Mile 131

I just knew when the phone rang that something was up.  It was Mike.  I answered with “Your tire blew out, right?” and yes I was correct.  Mile 131 of the Parks Highway just north of Trapper Creek was where Mike sat on the side of the road.  After a short deliberation over the phone I headed out to rescue the guy, give him my car and road trip back with some greasy haired tow truck driver.  If you are wondering why Mike couldn’t have just put a spare on – well that is a long tire story and it really doesn’t matter, the car needed to be towed.  Well, he wasn’t greasy  and our trip back was wonderful.  It was a beautiful drive and we chatted the whole way.  He was such a nice kid and the perfect company.   Roadtripping with Help Line Towing.

Raising Canes

Finally the man got his wish.  Mike and I dashed into Anchorage to hit up Raising Cane’s, Mike’s favorite place to eat.  This restaurant is usually a must on our trips to AZ but now his palate can be satisfied right in the Tikahtnu Commons close to home.  The place was packed but there were many servers and the line went super fast.  I just so happened to meet up with an old old friend Karen that I used to know from the hospital – a delightful find just sitting in a booth smiling at me as I walked by.   Mike loved his chicken and all that was left over is in a doggie bag for his trip back to Fairbanks tomorrow.

 

Treasures

The timing was perfect as Easton and Brecken’s closing days of hockey for the year ended.  I lovingly bestowed to the two of them my old Boston Bruin autographs from when I was a teenager.  My friends and I rode our bikes all the way to Vancouver International Airport to get their autographs as they landed prior to playing the Canucks.    My men included: Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson, John McKenzie and Ken Hodge.  It is good to know they are in the loving hands of die hard hockey playing boys.

It Was Hidden Under A Bushel

I whine and complain all the time that I can’t even draw a stick figure very well.  And that being the truth I have always considered myself absolutely helpless when it comes to drawing.  I am a pathetic creature when a pencil and paper are in my hand and my grandchildren can adamantly attest to that.   I can draw a cat and a house with two trees and that is where it ends.  Well, until today.  Today I started organizing my tote of life belongs as I prepare to work on “my” binders of “my” life.  I came across a sketch pad of mine from my late teens.  I gulp to admit I have hidden a small talent that could have been flourishing all these years.  I wasn’t great but hey these are no stick figures.

Was I That Bad Of A Mother?

I am searching for a bit of clarification here.  Let me requote from the image below that our youngest daughter Rhea did probably about twelve years ago.  It states,” Mom I love when you let my friends over.  I love when you cook for us.  I like when you buy me ‘stuph’.  I like when you let our family stay at our house.”  So basically my daughter is insinuating that at times I didn’t allow my own children to live here?

The Gem

What a beauty!  This Singer model SM 400 was Mike’s projector from his mission to San Antonio Texas back in the late 1970’s.  No I’m not throwing it away.  It will be that heirloom that all the kids will look at when we are gone and wonder who will be the lucky one to keep it.  This baby comes equipped with some old filmstrips and a few cassette tapes as well as the case still has the moving sticker from the Air Force when we moved up here.    An absolute gem that our grandchildren will look at now in wonderment trying to figure out what a “cassette tape” is??

Arthritic Grandma

I drove Easton and Brecken to Palmer for hockey.    When we got there I told the boys I really struggled at tying skates so they needed to get a little help from someone there.  They agreed.  As we were driving home Brecken said, “Grandma, do you wear shoes with laces?”  I said that I did and he asked,  “How do you tie them?”  I thought that was a legitimate question since I just said I couldn’t tie laces so I told him that tying shoes were a lot different than tying skates because they don’t have to be as tight.  He seemed quite satisfied with that answer.  I just love how the child’s mind works.  Lots of thought, curiosity and sensibility.

Way To Ruin The Moment

Let me lay out the scene,  Everyone was over and we were eating Cafe Rio, one of our favorite replicas of the best restaurant chain ever (Costa Vida too.)  Lane was getting more pork out of the crockpot and straining it with my big scoop when he said, “Mom, this looks like the kind of scoop you use in a cat box.”  I will never look at my small strainer ever the same again.  Thank you Lane.  Mr. Cat Owner.

Adios

I will tell you something that is absolutely amazing, very unbelievable but true, that all my friends and family still struggle with its authenticity.  I have not had a soda in over two weeks.  No joke.  Not even a sip has touched my lips.  Have I been dying and struggling with the absence of my vice?  Absolutely not.  So how did I do it?  Well it is the most simple fool proof plan ever that I wish I had done years ago.  I fill myself up with water every day, three liters to be exact and my body is so full I don’t have room for anything else.  Think of the money I am not spending on it that I can spend elsewhere – ha ha.   Farewell Diet Pepsi – you have been a great friend.

 

Seriously?

Finally a diagnosis for poor Britta.  She has viral encephalitis and all the concerns and  worry over her symptoms have put it all into one answer.  What a long disturbing week but now we know.  She is resting and Bret will be around this weekend.  On Monday I will get Suzanne from the airport and she will be here for a week and half.  Hopefully Britta starts to show signs of improvement.  Who would have thought?