Cirque du Soleil: Dralion

Well, that was certainly worth the price of the tickets: wow, what a show!

It was so exciting I quickly forgot that the seats were too close together and were hard plastic (not even remotely comfortable). I also forgot that the music was really loud, the lights were bright and flashing, and the acoustics were pretty much non-existent.

But wow, what a show!

Parts of it, I have to admit, were a bit of a let-down. There were a lot of people running around stage just waving their hands in the air (artistically dancing, you might say). I mean, give me an incredible costume and even I can do that!

The people actually doing the acts more than made up for the ones who were there to support them, however. There were truly some fantastic feats of aerial acrobatics. The troupe certainly lived up to their reputation, and then some.

A few of my favorites:

- The lady in red who came down from the ceiling on a metal hoop and then proceeded to swing around by her toes, hang from her neck, or “fly” through the air.

- The guys jumping through a series of hoops which were attached to a circular base that was rotating in a circular motion.

- The juggler who danced around stage keeping up to 10 (at least) balls flying through the air.

At one point, they had this guy standing on top of two “dragons” (the dragons were made up of two people in costume) and the dragons were each walking on a large ball about 4 feet in diameter. So, they had two large balls, each with a dragon on top, with a guy standing on top of them straddling the dragons. All walking across stage!

It was pretty amazing. I only wish I could have gotten closer in to see the costumes: they looked pretty amazing, even from up on the balcony where we sat.

And this is a paperless job!

Typical Office Procedure:

- A submittal comes in for review

- The Architect reviews it and accepts/rejects it

- We fill out the paperwork

- We keep one copy and send the rest back to the client, both electronically and physically

However, there’s been so many changes of key personnel on this particular job that the current person in charge asked us to give him a copy of everything that’s been done so far.

So, I spent two days making copies and organizing them so that they are all in the same order as our originals are. Then I made file folders for them (I even made rainbows using red-orange-yellow-green-blue file folders, alternating in that order until I got to the end of the submittals) with labels and everything, and put them into a Banker’s Box.

That was last week. 

This week, he wants us to send him a copy (both electronically AGAIN [for like the third time] and physically) of the form that states what the status of each submittal is. So I have to go back through every submittal I just put away – unstaple everything – copy the top sheet – then restaple everything back together again.

So now – somewhere over there across town, they have close to 4 complete sets of every submittal (going on 42 of them so far) that has to do with this project.

Oy.

Antarctica

I calmly walked up to the ticket counter and said “I’d like two tickets to Antarctica, please.”

I was the very picture of Cool as I handed the lady my credit card – but all the while, that little voice inside my head was jumping up and down with excitement, shouting “Antarctica! Antarctica! Antarctica!”

Actually, if you think about it – that’s a little strange. I mean, how can the voice inside your head jump up and down, anyway? It’s a voice, right? 

No body…

To be quite honest though, the “Antarctica” I was speaking of was a movie and the ticket counter I was standing at The Bear’s Tooth.

Still, it was pretty darned exciting. The movie’s full name is “Antarctia: a Year on Ice” and is a documentary about the every-day people who work down there (as opposed to the scientists who go down to study their science).

But just think how amazing it would be to ACTUALLY buy two tickets to the ACTUAL Antarctica!

Rovers of the Red Planet

I have to admit I was not all that excited about the lecture. It was to be on the Mars Rovers, and I’ve been to about 5 of them prior to this one. I figured I was pretty much Rover’d Out, you might say. But it was part of a series so, since we had the tickets anyway, I pretty much had to go.

Turns out, it was really good: I am so glad we went! The presenter was very engaging, clearly excited about the topic, and was a good speaker, too.

The series is a new one for Anchorage: the museum has partnered with National Geographic to bring “dynamic and proven speakers, considered among the best in their fields. Using award-winning photographs and video, these modern storytellers share amazing adventures from the field, reporting on a wide range of human-interest and conservation topics.”

1. POLAR OBSESSION: PAUL NICKLEN, PHOTOGRAPHER/BIOLOGIST

Acting as a personal guide, photographer and biologist Paul Nicklen takes audiences to the vast polar regions of our planet. Nicklen shares the stories of his work capturing images of life in fragile, frozen ecosystems. His book, Polar Obsession, is a pictorial celebration of the polar ecosystems where Nicklen has spent his life.

2. THE LENS OF ADVENTURE: BRYAN SMITH, FILMMAKER

Hiking for miles laden with gear, trusting rigging on sheer vertical faces, and paddling waterfalls with a camera between his legs are all part of filmmaker Bryan Smith's adventures. While the footage he captures makes your heart race, the story behind the camera takes your breath away.

