Knit & Play with Fire

Odds & Ends

The things we will do for friends. As I have already mentioned, I am going to the Apple Store this coming weekend. Well, the closest Apple Store is in Bethesda which is about 50 miles from me. Not that great of a distance when you live in the greater DC area. I have been known to drive to the Eastern Shore of Maryland for dinner and that is about 70 some odd miles one way.

The other night after stopping my LYS, I stopped but the truck house to talk to my friends.  Okay, actually, I stopped by to talk to T. Well, one thing led to another and he is willing to try one of my favorite ethnic foods. Although I love Chinese food, and that is the only true ethnic food that I can get up here in the county, I really truly love Arabic food. Actually, I love Lebanese food. And my all time favorite restaurant is the Lebanese Taverna in Rockville, Maryland.

So I am going to go shopping on Sunday and I will be picking T up some carryout for his lunch on Monday. Let's see, shopping at Nordstrom's, the Apple Store and Whole Foods plus a trip to the Taverna that equals a perfect day out.

I might even try to sneak in a trip to Woolwinders while I am down that way.

 

Being Bad

Okay, I don't know about you but when I get my tax refund back I always allow myself a guilty purchase or two. I take the money back that I am receiving and divide it in half - half goes into savings and the rest is mad money. And when I checked my on-line balance on Monday, I discovered my mad money sitting in there. And since I was able to snag one of the few openings in the exclusive Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Club, aka the STR Club, I went ahead and paid that invoice super quick. Yeah, I need more sock yarn like I need another tattoo.  Oh wait, I want another tattoo so I guess that that isn't a really good analogy. But yeah, I am in! My first kit is already on its way. Thanks Kaci and everyone at Blue Moon!!!

And the second thing that my mad money will be spent on is replacing my big iPod. But that really isn't doing something crazy since I was planning on replacing it this year. It is just now a necessity. See over the weekend, my big iPod gave me a very unhappy face. When I turn it on, I see an image of an iPod wearing a frown. The battery has died in it and I can just as easily put the money that it would cost me to replace the battery towards a new iPod with a larger capacity. And this time, I will be buying my new iPod straight from my local Apple store. After consulting my my technical person, also more commonly referred as my bother, I am going to skip the HP/Apple iPods and buy a straight Apple iPod. And for those of you who do not speak sister-ese, bother is another word for brother.

And I received some really bad news yesterday. No, not that type of bad news. But that I will not be able to be at MS&W early the first day. I start a new fire class on Monday and I just so happen to know the instructor pretty well. (He is not only my assistant chief but some one I have known since high school. Rumor has it that we were prom dates but I will not verify that rumor.)

Well, we were out on a b.s. fire call yesterday when I asked him if class would be over by the first weekend in May. He told me that he thought the final was that weekend. When we got back to the station, I checked out the schedule that was in his truck. And yes, the final is Saturday, May 7!!!!! So I may make the festival late in the day depending on what time we get done. The final includes a practical and a written test. The written final shouldn't take me more than 10 to 20 minutes depending on how many questions are on it. There should probably be 50 questions on it should that means I will be done in 10 minutes. Okay, I am able to take tests so don't hate me for that.

I will definitely be there on Sunday. But don't worry, I am working on a plan to get the good stuff. I just need to talk to some one first. More later.

Socks Yet Again

Okay, to answer a few questions about my sock stash. No that was not just the stuff I liked; it was all of my sock stash except for the odds and ends bag. I have a bag where I stash away the odds and ends of sock yarns plus the stuff that I have tried and didn't like. And the actual number of skeins really isn't that bad when you get down to it. Some of the yarn in the keep stash was received as gifts. So I really can't place it in my get rid of pile.

But I do have a finished Jaywalker sock to show off. I am not 100% sure I like the fit on my foot so I am waiting a few more days before starting the mate. I will do my best to take a photo of the sock actually on my foot soon. If I do end up frogging the sock, I already have a pattern in mind for the yarn. It is a pattern that I saw in Socks, Socks, Socks called Gull Wing Lace Rib. I am planning on using this pattern really soon.

I am planning on having a sock yarn sale on either the blog or on eBay really soon. Some of the yarns that have been in the yard sale are going to be going on over to eBay. I have several skeins of Alice Starmore yarns that I want to de-stash and the best place for those particular yarns is eBay.

