Family: Gareth

Gareth was next in line, and was almost a month late in being born. His mother was understandably worn out and more than ready to give birth – also very tired of the whole town asking her when that new baby was going to arrive.

One night she was putting the girls to bed when Tara said, “Momma, I sure can’t wait for that new baby to get here. “ Kelly agreed that she, too, could not wait. Then Tara said, “But you know – I sure will miss Laurel.” 

She thought she had to give up the old baby in order to get the new one!! Too funny…

Once the new baby finally did arrive, he was just as uniquely amazing as the first two were. He was very much a boy, and would ride his tricycle full speed into the side of the house, over and over again, simply because it was fun.

He “fell” out of a tree once (Tara may or may not have had a hand in that little incident) and broke his collar bone. One hour after he got home from the hospital, he was back up in the tree again.

I asked him, “Doesn’t that hurt?” and he looked at me as if that was the most ludicrous thing he’d ever heard, snorted a quick “no” at me, and went back to playing up in the tree.

Family: Laurel

Laurel was second born of the Pollock clan, and for some reason she came with a very distinct Southern Belle accent. I have no idea where that came from, but she held on to it for a couple years as I recall.

She would latch on to a word that she thought sounded interesting, and would repeat it a thousand times a day just for the joy of saying it.

Also, her mother decided that she would not have bangs – so had to somehow keep the hair out of her face until it got long enough on its own. She did this by creating a little pony tail right at her forehead which made the 2” of hair stick out like a Unicorn’s horn!

I can still picture her running around town with her pony tail on her forehead saying “Radish. Radish. Radish. Radish. Radish. Radish. Radish. Radish.” All with her cute little southern-belle accent.

Family: Tara

Tara is my oldest niece, and was born with the most amazing mind. I loved watching her grow up and discover the world, trying to figure things out and determine her place in the scheme of things.

You know how kids are always asking question: Why is the sky blue? How does an airplane stay up in the air? What makes a coke fizzy? How many bees live in that nest up there?

Each time she would ask me something like that, I would turn the table on her and ask, “Well, what do you think?” and she would always reply with some long complicated explanation that made perfect sense even to me. She was rarely ever correct, but her replies always sounded amazingly logical.

As most kids do, she had some difficulty pronouncing some letters as she learned the English language, and to this day I quote her often saying “Tometimes I do, and Tometimes I don’t.”

Family: a Series

I’ve been thinking about creating a post about my nieces and nephews for a long time now. I never had any kids of my own but was lucky enough to have siblings who provided me with 8 wonderful nieces & nephews, and I want to introduce them to the world. 

I originally thought to write just one post comprised of a brief paragraph about each one. Then I thought perhaps I should break it apart and do one for each family group. Now I’m leaning towards one post for each kid. There’s so much to say about each one, it’s only fair that I give them the room they deserve. But how do I organize the posts? Do I do it chronologically by age? Or do I do it by family?

You see my dilemma. Feel free to chime in and offer up some advice, if you feel so moved. Until then, however, I think I’m going to just dive in and start typing.

I believe I shall start with Tara!

Stay tuned...

Apples, Apples, Apples!

I got a text the other day from my sister Noel.

“Soooo. Apples may appear on your doorstep. Just sayin.”

I’m thinking a client of hers was a little over-generous! But she was right – apples DID appear on my doorstep. Thankfully only two boxes.

Ha! “Only” 

Just what does one DO with two boxes of apples, each one of which weighs at least 40 pounds?

Why, one makes Apples Sauce! And Apple Butter! And Apple Pie Filling!

We must have canned apples for three days solid… and we still lost about a quarter of the apples by not getting to them soon enough (they spoil right quickly, it seems).

Our pantry is now overstuffed with jars of apples.

It’s a happy thing.

Damn, I Did It AGAIN!!

Apparently I didn’t learn the first time: I had to go and do it again not two weeks later!

This time it was potentially a lot worse, too. I was driving to work this morning and had just passed the last Eagle River exit when I happened to glance down and actually look at my gas gauge. It was dangerously low; like just this side of empty.

