Sunday, September 13, 2020

Holy Smokes!


And what a week this has been! Of course the most surprising event that none of us were prepared for was the birth of Tilbury's five kittens at Kitten Academy.  And in complete mockery of Oregon, the kittens chose colors ranging in various colors of smoke to serve as an air quality chart.

Happily, my power is restored, although I may not have fully recovered. I definitely was not prepared to be without power for four days. And this was not related to turning off power to protect against wildfires...just that I live in a bit of a housing maze that I suspect confounded the crews as they tried to locate the outages. Parts of the Portland metro region are set up in a strict grid while others are set up in confounding loopy mazes.

Even without power I was able to pull fabric for the September give away. One winner requested roses and I am sure she had this John Kaldor fabric from the 90s in mind at the time.

One of the winners was Joy who is a no-reply blogger so I have not been able to contact her to get her address. If she sees this, maybe she will email me. Next time I will be more careful with the selections because I inevitably discover that someone is a no-reply blogger only after I have composed the email and hit send.

And just to add to our confusion, with power restored, I found out I am in a level 1 evacuation order zone, the lowest level. While caution is always warranted in these situations, my area has a lot of the evacuation centers for the people truly at risk from the fires. So while at first, my area was being encouraged to "Get Set" and prepare in case of the need to evacuate, now we are instructed to just stay out of the way of the people who did have to leave their homes. 

I did take the precaution of getting a plus-size carrier for Buddy (but not a pony trailer). He is also supposed to pick one favorite toy. He keeps changing his mind between the laser mouse, Rosie Rat and his catnip banana. But today he favors his squeaky toy...Molly Kitten.

Addendum: Just to prove me wrong, we are now out of any level of evacuation zone. Now we are just in the same "don't breathe" zone as everyone else. But don't tell Buddy because he's still woefully unprepared for anything.

10 comments:

Barbara said...

Is Buddy feeling kinship to the new ponies at KA?

Katie said...

Four days! Yikes! We, too, seem to live in a small, approximately one-mile bubble that is absolutely last to regain power. And seems inevitably to require the very largest bucket truck ever made to traverse our lawn to a pole in the back yard for a 30-second ride. (They probably wouldn't be too happy if I pointed out that pole is mere inches from the property line I share with neighbors behind me and perhaps they would like THEIR lawn reseeded for a 45th time instead?!) I think Buddy should be allowed a few toys. Perhaps tuck a few extra somewhere to surprise him with once he is settled into a new space? I mean, I'd rather the fires are tamed and out, and it sounds like you'll be okay, but just Molly as a second toy seems dismal. Even for a pony. I hope you all stay safe, remain with power and those who have been displaced can return to unscathed homes very soon. In the meantime, just keep quilting, right?

gayle said...

I've been worried about you and all the West Coast folk. Scary times!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Happy to hear you are out of the fire zone - rain is on it's way they say.

Cathy said...

Someday Buddy is going to get you back for all the wisecracks you make about him. What if he blocks the door when you’re trying to escape? That reminds me; there’s been a mountain lion reported on the loose in our neighborhood. Could you send Buddy over to hunt it down and chase it away?

MissPat said...

I'm glad the power is back on and hopeful the fires are getting under control. I think I have a piece of that lavender rose print or something very similar. I would imagine that Molly and Buddy would not be happy moving to a shelter. Scary stuff.
Pat

Magpie Sue said...

Glad to learn you are all safe and sound. Just as well Buddy didn't have to choose between his three (current) favorite toys!

Linda Swanekamp said...

Sounds like a hair raising week. Hope the kitties and you stay calm. Can't imagine such fires. The quilt blocks are wonderful.

Linda in Calif. said...

I advised my sister keep a container of dog food in her vehicle along with an empty for water (she has bottled water in there already). Just in case she needs to leave at the last minute. It's the sort of thing one forgets when stressed and in a hurry. Isn't the smoke so horrible to breathe all the time? It's starting to affect me. Take care!

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Glad you are out of evacuation status!! I think we all will be in the no breathe status for a long time. That haze is hanging around the mountain tops here.
xx, Carol