Duh!

Brilliant sunrise! Just don't get sick of this kind of thing.

And, so there I was. Making myself look a complete bafoom. A greenhorn of sort....of which I still am...in front of a native, who giggled in delight of my foolery. Lesson learned....things aren't always as they seem. We have been watching the snow melt slowly the past couple weeks, as the daytime temps are soaring into the mid to upper 30's. Today was the first heatwave in fact, since back in early September with a swift 44 degrees! Cool beans! So I am riding with a Realtor today to look at some escrow work that needed to be done on one of her listings. We are pulling into the driveway of the home and she comments how the sign which she had planted in the snow had fallen with the melting. Being the gentleman I am....or kiss-ass for getting the job from her, hands down...I get out of her rig and carefully walk over to the slain sign ( I am stepping litely because ice is still an issue here despite the temps....remember that. Ice is still an issue here). The brilliant handyman that I am, I figure that if I plant it back in the snow, it will be a matter of days before the continued melt-off will find it fallen again. Now, it is one of those small, close to the ground, cute signs that has a formable 6 gauge wire frame and a little foothold to push it into the ground...very user friendly. My plan: Sink it's bony little frame into the small area of ground that is starting to protrude from the melting snow. And so I do. Or so I thought I would. As I go to press this corpulent yet rigid sign into the wet ground, I feel an instantaneous "thud' followed by one of those fluttered "boings" with it just sitting there as if it hit a solid rock. And if once being made the jackass wasn't enough, no, I had to go and try a second time a few inches over. Duh! The simple problem lies in the fact that the ground, despite it's 'wet/muddy' appearance in some areas, is in fact still a solid slab of ice...everywhere...and I know this...and will be so, for a while to come. In fact I have been told that the ice layer gets to four feet into the ground. It is about this time of year that we will start to see evidence of the sub-teranian ice melting. Simply, when the ground ices up, it expands. This form of suspended animation of 'heaving' lasts the duration of winter and as this expanded ground melts, it collapses, or hoes...making pavement buckle and sinkholes...or, sinkhoes... ;) form in areas that weren't sinkholes back in fall. In any event I stuck the sucker back in the snow, only for it to meet it's given demise again in a few days. The Realtor...she chuckles. Me...I tried. My heart was in the right place! Duh!! LOL

We take protecting our kids seriously here. Just one day a year, for a few hours!

Maryann has had a spectacular brush with circumstance since the last post. If you remember, her workplace seemed as if it was jumping on the badfoot right quick. Being the ordained visionary that she has become in recent months, she saw the writing on the wall a while back. So it was of no surprise to her when the ball began to fall. That is when she pulled the ace out of her sleeve. Almost like clockwork, the other job she applied for a while back came through and spared her the mindlessness of politics that have infected her workplace. She will be the general manager for a local lodge and will soon be letting go of her current job and all of it's annoyances. She has officially got the position, but is waiting now to hear back on the official start date and details of her beginning to hire cleaning staff, an assistant office person, and setting up of the office. So she will be putting in notice at the hotel very soon. She is excited, nervous, and impatient. But we are proud of her current achievements and the recognition that she has gotten for her abilities and professionalism working the front desk at the hotel. Why with all this acknowledged credibility at the hotel did she not get the front desk manager position that she was shooting for 2 weeks ago? One could say politics, which is in all fairness true. However, divine intervention was the real reason. You see, the girl who did get the position has been burdened with alot of the ridiculous playground-like antics, political B.S. and stress that Maryann would have otherwise fallen victim to. Already just 2 weeks into the new position, this girl has commented that she is ready to quit! Kudos Maryann, ya done good!

John started soccer last week and is pretty pumped. He comes home from practice which is daily, looking worn over. But he is loving it and looking forward to traveling around for his games. He has been very diligent at keeping his grades up, so that shouldn't be an issue. He is still working the Italian joint in town, and when his counterpart got laid off this week, he was told by the owner that his extra-curricular efforts at work, his positive attitude, and responsiveness kept his hours secure and firm. He is however drooling these days as fishing season is around the corner, and the prominent prospect of working a commercial fishing boat this summer is giving way to 'wood'! ;) He is also being called back for the salmon processing plant that he worked at last year. So he has some choice and variety for his desire of fishing. He is still active with the fire department and is ready to start his ride-alongs. With school, soccer, and work he is going to have to start making choices though. Ahh, the chance to have choice! So there it is. The posts have been few this month, and I guess the only reason is being busy and time slipping past. It is hard to believe that in another 2 and a half months we will have been here for 1 year. We are really excited as our friends Scott, Phyllis and son Nicko will be here in June to visit. It will be some good time for sure and will be one heck of a way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary in the last frontier. Stay safe out there and be positive often...it gets you places where you would only have dreamed of going!