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burning down the house
Jan. 7th, 2003 08:45 amYou know you're stressed when you accidentally try to burn your house down.
lit a candle last night, and when i saw the draft from the furnace vent was blowing on it, i moved the candle up to the top of my curio cabinet, out of the way of drafts and curious kitties.
The candle was a votive set on a 4" pie plate-looking thing, with rose hips and star anise and other dried stuff around it. visually, very pretty.
Well, my night went how it went, and when i went upstairs to hit the computer and go to bed, the light on the timer was still on, so i thought nothing of there being light in the living room.
settled into bed about midnight, exhausted. just got comfy, and i heard a beeping... couldn't figure out why my cell phone would be beeping... then i realized it wasn't stoping, and that it wasn't my cell phone ... it was my SMOKE DETECTOR.
rushed downstairs expecting a mess. i got DAMN LUCKY. the candle had burned down to the base, and had ignited the dried stuff around it. it hadn't spread from the metal plate, fortunately, but half the thing was smouldering. found a hotpad, and threw the whole mess in the sink.
Surveyed the damage this AM... there's ash on the top of the curio cabinet, but no damage. the mess in the sink is clean-up-able.
I don't think i'll be burning candles outside of containers again.
lit a candle last night, and when i saw the draft from the furnace vent was blowing on it, i moved the candle up to the top of my curio cabinet, out of the way of drafts and curious kitties.
The candle was a votive set on a 4" pie plate-looking thing, with rose hips and star anise and other dried stuff around it. visually, very pretty.
Well, my night went how it went, and when i went upstairs to hit the computer and go to bed, the light on the timer was still on, so i thought nothing of there being light in the living room.
settled into bed about midnight, exhausted. just got comfy, and i heard a beeping... couldn't figure out why my cell phone would be beeping... then i realized it wasn't stoping, and that it wasn't my cell phone ... it was my SMOKE DETECTOR.
rushed downstairs expecting a mess. i got DAMN LUCKY. the candle had burned down to the base, and had ignited the dried stuff around it. it hadn't spread from the metal plate, fortunately, but half the thing was smouldering. found a hotpad, and threw the whole mess in the sink.
Surveyed the damage this AM... there's ash on the top of the curio cabinet, but no damage. the mess in the sink is clean-up-able.
I don't think i'll be burning candles outside of containers again.