Immediately panic set in: I still had at least 20 miles to go before the next gas station, and I was absolutely positive I wouldn’t make it. I kept going through all the possible ways to handle the situation: who should I call? Should I attempt to walk to a nearby station (in the dark and in the rain)? Should I just sit there and wait for “somebody” to rescue me?

Mind you: my “go-to” rescuer is off hunting out beyond Fairbanks for the next 5 days - so he’s not an option.

And two years ago, I would have called my big brother – but that’s no longer an option, either.

By the time I managed to coast in to the first gas station I came to on Muldoon I was literally shaking, I was so upset with myself. The only thing that helped a little bit was knowing that last time I had made it 387 miles, and I only had 380 miles on the odometer this time.

I totally blame the move to Palmer on this new bad habit of mine. When I lived in Anchorage I knew exactly how far I could go on a single tank, and thought nothing of going for days with my “empty” light on. But now I’m in a whole new situation: I don’t know where all the gas stations are and have no idea how far apart my destinations are. Supposedly one day I will learn all that and will once again be unconcerned about trivial things like gas gauges – but for now I really need to learn to pay more attention!

387

That's how many miles my little car can get on one tank of gas.

I know this because I coasted in to the gas station tonight, running on fumes. I had forgotten to get gas in Anchorage and didn't realize it until I hit Palmer. Thank goodness the gas station is down hill from Anchorage!

Still, I'm pretty proud of my little car: the tank is only 10 gallons, so for it to go that far means I'm getting really good gas mileage!

What kind of car do you drive?
     Mine is a 2012 Nissan Yaris.

What's your gas mileage?
     Mine is apparently 38.7 mpg.

It’s done! It’s Done! It’s Done!

Well, okay – so it’s not completely done; but it is usable finally and the kittens LOVE it!

Right now it has a floor, four walls, a roof and a door – but we still need to work on the floor a bit (add more gravel) and install the levels, platforms, ramps, and other interior items in it, and the door still needs a handle. Since we don’t have anything in it at the moment, we went ahead and moved one of their cat trees outside for them to feel safe on.

 It was so cute when I first opened up the window for them. Naldo marched right out and jumped down off the window ledge, landing in the middle of the gravel. Then she just froze: she’d never been on gravel before, and didn’t know what to do! The look on her face was priceless. She’s gotten used to it by now, but she still walks funny.

Viktor hasn’t set foot in the gravel yet: he maneuvers around on the framing, jumping from one level to the next. Someday, he’ll get brave and come down to the floor – but not today.

It also took both of them a while to understand that they could come and go as they please. I had to show them a couple times, but they eventually got the hang of it. Now I have to call them in for some snuggles: they do come in, but then they go right back out again after a few minutes.

The next big learning curve for them will be navigating the screen door. I’m hanging a magnetic screen across the interior door to their room (located off of our bedroom) because I cannot install a screen across the window any more.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

This Saturday Bryan and I got to attend the First Annual Hunter’s Get Together BBQ down at the Palmer Depot! It’s held by the local chapter of The Safari Club, an national group that advocates for hunter’s (and fisher’s) rights. They had Live Music, Door Prizes, Raffles, a Silent Auction for Gourmet Deserts, and a generous buffet line put on by Smokehouse BBQ.

We didn’t know anybody there, so just randomly chose a table up at the front to sit at. We ended up with a young couple from Willow who were ex-military and super nice. The food was apparently quite good (sorry, BBQ is not my thing) and the music was fantastic. The prizes were cool, too: some of them were quite the catch, like a week for two up at a fishing lodge on Lake Iliamna.

But I have to say, I had the most fun at the silent auction. There’s a little back-story here, first, so you understand where I’m coming from. Back when Bryan and I first started dating, he used to bring me Red Velvet Cupcakes all the time. Like, a lot of them. Finally I had to say, “You know, I don’t really like red velvet cupcakes.” And he was all “What?!? I thought they were your favorite!?!”

