This is my favorite winter landscape photo I've taken this year. It was taken out my kitchen window when fog was shrouding Longmere Lake (using my old Pentax Optio 33L). Please feel free to critique.

Picasa, yay!

Happy Saturday Morning!!

Friday Fun was vaporized. No, not really. I was busy downloading Picasa for the first time. Wow! Why did I wait so long? I have an older computer which I have set up to triple boot (2000, XP, and Linux.) Picasa found all my pics from each of those accounts and organized them into one place. I even found some video taken by my daughter that I didn't know we had! So now that my scanner is speaking with the computer, and I downloaded the drivers to my camera, things have the potential to get interesting. What I found most impressive was that it found and organized things automatically. With the HP Photo software (that I thought I loved) it was all done manually.

Carpe Diem

The dust has settled from this past week's flurry of activity. Girl Scout cookie sales are over! My girls earned enough money to go to encampment in Anchorage. I am so proud of all their hard work. Thank you to all who supported them!

Somewhere in there I had a birthday. Hooray for me!

I'm not afraid of getting older, just of wasting the time I am given. I fear that I am losing great opportunities to live well by just eking out. There are some who live every moment to its fullest, and others who muddle through each day, hoping for something better to come along. It is not just mothers in danger of getting stuck in this rut, but all of us. Who among us has not counted down to Friday at work, then looked back and thought "Wow, that went by fast!"? Every day is a gift, every moment a blessing. Life is fleeting, precious.

The gift of youth is vision. The gift of age is perspective.

Friday Fun! Girl Scout Cookies...

I thought I needed to lighten up *A LOT*, so every Friday, I will be posting something fun... a comic, some of my family's artistic creations, or something along those lines.

Today's comic was included with my mother's payment for Girl Scout cookies. What is funny though, is when she orders, she insists WE keep the cookies (rather than ship from Alaska). So I end up with the calories, not her!

As my young scouts and I finished our cookie sorting, my daughter Lana noticed five boxes of Do-si-dos left and said "Wow, whoever ordered those must be fat!" I looked at the order form and guess who ordered them? Uh huh. Yours truly. They burst out laughing!! Hey, I don't suppose it counts that I only ordered them to bump her up to the next prize level? Didn't think so...

Have a great Friday everyone!

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Isn't it strange that the very thing that causes mothers the deepest concerns provides the most maternal satisfaction? I never feel so validated as a human being than when my children wrap their arms around me when they are hurt or sick. Kids heal so quickly, but oh it seems so slow when they are not well! Tiffany turned the corner last night, when her hunger and thirst returned. Her fever vanished, and today she is almost back to normal, bugging her siblings. I am thankful she didn't have to go in for IV fluids, as she has 18 holes from the nurses trying to find a vein Friday. That's right, my daughter is a human golf course- 18 holes!

One of my most precious memories from this event will be this: Before the surgery I bought a bell for Tiffany to ring if she needed me and couldn't talk. It turned out she was able to talk pretty well, but she delighted in knowing a simple jingle would bring me running to give her a hug. As she healed, she made a game of it, hiding somewhere and ringing the bell so I would find her. Oh, I will treasure that sweet smile when she was found. It must have been wonderful to her as well, knowing that even though Mommy is super busy, I would drop everything to make time for her. I must find a similar way to convey this to my older kids...

Blessings

Today was Tiffany's surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids. I have been so nervous, but true to her spirit, she was a trooper. She had the nurses fawning all over her, and rolling with laughter at her antics. (She began giggling after they gave her the "happy juice" pre-anesthesia, then turned it into "BWA-HAHA!") She did great, and only cried a bit at our reunion in the recovery room. Aside from nausea, she has been fine. You know, that's really not fair: building up to the event, looking so forward to eating all the ice-cream and popsicles you want, only to vomit it all up. It was not all negative, though. She learned that pink popsicles and blue yogurt make purple barf!

I must say what a help the kids were to me today. They cooked, fetched things for Tif and I, made ice packs, and helped keep Tiffany in good spirits. Poor Lana was beside herself with jealousy, but Tiffany shared her treats and prizes, and feeling useful helped.

Celestial Event

Rocking Tiffany to sleep this evening, I was fortunate enough to witness what I believe was a supernova. It was the brightest, twinkliest star I've ever seen. I called Blake in to verify I wasn't just seeing things, but he saw it also. It was flashing white and red with residual green... simply beautiful! I told Tiffany it was her special wishing star, and she wished she could fly. I then sang her "Twinkle, Twinkle" and she fell asleep watching it. I stayed there for maybe an hour, watching it until the spin of the earth took it out of my field of vision. Simply captivating. Allowed me time to ponder the universe and the string-net theory Blake and I were discussing earlier. (Revisiting a conversation we began when he was 10.) It is a beautiful thought that we are tied intrinsically to everything else; that we are literally woven into the fabric of our universe.

Found a thread on this supernova, I believe, identifying it:

Subject: ID of SN 2007ap
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2007 10:03:24 +0100

Dear all,

SN 2007ap is a type-Ia supernova around four days past B maximum.

Sunshine!

It is a beautiful day, bitterly cold, but the sun is shining. We are enjoying the day here at home, as some of us are sick. Tiffany is much better, thankfully, as her surgery is tomorrow (tonsils and adenoids).

