Memories Attributed to Stuff

Today will be an emotional day for my family. My siblings and I are going to my dad's house to begin the process of distributing his belongings. It's been almost 4 months since dad passed away at the age of 88. We haven't had time nor have we wanted to begin the process. I'm sure we will laugh and cry all at the same time. My hope is that we make great progress in distributing his stuff without hurt feelings. Then our next big project will be what to do with dad's place. But not today.

What Have You Done for Earth Day?

In conjunction with Earth Day, our fourth grade classes completed an assignment this week. They were asked to create something useful from something we usually throw away. During the presentation of each item, one boy walked to the front of the group empty-handed, but grinning from ear to ear. He proudly announced that he was wearing his brother's pants, only he cut them off to make shorts. What a great idea! Another boy had used a gallon vinegar jug to make a tiered planter. Another girl used an orphaned boot as a planter. But mine is my favorite. I took a pair of used bib toddler shorts and turned them into a purse.

Preach It, Brother

Our church is celebrating a significant anniversary by holding a three-day "rally" this weekend. Last night, my brother was the song leader and featured soloist. He had held that position some years back. It was so exciting and nostalgic to be in that service with him. You see, he is now a minister at another local church and we do not worship together in the same building. We sang many of my old favorite hymns as well as those of the large audience. You see, many churches have left the old hymns for the new praise choruses, but not all people are happy about that. One of the former ministers was also on hand to deliver the sermon. He has always been a dynamic speaker, and we were blessed last night with more of his best. As we all were smiling, taking in the feel-good feelings of walking down memory lane, we were brought back to reality with the message of his sermon--look to the past, remember the past, learn from the past, look to the past and do better now, and stay in the future! Step out in faith. I have been reluctant to change, but have made the switch to the newer style of worship. But I'm sure many were sitting in shock during the message, thinking that Pastor Glenn would support their desire to worship as of old. Never would they have expected to hear such a sermon from their beloved former minister. I can guarantee that many of the audience were suspicious, thinking that our current minister somehow gave that topic of a need-to-change to Pastor Glenn to deliver to the captive audience. But knowing Pastor Glenn like we all do, he is a man who would not be "forced" to deliver a message he did not believe in himself. So, as we continue the rally with another former minister tonight, it will be interesting to hear his sermon and how he relates it to the past and his challenge for the future. Stay tuned.

A Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On

Early this morning I was sitting in my love seat, grading school papers when I felt a sensation of rocking back and forth, only sideways. It was as if I were in a vehicle traveling down a dirt road and was being rocked around. The sound was very loud as if it were sustained thunder. Then the house began popping and cracking. Immediately I thought it was a tornado that hit suddenly and without warning. But as it continued and a few items fell from the wall, it occurred to me that this was an earthquake. The big shake up lasted about 10 to 15 seconds. When I thought it was over, I went into the bedroom to tell my husband what had happened. He had awakened, thinking I was doing something noisy. When I returned to my seat I noticed that the metal handle on my china cabinet was still rattling. This continued for at least a minute. (I heard on the news that the quake continued for 15 minutes.) I was not afraid. I was excited to finally have experienced what a quake felt like. I had been traveling in a vehicle the other two times and felt nothing. The quake registered 5.2 on the Richter Scale, pretty big for Indiana. One of the aftershocks registered 4.4. Because one of my students was pretty terrified by the whole experience, we didn't talk about it at school today. Perhaps another day we will share our experiences and compare just how much we felt on this day. The irony is that on this day in 1906 a quake hit California (I think).

Lellow, the Color of Speech Problems

I was with my granddaughter the other day when I tried correcting how she says the word yellow. She says "lellow" as many other youngsters do. I carefully pronounced the word correctly for her. She repeated it correctly, but continued with, "Mimi, it's not yellow, it's lellow." So much for being able to say the word correctly--after all, she claims to be correct!

Oh, Where Has My Big Cat Gone?

It's been a week since I gave my cat away. Pepe' went to live with my future daughter-in-law. I miss him, but I don't miss the long cat hair in my eyes, nose, and on my clothes. I will survive without him. And if I really want to see him, I have visitation rights.

