Hearts and Hands

 The last week I was in Alaska, I was incredibly busy. So were a great many who opened their hearts and their hands to me. I will probably miss some of them in this post. I'll do my best to name as many as I can! 

The weekend Julie B came down to help, I took part of Saturday and visited Soldotna for a hazardous waste dump day. There were a LOT of people who went. 

I got rid of a great deal in the shop. Some of them dad had opened and left on shelves!!! 

There was a lady from one of the thrift stores who came out a couple of times, Julie B, Kim (who never managed to get photographed except when I snapped it as she helped load the wooden work bench in the truck a few posts ago), Kari M with some dear folks from North Star helped empty the shed, and Pastor April took a few things for me when she visited the house. Kari was one of the most efficient persons in my life over the last years. She sorted music and took books and found homes for so many things from clothes to furniture to a doll that mum always meant to fix and I finally did..even though, I wasn't sure where the woman it belonged to was! Kari has found her. I only hope it was the right doll!!! 

The neighbor's were amazing. Kim is one of those and Karen C and her boys did a great deal for me up until the moment I left. 

Janet and Lee came and got many things from mom's. Her room was one of the last to get emptied because it was so easy to put things in. 

Sweeping was a huge chore! This is my old bedroom after it was completely empty. 

Jim took apart mum's bed I'd been sleeping on after he finished hauling more stuff away and helped get rid of mom's organ that was in the garage until AFTER I left! This guy was so helpful, I should have gotten him more than one meal out! 

Elaine cleaned walls and cupboards and swept and was a blessing. She  and her husband even drove me to ANC the day I left North Kenai!  

My last day out north was incredibly busy. I cleaned and talked to so many people and cried and was so very blessed by so many. I stayed that night with Audrey J, almost stayed with Steve B. and his parents, and am very glad I went to Audrey's. No one knew she'd be gone in a few weeks and then Steve's dad died a bit later. No one knows how long we have. We must enjoy and be thankful for those moments we have and the people who are a part of them. 

Oregon Helpers-September

Steve and Jon arrived in the evening of  the first Saturday in September. They immediately went to work around the house and yard. 

Jon was intrigued with an aged welder dad had. He decided to fire it up and was rather impressed with how well it worked. Jon and Steve helped get things loaded that were sold and hauled stuff to the dump. 

Julie M-Ware was one of my staunchest helpers over the last years of taking care of mom and being north. She took several pieces of furniture, including mom's 'bell' cabinet. A glass cabinet that was probably purchased when I was in Junior High!  

Jon did some playing while he was at the house in North Kenai. He managed to get mom's old desktop running and the games on that were so much fun! Here he's playing one of the Sim games. Tumble Bugs was probably our favorite, though. 

We did get out a few times to the beaches. It wasn't exactly warm and it was generally after everything else was done! This day I hauled them off to Capt. Cook State Park. 

Mom had quite a few boxes and books of old mementos that smelled nasty with mildew. So, I took photos of the items instead of trying to keep them. They will comprise a whole post, I'm sure! 

The absolutely horrible car the guys rented in Anchorage. Steve had to fix it before it could even drive back to be returned!!! We didn't use it while it was on the Peninsula. 

One of the days was a stunning warm extremely low tide day. So, we went to the Kenai beach for an hour or so. Jon took some really neat photos, but oddly, I've not gotten those yet!! People were barefoot (even I did that after a while!), there were jelly fish, fascinating blobs of clay and pebbles, and cool looking rocks. 

A little who was fascinated by the neat things out and about on the beach. 

Jon spent a lot of time on the water. He took out an absolutely mouse ridden boat from the shop and hauled it out for a last float. After a few days, it did start to get water logged and sink, but it was good to see it out on the water. The little craft, from a distance, looked a bit like the small boat Cary Grant captained in 'Father Goose'. Up close, it was more USS Rodent! 

Spotty photo of Redoubt the Saturday they left. It was sort of funny. We had had a yard sale on Friday and a part of Saturday. Jon had wanted to see moose, but only got a glimpse of some through the trees in the yard. We stopped the sale in the afternoon, the guys left prior to the ending, and while I was outside eating lunch, a mom and calf walked right past the garage! In fact, I saw more moose that day than I'd seen most of the summer! 

Catch Up- August

Was rather startled by these moose. I was reading outside and heard something in the woods and spied this one. 

The bugs over their bodies was rather gicky!!! 

Then, I noticed there was a mom with twins! At least, I am pretty sure there were only two. 

This one looks like a young bull. 

Later, I went out on the lake and revisited my favorite tree spirit who was still standing. 

There were so many reflections in the still waters. Still waters that restore the soul. 

Near the end of August, I was able to visit a friend who lives on a side of the inlet I rarely visit. I love how this Mountain can be seen from everywhere! 

Back out north for more sunsets. These are from different evenings. 

The house in Nikiski with a smidge of the garage and a glimpse of the shed. 

These were unknown ashes. The gold ring inside made me certain they were not dad's or the cat's. I figured they could be scattered near Arness Dock anyway. It is a good place to hang out, dead or alive! 

These two young men helped load up furniture to take to Janet's. Of course, it happened to be one of the first days of serious rain in weeks!!! I was entirely grateful for their help.