Visiting the 'banks

Mom spent a few days with me in the 'banks. We hit all the hotspots: took in a play, went to Chena Hot Springs where we soaked in the pools and sat at an ice bar in the Ice Museum. We traveled the Chena River on the Riverboat Discovery with a stop at a re-created Athabascan village. Saw the pipeline, and viewed fall color. Unfortunately mom didn't get to see any moose.

 

At the pipeline outside of town.

Runner

"We have a runner!"

Anyone who has ever worked in the field of Special Education knows what it means to hear those words and feel your heart stop.

Got Milk?

As someone who used to write directions for a living, you'd think I'd be better at following them. You would be wrong.

Let me start at the beginning. I'm intrigued these days by the blog (Zero Waste Home) and the author's efforts to have a zero waste household. It's pretty amazing what she does. Yes, she is extreme, And yes, she does things that I am not likely to ever be comfortable doing (turning down a glass of wine at a party because it's in a plastic cup? Oh, hell to the no!) 

Dandelions, Pig Weed and Cats

These are three of the things I'm allergic to. Not to mention birch, alder, aspen, spruce and grass. All things Alaska has in spades. My reaction to the allergy tests were some of the worst the doctor had ever seen. I was told weekly allergy shots should take care of the plants and trees (and we know how that turned out!). But the cats? No cure for that aside from getting rid of them.

I've had the cats now for nine years. I don't think I'm going to dump them because of some post-nasal drip. Besides, how can I be allergic to this?

 

No Chickens Were Harmed

Yesterday was the Crossfit Fitness Derby. And unlike last year, no chickens died (click here for that story). This year, the fair folks made sure the Derby was on the opposite side of the fairgrounds from the Cluck Hut. And unlike last year, I participated this year! I was going to wax eloquent about the metaphor one can draw between sports competition and life; not believing your own stories about what you think you can do (I even found a nice Bruce Lee quote). Blah, blah, blah, whatever. I'm tired. Too tired to even hold a thought in my head.

Not Your Mama's Butter Cream

Alas...I was not a Blue Ribbon Winner at this year's Tanana Valley State Fair. I entered a flourless chocolate cake (one of my specialties) and it won 2nd place. It's hard to be satisfied with 2nd place when you know it should have been Fair champion. I was robbed.

"The Way We Talk"

As a speech therapist I have worked with clients who stutter, and I have friends who stutter. It is my belief that stuttering is not an affliction that needs to be cured or fixed. Rather, it is the societal belief that stuttering is wrong, that needs to change.