First glimpse of Ketchikan

The first glimpse of the town of Ketchikan, the weather looks good in the picture, but behind me was a lot of gray clouds.

Tuesday.

One of the many salmon stores.

The amphibian-type vehicle we were in.

Showing how many of the homes near the water are on stilts. Not looking so sturdy eh?

Woke up to another gloomy morning. But, you know, when I flung my curtains open and looked outside to see our giant ship docked snuggly beside the mountain, and the little town of Ketchikan looking like it was tumbling down the mountainside, the weather didn't really matter. It reminded me of the poor cousin of Portofino or Cinque Terre.

Today was our first shore excursion, we had decided to to a city tour, called The Duck Tour (which was certainly appropriate considering the weather!) I like to take city tours when I am somewhere new, it gives me a feeling of knowing where I am and what the place is all about, especially if you are only somewhere for a day, I'd rather learn a little history than see the same souviner stores over and over.

Anyhow, we met our tour "bus" and hopped on. It was an amphibious vehicle that took us through the town and then drove right into the water and took us through the harbour area. Sort of a unique method of transportation.

The town of Ketchikan is "The Salmon Capital of the World" and most of the stores sold salmon in every shape and form. Candied salmon, smoked salmon, salmon jerky, salmon steaks, salmon fillets, canned, frozen, cryo-vacced, and even pet food. We didn't buy any as, somewhat ironically, our freezer at home is full of all of the above, as Steven's hunting buddy is a fish broker and send us cases and cases of it.

The Duck Tour was very entertaining, the young college student who was our guide has been born and grown up there, and was really informative. It was $38 each and lasted about 2 hours and wqe thought it was well worth it. Saw lots of eagles (people went strangely insane over eagles and almost knocked each other over to get pictures. An American thing maybe? I know the eagle is like a sign of freedom to many Americans.)

A lot of the houses in Ketchikan are built on stilts as they are close to the water and the tides are quite high. That is the older part of town, and it's been fixed up to appeal to tourists. The "regular" part of town was actually quite shabby, a lot of garbage strewn about and not overly appealing at all. One of those "nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there." I'd give Ketchikan a 6 out of 10 for attractiveness. (is that a real word?)

Monday

View from Pacific Heights restaurant. We saw a whale breech during dinner.

Monday.

The Captains Log (hee, hee, just like Star Trek. Perhaps I'll go stand in the round glass elevator and zoom up and down, screaming out: "Beam me up, Scottie!") says that we are just past the Queen Charlotte Islands and heading into Queen Charlotte Sound. There are "wavelets" that are 3 metres...geez, that's almost 10 feet...seems like more than just a "wavelet" to me. It's slightly overcast and it would later turn to rain, so a good day to be at sea and be able to explore the ship. And eat.

Lunch: Shrimp & crab gumbo, sweet and sour grouper, gnocci with gorgonzola sauce, and for dessert, bread pudding with rum anglaise sauce. It was all SO good!

We wandered through the casino and had a 'Wendy & Bud sighting' , on a boat with 2500 people, we run into them in the casino? What sare the chances? So we made arrangements to meet at Pacific Heights on the 11th Deck for dinner.

Weather was clear by late afternoon, so we did a few laps on the walking/jogging track, which circled the boat on Deck 6. Had to prepare for supper calories.

Supper: Watermelon salad with feta cheese, Beef Wellington, grilled scallops, lobster and grouper. I can't believe that I have forgotten what I ate for dessert, because I know that I didn't miss any at all!

Why NCL?

The Four Seasons

There are 2 reasons why we chose Norwegian Cruise Lines (henceforth to be called NCL).

1. Last X-mas I wrote a letter to a friend saying that we were thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise. She phoned our house as soon as she got the letter, saying that her and her husband (henceforth to be called Wendy & Bud) were going on NCL on the 24th of May, and we should join them.

