It is surprising how fast the months go by! I am trying to write a new post once a month being as not much really changes so there really isn't much new to write.
Kent and I finished up the fly fishing seminars. I actually learned how to cast! One class was a casting clinic with experienced people helping the newbies. One mentor got me started in the right direction of stopping between the back and forth motion (this allows the tip with the leader to gain speed) while keeping my wrist straight, elbow close to the body and the arm raised. Another mentor got me so that my fly will land where I want it to...and I did it! YES!!! Kent had other mentors helping him also. It was a great opportunity.
Before we went to the casting clinic, we practiced in the "overflow" water/pond by the church parking lot. One man stopped to see if someone had stocked the pond. No. It has no in or out for keeping the water fresh so it wouldn't be good for fish. It is great for frogs however...
Other news is that Kent has been called to be the ward clerk. This means he will be released from Sunday School, which means they are also releasing me. I was enjoying the class and am sorry they are releasing me just because Kent will no longer be teaching it. I'm not sure why they didn't think I could do it on my own... But I will be moving to Primary soon...and I do enjoy Primary.
We are looking forward to going to San Diego to visit my Mom, Daniel, Christina, Kyle and Aaron and then going to Andrew's graduation with them! Hopefully KT and David will also be able to come and we can get everyone together!!! It's quite an achievement in my book for Andrew to graduate with all the time he has spent in the Army, getting married and supporting a family while in school. I am impressed!
After Phoenix and San Diego, it's off to Idaho to see how the basement has turned out. While Kent and I were in Costco the other day (yes, we finally broke down and got a membership) we saw a great tool chest/work table. I think it would be a great counter with drawers in the basement kitchenette. I really think someone like KT or Eliz could make it work and look fantastic. I'm thinking like put red appliances on top... Kent could see it but...we're in Alaska, the house is in Idaho...
Well, other than the above, it's still work, work, work. I'm ready to go to the Idaho home to live and work on retaining walls, and make my home MY home. I'm left wondering when retirement will actually arrive...
28 May 2010
27 April 2010
April Sunshine
The run-off hasn't been too bad this year. The snow has been able to melt between snow showers this month. I can finally see leaf buds on the trees. Spring is coming to Alaska!
Our kitchen window looks out on our back yard, which isn't fenced so you can see a grove of trees behind our house. I've always wanted to look up from washing the dishes to see a moose. Well, I got my wish! A big old cow was out grazing on the trees. I love to see the moose! Another time we watched a moose in our back go through a neighbors fence gate to wander in their yard then turn around and go out. I would have thought that gates were new to them but no...you go in and go out through them. Fortunately the gate was open...
Work is going. It is busy. I have over 90 people that I watch over. Lots of visits, lots and lots of paperwork! Next week I get to go to Missoula to do some cross-training...be a liason between MT and AK. Kent gets the car for the week and gets to teach Sunday School all by himself! Isn't he blessed? He is a good teacher. And I. I get to sleep at a hotel with a TV by my bed (so I can go to sleep with the TV on...), eat out at restaurants, see another part of the world and maybe get a manicure and visit a fly fishing shop...
Kent and I went to the Great Outdoors Sportsman show. I was coughing away and Kent was getting over pneumonia. It was a nice time. We got a 8 wt fishing rod and reel which will go well with Kent's 5 wt rod and reel. We enjoyed seeing all that AK has to offer and put in our names in all the drawings for free stuff. Obviously we didn't win anything because no one has called...
Then the next Friday was the Fly Fishers Club auction. We found some nice flies to buy and "won" at some things with a silent auction. BUT the regular auction was something to behold. Now I know prices are higher here in Alaska but...the opening bids were out of our price range! How do people do it?
Then the past two Monday evenings we've been learning more about fly fishing. The Fly Fishers Club holds a seminar each spring. The first Monday was an introduction about the basic gear for fly fishing and learning some of the knots. Last Monday we watched people tie flies. I was glad Kent and I had attended a fly tying class last February because I understood the hows and whys things were done. Next Monday is the monthly meeting so the next seminar will be the 10th of May where we will learn where to fish with a casting clinic on 17 May. Good way to spend FHE, eh?
