Thtupid.

[poliphilo]

I filled the vacuum flask with boiling water but forgot to press the button that seals the lid.

Then I shook it.

Geeaghblaaah-damn!

But I got away with it. The skin of my hand prickled for a while, but I look at it this morning and it's fine. No blistering or peeling. I'm one lucky sumofabitch.

I'm reminded of an earlier accident. The one where I set fire to the cooker. The cat alerted us to it. She was sitting gazing down the corridor with her head to one side. I went to check on what it was she found so interesting and- ohmigod- a room full of orange smoke. And that peasanty wicker-work thing we had hung on the wall behind the cooker (smart- eh?) was snapping and crackling and sending big flames curving up towards the ceiling.

It's a high ceiling, thank goodness, and the flames didn't quite reach.

The pan of oil was blazing like a Christmas pudding and I did what you're not supposed to do and grabbed the handle and tried to carry it to the back door.

I didn't get very far. The flames streamed back over my hand. I dropped the pan on the couch and melted great holes in the fabric. My hand was a mess.

I should have run. Instead I did the other thing you're not supposed to do and slung water about.

Well the cooker got fried, but the fire was out by the time the fire brigade arrived. Whats a little smoke inhalation between friends? I hid my hand because I hate, hate, hate the accident and emergency unit. And I got a story out of it in which I feature as lovably brave but stupid.

Comments

[besideserato.livejournal.com]

Oh my! And I thought I was a mess in bad kitchen situations! That is quite the story indeed. I am glad to hear, though, that you are well and that the burns were not severe. There is nothing worse than a burn on the hand. We need those!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We certainly do.

I nearly burned the kitchen down twice and I may have elided the stories (artistic license.)

Actually, second time round it wasn't my fault but Ailz's. She put something under the grill and walked away.

[besideserato.livejournal.com]

See, now that is something I would do! [Laughs]
Thank heavens for good fortune!

[craftyailz.livejournal.com]

No I didn't. I cooked an omlette and walked away without turning the grill off and the cooker lining set on fire - it must have been weakened when you set the cooker on fire!! (And if you remember it had an uncooked chicken in it)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Whatever happened to the chicken? Did we feed it to the cats?

[craftyailz.livejournal.com]

No, you wouldn't allow me to ask my parents to cook it and it was 4 days before we got a new cooker so it got binned - our cats couldn't have coped with real raw meat!

[cybersofa.livejournal.com]

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks smoke alarms in kitchens are just too aggravating. Cats, a much better idea all round.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

A close call! I'm glad you're okay!

If you'd had a dog during your kitchen fire, he would have barked and raced around and grabbed your ankle. Cats are so bemused and disinterested. (Kate's cat Angel tilts her head when she's thinking deeply about something, usually our supper and if she can get some of it.)

..

I have a friend whose house burned to the ground when he was a child. His mother had left some stew on the stove, and somehow it boiled over and caught fire on the burner. By the time they returned home, the firetrucks were already there. Vic told me that the heat was so intense that the nearby asphalt sidewalk was melting.

..

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Something I find interesting is how one clicks into a different state of consciousness when faced with this kind of crisis.

The house was on fire. And I reacted by becoming very calm. I stepped up to the problem and very lucidly and philosophically set about making matters worse.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

Something I find interesting is how one clicks into a different state of consciousness when faced with this kind of crisis.

The house was on fire. And I reacted by becoming very calm. I stepped up to the problem and very lucidly and philosophically set about making matters worse.

:)

Jung says, I think, that when faced with a crisis one tends to flee to one's superior function. For me, that's Intuition, so I just stand there, waiting for inspiration. I just stand there, as if I've gone into a fugue state, which is probably pretty close to the truth.

I would make a terrible fireman or emergency room nurse, standing there musing while the more useful Sensation Types grab fire extinguishers or begin CPR.

It's like I glaze over! Even my eyes unfocus. Time slows down. I guess I'm trying to retrieve my Primitive function where it's lurking somewhere in the back of my brain.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't know what I flee to. Reason, maybe. I turn into Mr Spock. Ailz finds it very annoying. Ah, the house is on fire; clearly the right thing to do is to raise an eyebrow at it.

Unfortunately reason is not the same thing as commonsense.

[kaysho.livejournal.com]

This sounds exactly like what I would do under the circumstances. :)