a glimpse into my reality

Yukon International Sled Dog Race...and humans too!

2011-02-05T21:25:00.002-09:00

A lot of focus has been put on the Iditarod over the years, a trail originally from Seward to Nome that acted as a passage route for cargo arriving in Alaska by boat. Also a dog sled race in memory of a “race to save a town”.

Now I will take you up the land trail that brought early prospectors, fur traders, mail, and eventually land and gold seekers from the lower US. First though I must give credit to the founders of this race, Roger Williams, Leroy Shank, Ron Rosser and Willie Libb for NOT letting the early pioneers that made the adventure north on foot, dog sled, and wagons become lost in history shadowed by their sea faring counter parts.

The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race is a race from White Horse, Canada, to Fairbanks, Alaska on the odd years…and the opposite direction on the even years with 16 check points including the starting line and the finish line. Following the trail taken over land, rivers lakes and mountains, by many early fur traders, Alaskan prospectors, as well as the trail used during the Klondike Gold Rush.

White Horse, Canada….( “Whitehorse” until 1957) Some believe this town was named after the water falls that resembled the white mane of a running horse…others believe this area was named after a Native Chief that lost his life crossing the falls. These historically debuted falls no longer exist today as they are converted into a damn to provide the Capital of the Yukon with electricity and water.

Located at the head of the Yukon River, White Horse began its life as a tent city that terminated a route from Skagway Alaska, over land to the Yukon Territory. Soon after, the railway was punched in and goods and prospectors were arriving from sea to Skagway ,moving by train instead of foot to White Horse, then shipped up the Yukon River by boat, foot, or dog sled on their treks for furs, gold and land prospecting.

White Horse is now the home of three quarters of the territories population and is the largest city in the Three Canadian Territories.

Today 23 dog teams with their “humans” on the sled left White Horse in attempts to be the first to transverse the Yukon into Alaska. They will travel up the Yukon River to Braeburn, Canada, roughly one hundred miles of running through the dark cold night across frozen rivers, ….mush on!

What I learned...

2010-08-21T07:40:00.002-08:00

As fall rapidly approaches with winter 'cold' on its heals I want to throw a "hypothesis" out there that may determine our winter...

As many out there are following the "political" races, and watching to see who will be the next 'figure head' people are forgetting one major issue....MOTHER NATURE....Im not sure the new Governor or any other president can halt what is to come this winter..

Critical amounts of oil leaked into the Gulf this summer, effecting the beaches, the food supply and the natural marine cycle....warming the waters in the Gulf Stream and setting us up for 'unknown havoc' as hurricane season reaches its peak...this oil is visible...tangible...and very evident as a problem...we wont mention they are now saying 80% or it is "missing" now how did they misplace that?....

now let me point out another critical issue that for some reason we are NOT hearing much about...this information is out there thanks to the internet...but you have to dig...

As that oil leaked...another by product escaped too...Natural Gas...a commodity we are fighting over now in Alaska...on a chemical level this byproduct of oil is a disaster in and of itself...a disaster we can not see or smell! So....as that 'gas' made its way to the surface of the ocean...its chemical component was broke down a bit by the adding and removing of 'ions' at a chemical level...unfortunatly the ions left behind to float into the air are the ones that will make SNOW....lots of it for those areas that are cold enough...rain for the rest...see...

that gas will rise high into the sky...up where the air is cold...it is light in molecular structure....but as it goes up....it will accumulate more ions making it freeze and become heavy...then it will fall to the earth again...as snow...now do not get excited as this snow is NOT good...it will be contaminated with oily gas...it will be acidic is my guess and many many repercussions will come in the spring....

so for this winter in Alaska...I say snow...lots of it...probably a few blizzards due to the temperature issues from this oil and gas...come spring we will flood...accumulated snow on ice packed rivers does that....not meaning to be a "doomsayer" here...but just a lesson I learned in "Chemistry for Idiots" (yes it is a real class for those that need a chemistry credit but do not major in chemistry)...we 'simulated this very incident' in the lab...and lets just say....it snowed like a snow globe and buried our simulated 'house'....

ooops!

2010-07-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

NEVER NEVER NEVER leave me in charge of small animals or children....children cuz i have plenty...but Spike and I are well he is JUST to small to keep track of...he has made Uncle Bill a granddaddy...or he will be in a few short weeks...he ran off in the pit...i lost him in my Yukon...and now...well lets say the black and white dog is no longer black and white...he found the oil pan eric left in the tent on the ground...and FELL IN!! WTF?...and Uncle Bill is on his way home, its dinner time and Im blogging instead of cleaning, cooking, packing, and mowing...but the runt dog is soaking in Dawn in the kitchen sink...

I do love having him around he is great for a few laughs...but Uncle Bill is gonna think I am dog gone loser! hehe (thats a good one, I dont care who you are!)

To My father...memories...

2010-04-08T14:56:00.001-08:00

News....

2010-03-28T10:27:00.002-08:00

Lets just say this article speaks for itself in the headline alone, you would be crazy not to feel the urge to read when the headline is printed..."Man Drunk, Opossum Dead, CPR Futile"

and for all the kids out there, Six reasons why you should obey your parents...

and of course, there are some things you really should be avoid recording on your personal camera...

Now off to find Spring!

Dont Mess With the Buffalo...hehe...worth the watch!

2010-03-26T12:51:00.002-08:00

Its Amazing what animals will do when water is short.....this video is a great video of nature and the circle of life....

surprise ending and all!

Iditarod...The Last Great Race

2010-03-09T13:35:00.001-09:00

Iditarod 2010….The Last Great Race…

As the musher’s approach Nikolai, a small Athabascan Village located on the Rainy Pass Trail, on the upper Kuskokwim River that was once the connection between the Ophir gold mining district and Cook Inlet.

As the contenders approach Nikolai they will experience light snows and negative temps, with winds blowing and visibility around 3 miles, great weather considering what is happing in Cook Inlet.

So what does it take for one to run in the Iditarod….Courage would be first on the list, the love of the out doors and spending endless hours alone with the forces both good and bad of mother nature, add those traits with a love for dogs, and you have the makings for a musher…now the work begins.

Endless hours of trail training year round, some of these musher report three weeks a month out running dogs in the Alaskan wilderness.

Several smaller “qualifying races” must be ran and finished to prove your ability to with stand days and nights alone in the cold maintaining your dog team and yourself.

Money of course is an issue, an entry fee to race, food and supplies for yourself and your dogs, much of which you pay to have flown into various check points along the trail. There are certain required items in the sleigh itself, safety equipment, shovels, a rifle for those rampant moose musher’s often startle along the rout, add warm clothing, and personal care items and a musher’s sled is pretty full.

All the dogs in this race must also be certified by a vet, micro chipped and have several sets of booties to protect their feet from endless hours of running. Hay must be flown it to provide bedding along the trail and a musher must prove they have the ability in the sled to melt water for their dogs to drink.

After watching the start of this race, I have decided that in no way are these dogs ran with out their opinion. It was just the opposite, they could not figure out why the musher was not as ready to run as they were.

Strategy for the Iditarod changes amongst the contenders and often times changes by the minute depending on weather conditions and their contender’s actions.

Most musher’s pre-plan where they will spend their mandatory rest breaks, which consist of one eight hour at a check point of their choice, one twenty four hour again Musher’s choice of check points, and another eight hour when they arrive in White Mountain, just a day run from Nome.

Many rules and guidelines now control much of the musher’s strategy, but pretending one is tucked in and asleep until the competition has let down their guard and sneaking off has not been unheard of in recent years.

Another strategy many play is trail breaking, often times the leader has the most work on their dogs so the musher’s most experienced with the trail know when it is time to rest and let another take the lead smoothing the trail and saving their dogs some energy for faster sprints.

Long lonely stretches of wilderness often times find Musher’s pairing up for travel with others that have similar teams of speed and endurance, In 1978 Dick Mackey and Rick Swenson found themselves in this position. The winds were blowing and the visibility was nill, Swenson being a younger musher’s acknowledged the fact that Dick had ran the trail many times and he traveled along with Dick during a storm they both thought they may not see the end of.

Upon arriving on the sea coast they attempted to sever their connection of trail found friendship and regain their sense of competition, but with equal teams it was a tail to nose race across Norton Sound for Nome.

Moving up front street Swenson was in the lead when his team tangled with a bus parked along side the road, Dick passed him and I am sure he was smirking when his team became entangled in a road sign. From my research it sounds like this famous “nose to nose” win was actually a race of who could untangle and retie their teams the fastest.

Dick Mackeys dog crossed the line first but Rick Swensons sled did making it a photo op finish and putting it in the history books forever.

At the moment the 2010 Iditarod is only started, the South route/ North route fork not hit…anyone could take this race, but now is where the strategy begins to separate the contenders into their places at the finish.

On that note, another cup of coffee, wrap in my blanket and take a nap in the warmth of my living room thinking….Mush on!!

Iditarod 2010!!!

2010-03-08T21:24:00.003-09:00

Despite the bad weather in the Southern Part of the state it appears the Iditarod trail conditions are soft snow, mild winds and on again off again snow flurries....Many possible complications came up before this years big dog race and for awhile I was afraid they might cause the race to be canceled. Thanks to several BIG "donners" there is enough money for the finishing mushers to receive their thousand-forty-nine for completing the race, Thanks to God the ground is still frozen and covered in snow...despite our early spring break.

So lets start with thanking Jeff King for giving such a large donation. Who will take his money in this race...

He himself ran an excellent race last year and stands a good chance of keeping his money...but...

We have a few of our older named mushers ready to retire from long distance racing some for age issues, some for their own health and some for the health of their families...Who will want to go out with that first position as their "last race".

Kudos to Dee Dee Jonrowe, and may our prayers be with her mother as she faces yet again another battle with cancer.

So with the economy issues most of our mushers this year come from the North American Continent...although Wattie McDonald in Bib number 4 and John Stewart in Bid number 69 traveled from Scotland with their dog teams to compete in "The Last Great Race"...Wearing Bib 66, Sam Deltour traveled from Belgium for his chance at taking on The Last Frontier.

Rookies are common to this race and one in particular deserves some watching...

Newton Marshal from St. Anna Jamaica, A rookie to Mushing with his start just three years ago, he trained under Hans Gatt until 2009 when he began his training for the 2010 Iditarod.

In March of 2008 he was deemed ready to race his first short distance race...210-mile Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Race finishing seventh out of fifteen.

In January 2009 he finished thirteenth out of twenty-seven in the Alaska Copper Basin 300. In February of this same year he finished 13th out of twenty-nine in the Yukon Quest...a thousand miles across frozen arctic tundra. Racing against the best of the best in a climate far from his comfort zone.

Finishing the Quest he approached the 2009 winner and began his training for the 2010 Iditarod with Lance Mackey....racing in Bid number 14 he is doing well keeping in the center of the pack...

So...From Scotland to Canada, Belgium to the USA many have come, many will start, some will scratch some will endure, some will be in the top of the stats...May they all give it their best, enjoy the run, and know this girl will continue to admire their courage from the warmth of her living room....mush on!!

Just helps me understand....

2010-02-01T12:43:00.004-09:00

Just as I was thinking my research was coming to an end some new and interesting information is now coming to the fore front of medicine and the military...issues I thought were in my imagination despite doctors words...but now I once again cant help but wonder if some where out there there is a cure..just gotta wait till they let me have it...

Now off to more research...uranium? hmmm....

For You Erica...remember Josh whistling this?

2010-01-29T19:54:00.000-09:00

Merry Christmas....

2009-12-24T23:09:00.000-09:00

Santa, I used cyber space to send my letter this year.

2009-12-15T07:37:00.004-09:00

MY WISH LIST FOR SANTA....

PEACE ON EARTH

I became aware of this song this year thought it was new until i "googled" it....Maybe long ago I started my Christmas wish list with the same wish because of this song...

and since that is a mighty big thing to fit in a sleigh...i also want BOOKs....I love books...most anything i will read...want the Twilight series, Celestial Proficiencies...to name a couple....

May the spirit of Christmas find all, and the gift of acceptance be gifted to those that need it. (thats for the anti christmas lovers, I have my rights too! and I LOVE CHRIST in MASS.

To the smartest man of all....

2009-12-10T08:44:00.002-09:00

Life as we know it,
life as we learned,
life as we age,
changes every turn.

Life as we age,
lessons tend put away,
but, visit the past,
with a challenge you may,

A campfire game i think we should play,
my money on my child on that family Christmas day.
Maybe Taylor could beat her, maybe john if he tried,
but father I fear if you don't study, your tied.

See Melissa has seen through a hole in your knowledge,
she tested your strength while you visited last.
The little girl laughed and she had such a blast....

So family and friends on our Christmas day,
I challenge you all to a game that we play....

Are you smarter than a first grader? Come Christmas day.
The questions are simple and many would think,
that since we all graduated from high school,
we would know in a wink....

But I warn you my friends, this school is torture,
It challenges the minds of an educational soldier.

Dads taking us to the chocolate cherry plant in Feb...

2009-12-05T09:25:00.002-09:00

Meet my new friend, she joined us in answer to a job application i posted on Craigs List and thanks to them we have no more little rodent terrorist, or if we do my boarder patrol have it under control.

They kind of resemble the picture above as they anxiously await for Thanksgiving dinner.

Not every ones tummies were so happily waiting....

...but finally dinner was done, at three, and everyone ate their fill. By ten most of the left overs were gone. This year I did not bother looking for the inevitably missing cook book of my past...figured after all these years I would challenge my brain...no recipes...dinner was AMAZING if I say so myself...hehe...thanks Tara for teaching me a new way to make sweet taters, one my kids love to eat...

Questions...

2009-11-29T06:56:00.002-09:00

Seems everyone has some weird thoughts moving in their heads....so I got a few of my own...

