I'd spot home anywhere!

HA!  I knew I wasn't the only one!  There is another "local!" 

Upon my walking to a friends house....and after walking by it once without noticing I might add, I spotted them.  Locals, Oregonians, transplants.  There were more of us!   

And then I did some research.  You know, looked at the plate, 2007.  Great.  We'll, they've been here awhile.  Then dug some more, they live in Washington.  All alone again.

It was a great moment, while it lasted.

Fire and Ice 2

It's been very interesting here over the past month.  We've had some extreme freezing weather, the rain, the wind, the snow and then some nothingness.  I've watched the river freeze about halfway out, only to melt again.  The experiences with the different weather have been exciting for me.  I hope that the students have been able to experience the excitement of their world all over again through the eyes of this "outsider" as I enjoy every moment of the winter weather!

Snow beginning to slide off the roof with ice dripping off. 

When the river melts after freezing, some larger chunks are left behind on sandbars.

I made Mom wait one day on Skype because I saw this sunset as it started down.  We had a little bit of snow earlier in the day and the clouds just created a "could not miss" picture and I knew I only had seconds.  Turns out...about a minute before it was gone.  So pretty.  It's truly something you only see up here.

My new friend

Recently I received a box in the mail that was quite large and oddly light.  My family had been checking in to see if it had arrived for a few days so I knew something had to be up.  When I brought it across the street to my apartment, my mind started to wonder what could be in such a large box but still be so light?  Clothing would be heavy, yarn would still weigh much more than what I was feeling but I couldn't put my finger on it.

To my surprise, I opened it up to find a great deal of fluff!  They sent me snow?  I have plenty of that here. Fluff, you know, filling to stuff a home-made animal with, stuff to pretend is snow on the mantel above the fireplace. (and hope it doesn't catch fire!)  Like a little kid on Christmas, out from the box, and onto the floor it went.  Digging through the fluff, I find a balloon.  What?  You packed a balloon from Oregon to Alaska in fluff?  Are you kidding me?!

It had been quite cold up here and I'm sure he was very full when he left, he's not quite as rotund now.  I guess you could call it the freezer diet.  He still stays afloat and hangs out on my windowsill.  He came with a note much like a newborn left on a doorstep.  It says his name is Mylar and since I've been targeted as missing my puppies, the previous owners figured I'd take him in.  Well, I guess they were right... he's found a good home.

He's pretty easy to keep.  He came potty trained, he doesn't bark at strangers anymore and he doesn't shed either.  He enjoys his leash and from what I've heard, when he goes for walks he does a good job.  He doesn't get out much anymore, it's a tad cold for him.

Mylar enjoys his new home.  He's got a front row seat for all the weather watchings he can handle.  He's seen the snow, the rain, the wind and the sun.  He got a great view of a total lunar eclipse the other night too!  For the most part though he keeps an eye out for the little kids and over my attempt at growing some plants.  It's a little sad though, as he ages, you can see him slim down.  For now though he's still holding strong.  

I heard of Mylar's past when contacting his previous owners.  I guess he had a few run-in's with some people that passed by the car he was riding in after his walk through a grocery store.  He started barking out the window and he didn't even know he knew the guy.  It was a shame, but I'm glad he made it this way.

Last night though something strange happened... Mylar started misbehaving.  He started writing all over the windows trying to communicate.  I'm not sure what's going on, but I think he's trying to communicate to the kids.  For goodness sake, the word bubble says, "Hey kids!  My name is Mylar!"

What do I do if this continues?

Fire and Ice

Sunset with a streak of ice

The frigid air that settles in along the bay here brings with it the ice, the snow and the fire in the sunsets. Living in the lower 48, in a place where it doesn't completely freeze unless there is a big cold snap, you don't experience such things as a river having a sheet of ice over the top of it, a pond freezing over so that you can drive on it or watching and listening to ice cracking while the tide comes in beneath the frozen layer.