And Phyl, I will send you an email privately about how the meeting went on Saturday. But let's just say, I am undecided at this point if I want to continue getting to know G. Pris, you already know the details. And I have a guy who asked me out on MySpace but I haven't answered him yet. I am having this one checked out by some male friends first.

And just to prove that I actually do finish up some things, hrere are two photos of 2 hats that were finished this weekedn. One is in Noro Kureyon and the other is in Rowanspun Aran. The color on the Rowan hat is really hard to photograph but it is nice deep dark navy with little flecks of color.

Pretty Travel Pictures

Okay, I did spend almost all of yesterday cleaning up the stash and finishing 2 UFOs but their photos will have to wait until tomorrow. I still need to take the photos.

But I saw these two wonderful photos on Webshots today and decide to share them. Take a close look at the one. Do you see who is hiding under the shade?

These photos are of someone's vacation to Kenya. And now, I wanting to visit there as well. Before the only part of Africa that I have ever wanted to visit was Morocco. And now I can add Kenya to the list.

Who Knew & Other Fire Related Stuff

According to a national survey, firefighting is the sexiest job out there. Who knew? I mean, obviously the people answering this survey have never taken a close look not only at what we do but at the shape many of the guys are in. That is not to say that most fire fighters are not physically fit but they just don't look it. And we do a hot dirty job. You really wouldn't think we are sexy after we are done fighting a fire. Trust me, we need a shower after fighting a fire.

And on a sad note for the Maryland fire service, there are some fire fighters facing criminal charges over their actions at a fire scene. I will not go into specifics about the incident but let's just say that that type of behavior has no place on the fire grounds. The allegations are about an incident involving career and volunteer fire fighters in Prince Georges county in Maryland. PG is one of the two Maryland counties that border DC. I know that there are some issues between the career and volunteer fire fighters down there but what happened should never have happened. If you really want to know more about what happened, just do a Google search.

I hope that this type of issue never happens up here where I run or anyway else for that matter. 'nuf said.

Yet More Quizes

So what type of girl are you and are you uptown or downtown? Can you tell that I have been spending a little bit too much time on MySpace?

You Are Downtown

You're a funky spirit that requires freedom to live. Your city girl persona needs adventure, diversity, and great pizza.

Are You Uptown or Downtown?

You are a New Age Girl!

You're bright, opinionated, and dedicated to changing the world. Even if it's one hybrid car at a time, you do you part to make things better. In fact, you may be so busy with your causes that you have little time for love. Take an extra yoga class or two, and you just might meet New Age Guy!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Dating in the Modern Age

Okay, Phyl, just for you, here is an update on my dating life.

I joined CatholicSingles.com which is like Match.com but for Catholics. It was free for the basic stuff so I figured why not. Well, I got a hit right off the bat from a guy down in Lorton, Virginia, which is really right down the road. I checked out his profile and he seemed okay. He works in the defense industry and he is a volunteer firefighter.The one thing that struck me as a little bit strange was his age and the fact that he has never been married. But, hey, who is to say that he didn't get burned in the past.

So I responded to his initial email and gave him one of my proxy email addys. (Why yes, I have several email addys; doesn't everyone?)

In his very first e-mail, he was asking about kids and wanting to meet in person. Oookay... I may live in the country but I am still basically a big city girl and wary of meeting people who can not be vouched for by friends.  And I told him that in the first email to him.

We have exchanged a grand total of 6 emails and he is still pressing to meet in person. And he has been asking some questions but he seemed really hesitant to answer my questions. Plus based on his profile, he is a much more devout Catholic than I am. I am something of a liberal Catholic who blends some Buddhist beliefs into my personal beliefs. He seemed a little bit put off by that but okay.

In the next to last email exchange, I flat out told him that until we got to know each other better through email there would be no meeting in person. His last email to me said something to the fact that I should learn to trust more easily and that this would be his last email to me.

Okay, that is fine with me since he wasn't willing to learn a bit more about each other through email than he wasn't right. Plus I prefer to err on the side of caution. It is better to be safe than sorry.