1. How do you make a gingerbread house and NOT eat all the candy?

2. When Frostys balls get to heavy, why does mom not have superhuman strength?

3. When hanging up Christmas lights, why is they always work BEFORE you put them on the roof line?

4. How come Christmas stockings are not Christmas hats?

5. What happened to "Spread tidings of comfort and joy"? and can you "spread" that?

6. Biggest question of all....Why are they putting Valentines candy out on the shelf when i am still in need of Christmas?

I wonder why?

2009-10-30T05:42:00.002-08:00

Why do people think monetary rewards will make up for crimes committed against them or ones they love?

More importantly…How do people think someone in jail is going to make millions to pay them that money?

Seems to me we have come to a point where money is the answer to everything yet there is just not enough of it to accomplish that task.

Seems to me we have made a society of law suites and penalties that revolve around great sums of money.

Seems to me many if not all crimes are committed for or involving money.

Not so many years ago, money was not depended on to a point of survival; it was unheard of in many societies.

Humans made money as a way to “keep score”. Accountability for what others owed them, and their achievements in life.

What we did not consider was exactly where we are today. What happens when people who have no money need it?

What happens when “credit” runs out and people with money have no more “credit” to offer because others can not pay them what they are owed and still support a family?

What happens is this, a lawsuit entitling the “credit holder” to even more money that they already can not acquired from the ones the “loaned” too.

I have always hated the game of Monopoly, never have won, in fact I used to resent family game night and the game of Monopoly.

Now I have to say, thanks for choosing that particular game for family entertainment of the eighties. It metaphorically showed me what the “credit” world was doing to our society.

As Board Walk and Park Place are acquired, usually by my father as he understood the value of high rent, (I went for the pretty colors) the game becomes a game of “borrowing”, borrowing money in hopes that someone will land on your spaces and pay you enough to make rent again should you land on one of those last two squares.

After hours of frustration trying to come up with money to pay imaginary rent, tears in some cases, (I am a good poor sport) I soon began looking at the game from a different perspective. I saw one member of the table acquire all the money while the rest struggled and began to resent the winner.

Me, I just kept finding ways to go to jail, cheating on the dice is easy when everyone is counting the number you need to land on their property. So I can not collect rent, but I did not have to pay it either.

These family game nights usually ended in at least one person going to bed frustrated or sad. Why did we not play Twister?

So thanks to the game I never went after high rent properties, I used my 7 P’s and looked toward the day no one could pay my rent. I also chose to live a leaner life style, those Rail Roads and Utilities companies can get you. Today I may throw that game away, seems it is time to find a new one to play….maybe Aunts in the Pants….

…while I do this I will continue to contemplate how someone can acquire millions to pay off “victims” when they work for a church….or are in jail.

Hmmm...

2009-10-26T07:46:00.003-08:00

Monday

Mainly a day for catching up after the weekend,
Only sometimes I get lucky and the house is already caught up.
Now maybe I can spend some time making a new comforter for our bed.
Daily news reported nothing interesting.
Always looking for something fun to do.
Yesterday we saw Where the Wild Things Are.

Great movie dont listen to the reviews, Melissa and Warren both liked the movie yet the book still gives them nightmares, lol...

Enjoy the day, and I have my money on the new addition jointing this family on Halloween, his mother felt like a walking pinata craving candy and sour stuff, seems to me he told us then when he was coming. Halloween, 8lbs 10oz....my money.

Kay now someone is gonna call and tell me she popped last night, if that is the case I change my vote to then and 8 lbs 7oz.

HELP I got mice on Steroids!!

2009-10-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

My companion of 17 years decided to move on in the realm of kitty reality. I miss her dearly but need a replacement for her house hold chores. I do NOT chase mice well, they always get away, and the thought of what I would do with one should I actually catch it gives me the shivers. I will provide room and board, complete with own bath room in exchange for patrolling my perimeters and keeping these little immigrants out doors or under the house.

A friendship is a must, but i am sure love at first site will not be a problem. This feline companion will need to enjoy "teasing dogs" as well as have the personality to put them canines in their place when they do not want to play or be young enough to grow up with the dogs as companions.

With the size of these four legged intruders I am considering a companion feline also...never know when it will take two to hold back the posy.

You can contact me via email if you are interested in helping me fill this position.... you must have four legs with nice claws, pointy ears and sharp teeth, and purrrr or meow. No age requirements.

I just dont get it anymore

2009-10-21T07:13:00.004-08:00

I was raised to believe that adults set the example for children. I was raised to believe that we have consequences for all our actions. I was raised to consider others before making my own choices. Ok so i did not always consider every thing about others, but i have tried to set and example to the younger generation.

If we continue to allow people of power and authority to "make excuses", "wine and belly ache" in order to get out of the consequences for their own actions, why do we expect our children to obey us?

I am tired of my local politicians giving my children "rational" reason to argue consequences for their actions.

I am tired of watching my authority figures make public fools of them selves and telling my kids that is not alright. What is going on in this world and what are we going to achieve?

How do we parent our kids...

Do we teach them to argue so they can fight back in the world once they leave our homes?

Do we teach them that if you lie enough you can confuse yourself and others into believing your not lying? That is a trait that takes work...is it my job to teach my kids this?

What about trust, how do you teach a kid to give and receive trust when the example around them tells them you can not trust anyone?

So...if i use the "a-dults" ahead of me in age and supposedly my examples...I have raised my kids wrong.

Beginning tomorrow i will begin teaching them to lie and steal so they will get away with it.

I will start teaching them that money is to be hoarded and hidden.

I will teach them that embezzlement is OK, maybe sign them up for a couple computer classes to teach them hacking skills.

If i get an early enough start maybe they will achieve the example being set for them.

I think i will start all this parenting tomorrow.

Happy Belated 99th.....

2009-10-17T11:22:00.003-08:00

"By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world." Mother Teresa-

In August of 2010 she would have been 100 years old had her presence remained here on earth. Her physical body buried in the place she dedicated her life too. A place that made her happy or she would not have remained there for all those years.

Now they are going to argue over where her 'final resting place" should be. Has that not already been decided, many long years ago when she died?

Seems to me that Mother Teresa stood up for goodness and love not arguing and fighting. Two countries trying to stake claims on her long buried body seems a dishonor to all that she represented by choice in this life.

Why do people not realize how selfish we really are. Fighting over a body? A body that has no life in it? I understand the "need to have something substantial" something to hang onto...but I do not understand why we feel we need this when all around us is the energy that makes up life and the forces with in it.

The year this woman died many good people also died, John Denver, Princess Dianna to name two... people who strove hard in life to pass on just one message....the message of love....

GOD BLESS those that miss her, and may they too feel her presence all around them as they look for goodness in life.

Water on the Moon...thought it was made of cheese?

2009-10-09T06:05:00.003-08:00

So, at a time of economic crunch, we have found the money to waste not one but two satellites by crashing them into the moon i hopes of finding water???

Moonsani......"the brand the universe prefers" will it be bottled in glass or plastic?

Seems to me water on the moon is kind of pointless when we still have an abundance of it here on earth. Seems to me looking for water on the moon is kind of "snubbing" our economic issues at the moment. Glad NASA has money to blow up things, wish we had health insurance at a decent rate.

ok so the financial side of this little endeavor is a BIG issue, but with grants and paperwork and such money is wasted every day. Lets talk science here...

Had anyone ever wondered what would happen in a zero gravity force if one blew a hole in something?

What about the orbit of that moon to our own planet?

Watch the history channel and learn about our planets "ring"....what happens if that "debris" makes it to the "new aged ring" around this planet?

I am not sure anyone knows what is really going on in this world today but one thing that is blatantly obvious is...something is happening..cuz the moon is made of dust....and a pipe line can not be built between two orbiting planets...

and has anyone ever thought of what happens when you Spring a leak on the moon???

Parenting, What exactly is it?

2009-10-08T06:25:00.004-08:00

In college we often compared "Nature-vs-Nurture" in the psychological upraising of the human mind. Science has often fought over which has more influence on the development of a persons thoughts, behaviors, and actions. Through many years of intense research, although much of it done in orphanages around the world, science still has not made up its mind. Information gathered is biased, studies often depending on the political party in office and where the money comes from.

Lets talk...

Many famous parents seem to be doing just fine. You never hear of their children in the news and most of them refuse to talk of their children to the press. Those are good parents. In fact eventually many of their children have grown into stardom and we the general public did not even know it was coming.

The nature of these kids upraising, as well as parents who nurtured their child's privacy to grow and learn with out public media blowing things out of proportion has allowed those kids to grow into a well rounded, parent guided adult role.

So, just two years ago i voted on a woman, that woman promised that small town living was a way of life in this country, she promised she would take our childrens best interest to heart as she worked her way through politics.

A woman i have known of since high school when our sports team and hers met on the courts. A woman who had gusto and guts and seemed like the perfect choice for my children s future.

I am saddened to say it does not appear Parenting was her first choice in life. She seems to have forgotten that love and trust of a child IS what it takes to make a happy adult. She seems to have forgotten that two small babies are watching her every move, hearing her words, feeling her stresses.

While at the same time one of those babies has a teen age mom that is still trying to grow up herself with the pressures of adult hood riding hard on her shoulders.

While the child's father is out pimping himself for money, using the birth of this child as a "get rich quick scam".

Now this same woman is pressuring the president to send more troops into a very hostile environment, her own son being one of those troops. I can not help but ask myself...

Is she sacrificing her oldest child for her political gain now too?

Parenting...

We do not own our children, as we often think. They are small humans that have been born into a very educated world. It is our job to educate them and PROTECT them into adult hood while encouraging them to pursue their interest toward happiness.

NURTURE...The way in which we love and cherish something.

We nurture our gardens until the fruits and vegetables grow into abundant beauty....Why do we forget to do the same for the children that will someday run this world?

NATURE...oh here it is...the ENVIRONMENT in which that child (or plant) is raised.

This includes genetics, placement in the family pattern, socioeconomic levels, religion, adult role models, education, and so much more, if you let yourself think of the details that come into play when others cast judgment on the way you dress, walk, talk, or just live.

"Do's" and "Do nots" of parenting....

DO NOT sacrifice your growing teenagers emotional health by going public in a political career and flaunting her consequences and actions to the world.

DO NOT teach your grandchild that "daddies are disposable" and can be thrown (or chased away for political gain).

DO NOT ruin another developing adult (the babies daddy was also too young to deal with this) by throwing them to the wolves. Parenting takes a community as children grow into their environments.

DO...accept kids make mistakes and adults are here to help them figure out the consequences for their actions

DO...provide a loving accepting home filled with unconditional love

DO...allow the child to make mistakes, it is how we learn our best lessons.

My father once told me, in a time when I was struggling with my own identity,

"People judge you by who you are, how you act, who you hang out with, and what you say. Then form their opinion accordingly."

Daddy you were so right. What you did not tell me was...

Those opinions will last a life time, as few people remember that life is a constant growth process.

So...the example being set today, will effect the children and grandchildren for the REST OF THEIR LIVES...

The circle of life grows, effecting all who we come in contact with... A young man, who at one time was willing to hold a young girls hand through a tough teen age trial, work a decent job, and assist the family, is now pimping himself to the public. A young man at an age where money still buys happiness.

Parenting...a fine line to walk, a time to put self aside for the best of the future. A political career that you have some control over. Not one that makes any money, but having a laughing happy family is worth every cent in gold that I do not have.

I have returned....or have I?

2009-09-09T05:47:00.002-08:00

My first night in civilization...

I dozed of to sleep to the sounds of the street,
moon light replace by the blue and red strobes of the nightly entertainment.
Awaking suddenly to a noise over head I sat up ready to wake eric when I realized I was hearing the sound of a vacuum cleaner up stairs.

Stretching the sleep from a body that has not slept in a real bed for months I laughed at myself and headed to the shower for an early morning wake up, and one I will admit I have missed! (now that vacuum on the other hand!)

Flipping on the light I saw myself in a mirror with good lighting for the first time in months! Out came the tortures devices of female beauty...

I want to go back to my cave, civilization hurts! It took me twenty minutes to remove the bush of hair that made up my eyebrow! Guess one light bulb and camper light hides those ugly hairs growing where they are not wanted!

After using the WD40 I was able to open the little green bag of make up I packed memorial weekend and have opened once all summer, now identifying the contents was another story, a little black and white tube, bought for me Memorial weekend took me five minutes to figure out....who ever heard of two sided mascara, and what do you do with the white side? Poking myself in the eye three times and turning my eye lashes white I tossed the thing in the trash and found a wash cloth, now that is a familiar site...

I miss the familiar faces at the local store, the ones that know what brand of cigarettes I smoke and the names of my family members. Replaced by a rock wielding weirdo that talks to his alternate personality, and grocery clerks that talk on their blue tooths instead of too their customers. But 2.50 for a gallon of milk and .99 cents for a loaf of bread would make that beautiful trip worth it once a month.

oh and one more issue....can anyone explain exactly why they would put speed bumps on a round about? I think the world has lost its marbles!!

Dont Kiss a Snake!!

2009-05-05T08:13:00.003-08:00

“We've seen several people who've tried petting the snakes, and even on occasion people trying to kiss the snake. Any of those things usually result in the patient getting bitten," said Dr. Michael Levine, a toxicologist at Banner Poison Control Center.

and...well a bit of news here?

Eric....

2009-05-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

I LOVE YOU BABY

The Price of Children

2009-05-01T04:51:00.000-08:00

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and *coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:

* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!!It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!

A song from my childhood....

2009-04-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

and a lullaby i used to sing my own kids....

Flu at the Buffalo Wallow

2009-04-27T08:24:00.002-08:00

Well not sure what we have but we are passing around a nasty little bug. Symtoms we have dealt with in this home are

itchy runny eyes
stuffy head and chest
fever

or the first round of family anyway....Eric and Crystal had no complaints of Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea....common flu symptoms...

