The Fire has left the County!

The Chetco Bar fire as left Curry County.  It's still moderately active inland but this week of rain has tamed it.  It's at 190,500 acres and 70% contained with the rains.  Many thanks to our Hero Firefighters and First Responders.  They are still here, mopping up and standing by.  The fire is threatening across the border in California.



Incident camp base.  Lots of pup-tents!!

  

 

It's beginning to feel a little more like normal here.  We can even leave the state and go to Crescent City for the pool Water Aerobics without our "Go" bags!! 

Last weekend was the big birthday bash!  Miss P and DH both celebrated their birthdays in Portland and then DH also celebrated in Talent!  A good time was had by all. AND a great deal of yummy food and especially birthday cake and pie and ice cream.  A little break from starting the Mediterranean Diet.  Soon!!

Miss P and I did manicures with light blue/teal polish.  It looked much better on her than on me.  I kept startling everytime I caught it out of the corner of my eye!! 

And believe it or not! DD wanted me to show her how to embroider.  Be still my heart.  We went to Michaels to get basic supplies and learned 3-4 stitches.

Cotton and Steel bugs - now with a distinct personality!!

News from the West Coast Fire Front

The Chetco Bar fire in my area is currently not very active on our side, it's marching east.  The fire is enormous - 178,000 acres and only 10% contained. We've had 1,600 firefighters camping out in pup tents.  Our little town is only 7,000-ish!  Just yesterday they finally allowed the last areas that were evacuated to come back. Some were out of their houses for 2 weeks!! A quilting friend of mine was one of them.

Everyone is very tired and cranky from living in 'siege mode'. After we came back from being evacuated DH and I were hunkered down in our condo avoiding the smoke while having a broken AC! (5 days - we found out how much we depend on our usual ocean breeze). We had some borrowed fans and we didn't move about much.  It felt like hunkering down for the winter storms in NE.  Low light, can't go outside ... but it was hot!  Thanks so much for your inquiries as to how we're doing.
  

It seems like most of the US is fighting with Mother Nature - our fingers are crossed for the areas affected by fires, hurricanes and whatever else being thrown our way. 

I'm going to forget my troubles and quilt today. Quilting is a great stress reliever - I'm prescribing it for me!! I have to move my machine to the great room because I still have 2 twin beds in my sewing room.  Reluctant to put the extra mattress set back out in the storage area because of all the smoke.

BUT that means - tv and good speakers for music!!  More light - but my view today is smoke.  I can hear the ocean so I'm pretty sure it's still out there!!  :) DH just left for a golf outing - let the hullabaloo start!!

I went to the Dr this week.  That morning I was a fluffy senior in good health!  Then I got the new pneumonia shot.  All that fluffiness I offer and they put it right in my shoulder.  OMG!  My arm was tortured all day, then as it always happens with one part hurting - everything else got in the act.  When I went to bed (at 7:30! with a PM pill) I felt like a 94 yr old cripple.  Thank Goodness it was better when I woke up.  And better yet when I went to our "Woolies" meeting and laughed and sewed with friends.  I'm almost back to normal with just a little twinge when I touch it.  I'm certainly glad that I don't have to get another one of those!!

Fire continues

Now that was hard to write - the Fire Continues.  We did have fun with family and friends as we were on the road.  But it doesn't matter if you stay at home and weather it out, or whether you hit the road to get out of the way/smoke.  Nothing feels right.

So to remember some fun times - here are pictures, in no particular order (Really, they didn't load as selected!!)

Olive Garden birthday dinner for moi!

Since we were evacuated and couldn't go home after the eclipse.  I elected to stay at the new house and watch it from the deck with the kids.  99.3 - not totality but the shadows and the temperature cooling was awesome!  And the company wasn't bad either!!

This is what the Brookings cars looked like.  It was greasy, sticky soot everywhere.  And of course, we had water restrictions - so I didn't wash it until I was in Newport, running from the smoke.  R and I did a bang-up job!  Dawn dish soap; washing mitts and alot of water pressure.  Had to go over this beauty 3 times to get all the soot off.  Then we washed her car - easy peasy, just dusty.

First day of school pictures - I got to take them!!

My view Sept 1, 2017.  The fire is active near Selma; but the smoke is hanging around here.

Boys playing at Whaleshead beach - race those waves!!

Gotta throw rocks.  Gotta skip rocks.  Gotta break rocks ... it's a Boyd thing!

I made these!  I was given pictures and suggestions by the designers D & K.  They helped steer the machine and correct any mistakes I'd made!!! Saber-tooth tiger on left.  Superhero bad guy on the right!!