Kenai Alaska or Bust: Let us recap 2009.

I was thinking of a unique post to signify the end of an old year and the bringing in of the new. However, I find myself constantly annoyed by all of the recap, memorable pictures, best looking people, famous quotes, and all of the rest of the memorization of each year past. I mean, "I was there, man!" Why in the name of Pete would I want to re-live it all at the end!!

So I will deviate from the regular 'year past' protocol. Instead, lets look at 2010, and all the promise, disappointment, and potential excitement it has in store:

- Depending on what cultural ancestry chain you follow, there will be only 2 more years until the world comes to an end! That means this is the second to the last for those who are counting!
- Congress will be coming up to the fence post this year. Hopefully there is a Vaseline shortage!
- We have only to hope for a strengthened economy, and hope the job rate heals itself. With all of the free money that has been injected into the system, one can only hope.... John seemed unfazed when I informed him that his kids and their kids would be the ones to pay off this one.
- June will mark the 3rd consecutive and most successful year of the loading. Mind you, we hope the remaining 6 months will continue to be successful...
- I have been feeling a major twitch lately. No, not that. I mean similar to the one that has preceded every major 'life change' we have encountered. Hmmm, what could it mean. There may be a huge opening in the vortex of possibilities for us/me in 2010.
- The Chinese food restaurant will re-open in April!
- I fear we may fall into a new tax bracket. And gone are the glory years of claiming John as a dependent.
- We are hoping to continue new and bigger renovations here at the compound. Well.... "well" being the key word....it all depends on whether we sink a new well, in which case our hopes for the finances of renovations may not 'hold water'....this year.
- John is planning on finally pursuing his career as a line firefighter.
- Ted and Patty will be coming to Alaska!

The list could go on and on. I suppose 2009 had it's weak spots, and it's triumphs. But we are looking to a bright year in 2010. We feel pretty blessed and pray for those near and far who have suffered loss, faced adversity, dealt with the unbearable. I guess the most important thing is to look for a promising future. Words cannot always take away the frustration, or the sorrow.

As for resolutions....resolute if you feel the need! I look at them as "diets". It is easy to do something that is good for you. And easier to get tired of it and let it slide leeway. Maybe a better way to see it is to look at what you can personally do to make life better be it for yourself or someone else. If any of you are loaded with excess cash, giving me some would make it easier for me to travel more! I see things in "me" yesterday and today that could use some phase-in. And I am sure, these things will be there tomorrow. I highly doubt during sleep tonight the 'resolution pixie' will magically transform my will. It is always work in progress! Maybe suggesting that we will do something about it in the 'New Year' substantiates some kind of profound inner will....I don't really know.

Dick! What ever happened to Dick Clark? I find myself going to bed well before midnight the past 3 or 4 years. Does he even drop the ball anymore? Speaking of balls.... Ahh, never mind.

Here are a few pics I took the past couple of mornings. Just another reminder of winter and it's beauty! And for those intrigued or bewildered by this past summer's events with Mt Redoubt, it seems she is getting restless once more. The other day after a series of small quakes, the AVO Alaska Volcano Observatory - Redoubt - Activity Page put the volcano back into a 'Yellow' status. Nobody really knows, but there is some speculation that it may erupt again. Or, the dome just may collapse....keep in mind it grew over the summer. So, we wait and hope that it will simmer down. In any event, our love goes out to Michelle and her family, and we ask for your prayers for them as they are dealing with a pretty serious situation. Our heart is with you Michelle. To everyone else, may the new year bring you all that you hope for. In defense of my feelings on the issue, and in regards to new years, I do recite a verse that sums it up for me....

New ones comin' as the old ones go,
Everything's moving here but much too slow now,
A little bit quicker and we might have time,
To say "How do you do?" before we're left behind.
- Robert Hunter