What do Crabhats, Golden Gate, Chinatown, and Alcatraz have in common?

San Francisco

What do Crabhats, Golden Gate, Chinatown, and Alcatraz have in common? The answer my friends is not blowin' in the wind as the song goes (or maybe it is!) - the answer is three crustaceans and an old crab have landed in San Francisco. Daughter Jennifer, daughter-in-law Janet and good friend Kathy and I are terrorizing the town. And what fun we are having doing the terrorizing!

Lets start at the beginning....if I can remember it. We arrived Saturday at noon and immediately took a shuttle ride to our hotel for the first night. The ride from the airport was nothing less than absolute fear...the driver was crazy and several times I thought we weren't going to be alive to tell the story or even see the city! However, we survived the ride, dumped our bags at the hotel and started off for Fisherman's Wharf, which was a few short blocks away. But first things first, we were all starved. We found a great pub for lunch....Fiddler's Green. We couldn't make up our minds what we wanted to eat so we shared...Banger's and Mash; and Irish hamburger and Irish stew. YUM!

Now we were ready to go see what kind of trouble we could cook up at Fisherman's Wharf. We walked down the street until we got to Pier 39 which is really a tourist trap, but we are tourists, so we strolled through it. We kept loosing each other in the crowd. It was getting frustrating and we needed a way to spot each other...so we came up with an idea. We bought and wore crab hats! Yes, sober and all, the four of us wore crab hats.



Yes, we were sober! And yes, we were able to spot each other in a crowd! And yes, we did attract a little bit of attention. Strangers asked where we got the hats; took our pictures and made comment on "how cute" it was. They were probably thinking we were real idiots, but we didn't care and we were having fun. And we laughed...oh how hard can we laugh!

We had dinner at Aliotto's that night...I insisted! And boy was it ever good! WOW! And we are such party animals that we were crashed at 9:00 p.m. -- done for the day!

SUNDAY
We were up and off for our first tour. We purchased a two day tour from the "hop off-hop on" bus. Our first tour was the city loop. SF is such an interesting, diverse city. We started in Fisherman's Wharf, then through the Embarcadaro, Financial District, the Tenderloin (where we were advised to not walk alone), Union Square and Chinatown, North Beach and finally back to where we started. However, Kathy and I hopped off at Chinatown and had Dim Sum for lunch and wandered the streets there for a while; the other two went on to take the tour of the Golden Gate.




We all met up later in the afternoon as we had to change hotels. But before we did that, we had to go to Ghiradelli Square which was just down the street from our hotel for some chocolate. We had hot fudge sundaes and did a little Chocolate shopping.





I had booked our timeshare for Sun-Fri; then all of us decided we wanted to come in a day earlier, so I just booked a day at another timeshare. At any rate, we loaded our luggage up into a town car (no more shuttles for us and the cost was the same) and we took off for Inn at the Opera which is located right next to the Opera house and Civic Center. However, our driver did take us down Lombard street...the crookedest street in SF. What a street....I have always wanted to drive down it! After getting settled in the hotel we walked a few blocks to an Italian Restaurant where locals go and boy it was good. YUM again.

Up early on Monday (I thought we were on vacation?) and off to pickup our tickets for our Alcatraz tour later that day. Kathy and I took the Golden Gate tour and Jennifer and Janet took the Chinatown trip. The day before when they took the Golden Gate tour they were so cold (we are on the top of double decker open air buses) so Kathy and I prepared and wore several layers of clothing. However, we had a beautiful, sunny, warm, clear day and we were shedding layers of clothing before too long. This tour took us over the bridge; through the Presidio; Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow and Russian Hill. The Presidio is now owned by the National Parks and they are converting many of the dwellings into houses...albeit, very expensive houses. We ended our tour and met the other two for lunch at Fog City Diner. Then it was off to Alcatraz.




Very interesting tour. Having never been in a jail before (any of us) it was all very interesting and we all decided we didn't ever want to reside in one of these. Many prisoners tried to escape "the rock" and only 3 ever succeeded...however, it isn't known if they actually succeeded, or drown trying to swim the icy waters of SF Bay. Alcatraz was a prison for 29 years before it just became to expensive to use. Since everything, including water had to be transported over, the government closed it down in an attempt to cut costs. (and we all know how the government can cut costs!!) After it closed as a prison, Native Indians took it over as their own for a while before they were forced off the island. Now it is owned by the US Parks service.

After our tour there, we were back to catch a "city lights" night tour of SF. It basically took us over most of what the city tour did, except we did go by the "Painted Ladies". The Painted Ladies are a set of seven Victorian Houses in the Victorian and Edwardian styles were built in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915 and many were painted in bright colors. This is also known as "Post Card Row" as many postcards are pictures of these houses. Also the TV Show "Full House" was set here. Very pretty.



By the time we were done with this busy day we crashed. We are certainly doing a lot of walking and trying to see everything we can in the few days we are here.

Tuesday
Our day to ride cable cars! You can't come to SF and not ride cable cars! We started on the Powell Mason and rode it from end to end, then walked a few blocks to the Powell Hyde car, which takes you up "Rice-a-Roni" hill (made famous by the commercial for Rice a Roni). We stopped at the cable car museum, then on to the California Cable Car line, from end to end. Cable cars are so fascinating. Then we hopped on the street car (different from Cable car) and went out to Castro district and then on to the bus back to the Painted Ladies and Victorian House area. Finally back to the hotel....I was done for! My back was hurting, so I begged off dinner and just layed low last night. It was a fun day tho!

Today we are heading for an In N Out Burger (what? you didn't think I would let that slip by) and then to the North Beach area. The girls are out right now touring the city hall/library area. I opted to stay home and blog! More later.

Lake Chelan and Back

Odessa
What a fun weekend I had. I met up with Daughter in law Janet and granddaughter Cammie at Lake Chelan for a "girls" weekend while my house in Odessa turned into deer hunting central for the guys!

I got to Lake Chelan Friday afternoon after a trip over some back roads in Eastern Washington. I saw a lot of country I hadn't seen before! After getting settled in to the timeshare at Wapato Point we decided to go exploring. All of us have been to Lake Chelan many times, but there is always something more to see and do. AL and I had at one point in time, owned a piece of property in the little town of Manson on Lake Chelan. It was in a community that only allowed manufactured homes; they had to be new when the went on the lot and there were/are very strict guidelines on what you could put on your lot. We purchased the lot for around $15,000 and sold it in 2001 (against my better judgement) for double what we paid for it. Well, the lot with the house on it now is for sale. So I had to inquire. $499,000! OUCH! THere is still one empty lot in the development, so today I called to inquire on the price of the lot....$125,000! ARE THEY CRAZY? And it isn't even a view lot! Damn, another one lost! Oh well! SOme you lose and some you win and some are rained out!

Anyway, we went to dinner at a very nice pub in Chelan and had a great meal. Then it was back to the condo to pretty much give in for the evening.

Up Saturday and off to breakfast at a place called Blueberry Hills. WOW, is all I can say. This place started out as a fruit stand, and as they say, accidently turned into a restaurant. They only serve breakfast and lunch, but boy is it ever good. I had the best Eggs Benidict I have ever put in my mouth! After stuffing ourselves we headed for Winthrop, WA. Winthrop is a little town in the Methow Valley. It has a "western" theme to it and it just a cool little town to go poking around in. It was a beautiful drive through the Methow Valley. I stopped several times to take some pictures.

Methow River















We wandered (yes, Jennifer, wandered) through Winthrop poking our noses into some of the shops. Had to buy some candy at one...I was craving a carmel apple. Had lunch at a pizza place that was very good. Then we drove to Pearrygin Lake where Janets parents were camped. What a beautiful place that is. I will have to remember that spot to come back to next year with the 5th wheel and stay a while. We visited with her parents for a bit, then headed back to Chelan. It was getting a little cool outside by the time we got back. We decided to play Chicken Foot (a dominos game--it's addicting) and wound up grilling burgers and playing until late in the night. What a fun night tho.

Sunday dawned just as beautiful as the day before. We lazed around the condo for most of the morning and then decided to go back to Blueberry Hills for lunch. I had a cheeseburger (of course) with blueberry mayo...and it was good. After lunch we headed back into Chelan for some retail therapy. I needed some socks for my cold feet! While in town we kept hearing and seeing all these rescue vehicles going out of town on our side of the lake. Hmm...first we thought accident (the road to Manson is somewhat treacherous) but then we saw the fire trucks heading out, then the water trucks...FIRE! We headed back towards Manson looking for smoke and didn't see a bit. We drove to the very end of Manson and when we turned around we were amazed to see the big black plume of smoke from just over the hill. Hmmm...so off we went to see if we could find where the fire was. After a few attempts we gave up and decided to take a ride up to the ski resort. It was a very pretty ride, fall colors and all. And to our surprise, when we got to the ski resort, we found the fire! The ski hill was burning.


















On our way back down into town, we saw this on the lake....

We still have no idea what it was. It looked like a low hanging cloud, however, when we drove about 100 yards further down the hill it completely disappeared. Very weird! And there wasn't a cloud in the sky!





We played cards last night after having our dinner. We all finally gave up and went to bed late.

This morning I was leaving for home and Cammie was headed back to Seattle. Janet will stay at the condo and wait for Ric to arrive from Odessa where he was hunting this weekend. BTW, no deer were hurt this weekend, and only a few ducks lost their lives.

