2013: A review

 Every  about this time, I take some time to look at the past 12 months. It's something I've done for many years, but rarely written about. This year, like all of them, had some major down moments and some high ones.

For the first time in a long time, I did not write a Christmas letter in 2012. The biggest event in 2012 was the loss of my father in March. I wasn't able to compose a letter that opened with the news of his death and then carry on with all the happy, but inconsequential, things that occurred following that devastating loss.

This year, not quite a month after the first anniversary of losing Dad, my sister Lora lost her battle with cancer. She was 11 months my junior. She fought the cancer bravely, and enjoyed what time she had left, taking short trips to the desert and out around Yuma, AZ, where she lived. In June of 2012, two of my other sisters and I met in Phoenix and drove to Yuma to visit Lora and her husband Howard. We had a short but very nice visit, and I'm so glad we were able to do it. Lora was very excited to see us (we hadn't seen her in about 8 years), and I think the visit perked her up a bit.

That's Lora on the right.

However, the radiation that followed our visit didn't work and she began to fail. She died March 29 of 2013. I still miss phoning her and talking with her. Although expected, her death still leaves me with a sadness. Growing up, we shared a bedroom, secrets, hopes, failures and successes.

Although I miss Lora, I know she's in a better place and I am glad she is no longer enduring the incredible pain she experienced.

My longtime goal was to pay off my mortgage and retire in September 2013. That did not happen. I did pay off the house in February. What a huge relief to get out from under those monthly payments.

The retirement was postponed because I decided to replace the roof on the house. I experienced serious sticker-shock. So instead of retiring in September, I continued to work, trying to earn back the money spent on the roof. (By the way, I love the new roof - a lovely brown color; metal instead of the original 60-year-old shingles and a definite difference in energy savings for this old house.)

In July, we started what would be the first of two furloughs at work. I ended up not working one day a week for seven weeks, shorter than originally planned, but disheartening nonetheless.

August found me in Loon Lake, Washington, near Spokane, visiting my grandchildren. It was a wonderful week, full of love and laughter. I absolutely love seeing them, and I wish it could be more often. Because of space, I stayed at a nearby hotel, the Loon Lake Motel. It boasted small cozy rooms and a lovely garden area. We all drove to the nearby Turnbull National Wildlife Preserve, where we saw a moose, lots of birds, swans and a big variety of plants. 
 

 

Loon Lake

 

The deer was hiding in a garden by Loon Lake.

My return from Washington found me preparing for the second furlough, starting October 1. It was solid time off until our Washington people could reach an agreement. This was the third furlough I have experienced in my career. It angered me and pushed me to reach a decision. The day I returned to work, I compiled a packet and filed for retirement. My last day is Feb. 28, 2014. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

Those are the big things. I continued to do the smaller, fun things I do every year with my friends Mae and Cindy.

Mae and I took our annual train trip to Denali National Park early this year. The park buses were not running yet and everything was pretty much still frozen. It was a nice, relaxing trip anyway. This is the Nenana River seen from the train.

Georgeson Botanical Garden, as always featured gorgeous flowers and this waterfall in the children's garden.
































Sandhill cranes performed a little courtship dance one evening when we stopped by Creamer's Field.

On our annual trip to Murphy and Ester domes, we had a spectacular view of Mt. McKinley. My latest camera allowed me to zoom in on it.

I hope you have all had a good 2013 and that 2014 brings you nothing but good health, much happiness and lots of love. Happy New Year.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Catching up

It's been a very eventful almost 3 months.

Throughout September we prepared for a possible furlough at work, which became reality Oct. 1. I was home for 4 days, during which time I alternated between anger at our government and comfort in not having to get up every day and go to work.

My friends Mae and Cindy and I took one of those furlough days and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before driving up to Murphy and Ester domes. You can see incredible views from both domes, and it was a beautiful day for it.

Mt. McKinley was out and my zoom brought it right up to us.
 

 

The view from Ester Dome.

 

I loved this sculpture in front of the bicycle repair shop at the base of Ester Dome.












It was windy and cool, but we had a great time. We made further plans for another trip, but got called back to work the next day.

Despite the frustration of the furlough, I found I enjoyed days when I was not committed to anything. When I returned to the office, the first thing I did was prepare my retirement package. While I was home feeling frustrated about the furlough, I spoke to a friend who retired several years ago. I got on the computer and figured out what my monthly pay would be, and decided to go for it. Initially I went with Mar. 31, 2014, but changed it the next day to Feb. 28.

Excitement set in fast. The more I think about, the more I wish I had made it Dec. 31. However, I wanted to replenish my savings after spending a significant amount of money on my roof last summer, and there is one big project I need to take care at work. So I'm now down to 90 days and counting.