Steven and I decided that now was as good a time as any, and we booked. We booked on the same deck as Wendy & Bud, and, since only Wendy and I had ever met before (the fellows didn't know each other) we made it clear that we'd meet for dinner one night, and then take it from there, no hard feelings if we didn't hit it off.

NCL was a good choice as they are considered "freestyle" cruising, which is excellent for a commitment-phobe such as myself, I was concerned about having to eat at "table 221 at 8 PM" every night with people that I might not like. NCL has 14 restaurants and you eat when you want, with whom you want. Or you can have room service 24 hrs a day if you are overly anti-social. Or sea-sick.

When we got on the boat, and to our room, we realized that even though we were on the same deck as them, it, the whole thing was so huge that we wondered if we would ever find them. Just then I hear "Shaaaaannon!" and look down the hall, and there they are! Even stranger, Wendy said she had looked out her balcony about 45 minutes earlier and saw us walking onto the boat. What are the chances?

Bud and Steven hit it off right away, they both hunt and I was amazed at how many friends they had in common. The hunting world is smaller than I thought.

Bud had his 92 year old mother with him, and believe me, I can only hope that I am as active as Kathy when I am 92. She has always dreamed of an Alaskan cruise, and decided that now was the time for her...and she lived it up, having her favorite drink each morning...not tea, but a vodka Caesar.

Day 1. After getting organized in our room, we sat on the pool deck with Wendy & Bud and got aquainted over a "bucket o' beer". You can purchase an NCL helmet, filled with ice and 6 beer ("buy 5, get a 6th for free!") and you keep the helmet. Sort of a fun marketing ploy.

We didn't meet our them for dinner that night as they had been up since 3 AM to get their flight from Prince George, so they went to sleep early and we went to the Four Seasons restaurant for dinner. We sat with 2 other couples, one from the UK and one from France (her) and India (him). I decided that since all meals were free, that I would eat things that I normally wouldn't try, now's the time to test out new foods!

I had lamb with mint sauce, and it was pretty darn tasty, and Steven had mahi-mahi.

At this point we were in the open seas and it was a little bit "wavey", but it didn't bother either of us. We went to bed early ourselves, and slept like a log in the king size bed. The TV had 'ship channels" where you could listen to the Captains log and follow our route on the map, or you could watch the web cam, or watch a channel with info on things to do during the cruise.

Every evening the Freestyle Times was delivered, and it gave the following days itinerary, explained what sales would be on,(there was always a sale on jewels, liquor, photos, and so forth.) what to do and where to shop at the next port of call, what games and tournaments were happening etc. There was no lack of things to occupy yourself.

The Cruise

It was kind of exciting to drive to the docks and see this massive ship sitting there, knowing we'd be on it shortly. The beginning of any holiday is always a bit thrilling...not knowing exactly what the next few days or weeks will bring.

It was an quick and easy embarkation. There were no line-ups, although you could see from the miles of rope that twisted back and forth through what looked like an acre sized room, that lines are not unheard of! There's a tip for anyone who might be planning on a cruise...get there late. Embarkation started at noon, and you had to be onboard by 4. The ship sailed at 5:30, and we got there about 3:30.

There are hand sanitizers everywhere, and they are manned by staff who insist you squirt your hands constantly. You don't get to go any further if you refuse to sanitize. I'm not sure if this is just from the recent Swine 'flu scare, or if it's always like this, but I didn't mind. The sanitizer was sort of nice, it didn'ty dry our hands out, I think it had a lot of aloe in it.

We had our pictures taken and were handed what was to be our on board credit card/room key/embark/disbark card...basically your life-line to life on the ship. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING you bought on the ship was paid for with this card. You could not buy a postcard with cash, it is a cash free place. They say it's for customer convenience, but one staff member told us that it was really to keep staff from stealing. They don't handle cash at all, and no tips are given to them. Actually, let's discuss the tipping issue.

TIPS.

