Goodbye Jackie & Lily!

Well, the girls downstairs left this morning for the lower 48 to spend time with family. They will not be back to Ketchikan as their family is moving to POW (Prince of Wales Island). This is a very sad time for Jacob. He spent a good portion of the evening with them last night and said his goodbyes. I don't think I've ever seen him so heartbroken. You know how hard that is on mom as well! Anyway, John and Denise (the parents) are here a few more days but it will be hard to see them go. They have been fantastic neighbors and they are just an all around nice family. (John works for DOT and has been working here for the last 5 months.) Jacob has grown really attached to the girls, especially Jackie the 13 year old. She has such a knack with kids and we had a babysitter right downstairs!! I'm bummed they are leaving. Lily was always up for a game of backgammon and was even willing to let me monkey with her hair (I never did get around to it but she was willing!!) So, anywhoooo..that's our big news for the week. Now we prepare for my mom's visit. She arrives on the 1oth. I am SO excited!!

It finally stopped raining today and actually got quite nice. I went for a long walk after work with my friend, Buffy. It felt good to be outside. No pictures today as I didn't bring my camera but that's OK. There's more to come.

For those of you that haven't been able to leave comments...I have finally changed the settings on this blog so anyone can post a comment. I'm so glad I figured that out!! Yay me!! :)

Well, it's gettting late so I'd better go eat something. Hope you are all well. Hugs to you all~ Nanette

When It Rains, It Pours.

Well, our sunshine lasted all but a day. Wow! All day yesterday it poured and blew. Poor Jake. It was a miserable first day of soccer camp. I felt so guilty dropping him off. It wasn't cold...just VERY, VERY wet. Yuck! We had to turn the furnace on last night just to get his shoes and shin guards dry. I hope this isn't par for the course for this season. It's just as bad today and we probably won't make him go. I know I wouldn't want to be out there...why should I force HIM to endure it? No way. On a more positive note...our water tank is overflowing!! Woo Hoo!! With company coming next month, that is a good thing. Doesn't look like we'll have to conserve or buy water. You HAVE to find the silver lining, right? All I can say is I am REALLY re-thinking the whole "moving away from Ketchikan" idea. This weather is just GROSS and depressing!! I am already noticing the days getting shorter. It was already SO dark by 9pm last night. That's not normal for around here when the days are supposed to be LONG! Anywhooo...this is turning into a whiney post so I better come up with something else to talk about. Oh yeah...they keep talking about the gas prices going down. Yeah, right! Ours keeps going up. Last post it was $4.35. It's up to $4.41 as of this morning. Gag!!

OK...I'd better get to work. Nothing much else is happening that I can think of. It's Tuesday and we are already looking forward to the weekend. I think the forecast is for sunshine on Saturday but I'm not holding my breath!! :)

Hope you are all well and having an actual summer!!!! I know MOST of you are. :) Nanette

Sunshine & Gasoline!

Well the sun is out, finally! It's gorgeous out. I may leave work early today to take advantage of it. The weekend is almost here and it will probably rain so I'd better get my tail out there while I can. :) I decided since it was so nice to take a break and go fill up the Subaru with some gas. So, I pulled up to the pump and there was a dude filling up his motorcycle. I couldn't help but ask "How much is it to fill that up?" He said, "Sixteen ($16!!) Dollars." THAT'S AMERICAN DOLLARS Y'ALL!!!!!!! Anyway, then he proceeded to say, "That's for 3 gallons...it will last 15o miles." OK. So, I'm sorry I asked at that point as I went to fill up MY empty tank. Sheesh! I'm thinking "I should get one of those for Tony." Then I remembered how much it rains here and it wouldn't be safe. Life just isn't fair, man!! My bill came to $52.11 and that was with a 30 cent discount at Safeway!!!! Oh well...I just emailed my co-worker over on Prince Of Wales Island and they are paying $4.98 (we pay $4.35 right now). Holy Cow!!!!!!!!!! What are the rest of you out there paying??? Leave me a comment. I'm curious. Or perhaps a glutton for punishment! :)

So, soccer camp starts next week. I've got Jacob all signed up. I hope the weather is decent. Games start on August 16th. I can't wait to put pics on this blog. I'm glad I started this. Well, I'd better get back to work so I can get out of here and go enjoy the sunshine. Hope you all are doing well and having a nice summer.

Over & Out~ Nanette

My Walk Part 2!

I just had to post more of my pictures that I took on our walk today. There may be a third with tonight's sunset. We just have such amazing views of nature up here. It is truly "God's Country" as some might say. Even when it's cloudy we get the most spectacular views of the sun trying to come thru the clouds. And some of our most magnificent sunsets (like tonight) are the best when there is "cloudage" in the sky. LOL! Yes...that's my new word for the day. Anyway, Enjoy! Of course, I had to get a pic of an eagle in there. I am fascinated with these giant birds and they are everywhere this time of year.

Fireweed!