The drive home was uneventful....pretty county on a very pretty Autumn day. The weather has warmed up some, it is only suppose to get into the low 50's tonight! This week I will be busy finishing packing the 5th wheel and getting it ready to go when I get home from San Francisco. I leave on Friday for Seattle and fly to SF from there on Saturday. So until the next post, most likely from San Francisco...have a great week!

A Stitch in Time...

Odessolet

Wow...what a week! Remind me again why we are still here? Oh ya, that's right, AL wanted to deer hunt and I wanted to stay and enjoy some Fall weather. Okay, enough! We woke up to 25 degrees this morning. Had me whining about Tucson! All the animals and myself DID NOT want to get out of bed...too cold! BRRRR...time to go!

This last week has kinda' been a blur. I have been busy trying to organize and start to load the trailer...only I feel like I am in slow motion or I am slogging through water! I just can't do as much and as fast as I used to! Darn...getting old is starting to catch up with me and I don't like it one bit. Oh, I don't care about the number, I just hate this feeling of weakness I get and the sore body. My mind is still in it's 40's, however, my body says it definitely isn't!

Monday we had to take Schuster to the vet to have minor surgery. He had to have a cyst removed from his upper chest. Nothing to worry about, just a fatty tumor. I said that was the only fat on him and the vet agreed. He is in very good health otherwise. While they had him "under" they cleaned his teeth as well. While he was in the vet, (which is in Reardan, about 50 miles from here)we decided to go on in to Spokane and see our sister-in-law Gloria and take her to lunch and meet up with Gary and Jeannette as well. We had a good lunch and visit. I had to hit a couple fabric stores as I am looking for a pattern. WOW...guess it has been a while since I have bought a pattern...darn things are expensive and so is fabric. OUCH! Any way, we got back to the vet around 3:30 and picked up one very groggy dog. The vet said everything went fine, just to watch him that he didn't pull the stitches out, which none of us thought he would since they aren't in the easiest place to reach for him.

He did fine yesterday... a little loopy from the pain meds, but other wise he was fine. Then, this morning I got up and checked his stitches and couldn't find a one! All I could see was an incision, wide open and bleeding! WTH? How, he got those stitches out is beyond me! At any rate, I bandaged him up as well as I could and off to Reardan we go to get him stitched up AGAIN! When I called the vet she said I could try and super glue the incision together...HUH? Anyone that knows me knows that won't happen! The vet has super glued his incision and put a "sweater" type thing over it. She said he couldn't get that off...HA! We weren't even home and he had figured out a way to get it loose...and didn't even scratch or bite at it! So once we got home I once again took my medical tape and taped up the sweater thing so hopefully he won't get it off. He is once again a little on the loopy side and they had to give him some meds to calm him down. Now I am watching him like a hawk!

Speaking of hawks, well, not really, on the way to Reardan today I saw two wild turkeys (and not the kind in a bottle either!!) And, what I think was an Eagle. However, I don't ever remember seeing eagles over here, but it sure looked big enough to be one.

We have had cold, rainy and very windy weather the past few days. 17 more days and we will be outta' here. I heard on the weather forecast they were predicting "flurries" -- I sure hope those were leaf flurries and not that S stuff!

I am off this weekend to Lake Chelan to spend the weekend with daughter in law Janet and granddaughter Cammie while my house turns into deer hunting central. Then next week (18th) I am going to San Francisco for 6 days with the girls....can't wait for that trip.

So until next time.....we are still here.

Betty Crocker has invaded my body!

Odessa
Oh boy...I have been in this little burg too long! The Suzi Homemaker or Betty Crocker has invaded my body. All of a sudden I want to bake and cook and clean (am I nesting??) repeat! Today I baked 200 cookies...don't ask why, I just did. It started with me wanting a really good peanut butter cookie and the only way I knew how to do that was to bake some. And so it began. I used my grandmother's recipe, which always makes me laugh when I read it. Such things as "bake until done" and "a smidgen of soda" appear in the recipe. What is a smidgen of soda???? Guessing, as I always do, I use a teaspoon. Any way, when I was done with those apparently my mind wasn't done wanting to bake (I tell you, it has got to be that $%^# CPAP doing things to my brain!)I decided it is fall and every fall I bake Pumpkin cookies. SO I dug out my trusty recipe and away I went. I have gone through 5 pounds of flour today!!! Those pumpkin cookies are so good, but the recipe makes about 120 cookies! WHEW! I have a note on the recipe that says "DO NOT DOUBLE" -- apparently I did that at one time and wound up with way too many pumpkin cookies!

Now, one would think I would be doing this on a cool day, but no, it was 85 here today! The a/c is working overtime! Especially with the oven on! :-) But it was fun.

Yesterday I finished a quilt top and I am not happy with the way it turned out so I am debating tearing it apart and trying to fix it. I have put it away for a while...too frustrated with it.

The trailer is cleaned and I am starting to load it. Most of my clothes are in it (Can you tell who is ready to go??); my sewing machine stays in it as that is where I sew; and any thing else I can do with out that needs to go south with us is in the trailer. I am bugging Al to get his clothes out that he wants to take, but he is dragging his feet and I will wind up doing it. I want to have as much loaded as I can before I leave for San Francisco later this month. Oh, did I tell you? The "girls" Janet, Kathy and Jennifer and I are spending 6 days in San Francisco. I can hardly wait. I have wanted to explore San Francisco for a long time and it has been a long time since I have spent any amount of time there. The Panama Canal cruise that we took last spring stopped in San Francisco for a day and that started me wanting to go back. AL isn't crazy about big cities and prefers not to have to deal with them, so this is perfect. He will have his hunting to do and I will get to play for a few days. Just wish Bev could be with us.

Oops -- time to go, my cats are circling telling me it is a little after 5:00p.m. and their feeding time, so until next time.....

WTH?

Odessa
Okay, I AM NOT a financial wizard! But WTH? a 700 BILLION dollar bail out to failed lending institutions? Because THEY were financially irresponsible? Hmmm...I would like to see a dollar for dollar accounting of where every bit of the 700 Billion goes. If I am forced to help pay for this fiasco, I want to know where in the hell my money is going.

I don't know about you, but when I get behind in a bill or forget to pay a bill, I don't have someone there to bail me out, do you? When I am financially irresponsible I have to either a.) pay the consequences or b.) get myself out of it. So why in the hell are we bailing out these lending institutions? Could it be mis-management in the very largest scale? Giving loans to those who don't really qualify? Creative financing that the banks had to know would not get repaid? I mean really...back in 1999 Fannie Mae and other lending institutions relaxed their lending criteria so more Americans could own homes. I am betting 95% of those people have defaulted on their mortgages. And just who in the hell thought that by giving away loans (that is basically what I feel they did) that the recipients would pay it back? Come on folks...
Again, I ask the question, why in the hell are we having to pay for this? I am ready to join what ever grass roots movement there is to stop this...only it was sprung on the American people and our damn government says there is NO TIME to fix it unless they get the 700 billion NOW! Sounds pretty fishy to me. How could they NOT know? They definitely know if you don't pay your taxes, so how in the hell could they miss this big mistake?

I know a lot of you know more about high finances than I do...can you explain this to me???? I have a call into my broker, however, he hasn't returned my call in 4 days...hmmm, should I worry? And my bank, WAMU is gone...I guess I now bank at JP Morgan Chase. And Wachovia is falling to Citigroup...how much of the 700 billion will they get?


Any replies, rebuttals? Again I say WTH? And don't get me started on people who bought houses at an inflated rate, then defaulted on their mortgage and are now crying in their beer...............

CPAP battle is over

Odessa
I think I have finally mastered the CPAP, or BiPAP as mine is called. The new face mask is working and I have had 4 nights of un-interrupted, glorious sleep and rest. The first night I wore the mask it was a little strange getting used to this "thing" on my face, but I was so tired I fell asleep and woke up refreshed the next morning. Wow, what a feeling. And after four nights of sleep I feel GREAT! Matter-of-fact I have more energy than I know what to do with. If only my poor body could keep up with the energy level I have all of a sudden! The cats on the other hand wonder what has happened to my face at night. Juanito will "pat" the mask at night to see if I am really under it! Funny! And when the mask leaks air it makes a funny noise and the dogs will growl at it...and yet I am getting sleep.

Yesterday I did more work around the house in one stretch than I have done in a long time and I was looking for more to do, only my body said "ENOUGH--I AM SORE ENOUGH!" Yes folks, I feel good. FINALLY! Now I just have to get my body to agree to this new feeling of energy and I will be rockin'! Somehow I don't think my old body is gonna' willingly agree to this new energy level...I will have to break it in slowly!

We have had some beautiful Fall days here in Odessolet. Crisp mornings and nights and beautiful days. The leaves are beginning to turn and fall, and there is a certain smell in the air that says its Fall. I am enjoying these days here, especially since I don't have a lot planned to do until deer hunting weekend. I have cut out a new quilt and will begin sewing it today....hope to finish it before I leave.

On another note, our son Jerry and wife Ardis have decided to separate. It makes me sad to see this, however, if they both are happier apart, then it is the right thing to do. We support their decision and love them both.

