Month Long Catch Up

Wow how time flies when you are having fun. Can't believe it has been more than a month since I blogged. (check out the new slide show!!)

I am a new grandmother. Peyton Nicole Ezra White was born on Feb 16th. She weighted 5 lbs 5oz and was 18" long. Mom and baby are doing great. Peyton was born with a cleft palate/lip but is fine otherwise. Fortunately she was born near a children's hospital with a craniofacial team. She is supposed to be released from the hospital on Feb 25th and treatment will begin. My daughter, son in law and granddaughter are moving to Roanoke VA where Peyton will be treated by an outstanding craniofacial team there. This team is the one you hear about in the news treating babies and children from all over the world with craniofacial anomilies. According to preliminary information, Peyton will have her first operation to repair her lip AND palate in the next four weeks. This is a huge advance over previous treatments. If all goes well, it will be several years before she will need any other procedures. I don't have any pics yet but I will post some as soon as I get them.

If you would like to know more about craniofacial anomilies and the national organization check out www.ccakids.org.

My friend Jeremiah arrived here on Feb 6th, just in time for my birthday and his. I came over to Homer for the first time since Nov. My truck cranked right up, I got off the spit and.....it quit. $235 and a day later it was fixed. Bad ignition coil. BUT in the meantime...the automotive place was kind enough to take me where I was staying for the night. However I forgot they didn't have a landline and I don't have a cell. So I had no way of getting in touch with Jeremiah to let him know he needed to get a cab when he arrived later that evening. I did have my computer with me but wouldn't you know it not one single person on two different buddy lists were online. I took a quick walk around the neighborhood but no one was home. My friends live out of town and it would have been a long cold walk into Homer just to find a phone. Finally someone came on line and he was kind enough to text message Jeremiah. I also figured out how to send a text message from AOL to a cell phone. I sent several to Jeremiah and also got in touch with my ex husband who called him and left a message. Jeremiah got them all, rented a car and managed to find the house in the dark...WOOHOO first adventure down.

I crocheted a muffler for Jeremiah ( yes I really crochet and do needlework too). Looks really good on him. He got me some socks, a polar suit, and a BOB. If you want to know what a BOB is, just ask....lol.

The next day we picked up my truck, returned the rental, grabbed some snacks and settled in for the afternoon. We were supposed to meet Jon and Nelda for dinner but managed to get stuck in the driveway...ai carumba...So no dinner, but I now had access to a phone, but didn't have Jon and Nelda's cell number and they were already gone..


Eric helped us get out the next day. and oh yeah I finally got my truck registered and have Alaska tags but I failed the driver's test. Oh well. I will take it next time I am in town. It was pretty funny actually.

We came back over to the lodge on Feb 8th, in a heavy fog and choppy seas. The fog finally cleared up after a few days and it has been sunny every since. We had a few flurries but no real snow at all. The last week we have had another cold snap and it hasn't been above 25 at the lodge. Today it never reached 20. But very bright outside and not too bad when the wind isn't blowing.

We have been rowing several times and went way back into Little Tutka Bay and actually rowed through light ice. Our neighbor Keith was out in his canoe doing the same thing. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. I took Jeremiah to the mail shack and I took a short hike up the path behind it where I found a chicken coop, an outhouse, and lots of junk.

While Jeremiah has been here, everything that could go wrong has. First, we ran totally out of water and had to melt snow and boil water for a couple of days. Water had not been running from the spring to the tank room for a while but it wasn't a big issue as I had plenty of water. We washed all of the linens and bed clothes from the cabins and used up all of the water. Finally it was warm enough for a couple of days to thaw out the section of pipe from the spring house.


Then, we lost electricity for over a day when a piece of line from the transformer went bad. There was a loud pop around 10 pm and we were plunged into darkness....until I connected the transformers and turned stuff back on. Jeremiah got to see how that was done and the next day Homer Electric sent out a helicopter and crew to fix it. We had electricity on by that afternoon.






And then today, the 24th, the septic tank alarm went off. The heat lamp blew at some point either last night or early this morning. The alarm started going off around noon. And what does this mean you might ask? Well can you say outhouse? Fortunately we took showers this morning before the alarm went off. I put another light in the heat box but it will take time for it to unfreeze. Hopefully by in the morning. In the meantime no water can go down the drains. So a trek to the outhouse is in our futures. And finally to cap it off, the light under the house blew around 11:30 pm so I was taking care of that..

