Knit & Play with Fire

Healing Slowly

Okay, what ever I did to my wrist is healing slowly but it is healing. Actually it is healing faster than I thought it would. Tendon injuries do heal faster than ligament injuries. I have been resting it, keeping it fairly straight, icing it, and taking anti-inflammatory meds.I knew that my EMT training would come in handy for something at some point. Well, besides allowing me to ride the band-aid wagon when I am told to get in the back. (I prefer the fire side to the EMS side. And I prefer riding the truck to the engine.)

So what have I been doing? Well, I have been playing with making a video for an idea I have. I want to do a recruitment video that can be posted on the web for the volunteer fire service in my county. And a friend has been working on one for the truck house and I have been going through my photos to help him out. Plus I have started one for my primary fire company.

And I have been catching up on my reading. I am almost out of books so that means I need to go to Borders this weekend. I can not run out of books to read. And that is saying a lot since I have a very large book collection and I do re-read my books. Actually that reminds me that I need to get together the books that I want to get rid of and take them down to the library. The local library has a book sale during our town's community days.

I  have also been spending plenty of time on MySpace. Yes, I do have a MySpace page. It is a fun way to connect with your friends and meet new people. Quite a few volunteer fire fighters in my county and the surrounding counties have pages there. I have actually been reconnecting with a friend from my fire fighter 1 class who runs in my county but I never get to see her. And I have been able to meet other fire fighters that I would have never had the chance to meet.

I did try some knitting last night. But I did not try any sock knitting. Instead, I pulled out my Clapotis to work on since it is on larger needles. I only knit 2 rows but it didn't hurt so that tells me that my wrist is healing. But I am going to wait to pick up sock needles for a few more days.

Oh, I forgot one other benefit of MySpace is that I have been exposed to some pretty interesting music that I would have never heard otherwise. Right now, one of my favorites is a song called 'Crazy B***h' by the band BuCk ChErRy. Since the only version that they have up on the website is the explicit version be careful about clicking the link if you are at work or there are small children around. The song is a little on the raunchy side. What can I say, I like it. And I have been called that name a few times.

 

No Knitting

No knitting to report. I was out weeding Sunday and I did something to my wrist. I think when I was pulling out those never ending dandelion roots, I may have torqued my wrist the wrong way. I didn't realize that I had done anything to my wrist until I went to pick up something and realized that my wrist hurt.

I am pretty sure that it is a simple case of a minor tendon injury. It only hurts when I bend my wrist a certain way. It is fine when I keep my wrist straight. I am icing it and resting it. And I am not knitting right now. If it is still hurting by next Monday, I will go and get it checked out. If I go to the doctor's right now, the advice that I will be given is the same thing that I am already doing. So my theory is why go to be told to do something that I am already doing? Plus I have injured myself before and I know when to head to the doctor's and when to take care of it at home. I used to be a gymnast and wrist injuries were pretty common. So I do have a good background in treating my own injuries.

Townhouse Fire aka Playtime Part 3

Okay, yet another posting about fire. I warned everyone that I have been out playing this week. Monday morning, I was at work when I heard Box 1-4 go out a little after 10 am. I had a feeling that my company would be going in to the city. When I heard the chief advise on the main channel that he had a heavy column of black smoke, I started getting ready to go down to the fire hall. And for me getting ready means taking out my earrings if I am wearing dangly earrings and pulling my hair back into two ponytails (one high and one low to keep my hair off of my face when I pull on my hood.)

I was already in my truck when the second alarm was hit out and on my way to the station when my tones were hit. I was almost at the station when I heard that there were possibly up to 6 people trapped. Let's just say my comment as I walked into the station with one of the guys was something to the effect that I was going to be on the wrong truck. (Add a few swear words of your choosing here.)(And an explanation for those of you who might not understand, the first truck on the scene handles search and rescue and by the time we got there, we would either be the second or third truck. And the first truck on the scene was the truck that I ride in the city.) There were 2 rescues but they were just a matter of removing people from adjoining townhouses.

When we rolled up on scene, there were flames shooting up through the roof as evidenced by some of my photos. Actually one of the guys I ride with took the photos of the flames on the roof. A few of the guys are getting familiar with my camera and how to use its various features. And they will grab it and take pictures themselves since they now know why I am taking pictures and what the plans are for the pictures. Plus I am now known county wide for taking pictures on scene and that I do share the photos so almost everyone who takes photos shares.

My job was to make sure that command knew that I had a thermal imager camera ready as a backup for any entry crew. We didn't want to take it up on the roof and have it be needed by an entry team. So basically all I did was hang out with the command crew and take photos.