October was unseasonably warm without any snow to speak of. That changed in November. It snowed a little. Then followed a major storm with warmer temperatures, rain and high winds. It blew the window in my arctic entry right off the hinges. The power went out all over the area - mine was out for 11-1/4 hours. When my power was restored, all was good except the water heater. I called a plumber to have it replaced. Due to frozen pipes all over town, the plumber's schedule was booked solid. Finally, a week after the storm, he made it to my house. There were no water heaters the size I wanted in town, so they had to have one shipped from Anchorage. It arrived the next day and he installed it. The next morning, I still had cold water. The plumber returned and repaired a minor electrical glitch. Finally - after 9 days of showering at public showers, heating water on the stove for washing dishes and my hair occasionally - I had hot running water, and a hefty bill.

Mae, Cindy and her husband and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Pike's Landing. It was a big brunch with turkey, ham, salads, all the sides and wonderful desserts. Mae and Cindy are what I call my "Fairbanks sisters." Since we're all away from our families, it's always special to spend time with these wonderful ladies. And Thanksgiving is definitely a family holiday.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. When I was growing up, we would go to my grandparents' house downtown. My dad's brother and sister and their families were also there. We kids would watch the Macy's parade on the old black and white tv while the ladies cooked in the kitchen. The men would go duck hunting all morning. At noon we ate - duck and chicken or goose, filling, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, sweet potatoes, pumpkin custard pie and more. After dinner, we kids went for a hike, the men hunted some more and the women cleaned up. For supper, we picked clean the carcasses. And afer that, my grandfather would pull out his fiddle and play some songs for us. Those were incredibly special family times and are memories I will hold forever.

I have a firm belief that Thanksgiving and Christmas should be separate holidays. No Christmas decorations can go up until I have enjoyed my Thanksgiving. So, hours after I ate that wonderful dinner at Pike's, I put up my new tree.

I bought a smaller tree this year. It has LED lights on it, but I love lots of lights, so I added a string of twinkle lights.

I love this time of year, when people seem to smile more readily, when everyone appears to be happy. I love the Christmas movies and the Christmas music. But this tree will come down Dec. 26. We will be gaining daylight and I want every single minute we're gaining to come through my window.

Happy holidays everyone.
 

Eastern Washington - grandchildren, wildlife preserve, rest

I returned last weekend from the better part of the week in Loon Lake, WA, a small town in eastern Washington, just north of Spokane.

I traveled there to visit my six grandchildren and spend some time with them. They are ages 15, 14, 7, 5, 3 and 1. I don't see them nearly often enough and phone calls just aren't the same. They are all good kids, happy and fun to be with. The time flew by far too fast and I hated to leave when the time came.

Because of space, I stayed at the Loon Lake Motel, just a few blocks away from the family. I loved that the loons on the sign are wearing nightcaps.

The rooms were comfortable, very clean and cozy. The motel had gardens both out front and in back. It was a restful place, and very pretty.

 

 

There was no coffeepot in the room, but that was fine because they provided me with a coupon for coffee and bagel or muffin at the coffee shop across the street. My first morning there, I walked over for my coffee and found a group of gentlemen - about 6 of them - there for their coffee. Apparently they are regulars there and I shamelessly eavesdropped as they discussed everything from a recent murder in Spokane to dumping the motorhome and dumb grandchildren to national and local politics. I saw them each morning when I went in for my coffee, and occasionally they would include me in the conversation. It was great fun listening to them.

We saw wildlife just driving from Spokane to Loon Lake - the kids have sharp eyes and can spot animals in a heartbeat. The deer in a garden next to the lake thought she could hide from my camera, and the wild turkeys had just crossed the road in front of us.

I spent a lot of time (typically 12 hours each day) with the family. We shopped for kids' clothes, ate at Arby's (my favorite fast-food place - I HATE that there is no Arby's in Fairbanks), spent time at the house playing in the yard. The two older girls showed me what they can do with the cameras I got them at Christmas. The younger ones reveled in showing me their climbing and athletic skills. Two of them played some violin pieces for me. How I wish we lived nearer to each other.

On my last full day there we drove to the Turnbull National Wildlife Preserve, about 40 miles away. We saw numerous birds - and the big find - a moose. It was the first time the kids had ever seen one and we all took lots of photos. Two of us (not me) saw a coyote, and I tried (and failed) to get a decent shot of a hawk flying overhead.

 

The preserve has a varied landscape and a variety of plants and trees.

 

 

I liked the lichen growing on the rocks and the cattails were beautiful.

 

The visit ended all too soon, and I spent the following week resting, spending time with my little dog and relaxing. It's back to work Tuesday.

