ANOTHER DAY, THANK GOD!

Monday, June 22, 2009

David Benjamin Blomstrom, the only sibling older than me just turned the calendar on another day and year today, thank God.  Those of us who have lived just a bit longer than some of our friends come to enjoy each day and relish the events it brings a tad more than we did when we were say, thirty.  That isn’t to say those who are currently thirty don’t enjoy each day and its not that we didn’t.  It is just that when one has laid the sod over so many many friends as well as one’s parents, aunts and uncles that one really takes seriously how precious each day is and perhaps that is why and how we have come to let most troublesome things roll from our shoulders and into the gutter, where they belong.  Onie and the driver called DBB on Saturday and sang happy birthday to him as he will be out of pocket today and we didn’t want to miss serenading him.  We try to do that to all our kith and kin if for no other reason than to let them know we are still above the ground.

Rain began falling last night and was continuing this morning when we woke.  The temperature hadn’t changed much from its low and now stood at a cool forty three.  The cold outside air combined with the increased humidity the rain brought had laid a deep chill inside the Marlin so we turned on the heater and went back to bed.

The oscillating heater had chased the chill from the coach by ten when the driver rose, made tea and began writing.

Sometime later the coach shook as though hit by a violent wind and continued to shake.  After a while it stopped.  Alarmed that something may have happened to the navigator, still asleep, the driver went to the bedroom where she was now awake. having been shaken awake.  We wondered what had happened and couldn’t explain the shaking for the life of us and dismissed it as we got ready to break our fast.

Outside the rain continued to fall, sometimes a gentle patter on the roof and other times a firm pelting.

The writer wrote while Onie prepared biscuits, bacon and an egg for each of us.  She placed everything on the table, opened a new bottle of Pattie’s figs, and called me to the table.  The writing was over and the feasting began.

An hour later Kurt came by to inquire about our interest in an afternoon of Skip-Bo, since it was still raining.  We were certainly ready to spend the afternoon in such a manner and asked him to be sure to invite Sidney and Barbara.  Before he left he asked if we had felt the earthquake earlier today.  We said that we had felt something but had not identified it as an earthquake.  He advised how it certainly was, it had been on the local news.  The quake with an epicenter up around Willow, fifty eight miles from Anchorage and about a hundred from us, was first reported as a 5.7 shake but that was revised later to 5.4.  Local news media said there were no reports of injuries or damage.

Damp Sidney, Barbara, Kurt and Krista showed up carrying all sorts of snacks.  It was time for the Skip-Bo fun to begin.  With Sidney and Onie as partners, Kurt and Barbara and Krista and yours truly as partners the games began.  Several hours of rainfall and snacks later Krista and the writer were still undefeated.  Krista’s eyes danced with merriment as our last card was played.  She says she is a good loser but it is evident she sure likes to win.

The games over our guests headed out into the forty eight degrees and rain, hustling to get home semi-dry.

Onie returned to her game of Bookworm, now going on its third day and the writer returned to his laptop to do his thing.

A short time later daughter, Dawn, called to see if we were okay.  She had heard about the earthquake on Houston, Texas news and wanted to be sure we were okay.  We assured her we were and then visited for quite sometime, then the driver joined Onie at her game.

An avocado and tomato were sliced and placed on the table, at ten.  They were followed by grilled chicken breast and mixed vegetables.

We sought and found the bed at eleven.  Outside the rain was still falling.  The temperature had never risen above forty nine during the day and was falling again.  The heater which had been in service most of the day was turned off.  The coach which had been rocked by earth movement and laughter during the day was now silent.

HAPPY 28^TH ANNIVERSARY

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

If you like cold instead of hot, if you like self reliance instead of government assistance, if you like hunting and fishing instead of tree hugging, if you like peace and quiet instead of city noise, if you like fresh air instead of smog, if you like earthquakes instead of hurricanes and tornadoes, if you like government that gives dividends instead of taking them, if you like politicians who can shot moose and serve it for a meal instead of shooting the bull at the table and if you like mountains instead of flat land then Alaska may be the place for you.

It was the place for us this morning.  We had slept under two blankets and a comforter and been nice and warm.

Now we were getting out of bed and it was fifty two in the coach, forty outside and the rain had stopped.  Overhead there was more clouds than sun and it appeared the rain would return before day’s end.

Somewhere else in Alaska other couples were celebrating their wedding anniversary, perhaps their first or maybe their fiftieth.  For us it was number twenty eight.

Wedding anniversaries for us mean eggs benedict, mimosas and strawberries and cream.

We also have the day together doing what ever comes to mind, no special plans except planning to be together.

