Tomatoes, Peaches, Corn, and Flour

When we started coming to Tampa for the winter a number of years ago, I was startled when I couldn't find the flour.  There was certainly no mention of it on the signs on either side of the grocery store aisle.  After a closer search and scrutiny, I found the small bags of flour on the bottom of the shelf in the middle of an aisle - in a very small area.  Yes, I'm a bit slow.  When I compared the flour section to the baking "mixes," there was no comparison.  Conclusion?  Not many people use flour!!  Duh.  Mixes and prepared foods are "de rigueur" (I had to look that one up . . . ) in the city and probably everywhere else but rural areas.

 

In early October, I flew to Hoonah, Alaska, for a memorial service.  A long time friend there, gave us the jars in the photo above.  I tried to bring out the colors and textures justice in the jars with the camera, but I'm not that happy.  Aren't they beautiful?  I guarantee they'll taste good, too.

I'll bet not many people preserve vegetables and meat by canning any more.  I'll bet my brother and sister remember our family "gatherings" canning peaches, tomatoes, and more - depending on the year.  We also froze corn, string beans, lima beans, strawberries.  We grew most of it, although often the peaches or other fruit was supplemented by the farmer's market, a roadside stand, or "U pick it."  I'm not sure the "gatherings" were necessarily fun, but we all felt part of the something greater than the individual.  I think we learned something about delayed gratification - in the winter those fruits and vegetables were pretty doggone good.

I can still see those quart ball jars of bright red tomatoes and creamy yellow peaches lined up on the basement shelves.  Beautiful . . .  and functional!

Kindle, Nook, et al

I am not an "early adopter" of technology - nor probably anything else.  In fact, the picture below is of my actual cell phone - which most people laugh at when they see it.  But, it cost me $20 for the phone and 9.99 a month so I'm reasonably happy.  Plus, my brother has the same model!!!  (Hmmm.)

But this isn't about phones, it's about "reading devices," which I've been reluctant to embrace.

In a crisis, the local Hillsborough County Library did not have "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson in real print, which was on my list.  It was available in eBook however.  I borrowed ML's Kindle Fire that she got for a gift a year or so ago and rarely uses.  It was easy to download it to the Fire, although I had to get ML to do it through her Amazon account.  I didn't even have to go to the library . . .




So here's what I think . . ..

a.) If I traveled a lot, I would definitely have a electronic reader.

b.) I would have preferred more words on the "Fire" page.  Too much swiping! 

c.) It was nice that if a question came up, related to the book or not, I could switch over to the Fire browser and look it up with the same device. 

d.) The real benefit from my thinking is that if I subscribed to the "tablet" versions of magazines and/or newspapers that I get, I could get rid of tons of clutter surrounding the various chairs and bedside table that I use: stacks of books, magazines, newspapers, little slips of paper with notes on them, references that I'm saving to look up when I have time, you name it.   (like you see in the photo on the left.)

Just think, maybe we could have a clean house with one tablet each. 

No, you're right, even that won't work. 

I confess, it was OK, but I still like fumbling with a real book.  Must be my age.

CHILD(REN)

I try to keep things reasonably "private" in our increasingly technological and public world, even though I realize clearly that I'm operating on a worldwide technological non-private platform.  So I don't talk too much about family members so as not to ruin their chances for a new job or anything.  But, what the heck, Hannah is on the same platform so I may as well "be out."  I'll try not to brag too much, since all parents are pretty proud of their kids.

Hannah just arrived home from India, after a competitive internship with the School of Social Work and Columbia University in New York, NY.  She and another girl spent two months looking at various social work enterprises in rural India. 

It always amazes me when one's kid(s) can be so good at something - yes, I know, it's her Mom.  Along with many other things, I think she's an impressive writer, observer, and thinker.  You can decide for yourself.  She writes for herself and a small audience at her blog here.  She's also quite the brave traveler.  If you like what you read there, go read the older posts from when she was in rural Malawi, Africa.  She wasn't blogging when she went to Mongolia, but on the other hand there wasn't email or internet in the ger (yurt) that she stayed in.

She has an "official" presence at the Columbia U. blog.  Scroll down to see her blog posts.  Her name link is her bio.  An executive from the sponsoring TVS Motoring company, SST division actually called her to talk about her "Inclusion" blog entry.  Wow.

