caramelknits

WMD's (Walls of Mass Destruction)

So I haven't been able to post until now for two reasons. The first one is I've just been too depressed about the condition of the world with all its natural disasters. It seems that lately there aren't many places in the world where people are safe. The war in Iraq, the tsunami in Asia, and massive flooding and sliding here in California. Being that our house backs up to a MAJOR hill, we experienced that danger ourselves, and it was NOT fun. That brings me to the second reason, but there is a story behind it so I'll start with Monday morning.

You may well know that I've been sick of the rain, and part of the reason is due to the lack of sleep one experiences when you are worried that the hillside in your backyard could bury your house. We have the back retaining wall that is only halfway through repairs plus a side retaining wall that holds back our neighbors' property, which lies roughly five feet above our property. Monday morning, as I was walking out the door to go to work, there was GIANT crash! It was loud enough that I thought the 12-foot wall in the backyard had come down to crush our backyard. That would have been bad. Immediately closing the door again, I notice out the laundry room door that the side fence post is not where it should be, and there is water on the floor of the laundry room. I walked over to the laundry room to peek out the window, and what do I see?

Roughly this:
















This is what's left of a six-foot retaining wall that held up our neighbors' property. With the wall came a seven-foot fence that was on top of the wall, around the neighbors' yard, and a WHOLE LOT of mud. The wall was built (without drainage) before we moved in, and we now know what happens when it rains for three weeks and the water has nowhere to go. The walls explode. And then there is a crapload of mud and bricks and cleanup to do.

The day continued with tornado warnings, major mudslides in La Conchita, the Ventura River breaking its banks, etc. Needless to say, I was done with staying home by myself, so I packed up all our important stuff and the kitties and proceeded to wait...and wait.....................and wait. All roads out of the neighborhood were shut down, so I had no way out. It wasn't until hours later that I was able to hightail it out of there and spend the night at my BIL's house.

I honestly don't think there has been a worse day in my entire life. I spent the rest of the day shell-shocked, watching the news, and thanking God that it wasn't worse. My family and I are fine. No one is hurt or sick or worse, and, despite some us of being cut off from each other for a few more days, we are all safe. That is more than I can say for a lot of people in the world, and I am truly grateful for that.

While I know I'd wished for another week off from work, I never would have wished for this. Now, of course, I wish I COULD be at work! With the La Conchita slide, I can't get to work from any route, so I am forced to email lesson plans for the substitute and just pray that something gets done in the classroom.

After all this, I am so grateful for the peaceful effects of knitting. I was able to distract myself for a few minutes on Monday night to start my first cabled project in order to get ready for the Cable Jacket I'm planning for the Aran-Along. It's just a small red purse with a cable down the center, so I should be able to finish it relatively quickly. Then, it's on to my first adult sweater! :D

Because I didn't put a finished pic up earlier, here is a final pic of Meema's Marsupial Tote. I put the little snap closure in it, and it is already being used as a knitting bag for my next project.




OK, now that I've ended on a lighter note, thank you to everyone who sent emails and placed phone calls to make sure we were ok. It meant a lot that so many cared, and now you know that we're just fine.

What a week.

posted by caramelknits @ 7:31 PM