Friday, June 4, 2010

A lot of special events which brought us: May flowers...

Our visitors 'from the east' (J & D) came for a two week stay. First time in 21 years that we had friends visit us in Alaska that were not family. It was GREAT having them and a special time for us to share about what it is we like about Alaska. We went on Whale Watching tour, attended Laura's piano recital, went to L's french class picnic, attended the TMHS production of Robin Hood, Chuck took them on a Death Hike up the West Glacier Trail, showed them around S's and L's schools, played tourist in museums and downtown shops...and so on and so on. The weather was warm and usually sunny.

Celebrated our 24th by going out for dinner with J & D at the Twisted Fish. Walked around downtown a little and they treated us to ice cream waffle cones. Haven't celebrated an anniversary out on the town for quite a while.

Sarah received her 3rd place spelling B award for 1st grade, an award for reading excellence and another award for perfect spelling tests all year. She has more than surpassed what our expectations were and we are proud of all her hard work. We also celebrated her 7th!

Laura started her first job! Caught sight of her working hard and she seemed to be in her element. A new and exiciting time in her life and it's great we can share in the excitment. We celebrated her last day of school for the summer and first day on the job with Chinese food takeout.

Both girls are such a blessing to us.

I look forward to going back to VBA in the fall as an aide. It will be my 3rd year. I have enjoyed this job so much and work with a wonderful teacher and have a great boss.

Today I bought a hanging basket of purple flowers to hang on the front porch. Also put in some red, yellow and purple flowers in the floral barrels. The garden has been weeded - an never ending job - and I used the weed whacker in fits and starts...those misquitos often drive me away for periods of time. Looking neat and yet 'au natural' out front of the house.

May 1, 2010

May Day.
What a busy day.
A good day.

Had tea and lunch at a friend's home on Douglas Island.

Bought a larger bike for Sarah. We had a hard time convincing her not to ride it out of the store. She mixed up her words and asked if we were going to 'steal' the bike...then 'corrected' herself and asked if we were going to 'sale' the bike. We finally caught up with her line of thought and said, "Yes, we are going to BUY the bike, but you have to walk it out of the store."

Laura, Sarah and I attended the Irish Dancer recital. Saw people I know from my school, Sarah's school and church. I spoke briefly with the Irish dance teachers - and they really are Irish.

Chuck and I bought groceries.

Tonight we look forward to watching some Star Trek:Voyager episodes, thanks to 3 seasons worth of dvd's loaned to us by a special aunty and uncle.

Saturdays can be busy doing have-to-do-tasks but today it was pleasant busy one with fun-to-do people activities.

Oh, by the way, I noticed on Thursday morning that we have our first scratch on the new car. Sigh. Don't know how that happened. It's very small but it's there. Part of life for a car. Think we can handle it.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Another sunny day. How we love the blue skies. I think it is the 4th day this week to have sunshine. On the way home from school yesterday, Sarah commented on what a nice blue the sky was...

Sarah helped me out in our front gardent this morning. I had forgotten about some tulip and crocus bulbs in the garage and they were starting to sprout. I dug holes and Sarah dropped bulbs down into them. She is curious about how plants grow. Wish I had a picture but couldn't find the camera. I cleared away dead leaves and sawed off some weed bushes that were growing up. Looks a lot neater. Now to dig in and do the weeding another day...other days, for it will take many days.

I didn't realize that I liked gardening until last April when we had a fabulous spring season. It was a way to get some vitamin D and enjoy the quiet on the street before the school buses returned. Last year at this time, I was also working 5 mornings a week, filling in as an aide in the 3/4 year old preschool class. I appreciated silence more than I had ever before after spending 4 hours in a noisy class. Although weeding is a good use of quiet energy, I still like flowers that take care of themselves without my help.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Since early in the week, we've heard and seen the springtime invaders - robins. They are hopping on the street and lawns as if happy to be home after a long winter away.

On Tuesday, the rain fell in long straight strands for an extended period. No hail or slushy flakes mixed in...a sign of spring.

