Vince's Birthday

I'm the kind of blogger who needs to update her blog daily. A lot happens around here! Today I am going to make several small postings. It's weird for me, but unmanageable otherwise.

Vince was working on his birthday. It was a very uneventful birthday. Really though; is 42 a big year? I guess we will have to wait and see.

Volcanic Ash!

Vince and I were having a quiet morning at home. We were sitting in front of the fire watching the sunlight move through the clouds at sunrise. We were both feeling thankful to have such a great place to watch sunrises. "Gosh" I said at one point, "It almost looks like a volcanic cloud." "Yea, isn't that interesting."

We continued watching, enjoying the views when the phone rang. It was Irene, "Redoubt just blew and the ash is coming our way! Good thing we have a basement full of teenagers to cover everything.

We were completely ready and yet somehow this ash missed our neighborhood completely! But in town, at Irene's, it is a huge mess. The dust is blowing everywhere and it's all volcanic ash and lodges in our throats and lungs.

It is making the snow melt very quickly though, so it looks like for us there will be an early spring!

April Fools at Mansfield Ave

I got April Fooled twice! Once by Jeff Middleton who told me that I had a flat tire. Who wouldn't believe that from a guy who drives heavy equipement for a living? He was about to get out his air compressor when Janet said, "Alana, don't you think it's interesting you would get a flat on April 1?" The second trick was by Valda who informed me that for Vince's birthday she had procured for him two goats, six geese, a couple new hens... I, seriously, thought I would puke! She really had me going...

Look what came in the mail from Karen and Moonlight Fashions in Saipan today! These fantastic new boots! Marina is taking them to show and tell next Tuesday and Falcom wants to wear them at Jubilee.

Can you blame them? Thank you Karen!

Suzanne came over for dinner where we worked on my job descriptions...

Education Coordinator at Mansfield Avenue
Zoo and Social Club

Directly oversees 5 staff members and 6 figure
budget. Duties include gathering and disseminating information, advocating for
the learning disabled, coordinating recreational activities, defending human
rights. Multimedia marketing specialist. Maintains office hours for therapy
clients and executes open door policy for crisis interventions. Provides
oversight and aide in execution of ideas to developing fashionistas. Facilitates
paradigm shifts to housewives once monthly.

Princess at Saipan ExPat Community
Education Management
industry
1998 – 2000 (2 years)
Benevolently ruled over small
serfdom. In order to learn more about the common life of my people I was a 'mall
cop' and then became a first grade teacher to twenty five hyperactive 6 year
olds of 7 differing nationalities.

Petroleum Engineer at Various
Marketing and Advertising industry
November
1995 – September 1998 (2 years 11 months)
Involved in the distribution
and sales of refined petroleum products. Customer service was always paramount
during distribution of cylindrical meat products and hot beverages. Certified to
drive standard and commerical vehicles, hazardous materials, school children and
water vessels.

This is one of my favorite pictures from Valda's Africa collection. Yes, it's real. Yes, she was right there. Isn't it amazing!

Wednesday was the opening ceremony of the Kilcher Road Coffee Klatch. Spending time with the Kilcher road gals is Fantastic! Luckily I brought my instant Vietnamese coffee as Jeff had finished the coffee before I could get over there. There was kvetching and laughing and fingernail polishing. It was great.

Lunch with Karen S. turns into a two hour Magna car ta. Look at this food. Did any of you not from Alaska think that we could get such fine looking food in rural Alaska. Sure, our state lawmakers are a bunch of noodle heads, but our restaurateurs are fantastic!

Regular Tuesday with Irene

Irene reenacting her physical response to each attempt she has given to reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Events sap and surge my creativity. I could make a tidal analogy, but that is so overdone. Friends die. Friends reappear. I've had both this week and today I was glad to find myself in the loving embrace of a strong cup of coffee and a salami with real mayonnaise sandwich with my keel, Irene. (This week Vince is taking more of a mast and rudder position in my boat analogy.)

