This winter, a house about a mile from us exploded because of a gas leak in the house. The house was completely flattened, but fortunately, no one was hurt. A few days after the incident, I drove by the house with the kids in the car, and I pointed it out to them. The mess was shocking! The roof literally sat in the back yard surrounded by nothing but rubble. The kids asked questions about gas leaks for days, and I reassured them that our house was unlikely to explode, but also explained the importance of leaving the house immediately if someone smelled gas.
On the way home from preschool today, out of the blue, Ben asked, "Can we drive by that house that blew up again?" I told him that they had already cleaned up the house and it was just an empty lawn now. He asked me again what had happened, and I told them all about the gas leak and how important it is to get out of the house immediately if you smell gas.
When we got home, I winced at the strong odor of gas that met my nose as soon as I opened the door. I quickly told the kids to get out of the house, and I peeked inside one more time to see if I was imagining the odor after our conversation in the car. No, I could definitely smell it! So, I
shut the back door and brought the kids to the far side of our back lawn, which also happens to be our emergency meeting place in case of a fire. Grabbing the kids' extra jackets from the car, I spread them on the ground so they could sit while we waited.
Pulling out my cell phone, I called Josh and then the gas company. Josh got here first, and the kids started screaming at him to get away from the house. Because Hannah had to leave for preschool in less than 30 minutes, he watched the kids while I walked to the gas station to get lunch for everyone. Grateful for the warmer weather, Josh and the kids enjoyed their picnic lunch in the lawn while we waited for the gas company.
"What happens if there is gas in the house?" Hannah asked anxiously.
Ben cheerfully replied, "Then the house would BLOW UP and the wood and bricks would go ALL over!"
Hannah burst into tears. "I don't want my Magic Tree House books to burn up!" she wailed.
A man from the gas company arrived shortly, and his meter didn't detect any sort of gas leak. However, when he checked our furnace, the ignition coil never came on. He acknowledged that I may have smelled the puff of gas put off by the furnace while it was trying unsuccessfully to turn on. Before he left, he let a tiny bit of gas out of a valve so we could know definitively what it smells like, and the odor was unmistakable.
So, we are thankful that we did not have a gas leak, and we are all safe. The heater only needs a small $35 part that Josh can install himself, so the repair will not cost us too much, and the weather has been beautiful so we are not missing the heat while it is off until Josh can fix it later tonight. Additionally,the kids got a little lesson in what to do in case of an emergency, and Hannah was particularly excited because she would have a fun story to tell her class this afternoon...
Showing posts with label picnic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picnic. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A Sweet Adventure
A local farm hosted its annual Maple Syrup Festival this weekend. We missed last year's festival due to snow, so we made a point of attending this year. We knew the kids would love it, and we also needed to buy some more maple syrup, as the gallon we bought two years ago was beginning to run low.
We began the morning by eating pancakes with syrup, and then we headed out to the farm. A tractor drove cart-loads of people from the parking lot to the waiting area down the road. From there, several teams of draft horses pulled people in wagons back into the woods to the place where they made the maple syrup.
All along the road and on all of the paths, metal buckets hung from trees to collect the sap. Many of the buckets were full, with a thin layer of ice across the top because of the freezing nighttime temperatures.
Once we got out of the wagon, we walked through a small trail with a few stations showing the early methods of processing sugar maple sap. At the first station, people wearing period costumes and traditional Native American dress explained how Indians in the region first harvested maple sugar. They collected sap in wooden buckets and poured it into troughs carved into large logs. Then, they heated rocks in a fire and placed those rocks into the sap-filled logs. The hot rocks boiled the water and condensed the syrup, eventually leaving nothing but maple sugar. The Native Americans formed the sugar into cakes and used it on everything until their supply diminished. Unfortunately, this method left a lot of sand in the sugar, which shortened the people's lifespan by wearing down their teeth rapidly.
At the next station, women demonstrated how European settlers later used large kettles to boil down the sap and make syrup.
They needed to stir the sap frequently to prevent it from burning. Many gallons of sap are needed to make a single gallon of maple syrup.
Finally, we entered the "Sugar Shack" where they currently process their maple syrup. Steam filled the room as it evaporated constantly from a large heated vat of sap. In this more modern facility, sap comes directly through tubing that taps into the maple trees, so that people do not have to collect it from buckets every morning.
A man explained the current process of making maple syrup and gave everyone tiny samples of fresh syrup. It tasted wonderful!
After a quick picnic lunch and a stop in another small museum, we purchased some freshly made maple syrup, a piece of maple sugar candy for each of us, and a wonderful smelling maple sugar candle for our house. Once the kids settled into the warm car and the sugar rush began to wear off, they became quite drowsy and literally begged for their beds when we got home! We had a wonderful day, and the kids learned a lot. Hannah and I have already read Little House in the Big Woods together, but I think I will finish off this adventure by reading them all the two chapters from the book that describe how they made maple sugar. Overall, I would say that we had a very sweet adventure!