We've been hearing and reading about a new grey wolf that has moved into the neighborhood in recent weeks. Chuck spotted him early this morning while walking Nellie. Our previous neighborhood wolf, "Romeo", disappeared suddenly in October.

I will be delivering a flurry of 135 snowflakes to a downtown gift store this morning. The cruise ships and tourists will be upon us by May. Another sign of spring.

Laura and I sang in the Easter choir at church - a mini cantata. Both girls were so excited about the celebration of Christ's resurrection this year. I see a spiritual awakening in Sarah with a couple of questions she recently asked. I am thankful. May God continue to pursue her heart as he has done with Laura.

Saturday, April 10,2010

It's a beautiful sunny and yes, even warm day in Juneau. This afternoon we drove downtown and attended part of the annual music festival at Centennial Hall. Heard a few groups from Alaska and one from Oregon. One song that stood out, performed by a group from Nome, was about all the time spent waiting in airports and different planes, trying to land in Nome. From the way the words were sung, they could have been talking about Kodiak, Juneau, Ketchikan...or any other place in Alaska. The song included words read aloud of a pilot announcing that the weather conditions might prevent a landing...but to enjoy the flight anyhow. The crowd definitely related to the song. It was fun being there but the hard part was being in a cool darkened room and knowing there was bright sunshine outside.

In the foyer area, we noticed a woman wearing a knitted hat, gloves and wool coat buttoned up and belt tied firmly - heading out the door to the brown grassy area...where idlers and musicians sat in groups playing or listening to music. Kids were trying out the hula hoops on the lawn. That 'warmed up' woman looked so out of place among us Alaskans who were shedding coats and sweaters to soak up the sunshine.

The sun and dry roads made one think of washing the dust off our new car. We checked out a car wash place and saw a lineup. On our street we saw someone vacuuming out their car. Chuck was inspired and I even took a picture as he vacuumed out the car and later hosed it down. The last time I recall him cleaning a car, was back in the spring of '99 - when we first owned the red Dodge sedan, one warm sunny Saturday...and I have a photo in my album to document that event too.

March 28, 2010

Although very tiny and fragile, snowflakes have a way of multiplying, don't they? It's quite miraculous. And, no two are alike but they all have 6 points. What an awesome, creative God we serve.

It's been over a year since I sold some snowflakes at a local tourist shop downtown. I am used to doing annual Christmas bazaars so it's a different experience selling them to a store and letting someone else market them. Well, three days ago, I received a phone call from that shop and they've asked for dozens more! Fortunately I have a lot on hand. This time they don't want them packaged, but want to display them on...yes, a Christmas tree! Patricia has designed and updated some tags for me to print out and add to the snowflake hangars. I need to deliver them by the end of April. Very exciting to know that 'Alaska Snowflakes' are going to find homes around the world as the cruise ship passengers go on their shopping sprees for souvenirs. I remember in Kodiak, when a lady bought one crocheted snowflake from me and said that she collects them, from all around the world. It is a privilege to know that one of my little creations are part of her large and growing collection.

March 23, 2010

Funny how quickly things can change - in a few minutes or hours. We began the morning in a winter wonderland and (by lunchtime) are now in slushland mode. Guess we'll get back to springtime soon.

We bought our first brand new car last Friday. Just two weeks ago, our '98 Taurus was in the repair shop. Good news: the brakes are fixed. Bad news: the underbody has been overtaken with rust and more rust. Time for a new car. All our vehicles have been 2nd hand and the Taurus was the newest...two years old when we came along. Sad to see it go as it was quite reliable. Now on to the new era...Obsidian Black, instead of non-descript dark green...Subaru instead of Ford. We dread the first scratch but after that, we'll be able to handle it - I think.

March 23. 2010

As I enter the world of blogging for the first time, thick snow is falling from the sky. (Yes, it's supposed to be springtime) I have crocheted hundreds of snowflake ornaments over 25 plus years and now package them as: Alaska Snowflakes...hence, the name of my blog.

I have over 300 patterns that I have bought and collected over time. People often say, "When do you have time to make all these snowflakes?" Oh, here and there - one stitch at a time. Seems like not much at first but then they start to accumulate. Rather like how God works in our lives, one stitch or loop at a time...