Petered out, or, be careful what you wish for....

And so we have come to the day of being Thankful, talking to family, being fat and happy....and the day before "Christmas In Kenai", the much anticipated show of the year. Being excited as I have been, I worked very diligently for the past month and a half, and more especially for the past 2 weeks, to make sure I was equipped, stocked and ready to go. And I am! However, not without hitches of which reach beyond my control, yet within my anticipation. As you know, besides being the Handyman and maintenance business guy that I am, I turn into Mr. Plow come winter. Snow plowing is the easiest hard work I have ever done! I mean, the cool thing is I am out "in it" which anyone who really knows me knows that I live for being "in it" when it comes to the elements. The heater in the cab is cranking, windows are usually down to see out the side view mirrors as blowing snow is always an element, especially when it freezes the minute it hits the windows....imagine snow freezing to the windshield upon contact! And you cant wipe it off with the windshield wipers!!! The stereo is going with the favorites, you find yourself soon enough in a zone with a big ol grin on your face, watching a wave of snow fly off the front of your blade, and the feeling of the final thrust as it explodes into the burm you've created...yeah! A thermos of hot cocoa is a plus, and I love making yellow snow everywhere my travels take me! Meeting up several times through the day and the comorodity with your other friends who plow, and conversing continuously with them via cell phone to find out what conditions are in certain areas, come help me I'm stuck, can you get so and so for me while your out in Sterling and yeah, I'll catch so and so when I get back over to Kenai for you... The flip side is a typical snow day starts at around 1:00AM and will sometimes ride through til 10:00PM that night, unless it continues to snow and then you only get a few hours of sleep before your up and out again at 1:00 AM to do it over again. By 10:00PM after that first run your eyes are caved in, your head hurts from turning your neck so much, like a 'Lazy Susan' at a free for all table food fest.... Then there is that feeling. You are standing in the kitchen drinking a glass of water and you feel your body gently swaying forward....backward....forward....backward, from all of the back and forth for the past 20 hours. But then the next day when you wake refreshed, and feeling somewhat hung over, you add up the coin for the previous days fare, and it is oh so worth it! So getting back to the point I was about to make, I have been really praying for the snow to fly. And so my prayers came true....oye. You see, the caveat has been "please snow, but don't snow during the two days of the show". Right. The call came in Tuesday night at around 8:00PM that we were expecting a dumping over night. Now the adrenaline is going, the excitement is mounting and you just cant settle in to sleep. Your up every hour peeking out the window to see "how much" like a little kid anticipating Santa's arrival. Before you know it it's 12:30AM and the alarm is going off. And so the fun run goes down. Fast forward to Wednesday night at around 10:00PM, I am home, eyes caving, body gently swaying, I still have hours of unloading the final kiln load, pricing and packing all of the new pieces, getting the tables and paraphernalia together ect, ect, ect. I just wanted to sleep. Bad. So Thanksgiving morning rolls around and I find myself sleeping in til 9:30AM, wonder why, and we have to be at our friends' for dinner at 12:30PM. I figure cool beans, we will be home early and I can price, pack, gather and load the truck. It will be a long day, but it's doable. Until I eat, and eat, and eat. Good food, good friends, good time....now it's 6:30Pm and we are just rolling home. Hey, not to worry, I am only running on fumes as I am still tired, and have to do all of this in order to be up at 5:30AM Friday and off to Kenai to set up. All week I have watched the weather to make sure we would have no snow...like I have a definitive say in it...and that last blast came totally unexpected. But no worries, it is smooth sailing because as of Thanksgiving morning, there is no accumulative snow expected til next week. It's been a long haul but I can do it! Maybe?! I will be fine. So here we are, 9:30PM Thanksgiving evening, I am done with a little help from the family. Truck is packed, we are good as gold. And the forecast is now expecting 6 inches of snow by Friday night. The show, the snow....I am already petered out as it is, and can only say...."be careful what you wish for"... But the sick little monkey in me is saying 'giddy-up'! Interesting point to add. There will be the annual 4th of July fireworks display and festivities Saturday night in Kenai. We celebrate 4th of July here in November, because it is too light out to see fireworks on the 4th of July! Too cool, aint it!

