Whirlwind of days....

I don't even know where to begin.... usually things slow down once winter hits here in Alaska but for us it just went into hyper drive.

Weekend after weekend we have been busy with tournaments. One of those weekends Jared stayed here for the Hutchinson Meltdown and Nick traveled with Varsity for duals in Anchorage. Both did well and Jared took 1st in his weight class of 103 for the Hutchinson Meltdown and our team took first out of all the teams. We were very proud of them because they were a JV team in a Varsity tournament and did exceptionally well.




This last weekend we had a John Tobin tournament for two days that comprised of some of the top teams in the state and so our competition was tough. But Nick did not fail to amaze us that despite not wrestling a whole season and coming halfway into this season he beat out some of the best and took 3rd in his weight class 103. Then to make the weekend even better our school took second in the tournament against some of the top Anchorage schools. Some of our wrestlers are now ranked #1 and #2 in the state.





It is hard to have both boys in the same weight class. One is varsity and the other is JV but I do like the fact that they help each other out and are sparring partners. I just hope they don't meet each other on the bracket during one of the tournaments. I don't know how well I can watch that match.

Today and tomorrow is the West Valley Invitational so I will be busy with that and taking pictures of the matches.

Winter has settled in here. And the negative weather has also arrived which makes it hard for us to get things accomplished with our move coming up. Yes another reason I have not been on the computer except to download pictures for the kids. We are moving out of Ft. Wainwright and at first it seemed so long from now but it is around the corner. The movers will be in our house on Monday morning to pack up our household goods. We have been busy with appointments and the kids events and getting this house staged for that to happen. So I am living in what I call a chaotic mess right now. But I know this is the most stressful part of the move then it is over. We will be staying in a hotel until we dis enroll the kids from school and drive out of Alaska through Canada to board the ferry out of Haines, AK. It will be a new adventure for us but it will be a bit scary leaving in the winter and bittersweet to be leaving during the holiday season. Hopefully though this will be the last move in a while. We are hoping to stabilize in Kentucky to be able to graduate the kids out of high school without this kind of stress.

Hopefully with Wi-fi in most hotels I will be able to keep you all posted on our journey. I will miss many people and places here. This is my home state and at times I know I will get homesick. But I think my whole family is ready for a change.

Well I need to head on out of here and get more closets done and get ready to meet the boys at the high school. I hope they both do well, this may be their last tournament since we will not be here for State. :(

Here are some snow pictures for those of you who have none. :)


Sign of a summer past


I wish you all a great Friday.

Future art on my walls....

Happy November to all. Halloween was spent with a dinner out to a downtown bistro called Lavelle's Bistro with my family then just a quiet night at their house chit chatting and getting caught up with each others lives. Before leaving the house we gave out candy to all the brave little trick or treaters in our neighborhood that despite the cold still rang our doorbell. I saw a lot of cute fairies and princesses.

I was ready to start this week in full energy ready to attack bedrooms and closets to start de-cluttering for the move when I received a phone call that a dear and loved family member passed away. You don't realize how much you are affected by such a news until it happens. For two days I felt like walking around in a daze trying so hard to concentrate in even the simplest tasks. So last night as I was dosing off to sleep I tried to think of positive things and tried to turn that concentration on our upcoming move and house hunt and how to decorate our new home. I had good dreams, of moving into a beautiful home, gardening, and sunny beautiful weather. I will miss the comforts of my home state, but I think this change about to happen will be a good one.

Today I was looking at things we need to put to the side to take with us in the Yukon (since we are driving out) and a set of posters I bought at a fall bazaar caught my eye. I had it sitting off to the side contemplating whether to already frame them or wait until we reach our destination. Bo told me to just pack it with us and it can be one of the first things that go on our walls besides our family portraits taken by a friend (Susan Stevenson) and a painting I commissioned my sister in law to paint for us.

These posters are prints of a watercolor paintings of some of our local Alaskan animals. The artist is Vickie Rae Pruit. I met her at her booth at the Bad Girls of the North Bazaar. I loved her work and started with buying her posters to hang in our house. Here is a little snippet from her site.

V Rae's startling fusion of canvas, texture and watercolor captures the spirit of Alaska in huge impressions that leap from the canvas to your heart. As one collector puts it, "the personality that inhabits these paintings launch each day with a new smile...a rare return on any investment."

The posters I bought from her depicted some of the favorite animals to me. One was a moose, a bear and an otter.

Here are some of my pictures of these animals I have encountered.

Moose in my yard both front and backyard.





The juvenile Grizzly we met in Valdez that frequented the Salmon Hatchery.









I do not have pictures of an Otter yet. I would love to see one in the wild like I have most the other animals here in Alaska. We bought the poster because of the saying under it.

Here are the posters I bought to hang hopefully on a wall together.

It is a little bright because of the plastic protecting the posters.

The Otter poster has this saying: "I have been known to enjoy an occasional margarita." Margarita is a favorite drink of mine. :)

The Moose poster: "At a distance she looked like any other moose, until she sauntered by my window, nibbled a blossom, looked at me in the eyes and showed me her true colors. We now have tea on Thursdays."

The Bear poster: "Glistening blades of sunlight pierced the emerald canopy as I pad reverently through the old Sitka spruce pondering how life transcends the living. Sensing a kindred spirit, the old Tlinglit grizzly slipped from his Totem, hitched a ride in my soul and quietly emerged from a collage of color. The ancient ones called him Spirit Messenger."

Here is VRae's site to check out the rest of her wonderful original work and her studio exhibition. www.vraeart.com

I know every time I will set eyes on these posters it will remind me of the great memories here in Alaska.

Another painting that will grace my walls will be from my loving and artistic sister in law Franny. I sent her a picture of a set of kayaks in Valdez and she will paint an acrylic painting of it for us. We are hoping to have it as one of our main artworks in the home. Here is that picture.


A recent painting she did nestled on her fireplace that I fell in love with.


Some of her other artwork.





There is much to look forward to. I hope with the excitement of finding a home and making it ours will inspire me in my own works.

I wish you all a happy Wednesday.