It's great to have her home before she flies off to NYC for the second and final year of her Master's in Social Work degree.   

Door Number 1, Number 2, or Number 3?

There are a variety of consumer activities that I really really don't like.  I confess that I always feel like I'm being taken advantage of when I buy a car, a mattress, major appliances, or rent a car.  Let's stick with that one for a minute - renting a car.  All you need is a credit card and a license - and then a ton of decisions marked by "INITIAL HERE, HERE, HERE, and SIGN HERE" that you agree to all the fine print that no human being could EVER read before the next person in line would DIE from waiting.   Not to mention, that I don't understand it anyway, even if I did read it - and I have a Master's Degree! (although some question that I got it from the back of a matchbook and paid my money)

But this time, I THINK I DID OK!

A Chevy Camaro.  Whew!  HOT!

$12.09 to rent it for a day but pick it up in Tampa and drop it at Orlando Airport.  Including TAXES and FEES!

I think I'm one up on Alamo this time!

CELEBRATION! The Burning of OLD TAXES!

One of our favorite activities the last number of years has been the burning of old taxes forms and backup receipts, and associated paper crap.   All the conventional wisdom says save stuff for 7 years.  So we do.  And then we get rid of it.  Our cheap shredder makes so much noise and takes so much time, that it's easier to build a fire and BURN, BABY, BURN!

The weight of the finances of 2005 is now off my brain.  I feel lighter, somehow a bit happier.  I don't know why, but it just makes me feel good.

Guns and the Second Amendment

Guns are an American institution. Why? I'm guessing that it is the frontier in all of us. The cowboy with a six shooter on his hip and a rifle in the holster next to the saddle. Living off the land with a handful of salt and an arsenal of weapons. Annie Oakley. Load up the wagon! Additionally, part of human nature is the feeling of power, power over others. A gun provides a feeling of power.

I understand those things, and have experienced them myself. I have owned guns. I've gone hunting many times (as a confession, I never did like the killing part and have only killed one deer – but I do like the walking around in the woods part) and have shot big halibut as a part of commercial longline fishing. I carried a gun in the woods for years for bear protection – the feeling of power (second confession, I realized the chances were much greater that I was going to shoot myself or my friends and now I carry pepper spray). But these purposes and ownership have never involved personal protection to kill someone else. This is my big disconnect. Most Americans own guns for the purpose of killing or injuring other people.

My second disconnect is the fervor over the Second Amendment. The “Right to Bear Arms” has become a belief system, a religion. I don't know about you, but arguing religion, unfortunately, is a waste of time. But, just for the sake of it, let's think logically about the Second Amendment. Do people really believe that our forefathers in 1776 were worried about everyone having the right to carry around a gun? Come on, people didn't go to Publix or Safeway to get food. They killed animals. Was the government at the time making sure that everyone had a gun to kill food? I don't think so. It wasn't even part of the concept. “Gary Wills once wrote, “Once does not bear arms against a rabbit.”” (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/23/120423fa_fact_lepore?currentPage=4) The Second Amendment was related to the militias of 13 “soon to be” entwined colonies. It wasn't until the 1970's that Americans were swayed by public opinion and the NRA change from “guns as hobby” to “guns as a right.” ( http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/23/120423fa_fact_lepore?currentPage=6 ) From there, it became an American religion. I urge you to read an excellent article in the New Yorker by Jill Lepore titled “Battleground America: One Nation, under the Gun” in the April 23, 2012 issue which defines the facts of the history of guns in the U.S.

It's so easy for our politicians to hide behind protecting the “Second Amendment,” as did my State of Alaska senators, Senator Mark Begich and Senator Lisa Murkowski (http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/murkowski-begich-vote-against-gun-bill/article_7be70a2e-a7fb-11e2-bfbc-001a4bcf6878.html). More interestingly, in our day and age, the comments are more revealing. I invite you to read and evaluate them logically and objectively. Good luck on that and I hope you write to me with an explanation.  Maybe our legislators need to be students of history.  

