It's Time

I know we are leaving today because as soon as I finish this I'm packing up the router (Lynksys not Dewalt) and DSL modem, then the cable boxes and TIVO.  After that we have to leave.  So then it's final vacuum and our chauffeur, Tony, picks us up.  Yesterday evening we put the cars into winter mode.  The Subaru gets the garage and the Ford gets the driveway and a tarp. 

Frank gets one stall and that's about it.  As usual, I got carried away with the tie down ropes/bungees. Looks like all it needs is a address label and he could send it to us.  Tonight we get as far as Kenai; tomorrow we actually get on an airplane to eventually arrive in Portland.

No More Bugs

Had two hard freezes last few nights.  So bugs are gone till next break up.  High overcast with no precip forecasted, so today is the day for last mowing and winterizing the mower and weed eater.  Got everything packed for the flight out.  Wonder how much stuff we forgot?  We are already finding things.  By Thursday, our getaway day, we will be looking like "Grapes of Wrath, airline version".  We are going to test out "one carry on bag and a personal bag"; you should see the size of my "purse".  We have to pack for two months on the road in a small car, then five more in various climates.

The City is in winterizing mode too.  They have flushed the hydrants, and the street sweeper just went by for, most likely, its last run of the side streets.  The sand piles have been replenished and the dump trucks that haul the snow readied for winter duty.  We plow the main streets and side walks out into the middle of the street.  Then a large thrower goes down the pile throwing the snow into a fleet of dump trucks that haul it to a yard over by the sports center.  Works pretty well in a small town with short travel distances to the dump site.

Politics:

I am looking forward to totally ignoring this joke we call a "political system" when we hit the road.  What kind of system has corporate lobbyists writing proposed legislation and the highest court in the land giving corporations a complete free hand to buy elections.  Ours.  I'm not against corporations, really!  I just don't think they are the entity that should be running the show.  It should be me.  I've heard it's good to be king.  What I'll need is an efficient "news agency" (what we used to call a PR firm) to rewrite history, distort current events and scare the crap out of everyone.  Then maybe the newly informed masses will see the truth; make me king or we will all die.

The reason Obama failed to fulfill any of his promises was because he wasn't the man for the job at hand.  He was an emotional reaction to eight years of abuse from W and Fox News.  What we needed was a cross between Obama and Cheney.  Someone with Obama's compassion and vision and Cheney's ruthless ability to wield power.  The problem with Democrats is they don't know how to  abuse power and bully like the Rebublicans.  I'm not optimistic about the future; when the pendulum swings back it will be way too far.  Unless, of course, we have the vision to make me king.

Keep the faith!

HOME STRETCH

Sunday, Sept 26

Looks like another week of clear ahead as the forecasters call for another large high pressure setting up over central Alaska.  I figure it’s Alaska’s way of luring us back next spring.  Today we are headed for the peoples republic of Homer and the Worsfold commune.  Should be a perfect day; I’ll try to get some photos up later.

Yesterday we had Frank over for his last visit before he moves in next Thursday.  I know we haven’t covered everything but we are only a local call away while we are gone.  We think he will work out great.  I’m hoping for a mild winter for his first up here.  If this weather pattern keeps up, Alaska is in for some real cold early on.  Then there will be a good deep freeze to keep it interesting when the January rains come.

Monday, Sept 27

The trip to Homer had clear skies, but too much haze and dust from the winds of the past days for good photos.  Here are two shots I took of the Worsfold compound looking away from their normally best view towards the Katchemak Bay.

 

Today we enter the home stretch.  Naturally, I lost a filling yesterday, so I’ll be begging the dentist to fit me in before Thursday.  Today we hope to do the final packing and shipping off of the excess.  Then the final winterizing.  Tomorrow I’ll do the last mowing.  I’ve been giving the backyard squirrel as much time as I can to finish up his hoarding.  He has been spending the last few weeks biting off every seed cone in the spruce trees and throwing them down to the ground.  He’s getting to be a good shot too.  Now the back yard is covered with cones that the lawn mower will sweep up if he doesn’t get them first.  I’ll probably empty the grass catcher next to his stash burrow as I’m a soft touch for squirrels.  Now cats, that's another story.  I like cats but they tend to eat the birds at my feeder.  But that is another story.

