Photo Entry

Another weekend trip to Anchorage (with yet another coming NEXT weekend!)

Here are some pics to help satisfy. ;-)

Nobody at home
------------------

You might be wondering what has caused these trees to all die off. Well, it goes back to 1964 - March 27th to be exact. Yup, the big quake. The seas roared in and drowned the poor trees in salt water in the tsunami. At least, that is the story I have been told.

They make a nice composition, though. These were taken on my return Saturday from Anchorage.

That trip is one I have to repeat this coming weekend. I'll be going up Friday and not coming back until Sunday. Told my granddaughter that I have to go to kindergarten for a weekend. She thinks that is pretty funny because she is in kindergarten herself.

I'll be taking a 16 hour course to get ready to take an important exam in a few weeks. When it comes about I'll let you know all about it.

In the meantime, enjoy the pics and I will go out to my cupboard and get the recipe that poor MaryLou has been begging me for. ;-)

RHUBARB CRUNCH (just for you, Mary Lou) ;-)
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 1/8 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 cups diced rhubarb
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon until crumbly. Press half of mixture into 33 x 23 cm glass dish. Cover crumb mixture with rhubarb. Combine sugar, water, cornstarch, and vanilla. Cook until thick and clear. Pour sauce over rhubarb. Top with remaining crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. (from the Taste and See cookbook by Christ Lutheran Church, Soldotna, AK)

and, for Ladybug:

RHUBARB WINE
(makes 1 gallon)

5 lbs. rhubarb
3 lbs. sugar
7 pints water
1 pkg. yeast (wine yeast best)

1. Crush rhubarb with rolling pin or by freezing. Begin to use it while still frozen to prevent loss of juice.

2. Soak the crushed or frozen rhubarb for 5 days in 3 pints water that has been boiled and cooled. (Do this before mixing with rhubarb.) Use plastic or glass pail or pan.

3. Strain (an old pillow case is good), wring out dry and warm juice just enough to dissolve half the sugar. Return to pail. Add yeast. To make several gallons at one time, warm a portion of juice to dissolve sugar, then recombine with rest of juice in pail. Discard pulp.

4. Let set covered, but not sealed, for 10 days.

5. Pour off top wine, leaving deposit in bottom, into glass or plastic gallon jar. Boil 3/4 lb. sugar in 2 pints water for 1 min. Cool. Add to juice. Fit top of jar with cotton or fermentation lock. Ferment for 10 days.

6. Boil remaining 3/4 lb. sugar with remaining 2 pints water. Cool. Add to rest. Refit lock and let set in warm place until all fermentation has ceased, 2 months more or less.Adjust water at this stage. If rhubarb was very juicy, may not need all the water.

7. Siphon off wine into bottles. Seal tightly and dip lids into paraffin to be sure it's tight. Wine is now ready to drink but gets better the longer it ages.

from the Cooking up a Storm in Homer, Alaska cookbook

April Fool

After a couple of weeks of absolutely gorgeous and warm(ish for those of you who don't live in Alaska) weather . . .

APRIL FOOL!!!

yup - surprise, surprise - and all that. And, no, we didn't ask for it. ;-)

Today it is mostly gone - thanks to a day of rain. All together now . . . April showers bring May flowers . . . The rhubarb is loving this weather. The bulbs are getting bigger and bigger. Looks like a bumper crop a-coming. I may have to think about doing something with it this year. (crisps, jam, pie, sauce, etc.)

Hope your weather is sunny and warm.

Remember????

Back in January I posted inside photos of a home we were invited to as part of hubby's new business venture.

We were invited back this weekend. This time for an ice cream social. As the days are much longer now than they were in January - well, all right smarties, the days are still 24 hours long, BUT, the daylight lasts MUCH longer now - I decided to get you a shot of the outside of the home this time. It is so big that it did not fit into the entire view finder. But, you get the idea from it:

The home is on a private drive - a circular drive. There are a few other homes in the area - all of the same type of $$$.

Yes, it's beautiful.

No, it's not really my type of home.

