Draelin, knowing what you want to be when you grow up is highly overrated.
Since I’ve been 30, this is my sixth job, in two wildly different fields. People 'round these parts think of me a successful guy, so take that whole thing with a grain of salt.
Drae - just “growing up” is overrated. But you could be a PI like Monk - he never carries or wields a gun (at least not in the episodes I’ve seen) Not that I’m suggesting you’ve got OCD, just the other stuff.
Also I’m so glad you made it out of the web-free wasteland unscathed
Oh! I meant to tell you all
We just had a bit of excitement - We had a fire alarm (not a drill, because a truck came). But, for the 3rd time since we’re in this building (since Mar’03), the smoke detector was set off by particulates from the air freshner in the downstairs Ladies’. There is no real ventilation in there, and the ‘safe’ scent dispenser spritzes out the meagerest of fragrance. So when it gets stinky, someone sprays the Glade (or whichever) all around the place, setting off the alarm. OY. So I grabbed my pocketbook, my iPod, and speakers (I’ll be damned if I’m sacrificing those to the fire) and my coat (but I left my driving glasses behind…go figure) and scrambled out. OY. But I got my exercise for the day, since I had to climb the stairs to get out. They have one of those rescue chairs, but there’s no way I’d fit in it nor would anyone be able to pull me up the steps. The unit alone weighs over 30 pounds.
Annamika I really liked your OP. This, too, shall pass is a mantra of mine, and has helped me make it through some very rough situations. I also am fond of the saying that we wouldn’t understand how good the good times are if we didn’t go through the bad times. I am enjoying your breakdown of the Hindi movie, and am looking forward to Installments Two and Three.
Happy Clam, I knew what swedes referred to. It’s one of the cold, short season plants which grow well here, and is an important ingredient in my pirok recipe.
Taxi78Cab weddings are a huge hassle, imnsho, and there always seems to be family discord. You and KeithT try to enjoy as much as you may, and keep in mind that you only have to do the wedding thing once! The reception sounds like a good time, and it will be worth the wedding stress. You have my empathy. I am celebrating with you regarding your job offer!!! Yay!!!
FairyChatMom your pottery is very nice, I like it a lot. You are the Chocolate Queen here, correct? Milk or dark? Truffles? I am a chocolate snob, adoring very good dark chocolate. I don’t care for truffles, but solid dark, dark covered creams, fruits, caramels, and coated nuts will make me happy any day! (obligatory <snerk> for swampy with regard to the chocolate covered nuts!)
gardentraveller you are so lucky to be able to hit the Flower Shows. Things are finally beginning to sprout and the grass is greening up, but we also have snow in the forecast for the next three days. The temperature right now is at 31F…brrr! Oooops, just glanced out the window, the snow has begun to fall. I think this must be swampy’s fault, talking about the temps and the pool…boooo!!!
VunderBob stalkers are crazy, I’m so glad that yours is going away.
My husband was gone for 77 days cod fishing. He was home for two days before he agreed to skipper the boat down to Sitka for herring tendering. It was a six day trip, and when he came home I packed and travelled with my best girlfriend. We flew to Anchorage, rented a car, and drove to Kenai. We spent ten days there, and Lordy did I ever need the mental health break! Her “Old Man” has set up house over there, and she will be moving soon. The house is on lakefront property, no neighbors, and so quiet and peaceful. I took a cooler of king crab with me, and while I was there we had king crab and barbecued tenderloin, king crab salad, and a to-die-for king crab omelette’s. I ate so much smoked salmon (all varieties of salmon, several different smoking techniques) until I just couldn’t eat anymore! It was a wonderful ten days away from my day-to-day life.
As of yesterday I have been on the island for seventeen years, (whoopee!) and I had never seen a moose. My friends promised that I would see moose on the mainland. Apparently they are everywhere. Well, everyday I went out on the deck looking for a moose, going so far as to call out “Here, moosey moosey moosey” to no avail. The entire time there I saw squirrels and chickadees, not even a moose track. On our way home, about ten miles away from my friend’s house, I finally see a mama moose with a two year old young 'un grazing on the side of the highway. I cry out “Moose, moose!” but my friend is so accustomed to hearing me call for them she continues to drive on, until I frantically point and wave, yelling “Moose, moose!” Then she spotted them, and slowed down and turned into a small parking lot for some business and allowed me to watch the moose for a few minutes. I can now understand why we share moose meat, they are freaking huge!
When I arrived home, my husband and a contractor friend had fixed the leak in my roof, drywalled, textured and primered the kitchen and living room, what a stunningly gorgeous look after the faux paneling. They also closed the kitchen off from the living room, which I wanted, and my contractor friend is coming over Saturday to finish the last of the sanding, and then it’s painting time. We bought this little fixer-up home last September, and there is still much to be done, but what a difference just the kitchen and living room remodel looks awesome!
