What was your day like?

[crisipicada]

Because my niece and nephews stayed in the house, I need to cook for them. Usually, when no body is at home to visit my mother, I do not cook a lot but clean the house more often. And also love to plant flowers and fruit tress are one of my hobbies

[Edwin]

I like to make my trips to town count by having good reasons to go as it costs money to drive to town. Doing this water project I have made trips to town to get something that we needed which only cost a fraction of what it cost to drive down there. Friday I drove to to get one shut off valve for the dish washer. But, since I was going anyway we ran around with our youngest daughter and granddaughter. We also ate lunch with the youngest granddaughter, daughter and sister. I then brought 30 concrete blocks home, so it wasn't a wasted trip. Then it looked like we might run out of concrete, so I went to town Saturday to get concrete mix, and also other things needed to build a roof and door over one end of the cellar. By the time I got everything I had more weight on the car than I wanted to haul, but I was very careful, and made it fine, driving extremely slowly. After I got home I built a little more wall on the house and got a bit wet as it was raining and I was working under the drip of the house roof! Then I came in, dried off, warmed up, and had a wonderful evening! This morning we are working on putting one more level of concrete blocks on the wall, the last one, and then building a short wall against the house, just like I am doing all the way around, only these blocks are being mortored in, and I will be putting insulation in the wall behind it since it is part of the cellar, and we want to shield it from the outside air, whether it is hot in the summer, or cold in the winter! I didn't have time to eat this morning, so now at 1:30 p.m. I am eating what I fixed for breakfast, a generous supply of oatmeal cooked with apples. I poured the small pan half full of milk and I am eating it that way, and it is very good! I am eating a half bar of slightly sweetened dark chocolate for an after meal snack!

[Edwin]

This was a very long work day, and I don't like to work on Sunday, but the oxe was in the ditch! I got out of bed in fairly good time, about 7 a.m. I cooked me some oatmeal, and I also sliced an apple, and cooked it in with the oatmeal. My son-in-law was at our door ready to work before I got a chance to eat it, so I missed breakfast! Wouldn't you know he didn't want to stop for lunch until about 2 p.m. and I was starved by then. I was alone in the house so I filled the rivere ware kittle half full of milk that I had cooked the oatmeal in, and I ate it all!

Late in the afternoon we ran out of mortor mix, so I went to town, got a propane bottle 5 gallons to fuel the space heater. I then bought starting fluid for Larry's tractor. After that I went to Home Depot, bought a heat lamp, 2 bags of mortor mix, but we only used one as it turned out, 30 concrete blocks, and then I went to our daughter's home, went with her to take her youngest daughter back to her Dad's place. She fed me a hamburger and some corn chips! We drove on home, and I went back to work with my son-in-law. We worked until 2 a.m. to finish laying the concrete blocks, and yes we are completely finished building that cellar wall. I was going to pour concrete after we finished, but it is too late and I am too tired to keep working when I should be sleeping! Tomorrow Larry will start his tractor and do some backfilling. After that we might be able to get the cement mixer closer, so we can get it finished sooner! After that we will build the roof on it, and a door so that we can go down the stairs, once we build them, It has been a lot of hard work, and it feels really good to be where we are with it now! It is a really nice room where the water system is safe from freezing, and it has enough space to put on food, as well as garden stuff. It won't freeze in the winter, and it won't get really hot in the summer. It became a lot more elaborate than I had first anticipated. I was just going to have dirt walls, but my kids said if I did it would cave in after a short time, and they might be right, so I decided to allow my son-in-law to help me plan the construction because he has a lot of very good ideas. It will feel even better once I get a few more related jobs finished!

[crisipicada]

Come home late yesterday because it was so many things to do.

[Edwin]

This morning I cut and put rebar in holes in the concrete blocks getting ready to pour concrete in those columns. Then I helped backfill dirt up against the block cellar walls. My son-in-law used the tractor and bucket and I used the shovel where he couldn't get with the bucket. I move a lot of concrete blocks into the back yard getting ready to put them around the house, actually continue putting them around the house. I probably have about 70 or so feet of it finished. I have done one end, a little in the back yard, and about half the length of our house in the front. So I am well on my way, but I have a lot to do yet, and I am trying not to think of all the other things I need to do besides build that wall!

Then after I ate my lunch, Chili buritoes, with lettuce and dressing, I went out and poured concrete in those columns mixing the concrete with rocks to make it go further. I finished that at about 9:30 p.m., so it has been a very long day, since I started this morning about 7 a.m.

[crisipicada]

One of the mandate of the Bureau of Fire Protection BFP is to prevent and suppress destructive fire. In order to do that, public education is one thing must done by the BFP Personnel. This is to educate people within the area of responsibility. Here are some of the topics that we discuss.

FIRE is a chemical reaction known as combustion. It is a rapid oxidation of combustible materials accompanied with the release of heat, smoke flame and toxic gases.
To be safe,
If you discover a fire, report it immediately to the nearest Fire Station. Dial 72-75-80
Put things in its proper places.
Safety First.