So anyway, back to the silent auction: one of the deserts up for sale was (you guessed it) a rather large Red Velvet Cake donated by The Flying Dutchman. I couldn’t help myself: I put Bryan’s name down on it with a price just a few dollars higher than the asking minimum. And wouldn’t you know – HE WON!

The look on his face when they brought it to him was worth it all… even though we now have a very large Red Velvet Cake at home that I really don’t like much.

They've Turned Off The Creek!

My partner and I went on a 3-day camping/hiking trip up to Denali last weekend, and had a great time!

We drove in to the Visitor’s Center, right at the entrance of the park, and left our vehicle there. Then we caught a bus ride about 32 miles in to the Igloo Creek Campground and found the perfect spot to pitch our tent. The next day, we caught another bus further in to the Toklat River, where we hiked downstream a ways until we found an un-named creek that came down off our left. We followed that up a ways to a sweet little valley where we had our lunch – and then leisurely made our way back down to the road to catch another bus back to our tent. The next day we packed everything back up and headed on back home.

I woke up in the early morning hours that first night and had a moment of panic. We had chosen that site because it was right next to the creek, with all the sounds associated with a swiftly moving body of water. But when I woke up, I couldn’t hear a thing: not a bug, not a bird, and not even the creek! That little voice inside my head kept screaming, “They’ve turned off the creek! They’ve turned off the creek!” (there’s not a whole lot of logic to that little voice inside my head, particularly that early in the morning)(and I’m not entirely sure who “they” are)

It honestly took me a good five minutes to come to my senses and roll over. Even after two years, I just don’t seem to be adjusting to the fact that one ear simply doesn’t work anymore, and I really can’t hear a thing out of it!

Apparently I sleep on my good ear…

Grow Palmer

Palmer is just the coolest town EVER!

I just found out about a non-profit organization called GROWPALMER who is planting vegetable gardens all along the old railroad tracks here in town. They also have some smaller barrels located along the main street. They fully intend for the general public to help themselves!

You need some lettuce for the burgers you’re grilling tonight? 

          Go take a walk downtown and get some. 

You have a hankering for some steamed collard greens? 

          They have that too! 

They even have plans in motion for a fruit orchard, but that will take time for the trees to mature.

All they ask in return is for you to weed a little bit while you harvest, or maybe water the gardens during a dry spell. And if you like what they are doing, I would ask that you donate to the cause.

Because who doesn’t like fresh veggies!

Catching Up

It’s been a while since my last post; so much for my resolution to post at least once a week! That’s a lot harder than it sounds on paper, let me assure you.

Bryan is still working on the catio. It’s going a lot slower than either of us really wanted – but at least it is progressing. The kittens are going to love it once it’s finished! I’ll have shelves for them at varying levels, connected with ramps and poles for them to climb on and get up high. I ordered a magnetic screen for the door into their room to keep the bugs out of our bedroom. Hopefully they will learn how to go through it (the kittens, that is – not the bugs)

Both Bryan and I love to cook, and he’s adventurous enough to indulge me when I say “Ooo! Let’s try this recipe!” even when it’s for things like pickled avocado or eggplant rollups (neither of which we’ll ever do again). We did make some fermented lemons and fermented salsa the other day that turned out really good, though. Next on our menu is going to be candied jalapenos

Bryan’s girls are up for a visit this week, so he’s been off doing things with them for most of the time. Lindsey came out a few days ago to see the place, and Jessica will come out tomorrow. I invited as many of my own family to join us each time for dinner so the girls would get a chance to meet my side.

We did a great hiking trip recently: a 3-day hiking/camping trip out at China Poot Bay. We drove to Homer Thursday after work, stayed at a cute little B&B in town, then took a water taxi out across the bay to Halibut Cove. We then hiked in about 3 miles up and over a small mountain to get to China Poot Lake – at least, that was our intent. Turns out the trail to the lake was washed out (the creek rerouted itself and obliterated the trail) so we had to turn around and hike back over the mountain to Halibut Cove and pitch our tent there. We had a good weekend anyway, fishing off the docks or going beach combing at the shore.

