Steps in August

So far, August has been (I just crinkled my nose and that sums it up!) not what I thought. If I had arrived in AK in April, I’d be done with this job by now. Well, I didn’t and I’m not. I did run away on Wednesday, but not like I did last fall when I took off for a mini vacation. Wednesday was busy, sunny, and so after I did chores, I played.

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I have been a writer my whole life….you may need to click the pic to see it.

My chores involved the dump and visiting the post and scrubbing sinks and sorting through the mouse papers I had boxed last year. I did find some rather fun things, plus a donation to the American Heart Society or somewhere that hadn’t been sent in (as one of my older friends said, ‘That 90 days has come and gone.”). I also discovered I was the one who wrote dad’s obituary, created the slide show, wrote thank you cards, and realized mom spent a LOT of money on froo froo for dad’s service. I could have used the memorial guest book for mom, too. (Jan 2006 wasn’t that long ago, I should have remembered…)

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Later, I sunbathed in a chair because the table wasn’t efficient (I did scrub the oils off Thursday, since the rain didn’t!). I took photos of critters. Moose showed up before I left and after, the birds were the most fun, and the adorable vole (like a wild hamster) that walked across my sandal was more startling than fun! After that, I went inside to finish making cookies (they were the very best cookies I’ve made in forever and I’m the only one here to eat them!!), make myself dinner, hang out online, and watch it start to rain. The sunny day clouded over FAST with short showers. I had planned on walking outside in the moonlight buff, but didn’t for long. Not because of the wandering moose or thoughts of bears or even mosquitoes. It was just too darn chilly to be outside with less than jeans and a sweatshirt! Not to mention no moonlight!

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The best part of Wednesday was discovering it wasn’t Thursday. I had an entire whole extra day I hadn’t known about!!

I spent my Thursday emptying bookshelves and finding more odd things. Did you know there was (not sure if there still is) a genealogy site that has information on deceased persons which includes SSNs??? I’ve been destroying that sort of information and it can be just googled???? I also found another gorgeous scrapbook from 1945. It was my grandmother’s ‘wedding album’. Oddly, the wooden cover has a bird hunting scene motif which seems odd since Grandma was a nurse and Grandpa was a baker!

I did text my sister to see if she was going to come out and get the things she wanted. (one of my dear friends said I need to light a fire under her.) Alas, the kindling was probably wet. She called me back to tell me her youngest is not home at this time, plus Jake took away her technology. This confused me. Can’t she come out without her daughter and I thought the kid was out in the wilds with her best friend’s family having a great time? I think the lack of technology is harder on my sister than my youngest niece! Then, my sister said my eldest niece was visiting on the 23rd for 10 days because she needs some time away. I’d love to have been 31 and able to ‘go home’ when things were hard. (I’m trying to be charitable and not mean. I love my niece and I’m not very good with people fragile in health or soul). I was also told my sister lost her key to the house. Meanwhile, this has nothing to do with her coming out and getting stuff.

I seriously think I’m going to watch a movie tonight. I haven’t yet, I keep thinking I will, I really should!

Sunshine and Rain

This week has been full of crazy weather. I finally decided to leave isolation (my quarantine was up, but I’d not heard if I should) and go shopping and wash clothes. I think I ate better when I didn’t have more choices!!! That was on Tuesday. Monday was lovely, Tuesday it was ok, Wednesday it rained all day. I love rain!!

These pictures were taken before the rain.

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I’d not noticed the ‘heart’ shape in the tree before. It makes me smile when I look down on the lake. The lake has receded a bit since the first week I was home. It has a lot of grass growing in the middle and the ducks seem to be surviving. I’ve not seen any loon, they prefer a clear lake and with the weeds growing up, it isn’t clear. I’m not sad!

We did have a rather crazy loud incident where all the ducks of both breeds banded together when a predator flew in. I’m not sure what the bird was, but as far as I could tell, everyone was accounted for when it flew off. One little golden eye was frazzled as it came up from where the mallards had gone. I think it got mixed up with the bigger ducklings!! That night it rained. A lot.

On Wednesday, I got my blood drawn (doctors don’t care if you aren’t in their area. If they want blood, they find a way to get it!) and got my clothes washed and picked up a covered firepit thing from TnT to burn stuff. OMG! My dad has pay stubs saved from ’77. He also, thankfully, didn’t keep entire packets from investments, but there are a lot. I am removing the SSN’s and tossing the rest away. I was in the midst of a series of numbers when I saw one that looked very familiar. It was mine!! I was quick to destroy those, I am not dead and would be very put out to have that stolen!!