Some of the guys in camp had gone clamming so the camp was quiet.  Ted Gotto called to say they were in Glen Allen and should be in camp by this evening.  Ted and his wife, Priscilla, are good friends of ours and we are anxious to see them again.  She had a health scare but all is well now and we are very thankful for that.

One o’clock brought the guys back to camp with their clams.  They spent the next few hours cleaning them.  We spent the next few hours working crosswords and playing Bookworm, together.

The clouds which had seemed to promise rain earlier in the day now made good on the promise and the rain began to fall.  Sometimes it was gentle as dew falling and at other times it made a drumming sound as it pelted the roof.

With the rain came wind and with the wind came falling temperature, getting down to forty five by five.  See paragraph one if this seems like bad weather.

Bookworm continued inside our house until Ted and Priscilla drove in at six.  We went outside to greet them, exchange hugs, talk about their trip up and exchange more hugs.  They both look great and are in good spirits.

Salad was placed on the table at eight.  We worked on more crosswords.  When the salad was finished we went back to Bookworm abandoning it for good, for the day, at eleven.

Frosted Mini-Wheats with strawberries and rice milk was our snack before going to bed.  We had intended to have a nice dinner, nice thick grilled steaks with sautéed onions and mushrooms along with a baked potato and a vegetable but the rain had continued all afternoon and evening.  Even as we ate our cereal the rain was falling.  The steak would have to wait for another day.

After the snack we turned off the heater and retired to the bedroom which was several degrees cooler than the living room.  Under the covers we were warm.  The rain, still falling, lulled us to sleep.  It was after eleven.

STEAK NOW

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Rested, the writer rose at ten to seven, stepped out into the forty seven degree morning air, fetched the paper and went back in to read it.

He thought a hot day may be in the offing with the warm air making an appearance so early in the morning.

Yesterday’s paper was read before he started on today’s.  When both papers had been read he rejoined the navigator in bed until the both rose at ten.

Tea, steel cut oats, blueberries, walnuts, honey, and crosswords occupied us as we got our day started.

After breakfast and the crosswords, while Onie was cleaning the kitchen, the writer tried to access the web.  With no connection to be had he went to his laptop and jotted down a few notes that he hoped would remind him of yesterdays event when he decides to complete the story, some days hence.

By noon the writer was ready to go up the hill to lend a hand on the house, which is coming along nicely.

Once outside, again, he noticed the wind had at last subsided.  With Onie’s help he got the awning out again then the two of them worked on getting some plants into pots.  Our neighbor, Inga, had given Onie some lettuce, dill and parsley plants and it was time to get them out of their little containers and into something big enough they could grow so we could use them.

An overhead cloud decided we needed a little more moisture and delivered a big shower as we were finishing potting the plants.

When the shower was over Onie headed into town and her mate prepared to head up the hill to the house.  Before making the short jaunt Krista helped him measure for and lay out shelving for our shed.

Half and hour later, at one thirty, Krista and the writer made it up the hill.

It is amazing how much trash is generated in building a house.  It is a never ending job to keep the site clean but today Krista and the writer worked on policing it once more.  Then Krista went to town and the writer helped Kurt and Sidney install French doors in the basement. 

The doors were the last thing to go in, to have the basement dried in except for sealing the windows which Krista and the writer did when the doors were installed.

All day long, since the heavy shower, it had been sprinkling and cold.  Now as it neared five thirty a blast of cold air slammed into the house, dropping the temperature about six to eight degrees in as many minutes.  With the wind and cold came more rain.  Tools were stored and three rolls of tar paper placed in the house.  With the tar paper the roofers should have the house water tight by tomorrow night.  Cold and tired the crew headed down to their rigs.

Onie was back from the store when a cold tired writer trudged into the toasty Marlin.  On the table were two big salads.  Seated at the table the writer felt the warmth of the heater come through his cold damp clothes.  Onie fixed him a cup of hot buttered rum to help him warm up.  A second cup later he was ready to eat his salad.

Before leaving the house plywood had been loaded into the truck to take down to cut the shelves for the shed.  The job had been put off until another day due to rain, cold and just a little encouragement from the navigator.

With the salads eaten and onions and mushrooms cut and ready to be sautéed the writer went out to light the gas grill.  Both diners would have preferred to have them cooked over charcoal but the rain was still coming down.  The charcoal grill was sitting on the picnic table and the gas grill was under the awning so the gas grill it was.

While the steaks grilled Onie sautéed the mushrooms and onions, baked a potato and steamed the broccoli.  The feast we missed last night was about to begin.  When it was over we both pronounced it as fantastic.