3. ROVERS OF THE RED PLANET: KOBIE BOYKINS, NASA ENGINEER

A dynamic young engineer at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kobie Boykins is on the front line of Mars exploration. Boykins designed the solar arrays that power the Mars exploration rovers, Spirit and Opportunity landing on Mars on January 25, 2004. Boykins shares his passion for space exploration by recounting the design and construction of the rovers and the story of their successful missions.

4. CONNECT WITH ANYBODY, ANYWHERE: ANNIE GRIFFITHS, PHOTOJOURNALIST

Known for her sensitive nature and ability to bridge the divide that sometimes exists between people of disparate cultures and beliefs, Griffiths has been connecting with her subjects for nearly three decades. Journey alongside her as she finds common ground in uncommon places.

My Voo-Doo Doll

Migraine.com is a website I go to quite frequently. It has good information and enlightening blog posts by people like me who are afflicted by the little bastards. 

Sometimes it’s just nice to know I’m not alone, you know?

So the other day, somebody posed a question: 

If you could make one symptom magically disappear, which one would it be?

I've been thinking about this; not obsessively or anything, it’s just been in the back of my mind, quietly simmering and stewing. 

Finally, the other day, the answer just popped into my head: 

I would make my Voo-Doo Doll disappear.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about: there are times where I could swear somebody has a voo-doo doll of me, and they’re taking out their frustrations by randomly jabbing me with a needle. The pain is amplified by the time it reaches my body so that it now feels like a spear has been thrust into various locations all over me and not just in the head. It’s very random and can strike with no warning, and then vanish again for no apparent reason only to return again when I least expect it.

Yeah, that’s the one I’d choose to magically disappear.

My Oh-So-Exciting Life

Okay, so I’ve already modified my resolutions for the year. But I did not remove one – I actually added one!

The original four are:

     1. Loose as much weight as possible

     2. Write at least 4 letters each month

     3. Cook at least one new recipe each month

     4. Renew contact with lost friendships

To which I have added the following:

     5. Write at least one new blog post a week

I will do my best to make sure they are “fun” and/or exciting posts – but quite honestly, you may end up with a lot of boring so-so posts.

To start off the year, I’ll just do a recap of the first few weeks. (yup, you guessed it: this is going to be one of those boring ones!)

2015 started off with a bang (no pun intended) because my Guy cooked me a King Crab Dinner! I haven’t had King Crab in over a year, and boy was it good. We ate so much we had no room for desert. A few hours later, though, we went ahead and ate our Lemon Mousse along with a nice shot of Whiskey.

The following day, he again cooked for me – this time making an omelet by cooking the eggs in a Mickey-Mouse Waffle Maker! It was really simple and easy to do: mix up the eggs as you would for “normal” omelets (red & green bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and lots of cheese) then pour it on to the waffle maker as if it were batter. Not 5 minutes later, you have waffle-omelets! The Mickey Mouse design is not required, but is rather a bonus.

That was pretty much the highlight of the past two weeks. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor for my hip (a swollen SI joint is quite painful, let me assure you). I work out at the gym as much as I can. I’m reading some really good books. I’m making my cards, as always.

You know: life.

The next few weeks, however – now, those posts will be much more exciting!

Happy New Year!

One of my goals – or resolutions, if you will – for 2015 is to write at least 4 letters a month. I make so many cards; I really do need to start using more of them. Plus, as an added benefit I get to renew some friendships I’ve let fall by the wayside.

One can only hope they return the favor!

Speaking of resolutions: do you do them each year? What sort of goals do you have? Do they tend to be the same ones over and over again each time? Do you ever actually achieve your goals?

For me, the New Year is a time of reflection; a time to review the year gone by and take stock of where I’m at as compared to where I hoped I would be.

Well, actually no – that's not true. I try not to focus on any sort of negative, as in “Oh, I wish I had done that…” or “Darn, I’m not as as BLANK I wanted to be.”

Instead, I simply take stock: this is who I am, this is what I accomplished, and this is what I think I’d like to try this year. Sometimes it is the same thing over and over again. Sometimes I realize that I no longer want that old thing and have instead set my sights on a whole new thing.

The rest of my goals for the year are as follows:

1. Loose as much weight as possible

2. Cook at least one new recipe each month

3. Renew contact with lost friendships

Granted; if I do write my 4 letters a month, that pretty much guarantees that I achieve item number 3. But that’s the beauty of this list: Simply by doing one item I get to knock two items off!

It’s my own little BOGO event, you might say.

One Has to Keep One’s Wrist Happy

Several months ago Bryan got a pair of Garmin Vivofit Wrist Bands, a black one for him and a teal one for me. This is a device by which one can keep track of how many steps one takes throughout the day, and is really pretty cool.

With just the push of a button, I can switch between the Time, the Date, How Many Steps I've Taken, How Many Steps I Have Left to Meet My Daily Goal, How Many Miles I've Gone, and How Many Calories I've Burned.