The three boneheads and a S.A.D. realization....

Wow, where has the time gone? In fact where did the year go?? Where to start? We have actually heard from a few friendly and distant voices of late. Our friend and live-in companion Michelle called and talked with Maryann today. She is well and apparently misses some of the perks of living with the lack of population and all of it's adverse effects on ones psyche! She is well and back in California....'for now'. Michelle has an admirable quality in her, and this would be the desire to roam and roll unturned stones....as I said, 'for now!' She has a home in Alaska waiting for her return. We also heard from an old client of ours who is wanting to come up and experience Alaskan fishing next summer. And last but not by a long shot the least, we heard from our long time and dear friends Ted and Patty who are also looking into coming up for a possible visit over the summer. So some excitement hearing from missed friends and the like. Marynn is savoring the taste of working from home. She has not lost her mind as of yet! But the days are getting darker and shorter fast....so who knows!

I, on the other hand have stumbled onto the realization that I may well be suffering from the ill-effects of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Yes, I think the lack of light may have finally nipped me in the ass! I have started to feel as if I may be losing my mind and have been having the yearning urge to go to Hawaii or someplace sunny like that. In fact now looking back on it it is starting to make sense when I was younger with those long weeks of fog and dreariness in Stockton. Maryann has pulled through as my savior though. No, not to worry as she has mail ordered me a "happy light". Now apparently these light boxes have come a long way and now they have them as desktop decorative models. So me and my "happy light" will be spending some time together this winter, and hopefully I will not succumb to the relenting feeling of isolation and remorse....during the next 2 long and dark months! Maryann is talking to her mom in the other room right now, stating about how the lack of light has not gotten to her yet....yet!

Then there is the senseless acts of foolishness. You know, when you do stupid things, as we all do, you will almost always regret it. But it sure does feel better when you aren't the only dummy in the crowd. It started out last month when our friend Mike, who works at Maryann's lodge, pulled a 'California stop' coming from the lodge out onto the highway and got pulled over by Alaska's best. And surprisingly he wasn't let off with a warning, but a ticket. Now, me being the friend that I am couldn't help but feel for the guy. I mean, you are just going through your daily motions and then all of a sudden those red and blue lights, which are really kind of fascinatingly pretty, are in your rear view mirror. And the State Troopers here are very cordial and polite when they approach your vehicle. They always introduce themselves and ask you how you are doing, before they tell you why your being pulled over. How do I know this? Because being the friend that I am and feeling bad for the guy, I pulled a boner of a move two weeks later coming back from Anchorage in a rental car. Only I did one up better than Mike. Oh, I couldn't let him be better than me! I was doing 75 in a 55 zone. Shocked? Imagine that ol familiar feeling of my heart falling into my ass as I watched the Trooper coming at me and realized what I was doing! Mind you, the speed limit had just dropped from 65 to 55 less than a mile back.....I just missed the sign....stupid dummy me! So Mike walked away with a 2 point ticket, and me a 4 point ticket which the Trooper very considerately lowered to a 2 point by saying I was only doing 10 miles over the speeed limit. And if that dont just beat it all. Now, imagine the grin on Johns face when he walked in that night and saw my ticket glowing on the counter. "And here dad is always telling me to slow down", thought John. And I have to give the boy credit where credit is due, because a week later when he got pulled over in Kenai, he was in fact doing the speed limit. But being the sore loser that he sometimes is, he had to out-do Mike and myself by getting a 6 point ticket....whoa.....for following too close to the person in front of him, slamming on his brakes in icy conditions, and almost causing an accident! I think they call that reckless driving, eh John?! Good thing for John, he had a kind officer as well and lowered him to a 4 point ticket, because at 6 points it is mandatory court appearance and suspension of his license. He was even nice enough to call me at home at 10:30PM to tell me what my brilliant son had just maneuvered. And so we have the three boneheads, who had to support the local and state revenue, in a rather foolish and uncanny manner. Poor traffic school instructor who is gonna have to deal with us 3 jackasses!!

