Goodbye Oreo

I made a decision yesterday to say goodbye to a friend that I've known for nearly 20 years. It's one of the more heartbreaking things I've ever had to do. I've had my cat, Oreo, since I was a little girl. I love her, which is why I had to do this. She'd gotten sick and it was cancer, quick growing. So today, I let her go. The vet was very compassionate and has been over the course of caring for her. She went quickly and quietly and isn't suffering anymore, but I miss her desperatley. I know some people don't understand how people can get so attached to an animal, but well, you can. If you can't understand it, I'm not going to waste time explaining it.

My whole family came to the vet with me, and my father made her a lovely little box in which to bury her. It made it easier having them all there. She really was a special cat...sweetest thing I've ever known. I feel blessed that I got to be her owner for so long.

That's really all I have to say. RIP Oreo. I love you

Procrastination and Time in Alaska...

A little corner of Heaven at the end of the Alaskan Highway.

I've got headache tonight. So far, this year, nearly everyday I've had one. I hate it. It's my eyes; I know it. I need stronger contacts and it makes me feel about a hundred years old, though I'm only rounding on 29...good lands, TWENTY NINE! I know, 'that's not old!' but thus far, it's the oldest I've ever been and it feels like a hammer is bearing down on the last nail in the coffin of my youth. But I digress, as maudlin really isn't my style.

I haven't blogged since, Christmas Eve...really? Oh well, life. A lot of good things have happened since...and some things not so good...again, life. It seems to happen all the time doesn't it? I'm going to say I'm going to try to catch up a bit, post more, continue to use this little spot of cyberspace as my personally impersonal diary, one I don't mind sharing, and I hope I do...but who knows. At least tonight, I'm posting something.

I suppose I'll put up a bit more about Alaska, being as I never finished that whole episode...and it was an episode, as it always is! I miss it. I miss everyone up there. I doubt I'll be making my way up there this year thanks to the workaholic society that is America. 2 weeks out of 52 to ourselves? Really, that's just perverse. (That is a post unto its own though.)I have other spots I need to fill in on my map and well, tempus fugit. However, I had the pleasure of talking with my friends from the north, Nick and 'Dude-A-Cris,' yes 'Dude-A-Cris,' (though I just call him Dave-O) the other night and perhaps it inspired me to post a bit.

So, here's a bit...

Camp Baldwin, Delta Junction, Alaska. July 2009.

The familiar road to camp...

I drew those signs in '08 and it was a great thrill to see them painted and posted in '09. Vanessa did a smashing job with them. In that weird existential way, it feels like a little piece of me gets to stay there. (When did I start waxing poetic so much? Sheesh...I sound like such a pretentious crapweasel.)

Camp always provides a vast array of activities...of which I usually participate as it offers me a wonderful opportunity to punish my youthful advers...I mean, teach the children some valuable life skill.

Though it looks as if I'm pummeling Lena, she came back with a furious set of jabs. My unsure footing and high center of gravity led to her victory. I chose this shot because it looks like I'm winning. I'm petty, deal with it.

Trash Can...epic times. This game always draws blood and I'm sure a number of shoulders/knees/ankles have been separated from their subsequent joints...I won the first round and only bled a little!



"The Fortress of Doom!" We built this in the woods one day for paintball...it was magically awesome. It's just a system of plywood rooms/metal sheeting/refuse, but it makes for a sniper setup...even better when you set up a huge ladder so you can watch the action overhead if you're not in the round!

Hooray for paintball! No so hooray for getting shot in the hand 3 times...3 times!!!

In Alaska, there is a sore lack of water slides...especially in swamps in the middle of nowhere...so what's a camp director to do? Why build one of course! This is the Mark special. Plywood, a pit, a hose, a couple of giant spools and a lot of blue tarp and you've got yourself a right fine water slide. Now, it may be July, but it wasn't exactly warm in D.J...and well, the water wasn't exactly what I would term "fit for human life," but after a while, you know, after your blood congealed, it wasn't too bad. I picked up a shirt in Sitka at the surf shop that states "Euphoria is the first stage of hypothermia," truth.