If I have been inactive for too long it has a band of red lights that blink at me. It starts out with just one light, but the longer I sit there doing nothing, the more lights it adds on until I end up with the entire display blinking at me. To get the lights to go away, I have to get up and walk around a bit: the more lights I have blinking at me, the longer I have to walk around.

As I always say, “My wrist is yelling at me to get up and walk!”

There is a program online that I log in to where I have created my own page to keep track of my progress. I can adjust my band to my personal step size, give it my height & weight, and even keep track of my sleep patterns and moods.

A typical day for me has my goal set at around 4850 steps. If I just go to work and then home afterwards, I have to really work at getting to my goal. If it’s one of the days I go to the gym, I usually go over my goal by about a couple thousand. On my recent vacation, I had about 5 days in a row with around 10,000 steps a day – as opposed to the sick day I had to take once I got home, where I logged in at barely 500.

Originally, the goal was set at a random number based on the information entered in to my website page – but the longer I wear it, the more it adjusts based on my history. Which basically means, the better I get at meeting my goal, the higher my goal becomes!

It’s been pretty fun, actually, and really has encouraged me to be more active throughout the day.

Scrapbooking Conference in Bellevue Washington

Yes, I know. I am not a “scrapbooker” – I’m a card maker. But they had classes on all sorts of paper crafting things, so I was able to keep busy the entire time.

Thursday night was a 12x12 Layout Workshop from 6:30 to 8:30 pm which I basically took just to get a feel for the place so that I’d know what I was doing the next two days.

Friday was my busiest day with 7 classes (1. All About Cards, 2. Newest & Coolest in the Scrapbooking World, 3. Designer Cards Featuring Simple Stories, 4. Pop-it-up Pivot Cards, 5. Shake It Up Shaker Box Cards, 6. Celebration Wine Tags, and 7. Trendy Card Creations) leaving no time to shop the vendor faire or even lunch break.

Saturday was an easier day for me, since I only had 4 classes (1. A Full House - Cards for Every Occasion, Trunk Show, Sun Kissed Fleur Cards, and Cards Full of Sunshine). I had plenty of time to eat lunch and go shopping and even rest for a bit; sadly a necessary thing by that time, since I was really not feeling good at all.

The hosts of the convention had drawings each hour for various door prizes. I got a ticket for each class I took plus one for each day that I was there: in total I ended up with about 20 tickets. Out of the thousands (only a slight exaggeration, there) of people who attended = my name actually got drawn not once but TWICE!

Woo-Hoo! I ended up getting a free stamp set from Heartfelt Creations (worth $18.00) and $20.00 worth of free paper from Keller’s Creations.

In addition to the door prizes, each class had their own give-aways & drawings – so I ended up coming home with way, WAY more stuff than I arrived with. In fact, if I were to add it all up, I bet I ended up “winning” crafting supplies worth more than what I paid to attend the conference!

Plus 54 cards!!!

Am I going again next year?

Hell, yeah!

My Week in Seattle/Bellevue

I was in the process of creating this big long post about my Seattle vacation the other day when it dawned on me that you probably aren't that interested in what I had for dinner each day or how long we had to stand in line at the car rental place. What you really want to know about is just the highlights: what we did and where we went.

So, in a nutshell = here’s the condensed version of my Vacation.

We went to the Seattle Science Center under the Space Needle where we leisurely browsed the Tropical Butterfly House, the Children’s Insect Village and the Chihuly Garden & Glass exhibit.

We went down to the docks to shop at Pike’s Market and take a ride on their new ferris wheel, called the Seattle Great Wheel, which stands 175 feet tall and extends out over the pier by at least 40 feet.

We did some shopping at several stores that are not in Alaska: namely, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Lush, and See’s Candy.

We even took a short hike in the Bellevue Botanical Gardens where we got to traverse a 150’ long suspension bridge!

My main reason for going on the trip in the first place was to attend the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooking Conference in Bellevue, and boy oh boy did I have fun! 2 whole days of back-to-back classes from 8:00 in the morning till 6:30 in the evening! I learned so many cool new techniques to use on my cards: my next post will give you more detail.

Unfortunately, I ended up getting sick the very day I got there – so that by the time the conference started I was in full-blown-cold mode, heavily medicated just to get through the day in a vertical state.

I had a good time, regardless - but would have preferred to be healthier.

They Have Noodles!

I got a phone call from my brother the other day, saying he & his co-worker Esau would be having lunch at a nearby location and were wondering if I could join them.

“It’s that noodle-place on Dimond and Old Seward, called Pho-netic. You’ll like them; they have… you know… noodles!”

How could I resist?

What Kind of Logic is This?

After putting away the groceries last night, I sat down to enjoy my cup of tea and go through the mail. Among all the other junk mail I received the quarterly sale flyer from Costco, so I flipped through it to see if there was anything I needed.