I just spent a day in bed...cant remember much except i was only waking to vomit...no appetite, and all of the above symptoms also.

Melissa woke today with a high fever and vomiting along with the other symptoms above.

Due to dad's recent trip out and the arrival of Crystal from the lower forty eight recently I feel it is important for us to keep up on this...

Melissa's school reports an increased absentee rate and people are stating the itchy eyes and nose as their symptoms...

I will keep an eye on our states epidemiology web site..as of now there have been no cases documented in our state...and this is more than likely just the end of the seasons flu...we run a bit later in flu bug season here in our states thanks to our colder weather.

Take Care of yourselves...avoid pigs...and wash your hands...

Pork Public Notice....

2009-04-26T03:12:00.002-08:00

Many different tales and theories exist about the human being eating the pig, or just living in close quarters with them...Biblical scholars believe the pig was actually a group of people who are being punished by god...we are not suppose to eat them as they are considered "unclean".

Medical professionals for years have considered the pig the "other white meat" claiming its nutritional values are equivalent to that of chicken or turkey.

Mythology has always labeled the pig as as negative impact on the world...many are punished by being turned into pigs.

Me I believe the pig is a pig...do with it as you want I guess...I dont prefer the meat of a pig unless it is processed with a lot of smoke and salt...and here is the reason...

Pigs and people have comparable immune systems. the only two creatures on earth that can "vector" viruses and bacteria to meet the others genetic code. You have to understand the mechanisms of a virus and how it reproduces to comprehend this, but trust me or go look it up if you must...
a virus that infects a pig will collect some of the pigs DNA...this allows the virus to infect the next pig in a bigger and more traumatic way as it now "resembles" the genetic code of the pig and the pigs body will not fight it as fast...

When a person comes in contact with the breath or body fluids of a pig, the person can contact the virus the pig has...now this virus is not to susceptible to man yet but as it travells through the first person it will replace some of its RNA with the persons thus being able to be identified by pigs of people...

With each "pass" of these little critters they grow stronger and more resilient to our immune systyms...and now...well "Swind Flu" is making its come back...

Now I am just getting over the flu...not sure if it is the "Swine flu" or not as it seems to be just getting going and I know of no one that has been out of the state in the last two weeks...but with tourist season coming and Easter just ending...well we all need to be careful...

So...Swine Flu....yes it makes you sick...drains your orifices like water falls...and yes it can be deadly if your young, old, or weak...but more so if your between the ages of 25-44....why this age group? Well of course since they thought they irradicated this virus there has been little studies done...but it appears that most of the deaths associated with this flu are in middle age...one of the only illness's that seem to attack middle aged people the worst...

Prevention is the best medicine here...hand washing of course...but avoid buying pork...the virus can be passed through the juices that are in the meat as pigs "sweat" through their meat....and sweat is one of the leading vehicles this bug takes to exit its host...If you can not live with out pork...wash it before you cook it and be sure to not handle it with open wounds. Cook it well and wash up with bleach after words as bleach is one of the only things that can break the walls of a virus down and kill the RNA inside...

Reincarnation? This is amazing

2009-04-23T05:53:00.001-08:00

You can find anything on the internet...

2009-03-21T18:28:00.002-08:00

but I can not figure out how to get the door open...figured this would keep a few people busy while we wait for spring....and they wont leave a mess behind...

More Iditarod facts....

2009-03-14T17:49:00.005-08:00

Iditarod, what does it mean? This word comes from many different Alaskan Native Languages but they all have similar meanings that have to do with water and distant travel. Many of the names pertaining to the Iditarod River itself, which is a branch of the Kuskokwim River, the second largest river in Alaska and a mode of transportation from village to village. Looking at the map it appears in this day and age, if one is good at mazes, any river in the interior of the state connects somehow.

So lets visit the town of Iditarod...many claim this is now a ghost town, history says other wise…It appears that the town of Iditarod was once a booming town where many congregated to trade their furs and bank their gold. Motels and Cafes allowed a reprieve from dried meet and hard tack while the miners and trappers where in town. Entertainment could be found in the brothels and bars, and supplies could be purchased from one of several mercantile.

Nestled into the banks of the Iditarod River this was a gate way to the rest of the world via steam ship. Convenience like electricity and telephones allowed contact with the world out side of the isolated interior of Alaska.

A settlement that was well established, established that is until Christmas of 1908, when a gold strike three hundred miles south on Otter Creek diverted the attention from the North to the unexplored mountains and tundras further south. In a mere few months the town of Iditarod was gone, the only remaining signs of the town are a cabin and a partial cement bank vault.

The town was lifted, put on boats and moved south to the new boom town of Flat. What of Flats future…well Flat is the one of just a handful of towns in the US Census that contains just four people. Never officially a town, it sits on a mining camp and is considered an illegal town site. Until 2000 a US post office was one of the only remaining buildings in the town of four.

So the next check point on the Iditarod trail for Lance is Kaltag...an interesting fact of Kaltag...Kaltag is the home of Virginia Kalland, widow of Edgar Kalland, one of the mushers that attempted to get the diphtheria serum up the Iditarod trail to Nome back in 1925.

Lets Give This Race ITs dues.....

2009-03-14T07:31:00.002-08:00

Iditarod? What does it mean? Where did it come from? Most of all why would one chose to spend countless long hours in the freezing cold alone?

So lets go on a brief history tour, many believe Balto and a vaccine carried on a sled from Anchorage to Nome is where this race came from, yes my friends Balto did make an amazing run when others failed to save the village from a deadly disease, but the Iditarod trail was established even before Balto.

Many people rushed to this country when they heard of the gold being dug from the lands. California raced to Oregon then on the Seattle, where most people abandoned that town for the mine fields of Alaska, where riches were said to be found for everyone. Leaving Seattle on steam boat many arrived here not knowing how much the weather changes between Seattle and Anchorage, let alone Anchorage and Nome.

At the time of the gold rush roads and automobiles had not quite made there way this far north, with exception of the a few political and rich people most people moved around by horse and cart or dog team. The Iditarod trail was originally designed in 1910 to move dog sleds in and out of the North in the winter months when steam ships could not get up the many rivers, A route for mail, supplies, and gold miners with big dreams. With the twenties came airplanes and an increase on automobiles and the Iditarod trail began to grow over, fewer people used dog teams as a mode of transportation and for years this trail went extinct.

The original Iditarod trail began in Seward wound through the mountains to what is now Girdwood, up Turnagain arm and back into the mountains following what is now a popular hiking trail from Seward to Eagle River. Now the military had staked their lands and the trail did go up the East side of what we now call the Glen Highway until it reached Palmer, where it shot over and joined up where the Willow start is now. With the introduction of automobiles and planes this trail was only used for a few short years before it began to over grow until...

The Centienial of 1967 when Dorthy Page resurrected the idea of a race along the original trail to remember the old ways supplies and mail were delivered. She presented her idea to Joe and Vi Reddington Senior and the dream began.

Donating an acre of their land they sold it off in square feet to raise the purse for the first race that covered just 72 miles from Anchorage to Iditarod.

In 1973 the military backed off the land and the trail was again opened up by the Aurora Dog Club and the birth of the Great Race from Anchorage to Nome began. That first race was won by a new comer from Teller named Isaac Okleasik.
This very first full length Iditarod has great importance to todays race as the founders children are now the contestants.

Lance Mackeys father Dick was a friend of the Reddingtons he helped put the race together and raced the first five races. After his muzzle to muzzle finish he passed the sled on to his son Rick and eventually Lance.

The Reddington name has been a major part of almost every race since this began. With Joe Reddington Sr, on to his son Joe Jr...and now on to another Reddington Jr who currently is running tenth in this race.

Many more names and faces have come and gone over the life span of this race, but for me it is knowing that the great names that began it are passing on their heritage and I hope for many years into the future we see the Mackeys, Reddingtons, and Swensons running for Nome.....names this race may someday lose, but will never forget.

Iditarod 2009...

2009-03-13T21:19:00.002-08:00

Iditarod 2002 Martin Buser set the record for the fastest run from Wasilla to Nome. Doing this in just 8 days 22hours 46minutes and 2seconds. If Lance can make it into Nome by Sunday at midnight or right around there he will break that record. For now Lance has a full belly from the Five Star chef cooked meal the Millennium gifts to the first musher into Anvic. Mr Macky was well into his nap and half way into his mandatory 8 hour break on the Yukon River when King, Burmeister, and Schnuelle checked in and checked right back out again.

Leaving Anvic at 8:12 this evening he was in fourth place. Sometime tonight the others must stop for their mandatory 8 on the River...if Macky follows his past history and this race he will run through the night and make his next lengthy stop White Mountain, putting him at least 8 hours in the lead of the pack.

Watching this race for second third and fourth may be where we see the muzzle to muzzle finish, King and Burmeister keep jockeying for third and fourth and Shnuelle seems to be holding steady for second...

ok time for bed.....mush on to Nome....

Half Time

2009-03-11T12:47:00.006-08:00

Like all sports we have to endure a half time as the teams rest up and plan their next strategic moves. It appears from reading a few blogs coming from reporters in Takotna...that the bulk of the mushers may just be settling in for their mandatory 24 hour break....so on with the show...

Racing for his 32 year is 58 year old Rick Swenson, wearing bib number 8. (He did have to withdrawl from one race and scratched in another) Known as the "King of Iditarod" and the "Winningest Musher" I am guessing he wont retire until he has had the chance to once again take on a Mackey at the finish line.

Racing his second race in 1978 he showed great sportsmanship when a photo finish showed his six dog team, even though his sled crossed first, actually lost to Dick Mackeys eight dog team by "half a muzzle". A record finish going down in history as the closest race finish.

1983 another close finish but the race title left Swenson's hands as it was once again passed on to a Mackey, Rick Mackey, who proceeded his father in racing after his fathers muzzle famous finish.

Lance Mackey and Rick Swenson have been on the trail several times competing against each other over the last few years, Will Rick get that chance to once again go muzzle to muzzle with a Mackey on the Main Street of Nome?

This year is would be hard to do, Rick is at least 24 hours behind the leader at the moment and Mackey is just two hours. Rick also left in eighth position and is now in 27th while Mackey left in 47th position and is now in fourth. But Swenson is known for coming up from behind and making his move at the last minute often winning the race by mere minutes...

I think I have gone against my own morals....

2009-03-11T07:29:00.002-08:00

boy do i have dog race fever....

Ok so I spent the last six months or so studying. Looking back at my journals and maps I am seeing a few patterns as to how these mushers race against the elements with a team of 13 or more dogs with individual personalities of their own...My journals look like a football coaches white board and here is what I am noticing for this race...

Many mushers did not show. The ones racing this year are the "die hard to Nomers" and a few Rookies with teams that have linage of the "old timers dogs"....this means we have 67 dog teams left on the trail and 64 of them are top speed dogs, or come from top speed dog linage...the reason I am finding this race so much more interesting is the mushers this year are secondary to the teams. Most of these teams have made this trip at least once 39 of the teams have made this trip more than once. Three of the teams are from Nome and are heading home...an advantage to the musher as his dogs will smell home and pick up pace at the end of the race.

This year trail conditions are snow covered and unkown if you stray from the trail blazers path, which appears as a dog sled this year instead of a snow machine like last year.

My theory...After watching all the big names slow down and stop while the Rookies and under dogs passed them made me begin to wonder...were the old timers having a moose meat roast on the trail side? I scrambled for my notes and realized the tactic here...the Rookies were breaking trail...the old timers knew the bad part of the trail and held off till a couple Rookies made it through...was that a bad move on their part? As they fell further behind due to a wreck in the pass. Which explained why all the markers got caught up in the mountain longer than usual on the way from Finger Lake...but a lot of time was made up last night cruising down the river....I am still under the belief that Mackey and King are going to be the high light of this Iditarod again...but Burmeister, Neff and Sebastian Schnuelle are running some top notch dogs....All three have ran before and all three I as sure, have dreams of up seating the "Big Boys" One race I am glad I did not put any money on...

An Amazing Day

2009-03-09T08:58:00.007-08:00

A bit of news I have been paying close attention to...What is really going on?

Thinking maybe it is gonna get a bit noisy in Anchorage, and I am wondering why I have to travel to a national paper to hear about the "training" going on between Alaska and Korea for the next twelve day? Why does my local paper not report that information so those of us that live here at least know why the increase in air traffic raid sirens...those go off at 3am and do not shut up it makes one feel they are living in Germany in World War II....and I dont have a bomb shelter! Do I need one?

Ok so on the the good stuff, I like it better.....Been many years since I have seen this...

And despite many hang ups and a few snags we made it to Willow this year on a family outing. Traffic was a bit heavy but not bad and parking was ten bucks but the event is free and the money goes to the prize pot...so I would do it again. Well the adventure began at the out house, after three hours in the car of course everyone needed to go...so we stopped at the first out houses we saw, thinking it was probably one of just a few...so did everyong else...and up the trail were six more and about every 200 feet two or three more....guess that is a hint that only dogs are allowed to pee on the ground? A children park is by the lake and the kids spent most of the day with Eric chaperoning it playing there...he probably had a better view there than Britt and I had down on the race way amongst thousands of eager spectators.