But it's fun to be invited there. The owners are pretty down to earth - the rest of the invitees were "just folks" like us and that helps matters when it comes to mingling over the ice cream. ;-)

We headed back to Anchorage around 9:30 - the home is in Eagle River - to find the Bed & Breakfast filled with scrap-bookers having a weekend. ;-) Well, we had been forewarned that they would be there and had the run of the house. The hostess nicely provided me with a set of ear plugs! ;-) And, yes, I used them. The house did not get quiet until about 3:30 Saturday morning. I pulled the ear plugs out at that time and was able to get to sleep for real after that.

We were the first ones up - after our hostess - but two of the scrapbookers were up shortly after we arose. I was surprised at that. I think they might have gone to bed a bit earlier than most of the others. ;-)

Here are a couple of shots from the drive up to Anchorage Friday afternoon. It was a gloriously clear day. The snow is melting - at least at the roadsides - and the trees are beginning to bud out.

This is a spot alongside the Kenai River where I stopped to eat my lunch. I rolled the window down a bit on the river side of the car to hear the music of the water. It was quite peaceful and lovely. This is in Cooper Landing.



This is near Turnagain Pass. I thought you might enjoy seeing the blue, blue sky and the white that is still on these higher mountains.

Well, that's it for now. Hope you had a great weekend. Here's to a quiet and fulfilling work week. (hear, hear)

Thursday evening

Today has been interesting - absolutely GAWJUS weather!!! A bit windy and chilly in the breeze, but in the sun - oh my, oh my, oh my! Loverly, just loverly.

Did my morning walk at the church gym - a bit over 7000 steps in 45-50 minutes. Off to work to finish compiling the information from our agency survey - and off to buy ice for the cooler and start the coffee, etc. for the workshop. Was able to get the police ride-alongs set up for the students of the workshop, so my week is basically done now.

After work today I picked up the K-Bug from her pre-school and dropped her to her Mama. Rushed into the bathroom to change clothes so I could go for another walk - this time with my friend.

And, lawdy, did we walk!!! I measured it afterwards - 2 miles plus a bit to our turnaround point - we walked just a bit over 4 miles!!! And, no, the knee didn't bother me until we turned and began to walk back! Durned body is falling apart on me. ;-)

Step wise today was a goodie - 17,791!! No wonder my knee is achy! Thanks, Sister B. It was a great walk - and great conversation. I appreciate your friendship.

I have to work for 2 hours tomorrow. Then I am off to the chiro office to get a massage - then home to pick up overnight stuff and off to Anchorage to meet hubby who will be going up first thing in the morning.

He has a meeting mid morning, then we have an ice cream social (!!) to attend that night - and then an all day workshop to attend Saturday - then home that night. Whew! And, yes, Ladybug, I won't forget to buy the boy's diapers. ;-)

And, so my friends I am going to get off here for now. I will check back in probably sometime Sunday. Hoping to get some good photos during the weekend. If that happens, you will find them here next time we meet.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
>..<

Happy Birthday, Mom

April 11, 1918 - October 23, 1973

I still miss you.

This is a picture of my Mom holding me shortly after my birth in 1950. The more weight I lose the more I look like her. And, that is comforting in its own way.

She led a hard life - and we had our "times" when I was a teenager. But I always loved her and, even more, I always respected her. (Sadly, she may not have known that, but that is adult hindsight and wisdom speaking)

Home Show and other stuff

Adagio offers free tea for a link. So, here's the Herbal Tea page. I love herbal teas - peppermint is my favorite. The local restaurant where we have breakfast on weekends has begun to make sure they save out peppermint tea bags just for me. Isn't that sweet? And, even sweeter will be a reward of some from Adagio. Go on over and take a peek and add a link to your page, too.
-----------------------
Today we went to the big Home Show. As I mentioned in my last post - you just HAVE to go to get a new yardstick. Guess what they ran out of just before we got there? You got it - yardsticks. Well, that's okay. No biggie. The kiddies all found plenty of giveaways to fill their bags. And so did this moosie and the daughters as well.

