Today was supposed to be the first day of school but due to the horrid air quality it was postponed. Tomorrow was supposed to be the first day of school but due to the horrid air quality it was postponed again.
So our summer is being extended, but at this point even the kids are ready to go back. The last few days haven't exactly been FUN, but I did manage to get a play date for everyone today and pulled together the Back-To-School Feast tonight. (A wonderful idea stolen from NieNie's Dialogues.) I knew I wouldn't be able to cook up a storm with all the unpacking and my low energy level, so the menu was all Trader Joe's appetizers which turned out to be pretty tasty. (Spanokopita, mini meatballs, ham and cheese puffs, coconut curry chicken sticks with plum sauce, veggies and dip, sparkling blueberry juice, sparkling french berry lemonade and mango mochi balls for dessert. Not bad.)
We moved back in to our house yesterday evening after our very short stay at Grandma's house. We almost wished the evacuation weren't lifted so soon because we had just settled in. We had 2-1/2 vans worth of stuff we had loaded and unloaded already and now we had to load and unload it all again. Without the adrenaline rush that comes from impending death it was a little rough getting motivated to move back in and unpack everything again so soon. (It was kind of fun to sleep there too. It reminded me of when we were on vacation during med school and residency before we moved here. Not quite the same circumstances.)
I was happy our house didn't smell as bad as I thought it would, but there is another flare up not that far from us again and it is really smelling bad tonight. But I am in my undamaged home so I certainly can't complain. 75 homes have burned down and one of them belonged to a 15 year old girl in the class I teach at church. All the other girls and leaders are pitching in to help supply her and her sister with more school clothes and supplies. I just can't even imagine.
The fire doubled in size last night. It has burnt over 105,000 acres so far and they don't think they will have it contained for another week. At times like this it becomes brutally clear how powerless we really are against nature. Life really is fragile (especially for the two idiots that tried to ride out the fire storm in a hot tub in their back yard - honestly) and that was felt today when we learned of two fire fighters that were killed. I have so much more respect for them now that I have seen them in action and felt my own immediate need for their help. It is amazing what they do.
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Glad you guys are back home. You know how I offered you our place? Now we're at a friends' house, too. So, don't come by. You can't get there. I, too, am wishing school were starting soon.
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