I suspect that if you've read this far, you've figured out what I think. Here it is. The reduction of gun crime shootings in Australia has decreased each year since it was enacted in 1996 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Australia). That is reason enough for me to subscribe to many of their regulations.  Background checks for any gun buyer is an appropriate action, whether it is a store or a show or a backyard deal. A “Genuine Reason” must be given on the application. An owner must have secure storage. Semi-automatic and automatic firearms should be outlawed. These rules do not preclude owning guns for hunting, collecting, pest control, or target shooting. But it does say and show that people shouldn't own guns to shoot other people.  

Maybe someday our legislators will be able to buck the NRA and vote for common sense.

SURGERY!! of the HERNIA type

I'm not one for hospitals or dealing with my health other than what I can do for myself.  After significant amateur self-analysis, I think I don't like the feeling of being totally dependent on others that I don't know.  Another way of looking at that, is that I have control issues?  Hmmm.  Pull up the couch.

Anyway, during the kitchen remodel, I was taking a shower and noticed a bulge in my lower abdomen where there wasn't one the last time.  Not happy.  I'm no doctor, but I was betting on it being a hernia.  I googled it the next day but didn't get past the first picture.  Interestingly enough, when I look at the repair today, it looks just like the picture.  It's good I told myself that it was a picture from many years ago when the surgery was primitive.  I actually like to be able to delude myself.  It can make things a lot easier. .  .


 It's Monday now, and I had the surgery on Friday - I wanted to get it done so it wouldn't interrupt a summer of lifting fun.  Plus, although I had planned to come up to Sitka for the end of herring,  I know the doctors and hospital a bit and I was much more comfortable in that setting.  Fortunately, ML agreed - plus, although she would never think this, it would save her a lot of hearing me whine.

I won't show you any other pictures, although I have them if you want me to send them to you!  I know ML was worried that I would post a photo of my tangerine sized swollen right testicle.  No worries!  On Friday, the day of the surgery, I lost 4 hours of my life.  I remember nothing between wheeling me into the OR and waking up in the recovery area.  The day was OK, but the night and the next day were pretty rough.  I'm not one on taking medication and I probably should have taken the pain killers on a more regular basis.  I'm on the mend now, and it's good because I'm going stir crazy figuring out how to fill all my time without being able to lift or do much. 

I recommend Sitka Community Hospital and Sitka Medical Center for all your health needs!

Sick as a Dog over Christmas!

I'm not sure where "sick as a dog" came from, even though I'm sure that I could google it and find out.  No matter where it came from, I was sicker than I have in a good 35 years - and of course it was over Christmas.

But, one of the reasons that I write to myself in this blog, is to notice the little things.  Here I am lying on the couch trying not to tremble from a 102 degree fever, and the sun is doing it's winter thing - not very high in the sky but wandering low across the windows.  And since it is so low in the sky, it's shining back in the living room.

There's this little display that ML had put together that was downright beautiful in the sun.  I hope you like it too.

I confess that the picture isn't as green as the reality.  The green of the bottle set off from the light green of the wall made my sick heart feel fine, for a few minutes anyway.

This is another picture that was a lot prettier in reality.  Again, with ML's artistic ability, she had put some dried flowers in a vase.  The silhouette against the light green of the wall paint was beautiful.








I wouldn't have been staring into space looking at the walls if I hadn't been sick.  Maybe it was a good thing.

Happy Solstice!

ML and I went for a walk today.  It was a glorious day.  Have a great solstice.

What a nice place to sit if you have a sitpad and warm clothes!

Winter in Sitka - a bit of snow and 30 degrees

ML and Hannah decided that we should spend Christmas in Sitka and Hoonah this year.  So we did.  I admit I had my reservations - mostly due to the expense and holiday travel, but so far I think they did great.  The reason?  Right now we have some glorious winter weather.

This picture is from our front glass doors.  It was taken exactly at 8 a.m.  It's already getting light!  But, the light level is a little more illustrative when you see the much brighter light from the streetlight in the right of the picture.

Here is the house with blue sky in the background and a beautiful layer of snow on the tree branches.  Luckily, we were here to brush off the snow from the rhododendrons and few other trees whose branches might break if it turns rainy (which it will).

Time to go to the grocery store, which has one of the best views in town.  Mt. Edgecumbe is in the background.

As long as we're on our "back to town" rounds, we may as well go to the library.  It has a nice view from its parking lot too.









