Here is a link to an article about the contest Seth and his group won. click here

April Snow

Snow in April, I guess the evidence is there. I flew to Juneau to pick up a new rehab patient and they had 3-6 inches of snow. This snow storm caused them a bit of trouble as there was an avalanche that took out a stretch of their power lines from the hydro project thus requiring them to run diesel generators for electricity. Apparently their electric bills are going from .11 to .55 per KW. That is 5 times the amount they currently pay and this will continue till the lines are restored which may take several months. Coming home the snows started that afternoon in Wrangell as well but was gone off the roads shortly. Now we have clear skies and cool temperatures. The birds are singing this morning and several boats are leaving the harbor to get the early King Salmon. I guess I should get my boat ready and join them (maybe when it gets over 40 degrees).

April Showers

Greetings and salutations from the land of the April (and nearly year round) showers. The snows have been staying over the 500 ft elevation so maybe it is spring. Lots of Robins migrating through, the Skunk Cabbage is in full bloom but that pesky sapsucker must have found a better sounding board to attract a mate as the house has been quiet.

Flew to Juneau again on Sunrise Aviation in their 5 seat Beechcraft and forgot to take my camera. It was just as well since we were flying through snow and clouds most of the way and when there was a view the light level was so low that it wouldn't have taken very well moving at over 100 mph. The flight was uneventful which makes a good flight. Great pilots to fly with and a sterling record for safety. Finished the electrical on the little house and will call for the final inspection. Next for that project is to finish the ceilings, floors and walls then install the bathroom, kitchen and replace most the windows. I guess I have a ways to go. I thought I would have my yacht ready to go but my mechanic had the audacity to go and break his leg in such a way he may be laid up all summer. The repairs will have to wait or I will have to find another mechanic able to do the job. He was the best in town and the busiest.

Lynda is continuing with her craft starting another basket and another painting. I look forward to each new work of art and am blessed with having so much of it around the house to enjoy.

Amanda is planning a trip with a friend to Disneyland to celebrate the end of the busy tax season. She has had to put in long hours to complete the work before the deadline and was successful.

Cynthia finished another quarter at college making good grades again as usual and continues her success for the last quarter of the year. She got a job as a tutor for one of her classmates at his request so she gets paid to study for her classes. Not a bad position to have.

Seth graduates in a month. He was part of a small group at UAF that won a national mathematical modeling competition comparable to winning a national football championship. The last time UAF won was when one of his professors was in the competition. He plans on staying in Fairbanks working on a programming project this summer as he continues to hold out for a job programming for a game company.

Here's till next time I get inspired to communicate.

musings of a middle aged man

It has been nearly a month since the last posting and I was sitting here trying to decide what to report. We do live eventful lives, work 5 days a week but all that is confidential, suffered from the crud that makes its way around the community this time of year and in my case hit another milestone in my progression of middle agedness (if that is a word). It was bad timing for a birthday as the crud was going round and we couldn't risk indulging in large amounts of sugar related products that would lower our immune system so I made do with 1/2 gallon of ice cream and Lynda a more sugar free sorbet. Thanks to all that sent cards and to those who called me on that auspicious day.

Our next major event will be the first part of May where we will experience the granting of the degree of BSCS with minor in math to our son Seth in Fairbanks, AK. Any wishing to attend are welcome. It is nice in Fairbanks that time of year and the hotels still have their winter rates.

The weather is turning more into spring and we have had definitive signs that nature is feeling the change as well as the early morning knocking on the side of the house has started by the red-breasted sapsucker. Ever since I removed the deck he has found it to be optimal habitat to sound out for a mate and make holes in the siding for a nest only to abandon the project and try another spot. I put a house up for him last year to cover the one hole made but I apparently didn't paint it the right color or make it the right shape or maybe his pounding did not sound good enough to attract a mate. I hope I don't have to make more birdhouses this year to cover more holes.

Belated posting for my educational adventure. I spent time at Nashville's Opryland Hotel and Convention Center learning more about my craft. I stayed at a Best Western nearby and walked each morning to the convention and back in the evenings. I would say the learning experience was well worth the time and expense. This was the biggest turnout that APTA had yet with about 2000 students and over 5000 therapists. This picture is from the convention center area looking towards the enclosed hotel area and food court at night. The second picture is during the day looking down to the man made river.






I met up with Lynda and Marcus in Seattle on the way home. They were waiting for our airplane to depart for Ketchikan and Wrangell. We were looking forward to returning home after a prolonged absence. On arriving home I went to work and found that I needed to continue on to Juneau to pick up a patient. It was a long day but I got a good nights rest and was able to help the lady back to Wrangell the next day. Tomorrow I go back to Juneau for another transport. I will fly on a small plane this time and the weather promises to be tolerable for a safe flight. Life is good in Alaska.

Good Morning, apparently there were tornadoes passing over where I am staying. Had some fierce thunder and lots of rain but don't see any damage out my window which is the top floor of the hotel. Strange time of year to have such extreme weather and the storm continues to the East. Day two of education so I will be off learning how to bandage and mobilize to decrease swelling. Great class so far.

Trip to Chattanooga, TN

Had a wonderful visit with my brothers, Rick and Ken and my parents at Ken Willes II house near Collegedale, TN. This pict is where Ken works as a professor of art at Southern University. We were making the tour of both his and his wifes workplace admiring their accomplishments that are many. Check out his work on Southern Universities website.


Here Kenneth is in his office with the trophies on the windowsill.


Below is Rick showing Allison, Kenneth's Wife and our newest Sister, how good the picture came out he just took of her. Kenneth is in the background helping prepare the meal in their kitchen. The artwork you see on the wall is a Kenneth Willes II original.



I had a wonderful visit with the family and look forward to seeing them all again in the future. Rick and Dad drove back to California, Mom flies back today and I am finished with day one of continuing education here in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel. Will post some picts tomorrow, today was cloudy and I was trying to find my way around. The place is huge.