Season of Fire

Hello Everyone,

Here is my progress on my newest pattern called Crossing the Pond.  It fills up my entire, large design wall, and the borders aren't on it yet.  I'm making the borders as we speak.

I want to thank you all for your outpouring of support and prayers for my state which is on fire.  The immediate threat to my home in Livermore has past, but the fire is still burning.

The warnings Sunday about a dry lightning storm with high winds for my mountain location were quite ominous.  All day long, we prepared for evacuation in case the dry lightning sparked more fires.  Our neighbors call their "go" bag a "bugger out" bag. 

I was in a very weird space for all of Sunday and Monday. I felt as though I couldn't concentrate, and would flit from one room to the next trying to make rational decisions.  All day long we felt like we were waiting for the other shoe to drop. How do you decide what goes and what stays?  Well of course you are limited by the space in your car.  We decided we would only take one car because we didn't want to become separated.  After we saw just how much we were going to take, that decision had to change to two cars.

Mr. Joe gassed up both cars, and got cash from the bank while I flitted around the house wringing my hands.  The first things I packed were important documents that I didn't want to have to recreate after the fact.  All of them are now packed in one bin.

All of the quilts that I designed, and made are packed in huge bags that hold about eight quilts.  The quilts that I made, but didn't design were going to be left behind.  This wall hanging made by my friends Lynnette and Barbara, was one of the first quilts packed, and was going to go with me!  The girls presented it to me at my retreat last October.

Mazey's bag is packed with a favorite toy, treats. kibble, water, and leash.  Mazey takes up a least half of the car, so that's why we are taking two cars.

We were also contemplating the potential evacuation of our Livermore home.  My granddaughter called and asked what we wanted to have them save.  She wasn't amused when I said the Grandfather clock! 

My mountain girlfriend Kaaren and I were comparing notes on what we were going to take.  She's created a list of items room by room that she is going to take.  I thought that was a good idea.

So Sunday night at 10:30, the thunder and lightning storm arrived.  Boy did it arrive with fury!  I was reading in bed, and saw the entire sky light up. My heart fled down to my toes.  Mr. Joe was sound asleep.  When the first crash of thunder hit, Mr. Joe nearly jumped out of bed.  For an old guy, he can move pretty fast!  I swear the storm was directly over the cabin.  We both breathed a collective sigh of relief when it started to pour.  The storm was brief, yet very intense.  By morning, the storm had cleared out some of the smoke, and the wonderful smell of mountain air was back.

We are still packed and ready to "bugger out".  All of this preparation led to organization and sorting.  I finally felt normal yesterday, but what is normal?  Well, normal for me is being able to concentrate on quilting longer than a nanosecond. 

My heart goes out to those who have lost everything.  My thanks go out to the thousands of firefighters trying to put an end to the devastation.  I have a horrible feeling this is going to be a long season of fire.

Soon,
Lynn