The writer was now warm and fed but still dirty so he gathered his shower kit and towel and headed to the lodge.  Half an hour later he returned under a cloudless blue sky, feeling mostly human once again.

The kitchen was once again clean and Onie was on the web.  At a quarter of ten the driver sat down next to her to look at some pictures, on Facebook, of our grand daughter, Haley, at her drama camp, in Georgetown.

When the connection was lost the writer made a few more notes before retiring to the bedroom, at ten thirty, where Onie had cued up a movie, Bonfire of the Vanities.

When we had finished laughing, at half past twelve we went to sleep.

A WATERMELON BY ANY OTHER NAME

Thursday, June 25, 2009

It must have been six o’clock in the morning, in Japan, when we woke.  Here is was fifty nine and already the clouds were beginning to gather.

A personal size watermelon that had been resting on the floor next to the driver’s seat was cut for breakfast.  It was almost as cold as if it had been on ice all night.

While Onie was cutting it the driver thought about the fact that melons this size were once called “ice box melons”.  Now that has been a few years ago so if you are under thirty or so you might not remember that.  But the question remains, why did they change the name?  Was it a marketing move since no one wanted to pay the asking price for such a small melon?  After all back then one could buy a full sized melon for two or three dollars and the ice box melons cost just as much.

Even now here in Alaska the personal size melons sell for about six dollars and a big melon for around ten. So why do people buy these small melons when for a few dollars more they could get a big one?  Perhaps for the same reason they buy water in a bottle for a dollar when they have perfectly good water at home, from the tap.  The advertising business in America seems to have us at their mercy or at least they have a huge influence on what we buy as well as what we wear and drive.

All that heavy thinking made the driver hungry and he devoured his half of the melon even before finishing a crossword puzzle.

Onie tried to access the web to post week five but it didn’t happen.  There was little or no signal.  The writer kept pecking away at new stories thinking perhaps sometime there will be a good signal.

Outside the sun was trying to break through the gathering clouds but it was easy to see the clouds were going to win.

While Onie tweaked week five the writer hatched up two more stories for week six.

While he wrote the fresh smell of chopped onion tickled his nose.  A quick glance toward the kitchen told him that salmon salad would soon be ready for the palate.

While the finishing touches were being placed on the salad the gentle patter of rain drops was heard over the whir of the cooling fan in the laptop.  The driver abandoned the laptop and hurried outside to empty the holding tanks.  Onie had replenished our fresh water yesterday.

With rain drops falling on his head the writer got the four wheeler and headed for the honey wagon.  Once there he found it had a flat tire.  From Sidney’s shed he retrieved a self contained air compressor and aired up the flat before continuing on his mission.  Half an hour or so later he was back in the coach, chilled and damp, where he sat down to a half of green pepper stuffed with the fresh salmon salad.

The driver had left home with less than a hundred dollars in his wallet.  It was gone so he was off to the bank to refill his wallet.  On the way the afternoon rain began in earnest.  Finished at the bank he stopped by the local auto parts store to replace rear wiper blade on the Subaru and to pick up a can of “fix a flat”.  The next time the tire on the honey wagon was flat it would be fixed, hopefully for the season.

Back at the coach Onie had finished a big pot of chili, Texas style, thick and hot.

While frozen salmon had been thawing so it could be canned the decision was made to wait until tomorrow to give the cook time to refresh her knowledge of the canner, aka-pressure cooker.

With a little luck Onie got a Wi-fi signal long enough to post week five as the expansion of week six stories continued.  Then it was news time for Onie.  She saw where Farah Fawcett had died at age 62 and Michael Jackson at age 50.  One of them will be missed by the writer.

Barbara came by to announce supper at Kurt’s in half an hour.  Krista was cooking salmon, rice and veggies.  Numerous folks were invited. We would be there, at eight o’clock.

The salmon supper at Kurt’s was a big success. A homemade sauce had been poured over the fish before it was grilled.  The flavoring was very good.  When everyone was finished eating a campfire was lit and the supper dishes, paper plates, were added to the flames.  Clean up at camp can be so easy and so much fun.

When the fire was growing low and the temperature was falling we headed to the house/coach.

Inside we got ready for bed, cued up The Untouchables, made some popcorn and began our evening at the movies.

CHILI TODAY HOT TAMALE

Friday, June 26, 2009

A balmy fifty awaited us when we rose at nine thirty.  We had been up late with the movie.

It was chili today with eggs and hot tea, for breakfast.  Of course the crosswords found their place at the table as we wolfed down our food, while it was till hot.