31 years.  I'm still learning and experiencing new things.  I know the world is about learning, about doing and about changing the lives of others along the way.  I just don't think I ever thought that the feelings of the new experiences would feel so powerful when I experienced them.  Feeling like a child again who hears a new sound.  To know that you are hearing something for the first time, at 31!  To have the knowledge that this is what your brain is processing and that joy that you feel is pure, clean and uncensored.  How many of us can say that we experience that in our adult lives?  Is it only when our children cry for the first time?  *I don't know yet as I don't have children.  I look forward to comparing the two feelings someday!

I look forward to having more of these types of experiences as they are truly good for the soul.  For now though, you'll have to enjoy the silent pictures along with me.

Salt water ice that falls off and forms large icicles 

Ice forming along the edge of the flats, top view

View from my bedroom window as the sun says goodbye for the night

Gluten-Free Hubby Pt.1

Ah, the things we forget when we don't have them in our face.... a few nights ago, I asked my Gluten-Free husband if he liked banana bread. (in all seriousness)
His reply: "Really?"
me: "Ya really."
him: "Really? Seriously?"
me: "Oh, (giggle) crap! I totally forgot."
him: "I USED to like banana bread but I can't have it anymore."

I had packed a loaf of it in a box I sent home and I couldn't remember if he liked it or if it was his little brother that did.  Man did I feel like a heel!

Well, now that I am much better at making bread and feel as though I might have some success with a Gluten-Free type when I get home, I know I have a project in store for me.  I think I owe him at least that much for getting his hopes up.

*Oh, and those that got to munch on the bread that I included in the box I sent home said it was good.  Hooray for my first loaf of it ever!

FIrst came wind, then came snow

A nice big storm rolls into town without much warning.  It wasn't the storm that Nome got, not even close to that but the winds that we got caused a bit of a stir around here.  They say they only get worse as the winter progresses on but if it's going to do some damage, I figure that's enough for me.  

I didn't think to check the weather site to see just how hard the wind was gusting, I'll have to do that next time around.  I think I was too busy swaying with my end of the building, wondering if the Wicked Witch was going to come anytime soon to come and "get my little dog too" to worry about that honestly.    Holding on through the night, bashing and crashing was all I heard.  Metal on metal, screeching and grinding and the occasional bang.  I figured it was the storage doors whacking against the building with the gusts.  It wasn't.  When daylight broke, we found that a piece of the roof had been torn from the screws that held it in place.  Not just nails, screws!  As each pulled out, the metal had beat against the building and roof right over my bed.  No wonder it was a long, sleepless night!  The rest of the village woke to check their houses, see if things were where they had left them and look for missing pieces of metal.  Not much was heard of much damage so it wasn't too bad of a storm.  Tossed about around the school property were some bits of plastic and other odd things, I think I saw a rogue tote across the road in the bushes too.

The biggest part of the wind storm was when I looked out the other side of my apartment and saw something sitting a little off kilter.  Opps!  Just the day before it was upright.  Had to have been the wind that knocked it off it's blocks.  I knew I heard something in the middle of the night!  That big 55 gal. drum is crushed like a pop can!  I sure hope the owner has a good idea for how to deal with that later on.  I'm sure they do, it's probably something that's happened before out here.

Once the wind died down and we had a little bit of time to recoup, we got some snow!  Pretty, beautiful, quiet snow.  The world just dies right on down and is super quiet when it's covered in a nice blanket of the white stuff!  We got about 2 inches that morning and I couldn't have been happier!  Fresh tracks signal that a passerby or two have been out in the morning but all else is quiet.  I am guessing it might be someone's brother out to have a cup of morning coffee!

Spinning on Early Ice

Early November, the ice on the ponds/lakes begins to freeze.  This really signals the beginning of winter and a very exciting time for the ATV riders in the village.  Not only are the benefits of the snow going to be exciting for the youth (and the teacher from Oregon) but it means that there are opportunities to drive their ATV's on the frozen lakes.