On to happier things....we are going to be great grandparents again...David and Tiffany are expecting a new bundle of wet diapers in March. Congrats to them.

Until next time...enjoy life, it's the only one you have got!

CPAP 8 - Jo 0

Odessa
GRRR...the CPAP and I have really a hate, hate relationship. It hates me and I hate it. So why do I keep trying to use it? Well, for one thing, the doctor scared the pants off me when he said that my oxygen level was down to 50% sometimes and that could cause a sroke or heart attack. And he said that I would feel much better if I got some decent rest (and he went to medical school for that???)

At any rate, I have been trying every night to use the %^&*() thing. I did get one full night in with it...then the trouble started. For what ever reason my brain says I am suffocating when I put the mask on. No sh..!!! Just because I can't breathe out means I am suffocating? So what do I do? I yank the mask off and throw it across the room...detaching it from the CPAP in the process. I turn off the CPAP, get up in search of the mask...in the dark. Then I either have to turn on the light and wake AL and the dogs up or try and put this thing back together in the dark. Instead I give up and go back to sleep without it. This has taken place every night but one. That damn machine is winning. Now, anyone that knows me, knows that I won't stand for that.

Today I loaded up said CPAP (actually, I was corrected today and told it was a BiPAP) and drove to Moses Lake to see what they could to to help me get used to this monster. After trying several masks on, I finally settled on a full face mask. I know, I know, you CPAP users are cringing at the thought, but I actually found it more comfortable..at least while I was in the office. We shall see what transpires tonight. I look like the alien from outer space with this "thing" on my face. But if it works, I will live with it..after all this isn't a damn beauty contest..right? It's all about me being able to breathe and as long as I don't look in a mirror and scare the daylights out of myself I should be fine.

Stay tuned..............

3 Day Cancer walk; CPAP; Deutschesfest, all rolled into one!

Odessa, WA

Whew, these last few weeks have been a blur for me! Seems like we have been constantly on the go. Oh! Wait! WE HAVE! Let me start at the beginning.

Two weeks ago we headed to Spokane for the day to see our little great (grand?) nephew Joshua. He belongs to Kali, which is Gary and Jeannette's daughter. Kali and Scott were relocating from Louisiana to Olympia, WA and Gary and Jeannette kept Josh for two weeks. He is just a little over a year old and a real cutie. He sure has captured our hearts.

Joshua and Grandma Jeannette


Then on Sept 11 we headed back to Seattle for another round of doctor appointments and to support Ric, Jennifer and Sherrie in the 3Day Breast Cancer 60 mile walk! First, just let me say how proud we are of these three....they have been training for this walk since January and logged hundreds of training miles. Their dedication to this cause is wonderful.
Friday morning up at o'dark thirty for the Opening Ceremonies. Sherrie is a 5 year survivor of breast cancer and she was in the survivor circle. There were over 3200 walkers and six were chosen for the survivor circle. It was very emotional to see her up there. And my thoughts had to stray to Cindy, our niece who lost her battle with cancer three years ago. Anyway, back to the Opening...it was sure moving to see all those people, men and women, who were walking to support the breast cancer research cause.

Sherrie

THen while they were walking their first day, 22 miles in all, I had an appointment for an endoscopy in downtown Seattle. Daughter-in-law Janet took me to this appointment and good thing she did...I was wiped out for the rest of the day.

Saturday we were up early again. Denice, Sherrie's sister and our niece and I took off to meet Janet and "cheer" on our walkers. We were at the cheering station in Kirkland for over 3 hours, cheering on not only our walkers, but the other 3200 as well. What a experience....I can't really describe how you feel seeing all of these people walking for this cause and the thousands of people who turned out to cheer them along the route. It still really amazes me!

Part of the crowd at a cheering station


Then we headed over to the lunch spot for the walkers and met up with the kids. Jennifer was suffering from bone bruises on the bottom of her feet and gave up walking for the rest of the day. I took her with us to the next cheering station and then to camp and the medical tent.

Sunday Denice and I headed over to Green Lake for the first cheer station and was there at 7:30 a.m. UGH! Janet met us there and we set up our little cheering station along with some other early morning people. I must add that the weather in Seattle that weekend was amazing. Warm, sunny and beautiful. A LOT of people were out walking around Green Lake and they turned into cheer supporters as well...unintentionally. Jennifer was doing much better today after Ric "doctored" her foot.

Denice and I spent the day following the walkers in my car and finally wound up at Memorial Stadium to cheer them in to the finish line. TO see the thousands of people there to cheer in the walkers was amazing.

Ric, Jennifer and Sherrie crossing the finish line and the victory tunnel.

We were joined at the closing ceremony by several of the kids friends, plus granddaughter Cammie and our good friends Rowland and Kathy Brasch. Closing ceremony was very emotional...just looking down on the stadium field and seeing the 3200 plus walkers and survivors! WOW! And most importantly, over 8.6 million dollars was raised for breast cancer research...our kids raised over $20,000 themselves. So I say thank you to all of you who donated to them!

Monday was full day doctors for Al. He got good reports from all the doctors. Then it was my turn. I had an appointment to do a sleep study for sleep apnea. Oh goodie. I got to sleep overnight at the hospital, hooked up to all these machines. I had enough wires on me that I could get all TV and radio channels in the world! My goodness, how was I suppose to sleep with all these wires attached to me? I don't know how I did it, but I did sleep and the next morning I saw the doc and yes, I have sleep apnea. Oh goody! Of course I can't have the normal sleep apnea where your throat muscles relax and collapse when you sleep causing you to quit breathing...no, when I get into the REM sleep I just quit breathing...throat muscles have nothing to do with it! So, the next night I get to go back and do another sleep study and this time I get to wear the CPAP as well. Let me tell you, THAT did not go well. At any rate, to make a long story longer, I came home with a CPAP and I am not happy about it. I am having a horrible time adjusting to it...it still makes me feel like I am suffocating. Hopefully I will get used to it...maybe.

We had doctor appointments again on Tuesday and Wednesday we headed home. We decided to come over Stephens Pass through Wenatchee. The weather was still beautiful and the fall colors were just starting to appear. There was a feeling of "fall" in the air. We got home just in time to see our friend from Arizona Bob Grabow pull in with his motor home. He will be here for the weekend and possibly longer if we can convince him to stay a while. Bob and Al went to high school together here and have been life long friends.

Thursday was spent getting ready for our annual yard sale. What a job! The weather was hot, hot and hot. This is not unusual for this time of year here.

Friday Deutschesfest began in Odessa. This fall festival is always fun and this little town of 1,000 grows into 20,000 or more. Friday is the official start of "fest" and the campers and tourist were already rolling in. Our house was holding Denice, Jennifer, Sherrie, their friends Margo and Bob, and our good friends Kathy and Rowland. Denice and Sherrie went to high school in Odessa and lived here while growing up so it was like a mini reunion for them. Friday was in the 90's and we were all thinking it was going to be a warm weekend. Boy, were we fooled. Saturday turned out cold and windy. OF course, I had the yard sale going on, trying to keep things from blowing all over. The weather held down the people coming to the yard sale and we didn't have many purchaser's.

Saturday brought more of our family to visit. It was good to see them all. Niece Penny was here with her little granddaughter Riley, who is 10 months old and really cute. Nephew Jeremy was here with his family from California, including 3 year old Peyton; niece Michelle and grand (great?) niece Cameron were here as well. Gloria, our sister-in-law was here from Spokane, so our house was full yesterday. Last night we hosted our "rib fest" for 11 people...Al did his great bbq ribs..yum.


In some way, they are all Wraspir's!!!












Today dawned cold and rainy! What the heck? So I closed up the yard sale and went to breakfast with the crowd. Our church hosts a "farmers breakfast" at the high school every year for Fest so we enjoyed a good breakfast. Then it was time for all to leave....boy was this house quiet all of a sudden!!! Both dogs looked so forlorn...only two people to pet them! Too bad.

So, we have had a busy two weeks. Loved seeing all the family and friends. Now it is time to settle down a bit and start seriously thinking about packing and heading south. We plan on leaving for Tucson around the end of October, after Al goes deer hunting and I go on the "girls" week to San Francisco with Jennifer, Janet and Kathy. I do have my work cut out for me in the next few weeks getting the 5th wheel packed and ready to go. If this weather stays this way, I will be more than ready to head south -- probably before the end of October!

Hope everyone is happy and healthy and enjoying life...until next time we are the
"UN-WROAMIN' WRASPIRS"

Hurricane Summer Cold

Odessa
I have been hit by a hurricane! Hurricane summer cold has laid me flat! High winds (blowing my sore nose); rain (running nose); wind gusts (sneezes); flooding (see rain)and general devastation has hit. In other words I have a rotten summer cold and I feel like crap! I have been down and out for 3 days now...no energy, can't concentrate, ache all over, etc. ARRGG...I hate being sick and I am not good a being sick. I fight it with every ounce of me (and that's a lot of ounces folks!) and sometimes sick wins, as it did this time.

Actually I have been fighting what I thought was allergies for the last couple of weeks. The wind has blowing every day here and who knows what it has stirred up..so I thought that was what was causing my nose to run like a greyhound at the race track! I shoulda' bought stock in Kleenex the way I am going through it. Any way, I kept resisting this plague. I sanded the front deck and painted it last weekend. I told Al I was going to have to be on my death bed NOT to paint as it has been on my "TO DO" list way too long. I also sorted through some more "stuff" and added to our garage sale pile (hiding all of this from AL, who usually buys more from our garage sale than anyone else!!). Then on Monday night, I was officially DONE IN. NO MORE. I was down for the count.

