Day 34.... Is this what is ahead for the next year???

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all ,..... I hope you are all having a great weekend. Camping, or on a picnic, or fishing, or just plain having an awesome family time. I worked today, mostly by choice, because I have other plans for later, but...I realized this is the FIRST memorial day weekend I have worked ...in...... pretty much....FOREVER !!!! Wow. I am usually off camping with kids and family. Even when I worked for big company's like Harbor Wholesale I didn't work on Memorial Day weekend. So...it was a bit strange to be the one behind the counter.
However...not soooo bad. I had an awesome co-worker...Miss Allie Booth, thank you. You are awesome..fast, hard working and always full of smiles. I really do love working with you :) Most of our customers today were pretty happy...all set to enjoy their time off, their family get togethers, picnics, fishing trips and fun. It actually went in "spurts"....no one, and then long line ups...pretty much all day long. I actually only had 2 cranky customers...one...who assumed it would be just fine, while I was making 6 drinks, and dealing with a line up...to throw a note on the counter, with her drink and tell me she would be back to get it.....and when she came back.. I had a line up of 7 people. Her response...to give me a dirty look and tell me to ...FORGET her drink. Hey lady...no problem. The second one...a lady who informed me I was not "Properly Trained" when I put chocolate drizzle on her whip cream for her Mocha Frap. Well.....just for your info lady.... I made it exactly how I was trained. So.....you know what I want to tell you...( and it's not very nice ). Instead, I scrapped off her whip cream and re did it. ARRRGGG !!!!
Anyhow, it was a tough day, an interesting day, but also a day to ....evaluate...my situation. I somehow have to make it one more year...until June 2013. I am not sure I can.... I am not sure I am up to it. I am sooooooo Burned out.
HELP..........

Day 32.....a bit behind, but still motivated

Ok, so honestly, I admit... I am a "bit" behind on my blog. I have been a bit side tracked, or distracted, however you want to put it. First off, I had my Grandchildren from Victoria come visit for the "Canadian Memorial Day Weekend".  That was last weekend, and it was wonderful to have them both here. Our oldest grandson, Travis ... now 22 and his beautiful sister Carlie who is already almost 17. Yikes I am getting old.
Well, we had a great weekend...and a very fun filled family day. Games, food, barbecue, and a whole lot of laughs.
It was also a Sad day because it brought to light how much I will miss these kids. Every single one of them...from our youngest ...Liam who is only 2 to our oldest...who is 22. Plus...we will really miss our girls. ... and our son in law Jim.
It is one of the downfalls of our plan. One of the Sad things we have to face. But I also know, that no matter how much I would like us all to stay together, close enough for bbq's and coffee, each and everyone of them will move on to do their own thing whenever that happens for them.
So..... I guess it is still our time...Right????
Secondly, we just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Who would have ever dreamed that we would make it to 25 years. Well, I am hear to tell you all.... I intend to make it another 25 years.
I am happier, more content, more sure of life now than I have ever been. ... and I know that Don and I will have the best time in our endeavours. It will all work out.
Speaking of which.... our 5th wheel is now all fixed.. We have a hot water system that is up and operational...and should not start fire...ever again. It all checked out, things seem to be working well.... so I think we are up and running again.

Yesterday we celebrated a very special milestone... we were married 25 years. WOW. We spent it exactly true to style. We worked, then came home, had a drink or two...went out for dinner and went to bed early. Another typical day, with a few added bonuses. One...was the dinner out, but also, the roses Don bought for me... the "I love you " balloon, and the Kindle Fire that will be my wifi...my books... my games...my apps...everything easy that I need on my future travels. Thanks Hon... I love you always and forever. You will always be my best friend.
So... I am hopefully back on track. Going to have a very busy weekend... working thru the long weekend...and then off for a few days to a resort on Quadra Island to celebrate our 25 years.
Check in again with you all soon. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.

Day 26..... the sorting begins !!!!

