strange relationships....

 so these are from today's Monday walk.  we got blue skies today.  yesterday was dreary.  i woke fairly early, it was soup out there so i went back to sleep.....that lasted until after 1:30. was it the weather, was it the darkness, was it not having a kitchen...? 

 i am in a relationship with my handyman....gotcha!!  no I'm not but it does have some of the same elements....but not in any romantic way...just in the i really want to get my kitchen done way.

 i find myself oddly comforted that he has left tools behind at my place. i am excited when i hear he is coming over to work on the kitchen. i feel my heart beat faster when his truck pulls up to work and the dogs are excited too, they feel it as well i think.  i worry when i hear of accidents on the highway...i want to protect him. i want to bubble wrap him so that he travels safely to and from the Kenai.

 i have been burned by other handymen, who have not been dedicated to my project.  who have taken my money and never returned. i find myself still having some hope that they will return and complete the projects they promised but never did. 

 so this is relationships in your 50's some times...my needs are few. haha....i have not heard from my handy man since last weeks cabinet push...usually just when i start to panic that he too will never return to hang the rest of my cabinets i generally get a text with his plan and all is well.

 i also find that i am careful to not be pushy or seem upset in the least at the time it is taking.  i fear scaring him away or being too needy.

 i have gotten some painting done which makes me smile when i look at what is in the kitchen and the color...i gotta say, it is looking pretty dreamy. 

 i watch cooking shows on TV and dream of one day cooking again and not just snacking but cooking and eating real meals.  i dream of baking...it is that time of year, cool temperatures, holidays.  a girl really likes her winter baking.  i had no idea how much a kitchen does to your psyche. 

 snacking is becoming less and less satisfying.

 more from Powerline Pass....

 i did get the new phone yesterday.  the girl was super helpful at the store...i guess they have actually been robbed at gunpoint a few times...the phones are expensive.  it was a smooth transition to the new phone...painful because it is expensive. it's also painful that we have become so dependent on these gadgets. 

 it was not that many years ago that we lived without these gadgets, not many before that when we survived without the internet...life is strange.

 i got every bit of use out of that phone though.  in the store i kept flipping back and forth from airplane mode to save the battery to get us through the transition.  i couldn't get it to charge over like 16 percent that last 24 hours.  they bought it back for $60...my sad little phone is gone.

 the rest of these are actually up Arctic Valley.  always beautiful in the fall.

 chatted with a few siblings today.  had to see how the weekend went.  sounds like everyone had a good time.

 not enough snow up there yet for skiing, but on the day i was out there hiking they were working on the equipment and prepping for winter skiing. 

 the dogs just like to run. 

 by the time i left AT&T it was for sure dark so i just took the dogs to the dog park.  we skirted around the lake and did some back trails.  a bit darker but it had warmed a bit and the lake freeze looked a bit sketchy. best to just avoid it.  the bogs were nicely frozen today though so I'm sure just the top layer of the lake was frozen.  you can get some fun new ice formations with that. 

 at one point when we hit the bike trail yesterday the dogs both booked into the woods.  they returned pretty quickly and soon i discovered what they had booked to check out...a mama moose and her calf.  thankfully, she did not come tearing out of the dark woods and take me down.  we skirted past her.  those lit up bikes are hanging just off the bike trail near the little free library.

 finding myself worried about my friends in fish and game.  we have an idiot GOP nut job who will soon be our Governor...thank you for electing him fellow citizens...not!!  he is saying he wants all at will government workers to quit.  the last GOP governor got the walrus islands defunded...what damage will this guy do to the walrus and to our environment as a whole.  they are all about making money now...incapable of caring about the future.  greed is ugly.

 too late tonight but perhaps i will send off a few texts...what is safe?  i recall when i first organized WARIS there was concern over there about interacting with me.  I'd never really got the politics of all of that...still don't but i do understand more...which sucks that they can't just do their jobs but are so impacted by the changes in state/national government.  folks do not go into these jobs to battle politics. 

 got the sweetest card from the family of a patient...they also sent a donation to WARIS. we had just been chatting while i cared for their family member. it's pretty rare to get these really.  i don't believe that is because my work isn't appreciated just so few actually take the time to write notes.  i think mostly people just want to move past their time being ill or dealing with sick families.  probably doesn't help them remember their care when they are getting bills either .

 "you were, by far, the most caring and knowledgeable nurse we encountered on this awful journey. you made it a tiny bit more bearable for us and we wanted you to know how much we appreciated you" that is snippet from it.  so sweet...for sure i will save this note though. 