Breakfast over and done with Onie turned her attention to canning.  If you remember we caught six fish from the first run of reds, about average for us, and she brought all the salmon we had at home, in the freezer.  That has been thawed and will soon be in jars.  We couldn’t remember how many fish it takes to fill a case, twelve, of pint jars.  When she began that part of the process we saw it was one fish for three or four jars depending on the size of the fish.

The writer sat at his laptop and pounded away, as Onie worked in the kitchen, making notes of her every move, some of which have been deleted for brevity’s sake.

When the jars were almost all full the laptop was abandoned and the writer went to the shed to retrieve our Cajun cooker and a full propane bottle.  The cooker was set up under the awning, the bottle attached and a flame lit, just to be sure we were going to have a fire.  Then the cooker was leveled up and the canner placed on the cooker.

Here's the canner. What fun!

An inch and a half of water was measured into the canner and then the jars were placed inside, the lid secured, the fire lit and we sat back to watch water boil.  One must bring the temperature up slowly so as not to break the jars.  Once there is a steady stream of steam coming from the canner a little thingamajiggy is placed over the steam spout.  This is to regulate the pressure inside the canner.  Ten pounds is the desired level with the thingamajiggy jiggling one to four times every minute.

We watched and waited, adjusting the heat ever so minutely trying to get the jiggle timed just right.  At last we were satisfied and went on to other tasks.  Ninety minutes later it would be time to turn off the heat and let the canner and its contents cool down.  Then the jars can be taken out, dried off, wrapped in newspaper, this is the best use of newspaper, and placed back in their boxes for the trip home.

In the meantime work had begun on the shelving for our shed.  Measurements had been taken earlier and a rough sketch made on a piece of scrap plywood.  Now with the sketch and measurements in hand the first of the shelves was laid out and cut.  When the fit was right the second shelve was made, a copy of the first. Onie covered both with shelf liner paper to ensure ease of cleaning.  Supports had been cut from other scrap plywood and screwed to the studs.  Now the shelves were laid in place and a few items organized on them.  Progress was taking place.

Onie watched the canner as the writer worked on the shelves.  The last thing we wanted was for the canner to overheat and blow its top or cool off and not seal the jars so she kept a close watch on this canner of her’s.

At three the writer went up to the house to help Krista clean up the second floor then it was back down to the Marlin at four thirty. 

Onie had turned off the fire and the canner was cool so we opened it and removed the jars.

Onie prepared the canner for the next set of jars. When all things were in readiness the fire was lit once again and we were canning again.  Old hands now, we didn’t watch the pot quite so closely but went about other chores until the steam started coming out and we put the weight on.

It had been announced earlier in the week that supper would be at Frank’s tonight, at six.  It was that time so we walked across the street and joined the group that was gathering, Frank, his lady friend, Inga, Ted, Priscilla, Kurt and Krista.

Priscilla Gotto, hostess Inga, and Sylvia

Ted Gotto with host Frank. Turkey's cooking!

Inga and Frank had laid out a spread of appetizers that one could have made a meal from, cold boiled shrimp, reindeer sausage, smoked salmon, cheeses and crackers.

While the crew grazed on the appetizers Frank finished deep frying a turkey.  When the turkey was carved Inga brought out dressing, gravy and baked sweet potatoes.  Seated at two trestle picnic tables the crowd enjoyed a dining experience extraordinaire.  When one could eat not another bite Frank and Inga brought out fresh cut melons and chocolate dipped fresh strawberries.  It would be nice to be able to write that the strawberries and chocolate was ignored for the fruit but alas it was just reversed.  When the eating was over it was the general consensus that it had been too much but it had been oh so good.

Three hours after we crossed the street we crossed it once again.  The fire had been turned off under the canner for sometime and now the second batch of jars was removed and packed like the first.  We now had two cases to put on the new shelves in our shed.

With the second batch of jars tended to we took another short walk to Don and Julie’s for a campfire, at ten.   Sidney, Barbara, Kurt, Krista, me and Onie comprised this group along with the host and hostess.  Various subjects were visited before the Longo (?) game was brought out and the participants were the subject of much laughter.

Onie and I left the fire to the younger folks, at eleven thirty, and went home.  Once there some notes were put down while Onie visited her Facebook site.

Later yet, we retired.

JUST BEFORE SUNDAY

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Saturday comes just before Sunday and waking up comes just before breakfast.

This morning we were greeted with bright sunshine at nine.  Inside the coach it was not quite as chilly as usual but we still enjoyed our hot tea and steel cut oats.  At least the writer enjoyed the oats, the navigator had halibut chowder as we tried to clean out the refrigerator.

Saturday crosswords are hard but we managed to get through them, mostly.