Let's get a few things straight.  It doesn't freeze all at once.  The shallowest points freeze first, creeping towards the center.  Layers form and as it stays cold, the pond/lake begins to freeze towards the bottom.  I watch with anticipation/horror as the experienced students who have lived their whole lives here do something they look forward to each year and wonder if I'd ever have the guts to put myself on a bike that weighs as much as it does, on ice.  You know, that stuff we put in our glasses to cool drinks down.

Here you'll see one of the members of the village come back from testing the edges of the lake (which weren't all frozen further out) to the corner that was frozen and spin like a little kid who'd found his favorite toy again!  Please notice the differences that you will be able to see in the surrounding areas change as the videos and pictures start to transition throughout this blog from early November into December.

Brrrr, it's starting to get a little chilly!

I can tell you I'm still catching up on blog from a couple of weeks ago.  The pictures you are seeing here now are from early November.  As I post every day my student does, and of course days he doesn't, I'll catch up quickly.  For now though you get to experience the change in Egegik from the fall to the winter in quick succession.  

The first tastes of winter come with a cold snap that "burn" the bushes into the dry summer grass fields of the Willamette Valley.  While the air isn't nearly as warm (not even close!), a walk along the beach sure is welcome.  From my vantage point here I can see where the Egegik River starts to mesh with the Bering Sea.  The fresh water with the salt water and the beginnings of ice with start to form where the fresh water sticks around.  The salt water will freeze much later.

As I head further down onto the beach and look towards the south, the "flats" hold a cool sight to behold.  Off the edges fall fresh water that has been pushed ashore by the tide.  As it falls off the flats the cold air whips around it, freezing it to itself and forms ice that droops off each available point.  

The fresh water that comes from up river is starting to freeze.  One wonders how it decides to freeze in certain locations to make large cubes.  Well, maybe it's just me that wonders but man, this one was two feet long by a foot tall.  It looks like it might have broken off of a larger chunk too.  Amazing to see just siting there on the beach.  Just sitting there, the tide didn't take it away.  Currently it's sitting on top of more ice that is not stable enough to walk on but enough to hold more ice that had floated downstream.




Frozen along the shores about 15-20 feet into the river here near AGS (Alaska General Seafoods), ice sits on top of other ice. Yes, this is where the chunk from above was found.  You can't walk on it (yet) but they tell me that this whole bay will freeze over.  It seems amazing that it can happen but I am looking forward to it.  For now though, I still watch from the frozen shore as the channel in the river slides along with chunks of ice in it.

Below you'll see a video of our coldest day so far (to that date anyhow) What can you say, I was bored?!

An evening walk.

Well, some pictures stay hidden in the vault only to be brought out when I feel the need to see something other than the snow.  While that's not the case just yet, these pictures are just too pretty not to share right now.  We haven't seen the green grass in quite some time as it turned to brown quite a long time ago but the green in this picture is subdued and completely overshadowed by the beauty of the ocean and the small sunset in progress.  It was too perfect not to capture and reminds me of the hubby talking about seeing the ever famous "green flash."  While I haven't ever seen that, I'm hoping it happens someday.

After seeing the beauty above, we headed down the bank to see what the beach had in store for us.  Descending down the bank you can still see the sunset as it dips further into the ocean, but we tromped on through the tall grasses hoping to make it back before it got too dark out.  The embankment is pretty steep and a few quick little bursts of speed, intended or not, get you down pretty quick.  It's the climb up at the other end that seems to take forever!  

We walked along the beach and looked for agates, shells and other cool findings that had been washed ashore but didn't find too much this evening.  It was a nice "warm" evening and the walk was much needed.  The best part was the photography opportunities that came when I got down to the shoreline.  I feel like I had another person behind the lens when I started to look through the eyepiece.  The clouds just seemed to "come at me" and swirl.  Maybe it was just a guardian angel who was getting to experience Alaska with me, maybe just dumb luck.  No matter what it was, I am thankful it happened as I will now remember what beauty lies when we just look around.

Upon climbing the banks back up to "dry land" where the tide can't reach us, we made a stop at the place where the old war boats have been sitting and rotting away.  They have really taken a beating but it's pretty cool to see what they look like.  It reminds me of an old Willie's Jeep, but made for the water.
I bet there's some people around that would like to get their hands on something like this and here they sit, rotting away.