 I'm happy we walked the way we did today.  i was concerned the ice would be too thin but it was fine and it was beautiful out there as usual.

 we had a nice crew out there today.  a few newb's who i think enjoyed themselves.  a new pup too.  she looked to have fun.  no children knocked down so that is always good as well.

 love the patchwork of colors.

 the late night comedians were all over the crap the iitoo said this week.  one friend commented that they don't even have to write anything, the iitoo says such incredibly stupid stuff that all you have to do is play him.  OMG he is a fool.  it looks worse and worse with each passing week.  he is incapable of intelligent conversation. 

 he visited Paradise this weekend.  this should have been the easiest of optics.  a win, but in the interview he called it Pleasure twice before having to be corrected by the outgoing and incoming Governor i believe it was.  how aren't his supporters just filled with embarrassment.....i mean enough already. the emperor has no clothes and somebody really should insist he put some on!!

 they really just should keep him hidden in his castle and speak for him at all times. he is incapable of speaking intelligently and incapable of not spinning tales and absolute lies when he does speak.

 the Finns are totally making fun of him because he claimed he spoken to the leader of Finland and that the leader had told him that they all rake and that prevents forest fires or some crap. i can't recall all the tale that the iitoo spewed out.  the Finns aren't buying it and i appreciate that.  they have been taking photo's of them out raking, vacuuming and/or using their roomba's on the forest floor.  the trend is RAGA-rake America Great again.  i had pondered getting out a rake myself and snapping a selfie raking the ice...because Finland and California have such similar weather patterns.  he is just a fool and i just wish those who elected him could at least admit that the man is a fool instead of so many defending him and making up these crazy lies to justify his tomfoolery...which i have no idea what that means or where it came from, but it is what we are dealing with.

 someone left this painted rock out there. i have run across a few of these now.

 and this day i enjoyed a nice halo around the sun. 

 always enjoy the sun dogs

 Tusker enjoys the views....which were spectacular.

 a group of Cordova area fishermen were charged and given fines and probation after it was found they had harassed and killed 15 Stellar Sea lions.  what is wrong with these people.  the boat captain got fined $20,000, 3 months house arrest and 5 years probation.  he must also do 400 hours community service and publish an apology in a magazine...it's never enough.  personally, revoking their fishing license and their vessel. 

 the zoo gardener was found dead in the zoo parking lot.  he was murdered. i believe they have caught his killer. 

 another dog team in training was run over by a vehicle. the musher was unharmed i believe, no dogs lost, but there were some injuries.

 views from the top.  a pretty chill hike for the views you get.

 another shot of the sun dog, with the real dog

 started cleaning some of the dust today....just seems i can't keep up with it.  should be a bit less of it going forward...

 looking out to cook inlet

 a bit of downtown is spotted

 and then looking back up the Southfork valley...eagle and symphony lakes in the distance

 a bit closer shot of the lakes

 guess i should head to bed...it's nearly 1 am.  too many late nights this week.

 look at those cute pups.  i switched the pictures on the phone so Rio and Blossom are no longer on there...it was time, past time i suppose. 

thankful for:  A.  family that support each other... B. frozen lakes C.  laughter, i wouldn't make it otherwise

Anchorage can be very beautiful...

 i know it's the big city of Alaska, but it's surrounded by amazing trail systems and those who came before us were wise and saved aside land for recreation.  of course, there are many at this time who would like to pummel away at the pretty places and turn a profit.  i hope we can hold the greedy off though.  above is Cheney Lake. i got lucky and decided to go there right when the light was amazing.

 these are a few more from N.Biv walk last week. the reds have been pretty sweet there of late

 fall seems to have gifted us with some extra time.  great weather. everyone is pretty happy with this September.  crazy beautiful. 

 haven't done the big hikes it seems this summer but i still get out there and there is beauty everywhere.

 these are out at Potters Marsh.

 most of the birds seem to have headed south.  always those that stick around longer and some stay all year.

 the light was pretty sweet when i was out there as well. love the colors in the grasses this time of year. 

 i hear the Kenai is getting started on color peaking .

 may need to head to Seward/Hope area on Tuesday and/or Wednesday.  just to see some new stuff and enjoy the fall.

 as long as the weather holds.  the silvers are still coming in. these are salmon.  they turn red when they spawn.  all sorts of strange things happen to these salmon as they spawn.  such an interesting life cycle and we were lucky enough to run in to some biologists from fish and game who were happy to answer some questions for us.

 today was another beautiful day.  i headed to the beach off of Kincaid with the dogs.  amazed it took me as long as it did to find this beach.  there is always so much to explore here...I'll never see it all.

 it gets harder and harder to leave Alaska...fear of missing out for sure. it changes so quickly, i love it all and i don't want to miss any of it.