Fall marches on

Fantastic weather continues.  We are getting a little wind as the last storm front got pushed south of us, leaving us with wind but no precip.  If this keeps up the trees will be bare soon.  The lawn’s getting a good covering of birch leaves; next weeks mowing should fix that.

Endoscope went well, just a nice midday nap and a chauffeured ride home.  The Day Surgery unit calls the next day to make sure there are no ill effects and today I get a thank you card from the team.  We definitely have a great hospital.  Our Borough council toyed with the idea of selling off a major portion of the hospital but finally decided against it.  We are all relieved that things will remain status quo.  Some things have changed.  We used to go to the cafeteria often for breakfast, but since the huge remodel project they have lost the personal touch. 

After some difficulty upgrading the software for my external back up hard drive, I managed to get everything done and ready for the trip without a call to tech support.  There were moments of anguished cries (I did call Western Digital support but they just took my number and never called back, so it didn’t count) and a few restarts but all is working smooth now.

Spent the afternoon packing for the trip plus a box for shipping ahead.  A week before we leave; do you think we are anxious?  Nah, just don’t believe in waiting until the last minute. 

This is the view from the deck of the Kenai Princess Lodge on 12 Sept.  Quite a bit more yellow now, still nice and clear.

AHHHHHHHHHHH

The high pressure finally broke; might even get wet in a day or so.  I’m loading the I pods and computers with audio books for the trip.  Depending on what I can get my hands on, we always have a book going.  Once I had two paper backs and an audio going at the same time, a result of those pesky libraries wanting their books back on time.

Right now I’m battling a firmware update on an external HD before I back up the computers.  Looks like there is a call to tech support (Ryan) in the near future.

Saw Sara’s blog yesterday(see it here).  I can just see the Tom Sawyer routine that Emil worked on her to get her mowing the lawn.  Next will be splitting wood.

The morning is dragging along as I wait for my endoscope procedure at noon.  That means NO FOOD, and you all know how I hate to miss meals.  I got a colonoscopy a while back so I’ll be all scoped out for another few years.  I hope they aren’t saving the same scope just for me (at least wash it good).  The VA picks up the tab and I’m still using my local doctor.  To quote a shout out at a Tea party rally  “keep the government outa my Medicare”.

Which reminds me; is everyone going to Jon Stewart’s rally to restore sanity.  I hope to, if I can get permission from my therapist.  Seriously, we were discussing the possibility but can’t see how we could make it.  I’d love to be there to see he and Stephen Colbert embracing in the reflecting pool.

Gotta go say AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Paradise

Another beautiful day in paradise!  Teri worked her last day at Fred Meyers yesterday.  She’ll be gone so long that they’ll have to terminate her now then rehire her if she wants to work when we come back.  They get a good deal getting someone experienced to process the enormous amount of Fish & Game licenses that they have in the summer.  I think she only does it for the employee discount. We’ll see how bored she is next summer.  John and Mary (our good friends in Kasilof) are still actively trying to sell their house.  If they sell and are gone next summer, Teri will lose a major bud and might have to take up fishing if she doesn’t go back to work.  I have no such problem filling my day.

We are at 11 days and a wake up.  Spent today packing up things that will just get in Frank's (our house sitter) way.  The garage will be packed with the Subaru and a ton of boxes, leaving room for Franks car and a little standing room.  Our ford will spend this winter outside under a brown tarp.  Blue is out of style.

It is amazing the amount of “stuff” we have.  George Carlin would be proud.  We pack and cull and reorganize, but still don’t seem to take very much to the dump or give away.  I recaulked the kitchen sink after dinner.  That’s the last of the house projects for this year.  Just one last lawn mowing next week and then put up the mower for the winter.  Tomorrow should be another beautiful day.

Back Home

Drove back from Anchorage today.  Was good to see the Teague’s again.  We last saw them in Sitka as we wrapped up a ten day cruise on their boat from Juneau to Sitka.  There is just no other way to see Southeast Alaska.  We cruised, fished and crabbed (that is catching crabs, not slipping sideways) at a leisurely pace stopping overnight in secluded coves, sharing the abundant wild life with only one or two other boats.  We watched over ten bald eagles fight over one fish on the shore and up into the forrest.  The evenings spent over gourmet dinners and stimulating conversation in the luxurious warmth of the yachts cabin.  It was the kind of vacation you dream about, but only a handful of us ever experience.

