An Amazing End

There are so many stories from this last week of my journey north. It is so difficult to pin just one or two down to tell. So, this is a collage of incidents captured for you to enjoy.

This youngster lit the candles during the opening of the service at the Kenai church. I wanted to take her photo and so we went up after and 'staged' a lighting. She and her sisters are such a JOY! 

 We were able to have these angels come and chain saw the downed trees. It still amazes me the young man on the left isn't  toddler anymore!

 The angels also took down a very dead tree. I think Tim just likes using his chain saw! I put a lot of it away, split some of it, and the rest is under a tarp. Nancy came back with the wood stove door Tim fixed for mom. It took us a bit, but we prevailed and were able to get it attached. Mom used it on Friday.

 The young man, Steve, also had this idea for the tires. I must admit, it was rather brilliant. As Steve said, if the first snow is as tall as these and the plow guy manages to hit them, we'll have more trouble than just knocked over tires!

 This woman is a storyteller from the south. She still has a great Louisiana accent. Even after living in Alaska for..well, mom fished with Nikki when I was a teen! Some of the things they did would curl  your toes. BUT, they got their fish!

 Had to say goodbye to daddy before I left Kenai-

 The end of summer toes. The air was cold and the foliage is mostly brown and sparse. It was warm in the sunshine, but the glow had a definite wintertime bite in it.

I got to visit another story teller, Frank. He was fortunate. By the time I was visiting for the second time, my camera had decided to stop working (I got it started again later that afternoon!). I took these pictures at their house, the first time I visited, and wished I could sit at his feet and let his words waft thru me. Amazing teller of tales. 

That Friday night, Mum and I ate dinner at the Elk's Lodge. It was so good for mom to get out and see people. I am sure she is going to look forward to more of the same this winter. She was also honored at the 4-H awards dinner. They gave an award for the most inspirational record book in Mum's name. Pretty awesome stuff!!! 

 These hands have learned to do a GREAT many things they'd never done before. I'm a sheltered gal. I emptied mom's lawnmower of gas for the season and was very proud of my fortunate fingers and hands.

 There was ice on the lake and frost on the kayak paddle  the other night when I went out around 1am. The full moon was caught in the cold water with iced edges. It was incredible! However, it got breezy after that and I decided to stay on land. You can see ice in this photo, too. The ground was frozen and it was time to put the craft away until spring.

 I opted to go to the ocean water. (by the by, there are spots on the photos because I had my camera in my kangaroo pocket of my shirt while helping haul wood and when putting the tires on end. The camera fell out, lens first. I'm working on getting it cleaned, but it is not as efficient as I'd hoped!) to say goodbye. It was cold and the tide was coming in. I wasn't going to get anymore rocks, but I did anyway. Three more!

 Before I was picked  up by Mike (he now knows where mom lives and will help others find it), I snapped a couple of  fast (not too clear) photos of the two of us. I wasn't able to get any with Janet. We didn't communicate well and missed each other on Saturday night.

 Sunday, my plane left Anchorage. I cried. I always cry when I leave home. Thankfully, the plane was dark and by the time I took this picture, I realised we were NOT turning around, and was mostly ok. I'll be back, though-I have to.

 Cool display in the N part of the Alaska Air concourse at SeaTac. Ships in bottles. They made me smile!