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! 

Really Don’t Like This

I've put off writing this in hopes that something would magically occur to make the words unnecessary; but that hasn't happened yet, and isn't likely to happen any time soon – so I’ll just have to bite the bullet and face the facts.  

I can’t go to Thailand next year.

The house needs a new roof and a new driveway, and there’s simply no way I can afford all of that and a trip on top of it all. I’m doing amazingly well financially speaking, but not THAT well.

It’s not that I’m canceling the whole idea entirely, though: I just have to postpone it indefinitely. Someday I’ll get there; I just need to keep saving my money until I get enough saved up again. And I can use the extra time to study up some more on archaeology and history, too!

Who Thinks Up These Things?

At work the other day, we were putting together a color board for a project we’re finishing up on with samples of all the paints, carpets, wall coverings, and whatnot.

The architect handed me a sample of the wood trim that would be used and asked me to go through the paint chips and find a good match, so I settled in at my desk and got to work.

Our paint chips are in a big box and are filed in order of color gradient, making it somewhat easy to at least start out in the right place. Once you get close, it’s just a matter of going one by one to see if it looks good or not.

As I was going through it, however, I was struck by some of the names I came across.

Ambitious Amber

Humble Gold

Compatible Cream

Afterglow

Who thinks up these things, anyway? And how would you put that on your resume? 

The Deal of the Century

I went out for a bit of shopping this weekend and ended up at Sports Authority. I needed some new hiking socks so wound my way down to the shoe isle, which just happens to have a really good sale isle as well. So of course, I had to check that out – and I actually found a pair of sandals that I liked, but they didn't have a price tag on them.

Luckily a salesperson was nearby, so I asked if he could find out the price for me. We walked up to the front and he waved the magic wand over them.

And then he waved the magic wand over them again.

And then he walked over to a computer and started punching in all sorts of numbers.

And THEN he called his manager to come to the front desk. Once the manager got there, they told me what was going on.

Seems the shoes apparently cost $9,000.00!

But they were kind enough to mark them down to $24.99 for me…

Weekend Getaway

I had the best weekend ever recently – I swear, it felt like an actual vacation. I felt so rejuvenated and refreshed when I got home afterwards. It was totally awesome.

Several months ago, I got myself a Groupon for a private cabin at the Knik River Lodge (50% one night’s stay) and another Groupon for a helicopter tour of the nearby Knik Glacier (50% off a half-hour tour). I posted on facebook about it, and my friend Marlene asked if she could join me.

The funny part of that was that she was in Panama at the time! The world is so small… and yet so big, all at the same time.

Anyway, we coordinated our schedules and got our reservations all worked out – and last weekend we set out on our adventure.

www.knikriverlodge.com

The drive out there was just gorgeous. Alaska really is a spectacular place, even when you've been here as long as I have. You just never get tired of it.

We left my house about 10:00 and got to the lodge around 11:00 or so. Our check in time wasn't until 3:00, so we took off on foot to hike the trails nearby. The mosquitoes were horrendous, as they are everywhere this year – but we had plenty of bug dope, so didn't get too many bites. After our hike we still had a little bit of time to wait, so we lay out on their lawn and dozed off for a bit, watched the people come and go, and saw the helicopters come in & take off.

Eventually, we got settled in to our cabin – just in time to head on down to their dining hall, which was in a Yurt! Our meal was absolutely wonderful: I had the salmon, she had the halibut. After dinner, we sat out on our private deck with a bottle of wine and watched the scenery as the sun slowly set. Well, actually we didn't stay up late enough to see it go down – but it did get slightly dusky by the time we went to bed.

9:00 the next morning saw us bright eyed and bushy tailed at the helicopter pad, waiting for our tour. This was my first ever experience in a helicopter, and I had such a fantastic time.

Helicopters Rock!

