Crafts I lost in the fire...and a little miracle too!!

So, on December 14, 2010 I was teaching my C hour class.  I was drawing the diagram of a plant cell on the SMART board with them, and holding a green "SMART" marker in my hand.  In through the door walked the assistant principal Barbara, and Patty the best secretary ever.

I looked at them and knew something was wrong when they told me I had a phone call and I had to take it in the office.  Something really bad, because the last time one of my co-workers got a phone call like that it was telling  her that her husband had had a freak heart-attack and died...

Shaking, and apparently still clutching the marker, I went and took the phone call.  It was a woman, and she said, "HOLD ON."  I had no idea who the woman was.  Then my husband's shaky, tear-filled voice tells me that there is a fire in our new home.  We had only lived there for 6 weeks.

Panicked, with no idea where he is or where he is calling from, I tell him I love him, I am on my way, and I hang up.  I set down the marker on Patty's desk and went back to my room to get my things.  Visibly shaken in front of my amazing seventh grade students, I take my coat and tell the ladies what has happened...Barbara tries to talk me into letting her drive me, but I know I need to go alone.

It was an hour of my life...that drive felt like forever.  Thank goodness Eddie, my wonderful stepfather, is a fire chief in Niagara Falls on the air base.  He used to work with the guys in Sandwich, where I had been living, and was calling the chief and relaying info back to me.

"The fire is mostly contained to the 'illegal' bedroom you guys were living in"

"You will be ok, fire is out...be careful...I love you"

I finally pull down my street and see the fire trucks, people wandering around, insurance adjusters ready with their notebooks, and my landlord looking unsympathetic and accusing.

I can't find my husband.  He ends up several houses down, with the cat, thank GOD!

This wonderful woman Chris is there, taking care of him.

The firemen were amazing!!

The police, not so much.

Cause of fire: laptop on bed.  My husband finished emailing me something I needed out of our laptop and set it down on the bed.  While he was in the shower, he heard smoke alarms.  He thought he left toast in the toaster oven, but didn't.  Instead he was met with huge reflections of flames through our bedroom door.

He grabbed the cat and ran.  It took four or five houses to find help.

He emailed me at 845, and the firemen arrived at 920.

That's all it took.  NEVER leave your laptop on and unattended.  Check for recalls.

Now for the crafty part.  I lost all of my stuff, except some buttons.  Here are some projects I lost that had been in my room:

I had made this for my secret santa person, there is a different snowman on each face of the square.

This is my mussel shell tree, which was for my mom.

This was my funky tree collection, for various friends for  gifts.

And there were these cute button wreaths, that I was keeping a secret so I didn't photograph.

Here are my "miracles"

My tie skirt, protected between two pairs of jeans, was unharmed!

Inside out (unbleached muslin out) in a bag, a fireman threw this quilt into the kitchen.  It was originally in the closet, where everything was destroyed.  Why was he prompted to toss this?  No idea.  It honestly didn't look like anything.  Although shrink-wrapped from the heat, it doesn't even smell at this point.  This would have been IRREPLACEABLE!!

SO, the lesson here is...things can be replaced.  Through the generosity of my friends and my students, I have a home and new "stuff."  Nobody was hurt, and I experienced miracles during my time of pain.