On a shiner and upbeat note, if you remember last year about this time, I was writing about my demise with the big "Christmas In Kenai" craft bizarre. Remember, I was scheduled to sell pottery there the day after Thanksgiving and the kiln took a crap just days away. That spawned me to buy a new updated and more reliable kiln, to which I have had very favorable and exciting experiences with since. So today ended a 10 hour glazing frenzy to begin the 2 glaze fires over the course of the next few days, that I will have to perform in order to have pottery ready for sale the day after Thanksgiving at the "Christmas In Kenai" show. Yes I am giving it another go! And this happens on the heels of a successful run two weeks ago at the Soldotna Bizarre I did, as seen in the photos. Sales were pretty darn good, and out of it came a gallery owner who has asked me to display pottery in her gallery, and as well, the continued request of the Soldotna Senior Center to sell pottery out of their gift store, which I have already displayed and am doing now. As well as good sales, I was shocked to have taken a 1st place ribbon on a teapot set I made and a 3rd place ribbon on a small vase! I had entered 3 pieces into the jurried show the third being the green bowl behind the vase which although it didn't take a ribbon, did sell before it was displayed! But just the excitement of so many avenues coming out of one show, was an honor. And another step closer to my dream! So I find myself busy preparing for the next gig and one more before Christmas at Maryann's former place of employment, as the hotel is having a Christmas Bizarre and has asked me to participate.

John came home tonight and was glowing. He is now certified in CPR! One step closer to his dream!! Upon finding out the good news, Cherokee promptly and on cue rolled over 4 paws to the ceiling playing dead. John wasn't interested in giving the dog CPR.....good thing Cherokee was only running through a crisis training scenario.... So there it is the latest and greatest, another month gone by, one more month closer to officially qualifying for the PDF, 27 more days to the darkest day, continued success in the pursuit of dreams and one tired Greg! Stay tuned as we find out whether or not the "happy light" will save me from spiraling into the dark abyss of yet another Alaskan winter...... If you look into my eyes you can kinda already see the twisted look of....

Ok, we are losers!

