Another month has gone by without a post. (So much for my goal of weekly updates!) We've been busy with an open house at work and VIP visits. On top of that, we've been working part of the summer with a reduced staff because of leaves, etc, and none of us have been idle.

My old computer finally slowed down so much that I decided it was time to replace it. After much research and pricing, I found one with right price and features. Then it was time to set it up and transfer or reinstall all the programs I use. All of the components are operating and the speed amazes me. I'm now running Windows 7 here and am much happier with this one than the Vista we're using at work. The monitor that came with it is 24" with a great display. This is considerably smaller than the older computer and takes up so much less space. The old one also had a woofer, so my desk doesn't look nearly as cluttered.

I hated the few days I spent with no computer or one only partly set up. I have a routine I follow each morning on the computer - specific order in what I do, i.e. solitaire, crosswords, news, etc - each day, and having to vary that routine threw me off. I've been accused of suffering from OCD because of that routine, but it's comfortable for me. Some of the old games are not compatible with Windows 7, so I am now building a new set of morning computer times.

As I've been doing all summer, I'm still taking the long way to work a couple of days a week. I saw this guy munching on some young growth last week.

He paid little attention except one time when he looked directly at the car. I guess he determined I was not a threat, because he went right back to his breakfast.

Last weekend my friend Mae and I made our annual trip to the Georgeson Botanical Gardens. Although the place was beautiful, as always, I thought it wasn't quite as pretty as last year. However, we did see some gorgeous blooms.

The fair started Friday and the kids go back to school Aug. 18 - both signs that summer is nearing an end. My granddaughter starts kindergarten this year and is very excited. It's hard to believe she's old enough for school already. I don't know where the time went. I've seen a few gaggles of geese flying around the city the past two weeks. I guess it's time to start thinking of the oil change for the car and preparing other things for the coming winter - bring in the hose, put up the lawn chairs, get out the shovels, etc. Although none of it needs to be done today, I don't want to wait until the snow falls.

I've tried a couple of summer recipes my sister sent, and am now looking forward to trying some hearty soups this winter. I love soup, but not when the weather is hot. I'm not particularly fond of cold soups, and really want light, cold meals in the summer. So the soups wait until the mercury drops.

Still to do before the snow flies are the annual trips to Ester and Murphy domes. We normally do those after the leaves start to turn. The colors are beautiful and the views from the tops of the domes are spectacular.

Happy August everyone.

just hangin' out in Fairbanks

A whole month sped by and I didn't post a single thing! It was a good month, though, with nice weather and not too much smoke.

I didn't do anything special at all - just kind of hung out in and around town, going to baseball games and visiting some of our favorite spots.

We drove down to the Knotty Shop, a souvenir shop on the Richardson Highway southeast of here. In addition to the touristy stuff, they also sell locally made soaps, barbecue sauces and pottery. After we get our fill of looking, we head to the counter for an ice cream cone. The place is always populated with local residents, and I think the main reason we all go there is for the ice cream. This time I had a fat-free blueberry-vanilla frozen yogurt - it was wonderful and guilt-free!

While we were eating our ice cream, I shot this photo of one of the planters outside the log building.

Of course I went out to celebrate the summer solstice at the Midnight Sun Baseball Game June 21. The game starts at 10:30 p.m. and is played entirely without artificial. They estimated about 4700 people in attendance, making me truly appreciate the fact that I buy two box seats every summer. The Alaska Goldpanners - our team - won the game in the bottom of the 15th inning. After 4 1/2 hours - at 3 a.m. - I finally got to go home. But it was a good game and a fun night.

I've been taking the long way to work lately to see what's out there. Though I haven't seen moose too often lately, the osprey are still around and the flowers have been beautiful.

And one hungry guy looking for breakfast (and finding it in the patch of wild strawberries). If you look closely you can see one in his beak.

For the 4th of July weekend, I'll do some unwinding and relaxing. I will be a judge at the BBQ competition Sunday and am looking forward to that. I LOVE BBQ - ribs, brisket, chicken - no matter. I would be a terrible vegetarian.

