Aleutian Islands of Alaska: Living on the Edge

What a gorgeous book! We just received this in the library today and I had to immediately leaf through it. The pictures are stunning.....I haven't read the entire thing.....but it seems all islands are included with stories and photos accompanying them. Gert Svarney (Alena's beautiful grandmother), Sharon (Alena's beautiful mom), (there's even a photo of Alena's sister out at Humpy Cove), Katherine McGlashan (Cape Sarichef Salon), even April from Akutan and her husband are pictured in it! Lots of boat pics, eagles, otters, all kinds of sea life...
It is available at Barnes & Noble......which is where our first copy came from...we ordered 4 more from our regular ordering spot....this one will be available for perusal in our Alaskana room (reference only, to be read here)....When we receive the others, I will put 3 in our general collection for checkout! So for you locals, come on in and take a peek.....

So, check it out! Enjoy!

Fox who lost his socks

I went to check the book drop this morning and noticed two little white items in the grass...upon closer inspection, I realized it's a pair of socks. Okay, I know the tomorrow we are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday here at the library.......and it makes for a good rhyme...but how in the world did a pair of socks get there? How does one lose their socks? If anyone is missing a pair of socks, they are here....I will be tossing them into the garbage soon, so claim them fast if they are yours...if you do attempt to claim them, before they will be released to you, you MUST tell the story of how they came to be there. Thanks!

BTW....HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday :) to Goldfish.....hope it was terrific! What are you now...25????

Ponderings

Every time I hear about a boat in distress, my heart sinks and my stomach is in knots...it's been almost a year (Mar. 23rd) since that awful phone call telling my sister that the Ranger is sinking. I'll never forget that horrible morning...especially when the news came that Capt. Pete Jacobsen and Mate David Silveira perished. It still brings tears to my eyes. Sherrie's birthday is Mar. 24th, the day after the Ranger went down. We will try to celebrate her 50th this year....all the while celebrating the lives of those lost on that Easter morning. Rest in Peace, dear friends.

So, my heart soared when we found out that the whole crew of the Icy Mist were back on dry land, the Coast Guard is amazing in my book and when I run into a group of them, I always try to thank them for protecting us and saving our friends' lives.

Yesterday's wind storm was crazy! I have been reading about all the happenings due to the wind. Steve's blog, CB's blog, April in Akutan. WOW...I was pretty sheltered here at the library, didn't even want to go outside.....thank God no one was injured, it's a miracle in itself, with all the stuff flying around. Today more than makes up for yesterday...it's is spectacular. I'll try to get out and take some photos of the beauty today......if I don't we can all rely on CB and Steve to capture it for us :)

I'm pretty proud of the award presented to the library. I didn't even know we were nominated, or that we were way up there until Pipa from Channel 8 came over and interviewed Dan....she pointed the camera at me, and I had to remind her, I do not like to be filmed. She immediately panned the camera down to my fingers which were furiously typing away on my computer. Don't know if they made it onto Flash Unalaska. The City Council gave our library a framed 49 star flag as our "award"...we asked for another 1/2 time person, (I wanted a raise ;), we got a flag. Go figure. I started working for Dan Masoni in Nov. 1998....the library was located in the Burma Road Chapel...we had 2 shelves of books & 4 really crappy computers (we now have 15 internet access computers)....we moved to this building in August of 1999. Our library is bursting with books, DVDs, VHS (YES, I said VHS!), kids movies, kids books, magazines, newspapers....we are passport acceptance agents, notary publics....not to mention, TWIC information central. It's alot more than checking out books and my boss and the people I work with are amazing. So, thanks for the shout-out, Steve!

I'll write more later, just hadn't posted for awhile and had to get some things out there. Have a great day, everyone!

(I FINALLY got a good night's sleep last night....the fiance was in town night before last, we didn't get much sleep, LOL...so I was dog-tired last night, I think I got 6 full hours YAY!)

Thanks and a few notes

First of all, I want to thank CB for the SleepMD...I took some last night, and was gently drifting off to sleep, unfortunately the elephants upstairs decided to have a circus at 11:00PM...I finally had to call the police...who showed up at 11:15, asked them to keep the noise down...okay, drift off again ALMOST, 15 minutes later, they are doing laundry! They were up all night long, banging around....I have had it! I called my landlord and asked that they do something about this. It's either us or them! I'll keep you all posted....

Second, Congratulations to Catina, Brandon and Auntie Katherine, and hi to little Hayden!...really happy to hear everyone is healthy and happy! Can't wait to see the little guy....

Thirdly, the Polar Bear Run (walk) was alot of fun, it was great to see everyone, and it's the first time in a long time that the weather has been decent. It was really cold, but not like years past. Congrats to everyone who finished. I had Eider with me and he is not easy to control on a leash (too much excitement, I guess) At least he didn't poop right in the middle of the raceway, whew! My BFF Jan, Eider, her granddaughter Addilynn and I walked as far as little Addi's legs would take her and then went back to watch the "real entrants" cross the finish line.

