Ah Monday, come and gone.
Fires, fires, everywhere. Smoke you can taste. Not healthy. The closest is about 50 miles from here. Problem is all the firefighters in CA are on the other 1,000 fires that are burning. Prayer for the fire crews, the displaced families, and most of all a turn in the weather. We could use the rain that is soaking up the midwest.
And this year, if you are here in CA, forego the at-home fireworks. Please.
Hands-free Comminication device (HCD) now required in CA. I think they are just as bad ~~ worse even.
My soap box ends here.
: )
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
what a whirlwind of a weekend
Okay I feel like I have traveled to Colorado and back, visiting relatives and friends along the way. Gee, its good to be back. What a lovely time we had. So relaxing. I just hope no one falls and fractures a wrist. Good grief. BETHS WONDERFUL ADVENTURE
The pics for our boatless adventure are still on someone's camera. Maybe some day. We did go boating last week and the boat worked. Yahoody. Got to try out the new 3-man raft, courtesy of Ashley. Had lots of fun......til the rope broke. Did you know tow ropes are weight rated? Go figure. I think it was due to the age of the rope and has nothing to do with the weight the boat was trying to pull.......say no more. Those pics are on someone else's camera too.
Okay the heat is killing me. We are mid-summer now, I can not complain about the weather, but my body is just not taking it. Its draining itself from the inside out. Miserable. Its the only reason I go to work now...to suck up the free AC. C'mon October!
Nap time.
The pics for our boatless adventure are still on someone's camera. Maybe some day. We did go boating last week and the boat worked. Yahoody. Got to try out the new 3-man raft, courtesy of Ashley. Had lots of fun......til the rope broke. Did you know tow ropes are weight rated? Go figure. I think it was due to the age of the rope and has nothing to do with the weight the boat was trying to pull.......say no more. Those pics are on someone else's camera too.
Okay the heat is killing me. We are mid-summer now, I can not complain about the weather, but my body is just not taking it. Its draining itself from the inside out. Miserable. Its the only reason I go to work now...to suck up the free AC. C'mon October!
Nap time.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Weekend We Cap
ACK!
Yearly boat "check up": $200.00
New tow float: $150.00
Dead battery: $0.
Sunburns: according to all medical reports a price will be paid in our future
Visit with family: priceless
Oh yeah, I found out I haven't tagged my boat since we first purchased it. LOL We are into our 3rd year w/ no registration. My contribution to the State deficit, I guess. And why do they always look at you funny when you say, "Uh I didn't receive my registration in the mail." I wasn't lying!!!! Dont tell anyone, but the bill which is through December, 2009, was ONLY $45.00. And that was with 50% penalties. Interesting.
Hasta la vista
Yearly boat "check up": $200.00
New tow float: $150.00
Dead battery: $0.
Sunburns: according to all medical reports a price will be paid in our future
Visit with family: priceless
Oh yeah, I found out I haven't tagged my boat since we first purchased it. LOL We are into our 3rd year w/ no registration. My contribution to the State deficit, I guess. And why do they always look at you funny when you say, "Uh I didn't receive my registration in the mail." I wasn't lying!!!! Dont tell anyone, but the bill which is through December, 2009, was ONLY $45.00. And that was with 50% penalties. Interesting.
Hasta la vista
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Please Pass the Poupon'
Such a silly saying. Has nothing to do with this blog ~unless of course I feel like telling you about the time Mr. Mustard was caught with a knife and a rope in the library or perhaps when I attended a Jewish circumcision in the back seat of a limo.
Hey so whats new in your world? What can you be thankful for today? Have you given it much thought? Have you thanked Him for it? Have you talked to Him lately? Did you listen? He did. In my world, I am thankful for my family. Such a stock answer, but where would I be without them. I am thankful for the country I live in, where I am fairly free to travel to and from where it might be that I am going. I am thankful for my church. It is really cool to fellowship with them. We cheated tonight,,,,,well actually we went to church tonight, Saturday night!!!! I felt like I should be wearing a yamica or washing feet. But it was kind of challenging because normally the 9:30 am Sunday worship has about 200 people and this one only had about 50, 10 of which were in the baptism group. So singing was, well it was challenging. Because you know you have to be careful not to sing any louder than anyone else lest someone hear you. The organ was nice.