I’m also glad dad’s gone. I’ve never said that before. I was clearing out VHS tapes and found one that made me think dad might have become a fan of our current POTUS or even a conspiracy theorist. It would have been hard to follow dad’s way of thinking. It is hard enough to follow my spouse and the youngest in their politics. Dad..I’m just glad I don’t have to know. Then, I found an aged Richard Simmons tape. He’s so scrawny for being so healthy!!! There were a handful of Bill Cosby tapes, too. Which makes me wonder if anyone wants those….

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Thursday was a stunning day. I finished up a sweet cinnamon sort of roll I purchased on Wed. It was cinnamon, strawberry/ rhubarb and absolutely delicious! I am looking forward to trying her blueberry ones. I love the bakery. It is new and the motif matches my shoulder tattoo. (Heart of forget me nots) If I was staying here, I would so ask to be hired. Baking is one of my favorite things to do. In case you wondered!!

It is later in the evening, almost 930 pm. The clouds are starting to roll in and the temps are dropping. I was hoping to see the sunset tonight, I did get to see the mountains briefly today, but there may not be one! Cool looking grey clouds, though. I guess I’m torn between the contemplative squirrel and the stressed out bear!! Perhaps, I’ll just go and sort a bit more!! Although..I did buy ice cream!

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(OH! I found out my airport covid test was negative. I had to send two emails and we’ll see if I need tested again!) Yes, ice cream sounds like a good celebration snack!

Selling off SABLE

The dispersal of SABLE. Some of you might recall my first foray into getting rid of mom’s stuff. My sister coined it SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) and as unflattering at the phrase is, it is beyond accurate. I’ve been in Alaska for about a week and a half and I’m surrounded by SABLE. Methods online of dispersal are varied and seem like a task as treacherous as looking for horocruxes while wearing one. I do have quite a bit I’m tossing out. (below are two of those tossed items. A baby food jar of pond water or something and a sealed shape with something dried in the bottom…)  A friend is doing a garage sale for Hospice and I sent a nice box full off with her. TnT has offered to sell some on Ebay, (which is sweet, but I can’t push off my chores onto him!) and since he has a selling account, that is less annoying that creating one of my own. Another friend has told me to do an Etsy account and that looks logical, except there are quite a few fees on that site (like city, state, and federal taxes to sell one item!) and while they aren’t large, they do eat away at the proceeds eventually.

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For instance, Mum purchased a set of music boxes. On Ebay I couldn’t find where any had been sold. On Etsy, a single box in CA sold in May of this year for $43. I want to put together a box of lighthouse things. On Ebay, some of those things have sold alone for what seems to be silly prices (a postcard for $4!). I don’t want to cut myself short and not make any money (flat rate shipping isn’t as cheap as it used to be, either!), but I don’t want to price it so high no one will be interested. Ebay only allows you to sell 10 items, unless you have a store, too. Ten items. That is like a quarter of the bay window shelf! These are only two of the dozens of online places to sell.

I can also just take it all to a thrift store in dozens of loads. I have already, I can do it again. Actually, I’ll probably still do that with a majority of the SABLE. (Ordinary dishes, linen, and the like abound in this dwelling!)  Little Bear thinks hauling it to the states to sell from there isn’t going to be worth it and he’s probably correct. Unfortunately, I hate giving things away when I have to pay for things. I have quite a bit there already and more sealed up in boxes in my bedroom here. I keep thinking I am done finding things to sell from Oregon or that I’d like and find others. So freaking frustrating! One good thing, the young man who was interested in Dad’s jukebox stuff last summer before the fire stopped all travel, is still interested and is hoping to be down in a week or so. That also won’t be worth what dad paid for it, but at least the young man wants it. (not sure if I posted here how one guy, who knew dad and worked with jukeboxes of all kinds, said to ‘throw it all away’)

As I mentioned, I do find so much that does need thrown away. Lovely framed artwork that has faded horribly, lighthouses with spoiled batteries inside (although, those are probably not ruined, just the battery part. Unless I can clean it?), and broken collectibles. I actually have that problem, saving broken unicorns. I used to collect those creatures (that seems wrong, to collect unicorns!) and the ceramic ones almost always lost their horns due to being knocked off shelves by cats. Because I was always going to glue them back together someday!! I’ve also had to feed my annoying tendencies to clean and sort. Like this mess. Now, I have a pair of earrings and two necklaces..although, I’m not sure why anyone needs a mood cross!

