Finally Friday!

This picture is courtesy of the Alaska Volcano Observatory Web cam. Redoubt is still doing her thing. "Vigorous steam and gas omissions", according to their website. I'm so used to this that if and when she finally blows her top, it will be a big surprise. Things have been so crazy around here that I haven't even thought to check on updates lately. (Hope that didn't hurt her feelings.) It's another beautiful day in glorious Alaska. Spring has arrived, and everything is starting to turn green. Next weekend marks the opening of the Anchorage weekend market. We'll have to enjoy a final stroll through the stalls and pick up a few last minute souvenirs. How we are going to wedge them into our overstuffed suitcases is a problem that we will deal with later. We might be boarding the plane wearing two pair of pants and four shirts each, just to make the weight limits on the baggage. I haven't seen a moose in a few weeks now. I suspect they were cautious about the fact that I was trying to stow one in my household goods. Surely they will come out soon to bid me a fond goodbye. (More likely, they will peek out from behind trees and cheer that the crazy lady with the camera is finally going to leave them alone.) Bear have been spotted out on the back side of base already, too, but none have been in our area. Maybe we can do a little running around this weekend and see if we can flush one out. I'm going to miss Alaska.

Moving Magic-Now You See It, Now It's Gone!

We had four days scheduled for the move, and these guys did it in two. A miracle? magic? Who's to say. They did it. This part is always very exciting, and a little nerve racking. Every time we move, I look around and think "Holy cow! Who's crap is filling up my house! We definitely need to get rid of some of this!" But then I decide that I can't live without any of it and into boxes it goes. I'm sure this thrills the movers almost as much as it does the hubby. This time, though, I noticed that a LOT of stuff going into the boxes wasn't mine. The hubby has accumulated a lot of crap on his own. Sorry, I meant... "valuable cold weather gear and accessories. I can't get rid of this stuff. I'll definitely need it again later!" Someone else is singing my tune, it would seem.

The hubby also can't sit around while someone else is working. Apparently this is part of the tough guy code. I'm afraid that I didn't read this manual. I, for one, was happy that we weren't moving ourselves this time.

Now our lives are packed into MANY wooden crates, loaded into a trailer, and heading out to the docks. There they will be put on a slow moving boat that is heading "over the pond" to our new home. Hopefully they will avoid the pirates. Argh, Matey, you touch my furniture and die cuts and walking the plank will look like pre-school! We are camping out on blow up mattresses for the time being. Soon they will be back to pick up our last 500 pound shipment and the rest of the goodies that will be heading into storage. (Note to self: thin out rest of goodies going into storage!) By the way, in case you were wondering, I got into LOTS of trouble for posting that pic of Jess "The Russian" teenager a couple of days ago. Be sure and go back and check it out again. No sense in getting into trouble and not getting my monies worth out of it. :0) Hee hee, Jess. That will teach you.

Moving Monday and Tuesday

The kids are having way too much fun with this move. They left for school yesterday morning with a house full of furniture, and returned home to find their lives packed away in lots of lovely boxes. But, being the Air Force kids that they are, they adjust quickly. Jess hooked up the laptop on the kitchen bar and entertained herself (and us) with an impersonation of a Russian fellow. Not really sure where that came from. She made herself a mustache and goatee and the accent just seemed to follow naturally. Anything you asked her was answered with accent and attitude. You can't see it in this picture, but she also had a home made sticker on her shirt with the words "having too much fun with tape" on it.

Brandon hooked up the HUGE 13" TV to the cable box, and was good to go. When you sit this close, it's wide screen. At one point, he turned to us and said "I kind of like not having any furniture." Kids. They like the idea of camping out in the house as long as we have the basics like Internet and TV. Not much else is required.

The Harley took off today in a small truck all by itself. It will be boxed at the warehouse and added to our shipment. Hopefully. We are keeping our fingers crossed. The movers are finishing up the packing today and will load everything into the big truck. Then it's happy camping until we head off to TLF. I'm sure after a couple of weeks of sleeping on blow up mattresses, it will seem like a high dollar vacation on the Riviera!

Simply Saturday

Days are slipping by quickly, and once again, I have let the blog slide to the side. I will try to be a good little blogger and keep it more up to date once the movers have done their thing. That said, next week is not looking good for blogging. All of our worldly possessions are being boxed up and sent "over the pond" to our new home. I'll be lap topping it until we see them again in a few months.

Update on the kitties: They are doing very well and are enjoying the perks of living with Grandma and Grandpa. I suspect they have each gained a pound or two already with the extra treats that they are getting, but this is not confirmed at this time. Ashley is still her mellow self. Tink is pulling her normal routine of getting into everything and slowly driving the Grandparents insane. You have to love the Tink. When these three years are up, the Grandparents will either meet us at the door with kennels in hand, or yell through the peek hole that we can't have the babies back. I am prepared for battle. Dad gets credit for the latest Tinky pictures. I am still waiting for him to start his own kitty blog. They provide a lot of material.

