OOPS! I meant red. Red lighter. Green dress. Tres chic and festive. I was blinded by the beauteousness of that photo and got confused.
Quick driveby post. Mama Tiger and I are, at this moment, packing up my stuff to move me up to their area. She says hi, and that I have to get off the computer now and get to work. She might post later if we finish up here, since taking the computer down is obviously the very last thing to do!
So hi all, and damn but I’ve missed having my computer. It’s good to have it back, since I’ve been away from it for almost a month!
The SOB is going forward with arranging my exit interview with the OMP, so I need to put together a list of the real reasons why I’m leaving the firm, and not the fluffy bunnies one I had prepared for HR.
I also need to polish my resume (my resume writing skills are non-existant), meet with our alumni placement director, and arrange one final reference. And then, get taken to lunch for the rest of the week.
Sorry about the job, Drae. Want mine? I’m not using it anymore. 
Beautiful prom picture. It looks like you’re having more actual fun than most people have at their prom.
I don’t know if this link will work but here’s the scoop. And on preview, I see it’s one-and-a-half assed acre pot bellied pig sanctuary.
Thanks, swampy, just being able to drop the “big girl facade” here from time to time helps.
bobbio, save that ice and start a new martini craze. Call the drink, erm, a Satani or summit. 
drae, those bastids!! You’ll find something better. Great dress BTW!
Last night I watched as a family across the road lost darn near everything but the clothes on their backs. I am still in a state of shock.
You see, it’s been bitterly cold here, and yesterday in particular everyone in town was having problems keeping their water lines from freezing. A lot of lines were frozen and folks were busy thawing them, trying to keep the lines from bursting, just another winter day in Alaska.
So skiffman and #3 went to the store in the evening to get a few items, and when they came back in skiffman said “Dave’s place is on fire!” (Dave is the neighbor across the road who has been a very good neighbor, he helped us put out a small fire outside the banya last summer, has helped skiffman hang deer, and just in general has been a good neighbor, exceptional even, compared to some of the other folks who share our road. The only reason that it matters that they are Filipino is, thank God, they have a lot of family here in Kodiak.) So I told him to get back out there and give Dave a hand; he replied that it was too late.
Apparently Dave’s water had frozen up and he had been working on getting it thawed. His sister lives just a few homes down, and he took their two toddlers down there so she could bathe them, and by the time he got home the fire had started, (I am not certain, but I would bet that he had been using a propane torch to thaw the lines, it is the acceptable tool to use here to thaw water lines) and within a couple of minutes he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to put it out by himself, woke up his step-daughter, grabbed his wife and cell phone and dialed 911 as they hustled out the door.
I moved my gimpy self as quickly as I could to the kitchen window, and the interior of the house had flames licking the outside of the windows. By the time I got out to the front deck the flames were shooting out of the roof and the giant spruce tree next to their place was on fire at least 20 feet up. The first of the volunteer firetrucks along with a couple of Trooper units were already there (although skiffman had to run down to the end of the road and flag them in, it’s a difficult road to find in the dark) and as I was going to help another neighbor who was being evicted (right next door to Dave’s) get the babies in the car a bunch of fireworks (bottle rockets and firecrackers) and ammunition began going off, so I was shoo’ed back onto my deck.
The house was completely engulfed in less than 10 minutes. The firefighters doused the spruce (which, if it fell, would have squashed my home) and then focused on the dwelling. I had a bunch of people in my yard and on my deck watching. I noticed the teenage daughter and a friend sitting on one of my flower beds (which is buried deeply in snow) and decided to get them a couple of blankets. When I took them over I could tell they were going into shock, so I bundled them up and talked with them until a relative came to get them. Another relative came up and asked if I had seen their dog, they had a little Maltese which had been in his crate, with the door open, so skiffman and I gave a quick look around our place, under the two decks and back in the bushes, but with all the commotion I was pretty sure that he was hiding.
All together we had all the trucks from the Bayside Volunteer Fire Department and volunteers, the City of Kodiak Fire Department was fully deployed, and Troopers everywhere. I counted somewhere between 15 and 20 firefighters at any given moment, including a couple of small but tough women. After the flames had subsided they took axes to the walls and worked through the smoldering rubble.
