The traffic for the last 1/8 mile home from quilting was horrendous. First, Mr. Jack Rabbit zig-zagged drunkenly down the road blocking all attempts at passing. He staggered left, then right seeking his elusive turn-off. I crept slowly up the lane giving him plenty of room. Suddenly, three deer darted out of a side road and stopped dead in the intersection. Poor Mr. Jack Rabbit, he didn't know which way to go. In confusion he turned and met me head-on. At the last minute he swerved to the right and we passed unscathed. The deer stood there and assessed the situation. Finally, they bounded gracefully into the neighbor's orchard and I was able to make it home.

Town Notes: We left another pick-up load of fire debris at the landfill. I got my monthly blood test. John got his teeth examined and cleaned. The Dodge Ram passed its smog test. John and I completed a rigorous counseling session: we both have some cognitive retraining to do. Groceries from Costco and Raley's will keep us fed for the next week. Lunch (and later supper) was a Costco rotisserie chicken: Yumm! a cheaper and healthier lunch than burgers.

Quilting: I took my machine to the Grange Hall and stitched my material sandwiches together. I got all thirty done and was able to lay out the blocks before we parted ways at nine. I didn't like the first lay out and it was nice to have help seeing the blocks a new way.

This photo is from my sample photo file. Just like the picture. Right now I feel like slapping my tail on the water--If I had one.

Today has been filled with a marathon session typing a list of fire inventory into a data base. My shoulders are sore from all the sitting even after making sure I got up and changed activities every hour. (Probably should have been every 20 minutes). During breaks, I watered my melon plants-no melons, washed two loads of clothes, practiced the piano, and cooked meals. What can I do to that feels as good as a good tale slap must feel to that whale?

Clean-up

Before and after shots of the area around the trailer door.

We took an inventory of all my music and all the record albums that hadn't been destroyed. Then everything went into black garbage bags--even the ash. We are down to black rocks in many places. Poppi keeps finding hardened splashes of the aluminum that covered the sides. We keep looking for pieces of metal so we can recycle them. Might as well make some good of the disaster. We took one load of metal in already and got $300 for it. Today we took a pick-up bed stuffed with black garbage bags of burnt papers, a melted radio, and lots of ash to the garbage dump. We will definitely have one more truck load, perhaps more before the trash is cleaned up. We have a goal of getting all the trash sifted through by the 20th. That way we can empty the pick-up bed in time for the priesthood's helping hands. They are coming on the 24th with their sawzalls to help Poppi cut the metal into sections for recycling.

Discoveries

I discovered turkeys in my front yard when I got up this morning. I love their soft burbbling conversation.

I discovered that Joan of Arc's action took place in The Hundred Years War. What a long time to have to support military actions. Ten years in Afghanistan is miniscule by comparison.

I discovered this quilt block plan in my great-granmother's recipe book.

Memories

Recently we had a fire and lost a lot of stuff. Happily, my treasured possessions are all safe and sound. I keep this photo by my desks so that every day is a lovely day filled with happy memories of my grandkids and good times.

Today I made a new chili recipe. I'm getting ready for next weeks chili cook-off.

I also watched America's got talent. My favorite four are the final four. I'm happy.

Still working on cleaning up genealogy paperwork that I rescued from the ashes. Then I'll check to see if their work is done. If so I will trash the smoky smelling worksheets. I'll never replace the photos but that's not the reason for doing genealogy. As long as I focus on the eternal part of the work, I'm okay.