The next morning, a little mist and a good amount of sunshine coming in at just the right direction had me running for my camera.  A little rainbow had decided to appear and place itself right on top of our play set here at the school.  I'm not sure what time the sun was up that day but I know it's early morning because of the shadows.  If I remember correctly, I was on the way back from PE in the morning.  Now, we wouldn't have a shot in the dark of getting a shot like this at that time of day.   Actually...it would be a shot in the dark then.  HA!

Enjoy!

Volleyball @ Port Heiden

Being a coach has always been a great way for me to connect with my students no matter where I am teaching.  It doesn't really matter what is going on in the classroom, when you are in the gym coaching, it's a different world.  The academic life seems to stop and the life lessons that are gained through sports begin.  Hard work, determination, dedication, teamwork, and the will to continue when you think you have nothing left can be found on the court, track and the field.

In rural Alaska, being a coach also has a few other benefits.  A flight out of the village is one of them.  Flying across lands not seen by many and experiencing the beauty of the "last frontier" front the seat of a plane is something that is very special to me as I take my students to Volleyball jamborees at other school sites.  This jamboree was held in Port Heiden, Alaska.  The ground was not frozen yet as you can see from the pictures but the dying vegetation contrasted with the water was beautiful.  It's not the mountains covered in snow that many people think of when envisioning Alaska's scenery, however it's my Alaska. It's what I see on a daily basis and when I get the opportunity to see it from the sky, it's even better.  Finding beauty in the world around you is what makes each day special and wondrous.  Not finding that is what makes that very same place, grey, dull and uninviting.  Below you'll see the last bits of green hanging on before the cold winter zaps it away.

Volleyball at Port Heiden was exciting, the first time my team got to play against another.  My team informed me that they had never won a match before.  That was the goal, win at least one.  Battling on throughout the days of play, we did.  We won the first match for Egegik!  While it was the only match we won, the kids improved significantly in team play and they really did a great job.  I was proud to be their coach and really enjoyed watching them have successes!  

During the time at each jamboree, the kids have a service project they work on.  This time it was a beach clean-up.  Each person was handed a big yellow trash sack and put to work.  We combed the beach and to our surprise, glass floats were found along with the trash!  A storm had done it's job and washed up glass floats that were used in nets but lost at sea.  Excitement in the air, chaos, and many screams of "I found one!" were seen and heard as students and staff alike ran with glee.  Yes, myself included.  Those of you who know how excited I can get can just imagine my delight with each one found.

The other great thing that was discovered for me that day were bear tracks in the sand.  The kids continued to point them out to me and I continued to take pictures of them.  Now, let's keep in mind that my boots are a size 12, that's a pretty big bear foot!  It was pretty exciting for me and it's really as close as I have gotten to seeing a bear, something I'm still waiting for and now, I'll be waiting awhile!


Port Heiden is also a very beautiful place with some great views of surrounding mountains.  While they are off in the distance, they can be reached if the teachers want to go on a hike for a day (or two).  That of course was not in the plans for us as we chaperone the students but it would be great to be able to visit and take some time there to explore.

I hope that you can take time each day to look around you and find the beauty in the place that you live or visit.  We only have but once to live each moment of our life, take it in when you can!

The wind

The wind here hasn't been my best friend.  My sleep is very important to me and I don't think I've ever had issues listening to the rain and occasional wind at home and falling asleep to it.  

The constant wind, often accompanied by rain just isn't my cup of tea however when I am trying to catch some zzzzzz's.  It pounds against the side of the school where my bedroom is located.  My apartment is on the second level and is kind of up on stilts you could say.  So when the big gusts come along I sway a little.  The sway isn't so bad, it just lets me know there was a gust.  It's the noise.  The constant hammering on the metal siding and the howl as it goes through the screw holes and the tunnels of the sheeting.

I'm sure it will take some time and by the time school is out I'll be sleeping like I've lived here forever, for now though, earplugs make me nervous I'll miss alarms in the morning.