When I got to the pharmaceutical section, I found several coupons for various items grouped together in quasi-logical fashion: you could choose from several types of Advil (Advil PM, Liqui-gell Advil, Advil Extra Strength, etc…) for $2.50 off the regular price, or choose from several different types of multi-vitamins for another $2.50 off – that sort of thing.

But tell me: in what parallel universe does this pairing make sense?

They actually have a coupon that gives you $2.50 off your choice of either Excedrin Migraine or Gas-X!

Yup, Excedrin Migraine or Gas-X.

Now, I can assure you = in all of my 35+ years of Migraine Affliction, not once has it ever caused me to fart.

Apparently My Spirit Horse Kicks Ass

But as Bryan would say (and did) “I could have told you that!”

I bet you’re thinking “What the heck is she talking about, anyway?”

Ha!

Bryan and I took a Painting Lesson the other day at Arctic Crown Canvas (conveniently located right next door to a very good sushi restaurant) where we painted our Spirit Horse! I must say: the results were quite surprising. If you come visit me, you’ll see it propped up on the hearth right in front of the fireplace that I never use.

Bryan was not nervous at all this time until he realized that first: there were no lines or numbers involved (think paint-by-numbers), and second: the end result had to actually look like a horse – or at least, somewhat like a horse. I kept trying to assure him that he was doing great, but it really was a stretch for him.

The class was small, but filled the room to where it was a tad bit crowded. There were 4 tables with 4 people sitting at each one. We all had an easel with our canvas propped up on it, a glass of water, two paintbrushes, and a paper plate with 8 blobs of paint squirted onto it: dark brown, light brown, white, black, blue, dark yellow, bright yellow and red.

The instructor was called T-Rex, and despite her rather intimidating name was actually a rather petite woman with a braid about as long as my own. She assured us that she would help us create a masterpiece – and then actually proceeded to do just that!

Sometimes her instructions were as easy as “Pick up your round brush and get a dab of white paint on it.” But then sometimes her instructions were a bit less so: “You just kind of swirl it around, blending just a little bit here and there so that the colors look the way you want them to.”

The reason I think my Spirit Horse kicks ass, as they say, is that in the beginning the eye was shaped such that it looked evil to me. T-Rex assured me that once we were through with all the layers we were going to add to it that it would look much better.

She was right – it does look much better.

But I still think the evil is in there, simmering just below the surface.

Where Does The Time Go?

It seems like I have something going on every day, which leaves me with no time to write about anything.

We’ll start with last Thursday: Bryan and I went to a class at one of the local cooking stores called Zucchini’s. It was on Fermenting Vegetables as presented to us by a woman from Lithuania named Gdaiva. Your guess is as good as mine on the proper pronunciation on that name! She was very knowledgeable however, and we had a lot of fun at the class. I am now motivated to try my hand at fermenting Lemons and Cabbage (separately, though – not together) and maybe even some Turnips.

The following day I met up with my niece Lauren at the REI store: she wanted some help picking out a bell for her bicycle. The bells apparently fall completely outside of her hearing range, so she needed somebody who could assure that the chosen one was not too obnoxious and yet still audible enough to alert people to her approach. While standing in line to pay for her new bell, she pulled out a wad of dollar bills from her pocket – but did not seem to appreciate my humor when I accused her of dancing on tables again.

Saturday saw both Bryan and I out in Palmer at Mother’s house where we hooked his computer up to her big screen TV to see pictures of his recent trip to Mongolia. Mother’s friend Kurt was there as well, and we all had a good time discussing the finer points of a horses’ saddle or the proper way to set up a drive net in which to capture wild mountain sheep. From there we headed over to Bryan’s Father’s house (in Wasilla) to do a repeat of the slide show for his family. It was a long day, but a happy one.

Sunday afternoon was fun: Bryan and I went over to the library to join a group who meets there once a month for 4 hours to do crafting! And yes, Bryan came with me. He swears that he had fun making cards with me – and I honestly think he did. The group was a bunch of ladies who were very nice, albeit a tad bit surprised at Bryan being there. I plan on going each month, schedule permitting, since it really is more fun to cut paper with company.

Monday was a nice quiet day, which was good because I got hit with a major migraine on Tuesday. I drove out to Palmer to deliver a proposal to the Borough Building out there (I even got to have lunch with Mother at Turkey Red) and on the way back to Anchorage the sunlight flashing through the trees made me so nauseous I barely made it home. And yes, I went home rather than return to the office.  I was really bummed because I had planned on meeting my niece Lauren at the vet where she was taking her new kitten, but had to cancel. Wednesday was a loss as well; I did go in to work that morning, but had to go home at noon and crawl back in to bed.

