Shed Fire – 03/21/09

shed-fireOn top of everything else going on in our lives right now, this happened Saturday at my parents’ home.  ~~NOBODY WAS INJURED~~

Click here for more pics:    http://picasaweb.google.com/tmcknit/ShedFire032109#.  Below is the story of what happened.

Mark and I were in our backyard.  I went in to make us a sandwich and when I came back outside, I saw smoke at my parents’ shed.  I said to Mark “is that smoke coming from Dad’s shed?”  Mark started to walk and then ran like hell over there.  He yelled back to me “call 911”.

Dad had been working outside all day.  We had watched him, waved at him, etc. but now we couldn’t find him.  While I was on the phone with 911, Mark ran into this burning shed, filled with smoke and flames, windows exploding, to try to find my Dad.  My phone call with 911 started at 2:06 p.m. and by 2:09 p.m., the shed was fully engulfed.  911 stayed on the phone until Mark found Dad, who had just one or two minutes earlier drove his riding mower next-door to my brother’s house – thank goodness!!!

Roger heard screams – he didn’t know who was screaming or what I was screaming – it was me screaming “Dad”, then telling 911 “we can’t find my Dad” – then saying “I’m sorry” to 911 – then screaming for Dad again – 911 was very nice and said it was o.k.  I tried to stay calm – I knew I had to calmly give the address and our township and “what is your emergency” – but after that I just wanted my Dad and Mark safe.  Roger later asked who was screaming – I told him me – he said “man, you’ve got a loud scream on you”.

When Roger heard the screams, he looked and saw what was happening and came running (with a little fire extinguisher – somehow, later that was an LOL for us all).  It was all too late.  In those few minutes it was already over.  Dad was safe, Mark was safe, our world forever changed.  I couldn’t sleep just thinking that I could have lost them both.  If Dad were in there, he would have fallen trying to get out – he’s not as steady as he used to be.  If Mark had heard Dad in there, I know Mark would have tried to rescue him – that’s my Mark.

So today is a new day – it’s an ugly mess but nobody got hurt.  Something that took my parents over fifty years to build, was gone in minutes.  They will rebuild and life will go on – that’s the blessing – life will go on.

And last but absolutely not least, the firefighters were amazing.  I think there were four departments there – Noble, Kingsford-Union, Hanna and Washington Townships.  This pic is of Richard (left) and his little brother.  Richard works with Mark and these two were just all smiles and cute as could be.  Thanks to all the fire departments and the ambulances for a quick response.  It seemed like forever but looking at the time on the pics, it was twelve minutes from the start of my call to the arrival of the first fire truck.  In rural America, that’s pretty darn good.  More good news – the firefighters were able to save my parents’ home.  It has the obvious damage you will see in the pictures – melted siding, broken windows, but only the outside pane of the double-pane windows broke from the heat of the fire, so there is no interior damage to their home.  Thank you thank you thank you to them all.

richard

Raise your hand if you think you know me

Ok, so here’s the deal………..if you know me, you know some of the qualities I value in people.  I value trust and friendship and honesty and kindness and gentle souls.  I value people who care about people and people with a giving spirit and people who call or e-mail just to say “hey, how’s it going” and not to say “I think about you all the time and just never get around to calling, but now that you’re on the phone, can you (fill in the blank) for me”.

I value peace.  I remember when I was a teenager and we were having the usual Christmas Eve party at my parents’ house and somebody asked “What do you want for Christmas” and I said “world peace.”  Somebody roared with laughter (I won’t name names but I do remember who it was and they were also a teenager so maybe they didn’t get it then – I think/hope they do now).  I do wish for world peace but I don’t think it’s attainable – people are people and we are all just too different.

I value pet-lovers and people who care about the elderly.  I always say that if you don’t love and care for pets and the elderly, you’re not my kind of person.

So…………if you think you know me, you know all or most of that about me.  You also know how very much a gift I received today means to me.  It’s a necklace and my Mom gave it to me today, New Year’s Day.  I love the word on the necklace and hope anybody who reads this has it and gives it and encounters it every day.  (A better picture will be posted soon – my camera is unwilling to free the pictures today for some reason – Joan, I’m blaming you for that!!!).

kindness-necklace

Fingerless gloves revisited

fingerless-glovesFingerless gloves – can’t get enough of them.  I wanted a pair for myself so I could keep my hands warm and still knit while we’re in the vehicle going wherever.  I showed Danielle and she wanted a pair.  Mom said “nah” but then she saw them coming to life and she said yes, she’d love a pair.  Dad said yes right away.  He said he used to have a pair of leather ones he really liked (shhhhhhhhhh – I may buy him a pair of leather ones too if these don’t wear well for him – he works outside a lot).  Mark wanted a pair also – to wear under his gloves to keep his wrists warms.  I made the wrist ribbing four inches for everybody – everybody wanted their wrists warm.

Here’s the list of who gets what, starting at the top:

  • Pair #1 – Regia Canyon Colors 2804 and black Regia – these are mine – they match a pair of socks I previously made for myself
  • Pair #2 – black Regia – these are for Mark
  • Pair #3 – Regia Stretch Color #82 – these are for Danielle
  • Pair #4 – black Regia – these are for Dad
  • Pair #5 – black Regia and Regia Marokko 5492 – these are for Mom and match a pair of socks I previously made for her

As for the pattern, I tried several patterns and adapted to what we all wanted (longer ribbing, more stockinette between the wrist and the start of the thumb gusset, etc.).  These were all made with scrap yarn so it was a good use of scraps, except for Danielle’s – she picked what she wanted from my stash.

Happy 50th Anniversary!!!

mom-and-dads-weddingWow – 50 years! Today is my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. They married on June 7, 1958. They have four children and ten grandchildren. We had a beautiful party on May 24, 2008. They then took a trip to Ludington, Michigan, on their actual anniversary to visit friends for a few days. Fifty years is such a milestone and you can see that they still love each other today just as they did oh so many years ago (you can see the love in the two photos I’ve posted – just like newlyweds even today). Happy 50th Mom and Dad!!!

50th-anniversary-party

Socks for Mom (Pair #1)

**Red Heart – worsted – color unknown**

sock-1This is my first pair of socks. I learned to knit in November, 2006, and these socks were completed in December, 2006. They are Red Heart worsted – OH MY. Yes, I said worsted – that was before I learned the joy of knitting socks with fingering weight wool. These socks belong to Mom – she fell in love with them and I happily handed them off to her.