It Has Been a Long Week

So, a week ago our house caught on fire.

I'll give you the short version.

First of all, we are all okay.

It was just the kids and I home at the time. My husband was still at work. 

My oldest son is the hero for coming to get me in the kitchen when he smelled smoke in the front living room, before any smoke detectors had even gone off. Together we went looking for the source, which turned out to be in the utility closet upstairs (it's in the master bathroom for some reason.)

The wall behind the boiler was in flames and thick gray smoke came pouring out.

I called 911 and got us all out of the house and to the neighbors.

I also let my husband know what was going on.

He came right home, but it is a 30 minute drive, so he missed some of the action.

This is the living room ceiling, underneath where the boiler was burning.

Fire trucks came within 5-10 minutes, and the fire was out within about an hour.

The fire chief said it was going down into the wall when they got there.

The good news is that we are all alive and we still have a house.

Also, we have good home insurance.

The bad news is that we can't live in our house for the next 1-3 months while it is repaired and our things cleaned from the smoke.

Some kind friends are letting us stay in their basement for the duration.

So, life goes on.

Meanwhile, I have ideas for posts and things to say, but also, my life is a bit chaotic at the moment.

If we can get our computer moved over to where we're staying, then I'll be back in business.

(It was in the dining room, which had little to no damage.)

Thank goodness for our library card, since all of our books are smoky and off-limits!

Here's to this week being better than last.