Where was I...

oh yeah... so, it was September... and since then... my girl turned 3, I got super comfortable riding with her on my bike (game changer), Halloween... what else... well, anyhow, this night finds me mostly just GRATEFUL (as per usual). Yesterday was the second year anniversary of the Tea Fire and we called an impromptu get together at our place, so impromptu (in fact) that hardly anyone showed, which made it super intimate and cozy. With all our sweet friends sitting around a fire in the yard, I snuck in to do the dishes and as I scrubbed each one I gave thanks. So grateful to have this fork to wash and the soap and the sink. Last night I got to sleep in a bed, our bed, and Chloe in hers. My family has a home right now, an amazingly sweet (and getting sweeter by the day) home. Our things are here, we have things. We are healthy and fed and have sweet friends in our yard... My heart is full to bursting! Fire and I have a better relationship this year. I respect it. It warms me. I tend it, it cooks my food. We have an understanding. For that I am eternally grateful.

anniversary party

I last left you on Friday, the anniversary... That evening we went to a little gathering up on the mountain. It was sweet and heart felt.
There were tears in eyes and smiles about the future...
It was so good to see all our neighbors on the green mountain again.

a year ago today...

This day, a year ago, was a Thursday. It started with Ben doing his Thursday morning deliveries... Chloe and I waking up, cleaning the house and getting ready for the day. That's us, up there, that morning after Chloes bath, on the front porch.

The other photo is less than 24 hours later... the same porch. It was a sweet, peaceful day and the evening was nice. We had planned to go to a potluck over at a friends that evening. Ben was baking corn bread and feeding Chloe dinner in her high chair when I left. I grabbed my cell phone in one pocket and car keys in the other and left for frisbee. While babysitting at Oakleigh, around 5:45pm, we noticed a (then small looking) fire up at the tea gardens. I called Ben and asked him to bring Chloe and her diaper bag and come to where I was. The fire spread quickly and we evacuated from there. Never a chance to go back up, but we probably wouldn't have even if there was. Within an hour of leaving there we knew it was gone. We received this, slightly ironic, if not down right silly, reverse 911 call to evacuate around 8pm... anyway, It's a miracle that the only people hurt in that massive, insanely fast fire were the young couple, Lance and Carla Hoffman , who were pretty badly burned. My heart goes out to them today. They will never be able to fully recover and forget this fire. I also want to spend some time today thanking all of the people who helped us get through it. Our friends and family really came through and we were and are still continuously amazed by all the love and support we have. Thank you friends, thank you family, thank you universe!

Tea Fire

Sounds quaint, doesn't it? The Santa Barbara "Tea Fire" began around 5:45 on Thursday, November 13, 2008. I left our sweet little adobe abode around 5 pm that evening with just my car keys in one pocket and cell phone in the other. I left Chloë with Papa and headed down to our friends house to babysit. We were out on the soccer field near Westmont College and saw, up on the hillside, a small fire at what is known as the Tea Gardens. I called my husband and asked him to bring Chloë and come down to where I was to see it. He turned off the cornbread he had baking in the oven, grabbed Chloë and his backpack (which had a few diapers) and came down to the field... by then the fire had consumed the whole mountain side and was, quite quickly, headed west (towards our house). By about 6:15 we were in his van headed to Montecito to stay with a friend, calling every person we knew the numbers for on the way. By 7 pm we already knew the places on the other side of the hill from us had gone up and were pretty sure ours was gone. We stayed up, watching the news trying to make things light, most of the night. We hardly slept a wink, but when we woke Benny and some friends got some face masks and went up the hill. He took his camera, which happened to be in his backpack, and got the photos you see at the top. The only time I cried was when I saw the one of our place... basically an ash pile. Things you'd expect to see, like the toilet or stone counter tops, were gone... no trace. Then the strangest things, like a piece of a photo or a small tea cup, would be there, only broken. An entire book shelf had all the books there in place and you could see the pages and writing, only if you touched them they would crumble, just ash with type. Almost all of our friends on Mountain Drive, most of our community, lost their homes. Over 200 homes burned that night. We started over, from scratch... really, first we got toothbrushes and toothpaste and then realized we needed soap and underwear and clothes to change into. It was amazing to see all the little things that go into making our "life". We stayed with lovely friends for almost three months, then found the place we live now. So grateful. It's strange not having anything older than 8 months, or so. Friends and family helped to stock us with sentimental things, photos they had, books, things we might save in place of our old treasures. I really can't bear to think of what our life would look like without all the care and compassion of the people we know and some we don't... kindness abounds!