Last Day on the Last Frontier

Our last day in Alaska was different. We were already tired from all the travel, but decided to try a few more things. We had to check out of our hotel because we were due to fly back at 11:35 p.m. on Tuesday. We decided to try to drive south again. Didn't go as far as we wanted due to snow. We decided we did not want to wait 45 minutes to pay $12 to drive through a tunnel to wait again and pay again to come back through, so we drove back to Anchorage. We drove around, looking at the sights, and searching for a wild moose. Never did see one. We ate at an expensive restaurant downtown and then shopped for souvies at the large downtown mall. All shopped out, we decided to go to the airport a little early since we were done. Too bad the airline baggage did not open up until 7:30. So we were stuck in the airport with our luggage and only a small bar for food. But that didn't stop us from eating pizza and bread sticks. Time passed ever so slowly until we finally boarded the plane for the 5 hour flight back to Denver. The best part of the flight was that it was over night. At least we didn't have to watch some dumb movie that we had already seen.

A Day at a Sled Dog Kennel

After flying over the mountains in Alaska, we ventured to the bush land of the state. We traveled a ways, as you always must do in Alaska, to a small gas station/gift shop/restaurant to eat a bite and wait for Jody and Matt Calore to take us to their sled dog kennels. When we finally met, we followed them up a remote road that eventually became a dirt road. We knew we had to park and take the last mile and a half by means of a snowmobile. When we crossed the frozen marsh and "over the river and through the woods" we arrived at their cabin, complete with the dog yard in their backyard. I was surprised to see the dogs chained to posts that allowed full-circle adventure and a house per each dog only OUTSIDE, right on top of the snow and ice. I don't know what I was expecting, but again, I was surprised. As the dogs echoed their excitement at seeing Jody and Matt, she took me around to meet and hear a brief bio of each dog. Most were excited to jump up on my borrowed parka and greet me. We were amazed at their strength and how lean each appeared. The dogs that had just finished running the Iditarod 2008, had a medallion hanging from their collars that signified their authenticity to be in the race. The dogs are not all huskies nor malamutes. Many of them looked like mutts, crossbreeds of many breeds. Some had the unusal blue eyes while others had brown eyes. I met one who had one blue eye and a horizontally divided upper blue and lower brown eye. Jody said that the dogs' eyes can also be divided vertically with one side blue and the other brown. That was so weird to see. One dog hung on my arm like it were a horizontal fence. I thought I would be knocked down because of its strength. A few of the other dogs Jody shielded me from because of their strength and my inexperience. But when one jumped up and caught my nose, lip, and mouth with its front toenails, I decided I would end the meet and greet. Not sure how much dog doo doo and yellow liquid were on that paw and were transfered to my mouth, but with the help of a wet wipe, I did survive. I met some dogs that are decendants of Martin Buser's kennel. Martin has won the Iditarod 4 times. The author Gary Paulsen is a friend of theirs and has been to their cabin. No wonder he can write books like Hachett that seem so realistic. He too, is a committed musher and runs the Iditarod. Upon entering the one-room cabin we were in awe of how simplictic the couple lives. No water, no bathroom, no appliances, no electricity, only a wood burner that doubles as the cooking range. And this is their home all year! Jody assured us that all was fine because their money was invested in the daily care of the dogs, exactly as it should be. They had the very basics, not essententials, but were able to live happily and compete in the Iditarod as well as other races. Jody did work on a computer, but they did not have internet hookup in the area. However, their cell phones and ours worked everywhere! I was so astounded with the reception. Jody and Matt continued their tutorial of a mushers life with pictures, race momentoes, stories, and a slide presentation of this year's race. We were given several items to bring home and share with others, as well as web sites such as Jody's blog. When it was time to return to civilization, we came away with a greater appreciation and understanding of the sport and the dogs. I'm sure Jody and Matt's intent was to help spread their love of the sport though common folk like us.

Flying High, in a Plane

Our second full day in Alaska was also packed with adventure. We left Anchorage early that Monday morning and headed north. We were able to schedule an airline flightseeing trip to Mt. McKinley for late morning. Seemed like forever to get to Talkeetna, AK, but it was worth it. The flight lasted over an hour and took us over mountains, frozen rivers, glaciers, and very near Mt. McKinley. (In the winter they do not fly over the mountain. Didn't ask why.) Our speed was 150 mph, but it seemed as if we were hanging still in the sky as we soared through the other mountain peaks. At one point, I felt as if I could reach out and touch the mountain. Our pilot assured me that we were a quarter of a mile away. The valleys below were covered with glaciers. Hard to believe that at different times of the year the pilots land on those glaciers and then take off. Glad we didn't that day. The cost for our adventure was high, but not nearly as high as we felt from the whole experience. I would recommend the trip to everyone and would go again. I was just disappointed that the pilot couldn't take us the additional 350 miles north to cross the Arctic Circle. Maybe next time.