But that is okay, because I think I already have a keeper in the wings. I have been riding down at the truck house in the county for the past several months. And prior to that, I have had the chance to get to know one of the career guys (T) stationed there. T is married but he is a really nice guy. And we were talking one night and he asked my permission to give my cell number to a friend of his who lives down in Blacksburg, Virginia. (All together, how sweet!!)

 

The guy he wanted to give my number to is his best friend since like 3rd grade. G works all of the time between his job at Tech and helping his parents take care of 35 acres. Yes, he lives with his parents event though he is in his 30's but he has his own space on the family estate for lack of a better word. His parents need the help maintaining the acreage and rather than see them sell it off, he helps to take care of it.

I said yes to giving out my cell phone number. G is originally from up here and gets up here quite frequently as time allows. The first time, he called we ended up talking for almost an hour. The only reason that the call ended was that I got a fire call.

And every time we talk, we end up talking for at least an hour. T told me one day that G has been wanting to see a picture of me and T told me to just email him the pictures. And yes I did do that. I have seen one photo of G and yeah, I like him. The one thing that G asked T about me was I real. He said that I was sweet and too good to be true.  T told him that yes, I really was that sweet. Okay, that really does give your ego a boost.

Now I would have willingly meet G somewhere half way between here and Blacksburg simply because T knows him and can vouch for him. Is that wrong? I don't think so, because T can vouch for him and has known him for well over 20 years.

And just so you have some photos to look at, I am going to give a link over to a friend's Myspace page that has a picture of my new ride as he puts it. Yeah, I like big trucks! And here is a link that has a picture of T in it. Ignore the short little s**t next to him because we all do anyway. (Not true, Matt, just in case you find this page!) yeah, both of them are cute and they are both really sweet.

Flashing the Sock Stash

Okay, I have taken the challenge and I am going to flash my sock stash. I joined the Sock Yarn Addicts Club and we are flashing our stash plus doing an inventory of it. Do you have any clue as to how hard it is to inventory your sock stash? And yes, I am flashing mine early. I like to be different.

I did finally find a use for the antique cradle I bought last fall. I have finally finished the refinishing of it and it has made a great prop for flashing my sock stash. And I may end up using it to store my sock stash in because all of it fits in the cradle.

Now the big question is how many pairs of socks are in the cradle? Yes, I know that you really want to know. Although after checking out Emy's pile, I have nothing to worry about. She has more pairs of socks in her stash than I do. And the amazing thing is that we both have the same neon bright pink Koigu yarn. Yes, she sent it to me when she was my secret pal. BTW, she has enough yarn at home for 39 pairs if socks plus more on hold at the shop.

I have about 72 skeins of sock yarn in my stash at the moment not including the yarn that is already on the needles. But I am not going to keep all of that yarn. There are 3 skeins/pairs in my definite sell/give away pile. Three are 17 pairs of socks in my maybe get rid of pile. I am not 100% in love with these yarns after looking at them again.

But in the keep pile, there are 31 pairs of socks. But there are 2 skeins of the same color yarn and these skeins make a pair of socks each. So although I love the color, I may reduce it to 1 skein. I really do not need 2 pairs of socks in the same color. So I will be sorting out the sock yarns this evening and looking at them harshly as to keep them or do I help them find a good home where they will be loved. Some decisions are hard to make but I have to make them. After all, sock yarn wants to be loved and used.

So if you are a member of the sock yarn addicts club and you feel need to increase to increase your stash before April 1, keep an eye out next week and I will posting photos of the socks that will be looking for new homes. And yes, there will be some Lorna's Laces in that pile.

And btw, some of the orange sock yarn in the stash belongs to Priscilla but she will not be getting it until MS&W. So Pris, you really need to make sure that you come again this year. And yes, Mac has to come along to carry stuff for us again. LOL

Is It True?

Okay, I am a sucker for tests. And this one had me curious seeing as how I am in a long distance relationship right now. (We are still in the getting to know each stage. And yeah, I am liking him!) And I have some one else from the DC area who wants to met me but  I am a little hestiant to meet this guy. Something is setting off warning bells. I think we need to exchange some more emails first. Because, the first guy is definitely making think and feel that this one might be a keeper.

So try this quiz and see what type of girlfriend you are and is it really true?

