We are on countdown!  May 7th, the four of us sisters leave on our trip to SE Alaska and our ‘roots’.  Hubbies are staying home this time, to work or feed the pets or mind the manor or deal with mail or whatever else happens along.

Our plan is to post something every day or so on our jaunt down memory lane.  For three of us, it has been 50 years since we were there….really!  This was something our Mom wanted us to do, and thanks to her, we have our reservations made, contacts with long time friends made, and Book #2 finished!  Book #3 will be compiled following our trip, so we can include ‘now’ photos along with all the ‘then’ photos.  Oh, you missed that?

Summer on the homestead

Several years ago we published Book #1, Children of Glacier Point.  This is the story of the first couple years of our folks homesteading near Haines, Alaska.  Book #2 continues on using all the diaries we could find, things Mom remembered, and bits we’ve added to those specific memories.

Book #3 will be more of a ‘coffee table’ style, including several multi-page accounts our parents left on particular events, a number of category sections to include many memories we have that we do not have a date for, and multiple ‘then’ and ‘now’ photos as we continue to dig through those unsorted boxes of ‘stuff’.  We think Mom and Dad would both be pleased we are doing this.

Book #1, and Skookum Jim which is poetry our Dad wrote, are both available at Brainstorms Publishing and Book #2 will be listed there soon.

So my issue at first was not being able to find the slide scanner [the one that
worked so much better than doodahs in the lid of the flat bed].  Finally I found it and then I followed  directions for software etc and nothing. nada. Okkkkk, tried in regular Win7 computer, so  now will try in Virtual XP. Still nothing. Well, what the (*&^^??? Don’t think it has died, because if you  poke the little ‘curtain flap deally whop’ that you push the slide holder through, there IS light in  there. Just NOT anything happening on the computer.
Spent considerable time messing with this.

At 2:54 AM I am up to potty, and on the way back to bed think of something. Can I get to sleep  then? NO, finally after a half hour give up and get up and go try it. Seems like nothing but I  restart everything just to check and do this little thing with the Virtual screen again. Aha, now  it actually acknowledges there IS a scanner. but…it shows nothing. Just a black screen.

Huh. ok, huh is NOT what I said, or felt etc. Go googling and find some references to this
scanner and others with same problem and cannot see that anyone had a good resolution.
Talk to tech support, who seems to have a ‘foreign’ language service person on board, but
only as a back up, and find out that probably I am stuck with re-employing my old computer.   [Called Clyde, Lexy was yakking away like crazy in the background! She’s our 19 month old granddaughter, pretty much a foreign language yet].

Wonder if there is any chance the old laptop will work, even though only Win98.  It DOES have a  USB which is needed for the scanner. Nope, won’t even TRY to install the software. Okay,  fine…

Then the plan is to hook up the old computer [I have to use my current monitor so can’t move anything far,  just drape wires all over the place] and scan in saving straight to the external hard drive.
SURE…when I plug the latter in the whole unit freezes. Ok, so an issue with the USB’s was  one reason I had to go to a new computer. It seems only the front ports are viable,  not the main ones, and only ONE thing at a time. So after THREE restarts, scanner finds its software etc which is still in the old computer and hallelujah I’m on the scan.

It still takes quite a while to do them, hours for just the Alaska ones that I know where are. Then I pulled the scanner, plugged in the external and drug them over to it. And yes they were still there when I got everything hooked back up the  way it should be and looked from my main computer. WHEW.

Must put my shoes on and go collect mail etc and whatever UPS just left at the gate.  Was this my plan for the day? What do YOU think?

Every plan has its pitfalls, such as life intervening.  2012 was another year of ‘issues’ which we are not going into.  We ARE, however, going to work on improving our record for this year!
A helpful tool would be something like this:  built in recorder so that after some crazy thing happened [whether it be event, conversation, adventure, spotting….] one could snap the fingers and say ‘Send THAT to the blog!’   What in reality happens is for the barest of moments we think ‘That would be good fodder for the readers.’ and continue on completing our mission of the moment and …. it’s gone.  We either don’t remember or forget to transcribe or…well, I’m sure you get the picture.