The sun is rising earlier each morning and setting later and later. Abby would love it here. The sun is up almost all the time now... The weather is warming. It's in the 40's and maybe today will even be in the 50's with the nighttime temperature above freezing! My tomato and green pepper seedlings are up and growing. I've got to get the other seeds planted before too long as we have a short growing season here. I'm wearing my sandals once again. Sometimes I've gotten snowed on too...but spring is here!
So I'm off to wander for a bit before returning to this land of the last frontier.
Our kitchen window looks out on our back yard, which isn't fenced so you can see a grove of trees behind our house. I've always wanted to look up from washing the dishes to see a moose. Well, I got my wish! A big old cow was out grazing on the trees. I love to see the moose! Another time we watched a moose in our back go through a neighbors fence gate to wander in their yard then turn around and go out. I would have thought that gates were new to them but no...you go in and go out through them. Fortunately the gate was open...
Work is going. It is busy. I have over 90 people that I watch over. Lots of visits, lots and lots of paperwork! Next week I get to go to Missoula to do some cross-training...be a liason between MT and AK. Kent gets the car for the week and gets to teach Sunday School all by himself! Isn't he blessed? He is a good teacher. And I. I get to sleep at a hotel with a TV by my bed (so I can go to sleep with the TV on...), eat out at restaurants, see another part of the world and maybe get a manicure and visit a fly fishing shop...
Kent and I went to the Great Outdoors Sportsman show. I was coughing away and Kent was getting over pneumonia. It was a nice time. We got a 8 wt fishing rod and reel which will go well with Kent's 5 wt rod and reel. We enjoyed seeing all that AK has to offer and put in our names in all the drawings for free stuff. Obviously we didn't win anything because no one has called...
Then the next Friday was the Fly Fishers Club auction. We found some nice flies to buy and "won" at some things with a silent auction. BUT the regular auction was something to behold. Now I know prices are higher here in Alaska but...the opening bids were out of our price range! How do people do it?
Then the past two Monday evenings we've been learning more about fly fishing. The Fly Fishers Club holds a seminar each spring. The first Monday was an introduction about the basic gear for fly fishing and learning some of the knots. Last Monday we watched people tie flies. I was glad Kent and I had attended a fly tying class last February because I understood the hows and whys things were done. Next Monday is the monthly meeting so the next seminar will be the 10th of May where we will learn where to fish with a casting clinic on 17 May. Good way to spend FHE, eh?
The sun is rising earlier each morning and setting later and later. Abby would love it here. The sun is up almost all the time now... The weather is warming. It's in the 40's and maybe today will even be in the 50's with the nighttime temperature above freezing! My tomato and green pepper seedlings are up and growing. I've got to get the other seeds planted before too long as we have a short growing season here. I'm wearing my sandals once again. Sometimes I've gotten snowed on too...but spring is here!
So I'm off to wander for a bit before returning to this land of the last frontier.
05 March 2010
March Madness
I really have nothing new to say. We work, we work, and sometimes we play...
But here are some funny things that have happened at the office.
On Monday, it had snowed, I had blown snow off the driveway and then gone in to shower and dress for work. After brushing my hair and not liking the result, I set it with hot curlers...not once but twice. My hair was not cooperating. Finally, I gave up because I needed to get to work. I thought, my hair will be "fashionably wild" today. I hair sprayed it and left. The weather was still snowy, the wind blowy, and my hair suffered. Even though I have a mirror in my office, I do not look into it often. Around 4:00 one of my ladies that comes in to turn in her timesheet came by. She is a wonderful Alaskan Native, always positive, always has a twinkle in her eye, always gives me compliments. Today? This is what I got: "What happened to your hair?" After explaining that it was a bad hair day, she looked at the clock and said, "Well, it's almost time for you to quit. You can go back to your office and hide." That was just too good to not share with the temp front desk admin assistant, who then beat me to the Program Manager's office to share the story...