Okay, now I have been sick, I am ready to start on something today...however, my mind and body are not in agreement...and the body wins. I will stay down another day and try and get rid of this menace.

In other news, ah, can't remember any other news at this point...so I will say adios for now.

New pictures of Sophie

I couldn't resist. These are pictures of Sophie, my great (YES, great) grand daughter who lives in Kansas City. She is almost 4 months old and already has stolen my heart...along with the rest of my greats and grandchildren. I haven't seen her in person yet and it's killin' me! She belongs to David and Tiffany.

Retirement, the myth

Odessa
Aug. 25

Yes, retirement, the myth is that you have lazy days and not much to do that you don't want to do. You don't have to WORK! Well, let me tell you, I know a few people that have flunked retirement (Yes, Gary W that means you) on a large scale basis and then there are the ones (like me) that have flunked on a minor basis. I have discovered I can't sit and do nothing. It is not in me! And I have tried, but after a few minutes I get figdety and can not sit still. I then either have to 1.) get up and do something, 2.) find something to do with my hands while sitting 3.)fall asleep (which doesn't come easily some times). WHY? Why can't I just relax? And I have enough projects going to keep me busy until, oh, 2121! And that is about the time I will finish them. Now, I am not saying that I WANT to do some of these projects (like paint the bathroom or the deck); but that until they get done I can't rest. I love some of my projects, quilting, scrapbooking, playing on the computer, reading, etc. However, I was brought up that you get your work done first and THEN play. DARN MOM! She instilled those values in me so deep I can't play until I get my work done. RATS! I may get my quilts done in 2010...maybe. I am hoping to get the baby quilts done before the babies I am making them for graduate from High School!

We got back to Odessa late Thursday. It was perfect traveling weather, not too hot, (except in Toppinish) and my car didn't explode or over heat...always a good thing. I really need to buy another car, but trying to make the Explorer last at least another year or so. Anyway, back home at the house, the cats had lots to tell us about how they were neglected (not) and other various cat tails, er tales. A friend called us and asked if we could dog sit her dog for the weekend as she and her kids were at the Lincoln County Fair with their horses, pigs, etc. SURE, I said. Well --here comes Brody, a rat terrier that isn't quite a year old! WOW, what a fun time we had with him. The dogs loved him and the cats hated him...situation normal.

On Sunday we had a luncheon for Al's cousin Christine and husband Denys from Australia; niece Claudia and husband Larry were here as well as Ardis and Jerry. WE had a short, but good visit.

Today is rainy and gloomy, which is nice for a change, as long as it doesn't stick around. AL isn't feeling well and I am trying to talk him in to going in to see the local doctor, but so far no luck. He has a bad cough and is congested and wheezing. I will keep after him until he goes to the doc just to shut me up!!!

I received this article from my cousin Ted in Colorado and I thought I would share it with you all. It made me laugh, and pretty much sums up the correct feeling!

WHO IS GETTING OLDER???
Column from Rocky Mtn. News)

I'm aging very well; so well, in fact, that I can do it in my sleep. I can wake up in the morning and see a face in the mirror that's decades older than the one that I remember putting to bed.

Like most people, I fight back against getting older, using medicine's most potent anti- aging agent: denial. So when my birthday came around recently, I told everyone that I wanted the passage of another year to be marked with absolutely no acknowledgement at all except presents. And OK, a party. With cake.

As I ponder my accumulated years, which I'm willing to admit is more than 30 - oh, who am I kidding, I'm not that old. Let's say I'm in my mid- to late 20s. In other words, I'm the same age as my daughter.

So anyway, as I ponder these years, which I've added the same way I've put on weight around my waist - surreptitiously, like a burglar coming into the house in the middle of the night, only a burglar who leaves stuff instead of taking it - I realize I've had enough.

That's right, when it comes to age, I'm good. I don't need any more. Give the rest of my maturity to someone who needs it, like, say, Lindsay Lohan. There's nothing to be gained by having me get older than I am right now. Indeed, as far as I'm concerned, we could have ended this nonsense 20 years ago, back when I could stand up without grunting like an Olympic weight lifter going for the gold.

I realize that if I stop aging, I might not be able to retire as soon as I want, which is last week. But columnists don't ever retire anyway, they just cease to be relevant. (By that standard, you could argue that I retired before I ever got started.)

Scientifically speaking, aging is the process wherein your body's cells decide they're tired of regenerating and want to do something else, like sag to the floor. Our cells are programmed from birth to undergo this transformation. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to halt the aging process, like die. If that strikes you as extreme, try doing an Internet search on "prevent aging." You'll come up with 625,000 articles. Read them all and you won't have time to age.

What I don't like about getting older is that I don't think I've done anything to deserve it. I'm not ready: Not only have I not accomplished everything I set out to do, but most of the things I've done I didn't set out to accomplish. When the Grim Reaper knocks, I'm going to have to tell him he'll just have to come back when I've finished my task list.

Yet as much as I don't like aging, I certainly wouldn't pass up an opportunity to do it again. There are about 8.2 million articles on the Internet about reincarnation - but don't worry, if you can't read them all in time, you can finish them in your next life.

I took an online quiz on a reincarnation Web site that informs me that when I come back in my next life, I'll be a rhinoceros. Great. Rhinos look old when they're born. I'll be even less popular in high school than I was last time, and my columns will all be late because I won't be able to type.

There are also more than a million articles about premature aging, which is ironic. Doesn't all aging feel premature? I realize the AARP wants us all to be old, but how about you - are you ready for it?

I expect I'll hear from a lot of people who will tell me they're "growing old gracefully." Well, I'm growing old the way I acted when I was 2 years old and my parents wanted me to take a bath.

Anyway, yeah, I had another birthday recently, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

I did like the presents, though. And the cake.

And on that note, I will close this blog for now....stay tuned...I may discover how to retire some day!

Seattle, Portland and beyond

Portland, Or
Aug 19

Whee...it has been a wild few days for us. Before we drove to Seattle last Tuesday we had company from Australia. Al's cousin Christine and husband Denys were in Odessa for a short visit. Also Aunt Helen, Christine's mother were with them. It was good to visit with them and we are looking forward to seeing Chris and Denys later in the month as well.

We drove over to Seattle a week ago for doctor, dentist appointments. It was HOT in Seattle...in the 90's, which confuzzled us (a new word granddaughter Lori coined not to long ago...confused and puzzled), but I was lovin it. We stayed with Jenn, which she had ONE fan going when we got there and by the time we left she had THREE fans going.

First day was a scurry of doctors in downtown Seattle, dentist, and cardiologist in Kirkland. Al had good check ups every where....however, the cardiologist didn't like his weight (tee hee...it isn't just me nagging him now!) and has scheduled him for a stress test next month. I told Al he was going to have to study for this test..so I will help by stressing him daily (just kidding). Then that night we had dinner with good friends Row and Kathy...we always enjoy being with them and lots of laughs. We went to Goldbergs, a Jewish deli in Factoria and boy is it good.

Thursday saw us at the neurologist and Al has improved some on memory (can't prove it by me!) and the meds are doing a good job. Then to Diabetes doc, a new one since our last one retired. We really like the new doc...she is direct and to the point. Put Al back on his Byetta, which he had been taken off of earlier in the year.

After doctor appointments we went to the Boeing Human Resources Retiree's luncheon that is held annually in Tukwila. We didn't get to go last year and Al had a great time catching up with old work buddies. Also, sad to note, we have lost a few this past year...Russ HOlly who always headed up the reunion died and a Jackie Evans, who was a friends wife and we were with in Saudi died in January. Really begins to tell you how mortal you really are.

Then we scurried to Kirkland so Jo could order new glasses. I broke my glasses 10 days ago and have been "BLIND" since then. I have been wearing 10 year old glasses...which really didn't do much for me.

We had dinner at friends Frank and Lynn Congers tonight. Frank made his famous Taco's and they were excellent as usual.

Friday up and at 'em. Al had an appointment in Issaquah for a hearing test...ha, it wasn't just me, he really has a hearing problem as we knew! Ordered new hearing aids (donations are gladly accepted for the cost!!! YIKES!) and then to pick up Jo's glasses. YEAH...I can see again!

We then scrambled back to Lynnwood to have lunch with Granddaughter Ashley and get caught up with her life. She is working two jobs now and learning living on her own is expensive!

Tonight we had dinner at Jenn's, Ric, Janet and Sherrie joining us for home made barbequed burgers. YUM. And it is still HOT.

Saturday dawned and we just lazed around for a while. Jenn took off for her walk. I might add she, Ric and Sherrie are doing the 60 mile Breast Cancer Walk next month and they are really training hard for it. And thank you to those friends of ours who have donated to them....really a great cause.


Saving Second Base Team Ric, Jenn and Sherrie

Saturday afternoon I had lunch with Granddaughter Cammie and had a great visit with her. She is always so fun to be around and makes me feel good. She is working at Starbucks and will be going to Shoreline Community College this winter.

