"....My house Out of the ordinary Thats right Don't want to hurt nobody Some things sure can sweep me off my feet Burning down the house..."

Yeah, yeah, I know... What's really bad is that I was *singing* it while scrubbing soot this afternoon. Me. Singing. Not a picture any of you want in your heads, trust me. A note I wrote to a friend this afternoon:

It's a helluva way to get a new kitchen. I've been so damn careful with the sawdust, the stain cans, the brushes, etc. from doing the living room floor. I *know* the stuff self-ignites, I know this--- I've trained on it in fireschool! I know the chemical reaction, the oxidation, involved. I've put out this type of fire at work in fire brigade. I KNOW this stuff backwards and forwards. So what did I do? I threw a couple used rags from mopping stain in the garbage last night, and then was so tired from working on the floor all day that I forgot to haul the garbage out. End result was what would have been an extremely cool explosion if it hadn't been in my house. And one helluva lot of smoke damage throughout the whole downstairs-- the kitchen is absolutely black with layers of greasy soot. A damaged wall in the kitchen, as well. All of the painting, etc. I've done over the last few months will have to be redone. And if you can imagine what firemen and hoses, etc. can do to a freshly stained (but not sealed) maple floor.....well, I'm not the happiest camper right now. I'm just sick at my stupidity and my luck. About the only thing I did right was get the hell out as soon as my fire extinguisher went empty, but thankfully I managed to knock it down to basically smoke before I bailed out of here--only the wall was smoldering when the FD arrived, but the smoke was incredible. I've never seen a cloud so thick... I'm just covered in soot and CO2 dust. I need a shower (bad) and a nap. God, I'm tired, and it's only 3 in the afternoon.

And there you have it. I heard a loud snap and a strange whoosh from the kitchen as I was lying in bed this morning, and figured I'd better go see. As soon as I opened my bedroom door, I heard the flames, ran for the fire extinguisher next to the fireplace, and headed for the kitchen. I had the sense enough to not race in; but pulled the pin, flung it across the room, and stuck my arm around the corner to let 'er fly. I only had a few seconds of pressure before the extinguisher was empty-- the next one I buy will be much larger! I dropped the extinguisher, peeked around the door to see flames once again crawling up the wall, and decided it was time to get out. Back to the bedroom to throw on a pair of shorts and a tank top (I know, I know, but I doubt the neighborhood was ready for the sight of my unmentionables after they'd partied all night on the 4th!), grabbed the cellphone and the cat and ran... It's funny. We always talk about the "things we'll save in case of a fire", but as I ran barefoot through the cloud of greasy black smoke towards the door, only one word went through my head. "Out". Miraculously, I stayed calm while making the phone calls, even though I had seen the flames against the wall. I knew once they flashed to the freshly-stained living room floor, it would be all over. I believed in my heart that my house was gone. When I left, I thought I would never walk back up those steps. And I still stayed calm. I don't know how. Even more miraculously, during the short (but eternally long) five minutes or so that it took for the Fire Department (Hi Mike! Hi Glenn! How's the family?) to arrive, the fire died on its own. They gave it one small shot with the big hose to make sure, then opened all the windows and set up the big fan to clear the smoke. Standing outside, I could not believe it was over so fast, and that there was so little damage given the incredible cloud of smoke. A few pics of the aftermath..... { gallery [fire] } The first insurance agent took her pictures, told me I could do whatever immrdiate cleaning I needed, and told me that an adjuster would contact me. Still waiting on that, and I hope it doesn't portend a claim battle. I haven't a clue how this works--in all my years, I've never had to make a claim on house insurance, lol. All of my furniture was piled in the dining room about three feet from the fire, so I may be dealing with that smoke damage as well as the damage in the kitchen. Wish me luck. And join me in my little prayer of thanks that this was so much less than it could have been.

