A year later.

Well here it is almost the end of June and again, a month of only a couple posts. As my grandma used to say..."whata me gonna do?" I guess when your having fun, busy and the likes time flies.....like no other! I had these soaped up plans for the blog on our first anniversary here like posting live via transcriptionist from the arctic ocean, or posting pics of a live birth moose since it is the season for them to drop calves.... But no, June 13th the day we officially took ownership of the house, came and went with no streamers, no hoorah, no nothin! Not that I am complaining, it was just fine. In fact, for my birthday, June 13th, John and I pulled the 500 gallon heating feul tank out of the ground. It was a desire of ours to get the thing out ASAP. Just never wanted to take the chance that the thing would end up leaking some day. Good news is that it came out, was still in tip top shape and is now history. It was to rusted from being burried to keep. We will get a smaller 300 gallon one before fall and keep the new one above ground. Trying to get rid of these things is like trying to dispose of....well, used oil tanks! Nobody wants them. John said we should roll it into the lake. (snicker) The same company who took the last tank for a 12 pk of Corona, you remember, the one I pulled in fall for the other guy who was being fined by D.E.C. Well, my new found buddy at the tank cleaning company took this one for 2 12 pks of Corona. Hey, it was 200 gallons more than the other! ;) Funny how when you walk into an industrial company with 2 12 packs of beer how everybodys name is the name of the guy your looking for! Then there is the twisted humor of our son, who stands at the bottom of the 8 foot deep hole with a shovel in his hand, a cool aide smile, and his shirt reading...."Gravedigger"! Sick puppy. All in all though it was a good day. We got done something that has been bugging me for some time.

On the heels of that came our friends for their visit to Alaska. We pulled it off good. We had contacted a friend with the Wildlife Preserve Rescue and Recovery. He arranged for a trained release of a bald eagle on the other side of our lake here, which soared graciously above Scott and Nick their first day here as they kayaked the lake. He put on quit a show to give them the impression of the ultimate Alaska experience. Then there was the mama moose and her probably not 2 week old calves. Our same friend planted them at the bottom of the driveway for the Parisi's to marvel. What was really comical was a short time after the sighting when Scott was out on the deck and heard splashing behind shrubs at the lakes edge. He of course thought, awe, how cute....one of the babies is splashing on the shore. What he didn't see was our friend from the preserve skipping barefoot with his pants pulled up beyond the bushes, in the water. Couldn't you imagine!? Really though these few noteworthy scenarios of many, did happen for them, and of no doing from any friend from the Preserve. No, these were real and random acts of nature which revealed themselves to the Parisis during their first hours here. Was spectacular and spiritual to say the least. They thoroughly enjoyed the trip and did much for the week they spent. In fact, it was a chance for Maryann, John and I to also do some of the things that we have longed to do since we landed. So alot of first time sightseeing for us all.

The first year brought alot of noteworthy memories, some breathtaking scenery, and new experiences for us all. Like these pics from the winter and spring that John snapped. John also has made some really good friends and found that the move was a positive experience, despite all the people he left behind. Ever notice John has a thing for the "Captain Morgan" look? I guess we could go on about all that has happened, but you get the point. To everyone who has followed us and lived our lives in this new land vicariously through our blog, we thank you. Who knows how many or who of you are out there??? I know it isn't always easy for comments with Blogger. That is one thing about this that sucks. But to those who braved the agitation and succeeded, thanks. We sometimes wish we knew who all was really out there with us. But nonetheless, we will continue to push forward with all we are doing, and will continue to post progress for those who are still there with us. Stay tuned as the elusive Maryann, will hopefully be doing a follow up post with some photos from last weeks adventures. Oh, make sure and check out the sidebar as we have changed the format around for nothing better than a year past! And please make sureto take a minute and select one of the new voting selections. This is just a way for Maryann and I to have some kind of number for the amount of people that check out the blog. Much easier than the comments section!!! Please take a second to do it....if you don't, your ugly! ;)Take care for now.