My muse is back

She just needed to know we were going to Disneyland, and there she was ready to stamp. These are children's wooden dominos all stamped with staz-on ink in timber brown. I wish I had more of these to play with. I think they might turn into pins, but I'm up for suggestions. I imagine some will be gifts and some will find their way to my etsy shop. Santa is going to have to stay here with me, though. It felt good to get creative.

We are going to Disneyland

Kyle and I had plans to go to Disneyland tomorrow since it was a teacher work day. We changed our plans a bit since there is no school all this week. We have reservations for Thursday night to stay at a Disney hotel, so we will go on Thus & Fri to see Mickey. It will be nice to get away even though we just got home. I know it sounds crazy, but I think it will be good to see fantasyland for a while.

Just a bit of stamping

I am trying to get the stamping bug back, but it's slow going. Here is some real basic stamping just to get ink on the stamps.

Too much sadness around here. Yesterday there were two families in the post office while I was there who had lost everything. It's very humbling.

On a much lighter note. Ellen made me laugh out loud yesterday. Do you watch her show? I hardly ever remember, since that's usually a busy time of the day around here. But, with school out all week, I watched her yesterday. She had Obama on her show and in the opening she did this whole thing about politics. She said she doesn't really follow them much, she likes her politics like she likes her men. Isn't that hilarious. I had tears rolling from laughing so hard. Later in the opening she did a thing about how she's had 3 democratic candidates on her show now, but none of the republicans have accepted her invitation. So, she is offering a basket of Halloween candy as an incentive. She said there are snickers, red vines, and all the good candy in there, but she took out the Mike and Ike's because she knows they don't like things like that. Hilarious....maybe it's on a clip on youtube by now. It's probably funnier if you actually watch it. It made my day a little happier. Thanks Ellen.

Honey, I'm Home

The evacuation orders were lifted at noon today. We waited a bit for the rush to die down. Got home this evening. Ah, it feels so good to be here. Back to creative postings tomorrow, I promise.

We went home briefly today

It was a good day. Today we got to go home unofficially for a brief period of time this afternoon. It was so nice to check on everything and be sure it's all ok. The frogs needed tending and the pond was low. Everything else looked great. It even rained a bit before we left. We are hoping to get home by Monday. I was able to get all my etsy orders together to ship out and even did a little stamping before we left. I hope your weekend is going well, too.

Fire Sale in my Etsy Shop

I decided to have a sale in my etsy shop. All items listed in September are free shipping this week. Since I can't list anything new there, might as well have a sale.

We are doing fine here and it looks like the firefighters are getting a handle on one of the mountain fires. Some residents at lower elevations are able to go home today. Not yet for us, but that's good news for them.

We are heading down to Laguna today to see the Pageant of the Monsters. We bought tickets about a month ago, and so glad I brought them with us. It's a walk through hauted house set put on by the Laguna Arts Festival. They do wonders with sets, costumes, and make up. It should be a fun time. Will probably get a bite of fish for supper, too. All in all a good day here.

Day 4 of Evacuation

Well, it doesn't look like we are going home anytime soon. The fires are still burning out of control. Our home is there and doesn't look like that will change. People are getting a little nutsy to go back home, and I do understand that feeling. We are still staying with my parents, since they are so close to the mountain. When things change, we will be able to get home faster if we stay here. You can't even imagine how chaotic it was to get home after the fires 4 years ago.

So, we are just resting a bit today, which seems silly since we haven't done much this week. The waiting, worrying, and wondering is very tiresome. We have it much better than most. I am thankful that I don't have to stay in an evacuation center, that our dogs are here with us, and that we have a home to return to. The smoke in the air is much lighter today, so I actually went outside this morning. It's nice to get out and see some sunshine. Mom and I are going to a craft sale later today.

Trying for a bit of normalcy

We are still evacuated and the fires are still burning out of control. Today we are trying to have some normal life, because I just can't take this crisis mode again today. So, I'm taking Kyle to the doc this morning for routine stuff and we are going out to lunch at our favorite BBQ place. This afternoon, I'm getting my hair cut and my mom is taking Kyle to a spooky gingerbread house decorating class at Michael's.

Hubby will be off work for 4 days starting tomorrow and no school until further notice. We are talking about going to a hotel for a bit to get out from underfoot here. With nearly a million people evacuated on So. Cal, that may be a pipe dream. I don't know if there are any hotel rooms available, and don't know where the air would be any better. Maybe the desert is the place to go.

We got good news late yesterday that 3 friends homes that were in the fire areas have been saved. There are many more we don't know about. Our home is still standing as is our neighborhood. We are still in danger, but so far so good. So, I'm going to live a bit in denial today and see if I can't get away from the news for a few hours. Thanks everyone for your well wished, prayers, and concern. It really helps.

Fire Update #3

This morning brings more bad fire news all over our area. Our home is ok for now, but the slide fire is heading our way without any air support to stop it. We live in Crest Park which is just south of Lake Arrowhead and just north of Rim of the World H.S. Just in case you are watching the fires, that gives you a good idea of where we are. Thanks to everyone who is thinking of us. We are safely away from the area, but watching closely. This is a link to a local website that updates as best they can what is happening in our area.

Fire Update #2

When the second fire on the mountain started about 8am this morning, we started packing up the car. We were getting inundated with smoke and the roads were closing all over. We voluntarily evacuated about 10am. We are now safely off the mountain staying with my parents for a while. We just saw reports and video of homes burning in Lake Arrowhead. Traffic was bad when we left, I can't imagine what it's like now. Praying that everyone stays safe.