My first crush

I had a crush on Michael Jackson when I was 8.  In fact, he was my first real crush.  These were the days of "PYT", "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and of course "Thriller".  I remember ordering a book (probably from Scholastic Books), a bio, and on the cover MJ had wet curls, a huge, gleaming smile and that red leather jacket.  I remember staring at that cover constantly and carrying that book with me wherever I went.  And my crush wasn't just for Michael Jackson, it was for his music.  He was the music--you could tell by watching him dance and sing that rhythm, timing, melody and beat were what he was made of.  The rest of us were mere mortals made of bone and muscle.  My siblings and I would play his tape over and over and dance, dance, dance...like everybody did back in the 80's.  I feel lucky that my introduction to pop music was from the man himself, the King of Pop, Mr. Michael Jackson.  And I kind of...no...I truly feel sorry for people who were introduced to pop by Britney Spears.  Le cringe. Le gasp. 

When I was 11, MJ came out with "Man In The Mirror" and I've always thought it was a great song.  After that, he seemed to fall off my radar as his life and appearance became weird...I had a hard time getting into his music.  But I never had to wonder if he had talent: he wrote his own music, he could really sing, he was a genuinely nice guy, he was an amazing performer and he choreographed his music himself--he did it all.  He was truly a superstar entertainer.  

With all of the lawsuits and bizarre behavior, I personally think MJ was more a victim of his fame and stardom than anyone or anything else.  His Neverland Ranch is classic evidence of this.  Now that he has passed on, I'm posting photos of Neverland taken at night (quite appropriate symbolism), by a very talented photographer.  No matter what you think about the King of Pop, you'll consider these pics to be aesthetically sound and you'll find the subject matter downright fascinating.   I personally think he was a kind, decent soul...a man with superstar talent but a super fragile personality.

This is a little tribute to my first crush, may he rest in peace.

Here we go again...

Oh the drama! I'll spare you the details, but we are happy to announce that next Spring Cannon will have his Master's diploma in hand. He's 12 credits away...4 classes left and he's done!  Go get 'em baby!

A week of "B"s

Bargain:  Heavy duty plates in the precise shape, color and quantity I've wanted. 6 plates new in the box for $5 at a garage sale yesterday.

Bagged: Moose pepper sticks. They come in long sticks and we snap them, bag 'em and seal 'em. They are good eatin'.

Bearfoots Cookie Jar: Filled with homemade chocolate chip cookies, a delightful sight.

Beautiful: Violets, gardenias, snap dragons, pansies, petunias, fuschias, other flora for which I don't know the names...If you were to come to our house, this is what you would see as you approached the front door. You are welcome to visit any time!

Buggered up back: I've been having pinched nerves and back problems so Cannon took Caleb to work for an hour or so while I went to the therapist.  No one was available to babysit. I'm so thankful Cannon could watch Buster. Caleb got to be the captain of several planes, his dream come true!

Baby birds!!

Brand new baby bird beaks...

Butter Brouhaha: 5 minutes before walking out the door to church Caleb found a cube of butter sitting on the counter, grabbed it and smeared it all over the fridge, floor, his dress pants, hair (of course) and anything else he could reach. There was no time for pictures...

(I just thought this butter sculpture was cool).

These are pleasant pictures that remind me how sweet life is. The cost of living up here (insurance, groceries and heating bill alone--yes we still run the heat in the summer) is atrocious, the depression from being down and out with back troubles, the sad news we're still not pregnant, and the struggle to build friendships without a family backbone up here takes a toll on us.  So these pictures remind us of how great we really have it.  President Hinckley reminded us to remember 6 Be's and this post is about 1 of them: being grateful!

A few more...

(Some more Seldovia pics, taken by Linda)

Bringin' in Cannon's King

It's a beauty!

Hiking back to the boat after trout fishing and a picnic on the banks.

Who needs boots when there is sand to play in?

One thing I forgot to post was that we (meaning Linda and Bill--I just gasped and took pictures) hunted, caught, boiled and ate an octopus. It was delicious. Tastes like king crab and is chewy like squid.

Seldovia the Sublime

We spent a couple days with Bill and Linda, experiencing the great Alaskan wilderness in Seldovia.  They were very gracious to us and we will have memories to last a lifetime!

Cannon was a very happy man.  He was truly in his element.

Kayaking with Linda.  I'd never been kayaking so I was pretty nervous. It turned out to be a lot of fun!

Family cheezer!

We do live in Alaska, so it should be no surprise that we ran into a captain from "Deadliest Catch". Here is the captain of Time Bandit.

Sea otters are absolutely darling and very shy. I was lucky to get this shot.

Cannon landed quite the beauty, eh?  Actually, halibut are THE UGLIEST fish on the planet. They are flat with bulging eyes on one side of their bodies. Black on one side and white on the other...weird.

I loved, loved, loved halibut fishing!

Bill and Linda taught Cannon how to fillet the halibut. As the fish remains were thrown out to the beach, bald eagles would come and fight and feed.  We watched 15 fighting eagles devour the fish until nothing was left...in a matter of minutes.

We hiked in to a great fishing hole and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.  I actually learned how to cast and reel for trout. Cannon practiced his fly fishing skills while Bill and Linda caught all of the fish!

And what Alaskan adventure would be complete without a pic of a proud fisherman showing his King Salmon catch?  I was really excited that he landed that fish!  Dat's my husband, y'all!

