Merry Christmas Week

Okay, sorry for not posting anything sooner but I just haven't felt like it! I'm not sad, or depressed or anything, I'm just not ready to post anything. Um... I didn't feel like posting anything. I do now so here goes.

I know I promised to post pictures of the first big snowfall and I as yet have not done that. That is because we haven't gotten a big snowfall that stuck. It snowed three times before any of it stayed put but it was about a quarter of an inch. Around here that does not qualify as big. On Christmas we got about four inches. That's respectable and I'll try to get pictures of it on here soon.
Christmas was Christmas. It was only the three of us because Charlie couldn't make it down and Kathy said Justin, Katrina and Jaddrick(sorry if I spelled that wrong) were planning on stopping by her place so she wasn't here. We opened presents at noon cause that's when all of us were up at the same time. I got really cool scrapbook paper from one of my cousins' children, Robbie. It's very retro and it'll be perfect for Mom and Dad's scrapbook. Also, a pack of loose papers in different colors and a sticker-maker. I have one and I really like it. And really, can you have too many scrapbook tools? Mom made me a jumper, got me a rice cooker/steamer (which I really, really wanted), and my favorite candy in the whole world, Almond Roca.
Dad got a really cool flashlight with red and blue filters. He almost blinded himself when he was looking at it and turned it on. He also got little sculptures of a wolf and a bear from his niece, Amanda. The sculptures are already on the entertainment center, which, by the way, holds our new television!!!!! It's amazing! When you info a program on the satellite, the info box is bigger than our other tv! It's really nice because this tv is a stereo tv which means that the sound is much lower when it comes out. There's a lot more bass. Apparently, Dad was having a hard time hearing the other tv because it was so high-pitched. He doesn't need this one turned up nearly as much. I can actually lay in my bed, three feet from my own television and hear what I'm watching instead of what he's watching.
Sorry, back to Christmas. Mom got a Jo-Ann's gift card, a sewing stiletto and serger tweezers. She asked for the stiletto, and if I couldn't find that, then the tweezers. I found both and that's what she got.
We all got a family picture of the Selbys (Amanda, Clint, Robbie, Glen and Brytni). Grandma Love sent us a calendar of some of the pictures that Uncle Dave has taken. One of the "purtypurple flowers" is an orchid, I'm sure of it. I was a little bummed that I didn't get an orchid calendar this year but I guess I did huh? Mom also got a quilting book that she spent the day poring over. Me thinks she likes it.
Grandpa and Grandma Arndt sent us candy, scarves, brownie mix and an oven mitt that is too cute.
I'm sorry if I forgot anyone. Normally I write down who got what but I forgot this year.

Oh! I got my dog the cutest little snow suit! I know, I know, you're all thinking "Clothes for a dog? What a weirdo!" but you have to understand that he is only a foot tall, doesn't have much of a winter coat, fur-wise, and it gets downright nippy around these parts. Because he is crated most of the time he needs to get out and run sometimes. With McKinzie in the house, it's just a lot easier to let him run outside. McKinzie can't focus on fast moving objects so he gets really frustrated when he can't catch the furry little blur whizzing past him.

We haven't had much excitement this week but Kathy had a lot more fun than we did.
Last week she went to Anchorage with her son, daughter-in-law and their two children. Mom was taking care of the house and the dog while she was gone. Unfortunately, when Kathy got home she had a chimney fire! She called Dad and he grabbed the ladder and me and we went to rescue her. She was remarkably calm, considering her house was on fire. Dad climbed up on the roof and poured water down the chimney until the pipe was cool. Two days later Dad and Tony took her old stove out and put the one that Mom bought for us four years ago in. It is too little for our house but it's just perfect for hers. She had run out of heating fuel and the old stove just couldn't keep it warm in that one room. Now, you have to understand the dynamics of Kathy's house. She lives in a trailer with an add-on and a shell over the whole thing. The circulation isn't that great. She has a Toyo stove in the trailer and a wood stove in the add-on. Together, they keep both buildings quite warm and comfy. Okay, she had run out of heating fuel... She put a sheet across the doorway into the trailer to keep the heat in the add-on and because there's no heat in the trailer, her water froze. She also has Bryan and Mary Beth's camp trailer hooked up to her water and septic. Where the septic lines connect, because she wasn't running water through there, it froze. So now her water and her septic are frozen, she has no heat in the trailer and the wood stove needs to be nursed through the night to put out enough heat. Exciting, no? Well, the day that Dad and Tony switched the stoves, Bryan and Mary Beth bought 100 gallons of heating fuel. So, her heater was working, the wood stove was working and just a day later her water thawed out. The only thing that was wrong was the septic. I had forgotten, but when Jim and Kathy had their well drilled they were able to find a bowl of sandstone. Their water gets filtered by the sandstone before it gets pumped to the house so, ordinarily, they have really good water. If it's not run for a couple days however, it gets really rusty. Kathy says it'll take about ten gallons to run the rust out. But she couldn't run her water because the septic was still frozen. She came up here to get water a couple of times but I think it's thawed now because the last time she came up was on Christmas. She said the pump truck would be out the next day to thaw the system. Hopefully she's all working again.
That's all the news I can think of for the moment.
~Pam

