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In a message dated 1/6/03 9:22:04 PM, ecsamhill@... writes:

<< ** I had three extra homeschooled kids for 32 hours or so...**

I had three extra homeschooled kids for 3.2 hours or so. I must be a
light-weight. :-) >>

You can build up to it gradually.

They had spent the night, on the night of the worst wind I ever remember
here. 58 mph, I heard. Scary. I woke up a couple of times to shine a
maglight out the window in the room next to me to see if the door of the room
where they were (NOT next to me) was still closed. I had bad visions of it
blowing open and shattering glass.

It did blow open, but not until after the sun was up and after they were
awake anyway. Holly and those three had slept in the library and heard that
wind all night (though most of them said they slept through it, once they
went to sleep around midnight).

And that same night, more like 11:30, the fireplace lost its battle to send
smoke up, and the wind started sending the smoke DOWN. BAD.

First we broke the fire apart, scattered the parts. But it was HOT.
So we brought in cold ashes from a bucket in the yard and tried to bury it.

Bad plan. Not only it was still smoking, but now the wind had ashes to blow.

So I got a squirt bottle of water and sprayed a REALLY hot fire. Then I
sprayed the air. We had a fan blowing air out of the den (into the next
room, an enclosed porch) and "only" four room got very smoky.

I've never put a fire out with water in a fireplace before. I'm glad I did.

I'm glad I was still awake. The kids would've probably freaked out and
closed the flue, which would have saved us from the wind, but not from the
remaining fire/smoke.

It was a learning experience, but I was tired and not in the mood for a
learning experience.
I guess those are some of the best kinds.

Sandra