South to Seldovia

We're headed to Seldovia.  All I know is that we are taking rain gear, hoping to catch some salmon and halibut...and that it is one of the prettiest places on earth.  We are driving 5 hours south to Homer then taking a ferry...and then the adventure begins.  We'll be back in a couple days with loads of tall tales and photos to prove we aren't liars.

Plateau

I've reached a point where my strict eating habits have gone down the crapper and my early morning workouts aren't happening, though I still make it to the gym.  However, I take heart when I look at this family pic from Christmas.  I'm packing more blubber in my cheeks (both sets) in this pic than I ever have (aside from being pregnant, of course).  Just knowing that my face isn't this fat anymore helps motivate me to get back on my intense schedule...but I've got to finish this ice cream sandwich I'm holding in my left hand, first.  There's just something about summer time that invites ice cream sandwiches, cookies, BBQ's, strawberry short cake, lemonade, chips n' salsa...junk food galore. 

I've just got to lay off all this summer time revelry or else I'll look like chubby bunny when Christmas rolls around again...NOOOOOOOO!

Fishin' and Hikin'

Fishin'--Cannon went downtown, fishin' for Kings last night and had a helper.  They are best buddies. 

He didn't catch one but some lucky feller/gal did.  You can see why these salmon are called "Kings".  Look at the size of that monster hanging under the sign.

Hikin'--Sometimes you just have to hire a babysitter and take a hike. This was one of those mornings. My friend Linda took me on a hike that was simply amazing.  Creeks, rushing waterfalls, wild strawberry/raspberry patches, wildflowers of all colors and sizes...lots of lupin and green leaves carpeting the mountainside.  

Oh, and we saw a bear...a big, mama black bear. And NO, I don't have a picture of the bear...taking a picture of her was the last thing on my mind.  She was 20 yards ahead of us munching away.  She was a beautiful creature.  We saw her first and my immediate reaction was to turn around but Linda started clapping and hollering at her.  The bear looked at us and then ran off.  With moose, you turn around and walk the other way. With bear you holler and stand your ground. But even though I knew that, my instinct said "run"!  

I'm glad Linda is the ultimate outdoors woman (she's lived here 30 years and hunts and traps everything) and had the calm sense to holler at the bear.  After it ran off I said "I've never seen a black bear that close before!" Her response: "Oh, I should have waited to clap so you could get a better look!"  She was half joking, but not really. Me: "How close do you think it was?" Linda: "Close enough to shoot!"  Then we just laughed and went on our way.  You have to know Linda to understand how funny it was because she's so matter-of-fact and tough as nails...

It was amazing to see nothing but ocean on the left and mountain on the right.

Who's up for a hike?

Craigslist and the Beekeeper

Cannon asked that I post our latest c-list experience on the blog. This is what Cannon posted:

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Are you headed to Alaska? I have a trailer that I need to get up to Anchorage. it is a 5x8 trailer with a 1200 pound load capacity. It is very road worthy and would be a great benefit if you were in the position to use it. It has made the trip up and back several times, but the last time I came up I had no provision to bring it... So Bring it up for me to Anchorage Alaska. It has a nice plywood deck that is plastic-ized.

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This is our favorite response (names have been blotted):

*****wrote:I am actually going to Alaska (driving) this Friday with my wife ***** for research... I don't need the trailer for myself but am willing to haul near Anchorage if you would be willing to remove bees from a home in Scottsdale (safely, I need them for a research project)... I would do it but I'm scared to death of bees!  Should be easy, you just lure them out with a jar of honey and trick them into a box... Let me know... Again, we leave Friday at 1900pm

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Our response:

would love to help, but i already live in anchorage.  need the trailer here in alaska, rather than there, in arizona.

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oh, so you are already in Alaska! i see... I have an excellent idea then... I will bring you the trailer (to arrive Monday, June 8th at 2130pm) to Anchorage and you can store my bees at your home for a few months... They are clean, quiet, respectful of your property, and provide wonderful companionship should you choose to seek it... also, they might give you honey or syrup, depending on the climate changes in the past few years... 

i will leave you with food pellets, just drop one pellet in per day!  Easy*!

Should we make this happen? 

*****

Also* the bees need extra maintenance not listed here - I can give you a complete list upon request

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For kicks, here are a few other responses to Cannon's add on c-list:

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im IN AZ got work for a carpenter  that can run work ! 22yrs exp ill bring trailer  work to weeks fish and hunt if open then come back

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How,When,Where,Why?I did not have plans to go to AK.,although it could be done.I am retired and the trip sounds fun.My name is ***** at 602-***-**** in Phoenix. EMail me or call,what is the price you was thinking of paying,or what you had planned on.The trl. it's self is not enough.

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call *****in the add. that i posted he mite but i think he is taking a trailer up  but call him

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At bath time he figured out how to blow bubbles.  When he would concentrate really hard he would shake like he was flexing his muscles and stuff the bubble blower under his nose. I couldn't convince him that under-nose-bubble-blowing was not effective.

I'm so glad that life is mundane enough for moments like this. If I were gone or too busy, I'd miss this kind of stuff.

They took a break from wrestling to give me a big cheezer grin!

We are painting an accent wall in the kitchen. Don't mind the large, white plastered area in the middle of the kitchen...it's a sanding project and Cannon is almost finished.  He wanted to put some stuff on the wall "to make it smooth"and it's turned into a bear.  I think I'm going to banish sanding projects in the house...they never seem to work out very well. Ha!