I look across the lake as I ponder my dilemma and some very dead spruce trees loom in my eye. They have been killed by bugs, yet tower above all the other trees. Stark and greyish brown, they look terrible by daylight. Yet, at night, when the sun is setting behind them, you only see them as silhouette sentinels on the horizon. I’ll have to see if I can photograph them. They are a reminder that you can look at things from a different perspective and still see good in the face of decay. It is ugly beautiful. Exactly like this task in front of me.

Mr. Postman-

I was thinking about all those songs from the past that many kids today can’t relate to. The term kicks is actually shoes (I had a song with this word in it on a favorite mixed tunes cassette), telephone booths, directories for those phones, and more recently, postal services. The bill passed the House, we’ll see if it gets through the Senate. I’d miss sending cards and letters. (In fact, I have one addressed and stamped on the table next to my mail in ballot that is due tomorrow. I’ve had the card ready since Friday! The ballot isn’t filled out yet.) However, the POTUS has determined an email is just as good. (insert scowl)

Little Bear got mom’s laptop back to the factory settings, eliminating most of the junk my BiL added to ‘help mom‘. It still has issues, the kid will work on it later today. I hadn’t used it yet for anything and was trying to explain why, when I decided it didn’t’ matter. It also turned out my glucose was 47 (that is fairly low for a US blood sugar). Needless to say, the rest of my evening was toast as I was dizzy and then sleeping and then my glucose went too high. As I’ve mentioned before, being a person with Diabetes is a balancing act.

Plus, today is a Garfield Monday. I normally like a Monday. I like to wash laundry on Monday and clean is sooo lovely. Today, I even got a long call from TnT, which was super nice. Yet, most of today has been odd. There is a branch almost vertical on the lilac with the nest in it. I hope no one was after that mamma! I was trying to translate an old letter and am up against more than I thought. First, I need to iron it and then maybe I can scan it and darken the words so they can be read..or copied and pasted into google translate. I’m trying to decide if mom’s pearls are real or not (the letter was with a child sized pearl sort of necklace and is in Norwegian) and I’m pretty sure most of them are imitation. (the home tests are inconclusive!) She has a drawer full of coins from all over and a 1952 silver dollar that is pretty, but tarnished, in an envelope ‘from grandma‘. (the safety pin and lock are just more odd things mom saved) The tennis bracelet is also pretty, but probably fake.

I will leave you with a squirrel-it was on the porch railing Sunday.

Now that is a fun song, too!! Let me add it from youtube!

ABC’s of Me

I am a huge fan of a certain Doctor. The Doctor known as Seuss. His birthday is in a few days and I will celebrate him once more for helping me learn how the ABCs made words and sentences and stories. A friend on FB posted this and I didn’t want to share there, so I will share it here. It is pretty long, but there ARE 26 letters in our English alphabet!

Age – 55 (how on earth did I get that old already!!!??!!!) Pic from second Easter with my aunt, just over a year old.

Bed Size – I have always liked a CA Queen. It isn’t an easy mattress to find for some reason. It is actually the size of a queen waterbed, longer than a king and yet as wide as a queen. Length is sometimes more important than width. (did you grin when you read that!?!)
Cat name – Which cat? Moses, who ‘supposes his toeses are roses’ or Mittens who has whiskers that are one of my favorite things? (not quite the right lyric, but I really do love the whiskers on Mittens!) Those are the two in residence at this time.
Dog name – Not being a dog person, I recall a few here and there. I much prefer cats.
Essential start of your day – Usually my alarm goes off and I am fortunate that I can reach over and stop it before going back to sleep. Yup, lazy lady!
Favorite color – Purple..and green and red. As I mentioned elsewhere, at least once, I hope to be reincarnated as a fuchsia.

Ghosts exist – I believe in the Holy Ghost and in regular ghosts. There is too much energy in our world for a person to just up and die, especially if their end wasn’t a restful one.
Height – I anticipate I’m still the U.S. height of 5’2”. When I get my angel wings I hope to fly about 2 inches higher than the street of gold or clouds, then I can be 5’4” for a century or so!
Instruments you played in school – I was a flautist. Not a good one, but I played for several years!