 

Have a great September everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairbanks in August

It's my last furlough day. I have to say as much as I fussed about the impending furlough, I got accustomed to having Mondays pretty quickly, and I'm almost sorry to see it end. But it will be nice getting a full paycheck again.

It's not quite 9 a.m. and I feel I've already put in at least a half-day. I woke early, had some coffee, then showered and dressed and was out at Creamer's Field shortly after 6 a.m. There were no sandhill cranes, no geese. All I saw was a small group (4) of ducks swimming on one of the ponds there and some dying fireweed. It was all topped off and I saw a bit of cotton on one of the plants. But it was quiet and peaceful and I enjoyed being out in the air.

I came home and cleaned up the kitchen, cleaned out the refrigerator and there's a slab of beef simmering slow and low on the stovetop.

The morning sun made everything look brighter. I love this old fence surrounding Creamer's Fields - it's so rustic. It is not quite this bright brown as the upright post, but the sunlight gives it a different color when it hits.











Yesterday (Sunday, Aug. 11), my friend Mae called and asked if I wanted to join her and Cindy in a visit to the Georgeson Botanical Garden at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This is an invitation I never turn down. The garden is beautiful. It's maintained by the university and a lot of volunteers. See more about it at georgesonbg.org/. There are outdoor concerts in the garden as well as weddings and other parties throughout the summer. It is truly beautiful. Although it's hard to pick a favorite flower, I think I lean toward the dahlias. They are colorful and showy and they make me smile. But the lilies this year were gorgeous. And I always like the begonias and delphinium. Like I said, it's hard to pick a favorite. Yesterday was warm, partly sunny with an occasional breeze blowing to help offset the heat of the sun. It was a perfect day to visit the garden, especially with two good friends.

Here's a little of what we saw:

 

  

 

 

 

It appeared there was a good bit of work going on - looked like some construction on perhaps a new viewing deck and moving the beehives, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I am in awe of the vivid colors and the many varieties of plants in the garden. Someone certainly has an inborn sense of what looks good with other plants. It's a perfect place to enjoy God's handiwork at its finest.

 

The sun is shining now, so I think I'll open the door and enjoy more fresh air.

 

Happy end of summer everyone. The fireweed is topped off; school starts soon and the fuel-delivery guy brought me a full tank of heating oil (the first since March). That tells me this summer is coming to an end. Enjoy what's left.

 

 



miscellany

The summer seems to be flying by. It was hot - in the 90s, then smoky, and more recently rainy and cloudy.

My little camera (the one I keep in my purse all the time) finally died, so I replaced it with another small point & shoot, this one with a bigger zoom on it. So far, I'm very happy with it.

The Stuart Creek 2 Fire shrouded us in smoke for several days. I took this photo on my way to Pleasant Valley for a meeting.

 

The big white puffs are smoke, not clouds. As I approached Two Rivers, the sun was obscured by smoke and you could see it hanging in the air.

 

Many of the firefighting crews who were deployed up here are now back in the Lower 48 and the fire is more than 50% contained. There are still crews out there trying to put in fire lines to keep it from spreading further. It did jump the river and several small fires erupted on state-owned land, but the crews quickly squelched them. As far as I know, no structures were lost, but the smoke made it very unhealthy to be outdoors for long periods.

I was very happy to see rain and cooler temperatures come in. Both are good in fire season, and it's much more comfortable than 80 and 90 degrees.

My plants are a trial this summer. The zucchini and squash are pathetic, my chives are sad and the parsley is a bit sparse. But the flowers are blooming.

 

Golden Days is over today and the next big event is the Tanana Valley State Fair. It's hard to believe we're already into the 3rd week of July.

 

I'm looking forward to visiting my Spokane family soon. Can't wait to see the kids and spend some time with them.

 

Enjoy the rest of the summer, everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

Nature in Fairbanks

What gorgeous couple of weeks we've had here. We've been treated to lots of sunshine and the birds and flowers are thriving.

My friend Mae and I stopped for take-out dinner last week and took it to Creamer's Field, where we watched sandhill cranes. One pair treated us to an increasingly flamboyant display of wing-flapping and hopping into the air. They started out by appearing to ignore each other. Then one flapped its wings. The second one followed and soon they were both flapping and the second one was hopping off the ground. I have tried for years to catch some of this, and been largely unsuccessful. I was delighted with the results last week.

 

This weekend we picked up my new dining table and chairs, then went to Chena's for lunch. I love eating there, especially on the deck next to the river. As always, the food was good. We watched a couple of ducks float lazily on the river, and I shot some photos of their beautiful hanging planters. The wild roses are blooming all over town and are beautiful, giving drivers a shot of bright pink as they pass.

 

A reflection from the fence railing fades out the left side of the photo, but I was happy to see the duck's feet visible in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is busting out all over town. I love it. Happy June everyone.