Photo Entry

Just for all of you moose lovers . . . and Alaska lovers . . . and, btw, Lisa, look - NO SNOW!!! (it'll come back, I promise)
(click to enlarge)

the bushes got trimmed a bit tonight . . .

munch, munch, yummy branches!

and then . . .

a vehicle turned down the road and they BOTH blurred by . . .

yup - both - Mama and one of this year's younguns

happily grazing through the neighbor's yard.

came back to my room to download the pics - glanced out the window and saw:

a gorgeous rainbow arcing across the sky . . .

and, in the opposite direction . . .

a sun-brightened cloud display.

ahhhhhh - there are sometimes (okay, a lot of times) when Alaska is just so appealing.

'night friends.
oh, p.s. I didn't get the job. (and that's okay - my boss called me in to tell me personally, then smiled and said that if the job comes open again she would encourage me to apply again. so, that's something.)

Posted by Purplemoose at 08:21 PM | Comments (3)

Pain free?

Not quite, yet. But we're working on it. Deep tissue massage therapy . . . it feels so good when he quits. Ahhh. First one Monday - probably another tomorrow when I see the doctor. The shoulder and neck are improved greatly. Still have some pain in my arm and elbow, but I trust that soon that pain will be gone as well.

But, that Crazy Neighbor Lady with the great purple porch - well, she has a migraine - so go and visit and offer her some "non chemical" medicine - 'kay?

And, while you're out there visiting and all that - go on over and say Hi-dere to Faithie-poo. She's feeling a bit dry and asking for all of her lurkers to de-lurk and say hello.

More rain today, btw. No more snow - for us at least. It looks like up north got dumped on, though. Who'd have thought that winter would make its first appearance so soon? Well, not I. I'm thinking that a visit with Paradise Ali again sounds mighty fine.

And, the airlines hereabouts are already beginning to trump for your spring break dollars. Yessiree - fly away to paradise over the spring break and surf to your heart's content.

Nah - Think I'll wait for a less crowded time. ;-)

But, I am going to leave you all for tonight. I heard from a long absent blogger friend and that made my night - just to know that he is happy and safe and building a life outside of the gray box . . . well, it was just wonderful to hear from him. ::Waving hello just in case he has popped by.::

'night my friends.
>..<

Congrats Lessa

Hey, Lessa, SURPRISE!!!

Your sis baked a cake, even!

An elephant came along to wish you well.

as did a dragon . . .

and Tinkerbell. Hmmm, they all look a bit hungry around the edges - better give them some of that cake, huh?

Oh - and the ZayZay monster seems to be wanting some attention food-wise, too . . .

urgh - what was IN those last two bites???? (where's my cake and ice cream?)

meanwhile . . .

the girls modeled their new ponchos Nani Moose made them.

and . . . .

a cowboy came along for the ride.

Congratulations, Lessa. We are all extremely proud of you!!! Now, as the cowboy would say - go on out there and make enough money to keep him in the style to which he would like to become accustomed. Heh.

Love ya, kiddo!

Posted by Purplemoose at 10:29 PM | Comments (2)

Let's all sing along

The Rain in Spain
Falls Mainly on the Plain . . .

The Rain in Spain
Falls MAINly on the Plain . . .

The Rain . . .
In Spain . . .

(sigh)

Not Rain - today we have SNAIN (a mixture of the "s" word and rain) and LOTS of it . . . Yes, today - SEPTEMBER 25th, for crying out loud . . .

you see? No?

Look closer

see it now?

Look closer still

awww, poor moosie.

Termination dust has come down out of the mountains and smote us up "side a da head!" It has, it has.

It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.

Oh, and the funniest thing I heard all day . . . the local bikers club had to cancel their FREEZE-UP RUN to Homer today . . .

. . . due to "inclement weather".

hahahahahahahahahaha ::snort:: ::guffaw::

awwwwwwww poor bikers, eh?

Have a wonderful Sunday, alll

newest Kenai Writer

Welcome to the newest in the Kenai writer family, Anna Darlin. She is ever so girly and ever so pink and EVER SO (rightfully so) proud of her babies.

