Alaska According to Marie

So... I went home early from work on Wednesday and skipped Bluegrass practice because I had the flu. Those first couple of nights were pretty miserable with the hot/cold and sore body. I was fortunate to only have had the aches and pains but no nauseousness. I was able to eat Thanksgiving dinner with the family and though my throat started hurting that night, I convinced myself that I felt well enough to go shopping with Calli on Black Friday! During the course of Friday, my sore throat progressed and by afternoon I had completely lost my voice.



When I got home my mom told me that it sounded like I had strept. She told me to look at the back of my throat in the mirror and see if I saw any white spots. I looked and the whole back of my throat was white. No spots... just white. I threw up. Mom came in and looked and just sort of gasped and said "Yes. You have strept."

The next morning, Saturday, mom came with me to the hospital where I saw the doctor who quickly suggested that I take the shot for strept and a steroid to control the swelling in my throat. So two shots to the butt later we were back on our way home. I love that steroid shot! Last night was the first night since last Tuesday that I slept comfortable all night. The doc told me that I should be fine to be back at work on Monday.

I stayed home from church today and took it easy on the couch looking at magazines and talking theology with my brother who also stayed home. So... I do believe that the worst of it is over and now its just the residual cough/sneeze. I have my voice mostly back. Hopefully I will be able to be understandable when I answer the phone at work tomorrow.

The family was all over here Thursday night for dessert and games... and mom, those desserts were fantastic!! We were all talking story and I pulled out some old pictures of the family. I got to looking through some more of them and found some nice winter shots to contrast the sunnier pictures in my last blog.

It caught me... I'm sick. The flu has been making its rounds in the family and last night I felt the achiness settle in. yuk.

It's really cold outside too. So I decided that I would spend my evening in bed, thinking of warmer times. I have a large mug of tea, I have Sense and Sensibility on the tv and relaxing.
We had some beautiful skies at the lake this year and I was fortunate enough to capture some of them on film. Here is one. The burnt trees make for a jagged contrast to the clouds. These trees are disappearing over the years. Every winter more of them blow over and every summer the new trees cover more of them up.

I took this picture of the cabin from the airstrip on the lake. I love the cabin! I believe that you couldn't place a cabin more perfectly this this one. Dad, Klint and Kris put it together after the Miller's Reach Fire.

We are planning a progressive dinner for Thanksgiving. Appetizers at Kim's, Dinner at Kar's and Dessert and games here at the lake. I've been able to see some of the wonderful desserts mom has been making when I go upstairs to refill my tea. Yum!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. May the Lord bless you, bless you indeed!

I had a fun weekend. Saturday, Mom, me, Karla and Calli all went in for the Crafts Emporium in Anchorage. I'm usually a little nervous to go because of the throngs of people. I went with the girls this year and had a great time. I didn't find anything there that I absolutely had to have but there were some things that I saw that inspired me. (Oh! Look at that! I could make that!) Mom took this picture of us up on the top of the parking garage. I have one with mom in the picture but that roll is still in my camera.
Sunday, we went to the Thanksgiving Family night thing at Wasilla Bible Church. That was a very busy place. Lots of activity going on. Karla and Chris weren't able to go because they were dealing with a sudden allergic reaction that Chris had to pecans earlier in the day. So Calli and I picked up Tucker and Gunner and I got to play with them. Those things always are so much funner when you have your own special little people to watch and laugh with. It was a fun night with the congregation. I am very blessed by my church family.
This week is a short week at work! I love Thanksgiving! We are planning on doing a progressive dinner. Appetizers at Kims, Dinner at Kar's and then Dessert and games at the lake. I'm pretty excited it.
I'm all stocked up with film.

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
~William Shakespeare~

I had a bit of an ordeal when I left my office yesterday. It was still very windy outside and I had just locked up the office and was headed to my car. It was payday and my first stop was to be the bank just down the street. As I was leaving my building I was not at all prepared for the 90 mph gusts of wind lying in ambush. I had a package under my arm, I was talking on my cell phone, I had my keys out ready to unlock my door and I had my paycheck in my hand.

Looking back, I am fully aware of how much more efficient it would have been to put my check in my pocket and free up that hand... but I digress.

As I was approaching my car and shuffling with my package and keys, I finally got the door unlocked and as I was reaching for the handle, that gust of wind pounced on me. It swiped my paycheck right out of my hand and began its game of keep away. I threw everything into my car and started chasing my check down the street. That stinkin' piece of paper never came down below 10 feet as the wind moved it from branches to roof tops and finally sucked it into the high heavens.