One of the things we do as we walk around is sign up for everything that looks remotely good . . . like the cash cards from Home Depot. Oh, yes indeedy, We'd like to win one of those, we would, we would. Dreaming about a new bathroom, too - so I picked up some info on getting that done. But, that is gonna have to wait until I can afford it. (sigh)

Yesterday while I was riding I passed this blue, green and yellow car. Well, the yellow part was the moose head on top. Yup, you heard me right. A moose of a different color than the one you are used to seeing here on this page. ;-) Not sure you believe me? Well, Ladybug took a picture of me and the car for you - yes, it was at the Home Show. (It is a gimmick for the local yellow pages)

And, I sweet talked the fellow there out of this little guy:

with the promise that he would make an appearance on my website with the PurpleMoose and that I would send him a link to show him. So, there you go, B.W. Jr., as promised.

We walked round and round and the girls and I took turns signing up at the various booths. We would take three slips and sign each other's names and such. That way not one of us got hand cramps. Cooperation. (C is for Cooperation, Bethie! heh) (sorry inside joke)

Oh, I have to tell you how we held parking spots. Yup, that lot was FULL!!! when we got there. I found a spot, but the Ladybug van was quite a way behind us. So, I walked up to the front and waited for her while Lessa and her son scoped out a spot to hold for her. (they had ridden with me) By the time Ladybug arrived they had been steadily moving forward as cars pulled out - they were showing people where to park, all the while keeping one open. Contrary to what I thought, people did not seem to get upset about it. One lady even told the grandson that she remembered doing the very same thing for HER mother when she was a kid.

Small town life. I tell you, if you haven't tried it, you need to.

After the show we went to watch TAT play his first soccer game. What a lot of fun that is. And, the best part? The KIDS have such a good time. He took a ball in the head, too and didn't even bat an eyelash. Good kiddo, that one.

One last picture. Saw this while riding yesterday and then again today:

What's so interesting about this, you might be asking?

Well . . . Here's the big picture. Someone has a sense of humor:

It's the result of ice and snow melting, but being backed up due to the raised bike path. It'll eventually all go into the ground - as soon as the frost underneath breaks through. This is in front of a silk screener's shop.

Remember my motto: I live in Alaska, I make my own fun.

Have a loverly Sunday everyone.

Chilly day for a ride

Thanks to Sugarfused (link on sidebar) I learned that Adagio offers free tea for a link. So, here's the Herbal Tea page. I love herbal teas - peppermint is my favorite. The local restaurant where we have breakfast on weekends has begun to make sure they save out peppermint tea bags just for me. Isn't that sweet? And, even sweeter will be a reward of some from Adagio. Go on over and take a peek and add a link to your page, too.
-----------------------
Chilly day for a ride
but a good day for a ride, too. So, ride I did. 69 miles Friday. That is just a jaunt around town so to speak. Start in Kenai, head towards Soldotna, take a left towards Sterling, loop back around through Soldotna, head towards Kasilof, loop back along Kalifornsky Beach, take a left back to Kenai and home. And, none too soon, either. My fingers were aching!!! The cold had turned the tips blue and they were ice to touch. But it was still a good day.

Hit some rain - mist more than anything - along K-Beach and that was the most unpleasant thing about the ride. But you know, I have ridden in pouring down rain and wind that blew me sideways, so this mist was nothing!

However, before I could go and ride, I had to take the car in to the tire shop and have the studs taken off and the all weather tires put back on. Yup, time to change over for spring and summer driving. No more clickety, clickety, clickety along the roadways. We still have a couple of weeks before bound by law to get them removed, but I think that it is time. I doubt we will have much more in the way of snowfall this year.

Now watch . . . we will get a good dumping of snow in the next couple of weeks. LOL it never fails. And, that is okay. I drove up here for about 15 years before I ever had studded tires on any of the vehicles. Sometimes studs just make you less cautious - you depend on them too much for that extra bit of traction. And, that can be dangerous, too.

Tomorrow is the first day of the big Home Show. Gotta go get my yardstick! One of the building supply stores always has a booth and they hand out yardsticks. It's the sign of having been to the Home Show when you get home with a new yardstick! Yup, it's small town life for sure.