Tomorrow, boating. 1st of the season. Pictures to follow. Hmmm, I am wondering if I said that already. I have a feeling I have. Well so, you've read it twice.
It is already 9:00pm. I gotta hit the hay. G'nite
Hey so whats new in your world? What can you be thankful for today? Have you given it much thought? Have you thanked Him for it? Have you talked to Him lately? Did you listen? He did. In my world, I am thankful for my family. Such a stock answer, but where would I be without them. I am thankful for the country I live in, where I am fairly free to travel to and from where it might be that I am going. I am thankful for my church. It is really cool to fellowship with them. We cheated tonight,,,,,well actually we went to church tonight, Saturday night!!!! I felt like I should be wearing a yamica or washing feet. But it was kind of challenging because normally the 9:30 am Sunday worship has about 200 people and this one only had about 50, 10 of which were in the baptism group. So singing was, well it was challenging. Because you know you have to be careful not to sing any louder than anyone else lest someone hear you. The organ was nice.
Tomorrow, boating. 1st of the season. Pictures to follow. Hmmm, I am wondering if I said that already. I have a feeling I have. Well so, you've read it twice.
It is already 9:00pm. I gotta hit the hay. G'nite
Friday, June 6, 2008
Freakin' Friday ~ Finally
"ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," she said to herself as she left the building. i didn't think 5 pm was going to get here, lucky for me ms. ashley called and said, "let's go" at 4:30.
i wish i could share some fantastic story of the day, but um, there wasn't one.
the watermelon i ate today was good. cold. sweet. and seedless. cant get any better than that. unless, of course, you intend to have seed spitting contest, you would need to go with good, cold, and sweet. otherwise you might find yourself spitting chunks of chewed water melon instead. eeeeeeeeewwww. that always grosses me out. national watermelon seed spitting contest the record is 61'3'' for men and 39' for women. hmmmmmmm, i'm thinking there's a record to be broken.....especially for those of you w/ no front teeth.
i wish i could share some fantastic story of the day, but um, there wasn't one.
the watermelon i ate today was good. cold. sweet. and seedless. cant get any better than that. unless, of course, you intend to have seed spitting contest, you would need to go with good, cold, and sweet. otherwise you might find yourself spitting chunks of chewed water melon instead. eeeeeeeeewwww. that always grosses me out. national watermelon seed spitting contest the record is 61'3'' for men and 39' for women. hmmmmmmm, i'm thinking there's a record to be broken.....especially for those of you w/ no front teeth.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
And so the story goes
Normally my days zoom by. Normally? I haven't had a normal day in six months. As a matter of fact this is my first 40 hour week I have worked since the beginning of the year. Yeah I cut myself down to 8 hour days, 1 hour of vacation a day to make a 9/80 schedule. So since I burned out a lump of vacation time I decided to go back to a straight 5/40 schedule. You know, plain old 8 hour days with Friday or a Monday here and there to maintain your sanity (what's left of it.) Then gas hit $4.00+ a gallon. So lovely little Ashley and I are carpooling. It's a twist for her, she doesn't like getting out of bed, but after 30 years, I refuse to start any later than 7. Getting off at 5 is killing me. Such long, long days!!!!!
What are we going to to about gas???? Captain Kayak continues his 45 mile trek over the Grapevine every day. Really, 55+ is too old for a motorcycle. Besides, its too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. There's an RV park down the road from where he works. Right now rent is cheaper than monthly gas, but it means getting an RV trailer that we don't want. He is looking for work here locally,,,,,,do we wait it out? I'm thinking this calls for some serious prayer time.
Started riding my bicycle in the am's before work. It feels good. Well, it will after my butt stops aching. I do believe it is time for a wider seat. Hopefully by Monday we will be putting on some serious time and effort.
peace out
What are we going to to about gas???? Captain Kayak continues his 45 mile trek over the Grapevine every day. Really, 55+ is too old for a motorcycle. Besides, its too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. There's an RV park down the road from where he works. Right now rent is cheaper than monthly gas, but it means getting an RV trailer that we don't want. He is looking for work here locally,,,,,,do we wait it out? I'm thinking this calls for some serious prayer time.
