BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Cocktails Wildfire destroying my home

Aw. Sorry about that. I still haven't mastered how to work with graphic images on this site. I've got lots of product reviews with pretty pictures in the works but I just can't get them posted correctly. I get hung up on the middle-man step of the process (like Facebook, in this instance). I'm good at uploading straight from my desktop everywhere else on the web but I run into problems involving the third party between me and BellaO.

I'll keep working on it though and I'll send you the photo via email if you send me a private message with your email address. It's an awesome photo.

Thanks for letting me know this isn't working!

Sandy, the editor assistance site has something about this. Also, see which editors add graphics here and send a PM asking for help.

Sorry, I am graphics challenged!

Graphics challenged - love that term! It's me, all right.

I will definitely follow through on your suggestions. I may need a day or two to do that, though.

Thank you so much for the advice!

PS - Love your column and newsletters. Sandwiches are one of my favorite foods - all of 'em!

I just watched this really cute 30-minute TV show on PBS. Today's segment was about Smithville. I grew up in Smithville and was living between Smithville and Bastrop when the fire broke out. There was a Bastrop episode aired earlier (I haven't seen it yet) and there's a link to that show, too, toward the bottom of this page so you can catch that one, too.

This was obviously filmed before the fire because the opening segment is a bicycle ride that begins at Bastrop State Park, which is almost 100% charred wood and ashes now. I think there's probably more coverage of the park in the Bastrop episode. No part of the town or other places in the show was damaged so everything you see here is still intact. It's a quirky little town.

The Daytripper - Smithville, Texas

Really good news from the fire zone.

Bastrop State Park re-opened to the public on December 2. Almost 90% of it was affected by the awful fire in September. Most of it was destroyed completely and it will take decades for new forest to replace what was burned.

It's one of the most popular state parks in Texas, due in part to the unusual forest of loblolly pine trees unique to the area. Outside Bastrop County, the nearest loblollies are more than 100 miles away. They're beautiful.

It's also a prime habitat for the Houston toad, on the extremely endangered list. I haven't heard how the toad fared. It may be that it's too early to tell. Hopefully, the drought sent the toads way underground where they were protected from the fire but their breeding and feeding grounds were definitely affected. Sure hope they survive it.

Another reason the park is so popular is because it's located in the middle of a triangle of the largest cities in Texas - Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. It's easily accessible to so many people but it's gorgeous, too. If you're traveling through the area, please be sure to take a detour through the park. The rangers there have worked miracles already and they've got lots more to do. They'd appreciate your visit.

Bastrop (Texas) State Park

Sandy wathced the video and enjoyed the Houston toad .

Great to hear that the park has reopened.

How are you doing? Do you plan to move back in to the park or have you moved on?

I'm doing fine, thank you. I've moved on and won't be moving back to that county.

I grew up there (bored silly) and moved back about six years ago when a friend I met elsewhere moved there. She was in very poor health, with no hope for recovery. She was married and had two grown sons. One son is married and has a teenager and a baby on the way. The family relied on her for everything and would not accept the extent of her medical issues. They were in denial, no doubt. She moved her family to my home town because of all the stories I'd told her over the years about life in that oh, so quaint little town. It was just what she was looking for.

Anyway, Robin needed a friend who would let her vent and cry and who would laugh with her. She needed someone to listen to her worries and fears without adding to them. I was unhappy where I was so I moved there because she was there.

Have you seen "Tree of Life," a recently released movie starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn? The scenes taking place in the 1950s were shot in Smithville, my home town. Even in 2011, it's still 1950s quaint.

Thought I'd open a small cafe or get serious about a writing career. The cafe never happened but the writing did. Over the years, I grew very bored with the small town and the lack of good food at the supermarket and in restaurants. Before writing, I was a professional chef and I've studied nutrition all my life so good, healthy food is just a part of who I am. I knew I could continue writing from anywhere so that's what I've done. Can't do that with a food establishment.

My plan was to move on after Robin died. That happened in May. I saw her two days before she passed away and we had a good laugh together; I'm so grateful for that final memory of her.

Since then, I'd been planning a move far away but had thought I'd actually have a workable plan in place when the time came. I learned a wildfire makes the plan.

Right now, I'm living in private quarters at my sister's house. It's about 30 miles west of Austin, which is where I want to finally land (I think). I think I'll soon have my writing biz running a little more smoothly than it's going right now. I'm planning to start looking for a place to rent long-term in Austin after the first of the year. That's where all my best friends are now. Interestingly, my very closest friend there is named Robin, too!

Funny how life sometimes seems to give you a push in to things you had been thinking about but not manifesting.

So sorry to hear about your friend Robin, Sandy, but from what you say you gave her huge support and friendship and she died knowing she was loved.

I started writing regularly whilst living in a small town. I can empathise with the food issue - I found myself paying more for food in the Scottish Highlands than I had in London, and did not find it easy to get foods I took for granted in London.

I haven't seen Tree of Life, but will look out for it.

I admire your courage in the face of adversity Sandy. Wishing you strength and clarity.

More GOOD NEWS from the fire zone:

This is day #4 for the Extreme Makeover Home Edition for Mizzy Zdroj. She, of course, isn't there to do any heavy lifting (she's already done that!). Mizzy, her husband, and three children (a grown daughter and twins about 10 years old) are enjoying a "Christmas Extravaganza" in New York City this week while her dream home is being built in Bastrop County, right near where I lived before the fire.

Mizzy is a volunteer firefighter. There are no employed, professional firefighters in Bastrop County. It's a rural county and all firefighting is done by trained volunteers. (Except in this case, when the fire was just too big for the volunteers to handle. We had help from all over the US.)

Mizzy fought the fire for three days before learning her house had been demolished. Her home was in the heart of the fire zone so it wasn't surprising news although it's not easy news to process and nonetheless heartbreaking even when expected (I can vouch for that). Mizzy didn't fight the fire at her house; she fought it everywhere else. Her mission was to save as many lives and homes as possible and she did just that, even when it meant losing her own home.

The fire continued to rage for weeks and Mizzy continued to fight it.

She and her family live off the land, raising livestock and garden produce that they sell locally. When she lost the house, she lost the farm. She's also an artist so she lost that avenue of income, too.

I don't know yet when this episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition will air. They haven't even finished the house yet and Mizzy and family are still enjoying holiday season in the Big Apple. I'll keep you posted, though.

Guess where Mizzy's new house is located. It's about 100 comfortable yards from the fire station. I think the fire house is getting a makeover, too.

Makeover for Local Firefighter