Here's a little video taken in the daytime to let you see the power of the wind.  It is raining during this, I'm sure you'll catch a little glimpse there too.  I'm standing from the safety of my house with a window open so I'm able to stay fairly steady until a gust comes along.  I'm sure you'll notice that part!

Back in Egegik

State Trooper Matt came into town.

Our host's entry way sign.

My first meal when I got back from Oregon was at a local house in town.  I have to say that I truly enjoyed the company.  I got to enjoy some great spaghetti, great company and watch some wildlife from the kitchen table.  I thought it was funny while I was sitting there, our host thought he might grab another wild animal with his gun.  Trouble is the state trooper was having dinner with us.  His son had to remind him that it probably wasn't such a good idea.  Anyhow, it was a nice homey feeling to be having dinner with that group and of course, I got my picture with an AK state trooper, that was fun times too!  Matt's real nice and I know that if there's ever an issue, he'll be a plane flight away.  

Halloween wasn't more than a few days away and the few gourds and the one small pumpkin that I managed to bring home with me made a nice little entry way for my few trick-or-treaters.  Of course it is nothing like at home where we haunt the yard and have kids running down the street from us.  That is much more fun when the parents laugh at the kids as they run frightened because they were determined to get the big candy from our house.  These kids here had it made!  I had two full size candy bars along with some "snack size" ones in baggies all made up for them.  I was ready for every kid in the village, plus a little for me.  That was 18 baggies.  How many kids showed up to my door?  4.  Well, I guess I'm set for a year for candy!

Here lies Ms. Kasie, too bad she was too spacey  &  RIP Dorothy: Wishes she had some shorter hair, they used it to tie her to the electric chair

And he thought he'd scare me.  Startle maybe, scare, no.  Good costume though!

It's about to get a whole lot "post-ier" around here

When students create blogs and work on writing skills, teachers often make promises to students that they too will work on their blogs.  We put ourselves on the line and promise to do what we ask the students to.  For if we can not do what we ask of them, why should they have to be doing this, right?

That means, my student who sits at a desk for 30 minutes a day and writes intently on his blog should expect my blog to come up with a posting that requires the same amount of dedication each day.  My words probably flow faster and with more ease as I have been doing this for quite some time now, however there are times where I just don't feel like writing.

I'm already a day behind.  OUCH.  There's days I'm sure each and every one of my students don't feel like doing their work.  Writing can be a chore sometimes and I'm sure that at some point you'll see a posting where I was working at it rather than having it flow because I was enjoying what I was writing because I made a promise to a student to do what I had asked of them to do.

It's ok though, I know people are waiting for more news from the AK world.  I know I don't write enough. Let me tell you though, I might just get caught up with all the news I have to write about.  I'm only 3 weeks behind at this point.  A day at a time now, I should get caught up pretty quickly!

So here's to the daily blogging, may you enjoy the updates as my fingers fly across the keyboard in a fury for at least 30 minutes a day!

Some new ideas....writing #1

Inservice proved to be something that I won't forget.  In addition to providing me with an opportunity to teach others how to use iMovie, I learned a ton about writing.  I am a good writer, for the most part.  I got through college with not too much struggle.  However, it comes naturally to me.  I was not one who went to college to earn a teaching degree to teach people how to write.  I don't think I ever diagramed a sentence until two weeks ago.  EVER.

I also didn't learn how to teach people how to write stories, how to compose a paragraph, etc.  These were all things that came naturally to me and when needed, I help student edit papers that were turned into me, that they were writing for other classes, or for various other reasons.   Was I the one assigning many of these papers?  No.  Now, I am.

I have much more respect for those teachers who teach kids how to write and for those who teach those who struggle in their attempts to do so.  To be a teacher who is now having to go back to middle school and beginning high school concepts and learn how to teach them how to compose sentences and write papers is something I wasn't quite prepared for.