Check regularly the valves and the hose of your LPG tanks and stoves before and every after use.
Oil, gas and other highly flammable chemicals such as paint or kerosene, should be placed away from the kitchen. Never store gasoline inside your house.
Do not leave the kitchen while cooking is on progress.
Extinguish all live charcoals and live embers after being through with kitchen chores.

BE alert and responsible. Dial your nearest Fire Station. DIAL 72-75-80

Clean regularly all electrical appliances found in your home and in your office.
Avoid the practice of using octopus connection by connecting too many electrical appliances to one outlet.
Leave the house or building immediately when fire takes hold.
Make it a habit to unplug the cords of your appliance before leaving or going to bed. Be always careful and never forget to unplug the cords after ironing clothes.

Crush out cigarette butts thoroughly before discarding it. Wet it with water, the better.
Out-of-Order electrical devices or appliances, should be kept away from an electrical outlet.
Remove the accumulation of leaves within your house premises and clear corners from any combustible wastes.
Do not let your children play matches or lighters. They are not toys.

Do not leave a lighted candle. Put it off before going to bed or before leaving the house.
Do not smoke in bed.
Do not leave the house with children locked inside.
Do not attempt to cook when you are real tired. You may fall asleep while cooking is on progress.
Do not go back inside the burning house or building once you are already out from it.
Do not use defective appliance. Have it repaired before using.
Open flames like bonfires and the like is a fire hazard. It invites danger.
Not all are practicing these simple safety fire tips. Now it is time to give your share.

To be safe, just DO IT, if others don’t. SAFETY FIRST.

WHAT TO DO?
When cooking Pans Catches Fire:

If you are using an LPG tank, turn the valve off immediately.
Do not touch the pan in an effort of transferring it to somewhere else.
Do not throw water on it. It will give a chance of spreading the fire which will only worsen the situation
Cover the pan with a metal plate by sliding at the top pushing sideway to put off the fire.
When LPG tank hose is on fire, Do not hesitate to turn the valve off. Don’t be afraid. Just make sure you are not facing yourself on top of the valve.

When Dress Catches Fire:

Do not run. Stop and Drop instead, then Roll one side to the other at once and remove clothes.

When one receives Electric SHOCK:

Think always of turning off the main source first before extending further help to the victim. If the source is out of reach, stand on a dry insulating material like wooden box, and or rubber mat then push the victim away from the source by using wooden things like chairs and mop holders.
Never attempt to touch the victim with your hand if you are not sure that the source is off.
If an electrical switch is burning, think always of turning off the main source before you extinguish it with water.

When one Falls and has BURNS:

Put the victim on a recovery position. Do not forget to call the telephone lines here in Cagayan de Oro at 72-7580 or 72-3020 to seek assistance.
Don’t use ice cold water to treat the victim’s burns. It will not help ease the pain. A soft cloth wet with tap water can help. Dial immediately the numbers for immediate assistance.

EVACUATION:

When there is fire and you are yet inside the building, KEEP DOWN on the floor to avoid inhaling smoke that kills. Cover your mouth with wet towel or handkerchief. Get out as fast but calmly. Think of the nearest exit.
Do not open the doorknob if you feel it is already hot. Go the other way while keeping your face down still on the floor. There is about 7 inches free air in the situation. It helps save victims until the rescue arrives.

Practice having escape diagram at home or in the office.

[Edwin]

Crisi, you have very informative information that everyone should be aware of! Carol had a boyfriend that she wanted to marry, but her family didn't like him because he was a Native Alaskan Indian. So they discouraged her, and she found me, or we found each other. The only think they didn't know is that I probably had as much Native American Indian blood in me as he did. Well, it was a sad story because a few years later they had a house fire, and he went back inside the house to get a dog out. I can understand because I love dogs too, but it cost him his life because he didn't get out of that burning house alive! So don't go back in for anything. But if you have children inside a burning house, I don't know of any good parent who wouldn't go back inside to try to rescue a child!

It just does not make sense to keep gasoline inside a house that you are living in! We live in a ranching farming area, and in the past we have had good friends who have lost their barns because they were storing hay that was too wet. Spontaneous combustion took place and they lost their hay and barn. My brother told about working in Montana, and taking the top bales off a hay stack in the winter, and having it catch fire immediately as soon as the smoldering hay got oxygen! When I worked at the sawmill, they had sawdust fires all the time for the same reason!

The first couple of year that we were married I was pastoring an Assembly of God church, and I had raked the leaves in the lawn/yard behind the house. I had a small can of gasoline that I was dumping on the leaves to burn them. My brother told me about a terrible explosion he had using gasoline to burn wood, so I was aware of that, so I was careful not to use too much gasoline. I already had a leaf pile burning, but I needed it to burn better so I was dumping a little more gasoline on it, and the fire followed the gasoline fumes right up to the spout of the gasoline can, and I had a fire burning out of the spout of the gasoine can. It scared me, and I think, if I remember correctly I just smothered it with leaves using my hands, and it had a happy ending!