Just like our friend Yvette, so to are we feeling the guilt of not posting as much as we should for those who are still with us. And like Yvette, we will at least get 1 or 2 in for the month of October! What to say. Winter is definitely upon us now. We have had snow on and off for a couple of weeks, and it is sticking around now. The daytime temps are not getting too much over 35, and the nightime temps dropping into the 20's and I believe the teens as of last night. The lake has began to freeze, and in fact the lite snow from this morning has stuck to the surface, rendering it lifeless until next spring. The ground is freezing up good as we were reminded 2 mornings ago at 6:00AM as the grader tried in vain to smooth out the potholes on our road one more time before heavy winter. It sounded like a 747 being pulled on its belly across a mile of pavement, or a train wreck in slow motion. Was horrifying! Even John who could sleep through the war came running out of his room in complete disarray!! Mind you it didn't do a whole lot of anything, because....the ground is frozen! That and with the days shortening comes the begining of the alpenglow throughout the sky. So cool! Fall did go by in a flash. Sun is rising at around 9:45 AM and setting around 4:30PM, and the darkest days are slowing coming upon us. All in all we are all ok, and keeping busy with work, school, and the like. Maryann is undergoing a realization of sort to just how much of a complete butthole she was working with this past summer. Yes, Sweet-Pea. I think in the past week and a half she has quit and come back 4 times, with one of those times being a real resignation, and still worming her way back into the scene. Oh, she is a snake that one. Alot of drama with her. As of today, Maryann is full on the boss of all bosses, and Sweet-Pea is now working under Maryann as solely the accountant, with the task of advising Maryann where advisement may be needed. Oh, the last episode before the resignation was a scene from Seinfeld. Apparently the president made the moronic decision for Sweet-Pea and Maryann to essentially hash out their salaries amongst each other, with each having an idea of what their responsibilities were going to be. However, Sweet-Pea was insistent that she wanted to remain on the top paying bracket, with giving little to no additional position to Maryann. Maryann didn't budge. This was where Sweet-Pea quit, I believe it was the second time, following up with a tear-jerking session with one of the other owners. Then days later she comes back to the table, still the same unreasonable little bitch, only this time with the President of the company on conference call with the two of them. I guess she made herself out to be a real winner with that conversation, and after the conference call was over, Maryann and the owner started a talking about how impossible she has been and continues to be. This is where it gets good. Apparently minutes later, Sweet-Pea calls Maryann on her cell. Picking up her cell phone, Maryann sees that it is her and says that it can't be that important they just hung up with her and so she silenced the call. So her and the owner continue just raking Sweet-Pea and her abrasive personality and rude behaviors into the dirt, most of it coming out of the owners mouth. He was pissed! A while later Maryann's phone rings yet again, and Maryann just ignores it, checking the voicemail an hour or so later on her way out. It was a message from Sweet-Pea. She proceeds to tell Maryann that she went ahead and forwarded some information that Maryann needed to her email. Then she continues to advise that in the future, Maryann make sure that when she goes to check who is calling to hit the 'silence' button instead of the 'accept' button because she heard everything that the owner and Maryann had said regarding her.....holy crap! In all of your days....! Unbelievable. This is what prompted her official resignation. But much like a sequel to some horror flick, just when you thought she was dead, the bitch came back to life! And so the latest....Maryann is full manager over her and even the other on-site manager, and Sweet-Pea is a lowly accountant, getting much less pay than she so heartlessly fought for. Best of all, Maryann's dream has come true, she is officially working from home now, with maybe a trip a week to the office. Yes, the good guy won! Bravo Maryann for sticking it out and growing the proverbial brass huevos! John is attending his E.T.T. (Emergency Trauma Technician) class in Soldotna several nights a week. He just finished working with an out of the area contractor on an addition project. He made good coin, and now is wanting more. I referred him to a contractor who is a friend of one of my clients who may need a skilled laborer, and John definitely fits that bracket. So lets hope. The dogs are elated to finally have snow again, and love running around playing 'grab ass' in it! And so the 2nd winter in the 'great land' begins. Ought to be a good one as we are much more prepared, have plenty of wood, a stocked freezer of fish and determination to make it so. Have a great weekend, and enjoy those warm temps!

"Lovefest 2008" and the 2 Ho's.

Once again the time of the year, that once a year anticipated festival of all festivals....Lovefest! Ozzy won't be there.... there will be no farmers chanting, nor blood on the scarecrow..... not some setback revitalization of Woodstock. This annual event is in it's 13th year, yet not many have heard of it, know not of it's date each year, much less know just what Lovefest really is all about. 13 years ago, today in fact, 2 people tied that proverbial knot, made a vow, and got hitched. After a celebration with family, they hit the road for a Pacific coast run of sharing, excitement, adventure, fun and....Love, for a 14 day tour. And so it became unofficially carved in stone, that from this day forth, they would celebrate their marriage and all it stands for, by totally abandoning their family and dogs, their jobs, and all that meant something to them the other 364 days of the year, and would hit the road for another fun, adventure, and Love filled tour....somewhere.... and let it be known in their circle as "Lovefest". This 13th annual Lovefest found Maryann and I celebrating our anniversary in the 2 Ho's. Homer, and Hope. And I am here to tell you there is still no Hope for Homer. Homer is and will always be an island of "outsiderism" in the last frontier. Hope on the other hand is still the ultimate getaway for doing nothin, and loving the beauty and charm of the past in the present. And, your lucky if you don't have to use an outhouse. We will be lucky as the cabin we will be staying in is one of only a few available that have it's own facility and running water. Whoo-hoo! Our journey began in Homer 4 days back as we headed South down the peninsula and wound down after a long summer of hard and mind-bending work. It was great to relax, and the days were lovely filled with sun, mild temps....and Love! We came home last night to spend the night, re-group and are going to begin our trek back to the North to Hope. We will be re-packing as we expect little sun, lows in the 20's and highs in the 40's with a chance of snow the next few days in Hope. I Hope so, as we love the cold!

