Ashes and laundry don't mix

Today's lesson is about fire hazards. Most of us know the typical hazards that can occur if we aren't careful. For instance, falling asleep while smoking can result in disastrous consequences. Leaving a candle burning unattended is another risk you take in hoping it doesn't go awry. You should never toss water over a burning pan in an attempt to put the fire out because it will only expand the flames. Likewise, don't leave a pot cooking on a stove unattended. You get the idea. Logical things you know you shouldn't do to avoid a horrible fiery accident that could burn down the building and leave nothing but smoldering remains.

My husband faithfully starts a fire for us every wintry morning before he leaves for work. We do what we can to save on heating expenses and utilize our wood stove insert nearly every cold day we endure over the course of what can be a long and arduous winter. Anyway, each morning he empties the ashes from yesterday's fire into a metal bucket. Where he empties the ashes is still a mystery to me, but I suppose it is somewhere outside in the woods. And said bucket is emptied when it is full and it usually takes about 3 days' worth of ashes before it has to be emptied. Until that time, the bucket is carried from the living room to the kitchen and placed on the kitchen table. Why he doesn't keep going out the door past the table and leave it in the garage or outside the back door is a question I ask myself more than once. Then again, it is not the only thing he does that is half-@ss, and I can only chalk this up to one of those tasks.

So. Today I was folding laundry at the table and soon detected an odd smell. Freshly laundered clothes don't usually emit this smell, but I checked them anyway, just to make sure my nose wasn't playing tricks on me. No, they smelled fresh and clean. But what was that peculiar odor? And then, I recognized it and noticed one of the socks from the basket had fallen into this bucket that had been sitting on the table for the past 6 hours. Six hours. Apparently, hot ashes do not cool down after six hours, as you might want to believe. And some soccer socks are quite flammable. See?






Needless to say, dear hubby won't be leaving the bucket of ashes on the table anymore. He doesn't want to be held accountable for burning down the house and I really don't care to have the house burn down. That is all.