Happy Independence Day to all of you. I wish you a safe, enjoyable holiday weekend.

week off

I took last week off work to use up some leave and take care of some things that needed attention.

It turned out to be a somewhat productive week. I cleaned out closets and donated a good deal of clothing to the Fairbanks Resource Agency. I bought and planted my flowers for the summer. This year I decided to try cherry tomatoes instead of zucchini. We'll see how that goes.

I spent one day with my daughter and the girls. Maddy is 5 and Atheana is 9. We stopped at the Large Animal Research Station at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to see the musk oxen. Disappointingly, they were not in the close-in viewing area, but way up on the hill behind the barns.

A quick stop at the Georgeson Botanical Garden allowed them a glimpse of reindeer, including some new babies. I was excited to see a lot people with tools. It looks as though they're about to begin planting. That garden is one of my favorite trips in the summer. The flowers are spectacular. I am looking forward to our annual flower trek latter this summer.

We visited Santa Claus House in North Pole, where the girls looked at the reindeer. I think they were more eager to get inside the store than to watch any animals.

We had lunch at Little Richard's Diner (it used to be Harley's Diner). It was ok, but not somewhere I really HAVE to go again. We originally planned to eat at the Pagoda (one of my favorite places), but were too early for their lunch service and the girls were hungry.

After lunch we went back to the LARS, but the musk oxen were still off in the distance. As we drove back to their place, we saw a young moose on Goldstream Road. He was feeding along the left side of the road and I stopped to grab my camera. While I was fumbling around, he crossed in front of us and stopped along the right side of the road. There were two very excited little girls in the back seat.

All in all it was a busy week - not at all the completely relaxing time I initially planned. But I did accomplish something and I did ensure I had time to sit on my benches under the birch tree and enjoy the summer days.

green-up, moose and osprey

I love this time of year. One day there are little buds on the trees and the next - literally overnight - the leaves are open and the hills lose the dull gray-brown barren look. They are all green. It's a confirmation of renewal and life.

To celebrate green-up and enjoy the green I've been driving a little longer route to work, along the river and through the trees. This past week has been great, as I've sat in the car and watched a moose browse for breakfast and an osprey guarding the nest.

The moose is not a large one (relatively speaking), and I watched her munch on some of the young birch trees and on the brush growing low to the ground. I saw her three of the four days I drove that route last week.

The osprey have been around for several summers, and last year built their nest on a power pole. In order to prevent possible disaster to them, our utility folks constructed a special pole for them and placed some sticks on top to lure them. It seems to have worked. You can see the nest they're building.

Friday I watched a snowshoe hare running along the side of the road. I know there is at least one fox family living there too, and hope to see some of them as I enjoy an early morning spring drive to work.

Happy spring everyone. I'm so glad it's finally here.

greenhouses

My friends Mae and Cindy and I drove the greenhouse tour today. It took us to six different greenhouses in the area. Despite the rain, we had a lovely time.

Seeing the plants in different stages of growth really got me excited about the coming summer. I can't wait to go pick out my flowers and get them into the planters in my yard.

I'm still debating if I'm going to plant zucchinis again this year, or try another vegetable or simply go with flowers.

The colors were gorgeous and I am now really hyped up about my yard. Here are some of the flowers we saw today.

We noticed a lot of yellows and oranges - maybe they're the colors of the season this year. There were also a lot of purples (my favorite color) and some exceptionally pretty blues. Our first stop had a profusion of pansies.

I loved the deep purple petunias - they look like velvet. The begonias may be my favorites. I'm thinking of buying a couple of small planters and giving my granddaughters each a plant - maybe a sunflower, or a marigold - they're easy to grow.

As we approached one of the greenhouses, we were surprised by another being wanting to share the road. We gave her plenty of space. She crossed, then looked over her shoulder at us as we drove by her.

Great day. Spring is here. Life is good.

Spring is here

No matter what any says (and it really COULD snow some more), I prefer to believe that spring is here. I'm truly tired of winter and so ready for it be done. We did have a few snow showers, but what laid on the ground didn't stay long.

