The very last day

The lake was stunning my last morning on the Pipeline Road. Calm and not a speck of rain on the surface. 

I had purchased flowers to leave at the house in a crystal vase. I thought the new owners would like them. However, since the sale didn't close til the middle of Nov, I'm not sure what kind of condition the flowers were in when the new owners took possession!! 

This was a bittersweet thing to toss. A million years ago, when I was in HS, I was part of a Youth Conservation Corps team in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. I used this back pack. It is completely outdated, but it was a part of my life for a very long summer. It held many memories, but it needed to be put aside. Kind of like the house out north. The house has always been a place of comfort, but it is just a smidge of my Alaskan root system. That part wasn't as hard to pull or remove as one might think. The rest of my roots, though..Those are still stuck hard. 

one of my absolute very favorite Alaskan songs by The Redhead Express: 

When I was cleaning mom's vehicle again, I found this. I'm not entirely sure how long it had been in the car, but it is clean now!!! 

This angel was one of the oddest things ever. It was in Audrey's guest room and it was so pretty. I didn't really notice it at first. Then, I turned off the light and saw a glowing almost mustache shape. Startled, I turned the light on again and found this angel. It was what glowing in the dark! I giggled quite a while before finally falling to sleep watching the sky and listening to the surf outside. 

What a blessed place North Kenai has been in my life. I'm so thankful I was able to spend so long back in the place where my roots are. Not just a summer, but entire seasons in a full circle more than once. The Peninsula will always be in my heart, my soul, and in the rocks all around me. I'm so glad I brought so many back to Oregon! I'm so thankful my family adjusted to my travels and to flying back and forth, themselves. It truly is a great place to visit and belong. 

 

Lasts B

On the 24th of September, I went out to Capt Cook State Park and the Swanson River Bridge. I wanted to drop the last of mom's ashes off the bridge mom used to fish from. Unfortunately, I got out there a bit later than I thought I would and it was rather dark. So, this post are lasts on the 25th. 

Chickadees. 

I was even visited by a nuthatch, although it didn't land for a snack. 

Good bye!!!! 

This evening, it was brighter and I'd gotten out earlier. It is not easy to photograph ashes as they waft/pour to waters below!!! I had to laugh when the last picture turned out the best!!! Mum spent a lot of time out on this bridge. She and Ma Nik caught quite a few silvers from this spot. I'm glad we went out there the year Jon visited. 

Nancy Mae Egbert September 2017, Swanson River Bridge..which has a different name that I don't remember!!! 

I will always love sunsets at the park. I didn't visit the beach, there wasn't time! 

This was taken on the way home one of those last days. This spot is always when I know I'm almost home. Just a few more miles and curves and lakes to pass and I'll be there! 

I had a chance to visit Arness Dock for one last sunset and this cow was placidly hanging out by the side of the road. So, I stopped to take her photo! 

Sunset over the heliport at Arness. 

This is the last of 44 years of debris and stuff in mom's house. (minus a bunch of blankets and my luggage and things that needed mailed!!) 

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. 

The Greenhouse Goes

This greenhouse has been in place as long as the house has. It looked ok on the outside..kind of. But, inside, it was a mess!!! It leaked and was not the nice heated spot it once was. I'm not entirely sure when the power to the greenhouse was terminated. I'm pretty sure it was when dad was alive. Anyway, a friend named Jim came over to take it away. Every time he was at the house, he kept wanting to remove it. So, it was only fair to let him do the deed when it was time. Janet came over that afternoon, too. 

First Jim took out everything nailed down and not so nailed down. There was a lot inside that just needed hauled off. Then, he removed the door I had fixed my first or second summer in AK.  Probably in 14 or 15. 

He asked us to stand clear while he was cutting. There was a lot of dust from the old fiberglass. He cut every single support he found along the roof. His plan was to pull off the roof and the whole thing would fall down. 

He got into his truck and pulled. It fell over just as he anticipated. And then immediately popped back up!! This is where the video Janet took is so much more amusing than the stills. Unfortunately, I don't know how to find it, except on FB! It is probably on my page somewhere...

Completely annoyed, Jim got back in his truck and pulled and kept pulling. This time, it crumpled up and stayed down!! Or, more accurately, fell over! 

He proceeded to tear it apart with hammer, crowbar, and sawzall. It took a lot longer than he thought it would, but he got it all done! 

He had to make two trips to the dump. I took him out to dinner after the first one, since the dump had been busy and the transfer station was now full. He then ended up hauling away the second load in the morning, after the dump opened. 

These last two photos were supposed to be before the truck, but I had forgotten them. The greenhouse was built on logs and those had rotted away. You can see in the previous photos the worn state of the fiberglass roofing and it really did need taken down and hauled away. Without it, the yard looked so much better!!! 

I was incredibly fortunate to have Jim come and help me. This was one of those things that truly needed more hands than mine to do.