Jokester or serious – I have played jokes on persons, April first has always been a favorite day. I tend to focus on logic and practicality in most of my life, though.
Kind of day that’s your favorite – I am always thankful for days, even if they annoy me. I do like ones in which I get things done or days in which joy is seen and given.
Longest relationship – an interesting question to answer. I have known my sister my whole life, although I’m not sure we have a relationship beyond genetic. I’ve been married for awhile. Thirty-one years of what could be a relationship. There are many authors I’ve read over and over and over who continue to change me. (Yes, I commune with books.) I have been a follower of Christ for most of my life, it is a part of my name. I don’t follow exact biblical beliefs, that is between me and my God. In reflection, what is a relationship? A give and take between individuals that benefit each person? I surmise this is intriguing to muse on!
Most annoying job – Taking care of mom was often annoying, as you may be aware! As a paying job, I believe the most annoying ones are when I was told to do things and not given enough information. Or having the ability to do more than I was given.
Night Owl – I am a  night owl, I do not like mornings. They are beautiful, but happen way too early!
Overnight Hospital stay – I’ve stayed in hospitals overnight many times. The two worst were decades apart. The first was when I was diagnosed with Diabetes. I hadn’t really gotten sick, mom recognized the symptoms, took me in, and I was immediately put in a brand new room where the only thing working was the bed. The second was when I had my gall bladder out and was in the hospital for a week over Christmas. I couldn’t watch TV because it hurt- (OK, I am sure there was something else on besides Mrs. Doubtfire, but that was all I wanted to watch and laughing was incredibly painful!) I didn’t like staying in hospitals overnight with mom. Night seems to be a hard time for patients.
Pet peeve – people not using blinker fluid, because that must the be only reason those helpful lights are constantly dark. People stocking items in stores higher than I can reach is another, but that is usually taken care of by helpful tall people in the stores.
Quiet time hobby- I like to read. (I’m betting no one knows this about me!)
Right or Left handed – Unlike Wesley or Inigio Montoya, I am only right handed.
Siblings – Jake is my only sibling. She often drives me nuts.

TV shows you watch – I’m not a TV fan. I can be taken in by episodes of different series, but by and large, I can easily find anything else to do!
Underachiever or Overachiever? – I often don’t live up to my potential.
Voice of influence – I have been influenced by so many people. Not one in particular, but several. I often find myself doing things the way I was taught by friends in college or catch myself thinking differently because of Rhapsody or favorite bloggers (Gary helps me keep my kitchen tidier!). Authors I’ve read have helped me, as well.
Worst day of the week – Actually, Saturday annoys me. Everyone is home and yet, my day is pretty much the same as the other days. Except I work around them.
X-rays – I’ve had a few! I kind of wish I could have had ones of my feet when you got to measure for new shoes. Although, that was fairly dangerous!!! Can you imagine having an x-ray machine set up in the middle of a store????
Yummy food you like – I enjoy salty sweet, like kettle corn, plain fritos with milk chocolate chips, and chocolate covered pretzels.
Zoo favorites – I’ve not been to a zoo in eons, I do love watching birds of all kinds. Crows and ravens are among my favorites. However, I’d love to meet a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz.

While Waiting

With 18 calls ahead of me while I wait to figure out what to do with mum’s PFD, I decided to do a spot of blog writing….or I could write in my laptop journal. (I’ve not written in either in ages!) A PFD is a check from the state of Alaska, they are funds sent out each year to eligible Alaskans. Since mom died at the end of 2018, she was still eligible to receive the monies if I sent in the proper documentation. So, I did. The state kindly sent a check to the Oregon address. To my mother. Which, when I took it to the bank, they would not cash for me cuz it was in mom’s name. Today I’m waiting to chat to someone to see if it can be reissued to the estate instead of mom, especially since she’s going to have a very difficult time signing and cashing this thing!