There are a few things though that really stood out from my inservice that I've tried and have helped me so far.  Having to help them with the creation of a story from scratch is pretty hard sometimes and with the help of the iPad, my SmartBoard and an app called Story Wheel, you can put up to 4 students in a group and they can spin the wheel and receive a picture from which they must add part to the story.  They record their part and hit stop.  The next student goes, gets their picture and the game continues.  In the end, the pictures play as the students all listen to their group story.  Some funny stories can come about but this could be good for an individual who just needs a prompt to help them along in their writing.  Think about using the one wheel for the entire class who then have to write two sentences for each picture as their story progresses.   Each student would have such different stories by the end, it would be fantastic to see what their imaginations would come up with!

What have you used in your writing classes?

Stay tuned for the next writing idea.

.

Inservice

The time at home was much too short but inservice was upon me and I had to be back in King Salmon, AK in time for it.  Flying home on my birthday wasn't really my idea of fun but it allowed me the most time with my loved ones.  Flying back into Alaska provided me with some wonderful views of the mountains from my single seat and I enjoyed the scenery even while my thoughts were of home and of those that I had left behind.  Turning those thoughts around to what lie ahead; inservice, friends that I had made but not seen for almost 3 months and a bed that was not a SAVEC but at what would prove to be a beautiful lodge!  The water however would prove to be something of a different story.

Bear Trail Lodge reminded me of home.   One glance at the windows from the back area at night and I'm sure those of you who know Mom's house can see why.  The crisp blue sky and the warm glow from the inside show the lodge in some of it's glory.  What you see here is the main portion of the lodge. On the right is the kitchen area, the center is the main gathering room and to the left is the dining area.  Down below are some rooms (mine) and I am standing on the hot tub deck that over looks the water.

My room that I shared with 3 other ladies was named the Wolf Den.  I was already missing my puppies and I thought it was kinda funny that I got a canine inspired room!

During my time there I spent quite some time watching Bald Eagles fly but only got one opportunity during the daylight to get a picture.  Of course it was a bit blurry and by the time I got the camera stable, it was gone, but the picture is still here as it's the closest I've ever been to a wild one!  The wingspans are just insane and it does make you humble as you watch them fly.

The water out the back deck of Bear Trail Lodge

Accommodations at the lodge were great.  The food was wonderful and the company was wonderful.  The water however was a bit stinky.  Not drinkable as they were having issues but they did provide us with bottled water.  Showering in it was weird but you do what you gotta do right?  Getting to know the staff in the district is nice and through the inservice times I'm finally starting to feel like I know some people's names!  I think that is one part of working in such rural sites where you don't move around that I really miss, getting to know more people and the interaction with others.  It's alright though, it's still nice to come back and have my solitude too.

Part of inservice was a memorial run/walk for a teacher in the district who passed while experiencing her own adventure in Alaska.  Near the start line, all bundled up as we headed down to the beach for the 3K+ beach walk I couldn't help but have my photo taken by the perfectly-named boat!  Oh, it was cold, by the end of it I think my legs were purple from the wind but I was warm from the blood flow!




Once inservice was over and I had gotten some good comments about my iMovie presentation, it was time to head home.  A very frosty morning greeted us on at Pen-Air.  As Arimie and I sat in the plane they de-iced it.  It was pretty cool to watch the chemicals just melt it away as if it had never been there and we were ready to go.  De-icing at the airport should never slow things down.  Well, at least for small planes.  The big ones probably take some time!!  I guess it comes out of the trucks at like 140°, or so I was told.

Frosty plane-Heavy frost!

Surprises at home

I came home to see my hubby.   More than two months away has been hard on us both.  I also have never spent a birthday away from home and I know that Mom was a little heartbroken that it was about to happen.  Well fine then, we'll just make it not happen.  I wanted to see everyone and I knew they'd be happy to see me.  Or so I thought.

My flight home takes awhile because of the village flight so by the time I touched down in Portland, I was already exhausted.  It was alright as I was running on excitement and adrenaline.  A nice big hot chocolate from the Daily Buzz started the morning and Mom and I were off on our morning shuffle from place to place to surprise a few people.

