Throwback Thursday: Fire

On July 31, 2025 By CarynIn photography

It was just before 9:00am on Saturday March 7, 2015. Spring break had just started, but it was a cool Texas morning, so we started the gas fireplace. The flue failed, heat built up in the chimney and caught the material outside the metal pipe on fire. We saw the flames through the gaps in the mantel and fireplace. Our house was on fire.

Photo description: partially melted outdoor clock that had been mounted on the outside of the chimney

We got everyone out, dog and cats included. There was no loss of life, but the fire took the chimney and the upper level. Smoke filled the whole house. We were displaced into a rental for six months while a contractor oversaw the restoration process. I wouldn’t wish fire or flood on anyone, but a single fire is easier than a flooded city, because there are good neighbors who can reach out and help, especially mentally.

Pouring through old photos for the Throwback Thursday posts sometimes do throw a kick to the gut. I decided not to pass this one by, but to remember. The biggest take away I had from the house fire is that it was all just… stuff. And we had so much stuff. The house had great storage areas, and we filled them. After the fire, I started reducing the sheer amount of things we kept, and believe me, plenty of things survived the smoke and then the ozone cleaning process. I still have too many things, and reducing is a work in progress. Things are not life, what we do with things is, but there is a balance to be found.

He stole my chair

On July 30, 2025 By CarynIn Cats

Thor the cat snuck onto my chair and got caught. He at least had the good sense to look chagrined.

Photo description: gray tabby on a leather recliner, one ear cocked

What is probably actually going on here is that he is trying to outmaneuver Izzy the calico cat. She likes to sit on the top of the back of the chair. One of his ears is facing me, and the other is cocked toward Izzy. Izzy, for her part, was probably on the other couch planning to attack him for his audacity.

Cat platform

On July 29, 2025 By CarynIn Cats

My eldest had the idea that if we made a platform outside the new catio window, it might provide a more stable and usable surface for the cats. I used old lumber, cut off the soft bits, and screwed them to supports with a little space between.

Photo description: new catio platform made from recycled planks

On a relatively cool morning, I looped the flap up to open the access, and Thor the cat actually went outside for the first time in over a month. It took him 15 minutes to get out the door. I’ve never seen a cat move so slowly.

Photo description: large gray tabby with his head stuck out of the lifted cat flap

Izzy loves the new platform. She can easily go in and out with the flap in its intended position, and she likes to lounge on the deck.

Photo description: calico cat laying on the platform as seen through the clear cat flap

Since we are approaching fall (yay!) I hope we will have more cool mornings that Thor can go explore. But not now, because our mild summer couldn’t properly be a summer without giving us some 100 plus days. Blech.

Jacob’s wool swatches

On July 28, 2025 By CarynIn Craft

I started on the swatches for Jacob’s wool, and then finished them all in a day, even the nålbinding. I must have thirty other projects I’m not working on. Hm.

Photo description: four squares made from hand spun Jacob’s wool: knit (top left), crochet (top right), cut open nålbinding (bottom left), woven (bottom right)

I had two large cakes of yarn, and two small nostepinne balls, so I used the smaller amounts to make the swatches. I hope to make something wearable out of the larger cakes of yarn.

Zoom Loom Jacob’s wool

On July 27, 2025 By CarynIn Craft

I used my hand spun Jacob’s wool yarn on my new Zoom Loom. I did the three preparatory wraps a little looser this time (as instructed) and it helped ease the way when it came to weaving.