At our office, we are looking for a new front desk admin assistant. One interviewee had a great title at a previous job: Director of First Impressions. Another interviewee, after being asked why she would possibly be absent and how often she had missed work from her previous job said she hadn't missed a day of work...then did add that she had taken the day off when her Mom had died (2 years previously). Admittedly I didn't think through the next comment as I said, "Well, you can't use that excuse again now..." (In my defense, we've had some pretty flimsy excuses for not coming to work and that is where my mindset was.) We have had many, many applicants. It is heart wrenching to look at the resumes and see over-qualified people just wanting a job and willing to do whatever it takes to pay the bills. However, we have the opportunity of picking and choosing who will be the best person for the job, and unfortunately, over-qualified people will want to move on.
Our ID home driveway is still tough to get up or down in the snow. We have had it reworked but it hasn't helped. The guy hired to plow the driveway hasn't been as reliable as needed. David has been stuck sometimes at the top and other times hasn't been able to get to the house. With our 4-wheel drive Explorer in AK, we have also have a problem needing a 4-wheel drive vehicle to use for the farm. Last year Brian let us use his 4 Runner for hauling the trailer full of fencing material to the farm. This year? We needed a truck...for the farm, for David getting up and down from the house. Kent was able to go last Thursday morning to SLC via Phoenix. Elizabeth and Abby were able to greet Grandpa during his layover while Katie was able to finish up with her job and meet him at the SLC airport and drive him up to ID. And then the hunt was on. Do we get a "better" used truck so that we have it when we retire or do we get one that will do the job until we retire and then take our time to find the "perfect" one? Kent and Katie looked high and low and found a cherry of a truck...a 1997, F-250, 4x4, cherry red truck with 114,000 miles. It even has a bed liner and sideboards... But it is red...and old... David was hoping for a reprieve from red cars and something "newer" but I think it's a good looking truck. Course, I haven't seen it up close and personal yet, just the pictures from the dealer's online site. But now we have a truck.
I came home from work during the day last week and found a cow moose in our front yard chewing on the prickly tree we don't like. Go moose! She even stayed long enough for me to get some pictures, then eyed me, turned her back to me, sprayed her territory and walked across the street. I love Alaska!
We've had some days in the mid-30's for the snow to slush and melt a bit. Then it snows again and ices everything up. Thank goodness St. Patrick's Day is coming for a bit of a "fun" break. We're talking of having a St. Paddy's day potluck at work. I've got Andes mints and Hershey's mint M&Ms (green of course) in my office along with lots of greens and clover decorations to break-up the dreariness of dark days. The days are getting longer though, 5 min a day right now. And we are still living in winter wonderland, only wondering when the spring thaw (break-up) is really going to happen.
But here are some funny things that have happened at the office.
On Monday, it had snowed, I had blown snow off the driveway and then gone in to shower and dress for work. After brushing my hair and not liking the result, I set it with hot curlers...not once but twice. My hair was not cooperating. Finally, I gave up because I needed to get to work. I thought, my hair will be "fashionably wild" today. I hair sprayed it and left. The weather was still snowy, the wind blowy, and my hair suffered. Even though I have a mirror in my office, I do not look into it often. Around 4:00 one of my ladies that comes in to turn in her timesheet came by. She is a wonderful Alaskan Native, always positive, always has a twinkle in her eye, always gives me compliments. Today? This is what I got: "What happened to your hair?" After explaining that it was a bad hair day, she looked at the clock and said, "Well, it's almost time for you to quit. You can go back to your office and hide." That was just too good to not share with the temp front desk admin assistant, who then beat me to the Program Manager's office to share the story...