Started riding my bicycle in the am's before work. It feels good. Well, it will after my butt stops aching. I do believe it is time for a wider seat. Hopefully by Monday we will be putting on some serious time and effort.
peace out
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
All good things must come to an end.....
Day 8, Friday, May 23rd we woke up and found ourselves dockside in Seattle. And it was raining. I can not believe we went the entire week with blue blue skies and not a drop of water falling from it. That was the blessing in this trip. One of the many, actually. It was great to spend time with our kids, fine young adults that they are. It was great to work towards a common goal and do this trip together. It was great to laugh with them, explore the world, and just share this time with them. We were home at 9:00pm after a 4-hour trip from LAX. I don't believe I have ever seen the traffic as heavey as it was that night. I can say it just made our "own beds" even sweeter when we climbed into them that night.
Cruising was great. If you haven't done it, make a point to do it. It really is a relatively good investment in terms of vacation time and relaxation.
Alaska. The Last Frontier, they call it. It is exactly that. Go. If ever I were to go back, it would be with the intent of spending time there to explore the nooks and crannies of history and culture. Denali calls my name. Maybe someday.
I hope that I have not bored you to tears over the last seven days of blogging. It has been fun to remember our trip. Seems like it made it last just that much longer. There are more pictures that have not been loaded to the computer. When they are, I'll share them. We didn't get as many as I had hoped, but we did get enough good ones to post. I think this one sums it up:
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Rubadubdub ~ All 5 in a Pub
Day 7, Thursday, May 22nd. Our last day at sea. Anticipation ran high as we made our way to Victoria. Tomorrow we would be back in Seattle, ready to disembark and fly back to Beautiful Bakersfield. The night would bring one last opportunity to take this vacation together to new heights. After being on the zipline, I was ready for a little less height, but that would be easily overcome with a few brewskis during the Pub and Ale tour we had signed up for.
The night brought a 2nd "formal" dinner. I talked everyone into passing on the outing, I had only brought one dress. You know, the white dots on black w/ matching shoes, I wore it Monday night ~ I was sure everyone would remember and didn't want to risk the comments. "Psssst...here comes Orca, you know, the whale." What was I thinking when I packed that dress????? If only I had had a little shawl to wear over it, maybe I wouldn't have felt so obvious. What was cool about our ship is that regardless where you ate, the food was the same throughout the the dining halls. We ate early in the Lido Desk. MMMMMMMMM my my....surf and turf. Perfecto. And being in the buffet line there were seconds.
The dress for whale watching.
Being formal at our first formal dinner
Dressing up makes us all look pretty.
Our second formal night. Some people had to dress up. They looked nice. Next time, a simple pair of black pants and a nice blouse will be packed in my suitcase.
As nice as Victoria was, I am not too sure it would be the place to settle into retirement. But then would a government who believes their parliment building should be lit up at night be any worse than the one we have?
Could have sat there all night and enjoyed the beer.
The night brought a 2nd "formal" dinner. I talked everyone into passing on the outing, I had only brought one dress. You know, the white dots on black w/ matching shoes, I wore it Monday night ~ I was sure everyone would remember and didn't want to risk the comments. "Psssst...here comes Orca, you know, the whale." What was I thinking when I packed that dress????? If only I had had a little shawl to wear over it, maybe I wouldn't have felt so obvious. What was cool about our ship is that regardless where you ate, the food was the same throughout the the dining halls. We ate early in the Lido Desk. MMMMMMMMM my my....surf and turf. Perfecto. And being in the buffet line there were seconds.
The dress for whale watching.
Being formal at our first formal dinner
Dressing up makes us all look pretty.
Our second formal night. Some people had to dress up. They looked nice. Next time, a simple pair of black pants and a nice blouse will be packed in my suitcase.
After dinner, we left for our tour. O Canada! Finally, we got to use our passports that we only paid $100+ for. Another bus trip, this time through the town of Victoria. I do believe Victoria qualifies as one of the best cities in the world. Absolutely beautiful. Stephen, our bus driver / tour guide was well informed and easily shared highlights of the city with us.
Pub 1 was good. Could have sat there all nite long and enjoyed the beer....uh....ale.