This entire week has been frustrating. I had a blood draw last Saturday, fully expecting the lab results to be sent to three different offices. When I arrived at the first office on Wednesday, they had not gotten them yet. The next day, at the second office, it was found they had not received results yet, either. When I got back to the house, I contacted the lab myself and found that they hadn’t gotten the faxes for certain tests to be done! So, the lovely lady (who was determined to figure out what the scoop was and, oddly, called herself Sherlock Holmes—I am reading some Sherlock stories!!!) discovered that since they lab query was not on file with them anywhere (the doctor office did send them!), we had another option. I do not want to have more blood taken, but it appears that ‘lavender’ vials are kept in storage for a week. Since an A1C is from a lavender tube, if my doctor office called and talked to Sherlock personally, they could do the test. Now an A1C test can be done with a simple finger stick. Which was done in the endocrinology office twice! The first time it came up blank, the second time it read an error! So, the nurse opted to have me come in next week for a draw. (I’d much prefer the blood storage choice!)

Well, I just got off the phone with a couple of very helpful men in Alaska. The checks are always sent to the address of the executor and written to the individual. The banker I spoke to is one who knows me very well and has helped me with much of mom’s stuff. He was surprised we’d need the estate account, but he recalled I did have the information in order if I do need to set it up. Or, he said, I could just get back north in April before the check is ‘out of date’ and cash it then! I laughed. I’ll visit the bank here before my 3 hours of MRI on Tuesday and see what happens.

I did purchase some bulbs this week. I wanted a bag of hope (bulbs are hope, they look dead and bloom later!). However, I think I may need The Craftsman to cut a box in half for me to plant them. I have an old bottomless apple box I’d put bulbs in previously. Unfortunately, those boxes need a LOT of dirt to fill them enough. So, if it was cut in half it would be practically perfect. I may need to lasagna plant before the box gets done. (Lasagna planting is a simple way to plant gardens. Most of my tubs or boxes are planted in this fashion. Mum got me a book on this ages ago and most of it is pretty logical. Some doesn’t work in EO, but a lot of things pertaining to gardens elsewhere doesn’t work here!) I really want to put these bulbs in soil. I can always add a box later. I am going to see if I can get a screen to put down under the layers in order to keep out the rodents who adore tulips. The bulbs I bought are daffs and something else, but hoping I get tulips for a stocking stuffer at Christmas! (speaking of lasagna and plants, GH has a great recycle for her chopsticks and her dollar house plant!)

Other than that, not much going on in this sector. I’ve been light headed and dizzy off and on. Hoping the MRI will show something during my January follow up. I did learn that my platelets were low, but the doctor who noted it had me contact my primary since specialist doctors are not supposed to take care of things outside their specialty. (this doctor is sweet, she has noted many things I’ve passed on to a primary, who didn’t notice anything!) My iPad is being annoying and running out of juice super-fast. I’ve deleted and turned off apps and done everything except set it back to absolutely clean and start it anew. As the site where I found this information said, that route is a pain in the apps, but sometimes it is the only one that works! Lol (At least I’d be able to rise fast in the few games I play!!) So, even though I have several new books I’ve downloaded, I finally went to the library and got 3 to keep me a few days!!

Photo by Harshit Tiwari on Pexels.com

“It’s a hard thing to risk what you know and are sure of, just for the possibility of something better. Even when it’s a pretty strong possibility, and something that’s a whole lot better.” Patricia Wrede

A Little Bit Low

Tonight I’m feeling a little bit low. I know in the end, everything will be ok. Yet, at the moment, I’m sad. And angry. This time last year, mum was dying. My aunt and cousin had finally decided to come up and see her and were on the way. I had no idea how much sorrow for myself I’d have towards mom a year later. She has taken so much from me. It was my choice to let her, so I really shouldn’t be mad at her.

Today was rainy. The house is so chilly, but I choose to keep the heat down as much as possible cuz of cost. I have so much to do and will be gone in less than 20 days. I’ve only seen my sister twice, that I can recall, since the 30^th of August. Once to pick up tables we’d used in the sale (I had cleared them off and folded them up) and once to hand over her half of the money we’d made. We were going to take mum’s ashes down to Homer sometime this week. Jake already told me that the 24^th wouldn’t work, her family has things going on. She mentioned Sunday might be a good day (she calls once in a while or texts or sends me a comment on FB), but I’ve not had that verified. I scratched my eyeball when my alarm went off this morning and I reached over to turn it off (that REALLY hurts!). There was a slim chance I’d see a good friend today and didn’t (although, that isn’t something to be sad about. Good things are happening in that life and the roller coaster is on a smooth spot!). I want to take photos of mom’s ashes in the lake and it cleared up this afternoon and was lovely, but I’m alone and can’t spread and shoot at the same time (OK…that just sounds wrong!!!). I haven’t spoken to The Craftsman in a couple of days. He called tonight, just a little over 10 minutes. I got a few texts from the Jukebox guy, but not one concerning when he’d come down and get the boxes. Last Sunday (was it just a week ago???) I was hoping to attend a program and didn’t get there. I was invited to go to another presentation the last weekend I’m in AK. But, I’m afraid to. Because of mom.

