Hi...

This will be a "general letter" that I can type once and let all my closest friends know what's up in the land of burning hell.... ALL, or 90% of San Diego county is on fire...as one fire guy put it: "this fire makes the Cedar fire look like a picnic".... !  I have been VERY scared all day/evening - due to many variables.... most of which are:  I know I cannot breath smoke of any kind into my fragile lungs, nor stress my Fibromyalgia body at all or all my muscles knot up...and my IBS goes bonkers... sooooo JUST when I thought life was settling into a quite routine, the cooler October days became warm, the next day the wind (even here at my home where the wind does not blow much) really started whipping up and before we knew it, one fire on the border of Mexico and San Diego got out of control...one fire became 3, then 5, and then 8.... and actually pretty much SURROUNDING ME! 

I called my Mom up in Los Angeles and she had the fires too, but is okay but for some falling (due to the high winds, not fire) oak tree branches falling off her trees (not on the house that I know of).... I am sure you heard that Malibu is burning AGAIN....but she is okay "inland" where she lives so far...the one close fire near her was controlled quickly.

Anyway, I had planned a week to stock back up on my few food types (special bread to fill my freezer) chicken meat and bottled water.... and having only one more week supply left of all- I had to get a flu shot, and stay isolated while it takes it's two weeks to take effect AND Daryl, who helps me out with errands got a NASTY cold, and the guy two weeks ago that delivered my grocery store items HAD A COLD.... and so while I put off stocking up, to be sure I stayed well, (eating a lot more of my boring foods and doubling my vitamins) and also spending the "quiet" time really learning (charting) which foods and meds in what amounts did what to my body and IBS.... WHAM!!! FIRES!! 

I am staying up all night tonight (October 22-23) with the car packed up for me and Nicki (and for those of you who have not read my personal web health page and figured it out, my husband and I are separated...but he still very much helps me out with errands etc.)..... he was busy TRYING to drive in to his "day job" at the Post Office while I was scared out of my mind watching the TV...then my electricity went off (fortunately for about 1- 1 1/2 hours only) and trying to figure out how to pack my Jeep for all my meds, heavy stuff....foods, back up hard drives, software discs and of course ahead of that, all the things to support my dear indoor cat Nicki... and with a lot of muscle relaxants and pain killers (taken ONLY after each TV news update, and looking out the window told me I had the time to use them before they would wear off and let me drive)... I GOT my Jeep packed in the middle of the day... before my garage filled with smoke fumes in the evening.... I got all my important things first and then as I had time, I got photo albums, and other extras.... and then boxes and my purse packed etc. ready to go out, if needed.....with things "in use" .. clothes of course packed in a suitcase with extra bathroom things, in case I had NO house.... thinking, thinking thinking, talking on the cell to friends, family as the day went on...learning I CAN DO FOR MYSELF, EVEN IF IT "HURTS" my body and I am scared....

By the evening the most threatening fire was 50% contained and then late tonight 100% contained, BUT now my "bread store" and area around it, is being mandatory evacuated... so been talking to Daryl who had to TRY to drive to work earlier today (the post office will not let you off no matter what, - I think they would have to burn down!!!) But he could not get in, so he came back and called me and said we could meet at a close by grocery store parking lot if we both needed to evacuate out to the coast... (he lives only 5 minutes from me to be near to help me... he really would never leave me hanging...long story - we love one another, we just can't live under the same roof)...

ANYWAY... now it is almost midnight and I chanced turning on my computer's battery back up and turning on my machine to post around and let folks know...(THANK YOU SHAWN FOR LETTING FOLKS KNOW MY SITUATION, DEAR FRIEND!) as the news is so scary, showing the worst areas just to get ratings, one can not really get the real information... yes one fire is burning toward Camp Pendelton (the fire north of me and not a threat as it moves away from me) and the fire in San Marcos is contained to the south of me, BUT my area of my health food store is now, tonight - is in mandatory evacuation...and I spoke to Daryl about where he could get my bread at another health food store, some bottled water and some white meat chicken to carry me to next week when things I PRAY get back to normal... Right now I am more scared of not having the meager types of food I need to LIVE than I am about leaving my home... but I will say one thing, my non-essential things will STAY in my jeep in my garage until the fire season is over from now on... of course I will bring my hard drive back inside, important papers etc... but Nicki's emergency stuff - his cat carrier, cat litter pan and litter, dishes and food and the water will stay out there...and the clothes I packed.... just in case the fire bugs have not gotten enough .....

HOW COULD PEOPLE BE SO DERANGED!?!? All of our beautiful country is gone, all our wild animals.... and now I see the only GOOD thing of building many many multi-million dollar homes on open areas, makes for better fire breaks!!!  :(

I am proud that no matter what I DID (with help from talking to my Mom and brother and son on the phone etc.) figure out what and how to prepare and then I DID IT... I have a half tank of gas in my jeep from before so am set... actually I am about 10 minutes from the coast/ocean AS THE CROW FLIES but about 15 minutes or so as the roads go... (thought with over 250,000 people evacuated there is not much place left to go!!)

All the HOT DESERT AIR IS BLOWING SOOO HARD FROM INLAND OUT toward me, that all the smoke is coming out my way and at the very least I must stay in my sealed up home to be safe!! I am not kidding, last fire I taped closed any window track (in California we do NOT have double pained windows and lots of holes to the outdoors in them!) and door openings and so re-tapped them... and I have air purifiers in my rooms...  I had to step out to get my mail out of the box and tried to hold my breath under TWO face masks, but nearly choked coming back in... I will have to use my breathing machine- called a Nebulizer tomorrow morning to just keep safe.... it affects my FM and I hate to use it, but I won't be stupid about this.... sigh.

This too shall pass.... but... but... but... I was so hoping that after all the stuff I have had to learn, adjust and grieve the loss of all this year long..... that it was time to RELAX a little and just write my "spiritual journey" story on my web site pages (just started, like I did my health story) and to do PLAY ART and stuff... so all that is put off some more days as I get things back under control. Daryl is going to a different store that sells my bread to try and get me a few loaves or even order my big order, and he will get me some other stuff to hold me over till I can get my deliveries going again, etc...

Oooo sigh... back at the time of the Cedar fire there was a canyon filled with brush and that was the DANGER then that the fire would come soo close to us here, but this time that canyon is filled with multi-million dollar homes - so a very effective "fire break".... now I can say that "over building" over lovely landscapes has a good thing about it.... and obviously the insane people who love to start fires and kill people's lives will not have so much "fuel".... a very sad commentary on humanity... ! 

They say that it will be Wednesday before the "on shore flow of cool ocean air" will bring back the humidity and help the fire fighters, so Tuesday will still be a rough day... and there are still some open dry areas around that I will be watching very closely and praying very hard about... but maybe....just maybe life might get back to normal....

I am put in mind of how most of Greece was just on fire too.... it's overwhelming and so scary and the damage from these fires lasts WAY beyond the actual fire... :(

Well...thanks for letting me vent and I truly hope I will not have to leave my "safe haven" home where I can take care of my health so much better... I would not leave unless a fireman or police man told me I HAD to.... but if I am not on line for a few more days you will know I am just taking care of me, of Nicki and watching a lot of TV.... bit of fire news to stay informed and then some DVD's or taped shows to relax.... my area of Vista is closer to the coast but the "other end" if this long skinny town goes straight inland toward the mountains and has some open spaces along the way... :(

Hugs to all my precious friends!!  I will try to let folks know I am here one way or another!!

Lyne

Life Requires Assembly and we all know how THAT goes!