The house is a complete loss. After the firefighters gave them the okay they went back in and found precious little salvageable, maybe with the light of day today they may find some more, but I doubt there will be much. They had been pet sitting some fish and birds, which never had a chance. They found the little dog, still in his crate. My hope is that he succumbed to the smoke, before the fire got him. No lives were lost, and other than a little smoke inhalation there were no injuries, even those of us who got a little smoke didn’t need any treatment, although I did need to use my inhaler a couple of times last night and again this morning, and my throat is still a little sore and my voice is raspy. As they were going through their salvageable belongings both the step-daughter and her mother came over and asked if they could use our bathroom (Of course you may! Is there anything else we can do?) and they petted our Pomeranians for a few minutes before going back out to the rubble. Their faces were all big starey eyed, and they were moving like automatons, it breaks my heart just thinking of them.
All during the night the Fire Chief kept coming back and checking the remains, several times he called out a truck and they chopped at the remaining walls and flooring and sprayed water. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep, there have been a lot of tears, and it was brought violently to my attention at just how quickly and without warning one might lose every material possession. While things were still in the inferno stage I had the kids take the Poms out to the back deck and capture the cats in case we had to make a run for it, but other than that, if our home had become involved there would have been no time to get anything else.
I am waiting for the sun to come up in order to get a good look at what’s left, it was difficult to make out any details with all the flashing red and blue lights last night. I did peek out of the kitchen window, and all I can see is a crumbled pile.
bobbio and BibKitty while I have respected what you do in the past, you have new hero status in my world. God bless you in any endeavor you undertake in the service of your respective Fire Departments, and may you always return unscathed.
I am a humbled kaiwik today.
((kai and neighbours))
Oh, how awful. I’m so sorry.
And I feel like a turd on a heel for whining about something that was contained inside my freezer…
Shhesh, sleep til 11 and look at what I missed, a proposition, a bad house fire and boobs!
I did take the sick day - I feel fine actually, but by the time everyone left and I got to sleep it was past 3, so yeah - no way I was making it to work at 6.
The child works at 3 and is wondering about the possibility of squeezing me for lunch before she goes in. A big greasy burger is sounding like a fine idea to tell the truth…
{{{kai}}} and neighbors}}} I don’t know what to say. Just damn!
Bobbio if you hadn’t noticed the smoke it could have been the VunderLair goin’ up in flames. So, no, you don’t need to feel like a turd on a heel. You were able to avoid a huge catastrophe because you caught it early. Plus, charbroiled ice is quite entertaining. 
My turn to drive by; I just scrubbed out the nasty sink that hadn’t even been mancleaned since Whiterabbit left, apparently, so I deserve a reward of a brief Dope visit.
{{{{{{Kai’s neighbors}}}}}}
Fires are scary. I’m glad there are brave folks around willing to fight them.
Anyway, here we are in exciting Shreveport. Woo and hoo. I’m leaving really early tomorrow morning to head back; I have to be back home by Wednesday afternoon for my first visit with the knee surgeon. Wish me luck in making it! The only way I’ve even got hope of doing it is that I saw my regular orthopod for a cortisone shot before I left, so I’m at least fake functional, temporarily. But it’s still a loooooong drive.
We did see a great sight, however, near the hotel where we stayed on the way down – heading back to the freeway, on the left side of the road was the Bare Brothers Office Centre across the road from Beaver Creek Shopping Center. <snerk> We thought immediately of you guys, of course!
And when I get home, I have a special treat for you to fix for your next dinner party, Swampy – a complete recipe for Moose Nose!
See y’all in a couple days! Mama Tiger over and out!
Changing the subject… Swampy, have you seen the promos for the new show where washed up has-been celebs become cops?
My idea is that they need to change from Hollywood retreads to flamboyant gays as the cadets. The show would then be called Armed and Fabulous…
Ain’t it the truth? I know 'zactly what you mean. Things could be a whole lot worse.
kai, what a tradegy. Thank God none of the family was killed or hurt.
bobbio don’t feel bad, just be thankful you noticed the smoke smell before you left, or it could have easily been you.
It seems that yesterday was a bad day all over. On one of my dog lists this was just posted: " Yesterday morning in Tallmadge Ohio for the Rubber City KC dog show. At the host hotel which was the Sheraton a van was stolen with 2 Vizsla in their crates. They had loaded the dogs and started the van to warm it up and ran back into the room. When they came out a few minutes later the van was gone. They found it later burned with the dogs still in the crates."