Well, another day another post. Nothing new except for an incontinent dog and dead toads. McKinzie has become less insistent about his desire to eliminate outside and Phaedra has decided that my toads are dead. They aren't.
Mom and I had planned on doing custom cards this Christmas but the printer won't do it right so ya'll get commercial ones instead. It's weird that I can do the cards for our missionaries just fine but the program wants to print the greeting for the Christmas cards upside down. Curiouser and curiouser.
In other Christmas news, Mom and I bought Kathy's (Mom's cousin who lives down the driveway) 32" flatscreen tv from her for Dad (that means that I can finally get rid of the hulking entertainment center that's been clogging the living room. That also means that I had to clean it out and I now have five giant boxes clogging the living room). She doesn't have the oomph to move it to clean behind it. And in Kathy's house, if it can't be cleaned then it can't live there. She has become more of a germiphobe since her husband died and she has the time to actually consider what is living in her house with her. Can't say as I blame her as I seem to be coming to the same conclusions.
I have fallen in love with a new cleaning product. Clorox Anywhere!! I really like that you don't have to rinse it off because we're on a septic and bleach really wreaks havoc on the whole system. I like that it has bleach in it cause I love that bleach smell in a bathroom. It makes me feel safe. I suppose this is something I should have been doing for some time but I really hate cleaning the bathroom. I always felt that something nasty got missed and I would be attacked by supergerms the next time I went in there. This way I can just hose the place down with my nifty new friend and walk away, safe in the knowledge that a mass extinction is taking place in my absence. I think I'll try using it in the fridge and the microwave next. Our fridge is probably growing the swamp thing and it needs to be squashed!! I'll keep you posted.
I was reading my previous posts and I realized that one important bit of news had not been reported. India and her little sister are due for another sibling. The new baby is due at the end of April and their mother is DYING!!! She has rough pregnancies and I guess this one hasn't been any different. Hopefully the worst is over now and she can sit back and enjoy the attention. Poor Phaedra has no idea what's coming. She has decided that we are all here to cater to her every whim. What a shocker this is going to be! I make it sound like she is a total brat but she isn't. She isn't spoiled but is trying her hand at manipulation and making demands that she is perfectly capable of doing herself. India watches her little sister, not getting away with this, and decides to show her how it's done. Unfortunately, India isn't that good at it either. It's been really eye-opening these past few years. Hopefully it's getting me prepared for motherhood, at least a little bit.
Mom's surgery went great. There were a few more complications this time but nothing really bad. She still has double vision sometimes and her eye is a little more blood-shot this time. She is going to need reading glasses when the lens settles down and they can measure her vision for good. It'll take a month for that. At least she can thread the needle on a sewing machine now. She needed me to make sure that she did it but she did it herself. Awesome!!!!!
I think she is going in to have her shoulder looked at soon. Hopefully Dad will go as well. He made the comment that he wished his shoulders didn't hurt, so he could work for a guy in town. I could see the obvious solution but I'm not his mommy and can't make him go. Please keep him in your prayers.
Mom and I saw Charlie when we were in Anchorage for her surgery. He finally got the key to his car to the dealership that has it. I really hope that he'll get a different car but he is still really attached to that one. They are going to try to fix it at the dealership. Please pray that the thing catches on fire in the parking lot and leaves nothing but a license plate. Not really, but please do pray for Charlie as he is dealing with a lot of issues.
Okay that was a little more than the dog and the toads but you have to realize that all this stuff comes to mind as I type! You know how it is.
Oh yeah, if ya'll want to leave comments and stuff then I wouldn't take it personally. Dad keeps asking what you guys think of the blog and I have to keep shrugging. Please! My shoulders are so sore.
Later,
~Pam