Pub 2 was good. Could have sat there all night and enjoyed the beer....uh.....ale.
Pub 3 was good. Could have sat there all night and enjoyed the beer.....uh......ale.
[buuuuuurrrp] 'scuse me.
As nice as Victoria was, I am not too sure it would be the place to settle into retirement. But then would a government who believes their parliment building should be lit up at night be any worse than the one we have?
Could have sat there all night and enjoyed the beer.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Unzipped
Day 6, Wednesday, May 21st Ketchikan , Alaska ’s 1st City, because it is the first city you come to when you make your way up the Inside Passage . Ketchikan is also home to the Alaska Canopy Adventures where we participated in our long awaited ZIP Line adventure.
The course features 8 zip lines, 10 tree platforms and 3 large suspension bridges upt to 135 feet above the forest floor. I had been pumping adrenalin since we first booked this trip, months ago, and this day there wasn’t a place within me that could not feel the charge. Or was that fear? For days, I had been practicing on the ship, forcing myself to look straight down over the rails, to get over that pit-feeling in my stomach I get when it’s a long way down. Actually, it’s more than a pit-feeling. It is a desire to pitch myself over and free-fall to no-where. Just writing about it stirs the same feeling within me.
We were again taken by bus to the adventure site. We had to load onto this 4x4 vehicle that provided seats for about 50 people. We climbed several hills that made you feel like you were lying down before arriving at the “Lodge”. There we geared up. We cinched ourselves into rock-climbing harnesses, hard-hats and gloves and moved out onto the porch for our “lesson”.
My mind locked on to every word our guide said. “If you are: 1. afraid of heights, 2. tremble at the thought of zipping through the trees, 3. fear crossing rope bridges suspended 150 feet in the air…..You should be whale-watching.” Even my logic that there has never been a story of finding a dead fat woman hanging on a zip line faded to the back of my mind. I was one of everything he described. I should be whale watching.
We then moved on to the “how to” lecture. On the steps, left hand on the top of the pulley (think of a clothes-line pulley) Right hand holds all your ropes over your heart. (What a novel idea! Felt good to grip my heart.) Then you had to “sit down” in your sling-harness, locking your ankles together in a “cannon-ball” position and whoosh, you would be gone. Braking was done during the zip by letting go of your lines and tapping your right hand (gloved) on the bottom line. This does not mean clenching the line or putting your hand in front of the pulley (both of which could cause you harm and/or set you to spinning while zipping.)
Now was the last time for bailing out. Not I. I had to try it. I could do it I knew, because I wanted to ever so badly. Isn't there a song out there that says if you can dream it you can do it???? Well I got some news for that lyricist.
I was first up in our group for our “test” zip. I walked out onto the platform and attempted to move my feet up the three stairs I from which was to jettison myself. My legs were scared straight and my knees would not bend. I was dressed so I couldn't even bend at the waist, God only knows where my feet were. Our guide, Patrick, grabbed me up by my harness and looked directly into my eyes, “ARE YOU READY?????” he asked. “Uh huh.” I replied. I don’t believe my voice has ever been that little in my entire life. I let my feet go out from under me and Patrick let go of my harness. With a zip and whir I was 50 ft over to the next platform sucking air and shaking in about 5 seconds. During my “flight time” I kept hearing the check list ~ I just knew I should be watching whales. Ian, the other guide, grabs me and starts yelling, “How was it? Was it great? Huh? Was it cool? Are you okay?” All I could say was, “Oh my God, oh my God, oooooooh, I do not like that.” through my squinched-up mouth and eyes. In the end, Ian sent me back for another test run. Everyone else in the group looked like experts by the time the test run was over. Now last in then group, Patrick set me up again with all the encouragement any guide to could muster to make his favorite look good. I was off! I think I did about 500mph this time, nary enough time to contemplate braking. Ian greeted me for the second time, more secure in my “ability”. Then the real adventure began.