We weren't sure how or when to tip the staff. On our last cruise, a series of envalopes was left in our room on the eve of the last day, and each was labelled with "room cleaners", "wait staff", "sommelier" etc. In hindsite, how easy would it be for anyone to steal an envalope full of money? On this ship, it was all so simple. $12 per person, per day was added to your ship board account. As well as, anything you did buy (souviners, liquor, duty free etc) had a 17% "gratuity" added on. I thought that was a little high, I mean really, why should I pay 17% extra to buy $2.00 worth of postcards or a beer when I was ALREADY paying $12 a day? But, that's the way it was.

On the last evening of the cruise, your account bill was delivered to your room so that you had a chance to go over it all. It was broken down daily, very simple to read. So, for example, May 24 showed $15 for photos (yes, I got sucked into those photos that they snap every 30 seconds and then they display for you to purchase). It then showed $12 gratuities twice (once for Steven, once for me) $1.85 for a ginger ale, $6.33 for a glass of wine and $6.00 for a beer.

So, you do not need to bring any cash at all for the ship, the only cash needed was for shore excursions. And not the excursion itself, that was also on the account, but you needed cash for anything you might want to buy while on land.

We found this to be a great way to take care of all the bills and tips. If you are paying by credit card, you do nothing, just walk off the boat the next day and it will be on your bill the next month. If you prefer to settle up with cash, then you have to wait in line the morning you disembark (no thanks!) If you have a problem or discrepancy on your bill, or if you want to have the tips removed, then you also have to line up the next AM. There actually were a LOT of people lined up the next day, I hope they were paying with cash and not having tips taken off. But you know how some folks are....

We ate three meals a day, plus a snack now and then, plus we sat in the lounge with friends a few night and had a drink, so we would have probably left more individual tips than $12 each a day. I think it's an excellent idea, especially since you could have it removed if you really felt strongly that the service was not good. We found the service to be amazing.

Taken in the Atrium, the main sort of area where the reception desk is. You could stand there and look all the way up to the 12th floor (I think the Atrium is on the 5th). All the areas that you see are seating areas, little nooks and crannies to relax in and they all overlook the water.

The duty free perfume place.

The library. The other side was the same, and I was surprised at how recent the books were. All the latest best sellers, as well as a lot of classics. You took out a membership anjd got to keep your books for as long as you needed. Quite a good idea. At the end of the hall you can see a glass door, the other side was a 'quiet" room, where you could read.

Pictures

There were stairs all over (and yes, I was always lost) as well as elvators. The center area (the Atrium) had 4 glass ones that whisked you up to the 12th floor.

The picture below is the art gallery. The masters were all under a watchful security guards eye. Apparently, the gallery is a large one from New York (Park West I think it was called) and they deal with the cruise lines, as well as having galleries in various cities.

A bit about the boat.

The ship was large, to say the least. 12 stories high, or at least there were 12 we could go on, there were probably more at the bottom, engine rooms and that sort of thing.

There were 14 restaurants, 4 of which you had to pay a cover charge to get in, between $10 and $25, dependng on the fancy-ness of it. We didn't bother with those, they were sort of dressy, and the fact that we had 11 others to choose from that were free...well, it was a no-brainer.

There was a duty free liquor store (mmmm...free samples from 6:30-10:30 nightly), a duty free perfume/make-up place (too expensive for me), a large gift shop, a $10 store (like our dollar stores, but everything was $10. Pashminas, sunglasses, lots of jewellery and purses, I didn't buy anything there, although it was really popular and crowded all the time)

There was a gym, and some very fancy spa's where you could get sea-weed wraps (on your body, not to eat) mud treatments, massages, manicures and pedicures, hair cuts and styles and so on. I didn't use any of those either, I'm just not a girly-girl. Also, to my surprise, an art gallery which actually had a Renoir, a Monet, a few Picasso's and Chagals, and a Rembrandt, amongst others. I saw a fellow buy something, not sure what, for $16,500.00...and that was in US funds! Good God. There were also a plethora of jewellery stores, selling a lot of emeralds, opals, silver and gold, rubies and sapphires. Not a lot of diamonds, I don't know why that would be.