Fourth and last of all....my honey will be home tonight....so hopefully my lack of sleep tonight will be for a different reason, wink wink!

Have a great day everyone!

Sleepless in Dutch

I haven't slept for days! I am a sleeper, I love to sleep....I have maybe had 5 hours in the last 5 days, so very unlike me. Thursday night I took a Unisom (they always help) at 9:30pm, by 11:30pm, I was still tossing and turning....so I took ANOTHER Unisom....nothing...I lay awake all night. On Friday morning I got up, showered and was lost! I could NOT function, so I took the day off, thinking I could really get some sleep...I was sooooo tired...I absolutely could not sleep. Last night, Friday, I think I got about 2 hours of real sleep...only reason I think that is, I remember dreaming...Am I going through menopause? Do I have too much on my mind? Am I stressed out? I don't know the answer. I just know that if I don't get some sleep soon, I am going to lose it.

Exercise might help? I walked up Ballyhoo Thursday after work with the dogs, so that didn't help....going to try walking again tonight, then I am going to stay at my sister's house (in my old room)....and see if a change of scenery will help. Maybe heavy drinking will help, I know I will pass out and not get the REM that is essential to one's well-being, but unconsciousness sounds so delish! I will be walking in the Polar Bear run tomorrow, sleep or not! (Unless the weather is really crappy, right Gigi?)

Today started out really icky, weather-wise, but it's pretty nice out right now. I have about 55 minutes until I get off work....things could change drastically by then. Pray that it doesn't...and pray that I can get some sleep tonight (my next post could get ugly, if not)!

Enjoy!

Beautiful

(Since the fox photos won't upload, here are some eagles to entertain you.)

When I left for work this morning, I was in awe of how beautiful it was. The crescent moon was shining, the mountains were glowing a beautiful pink, and the wildlife was scurrying about. I pulled up to the library and saw one of my foxes.....one of the ones I've known since he/she was a baby. The eagles are everywhere, with a few ravens mixed in. When I went to check the book drop, I noticed the other fox that grew up around the library....I had to race out and take some photos...they turned out a bit blurry, but here they are...aren't they cute? The reddish colored one was injured some time ago and one of his back legs just dangles most of the time, this morning I noticed he was holding up his right front leg and it looked swollen to me. I hope he will be okay, I know his appetite hasn't been affected. Have a great day everyone! PS...I loved Steve's blog and photo from this morning...he is one of the few on the islands with a tree in his yard. (Blogger isn't letting me upload this photo, so ya know I'll keep trying :) Keep the FAITH!

WTF?

My hilarious cousin, Catherine, sent me this link in honor of my previous WTF? blog....you HAVE to see this and you MUST have sound....warning: graphic language...not for the kiddies!

I laughed my A** off! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AyVh1_vWYQ

Christmas puppies

Okay, I haven't got it down yet....but aren't they cute in their Christmas costumes..yeah, I know, another entry in the "Why we hate people" category...

One more try

Okay, blogger is being very selective as to the photos I upload....so I'm gonna try to figure out why and remedy the problem. Have a great week everyone. I'll be in touch! Cheers!

HELP

LMAO....okay, it must be me.....are my photos too big? Some of them upload, and some don't..I'm pretty computer literate (yeah right, some of you are saying)....I'm gonna try again. Do I need to photoshop them and make them smaller? I just don't know. I'll keep trying. Keep checking back, please. CB, HELP!!!!!!

CRAP

This is pissing me off BIG TIME! I can't upload photos!!!! WTF???

More testing

I have some great photos to share, but it's not cooperating with me...don't they know who I am??? It's only letting me upload one at a freekin' time....so enjoy them one at at time with me...the Christmas one is Dan, Elaine and my seester, Sherrie at our annual "soiree"...

Testing

I just got hooked up with cable modem internet....testing uploading photos....bear with me..k?

King Eider & Real Alaska Woman

Kathleen (a teacher here) and I TRY to walk everynight after work....she usually has to pee about 1/2 way down the spit...well, it's winter and this IS Alaska, it's COLD....that doesn't stop her, that's what I call a REAL ALASKAN WOMAN!

My sister's dog, Eider (King Eider of Umnak) is in love...with rocks, that is....he carefully makes his selection (he likes the really big ones)..carries it to a nice spot, drops it, noses it around, rolls around on it, barks at it....then picks it up and does this over and over and over again. It's quite funny to watch....Here is his "Valentine's Day Eve" rock...he carried that one up and down the spit. Usually he will drop it and find another one...this one was "special".

Chili

Ta Dah!