 

            You're an Amorous Adventurer

           

What Kind of Girlfriend Are You?
           Brought to you by Tickle          

Disturbing Story

Okay, I try to keep my activism side in the background here. But I had to post a link to this story from a Kevin Sites Yahoo blog about an 11 year-old girl in Afghanistan. The story in a nutshell is that this very young woman was sold into "marriage" at the age of four and ended up in a life of slavery. She escaped at the age of eleven. She is now twelve. Be prepared before you look at the photos of the scars on her body. It can be difficult for the western mind to imagine the life this child has lived. But her story is common in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. If you would like to do something, check out and support organizations such as Women for Afghanistan, UNICEF, and Save the Children.

I have been a long time supporter of Amnesty but I am going to be adding Women for Afghanistan to my list. We should never take it for granted how easy we have it here in the US and western Europe as women despite how hard it seems at times.

Sock-a-pooolza Socks

I have finally decided on my pattern and yarn for Sock-a-pooolza. I have decided to do something entirely strange and weird for me. I am doing a top down sock!! I am using the Simply Lovely Lace pattern from the current issue of IK. The yarn is some that I bought off of eBay from a seller named kbrece. The yarn is a hand-dyed sock yarn in purples and it reminds me of spring. I will try and get photos tonight or tomorrow.

I have also restarted my Falling Leaves sock but in a different yarn this time. It kind of helps to read the pattern correctly. For some strange reason, I insisted on reading the pattern incorrectly. I am using Turks and Caicos colorway from Dani at Sunshine Yarns. I am loving her yarns!

And if I am quiet this week, don't be worried. I am just enjoying not having class for another two weeks. Yes, in two weeks, I have a new class starting on truck operations. I have also been spending time down at the truck house. Yes, I enjoy riding the trucks. The people at the truck house are wonderful and we have fun even when we are doing something as simple as washing all of the trash cans in the station. It is all in the company you keep.

And I am still in my getting to know each other better stage of a relationship with the guy in Blacksburg.

 

 

Finals Are Done - For Now

Okay, the final for my Fire Fighter 2 class is done and over with it. I know that I passed the exam but I will not know my score until next week. Some of the questions on the test made you wonder who wrote the thing!

And I managed to stay busy over the weekend.  I was sitting at home Saturday morning knitting when I should have been cleaning when I heard Box 11-22 coming from pager. Yes, I immediately put shoes on and grabbed my camera and keys and headed out the door.

I was lucky and made it on the first piece out of the door which happened to be the quint/truck. When we pulled around the corner, I saw flames shooting out of the chimney at the second story level. The house that was on fire was a end unit of a row of townhouses. I really wish that I could have had the chance to get a photo of the flames coming out but my job comes first.

Now, I have been riding a  'real' truck long enough that I know to grab my tools. But the quint is a truck that is confused since it carries hose line and some water. The other guy in the back with me grabbed the hose line and was yelling at me to drop my tools. Forget that!! There were some issues such as the fact that the hose line was not charged when he entered the building and there were no life safety issues since the residents were out. The tanker was right behind us and he really should have waited the extra minute. But the issues have been dealt with by those who have to handle them. And I did the right thing but waiting that extra minute. It really didn't make any difference to damage done by the fire.

And the cool thing about this fire was that I was talking to the fire marshall that I had met on a previous fire. It turns out that he is friends with my brother and he has asked me to email him any photos that I take on a fire scene. Depending on where the fire marshall's are coming from, we can be there for an hour or more waiting on them. So any photos that are taken prior to their arrival can help them in making their findings. I guess having connections sometimes does help...

Socks on the Needles

Never let it be said that I don't like knitting socks. Here are some photos of the some of the ones that I have on the needles right now. I just started what is for me something strange - a sock from the top down. But I didn't take a photo of it because there is not enough of it to show yet.

There is a plain Jane toe up sock in a color that will go great with jeans. This one may go to a friend who has been helping me out quite a bit at the fire hall by acting as a buffer between me and some one who has been acting like a jerk lately. Luckily her foot is the same size as mine.

There is my Jaywalker in STR (colorway is Fire on the Mountain) that I work on at night right before turning off the lights. Yes, I knit in bed; doesn't everyone? (And yes my foot is on top of a pile of quilts that I made. I really need to get back to quilting soon.)

There is my Falling Leaves sock from Knitty in Koigu. Right now, I am not seeing the lacey pattern in this sock but I like the pattern that I am getting so I will keep knitting on it.