I called the accountant at our company. After she had a hearty laugh imagining me dancing around down the street, she assured me that she would deal with my AWOL check. I will be re-issued a new one today.

I heard on the news yesterday that the Wasilla Fire Station measured a gust at 96 mph. It is considerably lower today, but it still sneaks up every now and again. Probably saving up energy for when I leave the office with my new check. I'll be ready this time.

Very pretty sunrise this morning...

Job 37:9
"The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds."

This is a good description of the weather here today. The trees are leaning over from the weight of the wind and the temperature is bitterly cold. My office is creaking from the walls moving.

I would like to be near the ocean during a real bad storm. I can imagine how powerful it must be. I am quite certain that I wouldn't want to be in the ocean during the storm, but rather watching from a secure place with a fireplace and a hot cup of cocoa immediately available.

My mom grew up in Old Harbor on Kodiak Island. She remembers watching a tidal wave come in and cover her village. ('64 quake) Wouldn't that be amazing to see? She saw it from the safety of the hill behind the village, but she didn't have a cozy fire and a mug of hot chocolate to keep her warm. They were up there in the cold during the night, helpless to stop the water. Amazing story.

I went to Bible school on Cannon Beach in Oregon. I loved being so close to the ocean. We did have some storms while we were there. It was so fun to go walk the beach over to see what rolled in after the waters went back down to normal.

I think I would like to live near the ocean someday. The coast is so beautiful in any kind of weather.

I watered the plants in my office before I left for Kodiak and assumed that they would all be fine since I wouldn't even be gone a week. Kim gave me an exotic plant about a year ago for my birthday called Fittonia or "Black Star". It's real pretty and normally has a lot of leaves that are dark green on one side and a vibrant dark pink on the other.
When I got back to the office this poor plant was completely dry and all the stems were completely drooped to the sides of the planter, with no sign of life. The leaves were so dry that they were crunchy. I watered it right away and I was amazed how it came back. I did lose a lot of leaves, and the ones that are still on there will probably eventually fall off, but the stems perked right up. I'm glad I work in an architect's office and not a nursery.


Alexis is going to be spending the night tonight. She told me that we can have popcorn and watch Lord of the Rings. My kinda girl.

Alan and Linda Ross took care of me, my dad, and Kris while we were in Kodiak. They were excellent hosts and we were all very comfortable there. Thank you so much Alan and Linda for your hospitality. Even while Linda was so sick, she still made sure we had everything we needed and more. You could just tell how much people in Kodiak respected and valued the Ross's company. It reminds me of that verse in Proverbs... "When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him."

Click to view slideshow of some pictures of Kodiak.

I will put a few here just in case you don't have a chance to view the slideshow. This is a picture of Sophie, Lydia, Dad and me right in front of a waterfall in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Thanks so much Lydia, for bringing us to this beautiful spot!! We were blessed with sweet fellowship in this spot and I will always remember this time with a smile.



This is probably my favorite picture of the bunch... it just sums up in one picture the feeling of Kodiak for me. So pretty...


This was the causeway, or footbridge that connected the community in Port Lions. It was a nice walk that Sophie and I made more than once during our short stay to Port Lions. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to get to know Sophie. It is just so awesome when you meet people that are so different from yourself and are in a completely different place in life and you still find in them a kindred Spirit. I thank the Lord for that.



A man from Kodiak, Mark, took us on a tour of the sights while we were there. We saw a lot of beautiful places and the sun was out the entire time! It was gorgeous. Mark took us to the top of the hill overlooking Kodiak and down the coast. We could see forever! Klint and Kris are looking out together in this picture.



Calli came with us and it was so nice have our own groupie for our first time doing music for others. It can be kinda scary and Calli is so supportive. How will we ever be able to do this without her? I guess she will just have to come all the time, if she can't we will just have to reschedule. :o) I love you Calli!

This past weekend the family went out on a 4-wheeler ride. Everyone except Karla and her boys went. (Calvin was sick and Tucker was anticipating a new patch at Awana.) It was a very fun ride... despite some sketchy parts where my heart skipped a few beats.

On the way back down the mountain, Alexis said that she would pray that we would make it down safe. She heard from Ashlee, who was my passenger up the mountain that we had a couple of scary moments. When we reached the bottom of the trail in safety, I heard Alexis whisper behind me, "Thank You Lord".

It's my dad's birthday today. Happy Birthday Dad!

We were visited by the Delongs... I mean Cap'n Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and a little indian chief and also the Egberts... I mean Dorothy, the Wicked Witch and the Tin Man all from Oz came by. All of them had such great costumes! I'm always so impressed. It was a fun night!