And, of course you have to go to every booth and sign up to win something. I am becoming a bit more picky about which ones I sign up at, though. A lot of the time they are just a way for the companies to get your phone number so they can sic the telemarketers on you. So, I make sure it is something that I want and a company I don't mind hearing from . . . over and over and over again.

The Job Fair yesterday was a loooooonnnngggg day. Hubby and his RVP were at the far end of the room from where I had my table set up. So, we could keep an eye on each other. ;-) There were some freebies there, too. I especially like getting the fat pens. They are so much nicer for my arthritic hands to hold. The Army table had several left at the end of the day and the fellow said take them all so he didn't have to cart them off. I grabbed 5 or 6 from there. The Air National Guard gave me a basketball for oldest grandson. And, then he came later with his Mama and they gave him a t-shirt, too. All of the grandkiddos got a little something.

460 people came through the Job Fair before I left at 5 p.m. That is important for me to know because I have to enter that number on my monthly presentation statistics log. And, since I was also interviewed for the radio I can use an even bigger number for that log - 10,000 which is their estimated radio audience. My boss is gonna love me. ;-)

Hubby and his RVP made a lot of good contacts at the fair, so that worked out well for them.

Anywho . . . I am going to get off here - Hope that you all have a wonderful Saturday. Enjoy.
>..<

Nine Weeks

give or take a few days . . .

Spent most of this morning online and on the phone with airlines partner desks - arranging our flights for a trip we'll be taking in June. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy!

First I had to find out if we could do what we wanted to do - fly into one city, stay a week, fly out and to another city, stay a few days, then fly home - all on the same mileage ticket. Nup, can't do that.

But we CAN . . . fly to the first city, then purchase other tickets to fly to the second city, then fly home from there with the first and the last parts being on the mileage tickets.

hmmmmm - off to research lowest fares for that pesky little purchase that had to be made - and found them for $30 less than the travel agents wanted. And, while I like to do business with our local travel agency, $60 will buy a nice dinner out while we are out and about, you know?

So - before I buy those tickets - leaving that window open on the 'puter - I hustle over to check our mileage and discover we are almost 10,000 miles short - confab with the hubby and I go back armed with his credit card number to purchase the miles we need. Then I call the 800 number for the partner desk and make arrangments for the flight out and flight back. Whew!!! That gal earned her paycheck today with me.

She worked hard, and it wasn't easy.

Our flight out is pretty uncomplicated - leave Anchorage, fly into Dallas, then on to Atlanta.

To get to Columbus for our next stop we have to fly from Atlanta to St. Louis (!!!???!!!) first and then on to Columbus.

Then on our return trip it gets a bit hinky. She worked for it and had to be quite creative in order to get us home by Sunday in order for both of us to be back to work on Monday. Bless her heart: Leave Columbus - fly to Chicago - fly to San Francisco - fly to Seattle - fly to Anchorage. It's the scenic tour!

Yep, it's for real now - we are leaving on a jet plane (well, in a few weeks) and going to a convention for four days, then visiting hubby's kin for a few days, then visiting more of his kin and my aunt and uncle, and some friends for a few days, and then back to work where we will have to go to work in order to recover. ;-) Yay.

Now, a little while ago, Phyllis sent me a message inviting me to join a little recipe exchange thingy. You send a recipe to the first name on the list, delete that name, move the second name up and add your own name below so that there are only two names in the email. Then you send out the invitation to 8 or more people inviting them to do the same.

What fun!!! I have received several recipes and am looking forward to trying them over the next few months. I have sent out two Alaskan recipes to those who have shared recipes with me.

So, here's my question - does anyone else want to play? Drop me a note (email link at upper right on this page - take out the NOSPAM in the address) and I will send you the original email. Okay? Okay.

Above all else, have fun with it. Life's too short to not have fun.

'night, friends.

Still riding??

Nope - not still out riding. We have had some (gasp!) snow showers. Not sticking stuff, but they came with very cold winds. Yuk! So, no more riding probably until the weekend.