Our pilot was a very nice guy; retired cop and long-time Alaskan. He was very proud of his helicopter and kept calling it “the Corvette” meaning that it was a very fine craft. He took us out to the glacier and landed on the ice so we could get out and walk around a bit. He even collected some ice water for us to drink, and explained the history of ice (how it forms, why it’s actually blue, that sort of stuff). Once we were in the air again, he took us over to Colony Glacier so we could see Lake George, then flew down near the mouth of the Knik River so we could see the ice bergs.

Sadly the tour ended, so we checked out of our cabin and headed on down the road to Palmer. We stopped a couple times along the way to see the sights and ended up at Vagabonds for lunch. I showed her around town, taking her to the visitor’s center, the Presbyterian Church, the Half Moon Creek Gallery, NonEssentials, Fireside Books, and the second hand store. And to top off our visit, we ended up at Mother’s house and got a tour of her gardens.

It really was a great weekend.

Whew – So Much Going On

I've been so bad at updating my blog lately; life just somehow gets away from you if you’re not paying attention, you know? So, here’s a short summary for you:

Hiring a Handyman

When he left me, he left a lot of things half-done – so I hired a handyman to finish up a few things around the house. I had the guy fix the fence that had blown down in that big wind storm last year, install the door handle onto my screen door, take out the broken-down dish washer and put in new flooring & a curtain rod so I could create a “recycling center” in my kitchen, install a new garbage disposal unit in my sink, and fix the trash compactor. The guy did a great job and was very reasonably priced, so I will definitely keep his contact information handy for future use. Maybe I can get him to paint the inside even?

Classes at Summit Spice & Tea

I had such fun with the other classes I took last year I went ahead and signed up for some more this year – I even talked my niece in to going with me to a couple of them! She and I have already gone to the Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar class and will soon be attending the Infused Oil & Vinegar class. For myself, I will be going to both the Tea & Chocolate Pairings and the Flavored Chocolate classes.

Hiking This Year

I've written out a rather aggressive schedule for myself this year, but I think it will be a fun one. I am not required to do them all, nor am I required to hike all the way to the end of each one – my list is more an inspiration. But, so far I’ve gone on the Coastal Trail, the Smokejumper’s Trail, Powerline Pass, The Dew Mound Trail, Thunderbird Falls, The Butte, and out at the Knik River Lodge. Still left to go on the list is Ptarmigan Lake, Bird Ridge, Lost Lake, Turnagain Arm Trail, Gold Mint Trail, Johnson Pass, Winner Creek, and Resurrection Pass.

A New Roof

I decided to replace the roof on my house this year, even though it’s not leaking just yet. It’s old (30+ years) though, so really it’s time for a new one – and it’s a lot cheaper to replace it now rather than wait for it to be an actual problem, if you know what I mean. So, with that in mind, I called a company I’ve worked with before and asked them for an estimate. I was rather shocked when their estimate came in at $20,000.00 for a new roof - so got estimates from five other companies, all of whom came in around the $6,000.00 mark. Quite obviously, I chose one of the later companies, and will not be using that first one ever again! Anyway, I put a deposit down and the guy said they’d be starting my roof in a couple weeks.

A New Driveway too?

My driveway is slowing sliding down the hill. It started out, about 10 years ago, being right up next to my garage – but today you can actually put your fist into the gap that is forming, it’s slid that much. So I called the company who did the driveway back when, and he came out to inspect it and see what could be done. He actually had some good news, for a change. Apparently there is a warranty on my driveway that is still in effect! He is crunching some numbers for me right now, but said that if it went the way he thought it would go, he’d actually end up paying ME to fix my driveway! How sweet is that?

Friends Coming to Visit

I was so excited to learn that my good friend Joanna would be in town this month. About 6 years ago, she and her husband relocated to Australia – and I've really missed her. Sadly, I ended up getting sick the weekend they were here. What horrible timing! I did manage to see her briefly, and got a hug even, but I would rather have been able to spend more time. Another good friend of mine will be visiting next month: Shelly comes in for the July 4^th weekend. She’s actually going to stay with me for a few days, so we’ll get lots of time to reconnect. I’m so happy!

One Year Ago

It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year already: I had my Neck Surgery on June 22, 2012. I have healed up so well, with hardly a scar at all. I sent a Thank You card to my doctor even – with a picture of my neck so he could see for himself how good he is!

