End of Year Snowstorm

12-28-08 we woke up this morning to an even whiter day. The snow had been falling for the past few days leaving only an inch or two on the ground. Last night it was more serious in its attempts leaving another foot of snow to remove from the sidewalk. The temperatures have been near 30 degrees allowing the snow to pile up on itself and stick to everything it hits thus the beautiful flocking of the trees.



Marcus enjoys going out his dog door and snuffling about in the white stuff, then coming back inside covered with balls of snow on his legs, belly and snout.



Lynda has expressed herself creatively this year by making all new decorations for the tree. Because she was gone to where it was warm and not returning till almost Christmas, the tree was still in the process of being decorated till today. She still has more of the balls to prepare but the fingers are not holding up to the abuse of pulling the ropes tight so it may have to wait till next year. Does look impressive and fitting for the area. In the background you can see the cat pole she designed that only awaits the tube to sit on top. It will be placed there when we can decide where the pole will finally be placed.

Here is wishing you all a Happy New Year and hope your Christmas was a nice as ours.
Ron and Lynda Chadwick

Mozart's Requim

The words still reverberate through my mind after completing the concert of Mozart's Requim 2 times in Ketchikan and once in Wrangell. Not sure what they mean as they were all in Latin but they sounded good with a larger choir and orchestra backup. The Bass section was 10 men strong with some excellent voices. The other sections were similarly sized. We practiced together as a group Thursday night and then the full group on Friday evening. During the day Friday it was off to Wallmart (the excitement of Ketchikan) to find inexpensive DVD's to add to my collection and wandering around the town looking at all the beautiful artifacts in the windows. The housing was comfortable and the food excellent and company pleasant. Saturday we had 2 performances and then Sunday morning we all got on the Catamaran for the trip back home to Wrangell. Winds were projected to be gusts to 35MPH. Needless to say it was good I didn't eat breakfast. Once behind the shelter of islands it smoothed out and there were no mishaps. We had a nice turnout in Wrangell and our best performance. Now to work towards the Christmas concert.

Anchorage Visit

Had a pleasant visit to Anchorage this last weekend attending the Alaska Physical Therapy Association Fall Conference. I had the privilege of staying at Amanda's new apartment on her hide-a-bed for the weekend. She made the best Halibut dish with vegetables and pleasant company with her friend attending our dinner party. The weather was snowy and blustery but it cleared up so that we could participate in the Association's run/walk. The conference was stimulating and it was good to network with therapists from all over the state and one from Maine. Overall a profitable and pleasant weekend.

Glint, the new member of our family

I have been remiss in reporting on an addition to our family, Glint. She is a Siamese mix short-hair orphan cat that Lynda obtained in Sweet Home, OR while at her mom's house. Originally she was referred to as Buddha Belly because when fed her belly would be quite distended. Now she has more than doubled in size and slimmed out (not so big a belly) living up to her name of Glint, a mythical dragon character in the Guild Wars mythology. She is quite playful and gets along well with Marcus. Our senior resident cat, Peanut Butter, tolerates Glint now but has not shown much familiarity. Welcome to our home Glint and please leave those plants alone.

Fence art, Part II

Well the work continues and now the path is paved, still needs a little work to level it better but this should keep the weeds down in the path. All the stones come from local quarries made to create the forest service/logging roads. They come flat and merely need placed down. Looks pretty nice now in that area and if you look in the window you can see Lynda's newest creation of art, the crocheted curtains. Below is a picture looking from the inside out. The pattern of the salmon swimming goes well with the decor of the office/art room.



We didn't get much more of that summer weather so the trip I referred to last posting was nice but not very photogenic, not much contrast between water, clouds and islands. Nice cool, wet weather, can't complain much about that. ;),

Fence art

At last, the fence is up. This has been a project of long duration and it is nearly completed. All that is left is the gate which still needs designed. We also plan on paving the rest of the path with the local flat rocks that we pick up out the road or with the boat across on the mainland on the beach. The crosscut saws came with the little house on the left in the basement and this is Lynda's idea of how to use them artistically. The bush is a local elderberry bush, should do well in this climate since it is a local plant. The weed barrier under the cedar mulch is outdoor carpeting left under the house, should do for awhile and will save taking it to the dump.

Today was beautiful with sunshine and 71 degrees. I took the day off since work was slow and got the fence done and other projects. Maybe we will get a few days of summer. Hope to post a little more often. Tomorrow is another flight to Juneau, may get some pictures as the sun will be shining.

Travel Plans

Early this morning the above apparition appeared out my window, our first and probably only large cruise ship this summer it arrived on a beautiful sunny day. This is my last day at work before leaving on an adventure that will encompass many miles, this time by ship, (not a cruise ship) auto, and plane. Tomorrow morning I board the ferry Columbia for a 2 day, 2 night cruise to Bellingham, WA, then proceed by auto to Sweet Home, OR. I look forward to a few days with my beautiful wife and her parents, seeing Cynthia and Seth and relaxing before then next leg of the journey. Monday Seth and I start towards Texas to his new home and job. We plan on a stop at my parents house and Rick's for a short visit then proceed cross country to get to Sugar Land, Texas. From there I fly back to Oregon, pick up my wife and head back home via ferry.