As you can see Fall has about come and is on it's way out. These picks were taken last week here at the compound and since then many leaves have blown off and things are starting to go from pretty to just, dead. We did get a chance to witness the annual migration of the Tundra Swans at the lake again this year. They literally only stayed the day that we know of this year and we watched them fly off. I think that they knew they had to get on if they were going to make it through Canada before the cold and snow set in. Other than that, it is getting cold, quick. I'm not native, but I can sense the event is coming in the air.... While we were in Homer we got to catch something that most people will relate to. With Crab season opening on October 15th, none other than the Time Bandit, from the seasonal series 'Deadliest Catch' was docked on the spit no less on their way to Dutch Harbor. The docks on the spit seemed like they were once again steaming to life, with 2008 Salmon season behind them and the 2008/2009 Crab season coming fast. We didn't see Captain Andy or Captain Johnathan...though we had a feeling we knew where to look if we wanted to. The Salty Dawg Saloon on the spit would be the obvious place....go figure. And I could swear, that that is a hot tub up on the top deck left corner of the vessel...?! Not sure how a hot tub is going to pan out in the Bering Sea....in the winter.....in 20 foot sea's....? Maybe I am missing something!?! Was cool to see something that has become somewhat of an American icon, proudly out of our great state. But let us not forget the souls that have been returned to the the sea. The men and women whom have lost their lives be it following their calls, their duty, or their destiny. The Seafarers Memorial is a tribute to these people, so that they will not be forgotten. The numbers grow each year, and the names added continuously as recent as this summer. As long as there is the ocean, as long as there is freedom, and as long as there is adventure, there will be memories and joys gained...and there will be lives given in their names. Take a minute and click on this poem to make it larger and readable. Not to end on such a solemn note, we are off to the second leg of "Lovefest 2008"!

Fall is in the air.

Yes, it is coming down to one thing......winter is within sight. One of the distinguishing things that we have taken notice to in Alaska is that when Fall arrives, it is typically short and there is no turning back. The temps will progressively drop both day and especially night, the trees turn...as they do everywhere in Fall! The temps are the real deal though. There is not any fluctuation as we often would see in California. You know, you think Fall is there and then the temps shoot up in the middle of September. They just keep dropping off here, and my nipples are definitely getting stiff in the night time air these days. Moose season has come to a close, or will in the next few days, so all of the float planes are especially active picking up the poor die hard hunters that were left out in the bush in search of the Bullwinkle, just flat getting soaked by the over abundance of rain we have had lately. This is not our lake, but a float plane lake nearby that I have been working on and have had the opportunity to watch them take off and land through the day. In fact this has been the wettest summer on record since they began keeping records. It has felt much more like Seattle, or down in the panhandle of Alaska than the peninsula we so much adored with it's mild and sunny summers. Nonetheless, short of changing shirts many times a day I/we have managed. Today was beautiful To illustrate today's beauty I have enclosed a pic of today. As you can see it is blatantly "blue"! There is no other way to describe the beauty....but blue! And considering we aint seen much blue, it was a damned fine sight. We were out loving up the vitamin D like no other this day! Even the dogs were in their glory. Who or what wouldn't be that has had more rain in the past 2 weeks that anyone or thing has a right to have. It has literally been anything from consistent downpours to drizzle for about 2 weeks straight now, and we just pray that this kind of deal sticks around for a little while longer. All in all we are looking forward to our second winter here, and at least now have a general idea on what to expect. The sun is coming up around 7:10 AM and setting around 9:00 PM now. Outside of that we are all well and between work, school and just getting the compound in order for the coming cold event, there is little time for relaxing...although we do find time to keep our nourishment! The early morning panty raids we were experiencing with our little bat creatures, you know, the ones that are supposedly our friends, are all but over for good. They are on their way back to Mexico for the winter, and with their migratory exodus, we are hot on getting all the bat holes and exterior cracks in the eves sealed with expanding foam, caulking, and shutting them out. Oh sure, they will be in for a surprise when they arrive next year to find their summer lodge all boarded up. Remember what it was like when you were a kid on a roadtrip with mom and pop and you had to potty so bad your eyes were floating, only to arrive at the only service station on the interstate for another 50 miles to find it closed.... Imagine..... Unfortunately there were several casualties with the little creatures over the summer. We will just leave it at that, but we are glad to see them off and gone and know that those holes in the house down the road will be up for grabs come summer 2009....whoo-hoo!! So hoping all is well in your world and wishing you a happy Fall. Take care for now.