Shopping Spree

Once again this year, my insurance company offered up an incentive to participate in their wellness program: $150.00 debit card to spend on anything you want. I see no reason to turn down free money, so again took the tests they requested.

Honestly, I don’t see why the entire office doesn't do this: not only are the tests required fully covered by our insurance – all you have to pay is the $25 Office Visit Copay – but we would get a discount on our premiums if we got 100% participation! And you really do get that $150.00 debit card that you really can spend anywhere you like.

Last year, I went shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond for new bed linens. This year, I went online to Amazon.com and got myself some toys for my card making hobby:

     Sizzix Big Shot Cutting and Embossing Roller Style Die-Cut Machine

     Spellbinders Grand Shapeabilities Templates: Wonderful Wings

     Spellbinders Nestabilities Mega Dies: Labels

     Cuttlebug All-in-One Embossing Plates: Bloom & Grow

Yay! I’m so excited – I've wanted one of these for quite some time now, and the templates I chose will be so much fun to play with.

And by the way, if you'd like to receive one of my hand made cards in the mail - send me your mailing address!

I Won Again!

I was so excited about winning that last contest by radio station 102.1 The Peak (a pair of tickets to a Jazz show at the PAC) I went ahead and entered in their next contest = and won again!

This time I have two tickets for the Portage Glacier Cruise, good through September 15, on board the mv Ptarmigan. I looked it up on the internet and found that it will be an awesome trip. I plan on making a day of it, of course.

In late July or early August my friend Marlene and I will drive out there, taking our time to appreciate all the beautiful scenery along the way. We’ll take the cruise and have fun out on the water. We’ll eat a picnic lunch out of the back of our car. We’ll hike the trails nearby, possibly the Trail of Blue Ice or the Byron Glacier Trail. And on the way home, we’ll even stop in at the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center for a drive-through.

I Won! I Won!

I actually won tickets in a radio contest!

Well, actually it was a Facebook contest - but it was for a local radio station (thank you KDBZ-FM 101.2 The Peak). And honestly, I had forgotten that I even entered until I got a call from them telling me I'd won!

The tickets were for the Monterey Jazz Festival, featuring Dee Dee Bridgwater with the vocals, Christian McBride on the Bass (the big violin-looking thing), Benny Green on the piano, Chris Potter on the saxophone, and Ambrose Akinmusire on the trumpet.

What a show! Dee Dee has the most amazing voice; all the musicians were quite good, but I must admit I do love a good sax player.

Marlene and I also got to go to the Pre-Party ahead of the show, held at SubZero. They had free appetizers and special drinks, so we sat and chatted for a while, while listening to some local jazz players.

What an Awesome Surprise!

I stopped in at the bank on Saturday to cash a check. The teller at the window was very friendly, so we chatted for a while.

Apparently, she is VERY friendly = I actually got a birthday card in the mail from her last night! She had seen on my account that it was coming up soon, so got a Wells Fargo card and wrote on it for me!

Is that sweet, or what!

Tai Chi

Tai Chi is a meditative martial art based on softness and awareness rather than force and resistance. It is a series of movements practiced at a slow, rhythmic speed that promote relaxation, calm the emotions, focus the mind, strengthen the immune system and improve balance.

I have always been fascinated by this practice – and finally decided to give it a try. There are numerous reasons why now is a good time: namely I thought this would be a great form of physical therapy to continue healing after my surgeries! Also they were running a special deal on the first month’s membership – so I figured why not!

That seems to be my motto lately: Why Not!

Why not take a pottery class?

Why not go to Talkeetna on the train for a pie making class?

Why not pose for an artist?

Why not sign up for Yoga & Tai Chi at Spirit Path Yoga?

I am so enjoying myself! I’m sure I look like a complete idiot out there, since I have no idea what I’m doing, but I don’t mind. It’s fun and it gets me out of the house. My teacher keeps assuring me it will get easier as time goes by.