And a casino, with poker, craps, roulette and those type of table games, plus slots. We actually had a lot of fun in there, more on that later.

A cigar place, a photo studio, internet cafe, a library, 'quiet rooms', a chapel, a kids place and a teen arcade were also all available.

There were all sorts of observation places, with chairs and little coffee bars scattered around, both inside and out, so there was always a place to curl up and read or just sightsee. Outside there were hot tubs, a large pool, a kiddies pool, basketball courts and a golf area. There was a lot to occupy youself with.

Every evening a little ships newspaper was delivered to the room with all the info of what was going on the following day, bingo, shuffleboard, all sorts of seminars from how to get a flatter tummy (yeah, I should have gone to that one, but what the hell...) to how to use an Ulu knife (and I bought Shane an ulu knife, so I did go to that one).

There was a theatre with live entertainment each night, from magicians to blues singers to broadway type shows and even a Cirque de Soleil type thing on the final night, and it was as good as any Vegas show. Plus all free, and of course things are always better when they are free!

I was pleased at the lack of lines and crowds. Nothing was ever full capacity and wait times were minimal.

The staff were fantastic, so friendly and happy to chat. They all wore nametags with their homeland on it, mostly they seemed to be from Mexico, Indonesia, the Philipines, Thailand, and oddly enough, Romania.

The ship itself was spotless, there was constant cleaning and painting going on all the time.

Cruisin' Part One

Well, we "did" an Alaskan cruise. I have mixed feelings about cruises, in one sense it is so relaxing and such a treat to unpack just once. Not to mention, someone to clean your room and all the food you can possibly eat! On the other hand, no matter how a big a boat (oops, pardon me..a "ship") is, you can only do so much. Thank goodness for shore excursions. More on those later. First, the ship. Our room was amazing, much more spacious than I had anticipated. A King size bed, which was a HUGE treat, a nice couch and desk, a large wardrobe and lots of storage as well as a pretty decent bathroom. And the shower had phenomenal water pressure, I'm sure it blew old folks right against the wall. We also had a nice balcony, which, as far as I'm concerned, is the only way to go. I know some folks say: "Well, you're only in your room to sleep.", but that's not entirely true. It was great to get up in the AM and be able to just sit and breath some fresh sea air while still in your PJ's, hair going in 40 different directions. As well as in the evening, nice to get that final glimpse of the ocean before going to sleep.

Know your limits.

I am having such a hard time packing for this cruise. I don't know why, I usually pack in an instant, but for some reason this trip has me buffaloed.

I brought out all my suitcases, and I have many. (Hello, my name is Shannon and I am a luggage-holic) I have stared at them all morning and have come to no conclusions.

Should I take a big one and check it? Should I just take carry-on, which is my preferred method?. But what if it's cold and I need extra sweaters and pants? Do I really need 4 pairs of long pants? Well, what if I spill on one? What if I eat too much at the buffets and the already tight ones then don't fit? What if I rip a pair and the other pair is being washed? What if it's hot out? Then I'll need capris..at least 2 pair (see prior statement for reason that I might need at least 2) So that's now 6 pairs of pants. Sandals? Extra shoes? Raingear? Umbrella? Long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts? How many pairs of socks and underwear? Why is this such a problem?

I would like to bring what the first picture shows, but I fear I am on my way to looking lke the second one. Do they allow horses on the ship?

A what?

I think I am a Luddite, although the fact that I am writing this on a computer that is hooked up to the Internet is a bit oxymoron-ish.

Perhaps I am a partial Luddite, I have Luddite-like tendancies.

Technology baffles me. It really isn't as time saving as often thought.

Today was a fine example of "when technology fails".