Good Morning on the 26th day of our countdown. I can't believe nearly a month has passed already. At this rate, the time will be here before you know it. Twelve and half months to go.
I had the day off yesterday and decided that it was time to begin the huge chore of sorting through all our belongings. It will be a big job because every cupboard and drawer in the house is filled to capacity and the excess has over flowed into the shed. I have never been a "collector" or "hoarder"... I just really believe that when you are asleep at night things multiply in the cupboards and closets. I seem to have a constantly growing amount of possessions that I don't remember acquiring. For example, why do I have a drawer full of the silly little stocking stuffers that Santa has given me over the years, that you play with for about a week after Christmas and then never touch again. And why do I have three shelves of old magazines and cookbooks that no one ever looks at. I haven't used the cookbooks in years because when I want a recipe, I either access my hand written favorites in their little binders, or I go online and find what I want. So...the sorting begins. When we leave this house in a year, some of our things will go in the 5th wheel, the rest will be stored, and the last thing I want to do, is store a bunch of stuff that I don't use now, and won't use in the future.
I started the process yesterday and actually accomplished far more than I thought I would in one short day. I started with the drawers and shelves in the spare room. This consisted of the old above mentioned books and cookbooks, boxes and containers full of photos and odds and ends, computer books , papers, music Cd's, gadgets and goodies I had forgotten I even had. By the time I was done, I had 4 boxes of paperback books, magazines, cookbooks etc that I had Don immediately put in the trunk of my car for a Goodwill drop off. ( that way, they don't wind up in the shed so that I can change my mind later and put back on the shelves). I also found things that belonged to my kids and they went in the car for afternoon delivery. I emptied out my old desk and am going to donate it to my Grandson Kyle who just moved into a new house and is lacking furniture for his bedroom. I then rearranged the bedroom and swept up all the little toys, crayons and goodies I found under the furniture.
I was a good day, very productive. There are still 6 big drawers in there to go thru, but I have made a big dent in it. It surprising how good it feels to "Lighten Up" 
I immediately drove down to Goodwill and dropped off the boxes. Just one more guarantee that I wouldn't change my mind. After the spare room is done, it is on to the hall closet. That one will be a challenge.
Now it is on to a weekend with my Grand kids from Victoria. They are arriving today to spend a few days. Can hardly wait :)
Have a great weekend.

Day 24..... back on track :D

Wednesday evening, back on track.
Things are lookiing a bit better....part ordered for the water heater is in, appointment is set for the repair. Thanks heavens.....We will let the repair guys take it from here...and while they are at it...they can check out the other lines and make sure everything is working good. We really don't need any more repairs or stress. Only up and onwards from here:)
I have a day off tomorrow and have decided to spend the day going thru a few cupboards...."Goodwill"..."here I come"
Anyhow, that is all I have today...hope everyone is having a great mid-week day... and have a wonderful night.

Day 22..... Mothers Day Weekend "Excitement"

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful Mothers out there. I hope your weekend was as awesome and relaxing as mine. Normally Mothers Day consists of a big BBQ here at our house, and no matter how "well meaning" everyone is, Mom is still the one that ends up doing a good portion of the work and a good amount of the clean-up. This year, we opted for something different. On Friday night we packed up the 5th Wheel and went camping at Salt Creek. It was incredibly beautiful, weather, warm, sunny and the entire weekend was completely relaxing . It was exactly what we both needed.
It didn't ....however....start out relaxing. We arrived out at camp, picked our spot and parked. First job....get the propane fridge up and running to keep the weekends worth of groceries nice and cold, like the 2 yummy rib steaks we brought. Second job is to get the hot water tank up and running. Don turned the knob as usual to get ready to start it...and it broke. Well, out came the wrench but the trick was to be sure it was in the right position since it no longer had any markings on it. Don put the striker in position and ...flick...."WHOOSH". A huge flare of hot flames shot out at him. He was able to jump back in time, but wow....bit scary. However, we just assumed that the time it took to use the wrench, just allowed a bit of extra propane to leak out...all would be well. Right? Not so much. When he struck the striker again, it was once again a huge whoosh of flame, but this time it didn't go out. It just started to burn. Flames heading up the side of the 5th wheel.
It's funny how you find yourself doing something in a moment of panic like that...that you didn't even realize you were doing. I bolted around the front of the 5th wheel...ripped the fire extinguisher off the wall and turned to Don who had appeared around the corner. I threw it into his hands and he hollered..."shut off the Gas...Shut off the GAS" He ran back to the fire, and fumbled with the fire extinguisher...that we didn't even know would work or not. ( thank god it did)
I got the gas turned out and came back around in time to hear him say, "it's out".
Oh MY GOD....totally terrifying experience. The extinguisher was almost out of pressure, and fortunately he was able to get just enough that it shot a POOF of dry powder on the flames and put them out. By then , the paint on the side was bubbled up and it was only a matter of a few seconds and we would have lost the entire thing.
And by entire thing...I mean everything. It was still attached to the truck. There would have been no way of getting it unhook from the truck in time.
Hearts pounding.......panic beginning to subside....we looked at each other and thought...WOW !!!!!
Anyhow, we made a big ...GIANT"  whiskey and sat down and got our breathing and pulses back to normal. And....the rest of the weekend went perfect.
We had a big ice pack in the cooler so we put it in the fridge to keep everything good, left the gas off and cooked on the BBQ and camp stove outside...and all went well. But ...WOW...talk about a bit of excitement. ( I really don;t want to repeat it ...EVER )!!!!!!