Topics Discussed:

• Irene's perfect and articulate verbage regarding the latest wave of marriages falling apart. It's not the divorce that is the problem, it is the way these women embarrass their decent husbands, their children and themselves while doing it.
• Are all 'Fair Trade' designated coffees sucky? Irene has a theory that us green shoppers will take anything that is labeled 'Fair Trade' and the coffee producing industry knows this and so they save the good stuff for the real connoisseurs, put the rest in a bag, label it 'Fair Trade' and make money on both ends. Nothing is wasted! Everyone is happy! Profits for second rate coffee is high!
• Vince finally butchered roosters today! (This picture is of Monday nights Curried Halibut with Artechokes, not Rooster). For some reason he only did two of them. (I'm not really sure the reason for that, but I am not complaining.) He then brought them in and put them in the crock pot and wants me to pick up tortillas for a nasty old rooster taco/burrito/fajita thing. How do I sit and eat something that I know too much back story about?
• Priscilla has decided on an appropriate home for this little dog when she dies. It has really calmed her heart. In the meanwhile, she is hoping her lab kicks the bucket before she does so she won't have to worry about her having a proper placement. I said, "What the heck! Let me take her today!" But the idea of Nicki having to go around with other dogs and be outside unchaperoned was too much for her to take. No, Priscilla is not ill or out of sorts in anyway. She is just pre-planning.
• Riley dissected dog sharks in class this week. One of the advantages of having a fisherman dad in the classroom. Irene was amazed they were all female and the kids were amazed they all had a belly full of baby sharks. Can you imagine the look I have on my face as I imagine and write about that. Yea...
• How I kind of got freaked out when I snooped into my old friends career lives and found them all to have very well defined intense job descriptions. I was wondering if I should add that to my list of things to have a midlife crisis about, not having a job title. But then looked over at Vince and remembered that one of the things that made me love him was when I asked him what he did he simply said he "worked at the hospital". I could have thought he was in the laundry for all he cared. This is when I decided that I did not have to add it to my crisis, but that did not stop me from creating a job description for myself. "Disaster Control at Mansfield Avenue Zoo and Social Club". Irene and I created an equally clever job description.
• Irene has been falling asleep at all times of the day and night while trying to get through The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of her validating quotes that she had to share with me is, " Blogging is a powerful way to sharpen the mental saw." OK, the quote was actually about journaling, but this was enough for her to move her blogging priority from quadrant 4 to quadrant 2.
• This weeks film at the Homer Family Theater, "Taken". "Taken" is for guys what chick flix are for gals. Just perfect in that macho killing in the name of righteousness way! The ending was a total let down for Vince who felt that them leaving him there at the airport to take a cab home after he had saved his daughter and wiped out the entire Armenian Slavery ring single handedly was in terrible taste. "You don't ask a guy like that if he wants a ride home. You say, 'Here is my car. I'll take the cab.'" Ah Vince...The little birds of the neighborhood are out in force this week. It is warm and light enough to be tricked into thinking it is spring. I took this shot of this little guy sitting on my deck rail. Many winters I have thought, "If they can make it...so can I."

Happy Birthday, Kimmy!

I feel I must send out this blog-tastic birthday wish to our dear old friend Kim R. We know that your life dreams are being attained by completing medical school, but there was a time in your life when your goals were simpler and recreation oriented. We are now going to take a moment to remind you of that.

This is one of Vince's favorite pictures. It is of an ill fated cross country ski trip that started with Kim falling into a pit underneath a spruce tree. Helplessly stuck Kim shouted,"Vince Help Me!" Vince left you there saying, "Just a minute!" He then dug through his pack, found his camera, took this picture and then helped her. Kim was pissed about this picture for a long time. It still makes Vince laugh.

Here is the picture of Vince being humiliated fishing. This is of the time Vince and Kim were salmon fishing outside of Anchorage on Sheep Creek. There were hundreds of people fishing on both sides of the creek. After hours of standing there one fish was caught, by Kim. (see above picture). It was a ten pounder, puny by Alaskan standards but a small fish is better than no fish. After another hour, with no fish being caught by anyone, Kim catches ANOTHER fish. This time a 35 pounder with hooks from other fisherman broken in it's mouth. Because she had already kept one fish she had to let it go. Before they knew it a man from the other side of the river in chest waders was halfway through the creek shouting, "They are (catching so many they are) letting them go on the other side!" Vince really laughs at the memory of this...