For instance, any of you know the “United Van Line vs Expodition” story where we almost had instant Pico de Gallo?

Or the “Sisters & White Knuckles” trip?

Hmmm, see how it is?

Kablink….barely 7:30 on a beautiful Saturday morning in May and no power.  No wind, no sound, no flicker. Wait for it, it will come back on in just a moment.  Hmmm, it didn’t so no point in waiting poised to reboot the computer.
Go outside and check the breaker box & meter. This is so much easier on a nice morning than it is in the fall or winter.  Of course, in the winter you can look through the branches and see if the neighbors have any lights on.  If they don’t, it is not just us.  Breakers are all on and ‘no one is home’.  Hmmm, use the cell o phone and call it in.  It is all automated these days, but if it is an outage, you keep pushing the #1, and finally enter your home phone number.  The recording thanks you politely for reporting, but you don’t get any information.
Call a neighbor down the road.  No answer.  Call your sister because it is about that time of day and you don’t want the phone in the bedroom ringing because hubby is taking advantage of no power and is napping.  It is the only land line phone that works when the power is out.  Yep, old fashioned wired in, not a cordless! Which is why we keep it.
Yak with her a bit, and realize the call waiting feature of the cell phone is activating.  Manage to put her on hold, take the other call [from the neighbor, who DOES have power] and get back to sister without losing her!  Wow, first time I’ve ever done that, and had this cell phone for almost 2 1/2 years!
Call the power company again to get an ‘update’ and the friendly recording says yes they know, and it should be fixed by 11 AM.  No clue as to the problem.
Make up the beds in the spare room as we have company coming, and blessedly there is plenty of light to make beds by!  Can’t vacuum, mop, wash dishes or clothes, or continue cooking.  Can’t check the email, play Words with Friends or water plants.  Can’t sew bears and really don’t have any to cut out right now.
Might as well read for a bit.
Truck noises and someone honks the horn outside the door.  Not many have keys to our gate, and sure enough it is a power company truck.  He verifies the address and that I still have no power.  Walks over to the meter and says “well you are red tagged, it means they shut you off.”  WHAT THE HECK?? And EXCUSE ME, but we’ve been paying the bill for 37 years here, EVERY month and the last one JUST came this week!  “Well, Ma’am, that’s what the red tags mean.”  NO WAY, and it has been hanging there for years, ever since they put in the ‘new’ electronic meter AND set it so I couldn’t open our breaker box without taking the hinges off I’ll have you know.
He says “I’ll call it in” which he does and says they’ll check it and get back to him.  Meanwhile he pulls red tag [‘hmm, kinda an old type’] and pulls the meter.  He comments that usually if it has been shut off they also put something in behind the meter, which is not there.  Well of course it is not there, we have been paying!  Gets out his volt meter and nope not even a trickle of power to the main switch.
Now he is looking up at the pole with the transformer on it [such a beautiful feature in the corner of our yard, but hey, gotta have it] and says ‘fuse not blown’ but…’hmmm, looks like a loose wire, how the heck could that happen?’
While he is trying to figure out if he can get his bucket truck to the pole [nope, can’t] the office calls back and says they can find no reason for our power to be shut off.  Well, HELLO.  Of course he has already figured out that is not the issue anyway!
Do we have power?  Yes, he climbed the pole, and reconnected the wire.  It had apparently been loose for some time as it showed a lot of melting on the end.  Not dangerous to anyone where it was located but certainly not conducive to a constant flow of power to our house.  By 10 AM we were back in business.

Here it is the 5th of May, yes it is Cinco de Mayo but we are not actually celebrating that, and the weather can’t seem to decide whether to be nice or not, warm or cold, calm or windy. Ok well this IS Mountain Home, Idaho and wind DOES really like to blow here.

Was so glad we did not have to get up at the crack of dawn for work today. I slept in until almost 7am! That’s late for me – – LOL.