Now this picture was taken toward the end of the lake and the people you see are on the wrong side of the marker...that is when Britt and I realized we could get there with just a bit of tracking in the snow...and from there we could get to the fence the mushers were getting ready behind...now common what is better watching them all take off from their trucks....after loading their sleds and being checked by the Judges...man the only thing better would have been to slip through the whole we found and be on their side of the fence....think next year I am going to volunteer for the start...maybe someday I will make it to the finish where front row seating is the best place. Many people made little camps on the lake...fires and BBQS burring...others were pulling sleighs of hot chocolate and candy for the kids...yet others were peddling their wares...and well Girl Scout Cookies would be much more fun to sell off the back of a sleigh, and go well with the free coffee and cocoa....(hint hint hint)

This little guy could not wait to tell us all about his previous adventures in this race...he and his buddies were very excited to start and this team was the only team that had to have several people on the sled at the start line to hold them back....yes these dogs could NOT wait to hit that trail and it was most obviouse that they all recognized what they were about to do...a very happy team that greatly love the man that feeds them...

Lance Mackey walking to the start line while his kennel people guide the dogs, his sled was ridden to the start by a friend of his from Jamaica...a neat thing and the sled was piled with people to weigh it down...I am serious his dogs were trying to pull the Dodge to Nome they were so excited to go...

Lance and Tanya Mackey with a good friend and the man who was riding in the musher spot of the sled to the start line....

So this was an amazing day, there are many reasons I have followed this mans career but the biggest one of all was confirmed to me yesterday...he IS in this sport for the dogs and his love of Alaska.

His wife, kids and dogs are his priority and the love you felt near his handlers and team was amazing...he even took the last ten minutes before he began to step away and spend some time with his wife...a family and a man with good morals, plus a team of dogs that are eager to please them and their eyes just light up when they see them...it was an amazing experience to be witnessing...

To Joshy, with lots of love Loulou

2009-03-08T08:55:00.004-08:00

Josh I know you may or may not read this....but if enough others do and feel your sisters love hopefully you will too...

Melissa misses the boys quite a bit. She talks of them often but has just recently realized where Josh actually is, thanks to public television...they interviewed the men at war on PBS...and show brief clips of fathers saying hello to their children...after watching this she was full of questions that were very tough to answer. Retreating to her room she asked for "time out". I assumed she needed to deal with the emotions and questions in her little head...when she came out she had spent that time writing Josh a "letter", the first time I have seen her put letters to words and words to a sentence. When I told her I could read what she wrote she returned to her room and came back with the above....Now these little guys can connect to the internet and she knows it and asked me to send this to him...after forty minutes of trying to do it we took a picture of it instead.

So josh if your out there and have the chance to read this....feel deep in your heart...your sister awaits you there with a lot of love, hope, and dreams for when you come home. We love you lots son....and for those that were never trained in "sound writing" (one of our national school district screw ups several years ago) the above says...."I SEE YOU IN MY HEART"

Update and more...

2009-03-05T15:41:00.005-09:00

Grandpa and Grandma,

Im buddy, and Im growing vegtables...

Daddy built the green house...

Im Buddy and I am growing vegtables, enough for everyone...

So he said it all....Warren has taken it upon himself to grow food...lots of food. He has tomatoes and onions, lettuce, and carrots, strawberries and grapes, pumpkins, cucumbers and green beans...plus pop corn which is where it all began. The boy has a green thumb and never forgets his "sproots". They are sung to daily, watered as needed and he will even naps with them when they feel "lonley". So I asked him the other day what we were going to do with all these plants..

"We are gonna share em and eat em mama"....
"What about when we go camping, who will care for them?" I asked
"We will take them grandma, she has a big garden." Was his reply.

So with my abundance of "salad" that is being grown in my basement I am thinking that if it is ok with mom and dad....we will plant the garden this year...Warren has plenty for all who want to can tomatoes all fall...

So dad...can we pull that garden together? So my little man can take care of his "sproots" all summer too?

Now on to my oldest son....Josh was promoted yesterday...he is now a first class petty officer and proud of it...his goal is to be leading his own platoon sometime in the near future...and at this time is considering a life time career in the US Army....

Update!

2009-02-27T16:14:00.002-09:00

Hello to all, sorry it has been a very long while since I have blogged. Been getting spring fever and now I have no spring cleaning to do in doors when the fever hits out doors...hehe

Just a quick up date before it is read in the papers. Josh was in a bit of a pickle...the HumVee he was driving was thrown from the road while on patrol of course they can offer no details or anything other than that he is ok and no human injuries were reported. "Unfortunately" the 200,000 dollar rig was destroyed, sounds to me like that was tax payer money well invested as it probably saved my sons life to be inside that rig instead of another....so in two months two pickles....it is going to be a very long year. Crystal is hoping to get back here before the end of March...not sure I like the idea of her traveling the Alkan alone with the girls but she wants the car up here so is planning on driving.

Nat says Hi to all and she wants her Birthday a GAMA Shana's so I am thinking one way or the other Crystal will figure this out....

Hope all are well and spring comes soon...

New Home for Thelma and Ralphy

2009-01-16T18:57:00.005-09:00

Melissa and Warren would like you to meet Thelma and Ralphy...the two newest members to reside in the Buffalo Wallow. A gift from Anna I first was very leery of...but now...everyone should have a turtle or two...these little guys have personalities of their own. Curiosity that they will go to many different lengths to solve...just plain cute....so we thought they deserved a bigger and better habbitat...with global warming and all mother nature assisted us in this adventure...

As the day went on the lake grew bigger larger...a small raft was needed to carry the dogs to the other side of it....then we discovered the snow on the upside of the yard was hiding the water that would not fit in the basement....
>();} {}"

So due to the uncontrollable temps in alaska and the need for the turtles to have a warm enviroment...we have decided to convert the down stairs to Baxter Bog....our own version....and the turtles will have an indoor and an outdoor place to play...

May God bless him and be with him

2009-01-12T03:35:00.000-09:00

<>It’s three in the morning and I just could not sleep. I awoke knowing I had to call my now grown baby and say good bye for what could be the very last time. I find it ironic that it was his mother who woke him and informed him he was running late for one of the biggest “field trips” of his life…and now I sit…because now…

… I am “one of those moms”. We all know the ones; we see them in the movies and on television frequently. The women whose hearts drop at the site of a strange car in the neighborhood. Those women that hear the rumor of another “GI dead” because of the war that sit and wait in horrifying anticipation to thank God that someone else’s kid was killed instead of theirs. I am one of those women. A position I once thought was only in the movies. A position I did not believe I would ever have to live through, and a position I would gladly give up to any one of you…if you want it.

I sit here and go through the memories in my mind. Pictures are torture as I found out the other day….memories of days gone by that you can not “redo” memories of times when war was such a distant word in American homes. Now it is here…slapping me in the face with every breath I take. As I think of the young baby I birthed so long ago, the little boy picking his butt in the out field of his tee ball games, the smile when he learned to play the trombone. His eyes when they lit up on Christmas morning. His hugs as he wrapped his little arms around my neck and said he loved me…..my baby is a man, one to be proud of and one that I just do not want to let go….

No words anyone could say will make this different for me, no “positive thinking” will dispel the fact that my son is now going into one of the worlds “hot zones” (and heating fast) and I may have just told him I love him for the very last time. There are no “band aids” that will fix the trepidations and fears I will go through waiting to hear from him again in three to six months….why do they do that…do they think it if funny to let the loved ones back home sit and worry…not even a call to say we are on the ground and safe in hell!! WTF!! (and for some….they are dead before they even get to make that “I’m here mom” phone call) again WTF??

So as I go about my day to day routine, Donnys working, thinking Britt is in math now, Lou is at recess, Josh is being blown up….sounds like a life that will be fun as long as I NEVER think!! So how do you dispel those thoughts of reality….I have taken off the “rose colored glasses” and this world sucks!! I stand firm to my beliefs that the Good Lord Jesus Christ will return soon and put and end to the madness we call life. The world we have worked so hard to turn evil….as we find secret thrills in making people torture themselves through thought. A world where compassion is no more and happiness is bought with money….a world I did not ever think I would see…I thought humans were smart?

Morals from my Grandpa

2009-01-05T06:05:00.002-09:00

Erica made the comment i never blog anymore...so this one is for her.

In reading the news paper today i began to realize just where our economy is going....

Instead of getting on a soap box tangent here I will let you read the article yourself if you so desire...instead i am gonna tell you a story...a story of a time not so long ago when the poor people were poor and the rich thought that 100 dollars was wealthy.

...My Grandparents lived in a small town in Montrose Colorado. Dad must have been at on a tour of duty and I am not sure what mom was doing, but I remember many mornings where Grandpa and I walked Shane to School along the bike route that followed a canal through town.

those mornings were filled with adventure stories told by my grandfather. Stories of cowboys and indians, battles with the mexicans, and many many horse stories.

One morning we arrived at my grandparents house after our walk and grandpa told me today we were gonna "re shingle the chicken coop". Now the chicken coop was a small shed like building at the back of their property...bordering an alley i think. Us grandkids sharred the coop with the chickens as a play house for many years.

I followed grandpa to the garage, now this garage was a childs dream place, so many things to look at and play with. Grandma used it as storage for her old furniture and stuff. A place I loved to join her in. Today we went to grandpas stuff and retrieved three shingles, a hammer, and his nail appron. Then off we went to the chicken coop with my four year old mouth spewing questions.

"Why..."

"Why...?"

I do not remember grandpa ever getting frustrated with my questions he always gave me answers although some i was told not to repeat to my parents...hehe....this day the questions came from the reasoning of replacing shingles...

After the "keep the rain out " questions I moved on to the "Why do the mexicans take the shingles grandpa?" His answer?....

"Well sweety ( he called me sweety lots) the mexicans come by at night and steal my shingles."

"What do they do with you shingles grandpa?" I am sure the next question was...

"....well they take them home and shingle I guess." at this point I was confused I remember looking up and down the alley for unshingled homes that may have grandpas shingles...

When I asked him why he does not just leave the package of shingles out in the alley so the mexicans will take them and save him the work...he replied...

"...well...I could do it that way, but then where is the fun. This way they get to steal my shingles, and I get the enjoyment of doing a job well done. WE are both satisfied."

I did not realy remember that day until reading the article in today paper. Then the memory came back and I had to smile....those mexicans and my grandpa had a very unique relationship...but grandma gave us permission to throw rocks at them if they were stealing her eggs...but I am not suppose to tell mom and dad that...hehe

Weather Patterns

2008-12-21T08:00:00.002-09:00

Let me make one thing clear first...I studied human beings and biology not weather....but 9 times out of ten my forecast is more accurate than theirs...I am thinking they are "job security" trained in school...so where is this going? Well it is moving on into a commentary about weather...and people who just dont get it....

Living in Washington State for much of my life...and spending a portion of that at the mouth of the Straight of Jon De Fuca (one of the worlds most stormy regions)....I learned (from my mother) to chart the weather on my calendar every day...I still have these calendars if any weather men would like to study them...

What I discovered...NOTHING! In Washington state NO two years are the same...the only thing you can guarantee there is that 92% of the year it will be precipitating...unless you live in Neah Bay then 99.6% of the time it is WET! And that the people there have fins.

So through the rain we lived...makes doing the hair a very short lived process. But every five years or so the rain would just not show up....and that my friends was a year they called water shortages....now how can you run out of water when it falls from the sky so much of the time? anyway...those years we actually felt like the sunshine liked us.

BUT...that fire luxery was short lived and the following winter would allow us to see that white fluffy stuff I missed so much.....Two inches and I would pile it on the stairs for the kid to sled...complete with mittens and hat at 40 degrees..but by morning the rain had returned and the snow hill became steps again.

I remember one year we awoke to find about three inches on the ground...and it was still falling. Waking the children we forgot breakfast as we raced to get ready to join the neighbors in a sledding adventure. Now remember we lived in the city...the only hill we could find was the one leading to the now closed free way....just half an acre of grassy hill surrounded by two major roads and an on ramp....became a winter paradise for five young kids and their parents.

We spent the day sledding untill the snow was mud from the amount of usage. That afternoon we returned home and realized we were very hungry lol....well we are in Washington....so out came the chicken and BBQ's (chicken BBQs best in the rain...but not so good in the cold)...finally we sat on the porch with our plates and mittens and watched the sun set...enjoying the time with the kids and neighbors.

We awoke the next morning to over a foot of new snow....now this put the Pierce and King county areas on complete stop mode....Nothing moved for almost three days....that my friends and family was the most beautiful three days I had in the 18 years I lived in that state. To see a state of complete activity come to a stand still for a few days is like witnessing a miracle. Better than that was watching the parents and their children play snow games in the closed streets....

Why were they no plowing? Well that is the moral of this story...see snow comes very infrequently to the west side of that state...they need rudders on their cars not studs, on the other side of the mountain range however, is a completely different story...so one year King County got together with Pierce county...they needed money in their budgets...as several bridges and roads needed repair (this is the ironci part)

Their brilliant idea for quick cash was to sell all the snow plows and sanders except one for the inter state to Yakima and their surrounding counties....thus we had money for roads...they had workable plows....all were happy till that winter....

So what of the roads? How did they get plowed with just one plow? They did not....someone forgot the airport....with one of the nations leading international airports that plow was very busy just keeping a runway open for those air travelers. Thus...the entire Pierce County and King county area came to a stand still till the rain came back....a full week of almost complete shut down....like a metropolitan ghost town...and a wonderful memory for my kids and I....hope they remember that week as I do....we lived off Christmas goodies and garbage as the grocery store shelves were bare from the mass panick that ensued when the snow first began to fall...

What can I gift for Christmas....

2008-12-18T10:05:00.003-09:00

After reading the email I received from my sister I have thought long and hard about the rules posted for our family gift game....I love this idea by the way....but you left several openings for me to get back at everyone involved or who knew of the involvement of the red water I dealt with for a month....so...one of these things just could end up in that gift exchange....out of love mind you...hehe

1. One stupid yellow cat who can not walk his lazy butt to the litter box and just loves to leave messes in the laundry and plants....someone in this family has a lot of energy and could provide for a very nice home for him....

2. About 500 candy molds taking up space in my cupboards.....these could be quite useful to a girl scout or candy maker.....