1. Shaw Cable had cable problems. Said cable is buried under our yard, and granted, the city has 3 feet right-of-way, but we have to care for that 3 feet. Steven spends a lot of time caring for our yard so that it looks nice and tidy. But, the cable needed to be updated/replaced/fixed...whatever, and here they came, back hoe and all. They dug, made a mess, left, came back, made some more mess, dug deeper, left because it started to rain, came back, parked in our driveway so that I couldn't get out, blew up their hoe, left, came back and made a bigger mess....oil from the hoe all over the place, cracked the cement in our drive-way, tossed the dirt back in the hole and proceeded on to the neighbours yard to continue their mayhem.

I shan't go into detail of the conversation between Steven and them. Suffice to say, a nice load of topsoil was delivered to the house, as well as some new rolls of sod..neither of which we laid down. This evening it looks quite nice.

2. Same day. Came down to use the Internet (as a Luddite, I shall call it the Interweb of the Magic Box) and nothing would happen. Telus (our provider) kept telling me I had to "register my devices", and before that could possibly begin to happen, I had to proceed with my user name and password. Of course I have neither. And I've been using these same devices for months now.

I phoned the number and after the "press one" runaround, I was connected with Rajad, who, from the noise, was sitting by his laptop on a street in Mumbai. *sigh*.

He eventually got me reconnected ("Please be waiting one more minute Miss Shannon, thank you veddy much.") (umm, this is my blog and I can be politically incorrect if I choose!)

Turned out it was their fault, some signal error.

3. Our reception on our TV has been not very good lately. We have a satellite dish, which annoys me at the best of times, and this past while the picture gets all boxy...you know? Like little boxes. I think the term "pixels" comes into play here, but again, I don't swing that way.

So we phoned ( some more "Press One") and when we explained the problem, they said they'd send a technician up. And they did, promptly (just 3 days late). He arrived today.

He was actually very nice, and did some readjusting and switching things and moved antennae from here to there, and said we needed a new something or other and gave us the info to call Shaw....Ok, yes, the SAME Shaw as was mentioned in the beginning of this post...yeah, Shaw has bought out Star Choice, our satellite company. I can sort of hear the Gods of Fate laughing already.

So we phoned Shaw ("Press One") and we were on hold for...guess how long? Guess! 73 minutes. I finally hung up, went out, jumping over the mud and bits of sod that Shaw had left all over, and came home a few hours later. Called again. On hold for 14 minutes. Hung up and swore a bit, made supper and phoned again. On hold 36 minutes.

As of this writng, I have had no answer, but you know what's funny? We "left" Shaw because their customer service was SO awful. I cannot abide poor customer service. So, as I am on hold,one of the little blurbs that they repeat ("your call is important to us.") was this: "Now that Star Choice is Shaw Cable, we want to reassure you that you will recieve the same wonderful customer service as always."

*sigh*

My entire day was virtually wasted by waiting for repairmen, phoning repairmen, trying to track repairmen down to move their vehicles, waiting for phone calls, waiting to NOT be on hold, and just waiting, waiting, waiting. All in the name of modern time saving technology.

~Technology is a queer thing...it brings you great gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other. ~CP Snow

Cows

I have always been partial to cows.

Not to have as house decorations, or pets, but to look at in fields. And I was thinking the other day, as we drove down the highway past fields full of new born calves, that you don't see as many varieties as you used to. Or maybe it's just a BC thing. In Saskatchewan you'd see a field of the pitch black Aberdeen Angus, looking mean and cranky. The next farmer would have the black and white Holsteins, the type that you see on kitchen towels and fridge magnets. And then the pretty Jersey cow, the kind that look like they belong in a Disney movie, with big brown eyes and long eyelashes. Some farmers had the white Charolais, which always seemed a little uppity. Not of the farmers, but the cows themselves. They weren't as common and I guess they felt a little special, you'd never see them wander over to the fenceline like the pretty little Jerseys would. They Jerseys would take grass from our hands, snuffling for more and liking a scratch on the nose. The Holsteins would meander over too, not quite as friendly, and hesitant to take anything from us. The Aberdeens would just stand and look mean, I guess knowing that you are being bred to be eaten makes you a little less prone to be friendly and the Charolais would just be happy in their own little clique, never even looking our way.