You see, Mum was secretary of the local Historical Society for years and years. I’ve been trying to return things I’ve found relating to the society. I keep finding checks and letters and notes and documents and notebooks and all kinds of things. The last time I tried to take some back, I was told no. I threw the stuff away. I’m not even spending money to shred it anymore. Tonight, I found MORE documents and checks and an unopened Alaskan flag. (I have one, so I don’t need another) The presentation I’m invited to is for the local Historical Society. I’m so nervous they’ll realise who I am. Mum dropped the ball and this is one I cannot pick up for her very easily. If I go, I’ll sit as far away from the speakers as possible and ask the person who invited me to not introduce me. (I laughed when she sent an email invitation. She said, it would be fun and ‘your mom did so much for the Historical Society.’) Unfortunately, I look a great deal like her. (odd note: I had people ask if Jake and I were twins at the estate sale!!!!!!) They also have a potluck lunch that I will also avoid if I go.

I’m either waiting or busy doing stuff I don’t want to do or wanting to cry. And the tears are hurting the scratched eye!

Gracious! What a terribly whiny post! (Actually, I think I need one of those for my Oregon yard. A sturdy post with holes in it to hold empty wine bottles..that I’ll get from somewhere!) I’d better share something cheerful.

Annoyed By Debris

You would think after getting stuff ready for a sale, most of the debris would be tossed or sorted and only the cream would be left. Not. Jake said she was going to go through and ready the shed for use for the sale. She had the shed and her bedroom to do (granted, the shed was a HUGE task!). The room was pretty much full of lightly organized boxes, except where I had officially organized things. The shed looked ok, but when I went in it to clean it up, I was startled. (I have to constantly remind myself. My sister gave me as much time as she could, it must be enough. She came over the other day while I was gone to take down the old tent she used for books. I am glad I had her move the books to her bedroom, the tent was wet inside. I’ve not seen her since last Saturday.) Anyway, I was consolidating boxes and sorted an entire large garbage bag full of junk. I also found stuff I’d made mom that I wanted to keep. (One was a tiny wooden nativity set I seem to have made for EVERYONE except myself or my boys!) I hope most of the jingle bells are gone, I did find a few more. A rather disturbing Santa candle was gently placed in the garbage (gently, so it might not haunt me!! I have read way too many stories in the Deathlehem anthologies to treat even a candle badly!). Some horrible, mostly stuffed, snowmen were sent to the garbage bag. One adorable small one I kept because it matches a larger one I decorate with every year. I put all the winter/Christmas dolls in one tote. Gathered up more light houses of different kinds (she has a large one, NiB, identical to one in her bay window!) to bring inside and hope I can do the other holiday stuff this next week.

I’m also throwing away kitchen things. Ages ago, I shared a post about spiders in a toaster. Mom’s toaster stopped working, so Jake gave us theirs. It was filthy, but usable after being cleaned. Mom had a blender in the cupboard. Way back in the cupboard, covered, and it looked ok. I took it apart to move it, since it had not sold, and was appalled! It was very dirty and gross. I’m not even going to try to clean it. (Why on EARTH can’t people clean things before putting them away? Although, there is a cute coffee pot I am sure I cleaned after its last use that doesn’t look like it has been cleaned….)

I was thankful mum’s car didn’t look like this one I parked near when I had to stop at the Sr Center. This one made me cry. There was barely room for a driver. From the scissors among the papers on the dash to the empty drink containers stashed everywhere, it shouted negligence. The Craftsman said he has had to work on cars like it. It makes me wonder. Do those people have no children to keep an eye on parents? Do the adults need housing? Mum’s rig is bad now, mostly cuz it is full of things I hope to sell on Sunday after church. (that sounds blasphemous!)

