just checking in...

[salixbabylon]

1) random spambot journals making nonsensical comments to your posts = annoying

2) fire = exciting! only not in the good way.

there's a huge wildfire at the opposite end of my county. and there was a significantly smaller (thank god) fire right on the other side of the hill from me.

pretty scary stuff. i live in a fairly rural area, surrounded by manzanita bushes, which my husband once humorously referred to as "nature's version of oil-soaked rags." so i spent about four hours on Thursday nearly hysterical with fear, going through the house and assembling things i would save if i was told to evacuate.

3) something that sucks? going through your entire house, trying to figure out what's important to keep once the humans and dog are safe. three computers. change of clothes. blankets. passport and other important papers. dog food. water. box of old diaries. my stuffed elephant from childhood. family heirloom jewelry.

surprisingly, everything i consider "critical" will fit in the trunk of my car. i'd certainly be devastated to lose the rest, but it was an interesting exercise to have to decide what was truly *essential*. on the plus side, i now have a list of what to take and a plan for evacuation.

4) "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert may be one of the best books I've ever read.

5) on the "bright side " - becuase of all the particles in the air, last night's sunset was simply spectacular. i wish i had my camera with me - the whole sky, edge to edge, was bright pink and orange and red. like heaven itself was on fire...

6) can i have cupcakes?

Comments

[roshismomma.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you checked in, I meant to call you but then I heard the quail hollow fire didnt get to houses and was relieved. Still, I love it there. Waaaah. We seem to have no fire air particles here. Most odd. I think you should have cupcakes if you want them.

[roshismomma.livejournal.com]

That cut me off without my saying having both done wildfire evacuation prep (oakland hills fire when i was at mills) and had my apartment burn, years later, and then living in bonny doon.... i hear you. i do. fire might be one of the 4 elements and rather important to life, but i dont like it when it gets unruly.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Damn right - fire is scary stuff. As are all of the elementals, but fire in particular gets out of hand and fast.

They said the ranch/park didn't burn either, so I'm honestly not sure what area was on fire. We got a call today saying it was totally out, though, which was nice.

We should all get together for well within or something. And cupcakes. I miss you guys. *hug*

[eeyore9990.livejournal.com]

Will you take dark chocolate brownies drizzle in caramel, or does it have to be cupcakes?

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Brownies sound equally awesome. I'll check out what the bakery has tomorrow. :)

[jackieville.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you checked in, sweetie! It is good to have a plan. Be safe and I'm thinking about you!

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*hug* Thanks! Now we just need to do some outside-prep work and cut back all the bushes to a 30-foot radius. The fun never stops! :P

[nverland]

Do you know how many people will read that and not know what manzanita is? Oil soaked rags pretty much sums it up. Pretty wood to work with, though.

sadly, i think all of us can fit our important lives into our trunks. Good to have a plan, though.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*boggles* I just did a websearch and discovered how local to the west manzanita is - I never knew! I love its little blossoms in the spring but yeah, it's a little scary how flammable it is.

I'm actually kind of relieved to have such a short list of things to make sure to save. It makes me feel kind of proud to know that my life isn't as tied up in sentimental objects as I thought it was. I feel safer, knowing that I *can* take it all with me, if that makes sense. ;) *hug*

[lisagems.livejournal.com]

Hugs you hard. Fire is many things, but friendly it is rarely.

I came to the conclusion a while ago, that I could escape here with my laptop, and a carry-case of finished jewelry to sell to get started again (with my best handtools in the case), and live with that. The rest would hurt, yes, but I would walk away if I had to. (but, I would *try* to get all the unfinished beads, silver, etc, too, 'cause it would make starting over a hell of a lot easier).

Yes. Yes, you can have a cupcake. Maybe even 2.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Cupcakes fix everything. As does having a plan, I think. Just working it all out in your head makes it a lot less scary.

*hug*

[ladykatiewench.livejournal.com]

1..OOOH! You've been getting those too?! *kicks*

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think we all have. It's weird that it started all of the sudden-like. *shrugs*

[ranger-girl0301.livejournal.com]

Eat, pray, love IS amazing. The pray part got a little rough to keep reading, but the rest is beautiufl.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I really loved the whole thing. Glad to hear you got something out of it too. :)

[helena-s-renn.livejournal.com]

keep us posted... and i'll be keeping my fingers crossed that you and your house are okay.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

We're fine - we got a phone call from the fire dept yesterday letting us know that the fire was now out and the smoke should be clearing up soon. I've put away all the take-it-with-you stuff, although I'm keeping the list handy, and today I'm making my husband help me get a start on cutting back all the shrubs and stuff to a 30 ft distance.
I may be paranoid, but better safe than sorry. ;) *hugs*

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

I adored Eat, Pray, Love too! :)

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I am having the utterly unique urge to read it *again*, already. Glad to hear that you read it and liked it too. :) *huG*

[bitofaspaz.livejournal.com]

Hey, you finished the book! Awesomo! Your fire stories always freak me out. Maybe it has something to do with me being a water sign and all. I'm so relieved that you're safe, though it must have been pretty to see all the embers and sparks floating around. xoxoxoxo

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Totally - finish it and tell me what you thought. :)

The fire was damn scary. I'm glad it's over now. I didn't see any sparks, just billows of smoke and wood-burning smell for about 24 hours. Still highly unsettling, to say the least.

*smooches*

[andolinn.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that you are safe. I didn't think the big one was too close to you, but...

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Nope, not close at all. I was a little on edge with the "Holy crap, it's only May and there's fires already? We'd better get prepared" kinds of thoughts, but when the small fire started just a mile or less away, I totally lost it.

Thank goodness it's all over now. :)

[astrojen.livejournal.com]

U can has cupcakes. ;) And a hug.

*hugs*

Jen ;->

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

*smooch* :)

[molly-millions.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about you the whole time, was relieived to see the main huge fire was not right on you. I didn't know about the smaller fire though. This is the reason why in the summer I get crazy when I hear lunatics setting off fireworks around here. I am glad you are alright, and the nice cool weather this weekend should have helped a little. It actualy rained here yesterday. It was cloudy, 60's, and sprinkling. I was in my GLORY!!!! :D If it was that weather all the time, it would be brilliant.

((HUGS)) I'm glad you're ok sweetie.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

I don't think the smaller fire made it into any new other than the local paper. And I hear you about the fireworks - I hope people are a little more sensible this July, with the fire so fresh in people's memory.

*hugs* Hope you're doing well, too!

[soar38.livejournal.com]

Hope those fires are put out before any more damage is done. *hugs*

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Well, the one near me is out, no homes damaged. The other one they're still working on... I feel so badly for those people.

Thanks for the concern! *hug*

[heartofslash.livejournal.com]

1) Arg. Way worse since the sale...

2) Fire is a BAD thing to visit your house.

3) That's something everyone should do, just as an exercise in self-knowledge. If nothing else, you've been able to prioritize. That should prove useful.

Cupcakes... mmmmmmmmmm.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Behold, the power of making lists. ;) Everything in life is more managable when it's all plotted out. (Except then you have to be flexible and allow for all hell to break loose and revise the list on the fly. Not one of my strong points. :P)

CUpcakes make everyhting better....

[lostiawen.livejournal.com]

Eek, I didn't think that the Quail Hollow branch of the fire would come near your place. I thought it was some distance away.

[salixbabylon.livejournal.com]

Not far enough. ;) Thank goodness it's out. I feel so much empathy for the people near the big fire...