The others took off. They executed their zips perfectly. They looked fantastic! Then it was my turn. I had to pry myself away from the tree trunk that I had come to love. Now I know what they mean when they talk about ‘tree-huggers’. Again, Patrick took me up by my harness and stared into my eyes, “ARE YOU READY???” Hell no, I wasn’t ready. I had been busy formulating how I was going to tell them I could not do this. During my last flight, I had not only seen whales as I whizzed through the tree tops, I had enough time to really think about the three rope bridges. I had suddenly come to realize I was frickin’ nutz to think I could ever do this. I am afraid of heights. Afraid. ASSKIRRED. Do you know what it is to be askirred????? I’m not talking wussy-ing out of something. I am talking shaking bad scared to the top of your hair follicles. I am talking adrenalin coursing through your body so intensely that you couldn’t have farted if your life depended on it. Okay, I got on the line. I am whizzin’. I am thinking, brake!! Brake!!! Dammit brake!!!!! My arm is not moving. My hand is clutching my chest. Finally, finally, I broke it free and forced it to the cable. Pat. Pat. Pat……GRIP. I stopped. I couldn’t breathe. I think I had sucked up all the air in Alaska . Then I remembered to exhale. I no more than got my balance and Patrick informed me I was first up for the next zip. All I could think about was getting to the next tree and getting down. I only went because I could be alone on the platform with Ian and tell him without any embarrassment that I had to quit. That I could do. Already the disappointment began building up inside me, but I knew beyond any doubt there was no way that I could possible live through zipping and make it over three suspension bridges. One of the zipline runs is over 1500 feet ~ over two football fields long! I was barely able to do the 50 and 100 footers. I allowed myself one last try and sat down in my sling of cables to zip my way over to Ian. About two-thirds of the way there I saw Ian signaling me to brake. “Hand!” I yelled to my self. “Hand!! Go up to brake!!!!” “Hell no!” my hand replied. “I have your heart here, I have the ropes, I am not moving!!!!” “Hand!! Go up to brake!!!!” I said again. “ NO WAY ! I am not moving and YOU can not make me!!!!” came the reply. Oh shit. I stared at Ian as he got larger and larger as the platform came closer and closer. “HAND DAMMIT!!!!! GO UP TO BRAKE!!!!!! You are going to knock him out of the treeeeeeeee!!!!!!” Slowly my hand moved and tapped me to a stop on the platform. As soon as I gained a sense of balance I told Ian I could not go on. He tried to convince me I could, that he could catch me (right) but eventually agreed to have me lowered the 150 feet down out of the tree top to the ground. I didn’t cry.
Wayne, Jolene, Amelia, and Phil completed the course. And they loved it. They all have medals to show for it.
I am so proud of them and have chosen to zip vicariously through their adventure.
The course features 8 zip lines, 10 tree platforms and 3 large suspension bridges upt to 135 feet above the forest floor. I had been pumping adrenalin since we first booked this trip, months ago, and this day there wasn’t a place within me that could not feel the charge. Or was that fear? For days, I had been practicing on the ship, forcing myself to look straight down over the rails, to get over that pit-feeling in my stomach I get when it’s a long way down. Actually, it’s more than a pit-feeling. It is a desire to pitch myself over and free-fall to no-where. Just writing about it stirs the same feeling within me.
We were again taken by bus to the adventure site. We had to load onto this 4x4 vehicle that provided seats for about 50 people. We climbed several hills that made you feel like you were lying down before arriving at the “Lodge”. There we geared up. We cinched ourselves into rock-climbing harnesses, hard-hats and gloves and moved out onto the porch for our “lesson”.
My mind locked on to every word our guide said. “If you are: 1. afraid of heights, 2. tremble at the thought of zipping through the trees, 3. fear crossing rope bridges suspended 150 feet in the air…..You should be whale-watching.” Even my logic that there has never been a story of finding a dead fat woman hanging on a zip line faded to the back of my mind. I was one of everything he described. I should be whale watching.
We then moved on to the “how to” lecture. On the steps, left hand on the top of the pulley (think of a clothes-line pulley) Right hand holds all your ropes over your heart. (What a novel idea! Felt good to grip my heart.) Then you had to “sit down” in your sling-harness, locking your ankles together in a “cannon-ball” position and whoosh, you would be gone. Braking was done during the zip by letting go of your lines and tapping your right hand (gloved) on the bottom line. This does not mean clenching the line or putting your hand in front of the pulley (both of which could cause you harm and/or set you to spinning while zipping.)