Sorry for the long lapse between posts. I've been housesitting for my pastor and they have dial-up which is sooooo slow. I've been spoiled by DSL at home.
Well, Mom decided to get her eye done really soon. Her surgery is on the sixth I think. It's in the afternoon this time so we won't waste the whole day at the hotel like she and Kathy did. They are fine with it but it would probably have driven me nuts. Kathy is going with her again and I get to go this time. The woman that Tony and Kiki are working for has run out of things for Tony to do so I don't have Phaedra every day anymore. All I have is time now.
Thanksgiving went wonderfully. We have been getting hit with major wind this week and it made the electricity blip out a couple times but we didn't have an outage. Charlie didn't make it down because his car is kaput and he can't afford to fly down and back so soon after getting his new job. I guess he is going to get a new-to-him car. Hopefully he is burnt out on gettting junkers and trying to coax a few more miles out of them. The car he has now wasn't a junker when Dad bought it but it is now. I think maybe he's realized how important it is to have reliable transportation when you aren't really good friends with the boss.
Tony and Kiki brought the girls and a guy from church came. I was really excited to have a kiddy table!! Poor Phaedra was so tired though. I don't think she had a nap that day and she almost fell asleep while she was eating. All in all it was a great day. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
That's pretty much all the new news for this post.
Later,
~Pam

Surgery Update

Well, I'm home. Build-up and prep for the surgery took about an hour; the actual surgery took a whopping 3 minutes. I didn't even have time to really consider falling asleep in the chair! It's done under a "local" that ended up deadening everything from the bridge of my nose to the back side of the temple and from the top of the cheek to the middle of the top of my head.

I won't go into the details here, but we do have a video if any of you happen to be coming by... Phaedra finds it fascinating, India was grossed out, their parents refused to consider watching it...

The change in the vision is phenomenal. I knew the eye was clouded - I had no idea it was "that" clouded! You know what? Colors are the most pronounced change I've noticed. Looking at Kathy across the hotel room last night - with the right eye, her hair and skin have a gray cast to them. The walls in the room were kind of an medium ecru. Looking at the same things with the newly overhauled left eye and Kathy has white hair. The room was an off white - but a far cry from ecru. At the Dr's office this morning, the walls were light gray with the right eye; they were white with a lilac undertone with the left. The nurse confirmed - they're white with a lilac undertone. That would be why the predominant color throughout the office is purple...

I will be going back, probably before the end of the year to get the other one done... If I have them both done within 3 months of the initial exam, I don't have to go through the eye dialation and pressure testing and all that fun stuff again. :)

Parents are here for the girls - more later.
nema

Mom goes to Anchorage on Wednesday for her surgery. To recap... The surgery is on Thursday, only her left eye and she is taking Kathy again. She is looking forward to it as much as a person CAN look forward to eye surgery. I would give her the benefit of my experience, but she remembers it much better than I do. I remember waking up in the hospital, puking up a popsicle, going back to sleep, being at home and puking up an otter pop. That's pretty much it.
I will be nice to her and fix the salmon quesedillas while she is gone. She isn't that fond of salmon. I want to find a recipe for salmon that she'll love but not this week. Well, please pray that the surgery goes well and that there won't be any complications. I think she'll be home Friday afternoon but we'll see what post-op stuff they have for her to do.
Later,
~Pam

WAR!!!!

There's a war being waged in American homes today. It's not the bombardment of filth on television, it's not the evil influences inherent in the public school system, it's not the liberal government telling us how to raise our children. No, this war is much more sinister and subtle. In fact, you may not even be aware of it's existence. It's the war on... naptime! It's soldiers are not eligible for the military, in fact they would have a tough time in elementary school. They are battle hardened and tougher than nails. They have the ability to fight off the sleepy-sleepies for hours on end. Even the most experienced care giver tends to give up the fight when coming up against these little warriors. But don't give up!! Keep fighting the good fight! It gets easier, I hope. I thought the battle was won a year ago but, like grown up war, it has resurfaced with a new face and a greater determination to annihilate the opposition. Last time it used the tactics of screaming and crying to achieve it's aims. That failed so it came up with even more deadly attacks. Wiggling and squirming are it's weapons of choice this time. No noise, no fighting, just lulling the enemy into a false sense of security before springing the peeping eyes and wiggling fingers on it, not to mention the "I'm too cute to punish" smile. This is a war of ambush. I weary of this war but know that I must win. For the good of this tiny warrior I must outlast her. I must fight off the dishes and the vacuum and my father for her benefit. She doesn't realize it but she is fighting the friendly forces. One day I know she'll fight this same fight with her own children, and while I'm not her mother, I can still stand back and giggle quietly. I write of her early years and take pictures so that in the distant future, Lord willing, we can look back and she'll know that this battle is a battle that mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and babysitters have fought for generations and it will eventually be won. It was won against her older sister and she is no different. But oh how I weary of this war!!