Our good friend who is married to his filipina wife, who is also our good friend told me about a scary experience he had with propane. A friend of his told him if he had trouble getting his bar b q to light, just hold that button that loads propane and count to ten then strike a match. He told me that he would never do that again, because he lost his eye brows and all the hair on the front part of the top of his head, and he was lucky that it was not worse than that! The place where I worked before I have covered the propane vent because the wind was blowing, and it would blow the flame out when trying to start the propane heater. I have had minor explosions from that, and felt the empact on my face, but I never got burned doing that, although I think it is a dangerous thing to do.

A few years after we were first married Carol was heating bottles on top of the stove, and we drove all the way home from town immediately because we remembered that the stove burners were still on. We were very lucky/God was with us!

At one of our local stores they have what is called propane bottle exchange. I never got propane that way until yesterday when my son-in-law asked me to get some for our space heater to dry our mortor in between the concrete blocks. I started walking inside the store with this empty propane bottle, and a guard stopped me, told me I was on security camera, and they saw me coming! I had no idea that was against the rules, but he told me that I could not bring an explosive material inside the store! They had the bottle exchange outside the store, but I did not know that, but I do now!

[Smiley]

I have spent close to 14 years at sea. I`ve sailed on destroyers,tankers,minesweepers and diesel submarines.
Fire at sea is a very personal subject as I have experienced a few.
On board a submarine fire is particularly dangerous because it can consume all of the oxygen very quickly.
My very first trip to the Philippines was aboard the tanker HMCS Provider. The area where I slept was on top of about 15,000 barrels of aircraft fuel,with over 100,000 barrels of diesel in adjacent compartments. You could say we took fire safety seriously

[Edwin]

My son-in-law is one of these guys who says it will get done, don't worry, and he doesn't until the house is burning, or everything is freezing and we are near to dying! Well, I am exaggerating, and the son-in-law is a very good guy, the other one is too, but he and I are opposites. I start early, work steady, and don't experience the last minute frantic rushes except when I am working on his time frame. So a couple of weeks ago we were in bad trouble because of procrastination! I stayed calm even though it was not my fault, there would be no value in blaming, so I just got into high gear, and I have been nearly working myself to death, but I will survive, and I will recuperate, because I am made out of that kind of stuff. Then life will be happy again, and actually it is now. Now that we are in trouble we are making great progress towards our goal to be ready for winter. The cellar walls, laid blocks with concrete in them are finished. The water system is safe inside that cellar! Outside the structure the hole is all filled in! I will be burning the propane space heater for the last time tonight to help the concrete to finish curing. I have a heat lamp there to continue to hold a warm temperature after I run out of propane, which should be enough to finish curing the concrete. The good news is that we have had a warmer trend with intermitant raining, but it has been warm, and it didn't even freeze last night which helped the concrete that I had poured during the day, even working in the rain and getting soaked. I went to bed finally because I could not warm up after getting chilled in the rain! This moring a little after 7 a.m. I pulled pressure treated 2 by 6s out from underneath our house, cut them, drilled holes in them to sink bolts in the concrete to built the roof and door on. The concrete pouring today went quickly and smoothly as I only had about 12 inches of concrete in 16 block holes to fill after which I sunk the bolts and plates on the top of the blocks and in the concrete. When that cures we will be ready to built the roof on it, and then we will be okay, no matter what the weather does to us! We are actually in pretty good shape now, and getting better all the time, now with running water plumbed all through the house! It took me all day to cut those boards, drill holes in them, sink bolts in them, and put them on top the blocks in the concrete. I helped an old carpenter, who was not as old as I am now, but he told me that he knew a quite a few talented carpenters who could not make a living at carpentry work because they were too particular and too slow, and that is a very good description of me! I am too particular and too slow for my own good, but it all works out in time, and December 2nd when my birthday comes I should have everything finished that needs to be finished including the completion of the remodeling of my bathroom!

[Edwin]

Well, I slept in this morning until a little after 8 a.m.; drastic after getting up and going to work each morning a 7 a.m.! This project I am now finishing has been harder work than I have ever done in my life, and I have worked extremely hard at times in my life. I thought the hard digging in the hard pan and gravel was severe, but the work I have done since has been harder on me than that, mainly because I have been on someone else's schedule, and I have put in hours that I would not have had I been working on my own. So, I am dead tired! I fall asleep when I shouldn't. I can't sleep at night, such as right now because I am so tired and sore, and my hands hurt and go to sleep. Am I sorry? No, not for one minute, because I am going to enjoy the running water in our house, the cellar, and our concrete block bottom wall for many years to come, and I am going to just have fun enjoying. I am going to do some fun things and forget this was so hard, only enjoying the benefits, and playing when I am able to. So I am thankful the Lord had supported me, kept me healthy, kept me from accident, and given me strength to do what I have done. This winter when it is freezing outside we will be warmer because of the block wall, and we will enjoy our running water, including flushing toilets, water for the kitchen sink, water for the dishwasher, and hot water for showers that feel really good. God is Good all the time. His blessing come and He adds no sorrow! Thank you, Jesus!