And the one that I just started the Simply Lovely Lace socks from the current issue of Interweave Knits. And until I get more then the inch or so that I have on the needles, this sock will remain incognito.

Woods Fire

Yesterday afternoon, we were dispatched to what went out as a house fire up near my brother's house. We were already en route when it was changed from a house fire to a woods fire. That was when I was really happy that I ended up on the tanker instead of the quint for once. The quint was placed back in service and they headed back to the station. Four of the guys who were on the quint ended up heading back out on one of our brush trucks while another got out our old brush truck.

We got on scene and headed up to the fire by climbing up and riding on the back of the brush units that were already there. We got lucky and the fire was extinguished before it really took off. There was probably less than an acre burned in all. It could have been worse given that the winds were picking up yesterday.

Hopefully, we will not have woods fires today because the winds are pretty nasty outside right now.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is here for a few days. And with spring comes flowers. So to distract you from lack of knitting photos, here are some photos of my flowers. Enjoy the flower pictures while you can because I am planning on digging up my flower beds in the next week or so. It is time to redo them.

And of course, being spring, my thoughts turn to nice bright colors, I have added some sock yarn to my stash for spring. One skein is the colorway Turks & Caicos from Sunshine Yarns. I love the colors in this skein because they remind me of the tropics.

And the second skein is a dyed to order by Heather of All Things Heather. I bought the yarn through her Etsy store. I love Hawaii but I have never found a sock yarn that reminds me of the colors of the ocean right off of the Islands. I sent her two pictures of the waters right off the coast and this is what she came up with and it is as close as I am going to get to perfection in yarn.

Quiet Time

I am knitting but I have some issues that I need to deal with right now at the fire company. There are times when it sucks being good at research!

But I am going to post two photos of the place I really want to go to on vacation. I guess itis time to stop spending money on yarn and saving because this will be an expensive vacation.

Being Teased

I stopped by the truck house where I have been running calls at lately for a few minutes. The truck house has the benefit of being located right in between both of the yarn shops. (How convenient for me!)

I had just left one of my LYS to after picking up the replacement needle that had broken. I needed to drop off my updated training records since I finally received the transcript from last fall's class.

Well, as soon as I walked in the door, our lieutenant started picking on me because he didn't see me on a call that morning. I reminded him that he doesn't run every call and that I had just stepped into the shower when the first call went out as an automatic alarm and that I did go down to the station to staff the next piece. And that sometimes there are more important things than running a call like a nice hot shower. The guys were just teasing since they knew that I had been up most of the previous night on a different call.

And than we got done to the serious business of going through photos from last week's fire that I had to take using a disposable camera. I have had to do some playing around with the contrast and fill light in order to get these photos half way decent. I am definitely upgrading my photo editing software really soon. One of the best features that I love about my digital camera is that I can turn the flash off and use the available light and you can not do that with a disposable camera. (And there is no zoom on the disposable that I was using!) Lighting on a fire scene is really interesting since you have lights from all of the equipment plus the light bars going. And our gear has reflective striping on it. So I think you can see how tricky it can be to take a good photo on a night scene. But here are some of the photos that I promised from last week's fire. 

And yes, the house was a total loss but that sometimes happens. We try to avoid losing a whole house but sometimes a fire will burn hot and fast and all we can do is try to prevent it from spreading.

My New Needles

Okay, I didn't get as much done last night as I had intended. I went down to the fire house to pick up something and I was told that I had to be at the company meeting by the vice president. Actually, I was told that as a company officer, I had to be at the meeting. So we had one of the shortest company meetings on record. (The shortest company meetings was about 5 minutes and that was because we had a call.)

So when I finally got home, I started frogging my Falling Leaves sock. I am having some problems with the eyelets showing so I am frogging it and I am going to try knitting into back of the yarn-overs before I change patterns.

And of course, I spent almost an hour on the phone with some one who is becoming important to me. The only reason our conversation ended was that my minitor went off with 3 beeps and a box number where I knew our truck was due. And yes, I did make the truck. When we got there we had to walk a bit since all of the units were staging and the other truck was already in place. The fire was already knocked when we got there. We ended up using our truck after the fire because the roof had to be taken off and we have a basket on the end of our ladder. And working off of the basket was the safest route.