Good News!!

Mom and Kathy got back from Anchorage this afternoon with really great news. It turns out that she has cataracts in both her eyes!! Okay that was a tad sarcastic. The doctor in Anchorage did confirm that she has them in both eyes but the one in the left is much cloudier than the one in the right. He was a bit puzzled until she told him about the bug bite she got on her left eyelid last June. It swelled her left eye almost shut. He said that inflammation can cause the growth rate to accelerate. She is scheduled for replacement in the left eye on the 8th of November and he said that she probably wouldn't need the right one replaced for some time. I think she'll have it done in the next few months because she'll have a good eye and she'll realize just how bad her vision is. When she called after the appointment she was having trouble seeing because they gave her drops that deadened her eyeballs to test the pressure in them. She said that it was weird. I really hope I never have to go in the the doctor for my eyes again. Say what you want about the Montrose health care system, I'm impressed that I'm not wearing glasses.
I think I need to call Guiness Book. India is the tallest six year old on the planet and her little sister isn't far behind. Mom brought footie pajamas for them from Anchorage. She bought size ten for India and size five for Phaedra. I figure they'll fit perfectly, lengthwise, around the beginning of the year. I hadn't realized it but Phaedra wears India's size five pants. Phaedra turned two in May for crying out loud!! I feel really sorry for their parents but I'm not surprised. Kiki is 5' 10" and their dads aren't all that short. India's dad is about six feet and so is Phaedra's. It'll be a bummer to look their ten year old in the eyes when they tell her no. Heeheeheehee!!!!!
Dad went and got coal today instead of yesterday. There wasn't anyone to load it yesterday. He got it screened this time. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the glass crusher so we have to pick through it by hand to keep out the big stuff. Hopefully he'll come up with something different soon.
I guess that's all my news for the day. Night everyone!
~Pam

Mom and I saw this girl in Fred Meyer on Saturday. We haven't seen her in two years. I saw her at the Ninilchik fair two years ago and Charlie saw her over Christmas but it's been awhile. This is McKayla, Charlie's daughter. I had the brains to ask her grandmother if I could get a couple pictures of her when we stopped to exchange rather forced pleasantries. She wanted to say no but I didn't really give her a chance. The only other pictures we have of her are almost five years old. She looks a lot like her mom but she has Charlie's teeth and his nose. Amy said she is in the advanced reading class in third grade. She is getting so big and she is sooo curious about her dad, despite her grandmother's best efforts. For those of you who don't know the story, Amy is Charlie's ex and McKayla's mom. Amy's mother has done her best to make sure that none of us and especially Charlie are welcome in McKayla's life. They don't hide him from her. She knows who he is and who we are but she isn't allowed any contact with us. Amy has done everything her mother has ever told her to do and this is no exception. It's my prayer that McKayla comes looking for him when she gets old enough. I just hope she won't be too poisoned against him to care who he is and that she'll be willing to listen. Anyway, I got these pictures and there's not a thing one Alisha can do about it!!!!
Mom goes in for her consultation in Anchorage this week. She and Kathy are driving up tomorrow and spending the night in Anchorage. The consult is on Tuesday. Please pray that they'll give her a good prognosis. I guess she can have one of a few different kinds of lenses put in that have different results. Hopefully she will be able to get rid of her glasses for good.
Dad is going to Seward to get another load of coal. I guess this time he'll get it screened and keep the big stuff. He can get a glass crusher from Carl that will break it into more manageable pieces but the fine dust doesn't sift down to be augered into the fire. It makes a dome in the hopper that has to be poked down. In the middle of the night is not the best time for the coal to dome and the fire to die, needless to say. Fortunately, it hasn't been getting too cold here and we can still stand it if we have to relight the fire, but I hope we get all these kinks worked out before the real cold hits. We should be seeing below zero before Thanksgiving but I'll let you know.
Charlie is going to Anchorage tomorrow to continue his hunt for an apartment. I'm not sure what happened to the other two he had in mind but I guess the search continues. He has gone on the the next level of consideration for the job he interviewed for last week. It's a tech support position at GCI, a telephone company. I can't think of a more suitable thing for my patience-lacking younger brother. He gets mad when people can't use common sense and he wants to go into tech support! Stay tuned for the fall-out.
Phaedra's coming tomorrow and I guess I better get ready for it cause we'll have to go down and walk Kathy's dog a couple times and she really loves going to Kathy's. Like, we go to get India at the end of the driveway and it's "Tathy's? Me do(go) to Tathy's?" Quivering lip and welling tears when I tell her no but seeing Sister get off the bus makes it better.
Night,
~Pam