There were four other “newbies” when I went to my first class, but I seem to be the only one to come back for more. The rest of the class has been practicing together for several months, so they are very coordinated and look like they know what they’re doing.

Who knows, by the time I head off to Thailand for my archaeology expedition I just might be good enough to be able to practice on my own!

As an added incentive, the teacher mentioned something about her teacher going to Thailand himself to give a few classes over there: maybe I can stay over an extra day or two to learn from a real master? I need to look in to that possibility further.

Things Are Looking Up

My weekend-getaway to the Knik River Lodge has some further developments to report: I’m really getting excited about it!

First: I was talking to a friend about my plans and mentioned that I really would like to take a helicopter tour while I’m there but it’s just too darned expensive so cannot justify taking one. They charge $325.00 for the tour which includes a 30 minutes helicopter flight, glacier landing, complimentary hot drinks, and the use of non-slip overboots for the guided tour on the glacier itself. BUT – as luck would have it – I managed to find a Groupon special for only $159.00 (over half off) and thought “Why Not!”

So, now I’m going on a helicopter tour!

Second: I posted a link on my facebook page about it and my friend Marlene saw it and offered to go with me. Now I have a traveling companion to share this experience with! She is in Panama at the moment, but should be home soon so we can coordinate our schedules and book our cabin.

This just keeps getting better and better!

Painting My Birdhouse

At the beginning of March, as you might remember, I signed up for a pottery class at the Clay Owen Studios where I made a birdhouse. When I finished making it, Autumn – the owner – told me it would have to set awhile to dry out before it could be fired. She said she would give me a call within the next week or so to let me know when it was time to come in and glaze it before the final firing.

Well, life being the way it is, she forgot. Actually, I did to – until the other day, when I finally contacted her to ask what was going on. She apologized and said it was definitely ready for me – so I made an appointment and scheduled myself the perfect day to go in.

That was today! I headed on down to her studio after work and spent a very pleasant 2 hours carefully painting my creation.

There was one tiny little problem with my birdhouse, however: the roof fell off during the initial firing! Autumn wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to do about that, but said that more than likely the glazing will act like a glue on the final firing and hold everything in place for me. Otherwise, we’d have to figure out something else to do.

That actually made it easier to paint, truth to tell. I ended up with a blue birdhouse, green leaves, red berries, and 3 dragonflies: one orange, one yellow, and one purple. The roof is blue with red flowers.

Hey! I just realized something. I basically have a rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. That’s pretty cool.

Again, Autumn said she would call me in a week or so to come pick up my creation. Hopefully we both remember this time.

Continuing Down the Healing Path on My Own

I am very happy to announce that I no longer have to go to physical therapy!

It’s been a long and rather painful journey, but thanks to Carol, Marlene, Bill, Korey, and Kaz (my physical therapists at Alaska Health Quest) I am healed enough to be turned loose on my own!

Yay!

On a brief side note here, I have to say that Premera Blue Cross has been just wonderful throughout this whole ordeal. They have paid exactly what they said they would, with no muss or fuss at all.

The final numbers are:

            Total price for the neck: $99,224.64

            Total price for the shoulder: $32,252.32

            Total price for physical therapy: $ $5,550.00

            Grand Total Billed to Insurance: $137,026.96

            My final cost: $12,732.76

Now that I’m on my own, I do still have exercises that I’m supposed to do – I’m not completely out of the water! But my sister-in-law gave me one of those big blue exercise balls, so I’m good to go.

I have also signed up for Tai Chi lessons at Spirit Path Yoga: I’m pretty excited about that. My first class is tonight: we’ll see how it goes. I also plan on taking their stretching class on Sunday morning. I figure between those two classes and my exercises at home, I should be back to 100% in no time.

Pet Peeves

One of my biggest pet peeves is being interrupted: I really hate that.

Invariably it happens this way:

I’m at work, talking to a coworker about an issue with the job at hand. The architect walks up and immediately butts in and starts talking about his issue at hand. He doesn't apologize, or say “Excuse me” or anything like that. He just starts talking like I’m not even there.