At our office, we are looking for a new front desk admin assistant. One interviewee had a great title at a previous job: Director of First Impressions. Another interviewee, after being asked why she would possibly be absent and how often she had missed work from her previous job said she hadn't missed a day of work...then did add that she had taken the day off when her Mom had died (2 years previously). Admittedly I didn't think through the next comment as I said, "Well, you can't use that excuse again now..." (In my defense, we've had some pretty flimsy excuses for not coming to work and that is where my mindset was.) We have had many, many applicants. It is heart wrenching to look at the resumes and see over-qualified people just wanting a job and willing to do whatever it takes to pay the bills. However, we have the opportunity of picking and choosing who will be the best person for the job, and unfortunately, over-qualified people will want to move on.
Our ID home driveway is still tough to get up or down in the snow. We have had it reworked but it hasn't helped. The guy hired to plow the driveway hasn't been as reliable as needed. David has been stuck sometimes at the top and other times hasn't been able to get to the house. With our 4-wheel drive Explorer in AK, we have also have a problem needing a 4-wheel drive vehicle to use for the farm. Last year Brian let us use his 4 Runner for hauling the trailer full of fencing material to the farm. This year? We needed a truck...for the farm, for David getting up and down from the house. Kent was able to go last Thursday morning to SLC via Phoenix. Elizabeth and Abby were able to greet Grandpa during his layover while Katie was able to finish up with her job and meet him at the SLC airport and drive him up to ID. And then the hunt was on. Do we get a "better" used truck so that we have it when we retire or do we get one that will do the job until we retire and then take our time to find the "perfect" one? Kent and Katie looked high and low and found a cherry of a truck...a 1997, F-250, 4x4, cherry red truck with 114,000 miles. It even has a bed liner and sideboards... But it is red...and old... David was hoping for a reprieve from red cars and something "newer" but I think it's a good looking truck. Course, I haven't seen it up close and personal yet, just the pictures from the dealer's online site. But now we have a truck.
I came home from work during the day last week and found a cow moose in our front yard chewing on the prickly tree we don't like. Go moose! She even stayed long enough for me to get some pictures, then eyed me, turned her back to me, sprayed her territory and walked across the street. I love Alaska!
We've had some days in the mid-30's for the snow to slush and melt a bit. Then it snows again and ices everything up. Thank goodness St. Patrick's Day is coming for a bit of a "fun" break. We're talking of having a St. Paddy's day potluck at work. I've got Andes mints and Hershey's mint M&Ms (green of course) in my office along with lots of greens and clover decorations to break-up the dreariness of dark days. The days are getting longer though, 5 min a day right now. And we are still living in winter wonderland, only wondering when the spring thaw (break-up) is really going to happen.
20 December 2009
Bagheera
My cat is wonderful!
I have missed not having one around to greet me when I come home, to purr and sit on my lap, to sleep with me. And this one does. Thank you Elizabeth, Andrew and Abby for giving me one of your favorite kittens! (And having him neutered plus sending him up to us!!)
And a big thanks to David for bring him to Alaska. And to Tawni who had to endure having a back pack that the cat sprayed before leaving SLC... They both seem to like MY cat...Sorry David.
He's a playful teenage kitten.He likes the automatic kitty litter we have. He likes to sit back and watch the rake do its
job. He likes to play in the litter crystals too...
He decided that he liked playing with the ribbon around one of Kent's packages. He actually bit the ribbon and tried carrying it away to play with.
It's nice.
I like this cat the way he is.
Fortunately I was able to sidetrack him with good old yarn!
It's nice to have a cat again. I'm hoping he doesn't wander off. I do wonder how he will be after he gets over his "teen years" and becomes an adult cat.
My cats always seem to have a personality shift then. I wonder why?
They Caammmme!
Tawni Chambers and David arrived safely on Tuesday, 15 December 2009. It was a crisp day. The fog was finally lifting and you could see the beautiful frost laden trees. 
However wonderful it was to see David and meet Tawni, (who is quite impressively beautiful, and how did David ever luck out meeting her?) I must confess I was more interested in what they brought me...my Christmas present from Elizabeth! 