Oh, and my drier died while my husband was fishing, I despised the range which came with the house, and the fridge was not pretty. Functional, just not pretty. Well, I now have all new appliances! I think it’s a definet sign of age when I get this excited by new appliances!!!
My husband is currently working with the salmon skipper and crew on the seine. Fortunately they have a warehouse to work in, as the men who own it are out opilio crabbing out west. Best to get it all done early and be ready to go when Fish and Wildlife open the red (sockeye) season. With luck they will have a chance to go to Litnik and get our subsistence reds before that happens. As soon as the sein is done the skipper has a bear charter, after which they will try to squeeze in a halibut trip before salmon. Basically, I will see my husband again in October or November.
Bah! In this short amount of time, the snow has covered the trees, roofs and ground. It looks like a good day to read a book and work on my beading.
Tonight’s supper will be roast pork, home made applesauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some vegetable, probably corn, as the kids like to mix it with mashed taters and gravy.
(Would someone please explain why swampbear always writes "mashed taters (N.O.T.)? Does it have something to do with member taters?
Happy day, all!
N. O. T. stand for Not Our Taters; so you guessed right.
It’s quite oogie to be stalked by troll of a grandmother who swears undying love on some 12 years younger, and who she’s never met in person. The convenience and wonder of the Internets! :eek: :rolleyes:
Looks like I need to go back to coding school… :smack:
Ewwwwwwwwwwww…a granny stalker??? That is oogy beyond belief!!!
Thanks for the heads up on the Taters/taters disclaimer, while I love potatoes, I would never mash our Taters! Probably wouldn’t pour gravy over him either.
Is Taters a he or a she?
The wedding won’t be that bad. There are 16 people coming plus the minister and a musician. And none of them will be too upset if the color of the napkins doesn’t match the color of the… well anything else really. And since we’re doing it during the Christmas season, the inn where we’re getting married will be all decorated so I won’t have to do any of that. My mother is very unconcerned about “girly” things so as long as we get married, she won’t be a scary Mother of the Bride. And I’m not having any bridesmaids so that should cut down on the drama. So I’m pretty sure it’ll be a low-stress event. Yeah, we’ll be nervous, but not the way we would be for a 200+ person production.
It must be beautiful living in Alaska - my cousin and his SO live up there - but how do you handle being away from your DH so much? I mean I’ve been involved in 2 different long distance relationships over the last 4 years so I appreciate the idea of not having a guy around all the time, but I don’t think I could take it going as long as you and your husband do. That must be really tough!
I am a she. 
Bobbio, :eek:! That is oogey.
They were announcing on the radion this morning that Copper River salmon time just around the corner. I can’t wait. That is the most beautiful, perfect for cooking salmon I have ever run across. Even my kids love it. It is spendy, but well worth it for me.
Is it time to go home yet? I’m losing the battle with the headache, dammit.
Hands-off Moms are wonderful for weddings. It takes away so much stress.
kaiwik, I just want to say I love your posts. Your descriptions of your life are fascinating because it’s so different from my (relatively) warm weather, city-centred existence. Thank you for posting, and I’m sorry your husband won’t be around for many months. I will not complain about Mr. Lissar’s twelve hour shifts any more.
N.O.T stands for “Not Our Taters”, who is a she.
Time to clean the kitchen. I’m having an I-wish-we-could-just-eat-People-Kibble week. They’re be a lot of omelettes and sandwiches. I will make focaccia and cake tomorrow, but I don’t want to do heavy cooking.
**kaiwik ** - were there any squirrels near the mooses? or old school eastern European spies? or perhaps a disgruntled, transplanted New York doctor?
And I noticed the towns you named - those names were used in Disney’s Brother Bear - and here I thought Disney made them up.
**kaiwik **, my sister used to live on your island for a couple-few years. Her hubby was a Coastie (he’s retired now) and she worked at the BK. She didn’t mention mooses but said they had to make sure the eagles didn’t take their dogs.
taxi78cab It sounds like you have the wedding more or less under control. I know this is weird, but I married my husband twice, the first time we ran into town from the village, had a courthouse ceremony, and went home. The second time we married in a non-denominational church on December 12th, and the decorations were spruce boughs interwoven with gold ribbon and white twinkle lights, with two tall baskets of greenery. My colors were green, antique gold, and a touch of purple. The vows were sweet, the reception was grand! I wish you and your soon to be husband the very best!