Yet Another Reason Why I Get Frustrated

Apparently I’m having email issues lately: I’ve not gotten several emails that I know I should have gotten. So today I tried to log on to my GCI account to look at the Junk File, but discovered that I don’t know my password.

I clicked on the “change your password” link and they asked the usual question, and then sent me a special code to change my password.

To my GCI email.

Which I can’t get in to because I don’t know my password.

Yeah…

Typical Conversations With My Kittens

Naldo: MEOW! MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!

Me: What?!?

Naldo: Meow!

Me: Oh, you have a string?

Naldo: Meow

Me: Let me see…

Naldo: Meow

Me: Well, that’s a nice string!

Naldo: Meow

Me: You’re such a lucky girl…

Naldo: Meow

Viktor: CRASH!!!

Me: Viktor! Get down from there.

Viktor: -lays down right where he’s at-

Me: On the floor, Viktor.

Viktor: chirp!

Me: Oh, Viktor… you’re just too damn handsome.

Viktor: chirp!

Kilroy was here

Isn’t it interesting how some people just have this burning NEED to sign their names to things?

Take graffiti for example. Some punk with a spray can paints his name in three foot letters on the side of a bridge, and then is surprised when they get caught and are in trouble for it!

Or my little brother, Reed. When he was younger (maybe 7 years old) he once took a screw driver to the fridge in our kitchen, carving his name on the side. He then tried to convince Mother that “I didn’t do it!”

But then you have people like my sister Noel – she once carved MY NAME into each and every wooden pew at church!!!

She always was the smart one.

Gearing Up: After the Fact

So here’s a review of our gear after having used it for a few days:

1. Tent – I love our tent! It’s so easy to set up and take down. It’s not tall enough to stand up in, but it’s quite roomy and easily fits two people with all their stuff. It even has pockets to put your kindle or phone into so they don’t get lost during the night. The only thing I would add to it would be a hook in the middle of the roof to hang the lantern from.

2. Sleeping bag/pad – our pads were quite comfortable, but man they were noisy! Like, really noisy. Just the slightest movement created a racket loud enough to wake the dead – believe me, I woke up each and every time he moved! Blowing them up and deflating them afterwards was easy enough, although Bryan’s took longer each time. And our sleeping bags were not warm enough; it got downright cold at night, so I ended up curling into a little shivering ball each night. I think that will be the next item on our Upgrade List.

3. Food – we brought the Mountain House type food this time, and it was okay. Not the greatest in the world, but certainly filling. I’m not sure I would buy their Breakfast Bowl again, but the rice & beans was very tasty. For snacks we had Cliff bars and M&Ms – with blueberry pop tarts thrown in for good measure.

3a. Hydration Bladder - I used my new hydration bladder on this trip and love it! Not too happy about the taste (it was supposed to not have any weird taste) but having water right there the whole time I’m hiking really helped my migraine issue. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the nozzle & hose – I just left it dangling but think surely there’s a better way.

4. Bear Protection – those bear-proof canisters are really hard to get into - which is the whole point, I get that - but we probably broke two or three nails each time we tried to get into the darned thing. 

5. Bug repellant – worked like a charm, except for the one place I forgot to apply it = my ankles have about 20 bites a piece on them! In fact, one bite actually created a bruise! I don’t know what critter that came from, but he has quite the bite!

6. Boots – my boots were very comfortable. They have more ankle support than I’m used to, but once I forgot about that, I had no problems at all. I should have worn the liner socks from the very beginning of our journey, however - I did get a little raw at first. But once I put on my layers, it was fine.

7. Packs – my pack rubbed me raw in several places, namely my collar bones and my hips. I have a feeling I just didn’t have all the straps adjusted properly. There’s only like a million straps, so it’s hard to know what to do to adjust the thing. It’s quite roomy, however: I was surprised at how much stuff can be stuffed into it.

8. Clothing – I pretty much wore the same outfit the entire time. I did bring lots of socks, and a change of clothing incase I fell into the lake or something. I should have brought a warmer sweater along – did not expect the cold (like I should have).

9. PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) – we arranged to send the SPOT to my sister Noel each time, and she enjoyed following our journey on the maps. It gave her our exact GPS location so that if need be she could pass that information along to the emergency response people to find us more easily.

10. Lodging – the B&B we stayed at in Homer was a very cozy little place, but not for everybody. It was very cluttered with all kinds of knickknacks everywhere. It was a small place but quite functional, with a very comfy bed. For breakfast the next day, we even got 6 fresh eggs from the chickens out back! Very tasty! Our host gave us all kinds of local information, too – very helpful.

11. Water Taxi – Ashore water taxi was very prompt and helpful. The captain of the boat was a fisherman, so he and Bryan talked fish the whole way. The boat was exactly the kind of boat I’d get if I lived on the water = small but perfect for getting around. I had a hard time not laughing like a maniac the whole way there and back because the ride was so much fun!

12. Electronics – my kindle worked perfectly the whole time, but I probably could have left my phone at home since I never even turned it on. My camera has issues, however: I am not happy with it at the moment, but have no idea how to fix the darned thing. I may have to just toss it and get a new one – which I hate doing. Thankfully Bryan’s camera worked so I was able to take pictures of the place.

13. Kittens – the kittens were so excited when we got home – they missed us! Naldo just kept running around and attacking our ankles as we walked passed her. Viktor was a bit stand-offish at first, but eventually crawled up into my arms to nuzzle my neck for a while.

Gearing Up

Gearing up for a big 3-day hiking/camping trip this weekend:

1. Tent – set it up in the craft room to make sure all the pieces & parts are there, and that we know how it’s done properly.

2. Sleeping bag/pad - inflate the pads to make sure there are no holes. Lay out the bags to air out and clean up a bit.

3. Food – lay everything out to make sure we have all meals accounted for, including snacks and drinks.

4. Bear Protection – confirm that all smelly items fit into the proper canisters. Make sure everybody knows how to use the pepper spray. Make sure the gun has bullets and that each person knows how to use it.

5. Bug repellant – make sure the aerosol spray can actually works, and that we have a lotion-type back up, just in case.

6. Boots – ensure boots are still in good order and that they still fit, then clean off old mud and apply new water-proofing.

7. Packs – make sure all gear & clothing fits comfortably in our packs. Distribute weight proportionately between the two of us.

8. Clothing – choose light weight clothing with just enough insulation, bare minimum amount of personal gear, warmth without too much bulk

9. PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) – designate a family member as Emergency Contact, ensure the DeLorme inReach unit works properly and notifications are sent to the proper person.

10. Lodging – make reservations for small cabin just outside of Homer for the night before our hike, so we can start off fresh and well rested.

11. Water Taxi – make reservations for the water taxi to take us across the bay to Halibut Cove, and then pick us up again two days later.

12. Electronics – ensure that all electronics are charged up and that extra batteries are included (kindle, phones, cameras, GPS & PLB, etc…)

13. Kittens – make sure babysitter knows what to do, where food is, and how much they get. Make sure their water fountain is clean and full of fresh water. Make sure litter box is full and clean, with paper bags for scooped poop.

Have I missed anything? 

Why yes, yes I did forget something.

14. Toiletries – medications, first aid kit, toothbrush & paste, TP & trowel, etc…

Noel’s Artwork

A couple months ago Noel asked me to make some artwork for her salon; she’s remodeling her Waxing Room with a Beach Theme. It’s taken me a while, but I finally got them done!

This first one I did is basically just a flat collage of paper-cuttings. I got a pack of coordinating papers from Graphic 45, cut out some pieces that she and I chose based on her plan for the room, and then glued them all down. The frame is a simple shiny black (by request) and the whole thing measures a foot square. I like it – but more importantly, so does Noel.

the first one 

This second one was considerably harder. It’s more of a Shadow-Box type of thing, with a lot of depth to it. Again I used coordinating paper by Graphic 45, but also some real shells and “netting” to make it a bit more interesting. My favorite embellishment, however, are the crabs! Can you see them? I found those at my favorite on-line crafting store called A Cherry On Top, but I bet you could find them pretty much anyplace that sells stickers by Jolees.

the second one 

It took some creative fumbling at first, but I eventually got it looking the way I imagined it. All in all, I had so much fun with these I might just make some to sell – who knows!