3. Four hundred pairs of barbie shoes...now these are priceless and I am sure would go well with a bra collection....

4. Two stoves and a dryer....now these would provide hours of fun for someone who just loves to store junk in his garage....bet a hoover craft or battle bot could be made from these, one that makes coffee....

Now these are just a few of the ideas I am getting as I go through the house and clean daily....got a few tires and some car parts that someone may need also....a broken scooter that could be utilized with the dryer and stoves.

Now the spirit of Christmas is giving....but I can not help but put my own wish list here too....

1. Candy making with dad.....one of my most cherished child hood memories.

2. Mama coming and cleaning my house....again a great thing about being a kid...hehe

3. A day of listening to NO fights or arguments.....wonder if the ones that can give me this will know it is them I am talking about....

4. A law stating the word "mom" can only be muttered in french...I hear that is a "romantic" language.....

5. A weekend with my hubby....paid...hehe (that always helps) alone....with out his damn phone.

6. A fun filled child's mentality Christmas....when the magic was still in the thought of Peace on Earth and Good will to ALL. (for me anyway).....

I hope this Holiday finds us making lots of new happy memories, laughter with full bellies....and a nap....now that is Christmas.

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

2008-12-15T12:01:00.002-09:00

Well the poor man gets jewed out of a birthday every year...that is what happens when you are born to close to Christmas.

This year he gets "Thanksgiving Dinner"....see I missed the turkey soup...and wanted left over turkey...so I am using his birthday as a good excuse to make a big dinner. He will come home to the time to take a shower as I have plans for the kids to be doing the cake decorating, much more exciting than tackling dad I hope.

I will have a cold beer and the remote ready for him as I am sure after turkey and a couple cold beers he will be sleeping soundly in front of the rodeo or some other competitive program...now to figure out a way to keep Melissa off the poor guy for just one night.

Being a work night, and Anna having a new boy who takes her to dinner we will probably just be us....that is ok cuz then there is more cake for me...hehe...I mean Eric...

Saving our energy for Christmas, and being stingy with the turkey...hehe (hey I should not admit tha,t sorry) plus Jack and Wanda called today to let Eric know his birthday present is THEM....yes they are venturing up to Anchorage tomorrow to see him for his birthday...now I have to share the soup...(again I hoped to be stingy...sorry)

I am not telling you what his gifts are, just that he will actually get some this year...only because it is a good excuse to get him something he realy needs in a very bad way......

Have a good day all and do not freeze your tushies out there

Happy Birthday Baby (even though I know he will not read this)

Division Twisters

2008-12-14T15:51:00.002-09:00

Read each tongue twister below then solve the division problems....

1. Six slithering, slimy snails sniffed sixty-six savory sausages and proceeded to slurp them all. If equally divided, how many savory sausages did each slithering, slimy snail slurp?

2. Four famous frogs flipped five times when they saw fifty-five frosty freezes. If the famous frogs sipped equally the fifty-five freezes, how many frosty freezes did each famous frog sip?

3. Eight elegant elephants ate eighty-eight great, green grapes. How many great, green grapes did each elegant elephant eat?

4. Four fabulous fish found forty-four foaming, frothing figs at the bottom of the pond. If the four fabulous fish equally divided the foaming, frothing figs, how many did each fabulous fish consume?

5. Nine nanny goats knitted a total of ninety-nine nifty napkins. If the nine nanny's knitted an equal number of nifty napkins, how many nifty napkins did each nanny goat knit?

BONUS: Thirty-three thirsty thrushes each flew three miles to get a drink. How many miles did each thirsty thrush fly?

Why Is Bob Smiling?

2008-12-13T07:10:00.007-09:00

Meet Bob....

"About half the people in the world want to be free of bills and a daily grind, I’m one of them. My dream is to travel freely about the country, seeing new places and meeting new people. It’s hard to take the steps necessary to live a freedom type lifestyle. It’s hard to separate yourself from your security and material belongings and move completely out of your comfort zone. However, if you’re determined enough it can be done. Sometimes life hands you a “Do-Over” - a window in your life where you can do everything over, exactly like you want. That’s what I’m doing."

Meet...Joyce, Dee Dee, Dolly and Doc...

Bob is smiling because he is slowing down and enjoying the world we live in. From reading his blog I am guessing he has not always been smiling as he has lived a life quite similar to the majority of America's population.

Bob may be a dreamer. But he is following a dream I too have had since I was a small child...traveling this country by horse and carriage. Now I have not posted a picture of his "wagon" as I hope to tempt many more to follow his adventure as he ""reconquers the migration of American history"

Not sure where he will end up, or how long he will travel, or even what path he will take, but I am sure he will meet many new people, see many wonderful sights, and smell an abundance of sunrises from the most beautiful portrait ever....

Should be doing something...but I am not.

2008-12-03T13:13:00.002-09:00

The house is half decorated, the kids are at school,
laundry has washed, and the dryer now cool

dishes are stacked clean on the counter,
except for the silverware that does not seem to matter.

A hot cup of coffee, streams in my mug,
my doughnut dropping crumbs on the rug.

I know I should move, get off my butt,
accomplish something, but I just don't know what.

Dont wanna hang another Christmas light,
Dont wanna wash, those spoons give me a fright.

So I am gonna sit right here, in my chair,
and just pretend, the work is not there.

Memories of a first

2008-11-25T12:10:00.002-09:00

With everything going on in this world, and in our family I have spent a great many hours sitting and thinking. Pondering the world we have lived in and the world as it will become...the one thing I can be sure of is this...History does repeat itself...

As Thanksgiving approaches I have often sat and thought about what I have to be thankful for. This is a tradition I have set in my own mind since my first Thanksgiving away from home.

I was but a girl of 17, the holiday seemed to huge of a job with out my mom around to do the work. I cried for weeks leading up to thanksgiving terrified that I would ruin the day over come by homesickness and raw or burnt turkey. In reality it was just the opposite.

Those tears I shed only in the privacy of the shower, I realized that many young men were also spending the holiday alone and away from home. I invited them all over. Jeff and I spent the first Thanksgiving away from our families surrounded by others in the same position.

The dinner turned into a smorgasbord of different dishes each special to someone that was seated in the house. Many friends were made that day, and many more holidays were spent with the family with out a family.

This experience was so different from my own family traditions yet is was so similar to the ones began so long ago. I am thankful that life has given me the chance to experience so many of it's basic fundamentals.

This Holiday season will find us together as a family, enjoying a meal of all the traditional favorites of the family. Turkey and stuffing, potatoes and yams, pies and and whip creme the thoughts and smells fill my heart just thinking of them I wont even think of dads fudge...no dont think of that....buns yes buns...with butter mmmm....

Just thinking of what happy fun memories this holiday will be filled with...memories are the hope of the future as history does repeat itself.

Now I am thinking...

2008-11-23T05:06:00.002-09:00

Now that I have been to taste a sample of the history of our country I got a plan...Crystal needs family near by...lets move in with her and take an extended vacation...in the six months till summer starts the kids would get an even better education by actually travelling and seeing the places they will or have learned in the history books...I have discovered enough "day trips" with in just an hours drive from Josh's house to keep us all busy for a month at least....The history and makings of the US Navy are in a little town called Sacketts Harbor...just maybe a half hours drive from the kid's house...on the shores of one of the great lakes....also in Sacketts Harbor is the home that John Adams wife Abigail lived in while he was off fighting the War's and running the country...

Now Vermont is also just two hours away from their home...a bit longer of a day but still with in a days time to explore...as for lodging...

well there is a big open field...complete with horses right next to the buildging they live in...tents would work...but to rent a Motor Home in NY is not nearly what it cost here...so maybe we could make a portable HITW and go find summer till summer... Dad would make a good history teacher and tour guide...we could take turns picking the days lesson...good idea yah??

Quotes from a famous man

2008-11-20T09:43:00.002-09:00

There are two ways of being happy:
We must either diminish our wants or
augment our means
either way Do...
The result is the same
and for each man to decide for himself
and do that which happens to be easier.

We are all born ignorant,
but one must work hard to remain stupid.

Beer is living proof that God loves us
and want us to be happy.

Who was this man? Gee I might as well just give him credit cuz someone will just google it anyway...

These are several quotes I have been fond of for many years...I just could never remember who said them...but he also says this....

What signifies knowing the names,
if you know not the nature of things...

So I guess I just took his advice and forgot his name but learned from his lessons...

Stay tune for more trivia from my trip...gotta show off my new found knowledge...

Oh yes...Anyone know with out googling it...what state the Statue of Liberty is in?

Someone thinks I love to fly....

2008-11-19T06:48:00.004-09:00

Now I flew on seven planes in the process of completing a complete circle around this country...flew over several major cities....except for California...but i hear their still on fire so the smog would be hard to judge...lets just say if we rate the cities I have flown over or into...Salt Lake City Utah should win the prize...the air was disgustingly black...it could be seen trailing through the valleys like cancerous tentacles.... guess the Mormons dont much care for saving the atmosphere....

Almost every flight i was on arrived in it's destination early...except air traffic control could not find us a slot to land...so we circled...but Seattle gave me picture opportunities...our plane circled this mountain top...now I have seen the bottom of this beautiful land mark many many times from my front door step...but rarely do you see just the top....and after descending through the clouds...this is only about one third of that mountain....and you still can not see the top....

Arrived home earlier than I expected...Alaska Airlines had over booked many earlier flights from Seattle to Anchorage...when I arrived in Seattle they managed to book me on a 9pm flight that left Fairbanks out of the picture...thank god or I would just be arriving home now....all the other flights had huge stand bye lists...so I figured I would be stuck in Seattle till 9 last night...I was traveling alone and families did not want to be split...so I actually got the last seat on the 2oclock...which was over booked in sales also...not sure how it happened but I did not question it.

It is good to be home.

Atlantic Ocean at last...in the day light...

2008-11-17T07:37:00.008-09:00

My last day on the East Coast...I regrett that I have to come back...(not really as this is a cool place to visit)...but we did not nor will not make it to DC...

Weather and traffic did not permit it to become possible....several "stand ins" were going on in DC and traffic was horrendous.

Instead we went to the Atlantic Ocean down in Atlantic City....no casinos this time just the beach...
Yes he was scoping us out...a fox in Atlantic City...on the beach

Clams here are huge...some where the size of my foot...and every where on the beach in the city...

and for those that dont like to get the feet wet...or the wind in there face...a glass mall over looks the beach...you can sit on a beach chair with your feet in the sand while sipping a coffee....

To my Husband

2008-11-16T09:59:00.001-09:00

Philli and Independence Hall

2008-11-16T06:41:00.006-09:00

This is not the original seal...a replica made in the late 1800's...there are a couple of flaws on this but I am not goning to point them out....bet dad can find them...

The top of this tower is where the liberty bell spent the first several years of it's life...until it started cracking...tower and clock are original...
This is THE ROOM that the many documents that formed this country were first signed and read...the Constitution, being the most famouse...the chair at the head of the table is the exact chair where George Washington sat...then John Adams...until the capital was moved to DC
Here is the bell...this bell was rang on many occasions happy or sad...until it was rang for the last time on George Washingtons Birthday....that is when the crack broke enough that the sound would no longer work.

It was interesting to be in Philli....the place where our nation actually began its political entity that it is too day....after the tour of Independence Hall, the Senate bldg, and the congress hall all I could do was sit....the emotions I was feeling were over whelming...and the exhaustion from two long days of touring our nations birth place have worn me out...

Breath taking...that is what this all is...after the movie in the visitors center....The ghosts of past walked us through their ideas from back then...as well as made it clear...they set up a republic for us to do with what we will....It all began right here...

A very long but great day...

2008-11-14T22:05:00.009-09:00

Ellis Island...the first stop for many of our ancestors...a place of hope and tears...lot of history on this island...as it was not always immigration...

We are really here.

An amazing view as the fog lifted off the Hudson
Inside the First building on the second floor...this is where the main medical screening went on..and the assesments of whether these people could support them selves in this country...Many were deported at this stage...
Here she is...you can not go to past the platform...but it is 156 steps to the level above the oval shaped windows....the elevator was broken...
New York skyline at ground zero...not much to see there right now...the building on the right is the new World Trade Center...built where the church stood before 911....the towers are being made into water pools and a park will surround them...for now it looks like a mass of steel and cement deep in the ground...
The fire department that responded had to have seen the whole thing as it is RIGHT across the street from ground zero...pretty much the only memorial we could find was on the wall of the station...a street sign for "Liberty Street" is hanging inside now....mangled from falling debre again not much to see.
But here....is time square...now this was the best way to end the day...we ate street vender hot dogs...and watched the people it was amazing to be sitting there...on Broadway...wish we had known Grease was playing we would have gotten tickets...

So all the way to New York...I got pooped on by a sea gull...and then he stole my lunch...but that is ok...because i saw things I never thought I would see in real life...and believe it or not...the people we ran into in New York are much more polite than the ones in Seattle...I would go back again...we did not even get near Central Park...

So tomorrow off the Phillidelphia...Deleware...and DC....should be another educational day.

Atlantic City

2008-11-13T19:11:00.004-09:00

Now this town has Trumps name all over it....and the casinos are also malls...so we can gamble while the kids shop....now that is the recipe for bankruptcy....
This is the "Rich and Famous" entrance....need to watch more TV as the only person i recognized getting out of one of the many limos was Madonna...and I would not have known it was her if she was not the entertainment this evening...thought I saw "Tator Salad" at the bar...but you had to have money to get into that diamond crusted room....the big money slot room...

There were many other casinos in Atlantic City...but Trumps was the fanciest. He got 40 bucks off us and we were out of there....off to window shop at the places I have only read about in books and saw on telivision....did you know that the rich will pay 160 bucks for a stroller for their dog!...they would not let me take a picture of it...so you will have to google it...but I am not kidding...the store was nothing but Dog accessories...and they were not cheap...nor very practical...unless Dutch needs a diamond studded stroller.....Mac would not fit...