Yes, it’s almost always a man. I’m sure some women do it as well; I've just never encountered it.

No, it’s not always the same man. It can be – and has been - pretty much any man I've ever worked with.

What this tells me is either A. a woman’s conversations are clearly unimportant and aren't worth the air it takes to voice them, or B. his issues are way more important that anybody else’s issues and should therefore be moved to the front of the line regardless of what else is going on.

Can it be, perhaps, that the guys aren't even aware that they’re doing that? Can they be that self-involved that they don’t realize that other people have things to talk about?

Or am I just being over sensitive?

What do you think?

Some More ME Time

I had so much fun on my last two trips (Seward and Talkeetna) that I went ahead and booked myself on another weekend get-away: this time, I’ll be staying at the Knik River Lodge. This is actually quite near where I grew up, so it will be like old times: combing the riverbed for driftwood, hiking thru the forest, climbing trees and drinking in the gorgeous scenery. I am so looking forward to it!

From their website (www.knikriverlodge.com) it looks like I will be housed in my own private cabin with a king sized bed. The restaurant is a yurt, which will make it seem like I’m back in Mongolia for dinner. For entertainment during my stay, they offer helicopter tours, ATV tours, glacier dog sledding, and guided hiking tours complete with ice climbing. While I would absolutely LOVE to go on a helicopter tour, I really don’t have the money for that. So I will simply settle for hiking around on the trails by myself.

I plan to bring my camera, of course, as it will be July when I’m there and the foliage will be just beautiful. I will also bring my crafting supplies to work on, since that is very relaxing for me. As always, I will have my Kindle as well: my cabin comes with a private deck with unrestricted view of the glacier, so I can sit and read will into the night.

Don’t get me wrong: I would much prefer to share this and other such trips with Him, but I must admit I am really enjoying this ME time. 

The U.S. Postal Service

I have a friend who moved to Australia a few years back, Joanna. She is originally from Poland and does the most beautiful Beadwork you’ve ever seen!

Anyway, I bought her a few“Alaskan” things the other day. You know: a couple mugs, some coasters, a deck of cards, a hot pad & dish towel set, some coffee – that sort of thing. I thought it would be fun to send her a little surprise, you know?

So I go to the post office last week and ask them what box should I use? They point me in the right direction and hand me all the paperwork that would be required and off I go to package it all up.

Today I went back to the post office to mail it, and the lady (the exact same one who helped me last time) says “Oh, you’ve used the wrong box. If you use this one, it will cost you $85.00 to mail it. You should use that one over there, instead. It will cost only $35.00 to mail it.”

Mind you, the box I used was the one she told me to use.

So, I go get the NEW box and transfer everything in to it, tape it all together, and get back in line. When I get back to the lady “helping” me, she weighs the box and says “that will be $58.00 please”

WTF! Not 5 minutes ago, she told me it was going to be $35.00! I don’t get it. How could the price have gone up in that short of time?

Actually, the lady “helping” me didn’t even understand what had just happened. All she could do was tell me what her computer told her.

So – Joanna, if you’re reading this – expect a rather expensive box in the mail soon!

Chocolate Tasting

The same company who hosted the Tea Tasting Class that I attended last month (Summit Spice & Tea) put on a Chocolate Tasting this time – so of course I had to go. They also have an Oil Tasting Class, if anybody is interested.

This time the café was set up in a more intimate way, with the 3 tables separated out so that eight people could sit together as if for dinner. The places were laid out with a glass of water, a cup for tea, and a piece of paper with a grid of 15 squares (5 across and 5 down.) Each square had a little chunk of chocolate placed on it, and a separate paper listed the information for each piece identified by its corresponding number from the grid.

As before, the class began with the instructors giving the basic information on Chocolate: where it came from, how it’s grown & made, some history of its use, things like that. After fielding a few questions from the group, we got to the important part of actually tasting our chocolate.

The first two were each 60% Dark; a Trinitario chocolate from the Caribbean and a Criollo chocolate from the Dominican Republic.

