Stewart's Niche

My sister and I worked with the City of Palmer to get a niche for Stewart. We got a 12x12 box with an engraved marker listing his name & birth/death dates, along with a picture of him.

The wall is at the Palmer Pioneer Cemetery just across from the airport. It’s a very nice spot, with a bench where you can sit to talk to him.

We had a family gathering a few weeks back to place some of his ashes into the niche. Noel read a poem and Tabi gave him a picture she had drawn.

It was a very nice “service” and I think he would be happy with his spot. He has a grand view of Pioneer Mountain, one of his favorites.

Fishing The Kenai

Back in July I wrote about winning a drawing for a Fishing Trip on the Kenai River. Well, finally – after a lot more difficulty than there should have been – we actually got to go on the trip.

The trip itself was a good one: I mean, who can complain when you’re floating down a peaceful river with a pole in the water? The fishing sucked, however. The fish just were not there. We spent a good 6 hours and only had two bites: one trout (Bryan caught that one) and one salmon (I caught that one). We had to throw the trout back (it was a small one anyway) but the salmon is in our freezer now!

But I’m not complaining – it was fun to see Bryan doing what he loves to do. The two other people on the boat were very nice, too, and our guide was very good at his job.

My Friend Ellen

When I went to Key West recently for a friend’s wedding, I got to stay at Ellen’s house! Ellen and I met a few years ago when we both went on the Earthwatch Expedition in Arizona to study the Forest owls. We’ve been emailing back & forth ever since.

She went above & beyond friendship, in my opinion! She picked me up at the airport. She chauffeured me around the island for all the wedding events. She took me to visit the Wildlife Refuge where she volunteers most of her time. She took me all over the island so I could see how beautiful it was. Most importantly, she gave me a room in her house and let me stay there for an entire week.

Honestly, I am so very thankful for all she did for me!

Sarah's Wedding

Back about 15 years ago, I got a random email from a girl named Sarah who was writing a book about Voluntourism and wanted to talk to me about my experiences with Earthwatch. At that time, I had two expeditions under my belt, and may have already been planning my third. Turns out, Sarah was really nice – so we started chatting about other stuff; just whatever was going on with our lives at the moment. It’s always nice to have a friend you can talk to.

Fast forward to 6 months ago, and I get an email from Sarah asking me to attend her wedding on September 18 down in Florida. Honestly, it was the sweetest email I think I’ve ever gotten. In it, she said that even though we’d never actually met face-to-face, she considered me her best friend and she really wanted me to be there on her special day. How could I say “No” to that?

So I booked a ticket to Key West!

As luck would have it, I just happened to have a friend, Ellen, from one of my Earthwatch Expeditions (Forest Owls of Arizona) who lives in Key West. When I asked her to give me recommendations on lodging, she wrote back informing me that I would be staying at HER house! Ellen was kind enough to even chauffeur me around the island: to meet Sarah for the first time EVER at a café a few days prior to the big event, for the Pre-Wedding Dinner, and to the Wedding itself.

This trip was way, WAY out of my comfort zone: meeting a complete stranger and attending her wedding! But it was really nice – and I’m happy to say that Sarah is as nice as I always thought she was.

No Plastic - Dishwasing Tabs

My newest effort in reducing plastic in my life focuses on the Dishwasher. I have found the following two products. Each contain no plastic at all, and each come in a biodegradable/recyclable container.

The first one is by a company called Beyond. This tab is formulated to get your dishes clean, yet is still safe & environmentally friendly. 

The second one is by the same company I get my laundry detergent from: Earth Breeze. These were given to me as a gift, so I honestly don't know where to get them from. I looked on their website but did not see the product listed. I have to say, my OCD likes the packaging - nice, neat columns and rows of tablets, all evenly lined up.

I have yet to try either of these as I still had some of the more traditional ones to use up first. I will let you know how it goes! 

Antiques

My maternal grandmother was born in the early 1900s or late 1890s. At the age of 16, her father bought her this figurine for just 25 cents. I don’t know the occasion for the gift, but I do know she treasured it. I somehow ended up with it and it is now proudly displayed in our curio cabinet.

This clock came from the other side of our family, originally from Sweeden/Germany. We have somehow managed to keep the original glass dome, too. It is proudly displayed in our curio cabinet also.