I guess seeing all the calves the other day has made me think a little of my "formative" teen years in Saskatchewan, hangin' out with cows and my best friend (who wasn't a cow...she was a real person!) We would walk out of town and head down the back roads and byways and talk of what we were going to "be" when we grew up, discuss the latest crush we had in school and who was going to ask who to the dance. You know, the normal sort of teen talk. We'd hang over the fence posts and wait for the cows to come and see what we we were doing. Cows are very curious, especially the Jerseys. In no time they would come trotting over, and once one came, they would all come. If a cow is ill, and the vet (or farmer) comes out and stands over it, all the others will hastily come too see what's up. Maybe they are just worried that they are missing out on some sort of cow-treat, but I like to think that they have a little social concern for each other.

Kids today probably would sooner fall over in a dead faint than visit a cow, and I'll bet that most of them couldn't even name 2 different breeds of cattle. Which, to my way of thinking, is sort of sad.

It was quite an extraordinary day today. A month into springtime and we woke up to 3 inches of snow. The robins were very confused, they were running up and down the streets, yes, running, and every now and then they'd fly into a tree and look up in bewilderment as the snow fell onto them. Just the other day they were plucking worms out of the freshly mown lawns.

A snowflake is one of Nature's most fragile creations, but look when they can do when stuck together! ~Anonymous.

This is the landing we drove to, home of the elusive wild turkey. Steven started to make some sort of turkey noise and I proceeded to make a snort of laughter. However, to my surprise, I heard turkeys frantically gobbling in reply. It was quite amazing to watch him call them in closer and closer, and all you can see is the dark shape as they run from tree to tree, like little woodland ghosts. Well, not so little, they weigh about 20-30 pounds. They didn't come within shooting range, which was fine with me, and eventually they decided to roost for the night. Who knew that wild turkeys fly into trees at night to sleep?

I was quite surprised at how much fun I had out turkey hunting the other evening. We drove up to "Secret Creek" (funny how all the places he takes me seem to be called that...) There were a huge amount of deer and elk on the way up. This top picture is just so pretty, you should click on it and enlarge it. Mule deer always look so shocked and surprised, and their huge ears are revolving like radar screens.

We had no idea what this girl was doing, you just don't ever see deer doing this. Steven says she must have just been in the process of stepping over the stump when she saw us and she stopped to make sure we weren't a predator. I prefer to think she is a sentinal of sorts, maybe warning the turkeys.

One little elk, racing off to find the rest of his herd.

These Words.

Seriously, don't you love these words?

I dreamed a dream in time gone by.
When hope was high and life worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die,
I dreamed that he would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid.
No song unsung, no wine untasted.

Sung as Fantine, from Les Mis.

Situation Solved

(Thanks Linda, for sending me this...I love it!)

This is from an article in the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper on Sunday.The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President,Please find below my suggestion for fixing America's economy.Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. - Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings – Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage – Housing crisis fixed.It can't get any easier than that!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...

What is it about Susan Boyle that moves us? I saw a little clip on some TV show last night and I was quite touched. Today I watched the full clip on You tube and I was visibly moved...goosebumps, chills and tears in my eyes.

Is it the fairy tale aspect? The Cinderella story? She is an unlikely international sensation to be sure. Sadly, the world in general really does judge a book by it's cover, and while she is an average looking woman, that isn't what "the industry" wants. Her voice negates the need for window dressing, but you know as well as I do what will happen once Hollywood (or the British version thereof) gets their hands on her.