I have trash outside in bags getting rained on (hooray for rain!!). I made the decadent canned cinnamon roll pull apart cake today and have eaten about half of it (BAD) because it was cold in the house and there is just something comforting about warm cinnamon bread. I am going to make halibut for dinner tonight. A friend texted me a recipe that sounds easy and scrumptious. She called it poor man’s lobster. You boil halibut cubes in water with a smidge of sugar and then serve it by dipping it in melted butter. I’ve never cared much for lobster, but I absolutely love halibut! I’ll see if it needs garlic and lemon. Now, my phone has lost signal. I can’t text my neighbor across the lake! (definitely a modern problem! lol) I reckon that means I should probably go and move some more stuff. I need to do a paper chase and see exactly how much cash I have. (I also just discovered today, I don’t have a receipt for the digging work done last fall.) BUT, first I really want my dining and living room somewhat tidy looking. Then, I can move the stuff that got stashed in mum’s room (where I’ve been sleeping) because it was the catch all for important stuff. (did I mention I’ve been hiding the estate cash not deposited in a drawer, under my ‘toys’?) I’m sure my bear (I end up sleeping on him!) is helping keep an eye on things. Even if I did dream last night about burglars. I think I woke up after I hid in a pile of stuffed animals—very ET! (although, I AM home!! If you look close in the lake picture, you can see a small garden light reflecting in the water, not a heart light. A garden one. I was in the kayak around 9, just as it was deciding to get dark.)

September’s Arrival

It is now September 2. The official sale of mum’s household SABLE is done. (I now need only $500 to get the pipes dug up!) I’m actually sitting in the dining room surrounded by items and waiting for someone who had contacted me on FB about something she wanted. I’m also sad because a few items I’d set aside or marked sold for people are now available again. Seriously. When you live in AK and can find something at a sale for a quarter of the online retail price, why quibble that it is $12 dollars? The lake is super calm today and I’m watching a lone golden eye duck ‘bloop’ around on the skin of our tiny water. It swims a bit, dives, pops back up, swims, dives, and repeats the process. Each time I try to take a photo, he ‘bloops’. (that is the sound the water makes as they dive) OH! There are two ducks! Twice as difficult to photograph. (Insert eye roll as I’m on my laptop and not the iPad!)

I had one person, if I had known how rude they’d been to my sister and a couple of others outside, I’d have charged them a bit more when I met them inside! They wanted lighthouses. The main woman was angry cuz we’d not answered her as to where the sale was (I had posted it, but not in a photo and it wasn’t an ‘event’) and my signage wasn’t as good as it should have been and she hoped there were some lighthouses left because she really wanted them. She did take quite a few. I was thankful, however, a friend of a friend took some of the really neat things (that friend was nicer all around!). After the grumpy woman left, I put out several more, plus a game that had been in a cabinet. There was another woman, who runs a shop in town. She was so respectful! She took much more than she paid, but it was ok. She went through the bell cabinet and set aside things with the words: ‘you need to look at this or keep this’. Much of the fancies in the cabinet we’d never really looked at. It was a stuffed locked glass cabinet full of glass! There are a great many good people in this world, I’m glad they help balance the dingbats. UPDATE on dingbats: In an estate sale, people look at things. They open boxes and remove the contents. But I wish they also could put them back the way they found them!! So rude. Leave no trace isn’t something most people have been taught. In the woods, in a house, or a store this is a good rule of thumb. (Thieves could leave fingerprints!!)

Since I’m just waiting today, I was hoping to get caught up on blogging. My blogging email address has over 100 unread email notifications! I know GH is out of the hospital (or was last I really read.).  Dewy is getting things more sorted in her new abode. Gary cooked something incredibly delicious looking awhile back-as usual! Jack is continuing to share profound thoughts. Rhapsody is always enlightening and generally writes what I need exactly as I need it. Ms. Monster texted she’ll take out someone for me, of needed—gigglesnorting still! Podman and Chirp are always a joy to hear from—they have a herd of grands staying with them! And I noticed a few others are back from a break. (I also discovered advertisements on WP are annoying!! I’m glad followers are able to skip around those to see my own pictures and words!!!!!)

This is an odd month for me. It is also another busy one. Many people use the next weeks to drive out of the state before snow settles. Migration and change is evident all around. (Very cool! Now there are three teen mallards swimming around! I captured them lifting off the other day.) Most of these pictures were from the last week or so-before mum’s stuff was partially sold.

