Friday, April 10, 2009

Wild Fires to the West

Yesterday morning, the air was full of a heavy mist that dripped off the roof. Then around noon, the skies started clearing from the west, and the wind picked up.

And then about 3pm, the sky turned brown-orange and smelled of smoke. I pulled up the weather websites, and the distinctive smoke signatures appeared on the weather maps.

Shortly after that, my folks Skype-ed with me for the first time. We were online for almost three hours. It got to be close to when James was coming home, so they stuck around to see him, and then Bob got home not five minutes later. My Mom went on to her job of caring for an elderly gentleman, and my Dad fell asleep while we ate supper. I had planned on some thick steaks, but they were hard to cook. To get the insides cooked, we practically had to burn the outside. I will need to ask for them to be cut thinner next time.

This morning, after sleeping with the windows all night, everything smells of smoke. And there is a sooty dust on the counters. I should have closed windows before we went to bed, but it was still eighty degrees inside. James is home for a four day weekend. I nagged him to bring sheets home and he brought all his blankets, too. I wonder if we can get them clean, folded and put up without getting the soot on them. Soon as they are dry, I will fold them and slip them into my big, super huge baggies. Then he can slip them into his trunk.

Hal Jay says this is the 30 year anniversary of the bad Wichita Falls tornado. We would have been living in Savannah, I think. Or, maybe we were in El Paso at the time.

Coffee is done.

Two hours later--muffins turned out very moist. I added maple syrup. I have been accumulating maple syrup cups from McDonalds and looked up how to use them in cooking online.

WBAP--Hal Jay just told the story of a girl that sent ten-thousand text messages in one month, and her folks received a bill for $4,000.00. It is hard for a child to incur such a huge debt unless they wreck the family car, and then that is why we have insurance. Sounds like parents need to take out phone bill insurance to protect themselves from their children. wow. I am so glad we are past that stage. And we held out for a long, long time and told our sons they had to pay for their cell phones all by themselves. After they got phones, I was amazed what great leashes they were. But, I am still glad that we insisted the boys pay for this luxury.

Would some SEAL sharp shooter please take out the pirates and rescue that poor captain??

2 comments:

JAMIE'S CREW said...

Hey Joyce,
We are all healthy - just bogged down with activities. I started having trouble keeping up with the daily post the 29th of March when I spent all Sunday evening and into the morning at the ER with my Mom and step-Dad. The kids are busy with sports and such, especially my 9th grader who plays ball everyday after school until 6:15 with either a game or a workout. Soccer and gymnastics for the other two. My twins club had our semi-annual garage sale and I spent a week gearing up for that. Anyway - I hope to get back to my regular broadcasts. I have to post about my daughter getting her braces off and stuff. Ya know? Thanks for checking in!

Oh, about the fires! We are fine. I was at crossing guard duty yesterday afternoon when suddenly the wind became extremely strong and forced me to use two hands to hold my sign up! The smoky smell was strong here too. The sky clouded over with the dirt and soot. Did I mention my son had a 5:30 baseball game and we had to sit in that wind and stench? And the noise! YIKES!

I will be back to posting soon! I think sometimes I 2nd guess my topics to write about and wonder if I am boring everyone. It was easier when I had a goal to obtain - a post everyday of the month! LOL.

Bob said...

Looks like you got your wish about those Navy SEAL snipers.