The first person was Theresa, my dog grooming friend who, if she had springs for shoes, would have jumped over her counter when she saw me.  We had Mom go in and "try" to shut the door but fail as she talked to her about a fake appointment as I slid in the already open door.  It was great to see her reaction and Mom going to see the delight in her face when she saw me.  She had work to do though and I had more people to see.  While I said I'd get to see her again the weekend took over and I didn't get to see her before leaving.  :(  I guess we'll have to spend a bit of time at Christmas when I'll be home for a couple of weeks instead of a couple of days!

We then moved onto surprising Charlene.  As we drove up, I knew that she would still be asleep.  I was hoping she'd had forgotten to lock her doors and I could just walk in and surprise her but it wasn't my luck.  I also told Mom that if she did lock her doors, she'd wake up when I knock, peek through her blinds before going to the door and see her car.  I knew she'd think something was wrong with me and come shuffling out real quick in her robe.  HA.....only to find me at the door!  I'm not sure she really believed it but she did meet me with a huge hug and decided that since I was home, we had to immediately hit the doughnut shop.  So, we did.  *Yummy*

After that, I knew I needed a nap before the rest of the day continued.  I had been up for over 24 hours and before I saw the hubby, I wanted to be a little more awake and able to deal with the rest of the day.  A quick nap at Mom's house began with me on the couch and her starting to go into the other room to sit in her chair and "leave me alone."  Uh, no, please sit in here and keep me company, I've been alone for almost 3 months.  I don't care if you are just silent and reading a paper while I'm trying to fall asleep, just another breathing body in the room is good.  I almost called the dog up on the couch with me.  That would have been better than no one else again!

Phew, a quick nap and then onto surprise the hubby.  He didn't take it so well because he was caught so off guard.  He was very happy that I was home once the shock wore off.  I also think that he was happy when I was able to clean the house while he finished up his homework.  He got to focus and I got a little bit of therapy cleaning my own house.  Sounds weird I know, however, it was kinda nice.  A part of me liked it and a part of me didn't.  Now, coming home at Christmas, he knows I'm coming and I won't want to clean, I'll want to enjoy the festivities!  He's well aware!

Let's see.  So later that night we knew that a dinner with the whole family had been scheduled already.  I figured that I would just surprise my sister there.  It didn't really work out that way.  You see, I hid around the corner when I saw the lights pull into the driveway so I could walk up behind her and give her a hug.  I was expecting a pretty big jump and surprised reaction from her.  I kinda felt like it was like....ho, hum.  Ok, well whatever.  She held out an envelope from the picture people and told us that they had gotten new pictures taken.  Ok, I'll look.
*thinking*  "Man, ok, more pictures?  Didn't you guys just get some?"
-opens the envelope-
"OMG!"
*thinks* "Oh no, what  if Mom doesn't know yet"

Shopping ensued

-pulls it together and hands envelope to Mom.  Turns to sister and hugs her some more.

Picture inside envelope

So, shock and awe part of the weekend was over.  A few stops to see people happened.   I met a few babies that were born or came home from the hospitals while I was up here in Alaska and they are beautiful/handsome!  I enjoyed some quality time with the husband and some shopping time with the sissy.  She horsed around a bit though.  I'm sure she'll turn out to be a great role model for a soon to be son/daughter.  Well, we can hope at least!  Progress at this point seems to be about 9 weeks with a due date of May 29th.  I should be home from Alaska on their 10 year wedding anniversary.  May 20th.  Let's hope that little one stays in there long enough!

My how things can change

A trip home starts with a little tiny flight.  A flight you wait for in the village.  Be ready by 9:30 they say but we all know that the plane doesn't normally come until about noon.  It's ok, I could have been ready by 8am for a flight at 5pm if that's what they wanted.  I was stoked!  Pen-Air is the only place that does the flights around here and so we wait (patiently) for them to arrive.  Folks around here have a pet name for them, "when-air", whenever they get here - air.  That's pretty much the way it goes though they try to be on time.

9:30.....are you ready?  Yes.    Ok, I'll call you at 10:30 and we'll see where we are at.   

