Hatches Battened...

I came home Saturday from my bead group's meeting and decided on a quick nap since I had been up at 5. I went to sleep on a lovely fall afternoon and...woke up in full on winter! In one hours time, our temps dipped and the storm clouds blew in.

This storm is not unexpected. It is anticipated to last for days. Regardless of my proximity to the fire areas, I ALWAYS have to sandbag my shop. It was built at a very odd angle on a down slope. Even though I've spent thousands over the years to prevent it, there is often a river of water running through the shop in winter.

I realized around 7 a.m. that if I were going to get fresh sandbags (they rot over summer), I had to do it right then. So I raced over to the fire station and loaded up my allotted 25 bags. Which meant vacuuming out the jeep when I got home.

After our nap and blustery evening walk, I positioned all the sand bags in front of the shop's big doors and cleaned up all the stray sand and ash in the side yard. I got in a big load of firewood too.

With a little luck, I can get some Christmas gifts (only homemade on this year's budget!) finished by the fire this week while the storms do what they will to our local landscape.