Thankfully I woke up Thursday morning with NO HEADACHE! I felt almost giddy, actually; the relief is intoxicating. I felt so good, in fact, I met Bryan at the Midnight Sun Brewery after work for a drink! Have you ever been there? It’s a strange place, tucked back in a nowhere-neighborhood behind Home Depot on Abbott. They serve pretty darned good food, though: I had a grilled peanut butter sandwich!

Which finally brings us to today; I’m eating my soup for lunch (Fire Roasted Tomato Soup base to which I added Swiss Chard, Black Beans, Butternut Squash, and Wheat Harts) and preparing for a site visit out to some VA Housing. After work, Bryan is taking me out to dinner at Sacks 5^th Avenue and then to the Performing Arts Center to see Les Miserables!

I’m so excited!

Honey Honey How You Thrill Me

The Honey Tasting Class last night was awesome.

Summit Spice & Tea is one of my favorite shops: they have just about any kind of spice you can think of, a whole entire wall shelf filled with hundreds of different types of tee, and their Tea Room is a great place to sit with a book and relax over a good cup of tea and a sweet something. They offer many different classes: Tea Tastings, Chocolate Tastings, Oil & Vinegar Tastings, that sort of thing. This was their first Honey Tasting, and it was a really good class.

There were 4 tables set up for the class, seating 8 per table. Each place setting had 6 different honeys to try with a coordinating information sheet to go with them. We got to talk with a local honey farmer - Joe Dunham: owner OF Alaska Honey, Pollen & Comb (AKHPC) - who explained the dynamics of a hive, the life cycle of a bee, and how honey is made.

We even got to go shopping afterwards with a 15% off coupon in case we wanted to pick up our favorite honey from the class. I had intended to get a jar of raw honey (I infuse it with lemon and ginger for my teas at home) but ended up getting a Meadowfoam Honey made by Bee Raw (soft and sweet with notes of caramelized custard and a hint of burnt sugar) instead. It was my absolute favorite.

The other ones we tried were: Fireweed Honey by AKHPC, Wilelaiki Blossoms by Big Island Bees, Macadamia Blossom by Big Island Bees, Spun Honey by AKHPC (this one was my second favorite – it tasted like liquid taffy!) and Whole Honey Comb by AKHPC.

One interesting thing we learned is that bees actually make 6 different marketable products, or substances: not just honey – which everybody is familiar with – but also wax, pollen, royal jelly, venom, and propolis (the "stuff" they use to coat the entrance to their hive).

What a Great Weekend!

My friend Bryan came and picked me up Friday night for a bowl of Alaskan Seafood Chowder at Suite 100. They not only make the best chowder in town, but they also make a pretty darned good Lemon Drop as well (the Yuzu Lemondrop: a Japanese lemon, quality Ketel One vodka and a sugared rim).

I would also say they make really good bread, too; except they have it delivered up from outside. It is good, but I don’t know why they have it delivered when there are so many good bakeries right here in Anchorage.

Anyway, Bryan had just gotten home from his trip to Mongolia so I spent a good hour or two happily listening to his stories and eating my dinner.

Once we finished our desert (Croissant Pudding: studded with chocolate chunks and served warm with bourbon sauce) we headed on downtown to the Egan Center for our concert = Mark Chestnut! What a great concert that was! The opening act was beyond lame, but Mark more than made up for it. Makes me want to go out and buy a Mark Chestnut CD!

I got to sleep in a bit Saturday morning: Bryan politely waited until 11:00 before showing up at my doorstep. We ate a late breakfast – which I somehow managed to both undercook AND burn, both at the same time. We ate anyway, then headed off to the store to get some supplies (furnace filters, hardware to hang shelving, register plates for my new floor, that sort of thing). Apparently, remodeling my house is an on-going thing: I’m still not done!

We were both pretty worn out when we got back to my house, so we just popped a movie in the DVD player (Jaws!) and I made some cards while he organized his Mongolia pictures. We got hungry again around 4:30 so headed out to the Long Branch for a burger.

Sunday was another lazy morning, just snuggling with my Thing and listening to the rain outside; but Bryan was back at my doorstep around noon to tackle the house this time.

We got the wall map and several pictures hung up in my bedroom; all the floor registers switched out (replaced the old metal ones with new wooden ones); the shelving put back up for all of my antique figurines; and got my jewelry racks hung up in the bathroom.

We watched another movie (The Man from Earth) then had an early dinner of fresh Silver Salmon, Rice, Broccoli, and some of Mother’s Homemade Bread.

Then I kicked him out and read my book until going to bed.

Not a bad weekend at all, I’m thinking!

Performances Around Town

I have so many things to look forward to this winter, I’m almost not sorry to see it coming hard at us already this year. 

And how wonderful is it that I have somebody to go with me to all of these!

