
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
I can't believe how much a single day can be happy and a bummer at the same time.

Saturday, August 25, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
My panther boy has made his preference known!

I must admit, it took some getting used to, but now it seems normal. I'm also happy to see how Ludie impacts Dad's daily life for the better. It is said pets are good comfort for people, and this certainly appears to be the case with Dad.
You'd think they'd been together for years. It is the best for Ludie too. Dad is always there, lives rather quietly and such. Whereas my life is always in some sort of flux... places to go, gone overnights and the occasional weekend.
This is a welcome choice and while his absence is felt by me from time to time, I know his presence felt by Dad daily is by far the better choice in the long run. Take good care of Grandpa Ludie!
Monday, August 20, 2007
As instructed...
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Yes, there is a new post on the blog!
How the time does fly, whether your life is good, bad or indifferent! So much has gone on since my latest little update…
Doesn’t bode well as to my viewer-ship. Who knew?
Let’s see….
I have done more traveling, this time to see the splendor of Alaska in the summer. Life on the tundra is really quite spectacular as well as humbling, it's at times overwhelming and hard to believe.
Check the pictures if you doubt me…

cabin that was all mine for three weeks!
That's a minimum of five to six hours traveling. One way. And they do this often! They actually drive six hours, get all the stuff they need and then start the six hour drive back home. Trust me when I say, ya' just don't "run back to the store" if you forget something.
This picture is looking out across the Tangle Lakes River Valley. The Alaskan Mountain Range is stunning from this vantage point. This was taken from the summit of Mount Paxson, 4,700 feet above sea level.
Back to the smell...
I was in the process of overcoming my jet lag when it dawned on me that the smell wasn't an "Ick! What is that?!" smell but more like, "So this is fresh air!?!" I could smell the water, the Snow Roses, the dogs, the plants, the moss... it was quite amazing.
Probably the next thing was the "not-really-quiet-quiet" It took a night or two to adjust from hearing the wilds-of-Alaska quiet. The sound of the rushing river, the birds, from the swallows getting their fill of mosquitoes to the high pitched cries of the bald eagles riding the thermals. The dogs; one low, moaning howl that became the sound of many, the small yips and barks that signaled happiness of their mushers, their friends...
How it could be classified as "quiet" is a little shady, but quiet it was nonetheless. No traffic, no sirens, no neighbors arguing for all to hear, no thump-thump-thump of the someday-they'll-be-needing-hearing-aids generation.
It was so serene and hectic. It was laid back then hurried. A quiet vacation... HA!What a paradox it really was.
The nature of the place reached deep inside me. It opened that "someday-I'll" section of my mind. I thought about the high school dreams of building my log cabin home in the mountains. Living the natural life...
Learning to survive on my own in the Great Wilderness. I found myself rather nostalgic, remembering the way I had dreamt of writing books and stories by the light of a lantern. Listening to the sounds of the wolves singing, the eagles flying... lying on the crisp winter snow watching the Northern Lights dancing their ballet over the sky...
How I wondered what my life would have been like if I'd had the courage to make those dreams come true... but doesn't life go by like in a tick? One day you're 18, the next nearly 50...

How I wished I'd danced....