What I really wonder, though, is why are we all so surprised that such a voice (oh, SUCH a voice) can come out of this woman? Could it be because the voices that we tend to think are wonderful all come out of Hollywood and media manufactured bodies? Do we truely believe that an average looking person can't have any talent? We all saw the audience snicker and roll their eyes as she announced she was unemployed, lives with her cat and has never been kissed. The sound of claws unsheathing was almost audible.

I find it sad. We watch those shows almost anticipating people who are going to make a fool of themselves. And hasn't Susan Boyle given us a swift kick?

Two things moved me. One was when, just seconds before she starts to sing, she gives this sneaky little smile, as if she is saying: "Go ahead then, laugh at me...but just you wait. Just wait and see what this 47 year old un-hip woman is going to do."

And secondly, is part way through they show Simon with his chin in his hands and he just gives a huge and happy sigh, almost like a young kid looking at their favorite movie star.

Susan Boyle...you showed us all, didn't you? You rock!

Oh how wonderful is the human voice, it is the organ of the soul.

~Henry Wadsworth Lonfellow.

It's official. Besides looking like my mother, I am now turning into her as well. I just spent the better part of the afternoon organizing my cupboards the way my mother used to have hers, and throwing away an absolute load of dishes, pots etc that I really don't need.

Not "throwing away" as in tossing in the garbage, but they'll go to the Sally Ann or somewhere. I am finding that I feel the need to pare my life down to the bare essentials. Other than books, I can't get rid of books, I have books I haven't looked at for years and years (and years) but you never know when you just might need that particular book. I kind of doubt I'll ever have the urge to re-read The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore, but I can guarantee that the second I throw it away, I'll need it for something crucial. So the more I clean out my closets and cupboards, the more books I seem to accumulate. I guess it's true that Nature abhors a vacuum, in my case she fills it with books.

~A room without books is like a body without a soul.
~Cicero 106BC-46BC

More things Irish

We spent the Easter weekend in C'oeur d'Alene and Spokane this year, sort of a treat, no cooking needed! We went to this wonderful little Irish restaurant called Conley's and the bread was SO good that I begged them to sell me a few loaves. You can't really tell in this picture, but each slice is really thick and the bread is very dense and has a phenomenal rye flavour. Mmmmmmm!

So, a few weeks ago I started thinking of Ireland and of how I have always wanted to go there. The other day I checked my e-mail and a friend of mine had sent me a website on vacationing in Ireland. I wrote her back and asked if I had mentioned that I was thinking of doing exactly that, or if she had just sent me the website by coincidence. "Coincidence" she replied. Later, I was reading a magazine and turned the page to see a map of Ireland with my name leaping right out of it..yes, Shannon is a city in Ireland and that's what my mother chose my name from. Coincidence? Perhaps.

And then, I was looking for some pictures for yet another friend, and I came across this old picture of my Grandpa...ahhh, my Irish Grandpa who was so proud of our heritage. Not so odd to have a picture of him in an old photo album, but as I looked at his Clark Gable look-alike face I noticed what seemed to be the word "Dublin" near the tear in the upper right corner. Upon removing the photo from the book, and looking at the back, I realized that it was indeed taken in Dublin. Yet another coincidence? Probably.

But then, upon checking tonights TV guide, I see that my "vice", The Simpson's is a new one...and where do they go? IRELAND!! Coincidence? With The Simpsons? I think not! I think this is the sign I have been waiting for, that Shannon should go to Ireland!

~Coincidence is logical

~Johan Cruijff

Dog sitting

Saydi (smiling) and Fisher (solomn). These are the retrievers that we dogsat for a few days.

They are brother and sister, and are very close...even "holding paws" as they rest on the floor.

This is the type of day I like to walk. It was cold, but not bitterly so. The sun was warm on our backs even though the thermometer read -14. The temperature and texture of the snow was at the point where it squeaked and crunched as you walked. Certainly there is no way to sneak up on anyone when it's like this!

~The clearest way to the Universe is through a forest wilderness.

-John Muir