We began the morning by eating pancakes with syrup, and then we headed out to the farm. A tractor drove cart-loads of people from the parking lot to the waiting area down the road. From there, several teams of draft horses pulled people in wagons back into the woods to the place where they made the maple syrup.
All along the road and on all of the paths, metal buckets hung from trees to collect the sap. Many of the buckets were full, with a thin layer of ice across the top because of the freezing nighttime temperatures.
Once we got out of the wagon, we walked through a small trail with a few stations showing the early methods of processing sugar maple sap. At the first station, people wearing period costumes and traditional Native American dress explained how Indians in the region first harvested maple sugar. They collected sap in wooden buckets and poured it into troughs carved into large logs. Then, they heated rocks in a fire and placed those rocks into the sap-filled logs. The hot rocks boiled the water and condensed the syrup, eventually leaving nothing but maple sugar. The Native Americans formed the sugar into cakes and used it on everything until their supply diminished. Unfortunately, this method left a lot of sand in the sugar, which shortened the people's lifespan by wearing down their teeth rapidly.
At the next station, women demonstrated how European settlers later used large kettles to boil down the sap and make syrup.
They needed to stir the sap frequently to prevent it from burning. Many gallons of sap are needed to make a single gallon of maple syrup.
Finally, we entered the "Sugar Shack" where they currently process their maple syrup. Steam filled the room as it evaporated constantly from a large heated vat of sap. In this more modern facility, sap comes directly through tubing that taps into the maple trees, so that people do not have to collect it from buckets every morning.
A man explained the current process of making maple syrup and gave everyone tiny samples of fresh syrup. It tasted wonderful!After a quick picnic lunch and a stop in another small museum, we purchased some freshly made maple syrup, a piece of maple sugar candy for each of us, and a wonderful smelling maple sugar candle for our house. Once the kids settled into the warm car and the sugar rush began to wear off, they became quite drowsy and literally begged for their beds when we got home! We had a wonderful day, and the kids learned a lot. Hannah and I have already read Little House in the Big Woods together, but I think I will finish off this adventure by reading them all the two chapters from the book that describe how they made maple sugar. Overall, I would say that we had a very sweet adventure!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Signs of Spring
What lovely weather we have had for the past few days! Hannah attends an in-home preschool one afternoon a week. This week, I felt inspired by the warm, sunny day, so after we dropped off Hannah, I came home and put Becca down for a nap, and then Ben and I had a picnic in the back yard.
As we ate, I began to point out the many signs of spring. I showed him the green buds on the bushes and the violets peeking their bold purple heads up over the blades of grass. He seemed especially enthralled by the multitude of sparrows fluttering and chirping loudly in the hedges. After he finished, he raced over to them, and turned to me, crestfallen, when they all flew away. "Mama," he cried, "Why did the birds all fly away?" I tried to explain that they were probably scared of him. "No, mama," he insisted, "I just want to hug them!" My sweet little boy!
I got up from our picnic blanket and we meandered slowly around the house looking at all of the new flowers poking through the dirt. I showed him daffodils and hyacinths, nearly ready to bloom. He examined tulips, lamb's ear, rhododendron, yarrow, bleeding heart, and some flowers I cannot identify. He carefully felt the thorns on our rose bush and pulled some of the baby thistle plants, already poised to invade our otherwise lovely garden.
Then, we pulled the tricycle out of the garage, and Ben grinned triumphantly when he finally succeeded in pedaling down our gently sloping driveway without my help.
After about an hour outside, we packed up our blanket and put away the tricycle, heading inside to get ready to pick Hannah up from preschool. I loved my one-on-one time with my little guy, and he had such an adventure, exploring and enjoying the newly showing signs of spring.
As we ate, I began to point out the many signs of spring. I showed him the green buds on the bushes and the violets peeking their bold purple heads up over the blades of grass. He seemed especially enthralled by the multitude of sparrows fluttering and chirping loudly in the hedges. After he finished, he raced over to them, and turned to me, crestfallen, when they all flew away. "Mama," he cried, "Why did the birds all fly away?" I tried to explain that they were probably scared of him. "No, mama," he insisted, "I just want to hug them!" My sweet little boy!
I got up from our picnic blanket and we meandered slowly around the house looking at all of the new flowers poking through the dirt. I showed him daffodils and hyacinths, nearly ready to bloom. He examined tulips, lamb's ear, rhododendron, yarrow, bleeding heart, and some flowers I cannot identify. He carefully felt the thorns on our rose bush and pulled some of the baby thistle plants, already poised to invade our otherwise lovely garden.
Then, we pulled the tricycle out of the garage, and Ben grinned triumphantly when he finally succeeded in pedaling down our gently sloping driveway without my help.
After about an hour outside, we packed up our blanket and put away the tricycle, heading inside to get ready to pick Hannah up from preschool. I loved my one-on-one time with my little guy, and he had such an adventure, exploring and enjoying the newly showing signs of spring.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)