7-Oct-14    Polar Obsession

10-Oct-14  Mark Chesnutt    

24-Oct-14  Les Misérables

29-Oct-14  Tim McGraw

18-Nov-14  The Lens of Adventure

5-Dec-14    Celtic Woman

28-Dec-14  A Christmas Carol

13-Jan-15   Rovers of the Red Planet

21-Feb-15  Steep Canyon Rangers

3-Mar-15    Connect with Anybody, Anywhere

7-Mar-15    African Guitar Summit

17-Apr-15  Jesse Cook

Not One of My Finer Moments

I was sitting up in the library last night, watching a movie and making my cards, when the doorbell rang. I fumbled around till I found the remote to turn the movie off, and then ran to get the door.

No one was there!

So, I’m standing there saying to myself, “Oh God… please tell me I did not just do that.”

Sure enough: I went back upstairs and turned the movie back on to see Whip Dalton (aka: William Peterson) open his door to the people of Graves Point who came asking him to hunt down the giant squid that has been terrorizing their fishing grounds.

Back Again

I realized the other day that it had been quite some time since I last posted anything on my Blog. I don’t have a good excuse, really, other than that life just has a way of getting the best of you at times.

I have had a wonderful summer: hiking, camping, road trips, exciting activities, family gatherings, crafting parties, working out at the gym… you name it, I’ve probably done it.

I even remodeled my house: new flooring, new paint (inside and out), a new bay window, some wall repair work. I absolutely love the end result, but wow – that was an agonizingly stressful 3 weeks.

Anyway, hopefully I will be posting more often. Feel free to leave comments whenever the mood strikes you!

The Obituary

Jannen Louis Amgwert, 82, passed away Thursday night January 9.

The only child of the late Henry and Esther Amgwert, he was born in Omaha, Nebraska on October 19, 1931. After serving his military duty with the Army he moved to Colorado where he married and started his family.

“Jack” spent most of his life around horses, sported a handle-bar mustache and smoked a pipe in true cowboy fashion. He was joint-owner of The Westerner in Ft. Collins, an avid shooter all his life and an accomplished marksman.

In the early 1970’s he packed up his family and moved up north to Alaska, bought a little log cabin on the river in Palmer, and settled down. Eventually he moved in to Anchorage where he lived for the rest of his life.

He is survived by his 5 children: Stewart, Kelly, Noel, Ruth, and Reed. He is also survived by 7 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made in his name to Seward Mountain Haven (907-224-5241). 

Why Not, Continued

I had so much fun with the whole “Why Not” concept last year that I’ve decided to continue with it this year!

Basically, it goes this way:

I’m reading the papers or surfing the web, when I see an ad for something and say to myself “Wow, that looks interesting! I would like to do that.”

And then I say, “Why not!” and so I do it!

Already this year, I have myself booked for a flight seeing tour of Ruth Glacier (I mean, come on! How could I not do that one?), another Pie Making Trip to Talkeetna (I had so much fun last year, Why Not?), Rock Climbing lessons, a Horse Back Riding trip, a 4-hour cooking class, a camping trip out at the Kennecott Mine, and a Glacier Trek with Zip Line.

Most exciting, however, is that I am going to a Scrapbooking Convention for 3 days in Seattle!

WooHoo!

Appreciation on Both Sides

On the one-year anniversary of my neck surgery, I sent a Thank You card to Dr. Kralick for a job well done. I included a picture of my neck showing him that I barely have a scar at all, as well as my records of the procedure: dealing with insurance, keeping track of all the people who played a part in it, all of the costs involved, and documenting my progress in healing – because I thought perhaps he’d be interested in the other side of the equation.

And I never heard a word from them. Did they get my card or not? I never knew…

Until today! Today, I got a phone call from a lady that works at Anchorage Neurosurgical Associates, Inc. saying that she was putting together a new web site for them and was asking if she could use what I had written on that card as a testimonial on their site! 

Apparently, they not only GOT the card, but really liked it, too!

I have to admit: I’m feeling all kinds of warm & fuzzy over this whole affair.

And of course, I said yes.

Body Parts, Insurance, and Rental Cars

So, last time I talked about my car wreck I left you hanging as to when the whole thing was going to get resolved.

Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you that. I can tell you that the parts required to fix the car came in earlier than expected, so I am to drop the car off at the body shop tomorrow. Today, I called the Rental Car place and reserved a replacement car for the duration (estimated to be around 4 days). A friend of mine is going to help me drop off my car at the body shop and go pick up the rental car at their place, so it should go smoothly.

As far as insurance is concerned, things are not going as well. The guy was driving a company vehicle, so my insurance has been trying to work with them on a solution to the whole problem, but they have been rather un-responsive so my insurance has passed my claim on to the “next level” so they can “pursue it more aggressively”

Whatever that means.