10:30....are you ready?  Yes, all ready to go.  Just call me when you know the plane is coming.

11:40...Dick is headed your way.  Ok, I'll be outside waiting!

11:45...Dick shows up, I'm outside waiting, toss my cargo into the van and we go to pick up the other travelers.  (6 of us flying out that day!)

12:05....on the plane headed out of town.  PHEW

Pen-Air in King Salmon

First stop...King Salmon, AK   Layover....7 hours....extended by an hour to 8 hours but it's ok I got one heck of a story out of a hunting guide.  He was working out in the area and his two co-workers left to retrieve something.  He walked along this ridge right into a bears bed area.  Opps!  Attacked.  Survivied with the scars to prove it.  He still wears the same watch from the 15 years or so ago with the teeth marks.  Pretty cool story, I won't go into much detail, it's much better if you saw the scars and I didn't take pictures of the guy.  Kinda figured that would be rude.  He did show me pictures from his most recent guides though and there were some fantastic looking bears.  The other gal sitting there with me just got the #2 in the books Dahl Sheep and it was day number 60 of drying time!  She was pretty stoked!

Second Stop.....Anchorage, AK.  Layover about 3.5 hours.  I was super excited for this one as I had not been in Anchorage since the beginning of August and I wanted to see some pretty mountains.  They were fabulous and though I only saw them from the air and from the windows of the airport, it's amazing how much things can change in the span of a few months!  The other part to this layover was that I got to see a dear friend of mine, Jaci.  We spent some time just chatting, catching up, learning about past guys, new guys, and new jobs.  As the evening hours slipped away, I checked in for my flight and she checked out for the evening.  I'll be back though, Christmas time will allow us a few days for some more friend time...and maybe some ice-skating!!!  Maybe we should do that AFTER the shopping trips so I don't kill myself before having to shop for the last 4 months up here.

Last stop......PDX  Portland, OR.....Home  (close enough to it that as soon as you see the lights, the city and hit the runway, you know you are home)  The red-eye flight was a bit to handle.  I was excited but oh so tired.  I think I got about half hour or so of sleep.  The exit row doesn't recline but I like the extra leg room.  I'm not sure even with a reclining seat it would have helped honestly.  First class might though....

Ah, then a nice hug and a car ride the rest of the way home.   Surprises begin.....with the next blog post!

The day before..

Did the village know I was leaving?  It sure put on a show.  Frost and fire it seemed like.  A wonderful sunrise as I look past the school staircase.  It's those wonderful pictures that make you feel like you could watch this every day.  (even though they don't happen every day)  Did the village want to make sure I remembered what I was leaving behind, to make sure I'd return?  Well, I was coming back like it or not, I had a return ticket in hand (well, on the web - common, it's 2011!) and I'd be back soon enough.

Almost all packed and ready to go, there are other things to attend to in the village.  Shooting practice was arranged before I wasn't all packed.  I was close and I knew that I'd have all night.  (Lord knows sleeping probably wasn't on the agenda anyhow!)  Excitement has the funny ability to keep you up when you know something good is coming!

So, a student of mine took me out shooting.  We took his gun and mine, headed out to hand out some punishment on an old metal chair and experience a little time at the gravel pit.  That poor chair.  It seems to have been a target for many a shooter.  So many holes already, I just had to add a few of my own.I must say, that M1A has quite the accuracy!  It looks pretty bad-A too!

I had to make sure I got a picture too, maybe it's just a "show everyone what I've done" or maybe it's because I'll never own a gun like this but it was fun.  I know I don't play the shooting games or go out hunting for animals to kill, however it was fun to shoot!

After the beautiful sunrise and the shooting, packing was in order.  I had already gotten the frozen container pre-packed and then back in the freezer so it was basically a dump and run in the morning.  My clothes were almost dry and ready for folding.  I had to sleep on my pillows but they were the last thing to go in.  Making sure that everything was there, I headed for bed, ready to be ready to go whenever Mr. Pen-Air showed up for me the next morning.  I had a lot to do first thing but where was I going? 

Home.