Sunday started with a brunch at Ivar's Acres of Clams to celebrate Sherrie's 5 YEARS OF CANCER FREE. WHOOPEE!!! We are so glad to able to celebrate this point with her and pray for 50 more years of cancer free. She has struggled so hard with the breast cancer and the side affects of all the treatments. She is such a strong woman and I admire her so much....I am amazed at all she has gone through and came out of so strong. YOU GO GIRL.


Jo, Sherrie and Al


Jenn and Sherrie

Of course I shed a tear for Cindy, our neice who died from cancer a few years ago. I prayed so hard for both of them to survive.

It was still warm in Seattle, but it was time for us leave and head south to Portland. We are in Portland visiting daughter Melanie and her family; husband Ron, grandson Vic and granddaughter Lori.

We arrived in a warm Portland and met them for dinner at our favorite Chinese place. When we left the restaurant it was RAINING! WHAT????

Monday we awoke to a loud boom and two dogs in bed with us. THUNDER! We had a great thunder and lightning storm and a downpour of rain, of course, the dogs had to go out potty just when it rained the hardest...so I got a refreshing au natural shower!

Monday Melanie, Lori and I spent the day playing. We went downtown Portland to Powell's Books to snoop around and to get Al some books and Lori a book she needs to read before school starts in two weeks...(nothing like having all summer to read it..) I love Powell's Books...it is so fun to roam from room to room and see all the different types of books. It is such a unique book store. After that we went to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes after picking up Al from the hotel. We barbequed ribs at Melanie's house for dinner...in the rain.

Lori is quite the horse person. She is competeing the the Jr. Rodeo's and also she has lettered at Oregon City Highschool in Rodeo. Vic also competes -- he is a bull rider (not my choice) or as I say he likes falling off the bulls!

Vic ---- Falling off the bullLori carrying American Flag at Rodeo

We will be leaving here on Thursday heading back to Odessa, where I hear it has been very hot...112 one day -- yup, that's hot! AHHHH...it feels so good!

So, until next time....we are busy and lovin' life..hope you are too!

Odessa has never looked so good!

Odessa
Aug 4, 2008
87 degrees and SUN

HOME! Yeah! We arrived home late yesterday evening after a long couple of days. I will start at the beginning.

Aug 1, Friday
We closed up the trailer on the Kenai and by noon we were heading towards Anchorage with luggage and two boxes of frozen salmon. Now the trick here is to keep those two boxes frozen until sometime late on Sunday. Hmmm
Trip to Anchorage was uneventful..sunny most of the way until we reached Anchorage and it was cloudy, but not cold for once.

Aug. 2, Saturday
First on the agenda today was getting some dry ice for the fish boxes. Relatively easy, one trip to Fred Myer did the trick. I was fighting mosquito's as I packed the ice in the boxes...grrr...won't miss those damn pesky things.
Dinner tonight was at Henry's in Anchorage. EXCELLENT! I had salmon cooked on a cedar plank and I was sure surprised when my dinner arrived and my salmon was still cooking on a cedar plank. I finally smothered the cedar plank to put it out...too smokey for me. But my salmon was so darn good, so now I have to try this at home.

Arrived at the airport and unloaded our 4 suitcases and 2 boxes of fish. Since we had booked out tickets in March we were still allowed 2 suitcases each, and since we carried on one we only had to pay for one extra fish box at $25...not a bad deal. We were in for a great surprise when we checked in however. The ticket person asked us if we would like to be upgraded to first class since there were two seats left and since Al travels in a handicapped capacity the seats were offered to us. WE jumped on them. What a nice flight that was! Wheelchair waiting for us in Seattle as well. We finally arrived at our hotel at 2:30 a.m. and immediately fell into bed. Of course, I was too wound up and couldn't go to sleep right away.

Aug. 3 Sunday
Ric and Cammie picked us up at the hotel this morning around 11:00 a.m. since Cammie had kept my car while we were gone. The hotel actually had a freezer for us to put our fish boxes in...so far, so good. Fish still frozen! We met Janet for lunch and then followed all of them home to pick up some stuff there and we headed for home. We were very anxious to get home to our puppies and kitties. After a quick stop in Ephrata at Safeway we were home. Odessa sure looked good...and it was sunny and warm. YES! We quickly unloaded the car and took off for Jerry and Ardis's to pick up the dogs. But not before both cats gave us a mouth full on how they were upset with us for being gone.

I think our dogs missed us...I have never seen either one of them so excited. They danced and pranced and talked to us for hours after we picked them up! Neither dog will let us out of their sight...and last night all four of the animals were in the bedroom with us. Schuster actually slept with his head on the bed watching us most of the night! Beau moves each time one of us moves and follows us everywhere and Schuster is always right beside me. Both cats aren't done with us yet...they still have a lot to tell us apparently. Our un-vocal cat Jose hasn't shut up! WOW...guess we will have to reconsider what to do next year if we go back to Alaska.

We had a nice surprise when we opened the door to the house yesterday (that is after we found our keys...long story) -- we had new flooring in the kitchen and laundry room! We had ordered it before we left and they told us if they could get access to the house they would install it if it came in before we got home! WOW...does it ever look nice. Now I have to paint the cabinets in the kitchen...arg, it never ends.

Al is in getting his hair cut right now and I am heading that way in a few minutes. I look like a very shaggy dog!

Some things we noticed now that we are home. Food is relatively inexpensive here compared to Alaska. And so is gas. We were paying $4.79 a gallon in Alaska for gas and I got it at Safeway here yesterday for $3.89 a gallon. OF course that was after I got my 30 cents a gallon discount...I told Al that was like hitting the lottery!

Weather is to be in the high 80's to low 90's for the week and that big, yellow, bright thing we can the sun is shining. Sure feels good. Al says I am leaving little puddles of water everywhere I go...me thawing out!

Tonight Jerry and Ardis are coming for dinner...halibut tonight. Can't wait!

We will be here for a few days before we have to head to Seattle for doctor/dentist appointments again. I just hope my Explorer (the exploder) will make the next few trips. I am taking it in to the mechanic on Wednesday for a tune up, and some minor things that need to be done. Still a great car, just very old.

Until next time, we are finally
UNWROAMIN'

Dead animals and other thoughts

Sterling, AK
July 31, 2008

July 26
All I can say is this must be the wettest place on earth! Rained ALL DAY.

July 27, 2008
No change from yesterday. No fish either. We went into Soldotna this evening for dinner at Frosso’s. Boy, that place is good! I had a halibut dish that I am going to have to figure out the recipe to, it was wonderful.
On the way to Soldotna we passed a dead brown bear in the road that had been hit by a car. Sure would like to see what the car looked like as this was one squashed bear! Bear pavement anyone? He was bearly there! Okay, enough, the rain has gotten to my brain. Stop already!

July 28 Monday
Dan and Ken fished all day…came home with their limit finally. Red’s are slowing down in the river. And not many have passed the escapement this year, less than 400,000…which is way down. That tells me that either the run is really poor this year; the dip netters and commercial fishermen have gotten too many or that the fish are still out in the ocean and will come in strong later. Who knows?

July 29, Tuesday
Rain and a little sun today. The guys went to Homer tonight to go halibut fishing tomorrow. I am starting to gather things up and make my packing list.
One of our neighbors in camp hit a moose on his way back from Seward yesterday. Completely totaled his rental car, but he and his passenger weren’t hurt with the exception of a few minor cuts from the wind shield collapsing on them. He said the moose jumped out from the brush on the side of the road about 10 yards in front of him and there was absolutely nothing he could do. It happened about 5 miles from here, just off the wildlife reservation. He asked the state trooper what they will do with the dead moose and he said they will give it to the native Indians here or to a institution. Hmmm

I cooked a huge pot of spaghetti today and had the “doc’s “ over for dinner. Jerry Boggs is from Roseburg, Oregon and is a neurologist and Vinnie is from Williamsburg, VA and is an anesthesiologist. Both really nice guys and we enjoy them.

July 30, Wednesday
Today was absolutely gorgeous…sunny and warm. The locals are calling it “hot”; I however, beg to differ. Hot is anything over 100; not 75! What ever, I enjoyed it! I inventoried the trailer today and made lists of things to bring up next year if we come; plus I know what I have here.

The guys got home about 4:30 p.m. and they didn’t do to well. They said the ocean was rough and very choppy with waves of 8-10 feet and the fishing was rotten. They each got one halibut; which they had filleted on the boat and brought home for me to cut up into steaks and vacuum seal. So we each got about 25 pounds of halibut…not a very good catch, but halibut is halibut. I figured these cost us each about $45 a pound!

July 31, Thursday
Dan, Rod and Ken left camp early this morning to head home. I am at my favorite spot here, the Laundromat doing my last wash. I will be packing today and getting ready to leave camp tomorrow morning. We will go into Anchorage to visit with my brother tomorrow and Saturday until we leave late Saturday night. We are both missing our dogs and cats so we are anxious to get home and get back to a somewhat normal routine.
Today is another pretty day. The camp is emptying out quickly and probably more will leave after this weekend. The newspaper said that the sockeye fishing is closed as of tomorrow. The run was too small. Of course this happened last year and after a few days a huge run came through and the fishing was opened up to a limit of six a day. Won’t matter for us this year, we will be gone and we have plenty of fish.


