Gin started her first week with the March of Dimes. She will be working 21 hours a week coordination the family teams for March for Babies. I went into the office with her Wednesday, then to the Anderson County March for Babies kick-off with Lisa Green. Wednesday was also the 3rd anniversary of the day Patrick and Jessica lost Beau and Haley. I was the Family Ambassador speaker for the lunch-time event. There were approximately 40 volunteers at the luncheon. Lisa had brought a Butterfly Box as one of the static displays. During my speech I used the two knit caps and single gown as props when sharing our story. I was very emotional but confident and strong in my delivery. This was the first time for me to tell their story on the anniversary of their stillbirths. Even after three years, I am still emotionally moved when I share the story. I am also grateful that my audience is able to feel and share the emotions while I speak.

The rest of the week I spent trying to nail down a training program to enroll in for changing careers. After much deliberation (with myself) I decided to pursue an Architectural Drafting course through Spartanburg Community College. I have always been fascinated with mechanical drawing and the conceptual design process of things. I was a draftsman for a year for the Navy Yard. Most of my work there was steel structure designs for ship repair projects. I will be meeting my career counselor this week to discuss this choice as well as visiting the school.

Now for the highlight of the week. Gin woke up around 4am Saturday to the smell of smoke and immediately woke me up. We were up and moving through the house to try to locate the source. Gin started gathering the cats into carriers while I checked crawl spaces and attic spaces for the source. I called 911 and the New Prospect Fire Department was dispatched. Within minutes the first truck arrived with one foreman. Yes, only one fireman. I met him at the street and explained what I knew. He grabbed a heat source sensor and followed me to the house. Using the heat sensor he searched every room, wall, ceiling and attic space for the heat source. We walked out to the side of the house and met the rest of the firemen who were quickly sent to different directions to investigate further. The younger smaller guys were sent under the house to check the heating system.
After 30 minutes of looking everywhere, they started to look at the heating system itself. There was ice on the compressor unit outside, which they chipped away. One of the supervisors went to the thermostat and cut the system off. Several of them were sniffing the vents and determined that the heating system was the source. The continued to check for any possible hot spots from electrical sources.
I followed one of the supervisors into the mud room. I was a few steps behind him and when I entered the mud room, he was looking in the back fridge and putting the lid back on the pot of chili. I didn't say anything, but had to chuckle to myself. I'm thinking to myself "Well I know its early and sure your could be hungry, but do you have to be snooping my pot of chili". He closed the lid then the fridge door and went to the freezer next. I guess it's routine to check all possible sources of food....I mean electrical problems. I think he might have been a little embarrassed by the whole thing.
The final decision was that the heater part of the heat pump system overheated and possibly burned some heating coils. The system was switched over to Emergency Heat and the fire department left with handshakes and thanks from Gin and I. We then proceeded to bring the cats back inside along with other valuables Gin put in the truck. Once we had the carriers in the mud room, I let Fluffy and Mac out of their carriers first. Mac ran behind the washing machine and Fluffy ran into the bedroom. When I opened Hoagie's carrier, Gin happened to be walking out the back door and Hoagie made a bee-line through the opening. We tried to call him back, but decided to let him be for a little while. When we went back out to get him, I used his favorite cat treats to lure him close enough to catch him. Good thing he thinks with his stomach.
I shut the system off completely to let it rest cool down and brought the kerosene heater in side for a while. I cleaned the filter and Gin helped me removed the remaining ice from the condenser unit.  After a few hours I turned the heat pump system back on and let it get back to running normal. There was still a burnt smell coming from the vents, but overall it was working pretty normal.

We are lucky that Gin has such a sensitive sense of smell. I probably would have slept a little longer than what may have been safe. We checked our smoke alarms and they are working properly. The smoke itself wasn't real heavy. The smell was stronger than anything. Today we picked up a bottle of lavender oil and mixed a little with vinegar in some bowls. We have the bowls at different parts of the house to help eliminate the burnt smell. I'll pick-up a new filter tomorrow and replace it. Our filters are a specialty type and we have to get them from the HVAC supplier at $35 a pop.

I think that's enough for one week.
P@