I am off to prepare for the movers on Monday. Things to sort, things to toss, things to pack into suitcases. Our lives have to be divided into need it now, need it in 3 years, and can live without it for 2 or 3 months. I have found that I am more of a hoarder than I thought. I blame my parents. (I am quite sure that it can't be MY fault!)

Wavering Wednesday

Greetings from the glorious, thawing tundra. I've been slacking a bit in the blogging, but we've been a little consumed by this big move. I am happy to report that Tink and Ashley are settling in nicely at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Ashley is still a little shy but Tink has claimed the entire house as her domain. Not surprising. We are already counting the days until we get them back. I haven't had anyone sleep on my head or drool in my hair for several days. The kids have offered, but it's just not the same. I have taken to carrying a pillow around, petting it and making purring sounds. The neighbors stare a bit, but it seems to help.Only a few more days until the movers come and take our major household goods. Then we will be roughing it with inflatable mattresses, camping chairs, the laptop, and a 13 inch TV from the stone age. This should be very interesting. I suppose it will make us appreciate our belongings even more when we get them back. You will be happy to know that Jessica's passport finally came in. For a while there it was looking like we would have to leave her with the neighbors. She might have ended up on the blog with a sign around her neck saying "Free to good home!" Stranger things have happened. Russ has recovered from the heartache of selling his beloved Tundra and wheeler, and is checking out sports cars online. You can practically see the testosterone. The kids are helping him pick out the color. I am reminded of "Tim The Tool Man" Taylor on that old TV show Home Improvement where he grunts and says things like "more power". Oh, well. He has 3 years to dream and plan. Then he will probably head out and get another Tundra.

GPS Lost In Cyberspace

We bought a GPS last year because we thought that we were going to drive from Anchorage to wherever in the lower 48 we were meant to end up. Does the hubby think that we need a GPS unit? Not really. But the wife thinks that they are really cool. I admit that I didn't do a lot of research. I know about two brands...Garmin and TomTom. The TomTom was on sale, so guess which one we ended up with. I got the basic model, nothing fancy. It covers the US and Canada. What more do you need? Apparently western Europe. No problem. I can go online, purchase and download the proper maps and we'll be all set. It's so easy, ANYONE can do it. So I go to the TomTom website and shop for a map. I can get western Europe for $59. Seems pretty reasonable. I click on it, and it offers me a bonus. For a mere $10 more, I can get central and western Europe. You can see where this is going. Bargain...sold. I click on it and proceed to the checkout. This is where things get dicey. It says that I don't have an account with them. Yes, I do. No, you don't. Fine, I'll create a new account. Sorry, that e-mail address is taken because there is an account using it. No duh, that's my account that you said didn't exist. Wrong password, then. Fine, I'll reset it. (Reset it to the same blooming password that it had originally! That will show you!) Sign in and am greeted cordially. You are from the United Kingdom, it says. Nope, United States. United Kingdom. No, United States. Sorry, you don't have an account with us, you need to sign up for one to sign in. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST WANT TO GET A MAP!!!! Then it occurs to me. Do I really want a map from someone who can't even operate their own website? I can see it now...Brussels is 7 km to the north. No...wait! It's 18 km to the east. Ha! There is no such thing as Brussels. Got Ya! You don't even have an account! I'm tired of screaming at the computer. The darn GPS goes back in the box until the hubby can look at it. It's lucky if it doesn't end up in the landfill. I wonder if I can find a Garmin on sale...

Earthquake Sunday

I woke up this morning at 5:50 am. The bed was rattling and bouncing around. It took me a minute to figure out that we were having an earthquake. It was 4.0 on the Richter scale, and about 19 miles south east of Anchorage. The thing about these earthquakes is that they last about half a second at the most. By the time you realize what is happening, it's all over. At first, I thought Redoubt had blown her top, but this was not the case. I suppose it's more interesting than waking up to the alarm clock, only this is Sunday, and I didn't set the alarm. Oh, well. Sleep is over-rated anyway.

We have had a productive weekend here in the great state of Alaska. I had a successful garage sale yesterday, so that means less to pack, ship and store. Jess (my lovely sales assistant) and I had a busy morning, and all that's really left to sell are the stud tires. Each day brings us one step closer to our move. There is still a lot to take care of, and I am beginning to doubt the wisdom of my list making. For every item I cross off, I add two or three more. We have taken care of a lot of things, though. Thanks to a very kind new friend, we already have a furnished apartment and rental car reserved for our use at our new home. It's nice to know that the basics are taken care of. I also found out that you can not ship a moose with your household goods. OK, I admit that I had suspected this all along, but it never hurts to ask. I'm afraid that Bob will have to wait this one out. If I could find a kennel large enough, I'd put him on a truck and ship him to Grandma and Grandpa. He could hang out with Ashley and Tink. I suspect that they would have to get a bigger litter box.