First snow anyone?

Well, we had our first official snowfall last week. It didn't stick around for long but the ground was white and that's what counts. I believe it was Saturday. There's a chance it may snow later this afternoon and even as I write there are flakes falling occasionally. Perhaps they got lost, or didn't get the memo and fell too early. Whatever the reason it looks really sad. I'll post pictures of the first big snow.
Mom called the surgeon in Homer last week and found out that the earliest they can get her in for her consultation is the beginning of December. She can have both of them done before that if she goes to the doctor in Anchorage. She is really sick of not seeing clearly so she'll probably stick with Anchorage. We're painting the kitchen and she's having trouble seeing the colors clearly. We're sponging it in three shades of yellow. I think it's beautiful, Dad thinks it's orange, Mom'll be shocked when she can actually see it and Charlie couldn't care less. Phaedra had a blast helping me paint the wall that the sink is on. She got to stand in the sink and use the roller all by herself. She did a good job and didn't get any paint on herself!
Dad is thisclose to going to the doctor for his shoulders. He found out that it probably isn't his rotator cuff, he thinks it's bone spurs but he doesn't want to go find out for sure. It is affecting his ability to work and kept him out of church once. Please pray for the Lord to burden him about this.
Charlie had a job interview in Palmer yesterday. He's being considered, was complimented on his interview skills and his knowledge of computers. He has said, time and again, that he has no intention of making things right with the church before he leaves. I guess we need some back story. When he left for Job Corps he began attending a church in Wasilla. After only two or three months he decided he didn't want to go anymore. Our church covenant states that when you leave the church you're at, you will, as soon as possible, join another church of like faith and practice. He became a poor witness and a poor testimony to our church. He completely blew his own testimony and he doesn't seem to care. He was disciplined from the church right before he came back. When he decided to come back he was repentant, or so he says, but once he got back he got into the same habits he had before he got saved and now has decided that he's not sorry. I fear that he was not saved and only put on the facade of christianity, but then again, Charlie has never and will never, do anything that he doesn't want to do. I hope and I pray that he was saved and has only backslid, either way there's nothing I can do and it's in the Lord's hands. Please pray for His chastising hand in Charlie's life and His guiding hand in the lives of my parents in their dealings with him.
Life for me goes on. Nothing new, nothing different other than doing the kitchen and the colossal mess it has created. I know Dad gets fed up with it but I can't do anything about it until the painting is done.
I guess that's all for now, later.
~Pam

Where did all the flowers go?