Patricia was there also, as she is staying with them for a few days while she searches for a new abode.  It is always good to see her and talk about New Zealand.   The Teague B&B/U-Store-It is getting real popular.  We are trying to talk them into expanding.  We’ll see.

The forecasters seem to have gotten it right this time as the high pressure persists and it was crystal clear once we past Portage glacier.  The fall colors haven’t peaked but should be within a week.

Back to packing tomorrow.  Here’s the link to my third and last Wriststrong story, featuring characters “pulled from real life”, as they say.  Link to Wriststrong Vs the Volcano
It was written during Redoubt Volcano’s last eruption.  If you aren’t familiar with Redoubt, check it out here.  link to Geology.com   It is just a few miles from Kenai, across the Cook Inlet. 




Wriststrong Vs the Volcano Posted: 04-12-2009 11:39 PM

http://forums.colbertnation.com/?page=ThreadView&thread_id=4564

WARNING

WARNING

Perhaps I should have said this on my first post.  But, late or not, I need to make a few things clear.

I will be making comments which may offend.  Too bad.  I try not to say hurtful things, and my intent is not to harm; but I do believe that truth should be the standard, and idiots should not be tolerated.  I will be commenting on political and religious issues.  I often find myself wondering if I’m the only one who thinks that some oft quoted pundit is an idiot; and my religious beliefs are definitely not main stream. 

So if the ramblings of a pinko, commie, bleeding heart, atheist will be damaging to your psyche; perhaps you should tune out now, never to return.  So long, have a nice life. 

Enough soapbox for now, but I will be back.

Today Teri and I drove up to Anchorage for a last of the season visit at our favorite B&B and recently established u-store-it (formally known as the Teague’s).  The strong high pressure centered over the Susitna Valley persists, and once you climb out of the fog near the Cook Inlet and river valleys, it is one of the prettiest drives in the state.  Deciduous leaves are turing yellow and soon the brush will be all sorts of gold through red/brown.

We played Tom Brokaw’s “The Greatest Generation” on the I pod on the way up.  In it he narrates personal stories to illustrate his claim that the generation that grew up through the depression, fought and won World War II, and then returned to build our nation, was (to paraphrase) “the greatest generation ever produced by any society on earth”.

He makes a good case and I see no reason to contest it.  But it makes me reflect on my generation and what we did to bring us to this mess we still insist is the “greatest nation on earth”.  We were going to fix all the bad things that the previous generation couldn’t seem to cast aside.  Bigotry, obsession with material possessions, sexual hangups, colonialism, all that evil stuff.   How'd we do with that?  Maybe the next generation.

If you liked the Wriststrong story here's the next installment.   link to Saved by Sarah

Saved by my Wriststrong and Sarah Posted: 03-11-2009 1:19 AM

http://forums.colbertnation.com/?page=ThreadView&thread_id=4534

We are getting summer now; it was conspicuously absent so far this year.  We’ve only had rain for one out of the last ten days or so.  We should be getting increasingly frequent rain that melds into snows that start to accumulate after Halloween.  But instead we are getting cloudless skies, crisp 40°F mornings, warming to a little either side of 70°F for the max.  It is great and perfect timing for the fall colors.  When the fall is wet, the leaves just go quickly black and fall off the tree.   They are turning fast but rich yellows to deep orange instead of black.  Hard to imagine a winter that won’t be all cold, dark and slippery.

Teri and I are making lists, trying to get a handle on packing and a smooth transfer of the house to Frank (our house sitter) a day before we fly out on Oct 1st.  Seems like everything has to happen at the last minute.  I mean, you wouldn’t want to cut off the TIVO too soon!  Should I make DVDs of the five or six soccer games that I haven’t been able to watch?  Some serious decisions need to be made.  I think I’m going to leave all those to Teri. 

Last year I posted some “TrueAlaska” stories to the Colbert Nation “fan fiction and humor” forum.  I chose this spot because of Stephen’s oft repeated fear of bears and the fact that my first story was about my Wriststrong bracelet and a bear.  I wrote it the winter before my final summer rotating out to Illiamna. 


Link to Wriststrong Vs The Bear

Don't know about daily postings.  Hopefully, I'll get up to speed by the time we leave.