Coming home this time change is gonna get me. I am ready to come home...but I still have to go to Washington and New York....do to booking tours we will head to the Big Apple tommorrow Washington on Saturday...we hope to return to Atlantic City on Sunday as it was raining and foggy...all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and I could not even see it....go figure.

Here is his home....

2008-11-12T11:21:00.008-09:00

This building is one of the oldest building in the United States of America....I am hoping that someday very soon Eric and I can come out and spend some time sight seeing....when the emotional family stuff is not in the middle of the visit.

I am standing in AMERICAN HISTORY....you can not get any closer than this....buildings dated back to 1773 The park you see us standing on above is where the American Troops stood watch durring the French and Indian War....back when America was just a baby....it is amazing to see that the history books are way more than just stories...to be here is what I needed most.

I feel grounded to my country and my sons career choice now....I still dont like him risking his life...but many other sons did this before him...

I did not take any pictures of the cemetery on that hill...it did not feel right to take them...but I stood by the graves of the brave young men who battled in the very first battles that made this country the place we all call home.

My mind has also been put to ease as I have met with many young men and women now...that are coming home from that war....in one piece...I have hugged them and looked at their toes and fingers....all intact...except one....he was the only casualty and his commanding officer made him meet me and tell me the story....he did not tie his shoe the lace got caught on a Hummer and he fell on his face...breaking his pinky finger...lol

I know this war is still dangerouse to my son...I know the chances he could be killed are still there...but I have seen other mothers children, talked to them, and now I feel more ready for him to go on this great adventure...it could be one of the most benificial achievments of his life...as long as he keeps his shoe tied...

my lousey 110 pounds is nothing compared to the amount of weight this man has to pack for 8 miles a day....and he proved it....my boy....the man.

Our to do list...

2008-11-10T13:27:00.002-09:00

Snowing and blowing today...the sun peaked out a few times...but the weather is very Alaskan...We were going to go to a park that is the similar to "Flatt Top" but the weather did not permitt it...so hopefully tomorrow.

Spent the day watching Crystal cook, Josh get his uniform ready for and inspection and me and the grand babies did what ever we could to cause them some trouble....it is great being a grandma when I dont have to worry about the influence on my own children..hehe....pepsi...sure...and the candy box is on top of the fridge...

Hopefully tomorrow we will make it to some of the local spots here near Fort Drum...The great lakes are just a few miles north east of here....one of them anyway....

Fort Drum is actually smaller than I expected for a military base that so many call home duty station....a medical clinic...no hospital....the PX and commisary are smaller than our local wallmart....

It appears the community of Evan Mills was built for the millitary....Water town is the closest large city....about the size of Soldotna. I am ammazed at the amount of open territory around here....did not think you could find open space on this side of the country.

Tommorw afternoon Thumper and I will head south again to New Jersey as she and Josh both have to work on Wednesday.

Thurseday we will visit NY City......Friday....Atlantic city....and Saturday Phillidelphia and DC....Sunday I will pack and prepare for the long trip home...I am enjoying my trip but missing the rest of my family and home a lot. Josh recieved several medals after his last training mission...it was kind of neat to be here when he recieved them....although i left my camera at the motel room Thumper and I are staying in...stupid me.

Not much else to say for now.. just watching the snow fall.....and it falls here just like it does at home...except these people drive bad when it is nice...when it is snowing they get in a bigger hurry and drive even worse....

love you all much....

America...Where it all Began....

2008-11-09T20:39:00.006-09:00

So....words can not describe the things I am seeing...Ok I am wordy....bet I can try....
Ok so I am on the other side of the country here!!

and right up the road was one that said 1 mile to Mexico...I think these people are confused.
Phillidelphia on the left....New Jersey on the right....at eighty mph on a toll highway....oh wait all the highways are toll highways here...you pay to drive your car....but gas...

So after a couple days of local vistist and recovery from travellin we have made it to Fort Drum...

he is huge!! and those babies missed me.....

So tomorrow we are going to go the Lake Ontario....and check out some of the surrounding area....
Thursday we will venture into NY city....ground zero being our starting destination....that big statue is also on the list of things to see...Elis Island....and on friday off to Atlantic city....Saturday DC

Thumper has a full load planned I will be tired but full of a new adventure when I get home...I am in shock...to be standing where it all began...so very long ago in our country...amazing!!

my flight plan...give or take...

2008-11-02T14:49:00.002-09:00

My best friend loves to simplify things well...or complicate them mightly...lol but I guess that is what it takes to fly buddy passes...so...
I leave tomorrow on Alaska Airlines at 0730....I arrive in Seattle at Noon their time

Being the good friend she is my lay over in seattle is just enough time to switch planes...I leave Seattle at 1250 and arrive in Denver at 1625.....no this is the city of choice she gave me for a layover...the mile high city...but I have friends in the area who would love a surprise visit so if I get stuck in Denver over night no big deal....

If I get out of Denver it will be a three hour lay over then I am off to Kennedy International Airport...and then right off to Phillidelphia landing at 1854 pm....those time zones make it look worse than it is she assured me...she better be right...lol

So once I am there we will remain in New Jersey for a few days...playing it by ear with Joshs deployment....we are hoping to go visit Phillidelphia and the Liberty bell.....she would like me to see the Statue Of Liberty and Ellis Island...that may be fun...cept I hate the city...but the history is going to be neat...

We will head to New York around Monday....spend some time with the kids then back to Jersey...for my flight back...

Leaving Phillidelphia at 0750 November 18th...the holiday played a big role in these plans and as luck would have it I was able to fly from Philli to Seattle arriving there at...1222.....but not leaving untill....(unless I can get on a stand by flight and there are five possible) 2135...yuck as I have spent a lot of time in that airport....now if I do not catch one of the five straight to anchorage flights I get to take another detour to Fairbanks for the rest of the night...leaving there at 0605 and arriving in Anchorage at 0715.....I could drive faster...lol...but hey Iguess I will see a lot of new things...as well as HATE planes even more when I get back....

I love you all....I will miss you lots...and I will post often...

Forever in my Heart...

2008-11-01T08:22:00.002-08:00

Forever a bonding moment....and one of the best memories of my life....reenacting this song....with my big brother....

Buffy Wallow Update

2008-10-10T09:46:00.002-08:00

You know it is a day to not move off the recliner when...

Your foot is black and blue from ankle to toes...thanks to a runaway pirate ship, a rather large and awkward dog and a very dark hall way.

An attempt at walking the kid to school ends in driving due to the pain and the three bull moose that seem to have taken residence in the neighborhood...man those boys are way pushier than the female counterparts who just wander away.

So I am sitting here, not gonna move...my foot hurts!

I am going to watch the wind blow the unraked leaves from my yard to the neighbors...and I am going to be borred borred borred...lol

Hope all have a wonderful day.

weee...moooo...haha....and add a gee....

2008-10-06T13:58:00.002-08:00

My house is clean, no spare room to spare,
no unwanted guest will be living there.
the park is complete and the movie room too...

the snow has fell,
the ice is slick,
winters coming,
this is not trick,

Football season, beans and franks,
turkey day, made for thanks,
Christmas gifts to be bought
but best of all....

the iditarod!!

ha, ha, gee, gee....the races are beginning soon....two weeks to be exact...tonight i am going to the "Iditarod" meeting. I am going to look into volenteering or maybe even a paid postition for the event.

Now I do not venture often into public, but tonight I will get to meet Lance Mackey.....and that my friends and family is going to be amazing!! (gonna try and sneek Leggsie into his truck)

The Iditarod is also going Discovery Channel again this year....but it is being made into a series like the other Alaska Adventure shows. Bet this will make that old bag in California open her land back up to the racers....fame is always something people like.

Oh you did not hear....a woman in California bought hundreds of acres along the Iditarod route...actually the trail runs right through her property. This property is undeveloped and the owner lives in California with no plans to move north, she has had no tresspassing sighns posted and has asked via the Anchorage Daily News that anyone who sees anyone trespassing on the property to contact her attorney here in Alaska....now that is selffish rude and just plain stupid.

Not sure what is going to happen with the race....but i guess they will address that tonight if it is realy an issue.

So on that note...I am going to go crush mud puddles with my son...toodles all

Buffalo Wallow News.

2008-10-03T09:36:00.002-08:00

As the leaves fall softly from the trees, covering the ground with a blanket of warm yellows and oranges, we can not help but wonder why...the leaves dont turn blue? Blue is a cold color...replicates the thought of snow and winter....white....oh wait we dont want that color quite yet.

Rain falls not so softly from the sky, making lots of puddles to jump in as we go by. (good thing we wear boots to school and change our shoes) Today the kids discovered leaf boats. With the river running down Edward...we were able to send half the leaves from the top of the hill to the bottom.

As they tumbled along in the stream of water, Warren whooped like a banshee for all to see that his "pirate ship" beat them all....that is until it fell in the gutter drain....then he cried. How come all the fun ends with a tear....but....thanks to a smart thinking father (who almost got ran over by the boy trying to retrieve his precious boat) the boat only made it half way into the drain...it was saved...cant say the same for the pirate lost at sea....so if on your beach adventures you come across a little pirate dressed in red...with black hair and a "bird" on his face (that is beard for those that dont speak four year old). Mr Warren would be much relieved to know "little man" is safe and well. In the mean time Melissa has a cool story to tell at school today.

Josh and Crystals stuff is now in route to the East Coast. They are now settled into an apartment that sounds a lot like the cute little home they had in Wasilla. Nataly spent the last of the summer in Pennsylvania with her great grandma...guess she is a real handfull now...lol.

Sound like litttle Riley chats a mile a minute. Crystal had her first encounter with a small fourlegged critter in the dumpster...she is not too immpressed with the racoons...lol...but the foot long night crawler that Riley found....well that sent Crystal into a panick attack...guess she can not tell a worm from a snake...lol boy is she in for something next summer...

At the moment it sounds like all of Joshs troops will be deployed by the end of January....some are going now....others before Christmas...guess they send them as they are ready instead of as a whole troop. He sounds like he is enjoying the big booms that go along with the guns. He is training for night attacks now...tell me how a fairskinned red head can camo himself at night? he better not drop his pants to pee....a full moon will cost the troops a bit. (that was a funny)

So life in the Buffalo Wallow goes on. Warren and I have settled into a routine...I leave him alone and he leaves me alone...lol...except when we do preschool and he helps with all the chores. He is enjoying the Wii and has figured out how to play the thing. I do not know how so he has had to do it himself...and boy does he get pissed when he askes for my help and i get him killed...hehe...he says "Mom I will just do it myself...your the problem here" Now the big kids thoought that was funny...me...i was speachless...but glad that he does not ask my help anymore...moms just can not know everything hello!!!

So now I am off to build a park in my basement. The whole thing will be converted and all extra room utalized...NO ONE else is moving into this house with out a 5000 dollar deposite!....

have a wonderful fall day....keep your eye out for a missing pirate...never know what toilet he may pop up.....

guess it may be time...

2008-09-29T10:24:00.003-08:00

I have noticed this summer that many seem to think I am losing my mind. I want to assure everyone I am not. For the first time in my life I feel like I am not the idiot.

The issues in our world today are not new...they have been evolving over my life time and I have been watching it knowing eventually it would come to this.

Most think I have lived my life in a "non-reality" state of mind. Maybe just maybe I saw and listened. I watched the whole picture and everyone else has been living in a delusional world.

For me these issues say one thing..."We fucked up bad!" (sorry for that language but my father always said..."If the shoe fits...wear it."

For me these issues say...change will come soon...maybe not an easy change...but it will get better...just after it gets worse...again as I have heard often in my life..."History repeats itself"...time for many to look back in history a bit farther than the evolution of the United States of America....like the 100 years leading up to the Western Europeans moving here in the first place.

So as we all spent the summer, living life as if these issues were not sitting on the stove boiling...I have one thing to ask...

Are we ready? Does anyone remember life with out the ability to "eat out" or use money to buy your goods? Can we even survive when we can not trust the foods we have grown used to buying.

We brushed the Chinese off as an enemy with no means...then gave them most of our "food industry" basics....hmmmm....seems to me they have a nice weapon of mass destruction ...even if at the moment it is mainly killing their own children.

So please quit worrying about my mental health and maybe start worrying about how we are going to survive when our food and gas are cut off from us. When our unemployment lines are long and no money is in the unemployment fund...

Whether we want it or not...it is going to happen...and my father once said to me..."Know your enemy" but his favorite and my motto on life...

Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance....

Sure Could Use A Little Good News Today

2008-09-27T08:49:00.003-08:00

I woke this morning to a hot cup of coffee and the fog floating over my yard...a sure sign the sun will shine and it will be quite chilly.

I was sad to see that another of Americas "Good Guys" has left us behind.

Paul Newman...an American Icon who's name is not often remembered in the entertainment industry anymore....but everyone knows of his salad dressing, and popcorn.

What most do not know is Paul Newman opend "The Hole in the Wall" camp ground with the money earned from selling those food products. This is a camp for the children...a camp where kids with disabilities and death sentances can go with their families to "get away" from it all. The Hole in the Wall has a complete medical staff on site to provide medications and emergencie care.

A camp like this is not cheap...Paul Newman dedicated his life to helping others help themselves. A personalty type that is going extinct in our country fast...

I do not post much anymore as most of what i have to say would be controversial and cause disagreements...as I sit back and watch the world...I see "the rose colored glasses" I wish I had bought being squashed...I see history repeating itself and man kind acting out the selfishness that got us here in the first place...funny how they knew this would happen in the '70's...guess the "hippies" were not so dumb...

