worth a thousand

Yep. That says STATE CHAMPS. That boy is fast! Must be the shorter hair...

Arnold traveled to Fairbanks with members of the Sitka High Track team for the State meet last weekend. His relay team took the only first place win for Sitka.

His coach was telling me about it this last week and we BOTH had tears in our eyes! So proud of him.

movie recommendation

Last night we watched "New In Town" with Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr. The movie begins with a group of women scrapbooking and gossiping about life in their little Minnesota town. Gotta love that Minnesota accent. The plot is completely predictable, but it's a cute movie.

Daddy would have loved it. I could just imagine watching it with him and rewinding the movie so I could hear what was said while he was laughing.

Be sure to watch the scrapbooking segment in the DVD's special features! You'll notice that they show the Creative Memories cutting system and albums. Makes me want to move to Minnesota and scrapbook.

swine flu fatality

you've probably all seen this tragic photo.

my friend, joan, sent it to me with a note "I think we all know who gave it to him..."

(i needed some humor.)

the post you've all been waiting for

thank you, thank you, lori, for beginning the wonderful tradition of the annual tax refund commemorative handbag.

here's what i ordered for the occassion...

and the best part is -- it was ON SALE!

just some random pictures

this is a piece that cassie had displayed in the art show last thursday. when i saw it, i thought "aunt lori would love that!" (i love it, too!)

there are two of four gray whales in this picture. they've just been hanging out near the shore about a mile south of our house. last weekend, cassie and i pulled over twice to just sit and watch them. they never did come very far out of the water, but we could hear their breath each time they surfaced. amazing.


these are my glass slugs, mary lou and herbie. they just look so beautiful with the sun shining through them, don't they?

we made the offer on this house in november of '92 and moved in february of '93. in the spring, we were surprised by a row of red and yellow tulips along the front of the house. these are the only two that keep coming back each year.

coincidence? i don't think so.

some of my best friends are bikers

a couple of years ago, sheldon jackson college shut down due to serious financial problems. the childcare center where i now work was once a part of the college. my boss, lolly, and the board of directors are working really hard to purchase our building from the college, and on may 29th will hold the second annual "bike-a-thon" to help raise money for our school.

my friends will be biking up to ten laps each around our playground, and will be seeking pledges. wanna support a biker?

2008 Tax Refund Commemorative...

washer! Whoo hoo!

I did not file my taxes on time (as I understand it, if the IRS owes YOU money, there is no penalty for filing late). I had not filed my taxes because I was still looking for receipts.

On Saturday I did six or seven loads of laundry, and just before the rinse cycle on the last load, there was a noise resembling an auto collision coming from my laundry room, followed by silence. As I'm not mechanically inclined, I pushed and pulled the knob a few times. No reaction from the washer. Turned the knob and pushed and pulled again. Still nothing. Then I went to the fuse box (Yes! I know where that is!) and turned the fuse off and back on. Pushed and pulled the knob again with no result. Moved the washer away from the wall to take a look behind it and noticed a small oil spill on the floor underneath the washer.

The washer is dead. It's older than Arnold. It has served me well for a very long time.

On Sunday I went to Spenard Builder's Supply to purchase a washer. The customer help dude looks on the computer and tells me they have one washer in stock for under $500. Great! I'll take it. Well, they can't physically locate THAT washer. Cassie and I walk out to the yard and poke through the appliance stockroom with another dude, who finds a different washer. He does not know the price. I ask him "can you talk to that other dude on your radio and give him that stock number?" Well, they have their conversation and determine that the washer in the stockroom is not in stock. "Maybe we already sold this one?" they suggest.

Okay, thanks for your help, SBS! (I just now noticed how their acronym ends in 'BS'.) SBS promises to call me on Monday to let me know if I can buy the washer from the stockroom. I doubt this will happen, and it hasn't yet.

On Monday, I call Home Depot in Juneau and ask if I can buy the Maytag washer that is listed as "internet only" but is not available for shipment to my zip code. Well, no. That washer is $100 more in Alaska, and it's discontinued, and they don't have one in stock. BUT, they have a washer that's exactly the same (only cheaper!) that they'd be happy to put on the barge for me.

So, wa hoo! New washer! Soon!

This wasn't exactly in the budget, so on Tuesday I got busy looking for receipts so I could file my taxes. Filed them electronically this morning and there's enough to cover the cost of the washer and even,

perhaps,





a commemorative purse...

(to be continued)

loaves and fishes

i was just about done cooking dinner last night when arnold arrived home with three of his friends (they were working on a project for school that involved a video camera and rock star for playstation). my first reaction was "oh no! we don't have enough dinner!" but then, as if from above, i could almost hear the voice of reason -- Tim Gunn saying "Make it work!" and of course it was fine.

pasta with alfredo sauce, smoked sausage, roasted asparagus (lori got me hooked on that!), and my awesome parmesan bread.

leftovers, anyone?