see you soon! &... the scorch drama

We are leaving soon to go to Crete, to Chania and to Matala in particular, as well as Kolymbari (in the photo) and I am getting very excited! I've been trying to visit Greece, off and on, since 1994. That's a long wait. I'm also removing all lip balm from my carry-on luggage, but that's another story...I'm very keen on those British spyguys who foiled this plot and kept us safe. Thanks, spyguys!

Now, on to the recent drama chez Seiff. Last night, we're watching Mystery on PBS, minding our own business, when the room starts to smell, uhh, scorched. Stinky burny plastic. We start running around, trying to check on the air conditioner, all the big appliances, etc. We unplug everything in the living room. Then my smart spouse says, "You know, we're going away. We don't want the house to burn down and don't want the housesitter to have to deal with this!" We live in an old house in a neighborhood with a lot of old houses, they burn down with some frequency. Husband suggests that we call the nice guys at the fire department.

I leash up the dogs and wait on the lawn. Three minutes later, with sirens and lights flashing, 4 buff young firefighters hop out of the truck and troop into the house. I wait on the lawn. They use infrared sensors and other cool tools to determine that we aren't having any electrical fire in our walls. They suspect it's an appliance of some kind with a frayed cord...and they suggest we test things out until we figure out what is. They say, "Hey, don't hesitate to call us back if you need us! This is what we're here for." This is the fastest public service, by the way, I've ever had in our town, a great show of our tax dollars at work. Perhaps in the future, I'll try calling the firemen first whenever I need something, like, say,the police or some other city service. The firemen here in Kentucky win the speedy, responsive and friendly award.

Meanwhile, I visited with the neighbor, whose children petted Harry and admired the fire truck. Sally nervously clung to my leg and sat at attention like a trooper. We tested out everything in our living room, one thing at a time. We think the culprit is a halogen lamp, which we will throw away in pieces to prevent someone else from taking the free lamp and possibly burning their house down instead.

This is truly a happy ending story. No fire, no scary scorched smell, and..our library gets the Mystery! series on DVD so we can just watch that another time. Gosh I sound like a fuddyduddy...but I'm a fuddyduddy who is finally going to Greece!

Last, but not least, I offer you a little going-away present!

(It's A) Boucle Wrap is now available online, for free. I invite you to check it out! I'd love to see photos if you make it, too. I think this would be fabulous in some hand-dyed mohair boucle...