So...more soldiers have died over seas...more have committed suicide on our soil. The government is fighting like toddlers...and believe you me I know how toddlers fight...all of Alaskas politicians are currently fighting court battles of corruption, and the earth is warming rapidly....as villages wash into the sea...mothers are "pimping their toddlers out...or killing them and carrying them around in their trunks for weeks...all I have to say is WTF are people thinking??

So on that note...I am going to go paint my childrens images on the kitchen floor with mustard (i have a lot of that after a summer of camping)...later we will mop and clean the kitchen...for now...we are going to make our own "good news"

Have a fun filled smiley day....it is about all we have left....

Good Bye Hotels

2008-09-14T08:32:00.002-08:00

In the heart of downtown Anchorage lies a little piece of paradise. I want to thank Anna and Sarah for encouraging me to look for it. A home you enter from an alley. Looks like any other condo untill you have walked through the door and met Linda. Linda owns this little piece of paradise...and runs it like a mom.

Upon answering the door she escorted us directly to our room. Introduced us to the house and what was available to guests....big screen tv in the common living room, refrigerator full of soda and water for .50...not a buck twenty five like your average vending machine. Wireless internet and for those that do not have lap tops...computers for your use.

From the living room you would not know you were down town Anchorage. The view of Mt Susitna is amazing. Books, movies and games, are available for the guests entertainment if going out on the town is not in their plans...but...going out on the town is made easy when one can walk from their room the the fifth avenue mall in just a few minutes.

Now the best part...our room. I think we got the best room in the house...no walls sharring bed rooms and the common living room above. We had our own private deck covered deck. Sitting here drinking my coffee and listening to the rain fall...kI see no other houses, but I see water, mountains and was even up early enough to watch the tugs pull the barges into the area....a totally new view of Anchorage.

My friends and family, for less then the price of a motel, I woke today to fesh coffee that neither me or my husband made...and I did not have to get dressed to get it. Pastries, cereal, yogurt and fruite are available in abundance just up stairs and I can bring my coffee back to my deck...so...I am NOT going home...I am gonna pimp myself to Linda...I will clean her bandb and live in a beautiful home...best of all...no one is saying...."mama its wakey time.." Ok I would start missing them after a week or so...lol...but for now. I hope the next two hours just creep by....I dont wanna return to reality.

First Day of School

2008-08-26T12:28:00.004-08:00

Checking out her new clothes before she walked out the door...even though she has been dressed and ready since 7:30am!
A bit nervouse as I left her...but arriving she made herself right at home...found the other lunches and added hers...found her cubby and seat...no problem learning the teachers name...she has repeated it and asked questions about "Miss Raskey" all weekend..."Where does she live?" Is Miss Raskey at school waiting for me?" on and on she went...

So the second family is easier to psych your self up for this step...but actually taking it brought tears to my eyes...my baby has now taken her first step into the "real world"...ya' all better watch out! lol

Warren seems to be enjoying not having to compete...he has been drumming most of the morning...no TV to compete with...he likes the music so much better...

House is clean...and staying that way...ahhhh!! So I am going to nap...got two hours till pick up time begins...have a good day all.

Summer Ending...

2008-08-19T14:42:00.006-08:00

Best person at the class reunion...
Friends longer than we can remember....

Playing in Katchamak Bay....in the rain...

Anchor Point flower picking adventure...in the rain...seems we spent a lot of time playing in the rain...but we had fun, found lots of treasures, and seeing the beach from these two's eyes brings back the fantasy of the enviroment...

My girls making Pizza.....again in the rain...at the fair...

He was not at the fair...he was at the beach...good thing Bird had no pliers....

Man of War.

2008-08-08T06:37:00.002-08:00

This young man is my son...upon arriving in Fort Drum New York he was informed he will deploy to Afghanistan before the 15 or October...departure date is set on the 10th. I am asking that everyone please just not bring this up. Crystal and I would like to live in our own little world of non reality for a few more months before the worry sets in. Now as none of you have a child who will soon be facing the wrong end of a bullet or land mine...I also ask please keep your "cheer me up comments" to your selves....I do not care to hear about our "freedoms" or anything else that says it is "ok" for my oldest child to die. I birthed him and raised him with little to no help from our government...in fact it was our judicial system that screwed things up for my children in the first place. I realize my feeling and beliefs may seem unwarranted from many who know me...but you did not live my life in Washington...in fact many did not even talk to me while I was there...so please do not judge my feelings about this. I gave birth to a child at a hard time of my life...I raised him to a fine young man...I did not give up I did not allow the welfare system to enter our lives...Now the government has complete control over him...and I bet not once has any man considered what it is like to give birth to a human being...watch them morph into real people...then kiss them good bye so they can get blown up by a pissed off son or daughter of another mother. I HATE THIS...I HATE VIOLENCE...I HATE WAR...AND I HATE ALL BOARD GAMES THAT TEACH MEN THAT LIFE IS JUST ONE BIG GAME OF WHO CAN CONQUER WHO....No one deserves that. Not them or us. PEACE on this earth before my son is killed in a war that has only materialistic meaning.

My Soldier.

2008-07-29T09:10:00.002-08:00

Their Home!! At least for a few days anyway....He is so handsome...and grown up...I hope he knows I am very proud of my boy.

Sweet 16!

2008-07-17T08:42:00.003-08:00

Not the clearest picture...we sucked on lighting...hehe...but the basement did not sound to bad with a band in it...just loud...

Here is the band walking in the door...Britt was...well lets just say it took a bit for her to recover when she actually saw STREPT in her home.

Durring set up...The one with the shades in his hands is the lead singer....and the other wears cool clothes.

All went amazingly well...it was loud in the house but in the yard it sounded like a radio playing and since the closest neighbors chose to go visting (I gave them a weeks notice of this) I did not need to worry about disruption to the neighbors.

The band was good though...they realized that the noise might be loud and did their best to tone down the drums and cymbals and they refused to play "May Day" wich is their loudest song...told her they would add it to the next show for her....(I thanked them for this....as this song is good...but very loud.) I was surprised at how mellow the kids were...water, pizza and birthday cake. a couple went out dorrs to get away from the noise for a moment or two...but they all just sat and watched in awe and the band played...Now when I was a kid...we woulda...oh never mind...I wont even go there...lets just say...all had a good time...the mess was easily cleaned up...and the only one that was ordered evicted was Keith...by Britt. Heath, the hired bouncer did refuse this eviction as it was Keith that paid his wages...but cant blame the girl for trying...A Sweet 16 she will never forget...and not because of the raging party she had...all were in bed and asleep by midnight. Think I will give them all head aches with a band every year...saved me on a lot of grey hair....

Educational

2008-07-09T17:37:00.001-08:00

Particles or waves?

2008-06-27T12:59:00.002-08:00

Anchor Point

2008-06-26T19:04:00.002-08:00

the weather has not been perfect...but then what is perfect. Little to no rain so far...some wind but not to bad. Nights are staying in the mid 40's can not complain there. That cold is still lingering but it is getting better. Life in the pit is pretty quiet...the kids play...and I am being haunted by M and M's...broken ones....pieces of ones...red, blue, green, yellow, brown, orange...lots of colors...but out of 500 pieces...I have just 200 left to find places for....Thanks Donald for the tortoreouse event...I dream those damn M and M's.....and the next time you want to by me a puzzle...could you make it skittles!! That is a joke. Dad has so far stayed out of trouble...he seems to be getting a bit restless now so look out people...he has some pent up pranks I am sure...

For those coming south tomorrow...drive safe. For those that are not...I miss you and wish you could come for the weekend....love to you.

and Time Marches On...

2008-06-20T06:43:00.002-08:00

Man am I ever battling a nasty cold...trip back to Homer must be delayed until the kids and I are feeling better...cant have no one getting pneumonia. This one is a doozy....phlem, phlem, phlem....hack...hack...blow...blow...nastiness...ewww!!!

The average cold bug last 10 days...I am on day 8 so maybe I am about done. Melissa is in the middle of it and as of yet Warren has evaded the bug altogether...seems it is a bit prejudice as just Britt, Lou and I have been battling this green slime producing, kleenex soggying, critter.

Just want to let my friends and family know...if you get this bug...COUGH that crap up...the bacteria that is causing this crap to roam around is the same bacteria that causes pneumonia...cough that crap and spit it out...blow it out...and keep coughing...tricks I learned in school to help keep your body free of a potentially lethal bacteria. Many old people and many little guys are being hospitalized for this bug now...seems it is a few months later than expected...wonder if the flu shots have anything to do with that...they wear off and the bug jumps at the opportunity....usually this bacteria is most prevelant in society during the winter months...guess it needed a summer vacation.

If the slime your producing remains "green" for more than three days...or gets darker...see your doctor...this bug is not one to mess with.

On that note...Happy Solstice to all....the longest day of the year and I am battling microscopic bugs at home instead of sitting at a fire on the beach....darn those buggies!!

Britts birthday plans are rolling, she should have the time of her life...her three favorite bands will be here at our house. Rental Halls were outrageous in price....and required for the most part that you pay their people to chaperon your event...One place I called even "required you to use their caterer." Hmm...what if I dont like their caterer...or want to do the food myself??

Anyway...for 700 dollars...I will do it at home with my own darn kitchen!!

Many years ago, this party was called a cotillion or a "coming out" party...the girl is ready to be courted and married off...well...she is not ready to be married off...may never get there...but she is ready to DRIVE!! AHHHHH!!!....that is three of the five...glad I have a few years to wait before the next one turns 16.

So...on that note...the coughing fit I was having is over...it is only 7am...meaning I can get an hour nap before the kids awake...Love to all...and HAPPY SOLSTICE!

Summer Evenings

2008-06-17T09:35:00.003-08:00

Seems the weather is having issues deciding what it wants to do here in LA. Clouds, blue sky, not much rain, but seriously inconsistent forecasting from the clouds.

A week, almost two here at home, and my yard is now covered in beautiful trees. I can hear the neighbors but I cant see them. Not bad if the city bus could be replaced by the river in the distance.

I have got to remember I have a digital camera! What started out as a trip to the park at Cheney Lake turned into a walk around the lake at the children's request. When they mentioned following the trial and going on a "venture" Anna's face took a horrid look as she glanced my way. I am not sure which adventure she was remembering, but anytime we go on a venture together, she ends up stuck, upside down in puddles, or hanging herself...but the good sport that she is she went along wearily waiting for the first, 'side track off the trail".

Not long after leaving the park we were alone and I let Mac run free. He is responding to a whistle and if I point at him then at my feet he will come to me and sit. Not bad since I did not even try to teach him that...he was fascinated with the ducks, but does not like the water so as long as they stayed on the right side of the mucky growing yuck that encompassed the first ten feet of the shore line they were safe. (the Crock pond is cleaner than that lake)

Sorry to say there were no humorous happenings on this outing, I am sure Anna is appreciative of the fact I could not find a new trail to explore...hehe. Mac obeyed well. The kids came back with hand fulls of flowers and special sticks.

Now is the time to explore that lake though. I plan on going back without the children soon as the geese are just now bringing their babies from the nests and showing them the water. Not old enough to swim yet they stayed on the shore line, but ran for cover as soon as they heard us approaching.

We watched a loon stalk them also...do loons eat baby geese and ducks?? They sure ran from him quickly...and he watched every move they made. We saw a young girl fishing...hope she does not eat what she catches...that lake is GROSS!! Kinda looked and smelled like my basement did a few days ago.

Last night Sarah and the kids came in for an impromptu BBQ. It worked out great for a last minute thing...the kids played well....no major messes left behind...no loud fights...and Katelynn put Mac in his place for barking.

He would not quit barking at her...so she began barking back...not just any bark...but a demonic high pitched bark of a five year old girl...he ran tail between his legs...and did not bark at her again the rest of the night...hehe...

Having kids to play with proved as good a sleep aid as a full day of fresh air and exercise...both kids are still asleep and it is almost ten! This NEVER happens. Thanks Sarah...wanna do it again every night???

So that is life in LA at the Buffalo home...planning Britts 16...although I am finding with the network of friends she has...I am not having to do a lot of the grunt work...they are doing it for me...she should enjoy this celebration of her "coming out" or what ever it is in this day and age...stay tuned for details...as they are yet still being pulled together. Oh yes...I may be looking for a couple more chaperons...any volunteers looking to lose some hearing this summer??

Life!

2008-06-12T09:30:00.002-08:00

Well I am ready to return to the HITW...where the neighbors on the hill are a bit friendlier...Arrived home the house was not to bad accept the carpets...then the sewer backed up all over my basement, while I had four babies in the house who are all potty trained!...three women on the monthly and a major need for an out house. Not to mention the six loads of laundry that needed done.

Six inches of water in my basement, flowing from any drain down there...thanks to Miguel and Britt who cleaned the floating turds and paper as well as pumped and dumped all the water...while standing in toilet water for three hours...now that is a good boy friend.

A call to Eric at work informed him that he needed to come home or I was packing and going south again brought him running with Uncle John on his tail...hehe...the purchase of a balloon sort of device that hooks to the garden hose did not pop this plug, but it did provide a half hour of fun while we walked around the yard with our ears to the ground listening to the hum coming from the pipes under us.

A snake was rented and a couple "white mice" pulled from the plug. This opened it enough to allow the Ninja turtle and bouncy balls to flow out...Gotta love the little kids...lol. With that fixed it was time to start on the carpets...two days spent scrubbing and sucking carpets....I had to do the up stairs too...did not want to waste the rental fee for just the down stairs...

So now the laundry is done...the floors clean...and the toilets all flush for the first time since we moved in...ahhhhh!

Summer....