Busy trying to firm up our plans for a trip we are taking in June. Hubby and I will be going to Atlanta for a conference and then to surrounding areas to visit some of his nieces and nephews. Then, we hope to stop in Columbus on the way back to Alaska to visit with some friends. It would be a good time to check in on my aunt and uncle as well. ;-)

Just have to clear it with the airlines reservations people - we'll be using mileage to do it. (mileage is a GOOD thing) I was all set to make the reservations when I decided maybe - just maybe - I need hubby here at home with me to do it. He probably needs to make some input. It's not like the trip I made last August when it was only my itinerary I needed to worry about.

Busy, busy, busy at work this week. I have a workshop to help facilitate next week which means I have been compiling the manuals for up to 24 students. (we will probably have 5-10) Ran the copier ALL day yesterday and part of today.

Sunday I have to shop for the goodies for the workshop - pastries and juice for the mornings and fruit, veggies and pop for the afternoons. Not to forget, chocolate for my boss - and cookies, too. Busy, busy, moosie.

Tonight I have to go to the local governing body's meeting to take photos of one of our board members receiving a proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The week after the workshop we will be receiving two more proclamations from the cities during chambers of commerce meetings. Yup, I have to go take pictures for those, too. ;-)

Oh, and then it is Volunteer Appreciation Day on the 21st! I have to send out the invites and order ice cream and cookies and such for that.

Whew! Guess I'd better get off here, huh?

right . . . .

I did . . . .

I did the dishes . . .

I did two loads of laundry . . .

and then . . . .

I did what any self-respecting person who could do, would do . . .

Get ready . . .

Get set . . .

GO!

Going . . . .

GONE . . . .

Well, gone for about 23 miles anyway. It is C.O.L.D!!! out there. 35 degrees if you are standing still. However, 55 mph at 35 degrees adds up to a whole lot less when you figure in some wind chill.

It was worth it!!! The first wobbly, shaky, uncertain ride of the season is out of the way. I took the back road through the neighborhood for a few blocks just to get the feel of the bike again. That is always a wise thing to do. Then I hit the main road and did a short loop through the next town and back across the Kenai River to home. I am feeling MUCH better now. ;-)

Thanks, Lessa, for snapping the pics for me. (She called me Go Go Gadget Gramma on one of her posting sites. heh)

Well, I have a couple more loads of laundry to do, so I had best get to it. You all have a wonderful day.

April Fools!

So, Lessa did a sneak attack on the moose and surprised me! What a kid that one is, huh? Thanks for the new spring do, Lessa! (now you all go on over and hire her to do something for you - she'll do good by you.)

The sun is shining brightly over my left shoulder as I type. Ahhhhh! I think spring just might be making its way to our fair land finally. The

Rhubarb is beginning to bud up - yummy - won't be long before I can make a pan of rhubarb crunch.

So, what is your favorite April Fool's Day prank? I have a couple that just tickled me. A few years ago all of the cartoonists drew the day's cartoons for each other. You would (for instance) find Beetle Bailey starring in the Garfield column strip.

The other prank happened here locally. Our radio station owner/manager has a quirky sense of humor. He is also gone from the area a lot as he has a hunting lodge across the Inlet and guides most of the fall. We are never really very shocked at hearing something that he has done.

So one morning several years ago we awoke to the radio personnel in seeming disarray. It seems that there had been a takeover of the station. Two (totally opposite personality types who had NO connection to radio) people were on the air talking with the morning jocks and news people about how they had staged a coup and had purchased the station and license out from under the owner/manager. He, of course, was out of town and not available for comment.

They had the area really going there for several hours. Several of us caught on early in the game, but didn't give it away. I called the news manager (we have known each other for a loooooonnnnngggg time) and, off the air, told him that I had caught on and realized what the date was. We laughed together and he told me that the joke would be revealed during the noon news hour.

Anyway, those were just pure fun.

I don't like mean pranks - those played on me or on anyone else. There's not much sense to them at all.

Hmmmmm - maybe next year a bunch of us can trade blogs for a day for April Fool's Day. ;-) Naaahhhhh, we'll just forget, huh?

Have a wonderful day. If it stays warm like this I think that two wheeled beauty might find her way out of the confines of the garage. Snow and ice? Who cares. I wanna ride.

see ya.