Thanks to Lessa, the family web designer for the design on Darlin's new web home.

And, while I'm speaking of Lessa . . . CONGRATULATIONS, kiddo! She graduates Saturday and is a bona fide, degree bearing, design artiste!!!! I'm proud of you for sticking to it and getting it accomplished, Lessa. Looking toward seeing great things from you.

Friends, go on over to her website and check out her portfolio. The kid does some great work. She, btw, designed the PurpleMoose Gazette both in its last and its current beauty, as well as the Ladybug's and sis and niece's sites, and kenaiwriter.net as well.

She just peers into your psyche, or so it seems, and pulls out the very colors and themes that are you. ;-)

Thanks, kiddo and again, CONGRATULATIONS!!

Interview - schminterview

Well, I bit the bullet - a position was recently advertised at work and I applied - even though I knew that there were a number of things asked for that I just don't qualify to do or have or, well, you know the old story.

Nevertheless, I submitted my resume and was granted an interview today. It was actually a pretty good interview. I am one of 5 being interviewed for the job. We will know sometime next week.

Well, actually, I pretty much already know my outcome.

but, hey! That is a-okay. It let my boss know that I am willing to move upward with the agency - etc.

In the meantime . . . in midwestern news . . .
Just Lisa's Todd had a run-in with a deer. Everyone is okay - little aches and pains and such . . . but the buick - well, that did not fare too well. (neither did the deer, I'm sure).

Glad to hear you are okay, Lisa.

I told her via email to be glad it wasn't a moose - she wrote back that her appraiser had said the exact thing - he used to live in Alaska - and, she is pretty glad it wasn't a moose.

Hitting a deer is no picnic, though. We hit one back in Ohio before we moved up to Alaska. Hubby called the car his 3000# arrow. He used to bow hunt for deer and the car was the ONLY time he bagged his deer.

And, (just to stay with my jumping all over the place post) speaking of moving to Alaska . . . Sunday was our 26th anniversary of moving here. And they said it wouldn't last. LOL

Well, that is it for my witty repartee for tonight. Gonna get off here before the shoulder and neck complain much more.

Saturday evening

Hi, folks - just a really QUICK entry - so you won't all be wondering where I might be.

Am having trouble with my neck which is complicated by pain radiating down my back and shoulder and down my arm to my elbow. It is extremely painful and nothing seems to be helping it. But one thing that seems to make it worse, but of course, is the one thing that I love to do most - type and surf and see what you are all up to.

No can do right at this moment.

I'll be back soon, Lord willing, and the pain goes away.

In the meantime, you all be good and enjoy yourselves and I'll be thinking of you.

>..<

Remember when

Isaiah was only 7 weeks old?

Well . . . today he is 7 MONTHS old!

And, he had his FIRST shopping trip with Paw-Paw and Nana. The result of that trip can be seen in this picture. Paw-Paw thought he needed a truly noisy and busy toy. As you can see, Zay-Zay loves it. ;-)

Today was also Miss Kinzie's first day for pre-school: (click for larger version)

Nana made the scrunchies she is wearing - awwww cute.

And, here she is safely enthroned in her school bus seat:

And, not to be outdone: TAT displays his prowess at blowing up a screamer balloon:

And, with that, my friends, I must dash off to work. See you later, taters (as Mz Kittay would say)

ah, yes . . . as promised

More of the travel tales.

I promised a tale of another famous cemetery that my friend and I visited while out landmark snarfing. This cemetery is one that I passed every day as I rode the city bus to high school. I passed it every day . . . and even knew who was buried there . . . but I never visited until now.

ghost story, in addition to a lot of history.

Camp Chase was a prisoner of war camp housing confederate soldiers. These soldiers died between 1862 and 1865 while at the Civil War prison camp.

The story of Camp Chase is not a pretty one. War is never pretty. The resting place of these many soldiers, however, is a peaceful place, one which is held in reverence and with great respect.

We did not see - nor hear - the Lady in Gray while at Camp Chase. More's the pity.

Strengthen the Good

The new micro-charity for the Strengthen the Good family is the Brent Woodall Foundation For Exceptional Children, which offers care and education to autistic children and their parents.