Alaska in general, and Kodiak in particular, really is a gorgeous place to live. I was born and raised in Seattle/the Pacific Northwest, but it was becoming far too crowded by the time I left. I live outside the town limits here, just a short walk from the beach, a lake, and complete wilderness. Yesterday the eagles were carrying on in the trees around my home, and it was really quite annoying! They know that I have eagle meal sized dogs, and they lurk in hopes of an easy supper. :eek: :mad:
My husband and I have been together for 16 years. He was a fisherman when I met him, and I am an independant woman. It’s tough sometimes when he’s gone for so long, but I have kids, a cat, pomeranians, and friends, plus my artsy/craftsy things I do. Our relationship probably works as well as it does because we do get time away from each other. He wants to get out of fishing, so our five year plan includes him finding a new vocation. It’s not coincidence that the last kid will be grown in five years, he and I have never been without children, as I brought my two oldest daughters into the relationship. I do look forward to spending more time with my honey.
**Taters{/B] well, I promise not to pour gravy on you! We manage to get a good share of the Copper River Reds as they pass by on their way to their spawning streams. The only real difference is that they are slightly larger than other reds. Don’t let the marketing fool ya into paying exorbitant prices, if it’s a wild Alaska salmon, it’s good eats!
See, that is one of the things I love about the MMP. Because we’re just talking about day-to-day stuff, I get to hear about your city life in Toronto, Melli’s treking around the dark continent, tater’s boating holidays in the great northwest, and swampy’s excursions to bare boys camps. 
P.S. I often get the people kibble fantasy. It’s not that I don’t like eating. It’s that I’m tired of cooking. 
I’ve met Taters so I can tell y’all she’s definitely a she. She was wearing makeup, smelled good and had those girly parts that make shirts stick way out. What? Just cause they don’t excite me, don’t mean I don’t notice they’re there!
Kaiwik I want to go to Alaska soooooo bad! I wanna do one of those cruises that lets people hang out in Alaska for several days before heading home. Maybe one day, if I win the lottery. If, I remember to purchase a ticket, remember to check to see if I won, and actually win, that is. This lottery winning is a right complicated thing!
I’m about to leave work. I’m getting coiffed before I go home. I’m sure my friend what cuts my hair has got those number four clippers all primed and ready for me.
Isn’t People Kibble called Soylent Green?
Lissla Lissar thank you for the comment. I wonder sometimes if my posts are at all relevant to people who live in The Real World.
It’s not so much the time my husband is away that bothers me, it’s the high riskiness of the job in general. Right now he is working 10 - 12 hour days on the seine, just about a quarter mile from here, so even when he is on the island, he is most often working. He’s worth waiting for though!
anyrose you crack me up! I didn’t make the connection, which is weird, as I love Rocky and Bullwinkle! In fact, when I was naming two of my poms, I named the girl Natascha and wanted to name the boy Boris, but was vetoed by my family. They don’t even know about the cartoon!
With town/village names like New Stuyahok, Disney didn’t have to reach too far for names!
ShibbOleth we don’t have moose on the island, but I have been in Anchorage often enough, and always manage to just miss seeing the moose! The largest mammal we have is, of course, the Kodiak Bear. We also have Sitka Blacktail Deer, which are pretty small, and on Afognak Island (just off Kodiak) is a herd of wapati (Roosevelt Elk) which were transplanted here years ago to supplement the red meat supply. Out at Pasagshak, at the end of the road, a rancher brought in a herd of bison from Montana. We also have Mountain Goats and Dall Sheep. The Elk, Goat, Sheep and bison require special permits to hunt, the deer are up for grabs.
Stupid eagles are screaming outside my window again. I’ll dig through my photos and try to find some eagle pics for you all, you just can’t believe how many congregate together here in town!
Bwahahahaha! You must’ve been a “boob” man in a previous life.
I’m glad you thought I smelled good, it would suck to be all smelly and stuff.
I’d love to go to Alaska some day. I think it’s one our nation’s most beautiful states.
kaiwik, I know it’s all “hype” when it comes to Copper River salmon. However, they are absolutely beautiful and there is something slightly different about them when compared to the salmon one can usually purchase here. For whatever it’s worth, we’re stuck paying the prices, because it’s not like we can buzz right on up there to get some on our own. Rest assured, I do shop around. I find I usually get the best deal at Costco. All the other places I’ve tried are just ridiculously expensive.
you’re not going to believe this - it happened again!!! My legs are all achy from having had climbed the stairs twice in one day. (damned arthritis) This time I remembered my driving glasses, but left my coat inside. Coats are ever so much cheaper than glasses. My PT-ist will be pleased I got such a workout today. But, yeesh, I am tired now.
But now you’re all buff, rosie! Be happy!
You should all be proud of me. I have partially cleaned my desk. It was piled roughly a foot and a half deep in fabric (raw silk, squares of unbleached muslin for dish towels, shot taffeta, cotton lining, cotton canvas), bits of thread, pins, lace and ribbon, jump rings, half completed chainmail and completed jewellery, chain, unspun wool, and cds. The main advantage to keeping my desk messy is that I don’t have the cats walking on it.
Now I have to find a home for all the fabric. Why do we have five billion tea lights?