Creating Keepsakes and Lisa Bearnson ROCK - Heart Warming Story Out of the Ashes

Ok I think that only my blog readers and PRISSy pals are going to get this one but I have a fun story to share amidst all the destruction and chaos of this last week. As I have reported my family and I had to evacuate from our residence quickly on Monday, October 22nd at 3:00 a.m. due to the fires in San Diego. The Witch Fire specifically. I mentioned the few items I was able to "grab on the go" ...I was only able to grab a few of my markers, a few boxes of assorted stamps, my newest die cuts and the Creating Keepsakes September KOTM (brand new in the box). We headed east on Interstate Hwy 8 over the mountains to El Centro. We really had no plans we just knew we wanted out of San Diego and ended up 100 or so miles east out of town. We left in a pack of 4 adults with a caravan of 4 vehicles. The Santa Ana winds were so fierce still with gust up to 95 mph on the mountain that the interestate pass on the mountain was closed to high riding vehicles. This required us to drop off a couple of our vehicles because one of them is a Sprinter which rides pretty high (think Mr. Brown truck ). In the process of dropping a vehicle off and transferring some things from one vehicle to the next the winds picked up my Creating Keepsakes September KOTM from the clothes basket I had it in. Right out of the back of the car that's how strong the winds were. Lets just say my kit TRAVELED.

(click on the link scroll down and to the right to see the September one...here is a link to JPebbles gallery of a completed Sept KOTM in fact she was my major enabler and why I bought it in the first place) and off it blew across this huge empty parking lot. My DH says, "what was that" and comments "well that's lost for good." Because it was blowing away with the wind. Well, when I realized it was my Creating Keepsakes September KOTM, I looked at him and replied: "oh no it isn't...I am going to get it. Off I ran after it. Here I am running for my life from fires and I have to have my scrap kit. Picture when a piece of paper get picks up by the wind and you try and catch it? Not so much.... Anyway ME running after ANYTHING is a sight to behold in and of itself. But I wasn't going to let my new Creating Keepsakes September KOTM get away. After running some distance, I did catch up to it. I am dusting it off to put back into the car. However, it was battered, bent and mangled and the lid was missing. After I returned to my home which was still standing (Whew) I decided to contact CK somehow to see if I could get a replacement for the kit that I lost in the winds and yes CK and kindred spirit prissy pal Lisa Bearnson were happy to oblige. I am sooooo excited. I know that losing a mere scrapbooking kit is NOTHING compared to all of the destruction and those that lost their homes. Frankly, I don't think I could live through losing everything it was stressful enough just evacuating let alone coming back to the nightmare of losing EVERYTHING. But it is a tiny gratitude and a tiny happiest moment amidst all of this chaos and I just wanted to share how sweet I thought that everyone over at CK was for helping me out. I am going to make something very special with my travel journal. hhhhmmmm maybe the escapade of running for my life from the witch fire....travel journal.....get it? I don't know maybe I'll just hoard it with all the other stuff I never have time to use. But that's fun tooooo. At least I still have a place to hoard it to. =D