A friend of K's has to evacuate, but is considering not doing it because her house is "all I've got."

Is her staying going to save the house?

ita, of course not. It's not like her presence bestows some magical Save-The-House power. I think it's idiotic.

I'm really glad they painted my basement white. It isn't finished, per se. Concrete floors and cabinetry, but raw foundation plastered & painted white. I don't know if I could cope if it wasn't. It's a really visceral reaction I have to raw basements. And mine, while having a weeping wall, doesn't smell like basement. This is also critical.

Technically, parts of it aren't below ground. Front porch room is 3/4 below. To the back, well..it's 3 steps up to alley level.

I have always hated basements because of my spider phobia. The only time we didn't have basements was when we were living in California. Tennessee was a bomb shelter...it was the '50s and we lived in Oak Ridge. Midwest houses all have basements or storm cellers.

However, I am right now living in my sister's finished basement. But, I have plug in bug repellers in every outlet!

I think it's idiotic.

I guess it might have an effect on the firefighters if they have to respond to humans in the area, but that's playing dirty pool. I agree that it's a dumb move if you can actually get out, and you don't have a magic cloak of protection to extend over your property yourself.

The places we lived in London that had basements had finished basements. I think that that is probably typical of the city. I don't think I've actually been in an unfinished basement, now that I think about it--the house in Canada had a finished one, but it was always dark and musty in a way I didn't like (oh, as opposed to how dark I keep my apartments now) so I never spent much time down there, on the rare occasions I was home.

We had cabinetry and in one spot carpeting and wood panelling but it's not like they were rooms that an adult would want to hang out in. A high school friend's basement was FINISHED finished with a couch, TV, pool table, wood burning stove, wet bar, bathroom, separate entrance etc.

I really should get my ass off the computer and go be productive.

If it weren't so infernally hot, I'd roast some sweet potatoes and then roast some chickpeas (so good) and then make granola. As it is, maybe I'll go sew.

Oooh, I love roasted chickpeas.

Hil, do you roast them with a spice? I wonder how I can make wasabi chickpeas?

I don't like wasabi. I sometimes use garlic powder, sometimes nutritional yeast. I used to have a spray can of garlic-infused olive oil that I'd spray them with.

and you don't have a magic cloak of protection to extend over your property yourself.

Well, you can do more than that. Not to argue into staying but you can stay and water your roof which is what people do. If the fire doesn't engulf your area but is close enough to spraying embers and sparks then you can put those out.

Again, not saying that's the right idea, but it's not just magical thinking.