I wanted to share an example of Tiffany's beautiful mind: When she woke up and saw the sun flooding the living room, she decided she HAD to have her trampoline in here. Now, you should know that she is four and the trampoline is one of those indoor, kid kind, pretty lightweight but awkwardly shaped. I said no, and she said "I will then." After trying to get it directly through the door, she complained that she couldn't do it. I told her that she should think of it like a puzzle. I wish I had captured the expression on her face when she succeeded! She whooped and hollered and was so proud of herself. What followed was precious. She brought out her sister's boom box, changed the music to rock ("Life is a Highway" to be exact), and proceeded to jump for joy in the delicious sun! What a beautiful sight!

Lance Mackey

Iditarod Neighbor

Well, my neighbor did it! He won the Iditarod! He beat cancer, won the Yukon Quest and then the Iditarod! Amazing!!

http://ap.peninsulaclarion.com/pstories/state/ak/20070314/156085889.shtml

What is even cooler, is Lana can always say that her first job was working at that Champion's kennel. Last year, she worked a few weekends feeding dogs at his kennel, to earn a harness for her dog Yeti. Lance had actually moved up to Fairbanks temporarily to train for this race and his brother Jason was living there, but many of the dogs were Lance's. It was a wonderful experience for her. If we stayed, I know she would foster her love of mushing. Her friends Polly and Naomi are mushers and will be in the Junior T next winter. We will sponsor them, as I am sure they will cross the finish line in Nome someday.

Road Trip!

Well, Blake's friend Damon would rather not be confined in a small space for days on end with Blake's sisters. Thanks anyway, but he'd rather get to Def Con on his own. Go figure. Blake feels the same way, and is trying to talk me out of driving. Actually trying to talk me out of moving at all.

I cooould apply for the job at the post office, but that would be too cliche. "Mom's gone postal again!" Yeah. And wouldn't my ex enjoy that. But 60G a year sounds real nice. I could afford to build a cabin with that.

No. I want back in aviation again. Oklahoma is where I can make that happen. I want in on the aerospace boom. I want to be there when the spaceport goes active. If I finish my degree and get more ratings on my pilot's license, I could make more than any postal worker, and have fun doing it. I will not waste my life at a mundane job! I will earn money doing something I love.

And flying back, while it would be simpler, would not be an adventure at all. We're driving!

New on Itenerary

Blake has suggested that we attend Def Con together! Woot! I countered with the idea that we bring his friend Damon- on the whole road trip. Wow this is getting interesting...

http://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-14

20 things to do before I leave Alaska

1. Grrr. I forgot to check for the Aurora again last night. I MUST see it one more time before we leave! The sun is staying longer and opportunity is waning.
2. Spend an endless summer day on the beach with my family. Watch a fantastic sunset.
3. Camp in the mountains one more time. Real camping, not the lower 48 version.
4. Go cross country skiing with Morgan in the woods behind the old house.
5. Go mushing again with Lana. (Maybe Mr. Gephart would help me on this one, since Yeti died.)
   
6. Snowboard with Blake. (Even though I'm terrified of Alyeska. Maybe the bunny hill.)
7. Catch a king salmon.
8. Learn to fly fish.
9. Go kayaking in Katchemak Bay.
10. See a pod of orcas.
11. Pick berries with the kids.
12. Ice skate with the kids on Longmere Lake.
13. Snowshoe.
14. Swing off the rope at the gravel pit- get in the water and have FUN this time!!
15. Find a gold Nugget. Heehee- remember tricking Lyle with a handful of sand, finding the gold on my ring?
16. Subsistence fish again. Send a freezer full of fish to OK.
17. Save my property- I don't want to lose it!!
18. See Lyle one more time. Tell him I love him. Kiss him godbye. Forever.
19. FLY!! You idiot! Didn't you come up here to be a bush pilot? You have your license and haven't piloted up here even ONCE. You know people- make it happen!! Get aerial pics of your land. You are living on a floatplane lake. Don't be a dummy!
20. Meet the guy across the lake. It couldn't hurt. Might be fun. Maybe you'll make a connection you can pursue later, when the kids are grown.
    

Philosophy

Feeling philosophical? Take this test: http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/god.htm

It measures the consistencies within your religious beliefs. Take the time to think through your answers before you submit them. Don't answer based on the emotions evoked by the questions, as I did initially...

Thanks, Blake for always making me think. I love our deep discussions.

So lucky...

I am so fortunate to have such great kids! Blake picked up his sisters as usual, this time in a blizzard! Morgan and Lana are cooking dinner (mmm pasta) and Tiffany is building a fort with blankets. How is that for a wonderful evening? Yeah, I'm okay.

Summer Sang in Me...

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,

I have forgotten, and what arms have lain

Under my head till morning; but the rain

Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh

Upon the glass and listen for reply,

And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain

For unremembered lads that not again

Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.

Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,

Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,

Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:

I cannot say what loves have come and gone,

I only know that summer sang in me

A little while, that in me sings no more.

From Collected Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay, published by Harper & Brothers Publishers. Copyright © 1956 by Norma Millay Ellis.

Kiwi jumps to Nickelback

I like this version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_ees7CaxA4

Metamorphoses

Is that what it is when you stumble onto your ex's personal ad?

I feel changed.

Like a butterfly exploding.

Aside from that, having a marvelous weekend.