2008-06-09T18:55:00.002-08:00

Wow my yard is green and the trees are leafed. While I was gone the neighbors built a privacy fence...added a lot of character to my yard...should I be offended?? It is pretty though...and if the other two neighbors would follow suite...Lexsis would not be able to hurdle the fence anymore....even got a new mail box out of the deal...the kids came home...tore out all the toys...and have spent the day making mud in the driveway while I cleaned the mess they made inside. Other than summer being here Anchorage is the same...airplanes and sirens...sirens and airplanes....I should have rented on a quieter side of town.

Now lets talk "the box"....from the fumes it was emitting I am guessing that the thing holds the head of the only salmon caught this year. This box once again disappeared just before I headed North. I was under the impression that it was in one of the two rigs that exited the HITW yesterday evening. After an extremely long stop on the side of the road...an unload and reload that took forever due to the amount of things stuffed into Donalds trunk we were assured it was not traveling with us back North.

So where is it? I hope I would have smelled it if it had been left in my camper before I left the HITW....father if my home away from home smells of rotten fish when I return...you will be eating fish head soup for a week....that is a promise!

We Made it Home...

2008-06-08T23:35:00.001-08:00

Safely but not sanely....It probably would have been easier if they had slept the whole way....and just for all peoples information....I have said it a million times already since I have been home for 45 minutes.....I DONT WANNA BE HOME!!! I WANNA GO BACK!!! PLEASE...........

Things I Miss...

2008-06-06T11:34:00.002-08:00

My husband and my cat....my other kids, although these ones keep me plenty busy....we have hiked every inch of the hillside...found bunny trails and moose beds...we have fished the lower crock pond...someone might want to consider stocking it...seems any natrual species have long died off...but it provided several hours of fun and just a few "dog fish" were caught.

Wind and rain has kept us inside, except for the tent mom and I put over my trailor yesterday...seems my old gutter system was not holding out anymore and the window sills were filling with water. Now the winds will again start and I will be joinging the "fly aways"....anyone want to guess how far a comode can blow?? Some minor tarp damages at the bear den and the wolf hole...nothing that was not fixable....

On that note...things I do not miss....vacuming...tons of dishes....moping and sweeping...cleaning the toilet three or four times a day when Warren misses the hole....and trying to find "free ways" to entertain the children in safe and friendly enviroments.

Have a good day in LA...

Our Day at Bird Point....

2008-05-10T18:32:00.002-08:00

After listening to the sermon today with the sun beckoning us to come out and play...we packed our lunch...rearranged the seats in the Yukon and began our exploration for spring. We did not find a lot of "green" but we did find a wonderful WIND FREE Turnagain Arm. Bird Point had to be 70...with out a breeze it felt like we should just lay in the sun and nap...

But instead we took a hike had a picnic and played on the cliffs and trees. A wonderful playground both Baxter babes proved to be "little mountain goats."

I could not help but remember the last time we went out there...Melissa was just 6days old and I wore her under my coat. It was windy and cold, but still a wonderful adventure.

The bears must be awake as the goats were seen but HIGH up on the cliffs where nothing but the eagles could get them. We missed the whale pod by twenty minutes as the tide was going out. A bore tide was possible at nine tonight...but we did not feel the need to wait. A wonderful time was had by all and darn it neither kid sleeps anymore on a car ride....lol.

First BBQ of the year...

2008-05-09T20:49:00.004-08:00

Taking a nap waiting for his mama to come back....

MMMM......
Is dinner done yet??
Picking on the dogs.....

A new memorial weekend competion

2008-05-08T10:08:00.002-08:00

Guys backflip into jeans

A new competition?? Could be fun...think John can put his pants on swinging from the zip line?

Donald should NOT work 12 days in a row!

2008-05-02T06:52:00.003-08:00

Now at first I thought maybe they taped the good stuff to the bottom of the box...but...
maybe he is trying to fit into that box....mail himself to China maybe??
Nope...just hiding from his dog....

Another day in the life of the Buff's.

Deadliest Catch goes Boom De Ahda....

2008-04-30T18:47:00.001-08:00

This is a cute song...and some of Homers most famous are at the mike......

Father, check the doppler?

2008-04-29T15:40:00.003-08:00

Well the yard is pretty much back again. The water is still running off the roof though. I was just admiring the raked lawn thinking plush green grass when the lady on the radio used the "S" word. Now I am wondering if we will be seeing another 20 inches of white fluffy wet stuff. If this is the case for the rest of the summer...maybe we should plan a snow cone sale....there is a food cost issue going on...I do not recall Kool Aid being a part of it.

So another day of waiting for spring...and another forecast for a battle with winter...John would you quit talking ice age or I am going to blame you...for now the neighbor gets it. He washed two cars and when he saw me raking and doing yard work...he fertilized his...guess it got watered well.

Thats all on the Buffalo front...although we would like to protest the issues in Yellow Stone...our brothers are being sold to slaughter!! All because they wandered to greener pastures, or maybe the went out and became fruitful...either way...by the truck load they are being hauled away...and buffalo do not like riding in tailors pulled by trucks.

Gee What timing.

2008-04-28T06:43:00.003-08:00

Now I may be to blame for this last snow fall, but I would like to say..."the early bird gets the worm"!

My bags are bagged and the yard was raked. The piles of trash are awaiting "Free Dump day". Which happens to be this weekend. Now I am glad I took advantage of the spring thaw we saw briefly. My garbage will be hauled to the dump on "free day". Hehe...with the cost going up I was hoping to catch this day.

Not sure what we will do about Anchorage clean up, unless this snow melts. Wonder if they will put it off for a week?

Guessing the Wolf pack will be wandering the woods again this weekend, carrying their orange bags and collecting trash...some neat prizes are still won on this day here in Anchorage.

I remember it as a kid, I think it was even the year it all began, I will admit to being that old. I was 10, the school handed out the bags and for every bag we brought back full of garbage we received a raffle ticket for a drawing. I won a stereo that year. I wanted the bike, but a stereo was way cool too.

So to all the LA residents....Happy Spring Clean Up....hehe now it is spring right?

OK FINE IT IS ALL MY FAULT!

2008-04-26T20:47:00.005-08:00

Fine after this fine night...9pm and still 50...grass and tulips...I spent the next day getting out the lawn mower, charging the week wacker, and washing my truck. The kids played in the puddles and begged for the sprinkler or swimming pool....

and now....
but it was not over yet....ten more inches fell....and we were forced to retreat to the house...and find a new media...

So the mower is buried in the snow in the back yard...the Yukon was buried in the drive way...and no plows are running the back roads...so our neighbor, bless his heart...plowed all of our driveways, he plowed Markstrom, and he plowed the berms away...so tomorrow...rain and warmth...guess flooding next??

A beautiful snow fall, have not seen one like it in many years...it started and just did not quit. I loved it, but I will enjoy raking it back out of my yard as soon as I find my hip boots!

2008-04-23T19:05:00.008-08:00

Eric was eating my crayons!
someone should ask him how this happened...and how he still drives with it this way.
funny faces at the zoo.

The bears are awake....
some of my babies....

This little girl is going to be five in just a couple weeks...birthday party time...

Forcast for snow...of course!

2008-04-22T18:54:00.010-08:00

After reading the Wolf blog, I thought I would let others know...hehe...I am ready to mow!

That one little patch is full of "ice melt"...that stuff makes ice hard!

The back yard work has begun...it is soggy but not flooded this year...glad I pumped early on.Maybe one more day and the back two thirds of the yard will be snowless....but....we may be using this ice in the coolers come memorial weekend.
That glacier is about six inches thick and not going anywhere soon...darn house shades the ground for much of the day...maybe I could remove the house for a couple days?

and to answer the question in everyones head....We do need more crayons...

Photo people in the making...

2008-04-17T18:17:00.007-08:00

Melissa at the lens, Warren always ready to pose...
Warren at the lens...

Melissa was even quick enough to catch one of mom....
Family night at the table...yes they are coloring...the little ones got bored quickly.
Even the cats were at the table...not a chair to be had...so I got out the camera and made my own pictures...

At that is a night in the life of the Baxter house....

Sunday at the Zoo

2008-04-13T17:48:00.003-08:00

Eric and I decided we needed some excersise and fresh air. A trip to the zoo is the kids favorite pass time so we put on our extra pants and gloves and headed up to the zoo.

Now there is one problem with a zoo that has only "local animals" in Alaska...the owls...asleep but of course it is day time. The bears...asleep...no signs of prints in their pens... the Elephant flew south last fall and the siberian tigers were euthanised when the kid in San Diego had to play with the kitties.

So we saw...Ravens...every empty cage had an injured raven in it....we saw Eagles...they have been there since 1973...we saw a camel...with two humps and his alpaca friends. Moose...not nearly as cool as when they are rubbing noses with Josh on the front porch....and of course the musk ox and Yaks...but the kids say they stink.

So it was the Polar Bears fighting over a kayak...yes they had a kayak...and they were not sharing it well as they drug it around looking for just the right entry point to the pool....think they were going to use it as a sled.

The seal and otter exhibit is now open in it's new home and we had the pleasure of making out with a harbor seal...tongue and all....friendly little guy he was...not sure if his pen mate was dead or asleep...anyone know if seals sleep under water? For fifteen minutes he did not move just lay on the bottom of the pool in one spot with his head tucked under his flippers.

One little otter was playing in and out of the water...smooth swimmers they are and he was just having a ball...guess he knew he had to put on a show as all the other animals were asleep for the winter...wolverines hibernate??

Ok the porky pines were having a snack of oranges and corn on the cob...they seemed content in their little pen with their fresh fruit and vegis...I want a porky pine!

So that was the zoo. The kids had a lot of fun and several others with children their size were working their way around the zoo too so they had friends to talk to. Just one question...when do the animals wake up?? The zoo keepers told me once that the bears hibernate in their dens and the black bear could be seen sleeping in a hole she dug under a tree...she looked cozy...wish I could be there when she finally pokes her head out to see if it is spring. Are they on a different schedule in the zoo...or are all bears still asleep this time of year?

Anybody check the earth quakes out?

2008-04-11T21:38:00.000-08:00

600 of them...off the coast of Oregon...no fault lines...no volcanoes in the area...science is stumped.

Seems Weird to me

2008-04-10T20:07:00.002-08:00

All my life I have felt on the outside looking in. Now more than ever. Seems everyone I have ever known has only taken what they can see. No one has ever spent any time really getting to know me for who I am. This used to hurt dearly. Now I find it is only loneliness that bothers me. But a loneliness I will suffer as I am sure Jesus often felt the same way. My question is...Why does everyone in this world try so hard to disprove HIM....or ignore him for those that say they have the LORD in their lives. Why? fear? This bothers me as I have often been isolated from this world due to my faith in the LORD. Again a problem I am sure many have had, unfortunately I have never met anyone that seems to use faith as a way to live daily life. Most worry about money, yes a worry we all have, but through my faith I have never went without what my family needs to live. We have never had extra and that is ok. Extra means more work for a house wife who is already over loaded trying to spend time with children and educate them in the things the school district does not or can not.

My faith in the LORD Jesus started way before I can remember Church or anyone but my Uncle Cliff talking about GOD and prayer. Everyone else seems afraid. My Uncle used to sit with me on his lap, on his front porch. We would watch the storms come over the prairie and he would talk to me about the good LORD JESUS and everything he promised us. No more pain, no more suffering, no more anger and no more greed. How could one not want this? Uncle Cliff was the first in my life his family prayed before meals, they prayed at night, and they prayed just to pray. I loved that it felt like someone out there even bigger than anyone could and would take care of me.

Many years later I met a family in our neighborhood. I looked forward to vacation BIBLE school at their home. The beautiful songs and stories captivated my young heart and imagination. One summer these people sat me on their laps and prayed with me. They asked JESUS to take care of me and guide me through life. He never left me. I left him for awhile, but now I know why.

As the years went by I never quit watching for JESUS to come. I knew then and I do now that this world will never be a place of love and happiness for all until JESUS comes back. All governments and religions think they are right and everyone else is wrong. When it really is quite simple. Believe and have faith, happiness comes from with in not from something we can buy at the store and dispose of in a trash dump when we are done with it. Be kind to our brothers. This does not mean our family only....brothers means everyone in this world not just those that follow our government and religion. Forgive those that do us wrong and move on. Forgiveness a very tough thing for man kind to admit as that would mean we might be wrong.

Now many do not follow religion, but I always have. Many don't know how to survive without money. I never became dependent on it. Yes it makes me unhappy to not have enough to pay the bills but never have I felt the need for more so I could buy a fancy car and keep up with the Jones. In fact I always thought individualism was much more important.

As I sit here and wonder why I have developed the plague the answer comes to me...My FAITH. I am sorry others do not want to know the real me, just the one they want me to be. Now I know that is what has made me unhappy most of my life. Trying to be what everyone else thinks I should be when really I am just a faithful servant of the LORD. I believe in good over evil and I believe that JESUS will return soon and he will take over this world and make it a better place. I will stand by that faith no matter how lonely I get as I have never really had anyone but HIM by my side for most of my life. I have disappointed him, I have strayed from the path, but I have never given up my gift of prayer, as I believe and have seen that prayers can and are answered if the heart if true to the LORD.

Life is Normal...

2008-04-06T17:06:00.005-08:00

ho hum...

2008-03-31T15:27:00.006-08:00

Eggs everywhere...mom's gonna be mad....

but they destroyed the peeps...so all is forgiven...
and while all this was going on...the dog took a taste of his herritage...should I tell him that "Chow " means dinner...not the Chinese word for dog...

oh sorry about the kinked necks to look at the pictures...if you turn your head the other way for a bit...your neck will feel better...

love to all

HOW SAD...was it sabatoge?

2008-03-30T10:07:00.002-08:00

http://www.adn.com/front/story/360237.html

I am so bummed....stupid snow machines...I loved Zorro and hope to get to meet him this summer when my husband takes me to see Santa Clause....