Actually, I know what that means. That means I get to pay for everything up front and wait for reimbursement somewhere down the road when things finally get resolved.

But at least my car will be fixed and good as new again.

My Christmas Day was fabulous!

I woke up around 8:00 ish, and snuggled with my girls for a while. Then went downstairs and did some stuff on the computer. Around 9:30 I put all my cold weather gear on and headed outside to deliver gifts to my neighbors – but had to make a bit of an unexpected detour to avoid the Moose that’s been hanging around the neighborhood lately. Apparently she was helping herself to a Christmas Meal consisting of my neighbor’s expensive shrubbery.

Once I got all those packages handed out (and even got a Christmas Hug) I headed on down to Palmer.

Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous drive that was! The entire way I kept having to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road because they kept wanting to stray off to take in the view! Thankfully, there was not a whole lot of traffic on the roads. The temperature was WAY down, like in the minus-twenties – so everything was Crispy Cold and Clear Blue.

I arrived at my sister house with plenty of time to hand out gifts, open the ones received, and help out with cooking the meal and setting the table. I even got to chat with Lauren for a while before everybody showed up.

Our guests for Christmas Day were: Stewart & Julie (my brother and his wife), Martha & Henry (Noel’s in-laws), Katy & Daren (my niece and her boyfriend), Lauren & myself, and Noel & Hank (my sister and her husband). The meal consisted of Prime Rib and King Crab, with green beans and mashed potatoes. For desert, Martha brought Pumpkin Pie & Pecan Pie.

After stuffing myself full of crab (sorry, Prime Rib is NOT my thing) I headed over to Mother’s house. She is sick with a cold, so I found her on her couch with a kitty, a blanket, and a book. We chatted for a little while, but I left fairly soon after – both to give her time to rest, and to get me home while it’s still daylight.

I spent the rest of the evening watching movies, snuggling with my girls, and making cards.

The PERFECT holiday.

Oops!

I got a text from my sister the other day saying: Did anybody get Ruthie a strainer?

I replied with this text: Not yet, but I really need one.

To which she replied: Oh pooh. That was supposed to be for Lauren!

Imagine my surprise come Christmas Morning when I opened my gift and discovered – You guessed it!

A strainer!

Vehicular Incident

I’m alright – nothing to worry about. But I did have an incident today.

I was driving south (towards Girdwood) on the Old Seward around 1:00 this afternoon. Just as I went through the intersection of O’Malley the back end of the truck in front of me popped open and a car battery flew out and hit me in the front, down low. My car then bounced over it and drug it underneath me for quite a while before it worked its way out.

The driver of the truck had no clue that anything had happened, so I followed him to his destination (he was taking a load of scrap metal and old batteries to Total Reclaim for recycling). He was very nice, very polite, and took responsibility right away. He gave me his name and phone number as well as his company’s name and phone number (he was driving the company vehicle) and told me that he would pay whatever it took to fix my car.

At that time, I had no idea what or even if any damage had been done, so I took it immediately to Kendall Toyota and had them look at it for me. Turns out, there was damage: the front grille was popped out, the bumper has a thumb-sized dent with chipped paint, the skid plate right behind the bumper has two or three very large dents/cracks, the oil pan is dented – but not yet cracked, and battery acid was sprayed all over the undercarriage of my car.

The mechanic washed all the acid off and then advised me on what I should do to fix it. The estimate he wrote up for my insurance company is for $533.50 plus $55.60 for the estimate. I still have to take it to a body shop to see how much it will take for them to fix the bumper, but I’m guessing it will be another $500.00 or so.

While at the shop, I called my insurance company and filed a claim. Once I got home, I went on-line and filled out an accident report with the police. Tomorrow I will call the body shop and see what they tell me. THEN I will call the guy and let him know what’s going on.

Hopefully, this will continue to go smoothly and not have any unpleasantness or I shall have to eat a lot of cookies.

Who Needs a Smartphone?

At dinner the other day, my brother went to look something up on his phone only to discover that the battery had run down.

So, he turned to me and said “Herman Melville”

And I replied, “Moby Dick”

A while later, amid all the chaos that two toddlers can create at the dinner table, he turned to me again and said “The Old Man and The Sea”

And I replied, “Ernest Hemingway”

He then looked at his wife and said, “Who needs a smart phone anyway? I have my sister!”

Winter is Here

Walking back to my house from the mailbox the other day, I came across some broken glass in front of my neighbor’s house.

In disgust, I said to myself, “Oh my gosh – would you look at that. How awful that they can’t even keep their own driveway clean.”

It actually took me several minutes to figure out that it wasn't broken glass at all: it was ice. The puddle had frozen over and then broke apart when they drove through it.

It’s going to be a weird winter, I’m thinking.

Just A Swangin!