Since my return from Texas I haven't done a lot more than go to work and food shopping. My back has been bothersome since the trip and I'm not really enjoying going out and doing things that involve walking or standing.

I did, however, go to the Women's Event last weekend. My friend Dan was doing a demonstration on how to barbecue chicken. He and his wife Barbara bring in chicken at several different phases of the process and explain how it's done. Dan and Barbara are active in the Alaska Barbecue Association, and my friends Mae and Cindy and I love going out to talk with them while they're competing (and of course taste the final product).

Brushing on the sauce

Ready for judging. The box has to be perfect.

After Dan finished his demo, we talked for a few minutes, then wandered around the show. There were lots of shoes (most of them something I would never buy), lots of costume jewelry and other booths. The only thing I bought was a bottle of water.

Sunday morning I was up early and decided to drive by Creamer's Field. There were only about 3 or 4 dozen geese there, but I shot a few photos before heading off to the grocery store.

sitting goose


The guy on the right had such a cool attitude.

I'm walkin'

















I'm lookin'

This weekend the temperatures have reached the 50s and I think it's probably 60 today.

Life is good.

Texas

I returned from my trip to Texas April 2 and am very happy to be back home. My little dog seems happy to be back home as well. (He stayed with 2 doggie buddies and a cat while I was gone. I can't call the cat his pal, as I don't think Benny likes him so much :)

I arrived in San Antonio after traveling all night March 26. The weather was fairly pleasant, in the 60s on arrival. I got to my hotel, the new JW Marriott Hill Country Resort, by 10 a.m. and after checking in decided to take a nap. I don't sleep well on planes regardless of the time. A good 3-hour sleep and shower refreshed me and I ventured outside to look around. How nice it was to see green again! By this time every year I am really tired of looking at snow and bare trees. The green of the grass and trees and the various colors of the flowers really revived my senses.

The place is huge, with several different wings. It featured marble floors, very nice, comfortable rooms, an excellent restaurant, 2 golf courses and a water park with river floating and slide. Our conference area was very large.




The courtyard by the restaurant featured several waterfalls. The stone is all from a nearby quarry.

My friend Paula drove down from her home several hours north of San Antonio and took me into town for the day on Sunday. We visited the Alamo and the Riverwalk, then did a small amount of shopping. It was so good to see Paula. We used to work together and I miss having her around here. We caught up on family and other news and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her again.

I loved this old building near the Alamo.

Exterior wall of the Alamo


The Alamo was awesome. Several times when seeing something for the first - things I've learned about in school and built up in my mind - I've been disappointed. When I saw Plymouth Rock, my reaction was "is that it?" It was much smaller than I expected, as was my first glimpse of the Rio Grande. Not so with the Alamo. The place is very well preserved and I could almost feel the history pouring out its walls. I was surprised, though, at how small the windows in the chapel were and the very low height of some of the arches inside the mission's outer walls. It's nicely landscaped, and even at 11 a.m. was a bustling place with lots of visitors.

Live oak at the Alamo. The branches twist to accommodate what is in their way.               

After visiting the Alamo, Paula and I headed for the Riverwalk. This area adjacent to the San Antonio River is packed full of shops and restaurants. There were lots of people enjoying the warm sunny day. We opted to take the boat ride (only $6 each) as my back doesn't allow me to enjoy long walks. We saw a number of historic buildings, birds and lovely green trees and plants on our ride. At several places, musicians set up and play while people sit around having a lunch or simply listening to the music.

Riverwalk scene                                                                                                          

Bexar County courthouse from the river

Our conference ran from Monday through Thursday, with a lot of information presented. I had the opportunity to meet another public affairs professional with whom I've only had e-mail and Internet contact, as well as couple of other folks I'd met electronically but not personally.

All in all it was a good trip, though the weather was a bit warm for my liking. I'd sure hate to be there in the summer, when it reaches 100 degrees! The breezes did help alleviate the discomfort of 80 degrees. So now I'm back in Alaska with temperatures in the high 40s and am happy to report that the geese are coming back and break-up is here.