It was good times all around.

In addition to the water slide, there was the water fight...and well, these Alaskan jer...er, delightful teens made fun of me mercilessly for the fact that I found the water so cold. (This was pre-water slide actually, so a bucketful to the face was you know...incredibly jarring. It was awesome fun though.)

After all the water shenanigans, we needed something to warm us up a bit...and a fire was just the thing. Also, we found out that direct heat should never be used with Jiffy Pop...if that direct heat is you know...fire.

There was a lot of other stuff, skits, games, crafts, tons of activities...and I'd love to launch into a litany of how awesome they were, but well, read my post from the previous year. This headache's getting pretty horrid and I don't much feel like writing anymore. Camp was and is and I assume always will be much more than the sum of its parts. It's games and fun and a time to let loose, but it's a lot more than that...and I'll save it for another post.

Merry Christmas to all.

I've not given up on blogging...I have however gotten quite distracted. I still plan to finish my Alaskan stories and put up a few other adventures. However...


With this last turn of the earth, Christmas has once again stopped upon the world to offer it's message of hope and love. I don't like to leave the occasion unnoticed. I'm sitting in my den, the lights of the Christmas tree softly glowing, the muffled sound of another Christmas movie playing in the background. I've just finished frosting countless dozens of cookies and cakes, awaiting the arrival of family and friends in the morning. It has been a busy season, it seems as if time moved about its course with much more haste than usual...which is saying something given the quickness of this year. Still, there is something about the quiet hours of this night that contains a bit of magic...and all the world feels it. I personally believe it flows from one source...

"And there were in the same country shepards abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shown round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosting praising God, and saying , glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

So Merry Christmas to all...spend it with family, friends, and loved ones. Keep a mirthful heart and let joy flow from yourselves freely. Allow yourself to be wrapped in the magic of this wondrous day, remembering when so long ago, a child was born. A child who came to offer hope to a lost and dying world, a child who with his first cries offered redemption to all mankind..."and they shall call His name Jesus."

Return to Alaska...Part 2. Blueberry Hill

This was one of my favorite days. I don't recall if it's the same day we all nearly died in a car wreck due to some cheesebread or if it was the day we also bought 6000 paintballs, but it was a great day...Lena suggested we take a drive up near Fox to Mt. Aurora...also known as Ski Land...which is apparently the farthest north chairlift in North America...maybe the world. Of course in mid-July, there's no snow, but the area is stunningly beautiful.

I'm sure during the season, it's a bit less ramshackle...at least I hope so. However, visually, I love the look of disrepair.

It was a clear day, which was nice...with all the fires around, there was still a bit of a haze, but not bad at all.

It was epic.


The hills were also absolutely covered in blueberries...we picked for quite a while. It was nice to get some fresh stuff...they ended up going into pretty much everything we ate when we got to Salcha. Oatmeal, cereal, you name it...it had blueberries on it!

I found a whole solo cup full!

We also broke out the guitar for a little picking and singing.

Heather crafted what might be one of the finest songs ever unwritten. It's "The G-Chord Song" and it's "all about the G-Chord." It's a shame I only managed to capture a short snippet of it.

...It's also a shame I didn't think to turn the camera in the right direction until partway through. sheesh.

Ashley thoroughly enjoyed it. Those sunglasses she's wearing...I think they're mine. I hung them off my shirt at one point while picking berries. I noticed about 30 min after I put them there, they were gone. I'd been all over that hill. I figured I'd sacrificed them to the day...but low and behold, a little retracing my steps and I found them in a patch of moss! Thank goodness, because I think they're the only pair I had with me!

Of course I took advantage of the day for picture time. This is one of my favorite shots of Lena. Something about it just captures her nature to me.

It was a great day with friends new and old...

...in a beautiful place...

with a beautiful ending.

Return to Alaska...Part 1

July 16th, 2009 4:20 PM CST, Depart: Birmingham, AL.
July 17th 2009 1:37 AM AKDT, Arrive: Fairbanks, AK.