Back in the mid-80s John Anderson came out with a song called “Swingin”

There's a little girl, in our neighborhood.
Her name is Charlotte Johnson, and she's really lookin' good.
I had to go and see her, so I called her on the phone.
I walked over to her house, and this was goin' on.

Her brother was on the sofa, eatin' chocolate pie.
Momma was in the kitchen, cuttin' chicken up to fry.
Daddy was in the backyard, rollin' up a garden hose.
I was on the porch with Charlotte, feelin' love down to my toes.
and we were swingin' (swingin')
yes we were swingin' (swingin')

You know that one I’m talking about? I hated it. I mean, I really hated it. He sings it with a nasally, twangy voice that just grated on my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard. All I had to hear was the first few notes of the song, and I’d switch stations immediately.

Fast forward about 30+ years to last night, and I found myself at the Egan Center listening to none other than John Anderson live on stage.

It’s Mother’s fault – she bought the tickets as a donation to the Fraternal Order of the Alaska State Troopers (affectionately known as FOAST) and then gave them to me. I agreed to take them before I knew who it was I was supposed to go see.

I actually had a pretty good time, despite that horrible song – apparently, he had numerous other hits as well that weren't nearly as annoying (although he does sing them all with that voice…). And I have to admit: the man can play a guitar! Damn, he is good. He also puts on a good show, too – joking and telling stories in between the hits.

His opener was really good. I had never heard of Thom Bresh before, but now I do believe I’ll have to look him up and see if I can get a CD or two. He is what they call a Thumb Picker (“Not to be confused with a Nose Picker.” he said) which is a style of picking the guitar that makes it sound like three different instruments (drums, a base - one of those big violin-looking things, and guitar) all at the same time.

Wish I Had A Job Like That

As most of you already know, I had the opportunity to participate in the Denali Road Lottery this year. I’m currently working on a write-up for it to be added to my Travels page on my website. 

 

In the meantime, I crunched a few numbers… Wow! The Denali Road Lottery really pays off for the park!

 

According to what they told me, 9,340 people entered the lottery at $10.00 each.

 

That’s $93,000.00

 

They awarded 1,600 “winners” charging them $25.00 each.

 

That’s another $40,000.00

 

Only 1,420 actually participated however. Assume 2 people per car (could be more, though) at the park entrance fee of $10.00 per person.

 

That’s another $28,400.00

 

That’s at least an overall $1,618,000.00 for the park!

 

Which doesn't even include the fees you have to pay to camp there: The fee I paid was $44.00 – multiply that out by 1,420.

 

That’s an additional $62,480.00 for a grand total of a whopping $1,680,480.00

 

Assuming, of course, they all stayed inside the park and that each campground cost the same – which I’m pretty sure they do not.

Go Shopping!

Quite some time ago, I was “approached” – via email – and asked to write a posting on a company that I’d never heard of. Apparently, they got my name and contact information from a post I had written about Women for Women International – a company I not only have heard about but stand behind 100%. It is also a company THEY stand behind 100% - hence their contact with me.

Anyway, the company in question is called Uncommon Goods (www.uncommongoods.com). After doing a bit of research on them, I find them to be a very interesting company. They sell “handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment and without harm to animals or people.”  

We can certainly use more of that objective in the world!

Here is a quote taken from the PR material they sent me:

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, UncommonGoods is a privately-owned retailer that endeavors to feature unique designs and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment and without harm to animals or people. We run all our operations out of the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal, including our warehouse where the lowest-paid seasonal worker starts at 50% above the minimum wage. We make it our mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers; in fact, half of what we sell is made by hand. Most of the products we carry are created right here in the USA, and about one-third of our entire collection incorporates recycled and/or upcycled materials. At the core of our company is a great respect for the integrity of the creative individual and the belief that it is our responsibility to use our business to impact the world in a positive way.

Getting back to the connection with Women for Women International and the whole reason I was contacted: Uncommon Goods has a program they call Better to Give. Just go to their website and do your shopping as usual. In the check-out stage, you will be given an opportunity to request that a donation be made in your name to charity.

Again, here’s a quote I’m taking directly from their PR material:

Better to Give: As an independently-owned business, we have the freedom to support causes we believe in and to impact the world in a positive way. With every purchase you make, we’re proud to donate $1 to the non-profit of your choice. Since we started the Better to Give program 12 years ago, we’ve donated over $300,000 to charities around the world!

Currently, they have four charities to choose from:

• RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

• American Forests protects and restores forests worldwide, helping to preserve the health of our planet for the benefit of its inhabitants.

• Women for Women International provides women survivors of war with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.

• City Harvest strives to end hunger in communities throughout New York City through food rescue, distribution, and education.

With Christmas just around the corner – perhaps now is a good time to check this out.

Go Shopping!