After a couple cups of tea and a little breakfast and an awesome phone call with my sis I thought I ought to get busy and do something. So shower, clothes and hubby and I were off to Walmart to get some big pots (for planting herbs and lettuce) along with a few other things we needed.  Got the pots and some potting soil and home we came. I have now planted the starts of lettuce and herbs in said pots and they are sitting just inside our sliding glass door which leads to the back deck. It is just a little cool and windy to put them outside so far.

The apricot tree is absolutely loaded with fruit as is at least one of our two peach trees, the strawberry plants are blooming and I need to cut the rhubarb again!  Had a wonderful rhubarb crisp a week or so ago. That stuff has been enjoying the cooler wetter weather.

Should get in my “sweat shop” and work on something, just waiting for inspiration to hit, have some ideas for a show one sister and I will be attending in November! Oh yeah trying to be ahead of the game for a change. Amazing I know. Come see us at the Bruneau Cowboy Christmas event in Bruneau, Idaho on the 17th and 18th of November, 2012 from 10am to 4pm each day.

Ok back to work on something, have a great day all!

WHO decided kids should not work in their family businesses?   There is a move afoot to make it impossible for children of farmers to work on their own family farms.  I don’t want to talk about the whole political side, as we each have our own strong feelings.  I want to ruminate about kids working.

This is not about children trapped in basement sweat shops, forced to work for a bread crust.  Nor is it about children denied their education and forced to work in terrible factory conditions.

THIS is about children being denied their right to learn in a hands on environment, close to nature, while helping their families.  Children who would grow up with not only a long list of abilities but a better understanding of the environment.  Children who would learn where the food for nations comes from, and the attention and responsibility and education that goes with it.  Children who would understand the importance of continued learning   to meet the needs of today’s world.

Although the current discussion is about farmers, this special learning opportunity is there in any home owned business, and has been through generations.  Yes, it helps families survive, and for a time is ‘free’ labor.  Free?  These children are fed, clothed,   and taught a long list of life skills.  They go to school, participate in activities, and often are leaders.  They grow up understanding work ethic; ie, show up on time, do your job to the very best of your ability, and never quit learning.  As they acquire ‘book learning’ whether through public, private or home schooling, they are better able to correlate it to their life lessons.  This improves understanding at home, at school and in their future lives.

Most of our formative years were spent ‘off the grid’, not that we knew the term in those days.  It was just how we lived.  For many years we lived on a homestead in Alaska. That was followed by an old mine and a ranch in Arizona and other places that required work.  We were expected to help with whatever we were big enough to help with. Period.  We were expected to do our best at home and at school [both home schooled and public], to think for ourselves and yet be courteous to others whether they deserved it or not.  Although we never lived on a big farm, there are similarities in the conditions.

My own boys grew helping in the garden and learning to ‘recycle’; ie, re-purpose a variety of items.  They looked forward to spending time with aunts and uncles who had ranches and hay farms.  They learned to drive machinery, to work hard, eat hearty and have a sense of accomplishment because of that.  This carried on into their adult lives, and will pass along to their children.

Is there something wrong with that?

[I’ve seen some posts alleging that this is just a proposal and ‘no where near implementation, but that it would even be considered is appalling.]

I finally figured out WHY old people travel in motor homes or do not travel at all.
When you were young, you just grabbed whatever and took off on a whim. Didn’t have to take much. If you forgot something, oh well, you just did without.
Not so easy when you get on towards maturity.
HOW many days are we going for?
What if I come down with XYZ? I might need medicine for that.
I might need some extra toiletries.
What if it rains? Better take that umbrella.
What if, what if, what if???
Pretty soon the vehicle is loaded down with every conceivable medicine, toiletry, piece of clothing and any other ‘I might need’ item out there.
There’s no room for people, just ‘stuff’!
So, it’s either a motor home to carry it all or why even bother going.

I love spring time!  It was so beautiful here in South West Idaho where my husband and I live that I got to spend some quality time with my flower beds! Oh yes it was quality time for sure. I pulled old dead grass and other assorted plant life that either did not belong there or was leftover and dead. There is still a lot to do but already it looks SO much better.