The Foundation was created by Tracy Woodall, who lost her husband, Brent, in the South Tower on September 11th, 2001. Tracy was 5 weeks pregnant at the time, and she created the foundation as a way of dealing with her grief and extending his legacy.

Please follow the link and help if you can. Together we can all Strengthen the Good that is in this old world.

Travel Tales, cont.

I wrote yesterday of visiting James Thurber's home. We also visited his current resting place - his final resting place . . . Greenlawn Cemetery. (It has a marker we were snarfing)

We stopped at the cemetery office to find out where his grave might be - followed the "red" road and found it - probably out of sheer luck since the cemetery is so huge!!!

That's a wilted flower on the stone. Jamie is surrounded by his family, underneath a large tree, in the corner of section 50.

While at the cemetery we found several unusual monuments - but, of COURSE, we took pictures to share with you here:

Nope - I have no clue. It's an indian, all right. And, what is with the purple ribbons? Interesting, nonetheless.

and then there is this bronze fisherman. This would fit in well in Alaska, huh?

There were several other interesting markers, but we were closing in on time to head to the airport, so we will save them for the next time I am in Ohio.

A quick search engine enquiry came up with this interesting site about Greenlawn Cemetery. I'll let you read to your content. There are some quite famous people buried there - including a grandfather of the Presidents Bush.

R kept saying that she had thought Houdini was buried there, but we could find no record of that. I wrote her tonight after reading on the above site that a friend of Houdini's, Thurston the Magician, is actually buried close by - in the "Abbey" on Greenlawn Ave. You can find that story there as well.

Tomorrow we are going up to Anchorage for the night - so I will try to write another entry before we go. There was another cemetery we visited that I'd like to share with you. (see what you started Dan and Batty???)

for now, g'night, friends.

oh . . . .
p.s. I support Marn's Jog for the Jugs . . .

Now, you go and support her, too. >..<

Travel tales

I figure that if I don't get an entry in here soon, there may be some revolting going on . . . so here you go, a bit of my travels told . . .

One of the things that R and I did was some sightseeing - with a bit of "snarfing" thrown in for good measure. We trekked about a couple of our days together gathering up photos and sights and generally having a good time of it.

We visited the Thurber House one of those days. James Thurber, you probably know, was a well-known humorist and had many illustrations published by the New Yorker magazine. You can follow the links to learn more about the man and his life.

The home was closed the first time we stopped by, so we settled for some photos from the outside and a jaunt through the park opposite where we found . . .

The Unicorn in the Garden . . . complete with . . .
<
The legend of the Unicorn in the Garden. A synposis of the story - man goes into his garden and sees a unicorn munching a tulip. He goes to tell his wife - who was soundly sleeping - of his discovery and she pooh-poohs his statement reminding him that a unicorn is a mythical creature. Man goes back to the garden to find the unicorn still there and once again goes to tell his wife. She screams at him that he is a booby and that the authorities should be called. He wanders back outside to see that the unicorn has now moved on. She, meanwhile, calls the authorities who come to hear her complaint. She goes on and on about how her husband has claimed to see a unicorn in the garden, whereupon the gendarmes pounce upon her and place her in shackles. They ask the husband if he has seen a unicorn in the garden and he tells them, of course not, a unicorn is a mythical creature. Once the wife has been taken away he goes about his life happier with the "mythical" creature right outside in his garden. The moral of the story is "Don't count your boobies until they are hatched."

After going off to seek more markers and having lunch, R and I came back to the Thurber House to take a tour of the facilities. We saw the man's rocker:

. . .
and some of his sketches:

But the most fun to see were the statues of Thurber dogs in the courtyard:

click all images for larger view.

So, there is a bit of what we did on one day. And, trust me that is not the only place we saw that day. We were happy wanderers. Entirely too much fun.

I'll share more pictures as we go along. I am still getting them sized and onto my hard drive. It was so neat - my friend has an all-in-one printer that takes my digital card!!! We were able to download my pics and then save them to a cd to transport home with me. I somehow managed to lose one entire disk worth of photos, though. Sigh! My poor friend did everything she could to try to recover them - but when the moose loses something they are well lost. ;-/ She sent me home with some of the photos that she took, though, with some of the same images. Yay!