Bagheera , the name of the panther from Jungle Book, is now MY cat. Both actually look a lot alike. I like the name but cannot pronounce it correctly as everyone that I tell about my cat corrects my pronunciation. I feel like I'm back in Norway...Wonder why?
This cat's fur is more like velvet rather than soft cotton ball's like Scratch. He's also shorter hair which will be nice.
We did like Scratch. And we miss him.
Bet you don't wonder about that!
19 December 2009
It's Never the Same, OH, but it IS!
I was starting to write this nice blog about David, Tawni and MY cat. Nothing big, life is great, love Tawni, love MY cat (even if I can't say his name correctly), it's cold here, excited for Christmas, etc., etc. When what to my troubling eyes did appear...my printer is no longer reading my SD memory card to download pictures. Why? David is here...David has figured out why I couldn't download my pictures onto a digital frame. (I had plugged the memory reader into an USB extension rather than the computer...so it didn't have enough juice to receive and download pictures.) But with the good comes the urghhhhs! I tried to download pictures of the kids at Beluga Point and at James Cook's monument but... I usually do it on the printer's card reader but it says it's not connected to the computer... Where is the cord? Why is it NOT connected anymore? David, what did you do? And of course, David is asleep... Wait a minute, he just woke up but he is too tired.Can it wait until morning? Of course it can. Minutes later he is up. Tawni is still awake. He comes down. He finds the cord and makes sure I can download now. Somethings are figured out while other things that were working no longer are, WAIT they are again! YEAH!!!
David, also wanting to receive wireless connections has configured the router into our server. If you only have one computer and it's a desktop, you need to stay in one place and so it doesn't matter that the router is not in use. Now it IS nice that if we ever get a netbook or a lap top we can use it wherever we want to in the house. BUT the computer is not the same. The yahoo site looks different, it's acting slower, pictures are not coming up with the post...
Today is Saturday. Yesterday Tawni and Kent put up the tree. (Did David help? He usually refuses to help put the lights on the tree and decorate it but Tawnie is here and he needs to impress her?) Early this morning I went through several containers of Christmas decorations and put them out while everyone else was asleep.
These long nights are confusing their sleeping clocks. It stays dark until at least 10:00 and then the sun sets around 3:30 so if you're sleeping when the sun is down, you're getting lots of sleep... You think it's 7:00 because of the light only to find out it's 11:00.
Today they finally got going around 1:00 and we went to Beluga Point south of Anchorage after finding an open Wells Fargo and the Post Office. The tide was out and you could see the chunks of ice sitting on the shoreline.BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!!!
And baby was it EVER cold today! David and Tawnie have discovered the windchill factor in Alaska means that what is cold (10 degrees F) is REALLY cold and that's at 3:30 p.m. The wind is blowing and it is freezing!Kent and I look a little more acclimated to the weather, don't we? There's a reason we store fat in the winter... I only wish it came off in the spring!
Getting back into the warm car, we went north to downtown Anchorage to see James Cook's monument.
It might have been an impressive sight if it were lighter and you could see further than two feet from your nose...David IS a good cook. We have been sharing cooking responsibilities: David and Tawni one day, Kent and I the next. So far David's made curried beef, Kent has done a roast. Yesterday was leftovers from a PCA (Personal Care Attendant) Open House appreciation day my company held which included shrimp, tortilla/turkey/Swiss cheese wraps, ham croissant sandwiches, chips, cookies, cupcakes and drinks. It all tasted really good! I was able to bring some of the leftover wraps and shrimp home so David and Tawni were relieved of cooking duties yesterday. They were all relieved as the went to the Anchorage Museum all afternoon and were hungry when they came to pick me up at 5:30. Today was my turn and we went to the best Mexican restaurant that we can find in Anchorage-Pancho Villa's. Good food at reasonable prices (for Anchorage!). Don't I have this cooking routine figured out?
You know, I really love my job BUT it is tough working when you'd rather be home visiting, playing games, decorating, sightseeing, and so forth. Problems at work always pop up and need to be resolved. New plans come in and need to be presented to clients. I think I'll have the afternoon off only to have a busier day than usual...