I planted  a huge pot full of tulip bulbs (oh yeah bought the bulbs last fall and did not get them planted so yup they were starting to grow in the bag they came in). The big pot sits on the stump of a tree that we heartily disliked and cut down some years ago.  Usually here in our town we like to leave trees but sometimes when they are a Chinese (piss) elm you just DON’T want the dang things. They make such a mess in the spring and then they are prolific as all get out too.

Sometime in the past few years a maple seed blew in from across the street and now there is  young maple growing in my flower bed, its about 3 feet high already! Not sure if it gets to stay there or not, that remains to be seen.  The weeping cherry in our side yard has leaf buds showing and the peach and apricot trees in the back yard do as well.

Lots of crocus are up and I saw one with the cutest little yellow bloom already. Daffodils, tulips, lillies and iris are coming along as well.  I always feel such a sense of renewal in the spring. Thank you Lord for allowing me these annual pleasures, I promise to take good care of your plants.

I was visiting with my sister when I

So much happier!

received a photo on my phone of a smiling granddaughter, followed by a text I shared with my sister.  She says, “Well that’s good but who is Sam?”
“Huh?”
“Sam, is that a friend?”
“I don’t know any Sam…why do you ask?”
“You said Sam.”
“No, I didn’t.  When?”
“When you were talking about GD feeling better, according to Sam.”
“Huh?”  [You notice I am back to Huh now!]

We stare at each other.  Our Mom is looking from one to the other completely bewildered.  I show her the photo, albeit it is an inch square and she smiles, says the great-granddaughter sure is cute.

Yes I can take, send, receive photos but my phone is primarily…a phone.  If I want to see the pictures without my glasses and a magnifier I send them on to my email, which little thing I figured out after months!  Older grands were a huge help in this learning process.

Back to Sam, I’m thinking about him.  Only one that comes to mind at that moment is a character on a program on TNT.  Nope, he does not live with my kids, hasn’t texted me or even said hi in the old fashioned way.  He is kinda cute, but I have a grandson his age.

All of a sudden I realize what she heard.  “…a 2 1/2 hour nap this AM and she’s feeling much better.”   Yep, there IS a sAM in there!!!  With my explanation, we both begin to laugh hysterically [now our mother is really confused, but smiles because we are obviously happy and not just hysterical]

We reminisce about a few other ‘mistaken’ hearings, and chuckle again as we walk down the lane in search of pussy willows.  At some point my sis comments “Who knew I had more than one kind of willow?”
“Sam” I say, “I’m sure he knew.”  Another bout of giggles, and we head back to the house with a double clutch of pussy willows, grasses, colorful sprouts to make a lovely early spring arrangement.  I should have brought a forsythia branch from home.

Snow…..

Finally, getting near the end of winter and we had a Leap Year snow storm!  To folks who live in areas that receive considerable snow every year, it wasn’t much of a storm, but it did fiddle fart around and dump a few inches randomly.  By randomly, I mean some lower elevations received more than their higher friends, one side of town more than another, and of course vice versa.  Typical around here!  [Hm, sounds like an oven I had once, neither could it bake evenly or level.]

The biggest excitement with this snowfall was that, being retired now, I didn’t have to drive in it, worry about school delays, answer the phone a million times or wonder if everyone was getting home okay.  With a cup of coffee in hand and warm toes, I could reminisce on past snows.  I could hibernate right here at home, in my bear den, and grin.

There were the days when a new snowfall lured us out with our sled for hours of play.  We’d continue on in the light from the cabin window until Mom announced supper.   We’d leave a supply of snowballs on a ledge in our snow fort to freeze up overnight.  Sometimes we even had a moonlight jaunt on the dogsled.  We didn’t live in Oregon back then, a homestead in Alaska was our address.

Then when we lived closer to town, there was the whole issue of the school bus.  Heavy snowfall would have our Dad tromping the trail with his snowshoes first, then we’d layer up and head out for the bus stop.  The plows were always out early, but you’d have to climb over the mountain of snow to get to the road.  Then, you might have to help push the school bus up Cemetery Hill.  This is the same hill that was sometimes cordoned off for organized sledding parties.

Okay, the sun is shining and I’m out of here for a bit!

Homestead in Alaska 1949 or '50