I was tagged by The Pink Crazy Woman for this. I’ve not answered one of these for awhile, so here it goes.

1. What is your occupation right now? RETIRED...I don't have time to work!

2. What color are your socks right now?Socks? For once I am not wearing socks...so I would say very white feet!


3. What are you listening to right now? Washers and Dryers...I am at the laundromat.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Coffee?


5. Can you drive a stick shift? No Way

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Hmmm--guess it was Ardis, yesterday.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I have to, she's my kid!


8. How old are you today? 60.777777

9. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football, followed closely by golf.

10. What is your favorite drink? Water or a Manhattan


11. Favourite food? Hmmm --- Cheeseburger!

12. What is the last movie you watched? Bucket List, which was very good and I have now made my own "Bucket List."

13. Favourite day of the year? Any day is doesn't rain or snow.

14. How do you vent anger? Out the trap!


15. What was your favourite toy as a child? Uh...that was so long ago....I guess it was my bridal doll.


16. What is your favourite season? Summer in Washington and all the other season's in Arizona.


17. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries! Cherries please.

18. Do you want your friends to add this meme to their blogs? Yes!

19. Who is the most likely to respond? Uh...good question.


20. Who is least likely to respond? See above


21. Living arrangements? Where? Here in Alaska a 33 foot Terry Camp Trailer that is getting way too small right now. In Odessa a 3 bedroom manufactured home. In Arizona see previous. In between...a 35 foot 5th wheel...any more questions?

22. When was the last time you cried? A couple days ago.


23. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes. Lots and lots of shoes.


24. Who is the friend you have had the longest relationship with that you are sending this to? Peggy....we were high school friends...


25. What did you do last night? Cooked, and visited with Bruce, Dan, Rod, Al and Ken. And swatted at mosquitos


26. What inspires you? Good question! DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW.

27. What are you most afraid of? Right Now? Bears...there are way too many around here.


28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Pass the Cheese please. Though it depends on where I’m getting said burger.


29. Favourite dog breed? Well, I couldn't answer this any other way but STANDARD POODLES...namely Beau and Schuster


30. Favourite day of the week? Any day...I am retired.

31. How many states have you lived in? Oh boy....Oregon, California, Colorado, (and Jennifer you forgot Colorado in your reply) Texas, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana, Washington, Alaska, Arizona.

31. Biggest Life lesson? Listen to my intuition. Going against my gut feeling has always led to the wrong decisions for me.

SUN!!! Well for a moment....

Sterling, AK

July 22
Rain, rain, rain…again.
July 23
More of the same
July 24
Do you know what “termination dust” is? Neither did I until I saw the news on TV today. “Termination dust” is the first dusting of snow on the mountains indicating the termination of summer. And yes, there is termination dust on the mountains, but my question is, how can you have the termination of summer when there has BEEN NO SUMMER? Don’t you have to have summer first to end it? GRRRRR! And it rained again all damn day! Even Al, who doesn’t mind the rain, is ready for it to end. And it is cold as well. Today’s high was 47! Again, I will repeat…you can’t terminate summer if there hasn’t been one!!!! Only the hardiest of fishermen were out today. That left me out!
Dan, his dad Rod and his uncle, Ken arrived today from LA. They got in this evening and we met them at Suzie’s for dinner. As usual, Suzie’s was packed and the food was outstanding. After we got home they all put on their wet gear and went fishing. CRAZY MEN! But the fish were asleep for the night evidently as they came back with none. We had some in the cooler to package already however. The rain finally stopped about midnight….we need some sun to dry out things.
July 25, 2008 Friday
As I write this I am at my favorite place here….the Laundromat. It is sunny out right now and I am sitting outside enjoying every bit of the little bit of sun we will have as big, black clouds are moving in quickly. Is this summer???? I sure hope not, but since we are only here for another week, maybe I will find summer when we get back to Odessa. But what will these poor people who live here do for summer?????? Of course, one could argue that point that they are used to this; but they really aren’t. This is being reported as the coldest, wettest summer on record (since 1908)….hmmm…and you tell me this is global warming? NOT!
The boys are all down on the river fishing, and after I am done here I am on my way to Soldotana to do some grocery shopping, then to the little café I go to so I can download my email and send this blog.
OOPS, summer is over, I have to move inside now…it’s starting to rain!

How Many Ways can I say BRRRRR

July 22, 2008
Sterling, AK

Okay.....it's officially COLD! We thought it was cold the other day when the thermometer registered a little over 40 degrees....however, this morning it was 38 degree's. IT IS JULY! Even the locals are hollering "NO FAIR!" And how many days or wet, rain, gray, cloudy can I take in July? Well, I am on 22 and counting. Oh, we did see the sun for a minute the other day and this morning when I got up there was something bright in the sky, but it didn't last long! One of the locals said there have been only 4 days of weather over 70 this year. That is just wrong!

Here is a copy of my daily log...you can tell how I feel!

Jul 17 Thursday
Rain, rain, rain! Rain and more rain. That is all we have had today. We dropped Randy off at the airport and we took off back to the river. Al drove the rental car and I drove Bruce’s motorhome. I really enjoy driving that motorhome. Wish we would buy one and trade off the trailer. On the way down I saw a brown bear and then a moose with her calf. It rained all the way down and traffic was terrible. The red salmon have started to run and everyone wants to come down and fish. 68000 went through the counter yesterday!
We have had to run the heater in the trailer tonight. It was 40 degree’s…yes, 40! I have had to check the calendar to make sure it really is July! It is so damn cold and I am so cold I am miserable. I am questioning our reasoning for being here.



Jul 18 Fri
I did my favorite thing today—laundry. I enjoy visiting with the lady who runs the Laundromat. After that I picked up our mail and when I left the post office I saw a moose and 2 calves walking along the highway. The calves were twins and they are still all fuzzy since it is so cold around here and they haven’t “slicked out” yet!
It is raining again today…no surprise there! And it is cold. Only 52 for a high today. Haven’t seen the sun in 3 days…no, that’s not true, last night we saw the sun for about a minute. I want to go home.
Fish are running strong. Doc Jerry and Vinnie are here and have caught their share of fish for the day. So we have some Salmon in the freezer.
Jul 19
I spent part of the day processing fish. Al and I got a system going; I cut the fillets into serving sizes; wash them; then he helps me by pulling out the plastic wrap in freezing size, I put the fish on it and wrap; then I vacuum seal it. DONE. Right now we have 80 pieces of fish in the freezer. Not 80 fish or 80 lbs, but 80 pieces. I will feel comfortable when we have another 80 in the freezer! Then we will have plenty for all.
The day gave us a mixed bag of weather. We actually saw the sun twice today! And it was warm; well, warm is relative for here…it was all the way up to 64 today. WHEEE!
Jul 20 Sunday
Again, a mixed bag of weather. However, we did see the sun for over an hour today…I think that is a record for this summer. I am really tired of this weather,..I want to go home!

July 21, 2008 Monday
We went in to Soldotna today to do some supply shopping. As I write this it is raining and gray; no sun at all today. I don’t think I want to do this next year….I need my sun. Besides, I miss my kitties and puppies.
As I was going back into town later today to get propane I saw a huge moose along side our road. Of course I couldn’t get to my camera! He was standing in the rain looking very regal…as if to say “don’t bother me”.
It was so cold this morning I went back to bed and crawled in my sleeping bag to get warm. Billie you would have never survived this summer up here.

Back to today, July 22
We shipped 115 pounds of salmon today! Some went to Tucson, some to Seattle and some to Odessa. Fish are still running strong, so hope to have more to take home with us when we leave in 10 days.

Okay, I am done whining for the day....more later.

Moosecapade 2008

July 12, 2008
Anchorage
I am in Anchorage for a few days to help clean out my brother’s storage unit. He sold his house here a couple of months ago and put everything in a self-storage place. Now, the time has come to clean it out. Al and Randy are still at the river and will “batch” it for a few days. I rode up from the river with my nephew Bruce today and it was nice to be able to ride and see the scenery for a change, since I usually do all of the driving here.

The last few days at the river have been quiet. I did my favorite thing on Thursday – laundry. At least it gets me away for a few hours. The weather has been so miserable that I haven’t felt like doing too much. Since we have had a bear in camp I can’t walk down the road and feel comfortable; so I try to walk around camp every day for exercise—but that gets boring quickly. I could also go up and down those $#%^&* stairs to the river, but I am not sure how many trips my knee’s will stand!!!! However, today we had a bright, yellow orb in the sky for about an hour…I am not sure what it was, some say it was the sun! I think the sun just hides behind all these clouds and lets the clouds filter the 18 plus hours of daylight we have a day now.

I have been busy scrapbooking my pictures – I finally finished 2006 pictures and I am working on 2007. I am saving them to a memory stick and will print them when I get home. Oh, for those of you who don’t know, I do all my picture scrapbooking on the computer.

Randy has been going out with Bruce in the boat fishing and they have caught some nice trout. However, anything OVER 18 inches can’t be kept here. I know, screwy rule! They did bring home 2 dolly vardens and a rainbow so we had those for lunch the other day….yum…I do like those dolly’s. I think Randy is having a good time, even if the red salmon aren’t running yet. Here is a picture of Randy and his Halibut.