So at the close of this post, the wondering thought is how to balance the now with not being home like I used to be. It would be nice to be home to play but... it is nice to have a job too. In this day and age where so many need jobs. I'm so thankful I don't have to wander far from home.
08 September 2009
Valdez
One of the things I wanted to do in Alaska was catch a salmon. We were lucky enough to have some friends, Wes and Dorinda Van der Martin [if it's not Dutch, it's not much] that own a Chalet motor home and together we went to Valdez to do some fishing.
We wandered all over East/Central Alaska going from Anchorage to Valdez, a 6+ hour drive. We had gorgeous, sunny, autumn weather. The trees were beginning to change colors-mostly yellows but a few reds. We hiked up to the Worthington Glacier, touched the glacier, got our picture taken under a cave built between the rock and the glacier (an "n-flow"?). You could hear rocks falling, water dripping and never knew if it was going to collapse on you. The path to the cave was definitely not a groomed National Forest path...as there was none.
We saw Bald Eagles, bear cubs, Dall sheep, spawning salmon, jumping salmon, sea lions, and did you catch bear cubs [as in plural]? Valdez has a fenced, viewing area where the salmon spawn and in the evening we saw one cub on Saturday and TWO cubs on Sunday evening. I got pictures but haven't downloaded them yet. They are bigger than dots but...not too clear as I'm not patient when taking night pictures. But, Mother, you can tell they are bears!
As to the fishing... I'm left wondering why the people on our left caught some, the people on our right caught some. We were using the same type of lures. We got a couple of look, see, bites but we didn't catch any. Wes caught two nice sized silvers (which he gave us, aren't we lucky?)and a few carcasses (lots of dead salmon in the water) and even a small halibut that looked like it was too sad to eat and was thrown back in to the water. But nothing for Kent and I (nor Dorinda or Missy their BYU-ID daughter). But the sun was on our back, the high tide took the dead fish smell away and we were in a little bit of heaven. The Van der Martins stayed at a campsite and we had wonderful campfires and food. Kent and I stayed at L & L Bed and Breakfast. The Van der Martins took us back and forth.
Great weekend even if we didn't catch any fish! I'm left wondering if life could get better?
We wandered all over East/Central Alaska going from Anchorage to Valdez, a 6+ hour drive. We had gorgeous, sunny, autumn weather. The trees were beginning to change colors-mostly yellows but a few reds. We hiked up to the Worthington Glacier, touched the glacier, got our picture taken under a cave built between the rock and the glacier (an "n-flow"?). You could hear rocks falling, water dripping and never knew if it was going to collapse on you. The path to the cave was definitely not a groomed National Forest path...as there was none.
We saw Bald Eagles, bear cubs, Dall sheep, spawning salmon, jumping salmon, sea lions, and did you catch bear cubs [as in plural]? Valdez has a fenced, viewing area where the salmon spawn and in the evening we saw one cub on Saturday and TWO cubs on Sunday evening. I got pictures but haven't downloaded them yet. They are bigger than dots but...not too clear as I'm not patient when taking night pictures. But, Mother, you can tell they are bears!
As to the fishing... I'm left wondering why the people on our left caught some, the people on our right caught some. We were using the same type of lures. We got a couple of look, see, bites but we didn't catch any. Wes caught two nice sized silvers (which he gave us, aren't we lucky?)and a few carcasses (lots of dead salmon in the water) and even a small halibut that looked like it was too sad to eat and was thrown back in to the water. But nothing for Kent and I (nor Dorinda or Missy their BYU-ID daughter). But the sun was on our back, the high tide took the dead fish smell away and we were in a little bit of heaven. The Van der Martins stayed at a campsite and we had wonderful campfires and food. Kent and I stayed at L & L Bed and Breakfast. The Van der Martins took us back and forth.
Great weekend even if we didn't catch any fish! I'm left wondering if life could get better?
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