*Garbee and Garbee*
is the company name that Bdale and Karen Garbee use on the rare occasions
when we engage in consulting work.
We are not currently looking for new work.
## Black Forest Fire 2013 ##
Our home which was the hosting site for gag.com fell victim to forest fire on
or about 11 June 2013. Our house was very close to where the fire
started, so we had very little warning and feel very lucky to have escaped
with our lives, our pets, and a few of our most precious possessions. This was
the second really significant forest fire in the Colorado Springs area in less
than one year, and is the worst fire in Colorado history in terms of
structure loss... the count of destroyed homes is over 500.
###Helping###
For those of you who have asked how you can help us restore and rebuild,
thank you. We are working on several wishlists and a registry of items we
need in the short term. Please watch this space as we will update the list
of lists and the contents of the lists as we find more time to work on them.
Here's what we have so far:
* [Crate and Barrel Registry](http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Elizabeth-Garbee/r5059713) *COMPLETELY FULFILLED*
* [Bed Bath & Beyond Registry](http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?wrn=-280550117&) *COMPLETELY FULFILLED*
* [Amazon Wish List](http://amzn.com/w/2UTFPG4214HV4) .. on this
one in particular, we know things may be available for less money
elsewhere. Please let us know or use the Amazon feature for indicating
you've fulfilled a wish by shopping elsewhere so we can avoid getting
duplicate items!
Many of the others in Black Forest who lost homes actually need help much
more than
we do. The [Pikes Peak Community Foundation](http://www.ppcf.org)
has established an
[emergency relief fund](http://www.ppcf.org/products/emergency-relief)
that specifically benefits victims of this fire.
If you'd rather send money to help us rebuild, PayPal transfers to
bdale@gag.com may be the easiest way to do that.
We are also deeply indebted to the three local fire departments that we know
were directly fighting the fire on and around our property:
* Black Forest Fire/Rescue, the
department that serves us directly and were likely first on the
scene.
* Wescott Fire Protection District,
an adjacent district whose personnel were fighting the fire literally
along the edges of our driveway when we tried to drive out, and who
ended up walking us out through the already-burned area to safety.
* Falcon Fire Protection District,
whose members showed us immense generosity in the days following the
fire.
### Journal ###
* 2013 July 26
The remains of the two cars that burned were removed from
our property and sold as scrap metal.
* 2013 July 21
After a week spet interviewing contractors who might help us
build a new house, we made a decision! We'll be working with Doug
Strecker, dba Rampart
Custom Homes.
* 2013 July 4
all web sites formerly hosted returned to normal
* 2013 July 3
gag.com web presence returns to normal
* 2013 June 28
gag.com mail service returns to normal
* 2013 June 20
Intenet service connected in the apartment
* 2013 June 18
First night sleeping in the apartment
* 2013 June 17
Started populating the apartment, almost entirely with
donated things. Initial registry links posted for things we could
use immediately to re-establish ourselves in the apartment
* 2013 June 15
Signed lease on 2-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs.
* 2013 June 11
House destroyed by forest fire