The only thing that hasn't gone out is the propane for the stove....lol. Jeremiah has gotten the whole gamit this month. Except for snow fall. He has enjoyed himself, has gone on a few walks with me, fed the eagles, been rowing, seen lots of new birds and wildlife and generally had a good time. He even drove the ATV and used the snow blower.

Wildlife Report - I finally saw the coyote. I had seen lots of track and scat activity but no live animal. Finally saw him a week ago. So he does exist. I have seen lots of other animal tracks but no animals. I don't get up early enough I guess. Rabbit, Ermine, Cat, Moose, and other small critters.

We saw a school of harbor porpoises in Little Tutka while we were rowing. Now that was pretty damn awesome. We (read I), literally rowed over them and they all surfaced behind us. Needless to say we sat and watched them for a while until they left the bay. Unfortunately we didn't get any good shots but maybe next time.

The sharp shinned hawk slammed into the kitchen window. He flew off after we went out to see what happened but I haven't seen him since, so he may have bit the big one.

A white winged cross beak hit the window upstairs which woke me up. These window go the entire side of the upstairs overlooking Little Tutka Bay and there is a slanted roof on the first floor which is over the living room. The bird was alive but just out of my reach even with a broom. I got Jeremiah up so he could stand at the window while I went outside and climbed up on something to rescue the bird. However, Jeremiah was still in a daze similar to the poor cross beak's and he let a magpie snatch up breakfast. So much for that little birdie but I got to add a new one to my life list.

I didn't take this pic of the hawk but here is one so you know what it looks like. Same with the crossbeak.




I fixed a whole salmon which was stuffed with bacon and onions and then baked. It was fantabulous.








We cut up another pink salmon I had in the freezer and took it to the dock for the Eagles. We didn't catch any pics of them swooping down but I did get some good ones of them in the tree. I was only about 20 feet away when I took these pics. and of course under the tree...lol

Spike has been having a blast outside. He has started following me around all over the grounds. Haven't gotten him out to the dock yet but that is probably a good thing. He would make a good dinner for a hungry eagle. At least around the house and cabins Spike has lots of hiding spaces in case he is swooped upon.

We woke up to ice in the cove the other day. Nelda said she had never seen ice in the cove, ever. Pretty cool.

We are going back to Homer Feb 28th and Jeremiah leaves on the first. This all depends, of course, if the weather and taxi service cooperate. I might even try to get my drivers license again...lol

I have lots and lots of news items to talk about and other little tidbits and will try to get to that this week. It isn't like I don't have the time....Been busy playing on POGO and getting my badges. I will have to let you all know about my online gaming addiction.

Till later - don't forget to check out the new slide show and the craniofacial organization!!

Back on Line Woo Hoo

Well finally, I am back on line. The internet was out for three weeks. Due to weather conditions and the "ice free" harbor in Homer icing up, they couldn't send a boat over. Talk about serious withdrawals....lol. Thanks to everyone that sent emails asking what was up... and a special thanks to Gordon. He used to live in AK and was worried after not seeing me. He called the Soldotna Highway Patrol and they checked on me. I appreciate the concern.

Check out the new slide show!! Pics from the last three weeks.

So let's see. what adventures have I had? I had a great trip over to the mail shack on Xmas day. The weather was perfect. Had several boxes and lots of mail. One box was for Spike - a scratching post, catnip, and a comb. He was in cat heaven. Here is a pic of one of his favorite indoor hang outs.











Boy talk about a change in weather. The wind started whipping through here Monday night 12/25. By the morning, it was snowing so hard, you couldn’t see anything. Stayed this way all day. Probably dropped 6 inches. Then by late afternoon the temp went up and everything started melting. Snow was thumping off the roof. Really neat the way it curves off the roof before falling. Wind died down. Around 10:30, after I got off the phone with Jeremiah, I started hearing a beep like a travel alarm beep. The temp alarm for the heat box under the house was going off. It was down to 39. Bulb was out.

This heat lamp keeps the incoming water from freezing up. I have to climb over a railing, drop down about 6 feet and crawl under the house. Of course there weren't any heat lamps up here so I had to go down to the laundry room to get one. Picked up a 250 watt (the only ones down there), came back up, managed to get under the house without killing myself and discovered I needed a screwdriver to get into the lamp housing. (Jon, that little tidbit needs to be added to the caretaker instruction manual!!). Went back and got a screwdriver, changed the bulb. When I checked the thermometer in the house it had shot up to over 100 degrees. Far to0 hot. So back to the laundry room, grabbed some 100 watt regular light bulbs, another 6 foot drop and crawl under the house. Lots of fun in seriously high winds and of course 11 at night and dealing with about 18" of virgin snow. At least it would cushion me if I fell.