The mosquitos are still strong around here….I think I saw one carrying a bear on it’s back the other day…yes, they are big and vicious! I had heard somewhere that if you get bit to use Listerine on the bite and it will instantly quit itching; so I tried it and I’ll be darned…it worked. Wonder if you used Listerine as your body lotion the mosquito’s would stay away? Since I hate the smell of Listerine I doubt if I will try it…however, if the mosquito’s don’t slow down some I just may give it a try!!! 

July 13 2008 Happy Birthday Peggy

MOOSECAPADE 2008


WHEEE….I found a moose today…er, or, he found me! This morning Dick and I decided to go out for breakfast. As I was backing Bruce’s Mercedes out of his drive way I glanced in the rear view mirror and lo’ and behold a moose was behind me! WHAT??? Okay, Mr. Moose! He ambled across the road and into the neighbor’s yard and began munching on a tree. Hmm…I think I want a picture – and NO I DID NOT get out of the car. However, I had Dick roll down his window. Mr. Moose didn’t like that at all; he shook his head and started to charge the car! SO off we go down the road. But I still wanted that picture. So I turned around and came back; this time Mr. Moose is on my side of the car. I rolled down the window and the moment I did he charged the car again! So I take off down the road which is now a dead end and I glance in the rear view mirror and the damn moose is behind me! NOW WHAT TO DO ??? Here I am almost to the dead end…I have to turn around. DO I play “chicken” with the moose? Undoubtedly he will win. But I got lucky and he turned off into another yard and began to butt his head against a cement bird bath in the yard! I do believe he was upset! And I still have no picture. Oh well, I am not about to try again. On the way home from breakfast, we turn on to the street adjoining Bruce’s and who should we meet but Mr. Moose. He was eating a tree along side the road. The minute he saw our car, he shook his head (I understand they do this to show their foe’s the size of their antlers..which he was a young bull and only had knobs for antlers) and he comes after the car. Apparently he doesn’t like the color or something about Bruce’s car! I finally get Bruce’s car back into his drive without any moose damage.

I spent most of the day at my brother’s storage unit beginning to plow through 50 plus years of accumulation. I at least put a dent in it today. We got back to Bruce’s about 3:30 this afternoon and not before being chased by that damn moose again! He really doesn’t like Bruce’s car!

I am staying in Bruce’s guest bedroom, his motor home which is parked right outside his front door. This afternoon I was in the motor home getting ready to go in the house to take a shower, when I looked out the window, guess who was staring back at me? MR. MOOSE! Holy crap, does he want in here? Now what do I do? I did the only logical thing I could think of…I honked the horn! Ya, that did no good! He finally wandered over to a bush and began to eat it; however, he was between me and the house still. Bruce came out and tried to chase him off (where were you Ted???) but there was no chasing this moose off. I did get a picture of him through the window of the motor home however. Finally he moved off behind the house and I made a mad dash for the house. So far that is the last we have seen of him today, however, he does live around here and I am sure I will encounter him again before I leave!
Is this the end of Moosecapade 2008? Knowing me, NO! I get a real thrill when I see a moose and they make me laugh, especially if I watch them walk or run; just not AT me! Even when this moose shook his head and started to charge, I got the giggles (Dick didn’t think it was too funny)…it reminded me of Simon and how sometimes he will shake his head and “charge” you…however, a poodle doing that is really different than a moose!

Weather was really icky today….low clouds, foggy, rainy, cold crap! Even the locals are complaining about this summer, or lack there of! The sun hasn’t been out more than 6 days in the last 30! BAD record.

And an Eagle Posing on a Stump

Sterling,
July 10 2008

SIX HALIBUT CAUGHT A FISHING; FIVE DOLPHINS SWIMMING; 4 BUNK BEDS FOR SLEEPING; 3 SAND HILL CRANES A-STRUTTIN’ ; 2 MOOSE A GRAZING AND A BALD EAGLE POSING ON A STUMP! (sung to the tune of a Partridge in a Pear Tree)

HOMER
We arrived in Homer a little after 4:00 p.m. after a nice drive down the highway. On the way down we finally saw a couple of moose grazing just off the road, our first moose sighting for the trip. And there was a bald eagle sitting on a stump along side the road that was absolutely majestic. It was our first eagle sighting as well. When we left the fishing camp it was spitting rain and cloudy…and it is no different here except it isn’t raining.

Bob’s Trophy Charters is where we booked our charter for tomorrow…and they also have a guest house which we booked a room. Imagine our surprise when we opened the door to our room and discovered two sets of bunk beds! The thought running through my mind was “I guess I get the top bunk” and I wasn’t wrong. Very interesting night of no sleep.

Up earlier than I like and on to the boat. WOW….what a nice boat. It’s a 52 footer, the Nauti-Lady and she is beautiful. They had refurbished her last winter and so it was nice and modern and clean..didn’t even smell like a fishing boat. Our captain is “Fred” and the deck hand is “Jake”. The boat usually carries 16-18 people, but today only 9 of us were on board. That made for a very pleasant fishing day. The others on board were Paul from Massachusetts (complete with accent); Chuck from Salt Lake; Scott and Tyler from Michigan; Taryn and Jason from Edmonton, Alberta; and us. And the sun has came out to shine today --- yeah. The sea’s were fairly calm (as calm as they get up here where you have 6 tides a day and the tides can vary up to 35 feet!) and as usual the scenery is breath-taking. Our first stop only resulted in us seeing a couple of whales in the distance—we were in about 80 feet of water and no fish. Next stop we were in 100 feet of water and I was hoping for halibut in that shallow of water so it wouldn’t be so hard to pull them up, but no fish. DARN! Next stop we are in 250 feet of water and there are dophins all over the place playing with the boat. Finally they moved off and the halibut started to bite. After casting in, I wasn’t in the water for 30 seconds and I had a halibut on the end of my line; pretty soon all on board had one. UGH….pulling this baby up I thought I had a whopper …but just a 24 pounder, which I kept! I was pooped dragging that thing in, but back in the water I go. Al had already landed one about the same size and Randy had thrown back a smaller one. I was trying to rest, but darn, I had another fish on! This one was a little bigger and after reeling and reeling and REELING, I finally landed it and said “GOT MY LIMIT—I’m DONE!” Pretty soon Al had his limit as well. Randy had one in the box and had just thrown another one back (too small). Al and I went in to the cabin to rest and all of a sudden I heard on the boats radio “may-day, may-day, boat taking on water and sinking.” NO!!! NOT AGAIN! Last year we were part of the rescue of a sinking boat on our halibut trip!!!! A 16 foot aluminum skiff was sinking 4 miles west of Anchor Point with 3 people on board. I spent the rest of the time listening to the radio as these people were rescued. One thing for sure, you don’t want to spend much time in this water (at 42 degrees). Finally we heard that they had been rescued and didn’t need medical care. WHEW! Good deal. Oh, and by the way for you readers that read my account of last year’s boat sinking, The Fat-Kat was pulled up, refurbished and back on the water….amazing!

Back on land we sent our fish to Coal Point for flash freezing and shipping home (with the exception of one fillet, which is dinner tomorrow night.) We went to the Elks for a great halibut dinner and then headed home. While at the elks we watched 3 sand hill cranes parade around on the lawn. Fun to watch. The entire day had turned out to be fairly nice, sunny and warm (well, warm for here..in the 60’s…I didn’t take my coat off!) We arrived back at our camp around 9:30 p.m.; tired but happy to have some fish. Bob’s Trophy Charters was the best charter we have had…as I said, great boat and crew and good equipment. If we do this again, we will book with them.

I wonder if this is our last year here. Al had a good time on the boat today, but had to struggle to fish and everyone on board was watching out for him as he was so unsteady on his feet. And getting him in and out of the boat is a challenge. We will see what the rest of the month brings and then make the decision to either wait a year or put a for sale sign on the trailer here now. Saddens me to think that he may not be able to come up here anymore as he loves it; but it is getting pretty hard on all of us, including him. Perhaps we should sell the trailer and just come up for a week or so each summer……something for us to think about for next year.

Alaska, July 5-8

July 5, 2008
Sterling, AK

We got to the river (Kenai) around 2:00 p.m. yesterday. We picked up friend Randy Rahbar from the hotel at 10:00 a.m.; went back to Dicks and loaded the rest of our stuff in the car and we headed for the river. We were expecting heavy traffic, however, we were surprised that the traffic was very light. Usually this time of year the traffic is heavy on the Sterling Highway any time of the month, but guess gas prices are keeping some people home. We have noticed the lack of RV’s this year…usually the roads, parks and parking lots are clogged with RVs, but not this year.
It was raining when we got to the river….no surprise there. We unloaded and then Randy went down to try his luck fishing….however, he says there are no fish in the river yet.

This morning we got up and went to Soldotna and the city of Kenai; just to explore. It was raining again, but it didn’t stop us from stopping at a craft fair…don’t worry Suzi, you didn’t miss anything at this one! The rest of the day was spent doing nothing! I boy did I enjoy it. We bbq’d farmer style ribs for dinner and now we are getting ready to watch a movie. And the sun came out this afternoon and it is fairly warm…68 degrees. Warm for Alaska.