Well, Mom posted that Fall was full upon us...It has now given way to that weird period between Fall and Winter. It's ridiculously cold because of the humidity that's still in the air but there's not enough cloud cover for it to snow. We had a prediction for the first snow to happen last Friday but it never materialized. Every year it's the same thing, all the leaves turn these beautiful shades of yellow, we even had orange and red this year, and then the wind kicks up and blows them all off. Now we have this unique shade of brown. I hope the snow comes soon cause this state is really ugly right now. Well not the whole state, just this little corner of it.
Dad got the gravel to put our coal shed on last week now he just needs to get the shed from the church down the road. They used to have their furnace in it and it's got a concrete floor, drywall insides and really pretty log siding. It'll be the nicest building we've got on the place. I'll take pictures when we get it set.
McKinzie is doing all right. He still can't stand up or walk very well, but he's adjusting to it okay. He doesn't know whether or not he likes my new puppy. We have to muzzle him when Jasher comes out of his kennel just in case, but he comes up to the kennel sometimes and lays there barking and yelping at Jasher. It's really goofy looking. I'm debating on when to get Jasher neutered, now or when he's a year old. Any opinions?
These past two weeks have been really busy for me. Normally, I don't have India or Phaedra every day but Tony and Kiki are both working pretty much the same hours so Phaedra has been coming every day. I love having her here and it's so much fun to be able to teach her things. I can't wait to have my own children. I never realized what sponges children are and how hard you have to work to make the good things stick. It seems like for every one good thing she gets taught, she comes up with five things she shouldn't know, do or say. It's exhausting to say the least. Like, how did a two year old learn to lie like that? I'm afraid that it's time to admit that such things come naturally. She isn't an innocent little baby anymore and foolishness is bound tightly in her heart.
Okay, my feet are about to freeze solid so I'm ending this post for today. Later folks.
~Pam

Mom, here

Hi!! Not sure how long this will be, but you have my semi-divided attention until Charles comes home. (For those that get satellite or cable - Unwrapped is on the Food Channel, and I am paying some attention to it.) When the son comes home, he and I are going to knock together a screen to get the coal dust out of the coal before we put it in the Stoker. It has come up with the trick of making a "bridge" in the hopper, augering everything under that into the firebox and then just chugs along. No heat, no fire, not out of coal, hmmm... Frank discovered this new habit a couple days ago and it's tried it a couple times since. We are just going to knock something together, cause when Frank actually sees where I'm headed with this; he'll either tear this apart and rebuild it better, or just make a better one from the get-go.

For those who don't know, yet... I went in for an eye exam a couple weeks or so ago and got a very big surprise. I don't need glasses - maybe. What I do need before they establish any prescription is lens replacement surgery in both eyes. I have cataracts. I was referred to a clinic in Anchorage; called them up and have an appointment for initial exam on the 23rd of this month. They went ahead and scheduled the surgery for the left eye (the one I can tell is cloudy) on the 7th of Nov and the right eye on the 8th of Nov. Been thinking about that and how it flies in the face of "normal". Most folks who have both done have at least a month between them. I got them scheduled back to back with the argument I didn't want to drive to Anchorage three times in 2 1/2 months, and the second surgery would have been too close to my birthday (the 5th or 6th of December). Talked to a gal who used to work for the District last week, who just had her first one done down here by a Dr. she says is one of the top 5 in the entire Northwest United States. She was horrified that I was going to Anchorage for it - and that they had even though about doing them that close together. She also mentioned some side effects that no one else has and the more I think on it, the better I like the idea of not driving that far for it. I'd probably take Kathy with me if I went to Anchorage. She is at a point, physically, that she can't hardly stand sitting long enough to get there or home with the road vibration in her back without 'medicating'. And she won't 'medicate' if she's doing the driving. I can see it now - phone rings; Pam answers, State Trooper asks, "Is your Daddy home?" cause she sounds like she's 12 on the phone... Trooper asks my husband if he knows me and Kathy and can he come get us off the road cause she's too medicated and I'm too blind to come home. Sides, if I have it done here, I don't have very far to go to get back to my own bed...

Fall is full on us. Leaves are about 85 to 90 % turned and probably 20 % on the ground already. Found frost on my windshield the last couple mornings, too. I will be glad when it goes ahead and snows, because then I will have something for the headlights to bounce back off of. Right now, the light just goes out there and gets absorbed by the pavement or the light gobble uppers or whatever it is that eats it this time of year.

Charles went apartment hunting in Palmer on Monday. He and a couple fellas he met in Job Corps are planning on sharing. He wants to live up there primarily because it more closely resembles Colorado, which he does miss. I must say, it bears a pretty strong resemblance to Delta or Olathe. Bout the size Olathe was when we left, and Pioneer Peak isn't hard to look at over the rim of the first cuppa in the morning. He also stands a better chance of getting a good, steady job... Pam is ready for him to move out; Frank is ready for him to move out, but not necessarily that far away; I'm ready for him to build his own nest; I just wish he'd check the floor joists a bit closer before he furnishes it, ya know?

Well, I'm about out of new news for this time around. I should start cleaning out the bottom shelf of the cupboard by the range so I can get it primed and painted. That ain't going to happen tonight, cause Unwrapped is now over and Challenge - Wedding Cakes is now on.