Jay came by to announce he and Larry were on a mission, honey wagon mission that is, and wanted to know if we were in need of their services.  Processing fish takes a lot of water so we were ready to empty our tanks again.  The writer joined them and before the mission was completed we had emptied tanks in rigs belonging to Kurt, Norman, Larry, Jay and ours.

Onie was occupied with Bookworm.

When the mission was complete the driver headed up the hill once more to help with more house cleaning.  This time two pickups went to the dump and some cutoffs came to camp for firewood.

Kurt and Krista are going to Anchorage to pickup Becky, his wife, her Mom, at six thirty.  It was now five.  The truck they are going in was filthy as well as out of gas.  Both Kurt and Krista needed showers as well as a change of clothes.  The driver took the truck to Freddie’s and fueled it up before stopping at Noble Car Wash on the way back and giving it a quick cleaning.

When he got back at six thirty he didn’t kill the engine as they just stepped in and left.

Onie has been without her Fox and LMN for several weeks now.  That needs to change so the driver became the TV antenna installer, sort of.  He tried to drive a pole into the ground behind the shed.  After an hour of pounding with an eight pound maul he had managed to get it six inches into the ground.  The pole was extracted and a set of drop augurs was employed, also known as post hole diggers.  After digging the same six inches he came upon a major impediment to his efforts, a big rock.  Ten minutes later the rock was out of the hole and the hole went down another foot before the labor stopped.

As the post hole diggers were laid aside for the evening, Chuck, LaVon’s husband came down to the shed.  He said the antenna was going to be in the wrong place.  I explained to him that both he and LaVon had agreed that where the hole was was where the antenna should be placed.  He apologized and said there had been a failure to communicate and that the antenna could not be mounted where the hole had been dug but would have to be moved to the front of the shed.  With that he left and the writer went into the coach.   Any further work, including filling in the hole would wait for another day.  After all, it was nine o’clock.

Inside, Onie nuked some sliced turkey and a turkey leg.  The turkey and an avocado filled us up.

Onie retired to watch a movie while the writer checked his email, surfed the web, responded to numerous requests on Facebook and finally called it a day at two o’clock Sunday morning.

WARMTH

Sunday, June 28, 2009

At nine the writer headed across the yard to the lodge for a long shower.  When he returned Onie had hot chili waiting along with hot tea.  Even though the sun was shining and it was warm, sixty two, the hot breakfast was appreciated.

After breakfast and a half finished crossword we got ready for church then went to pick up Krista.  Becky was going, also, and we waited just a moment while she got a jacket.  With the two of them in the back seat of the toad we headed off to church, keeping an eye out for animals.  One cow moose was seen back in the woods as we drove along Scout Lake Loop.

Pastor Tim Weekly was waiting to greet us as we entered the church.  A quick introduction was made and then we found our seats in the fourth pew from the front.  We like to sit up front as it is easier to hear and it leaves the back pews for the late arrivals.

The prelude was already being played, as we sat down, and soon we were singing old familiar tunes along with hew ones.  Then the message was brought, the invitation given and the drive back home, made.  It was twelve twenty.

Summer is trying very hard to make an appearance and today the temperature was nearing seventy.  While that sounds very cool to our readers, friends and family, suffering in one hundred degree plus temps back in Texas and the South, seventy and higher is actually very warm here.  Lower humidity and lack of atmosphere let the ultra violet rays descend with a vengeance and the resulting heat is unreal for those having not experienced it first hand.  Church clothes were exchanged for cooler ones before we returned to the unfinished crossword.

A few notes were made before a phone call was placed to Martha, my sister.  We have been playing phone tag for quite sometime but now it ended with a live connection being made.  We visited about family and friends including her friend Steve who was recently diagnosed with cancer.  He is to start treatment next week and is expecting a full recovery.  He remains cheerful, as ever, and optimistic. Her children, adults all, are all in good health and working and she continues to enjoy her job at Texas Children’s Hospital where is works in Audiology.

With the day wearing on Onie and Inga went for a walk while the writer occupied himself expanding on previous notes.

When the walk was over Onie surfed for a while as the writer continued until his hands were tired and he quit for the day.

A beautiful warm evening was upon us even though the sun was still bright in the sky.  We went out and sat at the picnic table and visited with neighbors.

The summer solstice, the summer day with the most daylight, has come and gone, June twenty first, and the daylight hours are actually growing shorter now, not that we notice.  We are losing mere seconds a day now but in late August and September we will be losing an hour of daylight every ten days, or so.  For now, we, like all Alaskans, are enjoying the long days, waiting for the second run of reds to begin.