And of course, now there is that wonderful...added expense of a new water heater control $300... but that is ok...because I can't spend a summer in Alaska, or anywhere else, without hot water. And....best of all, we still have "it all"

Day 18... just a few pictures today

Today  was a slow day. I actually have to admit, I didn't even think about Alaska. Too concentrated on the weekend. It's Mothers Day, so that means... MY DAY. And, it is supposed to be AWESOME weather...warm, sunny and a bit like summer. After work today, I worked on the 5th wheel...planning on camping soon. Summer is fast approaching and I want to be ready. While I was out there...re-stocking, checking supplies, I realized how much I can Hardly wait to just ...be camping ...anywhere...just camping.
So, sitting here tonight, trying to decide what I should write, I thought...hey, maybe I will just post a couple of pictures, to show you once again...what I am going to.
Have a great night...and a Wonderful Mothers Day weekend. I probably won't post again until after the weekend...everyone is busy, BBQ's , family dinners, picnics...so... once again, Happy Mothers Day to all you Mom's and have a great weekend.

Day 17... a day off

Today was a good day. No work, no chores, no scrubbing floors. Just a day to play.  I went to Paulsbo to visit my daughter TC. Beautiful sunny day, good day for a drive. It takes just a bit over an hour to get there...so I left town at 9:30... no traffic issues, no backups...just sweet sailing all the way.   Well, until I hit the top of the hill above the hood canal bridge. Dead stop...bridge was closed. Couldn't even check the web cam on my iphone, because it immediatly blocked out the picture with a message saying, "when Navy openings are occuring, pictures are forbidden". Ok, so now I knew it was a Navy vessel that was the culprit. Dang Navy ( ooops....sorry Jim ).
A half to 3/4 hour later...I was on my way again. Had a great day, good visit with my daughter, awesome lunch at Silver City Pub in Silverwood, wandered around the Paulsbo super walmart..and then a bit of visiting time before heading home. I left Paulsbo at 4:15pm.....  ummmm .... rush hour. Traffic flowed pretty smoothly all the way home, regardless of the time of day , but it was bumper to bumper the entire way. It amazes me how many people now live on this peninsula. The population here has EXPLODED. People , people everywhere.
I am looking forward to the quiet laid back way of life in Soldotna. Where the traffic is never this bad....where there are no significant rush hours...and where you can be the only one on the road ...or just stop in the middle of the road to take a picture.
Well , there we go...one more "positive"...even after having such a nice day.

Day 16.... RV verses House

Ever since making this monumental decision to pack up the house and put everything in storage and move into the 5th wheel, I have had some moments of .... let's say..... Panic !!! Moments where I say to myself, " What the hell were you thinking?'  Have I totally lost my mind??
Well, I had the day off work today, and decided it was a day to get busy and do some cleaning that I have been putting off, for far too long. My kitchen floor just looked so neglected. You know...the built up old wax along the edges, the discolored spots thru-out...just really looking bad. So...out came the bucket, the scrub brush, the SOS, the heavy duty cleaners, the scraper and the sponge. I got down on my hands and knees (which anyone who knows me, knows that is almost an impossibility) and started to scrub. I got up once or twice while working but soon realized that made the job worse, because each time I got up, I really didn't want to get back down there. I scrubbed and scraped and cleaned the floor, and then washed it again and then finished it off by waxing it.
Wow....what a difference. It looked so good, it forced me to then go do the same thing to the bathroom floor, and after that I felt bad that the living room wood floors looked dusty and forgotten as well, so....guess what :(
Now, the day is done, and every bone in my body hurts...every joint, every muscle. I feel like I have been run over by a truck. But...the floors are clean.
So, back to my original statement... Have I totally lost my mind, deciding to move into a 23 foot 5th wheel, with no slide out, and 1/2 the floor is covered in carpet.
NOT AT ALL !!!!! I can hardly wait to have a kitchen floor that measures maybe 5 square feet... (maybe 10). Yup... I can hardly wait. :)