July 8, 2008
BEAR! That is what we heard the other day. So of course, my next words were “WHERE?” .. yes, folks the bears have returned to the Fish On Inn Camp. We were watching a movie when the caretaker of the camp knocked on the door and asked if we were okay. Apparently a “pair of bears” had wandered (yes, Jennifer that is wandered) through camp and had been in back of our trailer and had gone behind us and over to the motor home next to us. Upset their garbage can and rooted through their belongings outside, then went through another camper’s site and then wandered off into the wilderness. So now we are definitely on bear alert.

Other than bear and a few rabbits (by the way, rabbits are dark brown and huge) we have seen no critters, including fish. Randy has diligently gone down to the river twice a day to fish, and came back with nothing…not even a trout. The fish aren’t running yet, period. The only thing that is running around here is me from the mosquitos. And yes, they are big, hungry and aggressive. As usual, my new body lotion is deet and even it isn’t doing its job! Which brings to mind a question…how in the hell do these mosquito’s survive the winter here? Do they fly south with the rest of the birds? I assume they would have to hitchhike on the back of a duck; just how in the hell do they survive and why? What good purpose do they serve? Other than to aggrivate me and they are doing a great job of that!

I have been sick for two days with the stomach flu. Not very pleasant. All day Sunday all I did was sleep and run to the bathroom. Yesterday I was feeling a bit better, but still wasn’t sure I wanted anything to eat. Finally around 2:00 p.m. we drove to Suzi’s restaurant for a late lunch…I ate about a quarter of my lunch and decided that was enough! At least it stayed in place.

So far, since the fish aren’t running, it has been as boring as hell here. However, on a good note, we are getting plenty of rest and down time. I have managed to read 2 books so far and working on a third. Randy is about to go crazy I think with nothing to do. Al is doing his usual, reading and resting. I am not sure he will be able to negotiate the steps down to the river. Always my big fear is that he will fall and I don’t know who will help get him up. Of course, when Bruce is here I don’t worry so much and now that Randy is here for a while I don’t worry as much.
Speaking of the stairs, they are really in good shape. Last few years they have been in pretty poor state, but we have a new caretaker of the camp and he has done miracles around here. Since the owners died a few years ago the camp has gone down hill; one of the owner’s sons had been taking care of it and hadn’t been doing the best job in the world. But now that we have Tony (friend of the owner’s and the new caretaker) here we are completely satisfied with the way the camp is being taken care of. And Tony never fails to check in on us at least once a day to see if there is anything he can do.

Weather…UGH! How many ways can I say cloudy, gray, overcast , rain and cold. Right now (11:00 a.m.) we are working up on 46 degrees. Yup, you read that right – 46 whopping degrees. Needless to say I am bundled up in long pants, long sleeve top, socks, honest to god shoes, and thinking about where I put my gloves! I have the heater going in the trailer and I am sure the guys think I am nuts, but darn it , it’s cold.

We are headed to Homer this afternoon for a halibut fishing trip tomorrow. I am looking forward to the trip, but really dreading pulling up those halibut from the depths of the ocean. A 30 lb halibut feels like a 300 lb halibut when you are trying to pull it in! My arms are already aching.
More from Homer………….

Alaska 2008

Alaska 2008

July 1,
Anchorage
After a busy day of getting ready to go; driving from Odessa to Seattle which the Exploder decided it would give us some more problems; having dinner with Janet, Cammie, Jennifer and friends Rowland and Kathy; we finally climbed on an airplane bound for Anchorage at 9:00 p.m. We were already tired, actually, it was time for bed for us, but we still had a few hours to go. We arrived in Anchorage 20 minutes early and I am thinking we are going to get to our hotel a few minutes early as well, but it was not to be. FINALLY our bags arrived (5 flights arrived at the same time, overwhelming the baggage carriers) and I sat Al out on the curb to wait while I went to get the rental car. And oh, by the way, it was a little cool out here…only 55 degrees. Where else could you get up in the morning (in Odessa) and leave there at a balmy 100 degrees, go to Seattle where it was 77 degrees and end your day at 55 degrees. My body was already starting to rebel!
At Avis is where the trouble started. First of all I was just a little on the tired side, I had been awake for over 18 hours and I don’t do that very well. Then Avis said they didn’t have my reservation, but, since I am always prepared for this, I had printed a copy of the reservation. They explained that they were a franchise and that their computers didn’t “talk” to the other Avis computers!?! HUH? Okay, but regardless of that, they still had the name AVIS on the door. Finally they called somewhere and, oh, I did have a reservation. But now the real trouble began and by this time I was just a little cranky. I rented the car through my Boeing Corporate rate that I am still entitled to. However, when AVIS drew up the contract for me to sign here, it was twice the amount I was quoted. Uh, NO! So we went round and round about the price and finally, after another call to the AVIS wizard, I got the price I was quoted. Then they wanted to give me a lesser car….round three. After 45 minutes, I finally got the price and the car I had reserved and by this time I was just a little more than cranky.
I pick up Al who, by this time, thought I had abandoned him (don’t go there) and we load the luggage in the car and take off for the hotel. I had made reservations at the Travel Inn for the night and we would move into my nephew’s motor home for the next couple of nights tomorrow. As we are driving to the hotel I look at Al and said “Remember a few years ago when we had reservations at the hotel from hell…The Rodeway Inn here?” He says “yes…where we slept with one eye open all night?” Yup..that one. Glad we aren’t staying there again. Uh huh. As we are pulling in to the Travel Inn, I look at Al and said “Does this look familiar?” and he says “oh-oh”. DAMN! Same damn hotel as the last time only the name had been changed. The hotel from hell was now the Travel Inn! DAMN, DAMN, DAMN! We have already paid for the night (I had tried to save a few dollars and went to the cheaper end of the rack rate) and we are so tired neither of us wanted to go looking for another hotel at 1:30 a.m. So I go to the desk and the same person who only speaks marginally better English then the last time I was here. It was like reliving a nightmare! I asked if this used to be a Rodeway Inn (Still not believing this was happening all over again) and he said yes, it had, but that Rodeway Inn had dropped their franchise a year ago and that they had changed the name to Travel Inn. ARRRGGG! Okay, we are here, give us your ugly room. Into the room we go, at least it was on the first floor this time. It looked clean enough. We drop our luggage, do our nightly cleaning ritual, and I pull back the covers on the bed and the sheets are brand new, never washed, right out of the package and on to the bed. Okay, I am too tired to worry about it. My head hits the pillow and immediately comes up again. WTH? This pillow was like putting your head on a bag of rocks it was so lumpy and hard. Shove the pillow aside and try to go to sleep. Wait! What was that noise? Sounds like a bear! No, it is just the guy in the room next door snoring! You have got to be kidding me? I lay there and toss and turn, and listen to the snoring, which has no rhythm at all. So all night I lay there, sleeping very little…between listening to Mr. Snorer next door and getting up to check and see if the car is still outside. Al got just barely a little more sleep than I did. Finally, at 8:00 a.m. I give up, get dressed and go in search of a cup of coffee. I find a Starbucks and get two venti coffee’s to go and have mine almost completely gone by the time I get back to the hotel – and it wasn’t that far! Al by that time is up, packed and ready to go. I put a note in my Palm Pilot to NEVER make reservations at a hotel that isn’t a major chain again….and if we have to pay more for it, so be it!
We arrived at my nephews a little worse for the wear, but we are here. My brother has sold his house of 40 years here and is staying with my nephew for the summer. My nephew had just finished washing our bedroom when we arrived…we are staying in his motor home since he has a 2 bedroom house.
After visiting a few minutes my brother, Al and I jump in the car and head for the store to pick up groceries to take to the river on Friday and to get our fishing license. We also did a Costco run to get needed paper supplies. My nephew drove to the river tonight taking all of our supplies with him and we are hanging around Anchorage waiting for our friend Randy to arrive from Florida. He comes in late tomorrow night and is staying at a hotel for the night (the Hilton, not the Travel Inn) and we will pick him up early on Friday and battle our way down to the river with the other thousands of people that will be heading down that day. But that is okay, it will give Randy some time to see the scenery. We are in no hurry.
Weather today was beautiful….mid 70’s and sunny and clear. It is suppose to rain/be cloudy for the next 4 days. As I write this I can look out to the west and over Turnagain Arm and see the clouds already starting to roll in. Perhaps today was summer?
Tomorrow I am going to go find a wifi spot. Somehow I had misplaced my air card for the computer (heck…I lost the darn thing!) and besides it doesn’t like to work up here in Alaska. So I am back to checking email only every other day or so.

July 3, 2008
We finally rolled out of bed this morning around 8:30 a.m. – I think we were tired, but at least we got some good sleep. Dick, Al and I went to a local café for breakfast that is just down the road from the house…the “Southside Grill” and boy, was it good. YUM!
After breakfast I went in search of a wifi spot and found one at Borders Books. Then I decided I would go visit the AT&T store and see if I could get a new air card for my computer. Yes, they had one in stock and it is now installed in my computer. It is the new and improved version and they claim it will work anywhere you get a cell signal. Down at the river will be the test!
It is raining and cloudy here today….summer was yesterday, today is a typical Alaskan summer day. UGH! Mt Iliamna Volcano is spitting and spewing lava today….we may be able to see it from the Kenai Peninsula tomorrow. I guess it spits and spews every once in a while. It is in the Aleutian Range and on the other side of Prince William Sound from where we are.
Tomorrow is down to the river day. So until next time we are fishin…and catching fish I hope.