Money for nothin.....or, Christmas in September!

It could be construed either way. One remark I heard today at Home Depot from a work worn man was, "this is my money and I can spend it any way I want"....I think he was yelling that at his wife! Other proud women and men strutted by with carts loaded down with new vanities, toilets, refrigerators and other appliances. I mean complete remodel stuff. At Fred Meyers' last night people were strolling past with not one, not two, but three shopping carts of clothes, food....big screen TV's, you name it. The bars and liquor store parking lots were packed. Some have expressed the need to buy more guns....a constitutional right, God bless America... All in all, no matter who it was, there was indeed an absolute attitude of 'freedom to spend' in the air. If you haven't figured it out by now, yes, yesterday was the day all Alaskans wait so eagerly for throughout the year. PFD's were direct deposited into bank accounts throughout the state. In fact, this year was a month early. It is usually October that the PFD is sent out. Could you imagine how free money could be readily available from the state government a month early? Sarah Palin, that's how. Long before she was nominated for the Vice Presidential run, she determined that she wanted Alaskans to have their funds distributed early this year. Her thought simply, "why make everyone wait for the money they need now". What a fu*^ing concept! In fact our Governor, Sarah Palin, gave Alaskans an extra special treat this year. You see, Alaska actually has a phat 'savings account' if you would. Because the state has done so well at budgeting money, we have a huge surplus. So, she passed the 'energy bill' which entitled all Alaskans to a one time rebate of $1200.00 to help offset rising energy costs, out of the states surplus fund. As well, the energy bill suspended the state gasoline tax for a year which immediately brought down the per gallon pump price, and has also made way for the state to take up excess costs per kilowatt hour for every household after a pre-determined base amount. With the PFD being the highest yet in it's history at a whopping $2069.00 per Alaskan resident. So with the $1200.00 rebate built into the PFD the direct deposit yesterday was $3269.00 per person. So one could easily see where the term "money for nothin" could easily ring true. And I imagine statewide sales more than likely got close to if not topped annual holiday season sales with everyone eager to spend their free money. Are you wondering what we, the Phillips' did with ours? I will tell you this, we by no means went on any spending spree, nor did we spend a red cent of it. Simply put we didn't see one damned penny of it! As we are....or I should say, were not considered Alaskan residents for the 2007 year. Our official residency stint began this year, January 1 2008 and we will be officially qualified for the 2008 PFD on January 1 2009. So next year, we will be receiving the fabled 'free money' when the PFD is sent out in October 2009. Whoo-frigin-hoo, huh?! But despite the absence of our 'money for nothin', we are still quite impressed and proud at the way our state handles it's funding and budgets. Sarah has been successful in pushing AGIA (Alaskan Gasline Inducement Act) which is making way for a Trans-Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline....we have major gas, man....which would run paralell to the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline, down to Valdez to be processed and stored to be shipped world wide. There is talk of two spur lines that will supply natural gas to the South-Central Alaska gas grid for affordable gas here at home, as well as along the AlCan, the Alaskan/Canadain highway, to the midwest in the lower 48. So we are excited to be looking at the prospects of a re-birth of sorts, of the gone by years that Alaska experienced when the oil pipeline was built from Prudoe Bay down to Valdez. It began an era that has lucratively produced oil for decades, and led to the spending spree that most every Alaskan, with exception of our lucky asses, got the joy of experiencing yesterday, today and more than likely days to come! But our future looks like it may repeat itself, if we all get wise to utilizing the unimaginable supply of natural resources that we have right here in our own backyard. So, Marry Christmas all of you happy assed Alaskans that have free money on your mind! We will see you next year!! Until then, the Phillips' will pucker and pinch, what pennies we got. Good night for now.

