Natuzzi Leather Sofa Meets Its Maker

Ever want to see the innards of a sofa ---- A Natuzzi Leather Sofa in particular?



(As usual, you can click on the pictures for the gory details.)



Nope... it's not pretty.



(Our personal Albany Park flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park Flood- Record-breaking Chicago rains. )

Paul's Natuzzi leather sofa was indeed very comfortable and very attractive. It was comfortable for sleeping as well, as I fell asleep on it many times while he stayed awake watching something on T.V. Some nights when I just couldn't sleep and I was up tossing and turning, I'd take my pillow and a blanket and I'd manage to fall asleep on that sofa.

The sofa wasn't in great shape as Paul's cat, the cat that disappeared this year, had occasionally used the sofa as a scratching post. But it still looked good and it was comfortable. He'd had it for about ten years, several years before I met him, and he really loved that sofa.

The sofa was completely underwater during the Albany Park flood, and afterwards it was completely waterlogged. I could barely push the thing a few inches so that I could cut the rug out from under it. It wasn't going to be moved up the stairs, so the obvious solution was to break it up and haul it up in pieces.

Two of Paul's coworkers volunteered to come over a couple of weeks after the flood and do the deed. I found the axe and a hammer or two and they set to work.

The Death of the Natuzzi leather sofa in pictures

Boy, it would be great to start with a picture of the leather sofa in its glory, but I couldn't find one. Maybe some other time.

Here is the sofa underwater, to the right with the blue pillow on it:



Here it is, full of mold, with futon leavings drying on it:



In the process of being taken apart:





All that is left.. what couldn't be carried out was swept up into contractor bags:



Adios, Natuzzi leather sofa... Another victim of the Albany Park flood bites the dust.

(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: December Chicago Flooding: High anxiety time )

Albany Park Flood Recovery and Barack Obama

(Our personal Albany Park flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park Flood- Record-breaking Chicago rains. )

What a gorgeous fall day in Chicago! The city looked great last night for all of the Barack Obama election festivities, and it is exciting to anticipate a "Midwest White House" and a lot of attention to our city over the coming years.

I was touched by the emotions of middle-aged and older black people as they reacted to Barack Obama's election. I grew up in the 50's and the 60's. All of us, white, black, and everybody in between, have come a long way in terms of tolerance and acceptance. Older black people grew up in a time when they had to struggle to go to school, struggle to get voting rights, struggle to eat in certain restaurants, struggle to live. I don't know that anybody who grew up back then, those of us in our 50's or 60's or older, could ever have imagined that a black man could be elected President. It doesn't really matter of what political persuasion you are; Obama's election is an amazing statement about this country. I wish him (and all of us) the best.

But this isn't a political blog. So I'll continue with our attempts to get our lives back in order after the Albany Park flood of the Chicago River.

We have sewer/drain insurance. We still do not have the money from the insurance claim. Well, we almost do, but our bank has a hold on the check. The frustration of trying to deal with this insurance check has been just overwhelming. We were told that banks often put 10-day holds on such checks because they often "come back". Why would an insurance check written by a corporation come back? I also wonder if banks are holding onto things longer (not making the funds "available") due to the whole credit fiasco.

I think I will call the insurance commission today and at least lodge a complaint. And the FEMA people have left Northeastern. I guess if we still have questions, we have to use the FEMA hotline.

It's overwhelming. I think I said that already.

(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Natuzzi Leather Sofa Meets its Maker )