These were followed by a 64% Dark from Costa Rica, a 66% Dark from Bolivia, a 68% Dark from Oregon, and a 70% Dark from Honduras.

Then we had three 72% Darks, from Tanzania, Cuba, and France – followed by two at 75%, one from Madagascar and the other from San Francisco.

Getting darker now, we got to the 80% and 85% ones from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador respectively.

We ended our gastronomic chocolate tour with a 100% Dark that is typically used for baking, just to give us a taste of the pure product with no additives.  

As with the last class, I received a 15% off coupon and was able to purchase 4 of my favorites: a 60% bar, a 70% bar and two different 75% bars.

An Experiment

A friend of mine always tells me that I should go to a bar and pick up men. He seems to think that all I need to do is go sit there and allow all the hundreds of men to come talk to me – which honestly is sweet of him. But the reality of it all is that when I do go to bars, absolutely NOBODY comes to talk to me. I’m not sure why that is: am I too ugly? Am I too old? Am I too intimidating? Do I dress wrong? Smell bad? Have spinach in my teeth? Who knows…

So the other day I decided to conduct an experiment.

First, I placed the following ad on Craig’s List, in their Strictly Platonic section:

I will be in the bar at Suite 100 on Friday after work. It would be nice if somebody came up and talked to me.
Go on, take a chance! Who knows, you might actually like me.
I get off work at 4:30 and will be sitting at one of the tall tables reading my Kindle, eating a bowl of chowder, and enjoying a drink.
I am 47, tall HWP, long red hair & freckles, single, no kids, well read, well traveled. I do have drama, but that's because I have a life.

Then, I fielded all the hundreds of emails I got. I was quite surprised at that part, let me tell you. I had no idea I would get such a response! 

A few of them were entirely inappropriate, complete with pictures of certain male body parts. 

A surprisingly high number of the emails were from 24 year olds – mere children! What’s up with that, anyway? I clearly stated that I was 47 – and yet these guys were still trying to entice me over for a quickie.

Several emails were from honest men who were intrigued by my posting but were not able to go on the date specified and asked if I would be interested in meeting up some other day. Honestly, I actually accepted some of those offers. I am always interested in meeting new people, and they sounded nice. Time will tell.

But a vast majority of the responses I received were from guys – of all race, size, and age – saying they would be there. I started to get a little bit concerned, actually. I pictured myself at the bar surrounded by a mob of men all vying for my attention. Rather conceited of me, I know.

So, on Friday, I headed on down to Suite 100 to see what the night would hold for me. I got my table, set up my kindle, ordered my drink & a bowl of chowder, and settled in. 

An hour and a half later, I paid my bill and left.

Absolutely NOBODY came over to talk to me. 

NOT ONE!

Build Your Own Birdhouse

I bought a DealSaver Coupon for a Pottery Class the other day, and had such a good time at it!

 

It was more of an assembly class, though, as the potter had all the parts pre-made for me. All I had to do was decorate and assemble. Still it was a lot of fun. Autumn (the owner & potter) was very nice & friendly, and showed me all the tips & techniques. 4 people had signed up for the class, but for whatever reason I was the only one who actually showed up. And of course I showed up early – but Autumn let me start early anyway, so that was cool. 

 

I started out with just the base, which was still wet and soft (of course). Using extra clay and some molds, I added my embellishments while Autumn worked on a vase she had been commissioned to make. Once I got my dragonflies placed on the base and the hole cut for the door, Autumn showed me how to flip the whole thing over and attach it to the floor. That’s when I realized I had put all my dragonflies on in the wrong direction! I didn’t think about the fact that I had been working on it upside-down… Oh well, that just added some Charm! Next I got to work on the roof, this time using stamps and a pick. Putting a roof on the top of a dome is not that easy; hence the lop-sidedness of my creation. But again – More Charm!

 

My little house has to dry out now, but in a week or so Autumn will call me to come back and finish up. I assume I will be painting it, and then firing it in her kiln. I have no idea how I’m supposed to hang the thing up – but will figure that out when the time comes. It may end up staying in the house: perhaps up in my craft room.