When you're in a rain forest, any weather can happen - but mostly it's rainy.  This is great luck to have 4-6 inches of powder snow and just below freezing temps.  Get out the snowshoes!

Meeting the Warings

The world is such an interesting place.  As conventional wisdom says, "it's a small one, too" - or something like that.

We started up the trail toward the ridge above Yellowstone Lake and saw an older couple (older than us, anyway) looking through their binoculars at something in the woods.  We stopped and asked what they were seeing.   As we had thought, they are birders.

Amazingly enough, in our short conversation, we learned that:

- they had been in Milawi, Africa, as had our daughter Hannah.

- they lived in Juneau in the 1980's and Ms. Waring had come to Hoonah to do some census work - maybe having visited us at our house, although no-one could remember that detail.

- they had just spent some time in Ozello, Florida - where we have a friend with a house that we had stayed in for a long weekend.  The houses were nearly next to each other.

Huh, you figure it out.  Pretty amazing.  We really enjoyed them.  The photo is them checking out the view.

Much luck to the Warings.  It was great meeting you.

Construction Work

My construction work can often be followed by looking at my hands.

Note the right index - yep, you're right - a hammer blow.  Two, in fact, and the second one hurt a lot more than the first.

The white is caulk.  The green is paint.

You probably can't see from this picture, but both hands and all digits are swollen.  Plus, they hurt.

There are a few nicks and cuts that you can't see.  That's just as well.  Typically, it because I've done something stupid.

Lastly, there is a puncture wound on the other side of my left middle finger.  I'm very conscious of where I put my fingers when using the nail gun (a gun that drives nails with compressed air), but somehow I always make a minor error.  I'm usually just happy that it's minor.  There are lots of emergency room visits as a result of nail guns. 

Garage - 2nd level & concept of Square

So far, so good.  The concept of "square" is not really that difficult - you would think.  Four right triangles equal distance apart - right?  But, to me it never seems that easy in practice.  Fortunately, Matt's garage is based on a perfect square square with walls 30 feet apart.  Not that hard, you would think.

Well, to be honest, it always seems difficult for me.  But, that's why building is a challenge and fun to do - or at least it's fun most of the time.  BUT, we got the plywood on the first floor and we squared it up within an eighth of an inch on the diagonal measurement.  Voila!  Easy!

So away we went building the gable walls.

Here's Matt nailing the northwest wall that looks out over Sitka with a view of Mt. Edgecumbe.  Note the big windows!


These walls are about 14 feet high at the highest point.

See how easy it is to lift the wall up?  Four guys with one finger!

See Matt with his Search and Rescue helmet on to protect that huge brain.

I mentioned earlier that they let people that don't know anything rent dangerous equipment.  We drew straws  to see who got the nod and Sam won. 

Just a little tip for your next construction project, don't fix the beam to the forklift - get a strap and let it hang.  With the system you see in the picture to the left, there's no flexibility to be able to move the beam.  Live and learn.

This beam is big: 24 inches high, 6 3/4 inches wide, and 29 feet, 11 inches long.

It's there, but not quite right.  But it's late on a Friday night and time to go home.

This is the streetside view.

It would have been nice to have some side walls for strength, but the design is based on 4 feet of steep pitched roof with a 22 foot dormer roof.  Matt decided to take out the 4 feet of roof on the back right side - which is why you see two different roof angles in the picture.  Maybe we should have at least built that wall first, but we wanted to see what the gable windows would look like.

This is the "back" of the building.

Whew, a major step forward - roof beam up, Matt had no need for his helmet, and the forklift was ready for returning with no problems.

Definition of "Remote"

Maybe I'm using a poor analogy, but like Bob Marshall, I've always been interested in places away from people - as he describes, "blank spaces on the map."  At the same time, I'm no adventurer in any category like Bob Marshall or the many adventurers that run rivers that haven't been run before or walk places that haven't been walked before . . . and many other examples.  But I do love the natural world and being away from other people. But what is "remote' in our day and age? 

Yes, I've decided it is how many jet trails you see.   A couple of years ago, we rafted the Tatshenshini-Alsek Rivers.    What a great trip.  We saw maybe 30 people in 10 days.  But we saw regular jet trails as travelers flew over us from Juneau to Yakutat or Anchorage eating their free soy mix and quaffing one plastic glass of soda/pop.