Good Night,
Nema

The Girls

Here are some pictures of "my" girls. I can't believe how big they've gotten in just two years. Well, Phaedra I can understand cause she was barely out of the newborn phase when she started coming but India has grown about six inches in this last year alone. I made a pair of bloomers for her almost two years ago that covered her legs completely. Now they're like bicycle shorts and Phaedra wears them as regular pants. Needless to say, they are both tall for their ages. I was making a skirt the other day and measured them both and they both have nineteen inch waists. India's legs are as long as Phaedra is tall, but they have the same size waists!! I wonder if any of you are familiar with those baby carriers that are a seat attached to straps that wrap around your waist and go over your shoulders? I have one that India wanted to ride in about a month ago. They are rated for 35 pounds and she only weighs 5 more than that, so it should work right? Try putting a giraffe in one of those and you'll know what it was like trying to get her into it. She was on my back and her feet were hitting the back of my calves when I walked but her tiny butt fit in it perfectly. Craziness I tell you, craziness!!!!
Last year India was allowed to dye her hair. I don't know who thought of it, but when she was asked what color she wanted, of course she said purple. Her dad vetoed that however and they settled on a really pretty chestnut color. She is blonde and the rest of her family is brunette and she loved finally looking like them. It finally faded completely this summer and she's in a panic to do it again. I don't think it's going to happen but the precedent has been set. We'll see who can outlast who.
Phaedra, as I said, is talking very well now and she has something to say about everything. I know that a lot of it is reinforcing her knowledge but some of it is just noise, I'm sure of it. And she also has a separate facial expression to go with each word it seems like. I'm sure she thinks I'm a lunatic because she'll be perfectly earnest in what she's saying and I'll be laughing my head off at the look on her face. I don't understand the saying "terrible twos" cause her twos are turning out to be a riot. And she learned a long time ago that you don't say 'no' to me and she knows to say 'please' and 'thank you'. When I'm doing something that she doesn't like then she says 'please don't'. That's something I deliberately taught India and I guess she taught that to Phaedra because I sure didn't.
I think India teaches her little sister a lot of things because Phaedra knows her right and her left, her own anatomy and she can count to five on her fingers. She has that tone, you parents know the one, when you call her name and you get this sweet, drawn out "wwhhaatt?" that tells you that you need to see what she's doing, NOW. And she can con you out of or into anything, or at least she tries. India has pretty much outgrown that phase but she's made sure her legacy lives on.
Okay folks, enjoy the pictures.
~Pam

