While we didn’t have a lot of activity on the mountain this week, we did get out to talk to another modular home dealer. For the first time since we were forced into this little adventure, we have an idea of just how much it will cost to get us into our own home. It was a bit of an eye-opener, but I think we’ll be able to pull it off. We have most of the financing secured; now, we have to figure out how to cover the final third without endangering our retirement.

The paperwork for our federal disaster loan came in the mail this week, so now we need to make sense of all those pages of legalese and sign the dotted line. We even have a case manager to help answer any questions we might have as we read through the contract. I’ve only begun reading, but so far, it’s pretty straightforward. I have questions, so I’m making notes as I go.

The effort involved in recovering from a wildfire disaster can be daunting. From the moment we learned we lost everything, we knew the job ahead would mean a million things would need to be done. Some tasks would need to be done before others could begin. But the first thing we needed to do was get the debris cleared. By this time next week, what’s left of our house and outbuildings will be gone.

Our view is changing. Soon, we’ll need to begin taking the burnt trees down and planting new ones. By the time we are settled into our new digs, the entire spread will have a brand-new look, and we will have learned about building houses.