Now was the last time for bailing out. Not I. I had to try it. I could do it I knew, because I wanted to ever so badly. Isn't there a song out there that says if you can dream it you can do it???? Well I got some news for that lyricist.
I was first up in our group for our “test” zip. I walked out onto the platform and attempted to move my feet up the three stairs I from which was to jettison myself. My legs were scared straight and my knees would not bend. I was dressed so I couldn't even bend at the waist, God only knows where my feet were. Our guide, Patrick, grabbed me up by my harness and looked directly into my eyes, “ARE YOU READY?????” he asked. “Uh huh.” I replied. I don’t believe my voice has ever been that little in my entire life. I let my feet go out from under me and Patrick let go of my harness. With a zip and whir I was 50 ft over to the next platform sucking air and shaking in about 5 seconds. During my “flight time” I kept hearing the check list ~ I just knew I should be watching whales. Ian, the other guide, grabs me and starts yelling, “How was it? Was it great? Huh? Was it cool? Are you okay?” All I could say was, “Oh my God, oh my God, oooooooh, I do not like that.” through my squinched-up mouth and eyes. In the end, Ian sent me back for another test run. Everyone else in the group looked like experts by the time the test run was over. Now last in then group, Patrick set me up again with all the encouragement any guide to could muster to make his favorite look good. I was off! I think I did about 500mph this time, nary enough time to contemplate braking. Ian greeted me for the second time, more secure in my “ability”. Then the real adventure began.
The others took off. They executed their zips perfectly. They looked fantastic! Then it was my turn. I had to pry myself away from the tree trunk that I had come to love. Now I know what they mean when they talk about ‘tree-huggers’. Again, Patrick took me up by my harness and stared into my eyes, “ARE YOU READY???” Hell no, I wasn’t ready. I had been busy formulating how I was going to tell them I could not do this. During my last flight, I had not only seen whales as I whizzed through the tree tops, I had enough time to really think about the three rope bridges. I had suddenly come to realize I was frickin’ nutz to think I could ever do this. I am afraid of heights. Afraid. ASSKIRRED. Do you know what it is to be askirred????? I’m not talking wussy-ing out of something. I am talking shaking bad scared to the top of your hair follicles. I am talking adrenalin coursing through your body so intensely that you couldn’t have farted if your life depended on it. Okay, I got on the line. I am whizzin’. I am thinking, brake!! Brake!!! Dammit brake!!!!! My arm is not moving. My hand is clutching my chest. Finally, finally, I broke it free and forced it to the cable. Pat. Pat. Pat……GRIP. I stopped. I couldn’t breathe. I think I had sucked up all the air in Alaska . Then I remembered to exhale. I no more than got my balance and Patrick informed me I was first up for the next zip. All I could think about was getting to the next tree and getting down. I only went because I could be alone on the platform with Ian and tell him without any embarrassment that I had to quit. That I could do. Already the disappointment began building up inside me, but I knew beyond any doubt there was no way that I could possible live through zipping and make it over three suspension bridges. One of the zipline runs is over 1500 feet ~ over two football fields long! I was barely able to do the 50 and 100 footers. I allowed myself one last try and sat down in my sling of cables to zip my way over to Ian. About two-thirds of the way there I saw Ian signaling me to brake. “Hand!” I yelled to my self. “Hand!! Go up to brake!!!!” “Hell no!” my hand replied. “I have your heart here, I have the ropes, I am not moving!!!!” “Hand!! Go up to brake!!!!” I said again. “ NO WAY ! I am not moving and YOU can not make me!!!!” came the reply. Oh shit. I stared at Ian as he got larger and larger as the platform came closer and closer. “HAND DAMMIT!!!!! GO UP TO BRAKE!!!!!! You are going to knock him out of the treeeeeeeee!!!!!!” Slowly my hand moved and tapped me to a stop on the platform. As soon as I gained a sense of balance I told Ian I could not go on. He tried to convince me I could, that he could catch me (right) but eventually agreed to have me lowered the 150 feet down out of the tree top to the ground. I didn’t cry.
Wayne, Jolene, Amelia, and Phil completed the course. And they loved it. They all have medals to show for it.
I am so proud of them and have chosen to zip vicariously through their adventure.
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