More later. For now enjoy Jamie.

home again, home again

jiggity jig.

Okay, okay . . . but I have ALL OF THOSE pictures waiting to be sized and dealt with . . . but all right already . . . here I am.

Not going to do the day by day synopsis of this trip like I did the Hawaii trip, even though I did keep a journal and could do that. ;-) I will spare you all of the details.

Arrived in Ohio to the warm embrace of my friend. R and I have known each other since 8th grade. Like all good girlfriends we have had our moments where we ceased speaking to each other . . . but always found our way back to a loving relationship. Good friends can do that, you know. It's a great thing.

We got my luggage lugged to her car and set off for her home. As we drove she laughed and said that she didn't know what to do first - feed me or let me sleep. I opted for a shower and a visit until her hubby came home from work.

Our week plus together was spent reminiscing, laughing, crying, talking, talking some more, and talking even more. They allowed me room to breathe, room to just BE, room to heal and recover as needed. If I wanted peace and quiet, it was given. If I wanted company, it was there. If I wanted to go and do, we did. How much more wonderful could a vacation be?

I was forced (forced, I tell ya) to go shopping and to try on several outfits and even to purchase some. (heh - thanks again, R)

The reunion was fun - and R even went along with me. We had a great time visiting with folks we had never met in our lives. Well, okay, yes we went to school with those folks, but that was way back yonder a hundred years or so. I have NO IDEA who these folks were at the reunion. We all did that greeting thing - hand out for a shake, eyes to eyes contact, Hi, it's good to see you, eyes slide down to name tag, OMG!! Hi ________!! You haven't changed a bit! - you know, THAT greeting thing. LOL.

However, once we got to talking, there were really several who looked just like they did in school - a few pounds here and there - a lot more gray hair, or less hair altogether - but the same looks nevertheless.

I received the "award" for traveling the furthest. Actually there was no award, but everyone kept saying I should get it. hahaha funny bunnies they were.
------------------
Had a lovely visit with my aunt and uncle. We got lost getting there - but that is half the fun. So wonderful to catch up with them. I hope that I can do that again.
-----------------
we had a family bar-b-que - we snarfed - we saw sights - we talked even more - lovely - we ate out at many different places (have you ever had deep fried pickles? I have.)
----------------
R treated me and herself to a fabulous afternoon at Charles Penzone Spa where we each enjoyed a salt scrub and massage. Oh my word - just pour me back into the car for the ride home. Ooooh, feel the soft, feel the smooth.

Note to family members: when you canNOT think of a thing to get me - and you want to know exACTLY what to get mom/gramma/nana/wife for ANY occasion . . . a gift card to the local spa will suit me just fine - anytime - any day - keep 'em coming. ;-) Sigh . . . . . .
---------------------------
R and I had several lovely chats and some soul searching talks, too. That is what friends are for - and she is a true friend.

So, you can imagine that our parting was a bit teary for both of us. We tried so hard NOT to cry and both of us failed miserably. She knows my tendency to be early to everything, so she had taken me to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

We sat and visited for a bit and then knew that we had to just do it - we had to say good-bye. It wasn't easy. for either of us.
-----------------------
Through security and on to my gate I went. To sit - and sit - and sit some more - while watching the departure board change the time over and over again. I was supposed to leave at 4:47 - then it changed to 5 p.m. - then to 5:35 p.m. - then to 6 p.m. I called the hubster and told him I had no clue if I was going to be able to make my connection in Chicago to Anchorage. Told him that if he didn't hear from me he could expect me to be on the plane - that I would call if I did not get out on time.

Went to the desk just as soon as someone got there to ask that all important question - erm, if this plane leaves at 6 p.m. will I make it to Chicago in time to catch my flight to Anc. at 7? (there is an hour's time difference, but I had a feeling it would be cutting it very short) The attendant agreed that it would be tight and then got a smile on her face.

(a different) airline is sending a flight to Chicago in just a minute - I'll see if I can get you a seat.

