Knit & Play with Fire

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          

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.

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.

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.

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!

 

Socks All of the Time

Okay, I have been knitting but I am not ready to show pictures of them. I have finally turned the heel of my Jaywalker after several discussions with my short rowed heel. It just did not want to cooperate with me.

I have also started my lace pattern for my Falling Leaves sock. This is the sock pattern that I am knitting for Sockapooolza or at least I am giving it a test run. I will let you know after I get a lace repeats in the sock if the yarn colors and the pattern will work together.

But in the search for the perfect sock yarn, I have added some new sock yarns to my ever growing stash of sock yarns. I ordered some Zen sock yarn and Claudia's sock yarn from kpixie.com. I must say that shipping is extremely prompt and I am loving the yarn colors. I have pinks in the Zen Garden and the color freesia in the Claudia's. And I was able to persude one of the Buddhas in my collection to pose and to recline amid the wonderful yarns.

And just for fun, I am inclluding a photo of me from my class on Saturday when we were testing hydrant pressures. Yeah, a fun thing to do on a cold and windy Saturday is play with cold water ;)

(And the guy in the white jacket is not only the instructor but he is also my chief. And he is a really nice guy on top of everything else.)

Injuried Reserve

I have been knitting too much!!! I knit almost all day on Sunday and I somehow aggravated my shoulder. Okay, I also lifted more weights than I should have when I was doing my work out. I was doing a triceps exercise and did a few too many repeats. I had already done my daily yoga workout. And everything together means that I did more than my shoulder was comfortable doing in one day.

I rested the shoulder and took some pain pills. I did not run any calls for a 24 hour period. I also avoided knitting. It was still hurting last night before class. I let my chief know that it was bothering me again and that I would probably not run any calls for the next 24 hours or so. I iced the shoulder again last night and it felt better this morning when I got up.

But I decided to work on my socks at work. Guess what is causing the pain? Yep, the socks! Tiny needles and sore shoulders do not go together. I guess I need to work on something bigger than a size 0 for the next few days.

I also just got back from what should have been 2 working fires. I say two working fires because we were can celled in route to the second fire. And we would have been the first truck on the second fire. We went all the way down the highway non-emergency and turned around at the exit for the fire. We were just getting back on the highway when we saw the other truck that said they were closer getting off the highway. And that fire sounded good!! The initial on-scene report had fire in the walls. And with it being a restaurant, it would have been fun! Okay, fun for us not for the restaurant.

I will try and post some pictures tomorrow of some of the shots from the today's house fire. And yes, my shoulder still hurts.