On the heels of that came a phone call from my good friend Jeff, my remodel guy, his dad passed away last night in Anchorage. He is bringing me keys to keep an eye on his place and my/our best friend’s place while he is in Anchorage. He began crying on the phone, and my heart is broken again.
It’s my son’s birthday today. He was very frightened last night by the fire, which, again, hurt my heart. I am so glad that, even at 14 he is still Mama’s precious boy, and needed lots of hugs last night to be comforted.
Please don’t let me be a downer on the MMP today, db Lucretia is a gorgeous kitty with mouse murder on her mind! Drae, you are lovely, sorry about the lay off, but sometimes that works out for the best in the long run. li-li yay for QD, I agree that if she’s talking wedding band then she’s gonna say yes as soon as her freak out is over. I am sorry about your BIL and the baby, has the sil always been like this, or does she maybe have a bout of post partum depression going on? Happy Birthday to ACBG, (I need to now what the acronym stands for!) may you get all that your heart desires today, and if that includes a bare bear frying food for you, so be it! <eg> And why am I picturing one of those utterly useless but oh-so-cute filmy, ruffly 1950’s style of apron?
My mind is a bit numb, I think maybe some warmed banana bread with real butter might help. Also the sky is beginning to lighten, so I am gonna go peek out the kitchen window again. More later…I, for one, am counting my blessings today.
That would be “A Certain Burly Gentleman”…swampy’s name for his SO.
Wow, Kai, that’s just horrible. I can’t even imagine going through something like that, and fortunately have never personally known anyone who has, but I’m certain it’s just far too much to swallow in one hunk. The very idea of everything just … gone, just like that, in the time it takes to walk down the street and back, and walking away with only the clothes on your back. At least none of the family were hurt, which is the most important part, cold comfort though it must seem. Hope everything works out for them, and that they have insurance that will at least help them rebound a little bit. What was it that caused the fire? Did they leave the torch going?
Thanks puggs, I won’t disclose all the things my pervy mind has been coming up with! :eek:
House fires scare me. It happens so fast! Having once had nothing but the clothes on my back, I know you can start over, but it’s scary and Not Fun.
On a lighter note, I am working on a crochet scarf this morning. It’s lengthwise, double crochet, in Colinette TAO, in Moss and, I think, Tapis. 100% silk is a bit fuzzy, but very soft. Silky, even. 
It’s very easy to work with, compared to recycled silk, which is like knitting/crocheting with twine. Nasty twine with garbage in it.
brainpasture at this point I don’t know what began the fire, but I suspect that Dave had been using a propane torch, turned it off long enough to take the little kids down to their auntie’s for a bath, and while he was gone something (the pipes?) had retained enough heat to start the fire, probably in the insulation. Just my WAG, but it happens here every winter, although not generally with such disasterous results.
The sky is light enough now to get a good look. The tree is scorched over 40 feet up. (I am a very poor judge of distance.) It has been so cold and dry here it’s a wonder that it didn’t go up like a roman candle.
Jah you find the loveliest yarns, you make me want to take knitting and crochet back up! I laid it aside when my carpal tunnel got as bad as it is, but with the grandbaby coming I would love to make it’s first blanket out of something sinfully soft. The colors you chose are gorgeous, and the work I have seen of yours is excellent.
Well skiffman just left to go work on the boat, as soon as Jeff comes by with the keys I think I have a nap schedualed, I am emotionally wiped out. The molten gold sunrise is very pretty with the falling snow in the foreground. Yup, snow and sun simultaneously, it’s not uncommon, same with sun and rain. Montana can use Big Sky as a motto, but here it really is big sky country! yawn
kai Geoff and his family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Again, I am not cooking ACBG breakfast for supper in the nude. My aprons (yes, I have more than one, doesn’t everybody?) are all boring cotton “chef’s” aprons. The big kind. One even has my name embroidered on it cause it was a gift.
Bobbio that would be Armed and F-aaaaaa-bu-lous. Burly gay cop… mmmmmm… sounds even better than burly butcher bacon.
Kai - I’m curious, in a place where frozen pipes are commonplace and have to be tended to in such a manner, is it not possible or feasible to install a block heater in the room where they’re most likely to freeze? I know little of these things, having spent very little of my life in areas where this sort of thing would be anything more than a remote possibility, but it just seems to me that there must be a bit of a safer solution to the problem. It might cost more in the long run, especially if you heat with oil these days, but I’m thinking it’s a better hedge against possibly (in this case definitely) and literally torching the place.