Me, I laugh at other memories that I did not photograph when they were happening. Like the time the tires nearly came off the car when we were driving to Homer after you had them rotated in Anchorage. Or the time we got the red truck stuck in Dales driveway, AGAIN. Or the time we watched the turtles in the mystic waters of Tinian. Ah! The list goes on...

Kim, when you finish medical school, please remember that I have needs. I will need you be living in a tropical climate with a sweet little cottage that I can mooch off of you in! No, this place is not Bethel.

We love you Kim. Hang in there, we know you will make it!

Alana and Vince

Today Ash Came Our Way...

No time for rest and reflection in this family I fear! The volcano blew. The wind changed directions. I had three hours to prepare my home for a light volcanic ash dusting. You may be wondering, "What is the big deal about volcanic ash?" Volcanic ash consists of tiny jagged pieces of rock and glass. Ash is hard, abrasive, mildly corrosive, conducts electricity when wet, and does not dissolve in water. It infiltrates every nook and cranny!

I'll tell you, for the homemaking-challenged indivudual, this can be a monumental problem.

Mema and I scurried to get the vegetable boxes delivered. She was a huge help! (It was funny, in fact, that when the local radio station, KBBI would announce volcano updates they mentioned that the veggie boxes were there, delivered, ready for pick up. Mema wanted to call them and tell them, "Thank Mary and Alana while you are at it!")

Thank you Valda for the picture of your moonscape. Notice for amature photographers out there... the impact of volcanic ash on snow is difficult to capture on film.

The schools decided to stay in session, even though the main ash fall was supposed to fall right at the time most schools in town are dismissed. I called the high school and they tried to assure me that there was going to be no problem. I hung up with them and drove another block, thinking of all the things that had to be done. I thought of a worse case scenario involving school buses not running and the boys being stuck in town.

I called the high school back and told them to send my boys out, I'd be taking them home early.

What a great idea! The three of us tarped everything and brought in the wood and relaxed all afternoon. And then, when the heaviest ash fall arrived at 3.30, they did not have to be breathing that ash filled air on the school bus. Honestly, it was wonderful having them home. They were gleeful that they were the first ones called to go home early. And they really were a big help. You may be wondering why I did not pick up Falcom and Marina? Their school is very close by and they get out an hour earlier than the kids in town.

Suzanne and Irene told me what a mess it was getting the kids from school in the ash fall and again I patted myself on the back

No, it was not a heavy ash fall. But it has made our snow look filthy! Now lets see if tonight brings more.

Loosing a Friend

There are things that are really cool about the Internet.

And then there are things that that the Internet can not serve justice to...

Today Vince received an email that a friend of ours has died. The short email from his wife informed us of an ear ache that turned to meningitis and then he was gone...just like that.

It was not a blanket email. It was an email sent to Vince speaking of her love for her husband and requesting stories from our time with him for their 4 year old daughter. It was a very real letter.

But, there is nothing real about it. There was no penmanship to decipher. There were no teardrops on the page. There was no timeline, and because the Internet is so fast we assume on one level that this must have just happened! But...it could have been weeks ago and this her first chance to sit at a computer to figure things out.

Oh Scott!

And so Vince spent his spare minutes at work reading and re-reading that email. He was trying to decide if it was a joke or if he was missing an important clue or a memorial date or something. He emailed her right back, but there was nothing... of course... because where do these typed out thoughts go to when there is no one there to open them? They just sit as binary code in the vapors...

Yes Sharon. It will be an honor for me to try to capture for you a picture of what our lives were like here in Homer Alaska 15 years ago when your vivacious, energetic and beguiling husband was a part of my life.

You see few people know that Scott is the reason that Vince and I met.

It will be the very least I can do for the man who, unwittingly, presented me with my soul mate.