I did not go up in the bucket since we could only safely have 3 people up there at a time. My partner and I took care of returning the tools that we had initially pulled were returned to the quint. After that we were free to stand around and watch. Well, actually, I had another job on the fire ground. I am the company photographer so my other job is to take pictures. I ended up with over 300 shots from last night. Now comes the fun part of editing them.

My chief was on the call but he was working. My chief is a career fire fighter and last night he was at his duty station but they were also on the call. But he hung out with us since he was driving the engine. And of course, he was directing me to take as many photos as I could.

When we were on our way home, the guys on my crew were going through all of the pictures. It is a little bit difficult to get shots of the roof work from the ground, but I did get them. Actually reviewing the pictures entertained us on the way home.

I was supposed to call that certain some one back when I had the chance on the call. But considering that the call went out at 11:01 and we got back to the station at 2 am, I decided that it was smart to not call him since he had the night off. I am sure that I will be hearing from him tonight.

And just to show you that I still knit, I am offering up a photo of a sock that I am knitting using my brand new ebony dpn needles from Lantern Moon. My only compliant about these needles is that I have broken 2 of them in less than a week. The first one broke within 24 hours and the second one broke Sunday morning. My LYS has already replaced the first one and I am going by tonight to get a replacement needle. Hopefully, I will not have any more break on me. I have only ever broken one dpn in all of the years that I have been knitting so this is a little strange to me.

Wishing I was Here

This photo is where I wish I was right now. I am tired and sore. We cut up a car in class yesterday using strictly hand tools. And hand tools means hacksaws, reciprocating saws, pry bars, and an air chisel. Those were the tools that my group was allowed to use because we are rescue technicians. The other group in the class had never taken rescue tech so they were allowed to use the hydraulic tools which make cutting up a car really fast and simple. But it was a great lesson.

And I am slowly frogging one of my socks because I am not liking how the pattern is turning. Photos of at least one sock tomorrow. That is I will try and take a photo tonight if I don't spend too much time on the phone. I am still n the getting to know some one process of a relationship. And yes, I am liking him and he is liking me. That is according to the friend who set us up. It is strange having a relationship with someone who you have never seen but it is also interesting. We will be exchanging photos soon, I hope.

No Posts Equals Busy

I have been busy this week so I apologize for the lack of posts.

Monday night in class, we had the opportunity to play with the gas prop. This is a simulated propane gas fire. This is actually quite a bit of fun although tit is hard work. This type of fire fighting requires quite a bit of team work and coordination because you are approach the fire as a single unit and you have to provide a total water curtain over the fire. Just think about how hard it is to get two people to walk together. Now imagine 6 to 8 people having to not only advance forward together but hauling a nice and heavy hose. But it sure is pretty to look at when you are not on the hose line. The photos here are courtesy of one of my class mates. I forgot my camera and he had his.

Last night, I had to go to a meeting for a local group. My fire company is trying to get some donations from local groups. We are trying to make our classroom at the station a true classroom by updating the equipment. And I am the person who was sent out to make the presentation request for the money.

I headed back to the station after the meeting to let the chief know that we would be getting something but that I would not know the exact amount until today. (And yes, we got some of the money that we requested.) I was just getting ready to leave the station when I heard 3 beeps go out over the radio. I stopped to listen to who had the box alarm. As soon as I heard Box 2-16, I was headed for my locker and trying to get off my uniform shoes. I knew that we were going.

You could see the house fire from quite a distance. The house was rocking!! The truck company was first on scene and quickly established the fact that the attack would be an exterior attack only. The house was fully involved by the time the engine that I was on arrived. And we were the third engine in to the scene!

There were some water issues with regards to hydrant pressure and getting the caps off the hydrants. I know of at least one hydrant wrench that was broken last night. The biggest dangers last night were from the flying embers carried by the wind and the water problems. Basically there is nothing left of this house. There are 4 walls and the foundation and that is it. There is a story about the house fire in today's local paper and on the union website. My digital camera was left in my truck and I only had a disposable camera with me. And as soon as I get that camera developed, I will have pictures of the fire.

I am planning on spending this weekend knitting and in class. So enjoy your weekend!

And my camera is now permently with me all of the time so that I do not miss anything!