Well...it finally stopped raining (PTL!) and I went for a walk with some friends after work. I got some amazing shots along the way. It was such a gorgeous night. Cloudy, but it was still nice to be out getting some fresh air instead of laying on the couch watching TV (again!) Anyway, I was quite tickled the way my "Fireweed" shots turned out. This is a plant/flower/weed? that grows everywhere in these parts this time of year. I just love it! I'm not sure how but you can actually make Fireweed "Honey" from this. One of our MHAs (Mental Health Associates) did it last year with some of our kids! I guess it's good, too! Go figure, huh!?! Anyway, enjoy the pics. I'm sure there will be more. It's supposed to get up to 60 tomorrow. Woo Hoo!!!!

Finally...An Update!

It stopped raining for a few!

Hi All! It's been a while. I haven't been in the mood much to blog. There just hasn't been that much going on. Work has been very busy and the weather hasn't been nice so we haven't really been up to much lately.

I did manage to go out to Herring Cove the other day to spot some bears. There were 3 big ones out there this day (the sun was actually out at the moment.) That was very exciting! I told Tony I want to take the walking tour out there so we can get "up close and personal" to the bears in their natural habitat. I can't wait! I want to take my mom out there as well when she's here.

One of the bears I saw. Cute, huh?

Anyway, we are very much anticipating the arrival of my mom and her boyfriend, Dan. I've been in touch with my fishing buddy, Malcolm, and he is ready to take us all out! I'm excited! I'd like to catch some halibut. My mom likes to halibut fish also. I hope the weather gets better!

I don't have much new to report. All is well and sometimes "no news is good news". Tony and I went out to dinner last night for my birthday. While we were gone, Jake made me a birthday cake with just a little help from his grandma. I thought that was very sweet. I am a very lucky lady to be surrounded by so much love.

39 and Holding!

Speaking of my mother-in-law...she is going to Italy in October! She retired last fall from Tongass and they are giving her an all expense paid trip. She is taking Tami, my sister-in-law. They are going on a cruise as well. It's a 17 day trip all together...the cruise is 12 days thru the Meditteranean. Pretty awesome, huh? I am excited for her! :)

Anyway, I'll try to be better about posting. Enjoy the new pics for now.

Another Day...Another Dollar!

Well it's Tuesday and we've almost made it half-way thru the week. It's cold and rainy here and I've wondered if summer is over. I'm sure I'll go thru that many times before it truly is. That's Southeast Alaska for you! I'm beginning to wonder is we should revisit the idea of relocating. Those thoughts are brief, however, as I can't really imagine leaving here and not coming back. I'm sure I'll change my mind come October! :) Anyway, not much is happening. We are plugging along at work and I'm counting the days until my mom gets here. She arrives August 10th...almost exactly a year to the day that I last saw her! I am so excited! I hope the sun comes out for her. We'll see.

So, here's the bagpipers from the parade I promised you! Enjoy! More blogging later. Have a good night!

~Nanette

Sunday Night

Well...Tony and I are both feeling the effects of the Sunday night blues after a long, holiday weekend. The 4th was so-so as expected. The rain did stop just long enough to enjoy the parade but started up again and showered off and on all day. We went to the booths briefly to have some lunch but once the dock got crowded...we were out of there! We had hoped to go back on Saturday but the weather was even worse so there was no way we were going to do that! We ended up taking Jake to see "Wall-E", which was a really cute movie and a good way to spend a rainy afternoon.



Here are some cute pictures of the kids on the 4th (above). We had Jackie and Lily with us from downstairs. It was fun to have some extra kids with us. Man! They got SO MUCH candy at the parade!!















We, once again, we didn't get a fireworks show. They decided to light the fireworks but the cloud ceiling was so low you couldn't see anything. This bit of info I heard thru the grapevine as we could see ourselves there was no way we would be able to see anything. We weren't about to drive into town at 11pm to NOT see fireworks. LAME!!!!

On a brighter note, the 4th does bring a lot of people back to town. There are always a handful of people we know here for reunions and such. It's nice to see folks that have moved away that we haven't seen for a while. :) One such fellow is my friend, Eli Stewart. He is here with his wife and baby from Texas. They are missionaries down there and so we don't see them often (not in the budget) so it is a real blessing when they do get to come. I've known Eli and his family for many years and he has grown into a wonderful "young" man. Check out his blog under Eli, Mandy & Ava that I've listed under "Favorite Bloggers". They are a wonderful family!

Anyhooooooo...not much else is happening. It's back to the grind tomorrow. Personally, I hate Mondays! Oh well....as Eli said in church this morning, "It's OK to be tired...but NOT OK to have a bad attitude!" That made me smile. :)

Well...I had some video to post of our bagpipers in the parade but it's too long so Tony is trying to edit it for me. I'll add it later. It's getting late and tomorrow is the beginning of a very busy week for me. You may not hear much from me the next several days. We'll see.

