Interesting little tidbit of information ... I forgot to mention that the house next door near caught fire Friday night. My powers of observation being as strong as they are, it wasn't until Saturday morning that I took any notice of the pile of charred debris and the melted siding barely clinging to the house as I walked out to my car.
Reliable sources - aka my neighbor Bob - filled me in later on in the day when he got home. Evidently someone's car decided to spontaneously combust in the middle of the night and was completely engulfed in flames by the time the fire trucks arrived. Three of them to be exact. And where was I? I slept through the whole thing ... Nice. I am so handy to have around in the case of an emergency.
The good news is that the whole place didn't blow. The fire happened right in front of the gas lines to the house and in reality, things could have gotten really ugly. Someone's car however was toast. Burnt, smelly and charred toast.
Bob - being the nice guy that he is - spent two hours chatting amiably outside with us and playing cat's cradle with KC. Though he informed me that the only reason he knew how to do it was because he had three sisters. A fact I can well relate to though my skill with yarn and string is something that should not even be attempted to be described. I on the other hand had a rather difficult time attempting to make conversation. For once my glib tongue could think of nothing interesting to say as I tripped over myself for topics of discussion. A sure sign I need to get out more I am sure.
Anyhoo, I'm off to enjoy what is left of the light. Maybe another trip down to the lake, maybe a drive to the middle of nowhere, maybe another good book to occupy my mind. Or maybe just a quiet end to a quiet day.
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16 comments:
Argh, that would've scared me, a lot.
A house near me caught fire when I was little, and I never really got over that - still pyrophobic.. :S
Sleeping through fire is not a particularly good idea, unless you're doomed - in which case it may be preferable. Hope you've got plenty of smoke alarms installed everywhere.
When cars go up it's usually either because of a smoker, or the electrics screw up somehow - usually the former, not a good habit in so many ways.
Everyone should learn how to handle their yarn and string, I have a few bits lying around on this desk to practice knots with, if I get bored.... Though whenever I'm mucking about in a cat's cradle way, I have a tendency to weld my hands together with the strings - to the point where I am actually stuck and can't get my hands apart without assistance. LOL :$
The only time driving is fun is when it's out to nowhere for no reason. Particularly if nowhere is mainly countryside.
Well can't really be scared about something I missed, though I'm sure had it been a major emergency my neighbor Sheila would have made sure to pound on the door until I came out ... No harm, no foul I suppose.
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that I'm not doomed anytime soon ... ;)
If I had to guess why the car went "kablewy" I would guess it was a slow smolder, probably from a cigarette left burning. It was a rather ditzy young girl who was visiting her friends next door ... Wouldn't surprise me if she saw the fire and thought it would put itself out either.
I'm going to have to stay away from the yarn thing ... I only seem to get tangled up in it to the point of needing to be removed with the jaws of life. I know when to say no.
I don't mind a drive with a purpose, unlike when we were little kids and my father took us for rides that lasted one minute short of forever over every hill and dale possible. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the rides if I had not been stuck riding behind the seat like an afterthought. (Two seater Fiats really do not accomodate more than two people.)
I know some great countryside though. Ask Brenda, if there's a back road to be found to get somewhere, I can find it ...
Just so you know, I'll be at your house this Friday after work ...
Porch ... Humph.
And I didn't flirt with Dr. R ...
Personally, I think I'd be more scared if I had slept through it unaware. ;)
If people will smoke in their cars, then my sympathy for them when such events occur is limited. I used to have a heavy smoker for a partner, always smoking, 30-40 a day, argh - nasty habit.
Drives with a purpose are always more about the getting there, so I forget to try to enjoy them. Drives for the sake of drives are different somehow, more attention is paid. Though back routes are always good, never use a main road when you can go round the houses. My dad's main driving issue is that when you enter a car park, it appears compulsory to drive past every available space until you've established which one is furthest away from both the ticket machine, and wherever you're going. Slightly annoying.
LOL @ jaws of life... ;)
What always worries me about american houses - is some of them still seem to be made of wood?!?!?
It has been illegal to build houses out of wood in London since 1666! Precisely because of the embers flying on your roof problem. LOL
I guess that's mainly a rural thing though.
Out in the hicks and sticks ... aka where I live, it's all about building with wood. In fact, most of this country is. Well, at least the northeastern part.
I can't abide cigarette smoke though the last guy I dated was a heavy smoker. Yuck. There's something so repugnant about the stench that I'm getting nauseous just thinking about hi ... I mean it.
;) That was rude, I know. (But funny. Well, okay. Maybe only to me.)
Did I have more to say? Not sure ... My night time cold medicine is starting to kick in and I'm getting drowsy.
Wood buildings, whilst nice and quaint, seem quite dangerous to me. Stone and brick is definitely more sturdy. My house is 123 this year, so the technique obviously holds up to time. :)
Cruel to the bloke possibly, but deservedly - why people do it to themselves (and to others) is beyond me. Fortunately, I can say that I've never smoked, ever, or even held a lit cigarette. A rare statement these days.
Just a question for Orbling if you'll permit me Stacey.
What do they build the roof frame and structures out of? I ask because I hope to build my own house someday and brick is also a better insulator but I do not see any way to build the roof except with wood...unless of course its a flat roof.
Thank you kindly, Stacey, for the use of your comments.
No problem ... I don't mind being completely freaking ignored!
Woops ... Did I say that out loud?
;)
Orbling, feel free to answer Tim on the blog if not directly. Really. I mi ... don't mind.
It's because I waffle randomly, eventually it just engulfs everything and people stop fighting the flow and just address things to me.... :$
The roof structures are ofcourse usually wood, at least in the older houses. The modern houses often just have concrete reinforced roofs, flat with run-offs, similar to the ready-made floors they use for the upper tiers. It's not uncommon to cover the roofs of offices with some type of tarmac - very bizarre.
If the roofs are wood joisted, they are always slate or terracotta tiled though, so sparks wouldn't ignite flicking on to it. Am I to understand the american roof standard is wood panelling? Or is it tiled like ours? The only wood throughout the main house structures here are window frames, floorboards and doors - and even window frames are almost always plastic or metal these days.
Just to add to that ... I hear metal roofs are quite popular ...
;)
Am not ...
Who told you such a lie?
;)
Presumably made out of tin, with lots of cats running around on tip-toes... ;)
I guess that would save having to install a lightning conductor. LOL ;)
Believe it or not, I've heard that they don't conduct electricity any better or any worse than asphalt shingles ...
;)
Not that I would know too much about such things ...
The standard roofing material here is tar paper and shingles made from asphalt among other things...but the trusses are all wood and so is the roof itself below the shingles....safety, apparently, is not very cost effective. Thanks for the info.
Stacey, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that...speaking if ignoring...wasn't I promised a follow-up email....hhmmm. ;)
Most things in life that are worthwhile are not "cost effective", at least in the short term - hence the state of our modern world.
Having a house stand virtually unmaintained for a few centuries and still be perfectly good, is cost effective in the long run. Even if it did cost a lot to begin with.
"Now when my old man learned his trade they made things that would last
They would temper future vision with a knowledge of the past
And if something broke or wore out, well, you know they'd feel no shame
For they took pride in using skills to make it good again
Now the watchword is disposable and plastics rule the day
And when something now gets broken, you can only throw it away
But when the well's all dried up and the mines are all worked out
You can see this house start falling - hear the poor and hungry shout
You've gotta make it mend it wear it out
Make it do or do without..."
-- Make It Mend It; Coope, Boyes & Simpson
Tim ... Read your damn email already! ;)
Orbling ... Sage words in that song.
Late for work ... Argh!
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