What's in a name....

It seems somewhat interesting that we have found ourselves gravitating amongst some pretty interesting, popular and impacting names of late. Of course the biggest of names of which we have recently found ourselves associated to is our Governor, Sarah Palin. Wow, what a great honor to be nominated as the Vice President. Now one thing I made a personal promise to myself upon starting this blog was to avoid the open discussion of politics, which for the exception of a few small comments, I have been fairly successful in doing. And so I will continue this course of semi-silence of political aire. However, I do have to say it is a bitter sweet moment for many Alaskans upon this announcement. We will truly miss her and the courage and stability that she has put fourth in representing all Alaskans, our economy here, and our safety and welfare. If she does become the Vice President and does as good as a job with this as she has done in governing our state, than this country will only be a better place for us all. Kudos Sarah, we will miss you but the best of luck in the stepping stone of your political career. We are proud to say your our Governor. Funny story. That morning that the news became public, Maryann was out on a fishing boat on the Kenai River doing some Silver Salmon fishing with some lodge guests. Coincidentally, she casted 'like a girl' yet pulled in her limit within the first hour long before any other guy on the boat even had a bite. Needless to say, her guide was dumbfounded and continues to tell the tale of the girl who casted like a girl, and made sissies of them all! She found it comical as in the early morning quiet cool on the river, all of a sudden cell phone started to ring from all of the other boats around them, including the one she was on. Soon, there was open chat across the water from boat to boat of, "hey did you hear the news...." Of course, there were also the comments from some of why a woman is unqualified. Hey, Sarah owns a gun, has guts, brains and lives in Alaska.....makes her a qualified woman to me! Remember the woman who skunks all of the guys on the boat....! Good job honey!!

Now Maryann and I....and for that matter John, who in fact had and still has no idea who in the world the guy everyone was making all of the fuss and "to do" about, was.....had the very distinct honor of meeting, personally, another 'big name'. Those of you who were actively aware of pro football in the early 70's will remember the Miami Dolphins' MVP and Hall Of Famer Larry Csonka. Maryann played host to Larry and his wife at the lodge this past week. It seems he is doing a segment on his Outdoor Life series North To Alaska on All Alaska Outdoor Lodge. With any luck Maryann and I may very well be on this tv show as the camera man had panned over to us while we were.....yes, doing what I do best....eating, at the weekly cookout the lodge sponsors for it's guests and employees. My uncle Honey would be proud! My fork and my mouth may make national attention. It was exciting for me to be able to shake Larry's hand, and chat with him even if for a moment. I have no idea who the hell he was mind you. I was young then. But I am sure at some point all of my uncles, dad, and older cousins were yelling and cussing at him through the tv just like they did every other football player whose presence was graced on the screen back then! So look for us and Maryann's lodge on the Outdoor Life Channel. When, not sure. Check out larrycsonka.com and click on his North To Alaska series, and maybe sometime soon it will be announced on his tv schedule.

It seems like Fall may well be here. We are starting to notice the colors changing, and the things that usually happen in Fall, beginning to come about. I have got the plow all oiled up and ready to go, and we are shoring up the last of the firewood under cover. Just waiting for the snow to fly, and watching for the termination dust on the mountains around us. John and Maryann are well, and for those who really thought John was getting married, it was an inside joke. HA HA!.....HA! Yeah. Alrighty then, take care and by for now. Our love!