Blessings to you all~ Nanette

Happy 4th Of July!!!

Well...first and foremost...in true Ketchikan fashion...it has clouded up and the forecast has promised rain for the 4th. This does not surprise me in the least. It is NEVER hot here on the 4th of July. It is disappointing to say the least. Oh well...we will drag ourselves to the parade with umbrella in tow! We are taking the neighbor girls, Jackie and Lily, since their parents sailed over to POW with their sailboat. The girls didn't want to go so I promised to keep an eye on them and take them to town tomorrow. I will post some pics of them in the next few days. Also, Jake and the crew made it back from camp today. They are no worse for wear and I was happy to see he actually "looked" like he missed me. He wouldn't admit to missing me (no way!) but I could tell by his smile when I picked him up that he was happy to be home. He said camp was "awesome" but says he won't go back. LOL!! KIDS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll bet he changes his mind between now and then. Anyway, I'm just glad they had sunny, hot weather the whole time they were at camp and his favorite activity was swimming. Doesn't surprise me...he LOVES the water! He also got great joy out of the fact that he didn't change his underwear the whole time. He figured each time he went swimming they got clean enough. BOYS!!!

I won't have pics to post from camp but you can check out the website at www.ortonranch.org when you get time if you want to see what the area is like. It looks beautiful and would be worth a hike up there next time they go. It's a two mile hike up from the float to the actual camp ground area. It took the kids TWO hours to get up there since they had little ones they had to wait for.

Anyhoooooooo....we don't have much planned for the weekend. We will go to the parade but the rest will depend on the weather. The booths will be open Saturday as well so we can always go down then. The movie "Wall-E" is here...we may go see that as well since it's getting good reviews.

At any rate...I'm just happy my boy is home! He looks like he grew a little in the last 4 days. I suppose it's just my imagination! You never know, tho, what a lot of fresh air and sunshine can do. LOL!! I sure am sighing a sigh of relief that's for sure!

Have a great holiday weekend everyone and I will post more later. Take Care!! Love and Hugs~ Nan

Into The Wild

So I dropped off the kid yesterday at Salmon Falls resort. It was HARD to say the least. Here I am...sending my "baby" off into the unknown (for him anyway!) He didn't seem to be worried but I was enough for both of us! The sun was out, though, which made it a little easier. Anyway, as I was leaving the resort, I notice the sign. Then I notice the mail box! Had to get a picture for the blog! LOL!! I just thought it was cute.

At any rate, here's Jake and his buddy from next door, Damion. Damion is 7 and this is his first trip to camp as well. Neither boy seemed the least bit concerned about this whole situation much to my and Damion's mother's dismay!! Matter of fact, when Rachael (Damion's mom) told him she'd be back in a few days to pick him up he asked why his Aunt Carrie couldn't pick him up! Hmpf! Poor Rachael. We both left for work pouting. :)

This is Jake's other buddy, Alec. He is one year older than Jake and this was his 2nd trip to camp. I'm so glad he was able to go to show Jake the ropes! Aren't they so cute??? I can hardly stand it!

Here's a shot of me and Jake (obviously). You can see from the look on his face he really didn't "fancy" his mother trying to get too cuddly in front of everyone. He can't wait to get away from me at this point! LOL!!

So...it's been two days now since he's been gone. The weather has been gorgeous and hot. Last night after work Tony and I got to go Kayaking again with my downstairs neighbor, Denise. It was beautiful! I wanted to stay out there until the sun went down! Julie took our pictures as you will see as soon as I can get them posted. I am trying really hard not to think about how much of a void there is in the house without our boy. I just hope he's having a good time. I miss him so much and wish he was coming back tomorrow! LOL! We did go out for Tai food tonight...something we can't do with Jake. That was nice. I made brownies, too, for some comfort food. :)

Work is busy so that's good. Other than that, there isn't much happening at the moment. The weather is supposed to change (of course...just in time for the 4th!!!) We are taking each nice day as it comes.

Oh! One more thing...I ran into my old fishing buddy, Malcolm, yesterday. He was at "the lookout" taking pictures. I had decided to stop and take a few pics on my way to work since it was such a beautiful day. You could see Prince of Wales Island so clearly...it was beautiful! So anyway, I pull in and there is Malcolm! I couldn't beleive it! I'd been meaning to call him for months. Last time I saw him was 2 days before Christmas and he'd just gotten out of the hospital after surgery. I was so happy to see he was doing well and had started chartering again. I took his picture with POW in the background. I am delighted that he is going to take us fishing when my mom gets here in August. Can't wait! Oh! I'm going to post Malcolm's web page for his chartering business if he still has it up and running. Check it out if you are interested in coming to Alaska to fish! He's the best!!

I'd better go. More later this week when my kiddo gets back so you don't have to hear me whine about how much I miss him! :)

Nighty-Nite from Alaska! Nanette







This is Malcolm. Check out his web site that I've posted below!