These are pictures of our new heater. Dad got it from Grandpa and Grandma Arndt. We had one when we lived on Ida Road in Montrose and I was about nine the last time I saw one close up. This one has been in Grandpa's shop for years but I never stood next to it that I remember. I could have sworn that these machines were a LOT bigger. It seems so tiny now.
When I find them I'll post pictures of the Arnold that Dad got from Pastor Ron, our pastor. Or I might just take all new ones cause I haven't the foggiest idea which disk has the other ones on it. That's the problem with getting a digital camera. You take so many more pictures and then you can't remember what's on which disk and what got put on the computer, or even if the pictures got taken with the digital and not the 35 mm...Or maybe that's just me.
Okay, for more news. I got a new puppy about a month and a half ago. His name is Jasher and he's half pomeranian and half trailer park dog. The neighbor's granddaughter-in-law has two pomeranian females and the older one, Sexy, is his mother. When Eli and Little Bear died I told Dad that if anything happened to Nanook then I was getting a little dog. Well, Nanook claimed Dad as her new person and I was left without a dog. Anyone who remembers my childhood, will understand why that was unacceptable. For those of you who were sharing my childhood, our house had a never-ending series of strays coming through. Most of them were brought in by me. We still have Midnight by the way. She's getting grey on her shoulders and up her legs but she's still as lively as ever, just more settled. Man, I just can't seem to stick to a story can I? Ok, back we go. Sexy had two girls and a boy puppy and I just fell in love with the boy. He was calm and had a different look than the other two. One of the girls was claimed almost as soon as they were born and the other one was cute but I just liked the boy more. I told my dad that I was going to be bringing home a new dog when he was old enough and you should have seen it! His shoulders slumped and he huffed and scoffed and puffed and in the end agreed. Mom wasn't happy at all cause she isn't much of a dog person and we were slowly coming down from seven dogs. But he's just so CUTE that even she likes him now. Hopefully, when the time comes for me to get married and move away he can come with me cause he's little and kennel-trained. I'll keep praying to that end anyway.
Charlie came home about three months ago as well. He completed all the "required" courses at Job Corps, hadn't gotten as far as he wanted in the additional certifications, but we all agreed that it was time he came home. He's looking at moving back to Palmer next month. Pray for the Lord's will in his life. He has responsibilities that seem to have been pushed aside and he really needs the Lord's guidance now.
Mom is still trucking along, so to speak. She's the transportation router for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. I guess First Student bought Laidlaw and some of the employees at Laidlaw have decided that there's no sense in cooperating with the borough cause they themselves aren't going to be here next year and it's making my mother crazy... Crazier than she already was I mean. I think some mean person prayed for the Lord to give her patience. You know He doesn't give us patience, he puts us in situations that force us to learn patience. Anyway, that's "Where She Is Now!"
Dad's been put on hold with the tanks while Carl gets his ducks in a row and decides what he wants to do. I'm not sure what Dad'll be doing over the winter but hopefully he'll be doing something. He didn't commercial fish this summer as he has in the past but he built a few tanks. Please pray for the Lord's guidance for him as well. He needs a more steady job that won't put too much stress on his body. His shoulders are in bad shape and, for some reason, nagging him isn't making him want to get them examined. Go figure.
Mom is going in for lens replacement surgery sometime in the next month. She found out, on my birthday, that she has cataracts on both lenses. Thankfully, it's an outpatient procedure and one of the best surgeons for it operates in Homer and Soldotna, which we happen to be between. Also, it's covered by her insurance so we won't be hit with a major bill. I was looking forward to getting Dad's ER bill paid off completely and having that extra money in the account, but I'm glad this one isn't an emergency and we can plan better. If you don't know about Dad's wintertime boo-boo than let me know and I'll be more than happy to tell that story too.
I'm still babysitting the same two little girls. I WILL be posting pictures of them very soon, like, the very next post. India is 6 already and in first grade this year. Phaedra turned two at the end of May and is talking up a storm. Aunt Byrnie, you were right, she talks as much as India does. She doesn't have the prepositions down yet but everything else gets said. My favorites are, "Hims sitting hims chair", "UN, UN"(run, run), and "Namna"(that's me).
That's all I can think of for the moment so I'll end another incredibly long post. Later.
~Pam

Our first post!!!!!!

Okay!! To my family: You want to know what's going on in our lives? Here's where I'll attempt to keep y'all up to date. I'll be posting pictures and maybe videos and boring you all senseless with the minutae of our existence...existences...existence's? (Nope, not the last one). Anyway, keep tuning in for news, weather and traffic. Well, maybe not traffic unless you really want to know about such things.
For everyone else: Refer to above.

Now, on the the news. As most of you know, we had a bear in the yard on Thursday night. We got a roadkill moose two weeks ago and gave the skeleton and the head to Brandy who's the outside dog. Of course she couldn't finish it all and there was a lot left. A grizzly came sniffing around, finished off the guts up the road and then came down for dessert. Dad went out to see what Brandy was barking at and when he poked his head in the door and said "grizzly", I tell you, the panic started. Well, maybe not panic exactly but it's a curious phenomenon that you can feel like prey even when you have walls, dogs, doors, a gun, a big daddy, machinery and several yards between you and a 400 pound predator. Maybe someone should look into the psychological impact of this, hmm?
Back the the story. The bear made off with the head and we put Brandy in the laundry room for the night in case it came back and we all went to sleep. The next morning there were more parts missing so it evidently came back a few times. It buried something in the woods about fifty feet up the driveway but we haven't seen it again. Brandy is loose but I think it glutted itself and may not come back for the rest. Then again, I've been wrong before. We'll keep you updated.
For Grandma and Grumpy Love and anyone else who knows McKinzie (Charlie's dog. Pictures coming soon): About three months ago he started falling down a lot. We took him the the vet and found out he had a vestibular disease. That's what happens when dogs start turning in circles. He doesn't go outside by himself anymore so doesn't know there was a bear in his yard. His condition has gotten better since this first developed but it isn't going away. Hopefully his quality of life will not deteriorate any more than it has and he'll have a few more years left.
Well, that's good for a first post. I'm going to eat my dinner and maybe post again.
~Pam