the definition of Dog Tired

I wish that I could talk to dogs

I am in my 2nd week of the Couch Potato to 5K program. I've never been much of a runner, but I've decided that I could be.
A couple of my friends began and after how I heard how they were doing, I decided that it might just be a good program for me as well. I want to do a 5K in the future. I know that my 70, or possibly 80 something, neighbor will still kick my butt, but I want to finish a 5K. So far, my refabricated ACL is holding up vs my original ACL in the other knee.
Today, I had Cinnamon running with me, which, BTW is like trying to put a leash on a deer. She loves to go with me, so I take her almost every time. We were running along and she spotted something that caused her to stop in her tracks. She froze, and began to back up. Freaking out.
It was a baby stroller with full trash bags tied all over it. Something that is usually being pushed by a homeless person on the street. This was just sitting at the curb. We could not pass it and needed to turn around. Cinnamon didn't calm down until we were half a block away from it.
It's not as odd as Pumpkin's irrational fear of aluminum foil when we first rescued her from the shelter, but it was odd.
I wish I could ask her what was wrong. How long was she a stray on the street? What happened?
She is sleeping quietly on the sofa now (and drooling onto the floor)... safe and sound, and that's what matters.

14 wonderful years

Stuntman enjoyed the anniversary gift that I gave him today.
Even though we rarely give gifts for our anniversary, we always sit and watch our wedding DVD and have a nice dinner together (if we happen not to be apart for work or war reasons).
The 14th Anniversary is the "Ivory" anniversary and he liked his bar of soap.

Volcano, or pyrocumulous cloud?

I was going through my video camera and forgot all about the quick video I shot of the Station Fire in L.A. last Saturday.
This is my first video upload to the site, why not.
At the end, you can hear E1 ask me if we are evacuating. I say "maybe".

On another note... our usually squirrel-free backyard is full of squirrels, dozens of them. Usually, there is only that one obese squirrel that eats every last almond on the almond tree.
The squirrels escaped the forest,
where are the coyotes, deer and mountain lions? Remind me not to go for walks by myself around the neighborhood.

Home Sweet Home

It's good to be home.
We've been evacuated for several days. Although the neighborhood is smoky, it is still intact.
I have many days of cleaning ahead of me (what's new). I'm just happy to have a home to clean.
I replaced the house air filter and I think everyone else in town has done the same because the store was practically sold out of filters of all sizes.
I am so thankful that the winds stayed calm as the fire crept closer to my home because any flying ember would have easily torched anything in it's path.
The firefighters have done an amazing job. A BIG THANK YOU to them.

Tomorrow...
1. clean the pool because it is full of ash.
2. begin wiping down everything in the house, there is a fine layer of black dust on everything.
3. relax... traveling with 3 kids and 3 dogs and trying not to destroy your BIL's house is exhausting.
4. count the hours until Stuntman returns home
5. almost forgot... try to fix the sprinklers in the front yard. Someone (fire truck or looky-loo) drove into my yard while I was evacuated and ran over two sprinkler heads.


On a side rant... an online map of the fire was drawn incorrectly and showed that the fire had made it's way past our home. Stuntman was a little freaked out by this when he was looking for information on the fire. The media coverage of the fire has been horrible. It has been sensational, but not informative. Some online information was helpful, but some (as noted above) was inaccurate. Maybe next time someone can get it right.

Another Day

We left the house last night and stayed at my BIL's house by the beach. Last night, the wind came up, flames crested the ridge and I didn't want to stay up all night watching for embers. A fire engine was parked at the base of my driveway, so I took it as a sign that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get out of their way.
It looked as if everyone else thought the opposite because there were MANY gawkers that drove up to the neighborhood, parked their cars and watched the fire. A-holes.
The fire is huge and moving in multiple directions.
The hill behind us continues to burn and there is one more ridge to go. No one is trying to put it out because of the steep terrain. It looks like they are just letting it burn down to the community like they have done in several other areas of the fire. It is a bit unnerving to see flames from the house, but the fire is moving very slowly. If there was any wind, I would be out of here.
My neighbor and I are taking turns staying awake tonight just so the other can sleep more easily knowing that the other is watching. We are not under an evacuation order, and probably won't be, but we will keep vigilant until the flames are extinguished.
My heart and prayers go out to the families of the firefighters that have lost their lives fighting this fire.

update

The smoke cleared for a while yesterday and the fire is moving in the opposite direction. Still, no wind, so the firefighters can do their job.
Yesterday afternoon, I corralled the kids into my bedroom, put in a Garfield DVD and tried to take a nap. I was successful for 30 minutes and it felt great since I hadn't slept much in the last 3 days. I was half-asleep and heard a knock on the door. No one just drops by here, it's out of the way, but there on the front step was my BIL. He came to check on us since he knew Stuntman was out of town. He could see the smoke plume from his house down by the beach and drove all of the way up here. The kids were ecstatic. They absolutely love their uncle.
Of course, my house was a DISASTER! On a scale from 1-10, it was a 9 on the messy scale. Toys all over, laundry in the midst of folding on the dining table, dishes in the sink. It was embarrassing. It didn't take long to tidy up while he had the kids occupied.
He stayed for dinner and left when it was the kids' bedtime once he could see that we were in the clear.
Right now, the smoke outside is unbearable and ash is currently falling, but no flames nearby. :)