Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Earaches

I now fully understand why my youngest son screamed when he had ear infections as a baby.  They hurt like the dickens.  I mean intense make you cry kind of pain.  I could sure use some of those good drugs they gave me after my open heart surgery to take away the pain.
My teeth hurt so bad I cannot chew on food or even run my tongue over them as the pressure from my sinuses and ear is so intense.  If I was a baby had no words to express my pain I too would scream.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Branson Missouri

I had a long and tiring trip to get there, but enjoyed my visit with my cousin and her family. It was a long drive from St. Louis, MO to Branson, MO in the dark. It took me longer to drive in the dark than it would have in the daylight, but then I do not have that great of night vision and I am definitely not use to those big rigs whipping past me on the interstate.  Alaska does not have that many big rigs and we do not have major interstates.  It did bring back memories of when I use to choose to drive between those big rigs because you could go faster and use less gas.  I guess I have slowed down as I aged. Oh wait, I am still young, I must mean become more cautious since moving to Alaska.  Yes, that sounds so much better.

I arrived in Branson very late and had to find my way out in the country to my cousin's house and when I say in the country I mean she lives way out and up a winding road at the end of the road, or darn near.  In the dark I missed a turn and had to flip a U-turn to find the right road. They name roads after the ABC's there.  I was looking for T-road. The turn was lost in the dark.  I found it the second time and arrived at her house about 2:00 AM.
Of course, we did not just go straight to bed, not we stayed up for another hour or so talking and then slept in the next morning, me more so than her, but then I was running on about 3 hours of sleep total when I arrived at her house.  I never do sleep very well on airplanes.
The next morning we had a nice chat and took pictures.  It was a snow day for Branson as they had gotten a couple inches of snow. For this Alaska girl that was funny as we get 14" and all they do is cancel after school activities if the roads are bad.  In  twenty years of teaching in Anchorage I think I can count on one hand the number of snow or ice days, where they canceled school. Alaska is prepared for it, and we have all the heavy equipment to clear the roads, while Missouri and other places do not get much snow so they are not prepared when it does come.
Lauren still lives at home and she enjoyed the day off. She road her four-wheeler.
Janie and I preferred to stay inside and chat, though we did take a ride with her husband, Dan. We went way up to a housing area that is on the edge of the Ozark Mountains, and the roads were a little hairy with all the ice.  Dan reminds me of Tom when it comes to driving, he just goes. Janie and I held on tight on a few of those turns as it was scary.  Dan enjoyed and I think he enjoyed scaring us also.
I really enjoyed my visit with my cousin and hope to see her again soon.
I am also very thankful that she and her family are safe after came through the tornado that hit Branson this last week.

Winter Snow

I woke up this morning to more snow falling outside. We are less than 13" away from beating a record for snow fall set during the winter of 1954-55.  Considering that it is still early in the season for Alaska, we have a very good chance of breaking the record.
When I look out on my back porch I see this:














Out my front window I see this:



It is a little too much snow for me.  Don't get me wrong, I love a white Christmas, and snow is pretty, but I hate it on the roads. Too many idiots come out when the snow falls and accidents happen because they do not know how to drive slower.  I also get tired of winter and want green grass and pretty flowers, and to be able to ride our tandem. The cold gets to me as well.  I love Alaska, but really wish our winters were shorter, and not as dark.
The good news is we are gaining daylight each day and that means summer will come, just not soon enough for me.
Until then we are in a race to beat the record for snowfall in a season and we may well win.

It Is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to Pay Off Your College Loan

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