The cause of the fire was determined to be a discarded cigarette tossed into a flower pot next to the house on the rear deck. Yeah, not smart!

But in the end, everyone went home safely and played together like good little children. And the only damage was to property which can be replaced. And the best part of the whole fire call for me was getting a hug from one of my fellow fire fighters from my other company when he came out of the house after being up on the roof. Trust me, there are some advantages to being a female fire fighters. And I am the only active female fire fighter currently running at either house.

Look for knitting content to resume fairly soon.

Play Time!! - Part I

Yes, I have been out playing!!! An instructor that I am friends with had an extra night burn for his fire 1 students Friday night and I went to take photos. And I managed to get some really great shots. I will adopt the do not ask and I will not have to tell policy as to how I managed to get some of these shots since my gear was in my truck. Both sets of gear remained in the truck all night!

Play Time - Part 2

Okay, I played fire photo journalist on Friday night. And Saturday morning, bright and early, I got to play fire fighter! I was at the truck house early to ride. I wasn't even there 15 minutes before we got a call. It was a simple bells & whistles aka an automatic alarm but that is how the day started out. When we got back, the chief was there and they were trying to figure out how to get everything down to the training center for a drill. One of the 2 trucks was out of service for mechanical reasons. So that meant that the 1 truck could not take part in the drill.

Since I am not a full fledged member of the truck house, I wasn't sure if the chief would let me participate in the drill. The career guys decided to take the truck on down to see what all was going on plus this allowed one of the guys to get some driver's training time in. When we got down there, the chief came over to me and told me to pull my gear from the truck because I was going to be allowed to play. Actually, the chief and the deputy chief had decided that they wanted to evaluate my skills and those of the other fire fighter there. Okay, the reality was that there were 3 white hats from the truck house and only one black helmet; I made it 2 black helmets. But the other thing is that it meant I got to play with the boys!

Because we were working without the truck, they had to be creative in what we could do. We threw some ladders and 1 crew took the hose line in and the other crew performed search and rescue. I was search and rescue with the deputy chief.

Yes, I did save the dummy. And no, I do not mean another fire fighter but the hose dummy. I saved the victim and went back in to start the search of the next level. Except that I realized that I had one little problem; I was becoming pretty dehydrated and that I needed to get out. I passed this info on to my deputy chief and he sent me out with the chief. (We had been fully geared up and standing out outside in full turnout gear for about 30 minutes in the full sun before we even got started.) I was okay after drinking plenty of water.

We were only allowed to play during one evolution but we still had fun. And after the drill, we went to another station for lunch. After wards, my buddy Rob and I headed home to shower and change before heading back down to ride for the rest of the day. We ran a few more commercial alarms that afternoon and 1 box. The box turned out to be nothing. We never even made it to the scene before we were placed back in service. But it was a fun day. And I learned quite a bit.

 

And just to help id some of the people in the photos, the one with the 3 firefighters together without helmets are my chiefs at the truck house. And the one photo with the gentleman with the silver hair is "da boss". He is one of the head guys at the county level for the career guys. He is also a retired battalion chief from Montgomery County.

Very Little Time for Knitting - Photo Heavy

The past several days have been so busy that I have not had any time at all for knitting. Yeah, that busy!

I will start with the fun stuff first. Late Saturday afternoon, my brother called me to see what I was doing Easter  Sunday. He had a 3-day pass for Hershey Park and wanted to take his 2 older kids back up. Their baby brother got sick on Saturday so they had left early. Don't worry, the baby is fun but he really didn't need to be out for the day.

So Easter Sunday was spent at Hershey Park. And here are some of the photos of the day. And no, I did not ride the roller coasters. I do not ride roller coasters. Ever!

ps - look carefully at some of the photos at what people are doing....

Test Time

You scored as Elizabeth Bennet. As one of Austen's most beloved characters, Elizabeth Bennet represents what most women would like to become: strong, independent, and loyal.  Of course, she has her faults including a stubborn will of iron and a clinging to first impressions.  Overall, Lizzie is bright and lovable...something to admire and aspire to. Elizabeth Bennet 75% Emma Woodhouse 72% Marianne Dashwood 59% Elinor Dashwood 59% Jane Bennet 56% Charlotte Lucas 53% Lady Catherine 44% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com

Out Playing

Look for a few posts in the next few days. Things have been a little busy - drills, fires, and Hersehey Park. Plenty of photos but they need to be edited or sorted.