My Cousin Anna

My cousin Anna and her husband John came up a few weeks ago: it was great getting to visit with them!

Noel and Hank came over Friday night for dinner of Moose Stew and fresh caught Salmon. Then Bryan took his father and John out fishing at Jim Creek early the next morning, getting back just in time to cook us all some Sourdough Pancakes.

Saturday afternoon, we all headed up to Kelly’s house for a big family BBQ where everyone got a chance to visit with them, and they got to meet the newest member of the family.

Annalise stole the show, of course.

Granit Point Weekend Get-Away

Bryan and I spent a fabulous weekend out at the Granit Point Mountain Lodge where we rented a dry cabin for 5-days/4-nights. The cabin was perched high up on a cliff overlooking the oceans far below.

We had the place pretty much to ourselves the first night, then two more couples moved in for the weekend. They left before we did, though, so we had the last night to ourselves as well.

The cabin was nice, with a well-stocked kitchen and a comfortable bed. I made good use of the couch out on the porch, reading my book(s) and drinking my tea. We had to haul our own water and firewood, but that wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought it would be.

One morning a little ermine came to join us for breakfast – and one afternoon we watched a humpback whale and her calf play for hours out in the bay. Fish were jumping like crazy in the cove, so Bryan had a good time fishing. I did a bit of beachcombing and got to see several fat purple sea stars, numerous sea urchins, and even a few jellies washed up onto the beach.

It was a wonderful get-away and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Update On My Life Without Plastic

Back in March of 2021, I wrote a post about my attempts to live with less plastic: I think it’s time to update my progress!

The laundrydetergent I’m using is awesome: I love it. It’s very easy to use, cleans my clothes just as well as the “normal” detergent, and uses way less space in my cupboard (and in the landfill). I can highly recommend it!

The Blueland cleaners, however, turned out to be no good. They did not clean well at all and I ended up throwing it all away. I did keep the squirt-bottles (can’t bear to throw away plastic) so now I can use them for other purposes, but I do not recommend this product at all.

I did go ahead and try the HiBar shampoo & conditioner, and I really like it. I’m not very fond of the smell, but honestly that’s not that big of a deal. I like the product, like how my hair looks & feels, and - as long as I store the bars in a dry place when not in use - they last a good, long time.

Another product I wanted to tell you about is the Crystal Body Deodorant. I’ve been using this product for well over 6 years now and am so happy with it. It works very well, although it is weird to wipe a wet rock under your arm each morning. This rock is 100% natural mineral salts with no chemicals, perfumes, dyes or parabens and does not stain clothing. I’m not to thrilled with the fact that it comes with a little plastic dish – but since the rock lasts almost forever (unless you drop it and it shatters – like I did once) at least you’re not buying a new plastic container every 6 months as you would if you still used the more tradition deodorants.

I Don't Even Know What To Say

Some time ago, I signed up for a daily newsletter called BUILDER PULSE. This newsletter is full of articles from builders across the country announcing their grand openings, reviews on new products and tools, sample floor plans, and market trends. 

This week, a company called Beazer Homes announced a grand opening in Las Vegas for a planned community. The opening sentence reads: “The community will feature 46 single-family homes on a 6-acre site located near the I-515 freeway.”

Think about that for a moment. 46 single-family homes. On a 6-acre site. That’s more than 7 houses PER ACRE!

I’m appalled.

The Palmer Wine Walk

The Palmer Wine Walk was this past Friday, and I joined my friends Heather and Tammy for a fun evening of wine & conversation. It’s hosted by the Palmer Museum and a bunch of the local shops around town.

Entrants to the Wine Walk all got a wrist band that allowed them 8 pours along with a beautifully hand-painted wine glass they got to keep. I was the designated driver so did not drink anything (my head doesn’t like wine, anyway). Each stop along the route offered up a glass of wine paired with some tasty tidbits.

We started off at 5:00 and ended up quitting early at 8:30 so Heather could go pick up her daughter. We thoroughly enjoyed walking around town and visiting all the little shops along the way, some of which we’d never been to before. It was a lot of walking, too! All the way from one end of town to the other and then back again.

We had a great time, and are already making room on our calendars for next year’s walk.