In the Brooks Range?  After our drop off at Circle Lake, we saw no other people for 7 days.  It was 3 days before we saw a jet trail.  And we did see one a couple of days later.  Disappointingly, the fourth day of our trip we encountered 2 sightseeing single engine planes way up a canyon in the Arrigetch Mountains.   And, finally, we heard another couple of small planes during the week, but never saw them.

And, in full disclosure, we arrived back in our Arrigetch Base Camp after a glorious day hike, greeted by a poorly written note noting that I (yes, it was me!) did not put my emergency Mountain House Rice and Chicken away in the bear proof can.  I felt fortunate that someone in the National Park Service flew into the area at great expense in order to guard my safety.

Next time you go out remote, look for jet trails.  The fewer that you see, the farther out you'll be.  I know that I'll never see as few in one week as our Brooks Range trip.

The Kingest of Salmon

It's been awhile since I've posted.  I guess I've been busy.  Maybe, maybe not.

I did go fishing this morning and caught a couple or three king salmon.  Sometimes you catch some and sometimes you don't.  As conventional wisdom says, that's why they call it "fishing" rather than "catching."

I'm really not a big sports fisherman.  But, in the case of king salmon, I am an eater.  Or, to put it another way, king salmon is one of my favorite foods and I like to catch them to eat them.

Just look at it.  OK, OK, so I'm not the best cook in the world.  The "presentation" doesn't look too good in the picture.

But I can tell you that the result was impressive when you inserted a forkful into your mouth.  We made a marinade with soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, garlic, and some ginger.  An hour later, I browned all sides of the salmon chunks on my genuine Little Weber Smokey Joe grill and then put some smoke chips on the fire and put the lid on.

 With some rice and ML cooked brussel sprouts and onions with a tinge of black, it was a mighty fine dinner - even if I do say so myself.

I hope you have the chance to eat the same.

Catalytic Converter lost (and bought)

This morning I shut the La Quinta room 110 door quietly behind me in anticipation of a bold grande coffee with a decaf shot of espresso at the Starbucks which was just over walking distance. I turned the key on our Honda Element and WHOA! A LOUD ROAR erupted from the floorboards beneath my feet. And it didn't quit. Hmm. Now how do things like that happen when last night at 10 p.m., it worked perfectly?

On my knees with my head half under the car, and it wasn't too hard to figure out.

 

There goes the Starbucks.

At times, there is beauty in technology.  Back to the room and open the computer to find the nearest Honda dealer - estimate . . . (hold your breath and sit down) . . .  $2000.

Turns out that missing catalytic converters is a fairly regular occurrence in these parts - and other areas of the country.  According to the internet, they're worth $50 to $200 at a junkyard for the valuable metals in them.  With the higher clearance of the SUV and a handy dandy cordless sawsall, it's less than two minutes to zip one out.  I guess that's not too bad an hourly wage - even with the delivery time to the junkyard.

Look at that nice clean cut in the picture on the right.

Time to call Geico.  I've got to admit that they were responsive, positive, and kind.  First the claims person, then the tow specialist (you're not supposed to drive the car without the converter . . . ).  They wanted me to go to their own fix-it place, which being a skeptic, I was reluctant.  They said it was fine that I would rather go to the certified Honda place, but they couldn't guarantee that they could get an adjuster over there in a "timely fashion."  Plus, Geico would guarantee the work themselves anywhere in the country (I guess as long as I have Geico insurance .. . .!).

I noted the time at the end of the phone call: 8:42 a.m.  At 10:48 a.m. and two calls later to iron out a "purchase order" issue with the tow company, and the car was off on the tow truck.

Twenty minutes later I got a call from Caliber Collision that they had seen the damage, found the parts, and were waiting for my OK and the GEICO adjuster's OK (who works out of Caliber, evidently).  They noted the Alaska license plate and thought we might be needing the car . . .

Possibly, the fix can be today . . . maybe tomorrow.  Plus, according to google, it's 3.2 miles away and I can walk that pretty easy.

Until then, we can hang out in La Quinta with the dog.  Stay tuned for updates!