundry angels. First, there are two batches of laundry that come up from the kennel. The first is around noon, and a second batch at the end of the day. Without a system, it's easy to imagine days when nobody comes, or too many people come. Carrie and Sharon suggest that we use the calendar on the yahoo page (click the link at the right for support sharon group) to sign up for a particular day and AM or PM. Also, she will leave bulk detergent, and if the laundry volunteers will bring a container, they can take enough for the amount they are planning to wash. No bleach, please. Some people may be going to the laundry to use the big washers, and some people may be doing smaller batches at home, so when you sign up, you could mention if you'll be taking a big or small load. Sharon's friend Kris is going to post more detail about laundry on the yahoo site.

A storage unit has been generously offered to Sharon. That's a fabulous resource, but take a deep breath before we start filling it up. Many items have been offered, so there's a risk of the storage space filling with duplicates or things Sharon can't really use. The last thing we want to do is create a new job for her. Let's continue to inventory the offers of furniture, household items, and appliances on the Database on the yahoo site. If an item must have a home immediately, then use the storage space, but if possible hang on to things for now. We hope the spreadsheet on the database can be modified to show when things have already been put in storage. Please don't consult Sharon on specific offers. There are so many urgent things on her plate that filling her future house is just not something she can process yet! Also, Sharon herself may have things to store in the interim.

Finally, food and clothing are still covered. Thanks for the offers!

Let There Be Light!

The big push today went toward getting the temporary power service functioning. At breathtaking expense, county permits for a temporary service were in hand. The crew had made many trips to the hardware store, and the pole was up. The initial pole and permit was around $700 plus monthly rental, and temporary wiring and junction boxes up to the kennel were another $600 plus monthly fees. However, it looked like there was no way a county inspector was going to make it out to sign off, and that's a requirement before the juice can be turned on. Great frustration all around.

Fortunately, the right phone calls were made, the magic lanterns were rubbed, the dog network did its own abracadabra, and ultimately an inspector arrived. The PG&E meter was set around noon! Sharon wants to give big thanks to John, Peggy, Carrie, and a whole network of helpful people who made it happen. That includes Bill at the county, who shows Corgis, Margie, the clerk at the county who ran down the inspector Scott in Guerneville. Scott skipped lunch to do the inspection, Burton cut down the trees to expedite getting the new service run, and the wonderful Geyserville PG&E crew finished another job in time to get over there and repair the service and set the new meter. Wow! All of us on the sidelines are thankful, too. Good job!

Now the kennel building is running on PG&E instead of generators, and the lights and heaters are functioning in time for colder weather. This is just a baby step in the face of all that needs to be done, but it was a big boost to morale.

Sharon also sends her thanks to the laundry angels. Nobody knows better than she does what a major effort it is to supply the kennel with clean towels and bedding. That help is much appreciated. It may be time to set up a routine to keep an ongoing and consistent flow until a temporary laundry is set up on the property. To make it easier to go back and forth between the blog and the daily support details, there's now a link to the supportsharon yahoo group on the right.

The Pole Is Up

Today the report is rather mixed. The temporary power pole is up, but the power line was damaged by the fire, and so the kennel is still receiving electricity from the generator. It looks hopeful for tomorrow, but there's still some work to be done before basic power is restored.

Insurance compensation is evolving slowly. That means that for now all expenses are out of pocket. Just today, that amounted to around two thousand dollars for the pole and other electrical materials. Our help is going to make a huge difference with the immediate expenses, so please contribute to the emergency Sharon Curry Fire Fund at Exchange Bank if you can. Even small gifts are big right now.

Some of you have had trouble leaving comments on the blog. (I'm very sorry!) It's set on minimum restrictions, so the difficulties are a puzzle. If you've got a google account, sign in first. If not, use your name and email address, or just use anonymous and then sign your name at the bottom of the message. Beyond that, does anybody have a solution?

The one restriction on comments is that they have to get an OK before being published in order to prevent spam. This usually happens quickly unless this blogger is sleeping or oblivious for some reason. Every comment that has come through has been approved at this point.

The yahoo group supportsharon is doing a great job of discussing ongoing practical details. One new development is that now there is a spreadsheet to keep an inventory of things people want to offer Sharon. At present there is no space for furniture, household items, appliances, etc., so this will help keep track of what's available for when there is a house again.