My house caught fire this morning. What a fun vacation this is turning out to be. Sitting on the hood of a pickup truck down the street, watching firetrucks and firemen in SCBA, dragging hoses into my house, all I could think was "I am so blogging this"!! Am I hooked, or what? Story at Eleven.....oh yuck, I bet this makes the local news. Pics will follow, but Rudy and I are okay. I'm just not in a very good mood right now, lol.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

It's always fun when one gets to operate big noisy dusty machines. Oh wait.... I do that for a living don't I? I knew the old maple floors were in rough shape and I've been threatening to sand them for years, but this photo really shows up just how badly it was needed. Once I took up the rugs, I just couldn't ignore this anymore. So, since I have to do the fine sanding coat tomorrow, I figured I'd throw down some stain samples here in the closet to see if I could decide which one I want. I'm partial to the second one from the right, called "traditional pecan". I really dislike the one in the center, and the other three read a little too dark to suit this house, even though I love a dark wood floor. But first things first, while I wait for the sawdust in the living room to settle. It's the beginning of July, which means only one thing in northern Wisconsin.Yeah. The farm is open for picking. It's Strawberry Season. :-D And we know exactly what to do with them, lol.

This week July 2 through July 8 Libra You love to be part of the social whirl, and if you can't participate as fully as you would like, you become uncharacteristically edgy. Monday you have to cancel some of your favorite activities due to last-minute changes in your schedule, so try to be patient. You may want companionship of the four-legged kind on Thursday, and you could rush out and buy a dog or cat. Be sure you have the time and money before you take on the added responsibility. You might consider a fish or bird, creatures that need less care and attention.

Rudy isn't going to like that part---share his favorite chewtoy (me) with another four-legged critter? No. Way.

Funny how last week I was stressin' BIGtime on the Research course, and wondering if maybe I was reaching too far and trying to do way too much all at once. Maybe I should just take some time and rethink this "going to school" stuff. The paper was kicking my butt, and I started thinking....what if I'm too dumb for this? What if I don't have whatever-it-takes to do this? Writing does not come easy to me, and doing these classes online seems to mean there are a lot more papers than back in the old sit-in-lecture days. Last week's "research paper" was an exercise in writers' block and swallowing panic. I don't think I'll ever post this one, because I disagree with nearly every word I wrote-- but I wanted to try to write something from a different perspective. Don't think I'll be trying *that* again soon, lol. Anyway, once again class ended with a completed paper turned in on time, and now the waiting for the grade begins. While waiting, I hit the catalog to pick out my next 8 weeks of self-torture. I have a month before it begins, and I. already. can't. wait.

SS303 International Law 3 Semester Hours Introduces the student to the basic principles and practices of international law and legal regimes. Examines traditional and emerging topics in the field: human rights, the Law of the Sea, the Law of Armed Conflict, War Crime Tribunals, and the International Criminal Court. [Students who enroll in this course may also receive a Certificate-of-Completion from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.]

and immediately after that one, we have:

MH304 American Foreign Policy 3 Semester Hours An examination of the historical context of American Foreign Policy from the entry of the United States onto the world scene at the turn of the 20th Century. The foundations of American attitudes to foreign engagement and the US role in the world is traced from Washington’s Farewell Address, to the Monroe Doctrine, and to the Doctrine of Manifest Destiny.

P.S. The stressin' must have helped. The GPA is maintained for another three months.

Blair launches stinging attack on absurd British Islamists | Politics | The Observer

"The idea that as a Muslim in this country that you dont have the freedom to express your religion or your views, I mean you've got far more freedom in this country than you do in most Muslim countries", Blair told Observer columnist Will Hutton, who presents the documentary. "The reason we are finding it hard to win this battle is that we're not actually fighting it properly. We're not actually standing up to these people and saying, "Its not just your methods that are wrong, your ideas are absurd. Nobody is oppressing you. Your sense of grievance isn't justified." Blair held out the example of the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan - criticised by Islamists as an example of the heavy-handed imperial West oppressing Muslims - to highlight unfounded claims of grievance. He asked how it is possible to claim that Afghanistans Muslims are being oppressed when the Taliban used to execute teachers for teaching girls in schools. Blair added: "How are we oppressing them? You're oppressing them when you support the people who are trying to blow them up".