This is the face that greets me:

I heard her before I ever saw her. It was late in the airport and the night was fairly quiet. As I made my way into baggage claim, I heard the thundering of feet the saw the quick flash of blond hair and gleaming teeth as Lena slammed into me at full speed, engulfing me in a hug that equaled a year's worth of missing each other. I might have gotten teary eyed...shut up.

I tried to keep it a secret that I was coming back and was successful for a number of months, but David let it slip to Heather who let it slip to Lena, who threatened them with death if they didn't pony up completely about if I was indeed headed back for another July in Alaska. Still, surprise or no surprise...it was good to be back. I don't remember all that much about the night other than Lena introducing me to her car and the absolute limit of its velocity. Then crashing in the spare bedroom of her house while we talked about how insane it was that I was back until I basically lost consciousness.

The next morning, Lena had to work so she gave me the car with the instructions to "go do whatever I guess" which worked for me. My first order of business was to find food. Any food would do, but especially food that didn't come in a small, unopenable packages with an airline logo printed on the side...which had been pretty much all I'd had since the day before. I had two viable choices...some local diner and the world's northernmost Denny's. I chose the local place where I waited over an hour for a giant reindeer omelet complete with toast, juice, and hash browns. I think I ate the whole thing in under a minute. After that, I drove around for a while just familiarizing myself with the city until I decided to go to Pioneer Park...

...where I happened upon such rarities as the Arctic Fur Bering Salmon...

...a Nordic Princess...

...and a map of all the museums in Alaska...several of the signs had been lost or stolen (including Dutch Harbor's.)

...an old, bleached whale vertebrae...

...and the throttle from the SS Nenana...which was still actually in the SS Nenana.

I spent a good portion of the day there just browsing around the various shops, exhibits, and talking with a local artist who invited me to dinner.

After Lena got off work, she suggested we head down to the Tanana for a little time outdoors. So we went, we walked, we communed with nature...which tried to kill us in the form of mosquitoes.

(obligatory gangster pic.) It was a good day at the river...but the best day at the river was still to come.

We also bummed around downtown, watched the hippies at the river, Lena waded around in a fountain, we ate some fudge and shopped at some eclectic little shops. Good times in FAI.

Lena's mom took us to dinner at Pike's Landing...which is this nice place on the river. She told me I was a good excuse to use the gift certificate that was about to expire. I'm always glad to be of service! Despite the fact that the kitchen lost our order and it took two hours for us to be served, the meal was delicious and the manager brought out free desserts as an apology.

We also managed to get down to Salcha and I finally saw Dave-O! yay!

...and a moose family! You can kind of see the southbound end of one of them here. Being back... it immediately seemed like I'd never left. It just felt so natural to be there...like I'd picked up a familiar book and started reading the pages all over again...

The Pampered Chef...Guess Who Signed Up!

(I'll give you a hint...it starts with a M and ends with a E...ME!) That's right, I'm now a consultant for The Pampered Chef. Am I excited? Yes! Am I terrified? Yes! Thankfully, my best friend is a seasoned consultant and is helping me muddle through the beginning of this whole endeavour. I guess we'll see how it goes. At the very least, I'll find out it's not for me. At the very most, I'll build an empire from which I'll rule the kitchens of the world with an iron whisk! Er...I mean, I might make some money and have some fun. Anyway, PC really does have some wonderful products and if you're unaware of that; well, I'd love to be your consultant and show you just why they're awesome. I'm looking to book home and catalog shows, or if you just want to order some products, I can handle that for you too!

In other news...I promise did actually go to Alaska and I will start getting those posts up soon! ;)

So I've Got This Friend...

...and he does this job called "crab fishing." Perhaps you've heard of it? He wrote a book. It's full of great pictures and stories detailing his various shenanigans aboard the F/V North American...as seen on Deadliest Catch. Woo! I would highly recommend buying yo'self a copy. Check it out! Deadliest Waters by Travis Arket.