Photo of the Week

Okay, we all know that I combine fire fighting and knitting somehow. But the other week I posted some photos that I took when I was fooling around with my camera at the truck house where I run. And Joe from Firewhirl has chosen one of the photos to be the photo of the week this week. So pop on over to see what he has to say. And here is the photo again. My favorite truck!!! The photo is called Waiting simply because we are always waiting for another call.

New Music

Normally, I do not post anything about the music that I listen to since I have very electic tastes in music. Let's just say that I have a little bit of everything in my iTunes except classical. And yes, I do like classical music.

But I was surfingin over on MySpace.com and I found this really great band. I have a preference for Latin-fusion with rock and roll. And this band has it. The band's name is deSol. And their first album is available on iTunes.

My favorite song rigbht now is called Chica de Miami. I love, love, love this song!!! See it is about Cuban chicas and I am a Cuban chica! So go and check out their sound. I am definitley going to their show in Baltimore on May 31st.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Okay, here are some photos of how I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon yesterday. (scroll down for the real story!)

Okay, are you confused yet? No, I was not a a ball game. Although I was at the rear parking lot for the local Carolina league team. Do the bright orange cones give you any clue? Remember taking driver's ed and having to drive between the orange cones and parallel park between the cones? Okay, we were driving around the cones but I can promise you that I was not the one driving. Trust me on this one, I will never drive this thing! It is big and red and requires 2 drivers. Yesterday was quiet at the station so we went out for driver's training. One of the guys is still practicing tillering and that is him in the photos practicing in the parking lot. Next time, we go out he will be driving on the roads. Scary!!!

Oh, you wanted to see a picture of the guy who was driving? I guess I can do that. But I do need to tell him that he does look really cute when he wears his glasses. Okay, maybe I won't do that but he does look cute when he wears them.

But you don't come here just in hopes of seeing fire fighters in their gear. Some of you expect to see knitting. And look, I have knitting!!! This is sock 1 of my sock-a-pooolza socks. I frogged what I had and restarted it. It is the same pattern except that I am now doing it toe-up. I am really loving this pattern since it is real easy to memorize and it looks great top-down and toe-up. And I am almost at the point where I get to turn the heel. Yeah!!!!

International Scarf Exchange

I recently participated in the international scarf swap. And being bad, I forgot to post a picture of the scarf I received. Jena from over at Yarn Harpy knitted my scarf in reds and purples. She tried to knit me a pair of mittens but after two tries, she has decided that the mittens are cursed. But we are working on something else in exchange.

And my niece has claimed the scarf already. Who really wants to argue with a 9-year girl over something that has purple in it? Not me!!

And yes, the choclate was shared.

Books for Books Meme

Here is a meme that is actually right up my alley. Cara over at january one has tagged anyone who wants it. And since I like books....

Meme instructions: Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones you've never even heard of.

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
(The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon)
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
(The Secret History - Donna Tartt )
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
(Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert

You want to do this? CONSIDER YOURSELF TAGGED. And yes, I love books. It can be very diffcult to pull me out of a booksotre without me purchasing at least 2 or 3 books. BTW, my current read is definitely different. It is The Colony by John Tayman about the Molokai leper colony. Between 1866 and 1969, if the government, both the Hawaiian and  the US, suspected that you might have Hansen's disease, you would be exiled to a remote peninsula on Molokai. It is definitley worth a read.

Playing Around with the Camera

After the fire Friday afternoon, I went down to the truck house to ride for he evening. And no, we didn't go anywhere while I was there. Although we did go out for dessert after dinner. But two of us were playing around with the camera and taking perspective shots and here are the results after I played around with the photo editing. And yes, the guys did end up running later that night. They ran 2 calls after 1 am.

Do You Want Fires with That?

Friday afternoon was interesting. We had already had 2 accident calls for the day but the best call was yet to come. Around 3 pm, I heard the call go out for another company at the other end of town for a mulch fire next to the building at one of the Taco Bell/KFC combos that we have around here.

Well, let's just say that what started out as a mulch fire turned into a 2 alarm fire. When the first unit arrived on scene, they found smoke showing and requested that the box be filled. The fire was put out using ladder pipes; in other words, hose lines off of the aerials were used.

My station was dispatched for the second alarm. By the time we got there, the fire was pretty much knocked. We ended up helping to boost the water pressure to another unit. And I had time to take a few pictures of one of my favorite pieces of apparatus - the truck!!! And my favorite crew was working Friday as well.

And yes, the establishment is closed and word is that they have already started demolition and the renovation process.