Now understand there isn't any ladder or anything and I am 5'3. Once down, decking is about chest high for me. I had to haul myself up and heave myself over..Only got a couple of bruises.

While I was out the weather changed again and it started to thunder and lightning. No rain but the temp started rising.

(Found out why Spike loves it under the house - it is all dirt and is a perfect private litter box...lol.)

A warm front came through and lingered for three or four days. Everything was melting and falling off the roofs. Had a lot of paths to unblock. Spent a lot of time on the dock shoveling snow pack. hard work but at least I am developing some muscle and losing the flab. The days were beautiful and sunny. By warm I mean around 40 degrees..lol. Actually feels warmer around 32. It becomes a damp cold at 40.

So what did I do with my time without the internet you may ask? Especially since I spend a LOT of time online...I started working on the projects I brought over. Embroidery, Jeremiah's bday gift, reading, played some gamecube, lots of work outdoors. Did some snowshoeing, cleaned the skis, watched way too much TV.

I just finished the John Sandford Prey series and ordered the four I didn't have (did that after I got back on line). They should be here in a week or so. Also finished the James Patterson/Alex Cross books. I just started the Kathy Riechs/Temperance Brennen books. These are the books that the Fox series Bones is based on. They are pretty good but the character on TV is vastly different than the books so if you read them and watch the series expect differences.

Had some new birds show up - A flock of Red Polls with some Pine Siskins. They stayed for a few days. Huge flock of at least 50 birds. A flock of white winged Scoters are hanging around the cover.

By 12/29, we had high winds and it was snowing pretty heavy again. Got about 7 inches overnight.

Baked some bread. Used the bread machine here for some of it but it didn't really rise like it should so went back to the over bread. Turned out wonderfully. I added Parmesan, garlic and rosemary. Smelled great.










1/3 - I got about 10 inches of snow here and according to the weather report, it was a blizzard. I would believe that - very high winds and no visibility. This is the back of the Crows Nest Cabin. Tutka Bay is in the background.












1/4 One of the baby otters stayed on the dock most of the day. He is getting very big and I think Mom is tired of carrying him. She kept bringing him food and occasionally would get up with him. I also saw a new baby this week. Once in the cove behind the lodge and then on the dock. Mom picked him up by the scruff and dove in the water when she saw me coming down the dock.

Leif, the internet guy, is supposed to come out on the 9th, weather permitting. He is also bringing my groceries when he comes. This isn't going to happen. The weather dips down to zero and below in Homer and boats can't get out of the harbor. Was in the teens over here. not much snow though. After about three or four days of really really cold weather the water froze up coming into the house. EEK!!! Talked to Jon and started a heater in the pump room. After a couple of hours water started. Yeah!!!.If it had been one of the underground pipes, I would have had to haul water up here until the pipes unfroze. I had already brought some up just in case.

1/14 - had an earthquake!!!! There was an 8.2 in the Korel Islands around 7:30 PM. I was on the phone with Jeremiah and a bunch of roof snow fell off. The whole lodge house shook pretty hard. I didn't realize it was an earthquake until the weather alarm went off. We were under a Tsunami watch for a couple of hours. If you don't know where the Korel Islands are, get a map and look above the last island of Japan. They are part of Russia.

We had a good amount of rain this week as well. Melted a lot of the snow pac. Make it easier to shovel off the dock.

1/18 - WOO HOO - Leif and Eric made it over. Internet is fixed and groceries delivered. I had plenty of food. Just nothing fresh. Eric checked out the dock. It has two broken hinges. He is not sure when he will be able to get back out to fix it.

Started snowing a couple of days ago. Pretty heavy. I measured 18 inches two days ago on top of what was already here. I keep part of the deck railing clear so I can measure. It is snowing pretty heavy right now. It was a sunny beautiful day this morning but now it is gray. Spike is outside. He totally loves it out there. He doesn't care if it is raining, snowy,windy, cold as hell. He is kind of like the post office motto..lol.

I saw 7, yes 7, blue herons perched on a rock ledge behind the lodge. Wish I could have taken a pick to share but my digital is too small. Oh how I wish I had the new Nikon D80 or D70 with an AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4D IF-ED II. SWEET!!

SNL - Digital Short - A Special Christmas Box *Uncensored *

This is THE funniest thing Saturday Night Live has produced in years.