Enough

Okay, enough about that stupid woman for a bit! On to more important things....like.....MY LUNCH....Mary has done it again, yummy steak chili in a bread bowl. I really should avoid the bread and just eat the chili, but hey, if I walk after work, is it still that bad? I think NOT. Plus, I only had a couple of bites of bread, dipped in chili, of course! (blogger is NOT letting me upload photo of chili bread bowl)...I'll try later, take my word for it, it was a work of art.

I don't know if this is for the public's ears yet...(I really CAN keep a secret, that is, if I KNOW it's a secret) Mary is closing the Crab Pot Deli on the 28th of Feb. I don't know whether to cry or scream or BOTH! I will be crying on the morning of March 1st, I know that for sure.

She is going back to work on her Broad Bay Adventure Camp....from what I've heard, it's ALOT of fun, dirt bikes, fishing, camping...just lots of good old fashioned outdoor Alaska fun! She has a website for the camp www.broadbayadventures.com She said if it's not up and running right now, it should be in a few days. She's pretty excited to get back to this, even though she will miss serving the best damn seawiches & landwiches in town! Best of luck to Mary.....

Sounding Off

I watched part of the interview with the octuplet mom last night...and the more I listened to her, the more disturbed I became....My burning question/concern is this....babies NEED their mothers nurturing, especially premies...how can one woman possibly nurture, hold, love, 8 babies? The answer is she can't....those babies are not going to thrive, they need way more attention than their mother is able to give them. Not only the babies, but her other children....CPS needs to step in and find other homes for at least 6 of those babies....also, she DID have plastic surgery to look like Angelina Jolie...look at the photos of her before all of this. The ones with her other SIX children...her lips are smaller AND her nose is bigger. This woman is delusional, she needs treatment!

Okay, I'm done now...had to get that off my chest! Anyone else care to comment?

Correction

I posted a photo of "Elaine & Jimmy Arquette"....need to clarify...it's Elaine Herr & Jimmy Arquette....they are not married, nor are they brother and sister...just so ya know! (Elaine's available, wink wink)...

Party pics

Dave, Unknown Partyer & Mark

Elaine & Jimmy Arquette

Larry Hendricks & John Fox

Norman (Captain of the Poseidon) & birthday girl!

Aftermath

Tawnja, Pam, Elaine, & Lauri

We had alot of fun celebrating Tawnja's birthday (1-31-09)....dinner, drinks, & great friends converged on the Grand Aleutian's Cape Cheerful bar....

Los Angeles Times Article

Read this story.....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dutch-harbor5-2009feb05,0,7377007.story?page=2

This is the link to page 2, sorry.....you can figure it out....Love that Jen Shockley!

Windows we look through

Someone e-mailed this to me, and I thought it was worthy of posting here....I'm leaving to walk my dogs, so these are my parting thoughts....Cheers!

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.

The next morning while they are eating breakfast,
the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.

'That laundry is not very clean', she said. 'She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap'.

Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: 'Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?

'The husband said, 'I got up early this morning andcleaned our windows.'

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Weekend

Wow, what a weekend, I know it's Wednesday....but my weekend is Sunday/Monday...Saturday night was Tawnja's birthday, so we all went to the Grand for cocktails (duck farts), and appetizers...yummy seared ahi, coconut shrimp (my fave)...it was really fun. I do have photos, but alas forgot my camera today. Sunday, of course was Super Bowl. I unintentionally wore Arizona Cardinals colors, so I had to root for them. Didn't really care who won, I happened to win $100 1st quarter score...YAY AND The Boss at 1/2 time was incredible....I've always been a Springsteen fan, in fact, I think he was put on this earth for me. We just never met....Scott understands this and is okay with it (well, ALMOST okay)....

Sherrie got in last night from Seattle....we were sweating it a little, due to reports of a huge storm coming our way, not to mention the Volcano wanting to erupt any second...she coulda been stuck in Anchorage for a long time. Luckily it didn't happen.

It has been insane at work! No fish means processors aren't working, and with nothing to do and no money, they frequent the library to check their e-mail, check out books, etc. These people come in from all over the world, and don't get me wrong, I like (was gonna say love, LOL) my job....but the viruses they bring in from wherever they are from, all mingle with each other and it's hard to fend off. They are coughing, sneezing, blowing their noses, wiping their noses on whatever happens to be in front of them...I am CONSTANTLY washing my hands and using hand sanitizer as well as spraying Lysol around...I don't mean to offend anyone, I'm just susceptible to colds and flu....one of my co-workers has been out sick for almost 2 weeks, the cook at the Crab Pot Deli has been out for 2 weeks...I just don't want to get sick...HELP! I started feeling icky last night, feel a little better today, but I can feel something a-brewin...any suggestions to ward this off?

Oh well, my point was, the last thing I've felt like doing is getting on the computer, so I haven't blogged for a few days. I will get back into it....post some photos and pray I don't catch a bug.

Have a great week everyone!