She called the other airline - they had an available seat - she called the ramp guy to come and get a new baggage ticket so he could hump my bag to the other airline - and cut me a new ticket for the other airline - and sent me running to catch the flight - which was in its final boarding calls as I arrived - but had to wait to be checked in and get a boarding pass - sigh!

Down the ramp I ran - okay, I walked quickly - and fell into a seat for a very quick hop to Chicago . . . .

This airline lands at a totally different terminal than the one I was supposed to be flying on - and the one that I would be boarding in Chicago. AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TERMINAL friends. I had to make my way across TWO terminals to get to the right boarding area. I landed at B and had to get to G. Yeah, yeah, that is only five letters. Have you EVER been to Chicago O'Hare????????

It took me half an hour to get there - walking as fast as my fat little legs could carry me. Huff, puff, excuse me, excuse me, huff, puff, ;-) I checked the pedometer when I got there and I had walked a bit over a mile and a half!!!!

Found the gate - sat down in a chair and then heard the attendant at that gate announce - those of you here waiting for flight # ____ to Anchorage - please stay here. We are pretty sure that you will be boarding from a different gate, but please stay here until we find out which gate that will be.

And, the Moose began to pray, Oh, Lord, don't make me walk back across all of those terminals again, please, Lord . . . . oh, okay it is only three gates away. Phew!!!

Where we all trooped like the good little sheep that we were - and tried to find seating for all of us among all of the folks that were already crammed in a single sized waiting room serving THREE gates. ;-/

The flight FROM Anchorage finally arrived and the folks disembarked while the cleaning crew frantically made the plane ready for us and the fuel was pumped and the foodstuffs loaded . . . those are very good things. We waited a bit longer and then were allowed to board for the 6 hour (give or take) ride to Anchorage. We landed about 15 minutes early even - and my luggage even made it - although as soon as I saw it hit the carousel I knew that it had been searched way back in Columbus!!! (how lucky was that TSA person - dirty clothes, including the sweaty clothes from my early morning walk before leaving lol)

Then I had to wait all night - trying to catch some sleep if possible - while keeping an eye on my luggage - while the cleaning crews shampooed the carpets of the ticketing area where several of us waited all night - trying to catch some sleep - keeping our eyes on our luggage . . .

because I arrived after the last plane left for Kenai - and because the next flight, my pre-arranged flight - would not leave until 8 a.m. Erm, yes, you read that right. I arrived back in Alaska at 10:15 p.m. Friday night, but would not be able to leave for Kenai until 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Yay, me. ;-))

So, I snuck some sleep in between potty trips (carting along the luggage cart is so much fun - thank goodness for handicap accessible bathroom stalls) until about 6 a.m. when I figured the ticket stand would open.

Only it didn't. I finally (after all night) noticed a note on the front of their counter - go downstairs to the gate, dummy, it read. And, so I did. Nobody was there, either. Well, no that is not entirely true. There was a man sleeping on the floor rattling the windows with his snores, behind the next ticket counter over.

I freshened up while waiting - I always carry a change of shirt and undies in my carry-on luggage - and even shampooed my hair in the basin. Felt MUCH better afterwards.

The trip to Kenai was great - but C.O.L.D - I had not taken a jacket because I knew it would be hot in Ohio (it was). Silly me. The temps were in the mid 50's here and the plane never really warmed up - it's a 9 seater plane - so I just sat hugging my arms and shivering.

Hubster met me at the airport, took me out to breakfast where three of hs friends were waiting for me (because he thought I arrived at 8 instead of leaving Anc. at 8) - then he took me home where I grabbed a shower, did some laundry and collapsed into bed for an hour nap. Well, it would have been a longer nap, but someone called and I got up.

Okay, there you have it - quick and dirty - no pics yet, because I am still getting them sorted out. I had fodder enough for several photo entries.

gotta keep you waiting.

keep you guessing.

that's my job

and I do it well.

LOL

G'night, friends.

Home Again

Hello, friends . . .

the Moose is home again safely - and the coming home wasn't easy.

that - up there - is a teaser. I will be back later to fill you in on the details. Just wanted to pop in - give you something new to look at - and let you know . . .

Honey, I'm HOME!