12/25/06

Well Happy Holidays and all that Jazz. My first xmas in Alaska. Today was a lovely day. Sunny, light wind, around 30 degrees. Perfect day for rowing, so that is what I did. First time by myself since I have been here. Had quite a bit of mail waiting for me. The rowing part isn't difficult, but my back will be feeling it tomorrow. The difficulty is pulling the boat back up on the beach and turning it over. My arms are pretty much wrecked by the time I get back. I tied it up and let the tide bring it on up. Was finally able to pull it all the way up and flip it over. Whew.

The eagles were out and soaring overhead and a large sea otter followed me for a while. Never saw the harbor seal.

Rowing was fun. Nice and peaceful. Only one close call with a rock..lol.

I was going to post some pics I took but the upload program on blogger isn't working today. I will get those on later.

Went out yesterday to fill the bird feeder and one of the nuthatches had managed to get itself in the birdfeeder. He really wanted that last seed...He got out okay after I turned it upside down.

The kingfishers are back or at least one of them is. They shouldn't be here this time of year but have seen one the last two days, including today.

If you haven't looked already, there are two new slide shows posted.

Haven't read too much news lately..got burned out, but never fear my witty commentary and rapier like wit will return soon.

But here are some "things" to ponder all heard on TV this past week:

A study in England on women's weight has concluded that women will be more likely to seek help if the labels in Size 12 and up clothing included an 800 number to an obesity hotline. US manufacturer's are thinking about doing the same thing.

Now people, since when is size 12 obese? or Overweight? All of the women shown in the news clip were no where near size 12. They were all closer to 18, 20 and 24. And which size 12? Petite, misses, Juniors, women's? for you guys out there, women's clothing sizes are a nightmare. I have worn size 12's and I most certainly wasn't obese, nor close to it. Size 12 is the most common size in America. Not zero, 1, or 2 as most media would have you believe. And it isn't obese.


And on the same topic, sort of, have you SEEN the commercial for nutrisystem? Some chick waxing eloquant on all of the weight she has lost stuffing her face with chocolate - Claims to be a size two. If she is a size two, I am the queen mother.

Medical Commercials

I have a real issue with the commericals for Valtrax (genital herpes). They show these pictures of beautiful people who want to have sex. the tag line for Valtrex is Want to reduce the risk of spreading Genital Herpes? Well guess what, DON'T HAVE SEX!!!!!. They have the actors saying they didn't know it could be spread when an outbreak wasn't evident. This isn't new information but the way it is packaged on these commercials will lead people to think it is okay to take Valtrex and have sex.

And how about the one for Rhumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Enbral? An actor says " I didn't know RA could cause joint damage" WHAT? What does she think RA does? Stupid commercial.


Funny heard on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show this week: Presidents news conference held in Indian Treaty Room and you know we can trust what is said in the indian treaty room.

12/19/06

Just a quickie today. It snowed for about 5 days and as of the 18th there is 13 inches of snow. The 18th was a gorgous wind and snow free day with sun. Spent a good amt of time snow blowing the deck area around the main lodge house and blowing off the floating deck.

I am working on a new slide show which I will post either tonight or tomorrow so please see those pics.

Was woken up bright and early this morning (not so bright as the sun wasn't up yet) by a wrong number (someone telling me my ups package would be delivered by 9:45...thanks Sandra) and then Jeremiah IMing me over and over right after the phone stopped ringing. Since my oldest daughter has been sick and was in the hospital, I thought maybe it was my ex husband or her husband calling with news. So I decided to just stay up. My daughter is fine btw way. Just some pregnancy related thing.

Saw the mama sea otter with her baby out of the water and on the dock. and then the bottom fell out. Winds were whipping through here most of the day. I estimated them at least 20 mph and the snow fall was extremely heavy. Lost power in the middle of it, so had fun hooking generators up. Very glad I got the deck and path cleared of snow yesterday.

Electricity was only out about an hour. Not bad.

Spike actually went out twice during the high winds. Cat is turning in to a true wilderness snow kitty. I have pics of him going through the 13 inch snow yesterday. They will be on the new slide show.

Went back out around a quarter to 4 to put everything up and do the evening rounds. Figured another 3 to 4 inches fell today. I walked out into an uncleared portion of the main deck and sank into snow up to my knees. That is 19 inches of snow.

According to the weather advisory, we can expect 4 - 8 inches tonight and tomorrow. I can feel another turn with the snow blower coming on.

Well way more tomorrow. I have pics, some news news, comments on some really stupid advertising etc. So stay tuned.

Like my snowflakes?