Day 15.... Good Ideas can pop up anytime or anywhere.

First off... I think that spring is finally here. Two days in a row of beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine. I worked a morning shift yesterday and today and both days I spent the afternoon mostly outside. It just feels soooo good. Everyone is happier when the sun shines. There are more smiles, more happy people. Everyone sheds the black and brown drabness of winter and dawns their bright cheery summer cloths. Peoples normal coffee habits change to iced coffees and frappaccinos. When the sun shines... everyone shines.
When I was leaving work today, I ran into a wonderful lady who has become a very dear friend. She is someone I really feel I can relate to and it was good to see her today. It had been awhile. We chatted a bit on the way out to my car and we talked about future walks, photo shoots and the up and coming summer. I told her about our planned adventures for next summer and even managed to send her a link to my blog right there in the parking lot. "Don't you just love technology "
Well,  the matter of our little house that we love so much, but will be giving up when we leave, kind of came up in the conversation. She mentioned that her and her husband might be interested in taking over as the tenants when we left. Wow..what a wonderful idea.
We have been here for 15 years, and have lovingly cared for, improved and transformed this little house into a home to be proud of. The yard is wonderful, big and full of trees and shrubs, some of which I have no idea what they are, but can tell you they are as old as the house. Over the years we have built up a wonderful little population of local birds that pretty much live here...that have their babies here and come back here each year.
When we decided to give up the house, I have had this one very sad feeling that someone would move in here...that just didn't care about the yard, someone who would never feed the birds or harvest the rhubarb that we have planted. Someone who wouldn't care about the house or feel about it the way we do.
But that all changed today. I can't imagine a better person to take over this place. I know that she would love it as much as I do. I know that her and her husband would enjoy it as much as we do. And I know that my wonderful Landlord would be able to relax and never worry about this old house that was once his Grandmothers.
Well......who knows if it will work out, but what a great thought. For this next 13 months of waiting and planning, it will be one less thing that I will be "stressing" about.
Hope everyone has had a great day and if you are here in our neck of the woods, hope you have been out enjoying some of this sunshine.

Day 14... Something I will miss

OK, so mostly everyday so far, I have talked about all the positives !! I have hardly talked about the things I will miss....well, besides my family. My daughters, my grand kids, my Mom.... the people I love the most. That is a "given". That is something that can't be shaken off, or changed. I can't even take it into consideration when making this decision to go and spend this time up north. I just will miss them.... Totally....Completely....and everyday !!!! But I know I will survive it, and I will call them all the time (thank heavens for cell phones), I will skype, instant message, facebook etc... just to stay in touch on a regular basis. And.... I will be coming back. I'm not going forever.
So... today something came up that I have to admit needs to be added to my "MISS LIST".

When we give up our house next year, we also give up stuff like this :( Over the past 15 years here, we have planted, harvested and enjoyed lots of Rhubarb, and this year.... so far.... is the best harvest we have had yet. I know that it grows up there too... but this is OURS. This is plants that we started...first with one, then splitting it, then a few years later, splitting again, to where we are today, with about a dozen plants.

I will Miss this.

Rhubarb Pie anyone??