 the light was hitting the local mountains....check out the colors!

 more fish...there is one that looks more silver, probably a young one that came in a bit soon...it will still continue on with the life cycle of the spawners i guess.

 thanks to SH for joining me for a bit this evening.  we got several more cabinets removed and the big microwave out.  neither of us were injured.  demo is fun!

 still debating, but leaning towards taking out the microwave and opting for tile and a cool vent cover thing.just think it will break up the wall of cabinets and look better.

 will have to think of measurements first and then get that checked into.  need to figure these measurements out and get the tile ordered as well. 

 more from Cheney Lake.  such a beautiful walk. 

 got the yard picked up and mowed.  not too many mowings left this season. 

 i think i wore out the puppies today.  i probably walked a good 5-6 miles and they ran most of it.  i made them walk on leash for the mile plus coming down to the beach trail.  good training.  they were getting loads of compliments.  i know they can do better...they are super smart...i hinder them.  they could do so much more if i put more time and effort in.  fun to have well behaved dogs overall. 

 Ivy still gets the leaps.  brat.  she's super cute though...so that helps. she's out cold right now.

one of my favorite little summer moments was out at Byers.  she was so sacked out, she was limp and she fell asleep with a tennis ball in her mouth.  i have never seen her do that.  so cute.

 was messaging with one of my cousins this morning.  her new puppy has been diagnosed with some scary sounding stuff.  so sad.  MRI and veterinarian neurologists.  she will be loved and spoiled where she is it's pretty clear.  feel badly for both of them though.  these pups sure work their way into our hearts and it can be tough to watch them struggle.  i guess the pups has some blindness so i spoke of how well adjusted Rio Catalina had been.  she lived a long happy life despite it.

 great to see so many out and about everywhere i go.  Alaskans sure do love the great out doors.

 my hand is a bit swollen...got nailed by a biting fly on the beach.  so far no demo injuries.  was a bit worried about the microwave...it's pretty heavy.  we googled how to get it down. 

 what you don't know you can google!!

 at least one more woman has come forward about Kavenaugh.  after all the GOP did to prevent Obama from putting judges in, especially on the Supreme Court it does seem fitting that they don't have the smooth ride they arrogantly hope for.  man there is a lot of arrogance in DC. power does that to people i guess.  we need to clean house!!  the House of Representatives with it's every 2 year elections was supposed to have high turn over to keep more in touch with the constituency. this has not been the case.

 our state idiot has been in for decades. he is rude and nasty and still he gets elected back in over and over.  i hope some of these lifers get taken out.  there are a few lifers on both sides that need to go. 

 still lots of leaves on the trees.  probably not the case further north though. snow already up in Barrow and i saw termination dust on the tippy tops of the mountains today here in Anchorage.

 need to do a bunch of shredding..always so fun and rewarding i find.  it's recycling day.  was also hoping to get more demo material out to the curb today.  just cabinets off today though.  I'm thinking the electric will need upgrades and some outlets moved. the real expense will be lighting i think.  really need to get the tiles...i think color and design will be based quite a bit on the tile i end up with.

 it's all fairly new though.  I'm learning as i go. 

 several little boats out on the lake on the day i was there. this is actually a man made lake. may have actually been a quarry at one time...so it is nice when nature is allowed to come back in.

 the house is cutting into some of my fun time...it will be great when it is done though. a bit scary now though.

 need to just put the stove up for free. pick up, but make sure they know how to safely disconnect the gas, right. i could google it...it actually looks pretty easy though.  turn gas to stove off, disconnect.  electric, gas, plumbing...all a bit freaky though. 

 taking stuff down I'm okay with, but putting the new stuff in...i will leave that to folks with more expertise. 

 these are a few different hikes in Campbell Airstrip.  i haven't ran into any moose of late. the rut should be happening though so i probably should get up to powerline pass at least, check it out.

 look at all these colors.

 lost moose shoe..so cute!

 very few of these Amanita's left out there.

 the airstrip

 some amazing clouds out there.

 this was another day i think...no i know, i went out to the airstrip and then back tracked to take other trails. i think this was dog avoidance.  Ivy still coughs, mostly just when she gets excited.  so SH got to hear her coughing tonight when she arrived.  no puppy greets you with more exuberance than Ivy Rose.

 there were salmon in this creek last week to. 

 happy puppy with her tennis ball. 

 when i find a mushroom now i try and set it up for a photo. 

 guess i should be off the computer.  snack time...out to the garage one more time to the garage kitchen...will be chilly this winter out there.

grateful for: A friends willing to help with demo and remodel stuff.  B. cute puppy photos today C.  healthy pups.  always a gift.