Monday, November 20, 2006

Is it already Thanksgiving again?



I remember last year and the crazy events preceding the Holidays. I can't believe an entire year has passed and I'm still here - still working on this house and these surroundings. The creature comforts have improved .....I'm online, I have hot water, I have 3 different sources of heat to choose from, and I have a wind turbine for power now.

I will have to say this - the wind turbine was a $900 ass kicking. It was supposed to change our lives out here - save $$ on generator gas, charge the batteries quicker, etc. What a disappointment!! Not only does it not keep up with my power needs, it doesn't seem to really do anything at all. If the wind is blowing at gale force speeds, the turbine will go, and the lights come on as if it is charging the batteries. It is charging the batteries, but not like the generator does. We have an old battery charger out of a motor home hooked up to our battery bank, and it works way better than the new-fangled technology that was supposed to be a godsend.

Sigh....another disappointment. I shouldn't have let the lady talk me into the more expensive marine model either. I should've trusted my instincts and gotten a cheaper one to try out, I should've made that left turn in Albuquerque......

Anyway, it has been snowing like crazy here - a couple of feet at least over the weekend. Big, thick snow that is hard to walk through - hard to shovel, hard to drive in, easy to make snow cones out of!!! Luckily we had a jar of Huckleberry/Blueberry syrup from Arlene Buoy (Short Round as I like to call her) that made the most delicious snowcones ever!!

On the way home during the first heavy snowfall last Friday, it was too dense to see the house. The only thing to do was turn off the motor, listen for the doggies, and hope we were pointed in the right direction. Kinda scary, but no big deal. We had worse times getting home last year. Every time I go to town and head back home after dark, I get asked the same question, "You go home in the boat after dark?" Of course, I say, how else would I get there? You go home in your car after dark, don't you? I gotta get there somehow!!! And believe it or not, it's been cool to learn to train my eyes to see at night, using the landscape to guide me. Another challenge for the city slicker.....

Anyway, Happy Holidays from the wilds......stay warm, safe, and dry. For me, that is the equation for a long and happy life......what is yours?

P.S. Has your hair ever frozen into two strips of ice on your way home? Reference the photo.......

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

A really crappy day was had by all...


Yesterday was one of the highest tides of the year.

My boat floated off. My windows floated off. I wanted to float off. Tlingit boys saved my day again. They came over, found my boat, and hauled off a 60 foot log that was ruining my day.

AND, they brought me another piece of furniture from my storage. I must be living right.

Sunday, November 05, 2006



Alaska Boys - I love 'em.....


So my sofa which got here almost a year ago after much strife and a delay in Seattle (which is a whole other sordid tale) finally just made it to my house. It's the shittiest day imaginable as far as it's windy, probably 35 mph or better, it's in the 20's, but it's high tide and the sun is out, so it is deemed an appropriate day to deliver my long-awaited sofa. Now keep in mind that before the sofa can be brought into my house, my king sized wrought iron sleigh bed must be disassembled and moved upstairs.

That sounds simple, but in my case it involves a chainsaw, and that's all I'm gonna say. I'm still cleaning up the mess. But my bed made it upstairs, and the sofa is now in its place in my home - after a perilous windy boat ride in an open skiff - 16 feet of aluminum between it and the sea - those good old Alaskan boys brought it in, hacked up my floor, moved my bed, brought in the sofa, and were off to their cold boat ride home before I could say boo.

Waving to me, that's the last thing I saw before they blew into their skiff and headed off. I love them for it.....to the brothers Buoy and Kennedy, I love you both.....Jamie