Earlier last week I spied a snipe and photographed it bathing. (yes, I’m a voyeur and they are a real creature!)

Haven’t seen the bigger moose lately, I do know the young one has a dangling antler piece from an encounter of some kind. (I bet it hurts!) I did get to see a youngling and its mom.

This was RIGHT next to the house (see corner in photo). I was standing in the open doorway. 

It is a bittersweet time of year, yet…fall is a promise of a time of rest before starting new all over again. Good season. (makes sense to find a heart apple fritter this time of year!!)

Debris or not debris???

I started a handwritten post a while ago, but didn’t manage to get it typed up. I’m constantly tired and find myself mindlessly playing games on my ipad (note, I play til I lose lives or win one level completely on word games). Sometimes I read, I often sit outside in the sunshine, every so often do a spot of yard work… I am not really as brown as the second picture (photos were taken a day apart), but I am enjoying the sunshine! When I return to the states (Oregon), I’ll not have this sort of tan again. Here in Alaska I am out the boonies by myself. Naked is pretty safe! (I do keep an oversized shirt close, just in case, but I’ve never needed it!) Safe isn’t what I need….

 

What I need is more time. (and money!)

As you can see, I am surrounded by debris. Piles for donation, my sister, myself, to sell, or whatever. Most of the closets and cupboards are almost empty. Or at least they have been gone through! I’m still living here, so I need to keep some things. I do NOT want to go and live with my sister for a month or so and drive out here to work each day as has been suggested. (I’d go batty at her house!!)  Her spouse hates I’m sending stuff back with her and there is shouting and noise. I like it here.

In fact, that is the hardest part. I do not want to leave. I want to keep so many things. But, I cannot. There are four things a person can do with stuff. Keep it, sell it, donate it, or toss it out. I’m astounded by how much I’ve tossed. In fact, the other day I hit a low because I got all guilty about getting rid of pictures. I blamed myself for not realizing others were a part of mom’s life. As I was sorting photos I put them in three sections. Me, Jake, and WTF is this? (who, not what). Thankfully, my sister has a memory like mom’s. She knows and recalls every single thing that ever happened to her from diapers on. Me? I have difficulty remembering if I’ve taken my meds! So, Jake can usually figure out who is in a picture and if it should be saved. Anyway, I laughingly mentioned on FB how mum had pictures of everyone from birth. One relation asked me if I could save the ones of her family and mail them. (I had JUST thrown them away!) I went through a bag I’d not tossed and found a few, but gods, I felt so horrible!!!

On Wednesday, a friend will visit who will help me pack up things for posting to Oregon. It is going to be so freaking expensive! And I still need to pay a few big bills that are mine and not my sister’s. (house insurance and what not, I’m using more electricity with darkness falling earlier…) Then, selling bits of lives isn’t as easy as I’d hoped. The jukeboxes are worth much less than we thought. (Specialty items generally are!) People often say they ‘want’ something if they see it on FB, but they don’t come through. Frustrating. The Craftsman still thinks I should sell mom’s beautiful watch if I need to. (I really really don’t want to. I’ve never gotten mad at him before, but this is starting to frustrate me more than anything else I’ve managed to adjust to!) I think of ABBA’s song and just cry inside. If I had a little money…but, if wishes were horses, we’d all know how to ride. And shovel manure!

Thankfully, I keep finding interesting or good things. This black and white is wonderful. Mum has a large framed colorized version of it, lots of singles of people in the photo, and there are no names or dates anywhere to be found on any of them. It was driving us crazy!  This one, however, has all of that information on the back! I was so thankful. Another thing I’d forgotten was my real dad had a nickname. It shows up on many pictures. The first time I read it, I was so confused. In fancy cursive, Sonny looks a smidge like Harry and I knew the man was Harry, but some of the other photos had a definite ‘S’. That is another funny thing. My sister suggested to me last week she wants to have her DNA tested. Because she believes she’s my half-sister!!! (She looks like my mom’s side, not much like our birth fathers. I look like both, but more like his side.)

I have also found little special moments bringing a pause in my stampeding passage of time. A group of ducks wisely staying away from a lone loon, white fireweed fluff (seed) separating from the stalk to create more flowers next year, a mama moose with twins stopping for a drink at the far end of the lake (those were too far away to photograph properly), and a piece of petrified wood I placed on a beach log for perspective. It really is a beautiful world!!