Too much excitement

 Yesterday, Dave went out to get us some fast food breakfast.  I had already showered, and was just lazing with my lap top, when I smelled smoke.  

Like...a LOT of smoke.

I looked outside, and there was heavy smoke all around our house.  I ran outside, and there were plumes of acrid smoke coming from behind our property. It looked like the house behind us was burning.

We have a bamboo stand at the back of our property, so I could not see (that's the point of the bamboo) exactly where the smoke was coming from, but it absolutely appeared to be right behind us.

Coughing, eyes running, I dashed inside and called 9-1-1.

While I was transferred from central dispatch to fire dispatch, I could hear the sirens coming our way.

Once I was on with a dispatcher, the sirens could be heard over the phone, so we said our good byes, and I went around and closed the doors and windows.

Then I went back outside, and I could hear the crews voices, and could hear them cutting a hole in the roof....it still sounded to me like they were RIGHT behind us.  

The smoke was choking, though, so I ran back inside.

By the time Dave got home, the smoke had dissipated by about half.  

He came inside in a panic "THE HOUSE BEHIND US IS ON FIRE!"

"Yeah, I know, HAHA!  The crews are already putting it out, you can put your phone away."

The house behind us is inhabited by a family of people who speak Spanish.  We don't KNOW them, so we do not know if they are Mexican, or South American, but we say hello over the fence when the bamboo isn't tall, and their kids frequently need our help retrieving their toys from our yard.

All I could think about was those kids.... aaaand then I went into a full blown panic attack.

Still crying from the smoke, I started to sob and hyperventilate in panic.  It took me a good long time to get that to pass.   I knew that the fire crews had come REALLY quickly, but I also knew that I heard sirens LEAVING the scene, and assumed it was an ambulance.

Anyway, we eventually found out that it was NOT the house behind us.  It was on the other side of that street, and over three houses!  The wind was so strong yesterday, though, that it blew the smoke (and the sounds of the fire crews) RIGHT toward our yard.

The house is completely destroyed, but the news article Dave found in the afternoon said no people were injured. Unfortunately, the pets died.

Our hearts go out to the person or people who lost their home and beloved animals.  

The crews got the blaze contained, so no neighboring properties were damaged.

It was SUPER hot out yesterday, so we didn't do any of the outdoor things we had wanted to do.  It was Autumn Equinox, and my "anniversary," but I didn't get to have a fire, or do a ritual outside, as I had hoped.

After my grocery order was delivered, we went to Kohl's to take advantage of a discount coupon I had, and get both of us some new shoes, then made a couple of stops along the way home.

Other than that, we stayed indoors where it was cool, watched the Cubs, and I did my indoor chores.

I went ahead and made my planned-for dinner, even though it involved having the oven on for several hours.  Roast chicken and carrots in brown butter.... It was SO good.

Today should be cooler, so Dave will do some outdoor stuff, at some point.  I might mow part of the back yard, because that is probably the only way it will get done.

The grocery delivery brought me the biggest roasting chicken I have ever cooked.... SEVEN pounds....so I have lots of left over chicken to remove from the bone, and will be making a hearty chicken enchilada casserole.

The only health related thing for next week is that I need to get my labs drawn on Friday, because my last appointment at the current location of the clinic is the following Monday.

Have a good week!

p.s. Sammie and the 4 surviving kittens are still living in our yard, and we still have found ZERO options for them....