Birthday Crab!

For my birthday this year, Bryan got me a 10-pound box of King Crab Legs from Catch 49, a company who “provides delicious high-quality wild seafood responsibly-harvested by Alaska's small boat fishermen” - sort of like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) but for seafood. When you buy from Catch 49, you’re buying direct from an Alaskan Fisherman.

Last night around 6:00 we cooked up about half of it, and then sat down and proceeded to feast on legs & claws. Oh my gosh: it was so good! I had forgotten how painful it can be, though. King Crabs have sharp, pointy little spines all up and down their legs: each time you try to crack one open, it’s trying to crack YOU open as well. Given that they are a salt-water animal, an open wound on your hand can give quite the sting. But there’s no stopping! You power through the pain and just keep on eating.

the remains of our dinner!

Dip that meat in a mixture of melted butter and lemon and pop that baby in your mouth. There truly is nothing better.

Except maybe chocolate cake.

Maybe.

I'm Finally Me Again!

Finally, I’m starting to feel more like myself again. Boy, that migraine was a brutal one! But it seems to be over now, so I can get on with my life. There’s quite a bit going on right now, too.

First: Bryan has a dental appointment today. Normally that’s not exactly a note-worthy event. But for Bryan, who is deathly afraid of dental work, it’s a huge issue. He has to be sedated for it, which means I get the joy of driving him home when he’s drugged out of his gourde. I’ve done it now three times already. The first time, he made a few nonsensical announcements (once he shouted “KLUNK! very loudly) but mostly just slept. The second time, he tried to dance in his cowboy boots on the way to the car, but again promptly fell asleep once he got sat down. The third time, it took a good half hour to wake him up once I got us home. I thought I’d have to leave him in the garage for the night almost! He’s too heavy for me to carry. I’ll let you know how this fourth time goes.

Second: Mother is having a fence built on our new property to separate us from our neighbors out back. At first, I was not too happy about that; I thought the back yard was just fine the way it is. But now that I’ve seen the fence posts – which got installed a few days ago so they could cure in their bed of concrete – and have a better idea of how it will look, I’m thinking maybe it won’t be so bad. The final pieces of the fence are being installed today, so by the time I get home it should all be done. There was a brief moment of upset this morning, however, when Mother thought that Bryan’s truck was left in the way of the fence company’s access to our back yard. We had already left for work in my car, so she was not able to move it. A few phone calls between her and Bryan, and apparently all is well after all.

Third: plans for my Catio are coming along nicely! I’m so excited to have one finally, and I’m sure that Viktor & Naldo will love it. Right now, when Mother wants the cats outside, she has to put them in these tiny 3-foot square cages. They do well enough out there in them, but it will be nice to give them room to jump and play – plus they can come and go at their own pleasure. Bryan has researched all the different ways to build catios, and is finally ready to jump in and begin. He’s even blocked off the weekend for the task!

Fourth: I traded my old kindle in for a new one. Amazon sent out an email telling me about their trade-in program where I could get a percentage off the new one based on the condition of the old one. My old one was in good condition still, so I ended up with about $67.00 off my new one! I was so excited when it finally came (I had to send the old one in first, so was without for a good month); I quickly loaded my books onto it and started to read. And it promptly lost its charge over night! That should NOT have happened, but it was easily cured by simply charging it back up. THEN – for some bizarre reason, it lost all my books! I have no idea why – and now am gun-shy about it, only loading two or three books at a time in case it decides to dump them all again. I have organized my “cloud” storage such that I can easily tell which books are to be read –vs- which ones are done, but it’s still a hassle – and I can’t help but wonder why I gave up a perfectly good kindle for this new one that doesn’t even work.