Day 13... yard work

Sorry for skipping yesterday, I just sort of got side tracked, doing nothing. Sometimes that's a really good thing tho. Today however....Saturday and sunshine, a combination that dosn't happen ofter around here, got us motivated to get outside and work in the yard. Our poor patio pots were empty, no color in the yard, not a single flower. We decided it was time to spruce things up. Now, normally that means spending about $100 and UP... on all kinds of flowers to plant in the "numerous" pots on the patio. This year however proved to be a different experience.
We started by first removing all but the big pots..if we had used all of the pots, it would have required more new dirt, more good potting soil, and more plants. So, we eliminated all but the 4 big one. Aha !!!! just saved ourselves a few dollars there. Good Planning :)
We had one pot that still had some healthy Mexican Feather Grass in it from last year, so that eliminated cost there as well.. hmmmm, things were looking up. We even discovered that a blue tufted grass that we had pulled out of one of the pots and discarded in the back corner of the yard, was still growing, so.....yup....we dug it back up and re-planted it. Just saved ourselves a few more dollars. Now we were left with basically just 2 pots to fill.
We headed to Walmart... cheapest place in town. We found some healthy pretty yellow and orange marigolds and some deep purple petunias. Spent less than $20. Not bad.  When we came home and planted, turned out there was enough to ad to the to grass filled pots to give them color as well.
$20......... 4 colorful filled pots......a successful day !!!!
I think the entire time we were preparing, planning, buying and planting we were both thinking... this is so cool... we saved $80 that can go in the savings for next years trip. ( I know that is what I was thinking ).
Next year we won't be planting, next year all the pots will remain empty, or maybe we can give them to the girls and they can plant something fun and colorful.
Next summer I am going to be looking at a whole different patio... Natures patio !!

This is the yard I will be enjoying :)

Day 11... Remember what Bilbo used to say

““Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.””

JRR Tolkein



Life is an adventure,
Made for an adventurer.
Made just for the boy who can,
Grow up strong and become a man.
Nothing will bother you,
You will do what you want to.
Laughes and loves and hopes and dreams, 

Violent Femmes
Life Is An Adventure lyrics

Life is short, so we should do things that make us thankful to be alive.  Our mortality is something we are born with. Sometimes, I think we ignore the fact that this lifetime will not last forever. We get so caught up in routine and obligation that we are often oblivious to the beauty and wonder of the world around us. We become disheartened and apathetic, or frustrated and angry, so gratitude and appreciation seem irrelevant.The world is full of adventures, miracles, blessings and delights. Embrace life and each other. Laugh long and hard and often.

And Go to ALASKA :)

Day 10... Morning visitors

I realized today, that it could become quite challenging to find something to write about every day, since this is only day 10 but... I am going to try. Somedays might just be a quick hello, or a picture from the past, but most days I hope to be able to put my thoughts down on paper. So... I thought, what is something else I love about the north??

Who wouldn't want to wake up to this :) Just one more reason to love the north. Here in Port Angeles, we wake up to the neighbors dog, or maybe the sound of birds, ( if we are lucky )... or garbage trucks banging cans around, or the guy down the road reving up his motor as he heads out to work. Up in Soldotna you wake up to quiet, to the loons on the lake, or an occasional visitor like this Mom and her Baby out for a morning stroll.
Sounds good to me :)

Day 9.... it's a small world

It's strange how ordinary conversations, with ordinary strangers can lead you to discover the connections we all seem to have in one form or another. It seems we all know someone, or somewhere, or have been somewhere that someone else has been to. Isn't it "Kevin Bacon" we are all supposed to be related to..ha ha.
 Well, it seems no matter where I am, whenever I get involved in a conversation with a complete stranger, we wind up having something or someone in common.
Today our ice machine was broke down at work, and a guy from Gig Harbor came to fix it. We chatted a bit during the process, but when he was pretty sure it was fixed, but still needing to wait to be 100% sure, it was during a slow time at work, so we spend a bit of time talking...passing the time. As usual, my train of thought ended up in Alaska. And guess what...turns out my ice machine repair man spends all his summers in Alaska, in, of all places...Soldotna, fishing the Kenai River. How coincidental is that :) Turns out, he has been going for years, loves the area, and loves the simplicity of life, the awesome fishing, and to top it off...loves digging Razor Clams on the same stretch of beach that we love to dig.
What are the odds of a Barista from Port Angeles, and an Ice Machine repair man from Gig Harbor, loving the same amazing place, and doing the same fun things that we do. Even has the same plans of taking his Grandchildren to Alaska someday and showing them it's beauty as well.
 When he left the store, we both said, " Well, next summer maybe we will run into each other along the Kenai River someday or wind up digging clams on the same beach, the same day" ... And, realistically , there is a good possibility of exactly that !!!
Yup.... Its a small world.