Think Snow

Copper Tone Tan

I could not bear to knock this snow pile down. Not until I got a picture.

Another snow tanning day. There was a sea breeze that is welcomed during the height of summer bugs. I bowed out of swimming tonight as I worked out all day in the sun. The FishTaxi will not go to an indoor pool on a sunny snow tanning day.

Tomorrow is the last day of ptarmigan hunting. A good year for the state bird with all the wind. Looks like no Ptarmigan (Enchiladas) in the pressure cooker this year. One more day of ptarmigan hunting....

Steller Days Ahead

Today was a great snow tanning day and more to come! By snow tanning I mean I put on shorts and a tank top with boots on and shovel snow in the sun. I pull my hair up and put baby oil on and burn, baby, burn. Today I chipped away at the snow pile covering the front window. By tomorrow, Mr. FishTaxi, can take the board down he puts up to protect the window from falling snow. I love this time of year. No bugs and the reflection from the snow helps the tanning process. The heat of the workout keeps me warm enough (with a little help from nips of coffee brandy). Good times!

Water is Everything

Swimming was a total blast. Its amazing how hard swimming is. Using everything you got to go for milies and miles. I thought I was doing good and swam 8 laps. Then my swimming coach informed me a lap was down the length of the pool and back. So four laps. All sidestroke. The shower was great! I feel like a new woman.

On the Streets of Valdez

This group of biker boys are 15 - 16 years old now.

A girl and her dog.

The kids below are hamming it up for the camera a few summers back. All these pictures posted today were taken with my first digital Olympus camera. I now use a Nikon coolpix 5600.

Its a clear and sunny day out but the March winds are howling. Went to town on Monday to go shopping for a bathing suit and cap to go lap swimming at the city schools pool. Since it was Sewards Day, Sugar & Spice, was closed. So we hit my favorite store, Second Chance, and I picked up my full piece swimming suit for $3.00 and my cap for fifty cents. I hope I remember how to swim. Its just like riding a bike, right? The last time I went swimming was in Hawaii the winter of 2000/2001. I have a friend to go with and she is picking me up. So no more excuses. I'm going to get an arobic exercise in 3x a week. Plus showers!

My 500th Post

I feel like I should write something really significant here. Did you know that March is Women's History month? http://history.com/minisites/womenhist


And I'm gonna keep on Blogging. I enjoy it and what kind of photographer doesn't want to show their stuff? Well, heres to 500 more posts!

On the Streets of Valdez

The Sartorialist, a blog from New York, has suddenly made a big splash in both the blogging and fashion worlds with a very simple idea: take photos of the wonderfully-dressed everyday. He now gets paid to blog and travel a long ways from his humble beginnings of snapping random photos on the streets of New York.


This is the first photo of a series of pictures I'm calling "On the Streets of Valdez". I like the smart dressed in pink toddler with her little brother laid out on tube sleeping. The mom has got her outfit and act together too.

Diamonds are Forever

Snapped this photo out of my picture window over the kitchen sink today. Spring is in the air. Warm enough for the hearty to peel clothes off from the warmth of the sun. It was a snow tanning day.

Barns of Idaho

18 Years Later

I couldn't let today go by without posting something about the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill disaster.

New York Times

April 1, 1989

Quotation of the Day

LEAD: ''I'm a slick-licker. I'm going to make as much money as I can cleaning up this mess for Exxon. And then I'm going to leave Alaska for good and go someplace where there ain't so much snow and the water's cleaner.'' - Russell Roetman, a Valdez fisherman.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDA133FF932A35757C0A96F948260

18 Years Later - Russell Roetman still lives in Valdez although no longer a fisherman. He works as Head Mechanic for the city's maintenance shop.

Barns of Idaho

Bathroom Decor

Found these toilet seats and covers for sale on Alaska Craigslist today. (Link Below). The artist also oil paints gold pans and light switch covers. I am tempted to buy one as I think they would add to anyones bathroom decor beautifully. One would look really nice even in an outhouse. The FishTaxi's toilet seat cover is pictured on the right.

http://anchorage.craigslist.org/art/299092164.html

Barns of Idaho

Funny Snow

Valdez got about a foot of fresh snow overnight. It is a wet, spring snow and looks pretty after weeks of windy weather. We can laugh at this snow because we know the end of the snow season is near. This picture was taken out of my frontroom window. Those are trees we planted 14 years ago on the property line.


I've been shoveling snow, hauling water (water table went down) and feeling GREAT! Whatever it was I had went away. I am now looking for work again. Thanks for all the well wishes. It worked!

Barns of Idaho 6 & 7

Spring Cleaning

Good grief. How did these plastic bags grow into a big pile on my kitchen floor. Cleaned out from under the stove top and a zillion plastic grocery bags came out. If I had more patience I would have gone through them for the oldest receipts.

Barns of Idaho 4 & 5

Barns of Idaho 3

Valdez Grain Terminals as seen from Dock Point Trail. Early August 2006

Now I know these are grain silos and not barns. Valdez has grain silos without a farm in sight. Built after the pipeline to hold Delta barley when the deal fell through. The voters of Valdez could have had a ski resort on Sugarloaf Mountain or the grain terminals. The grain terminals meant jobs right away so it won out. Too BAD! The ski resort would have been great in the long run and helped the winter economy.

Barns of Idaho 2

"The Red Barn"

This barn looks to be in tiptop shape. I like the windows sticking out from the roof. Are those dormers? Old growth trees and new trees provide shade in the summer and a wind break in the winter on this neat farm.



Here is my brother's eloquent comment on the first installment of "Barns od Idaho":




Jimmy said...
Every man ( and woman ) deep down wants a barn. There is nothing that says more about people being real, than a barn ( or the thought of having one ). Is it the animals? The hay loft ( ooh la la ) Or the fact that they were built by hands ( and friends & neighbors hands ). I think it's all of the above. And when their time is up, people like me will build the coolest furniture out of the past we all dream of. Jimmy of Jimmy's Pirate Pub. Check out his site for the coolest furniture projects.

"Barns of Idaho" Installment 1

This is a series of 17 barn pictures I took when I was outside last fall. I'm calling the series "Barns of Idaho" when some of barns could be in western Montana (off of Hwy 93 and Route 200) and the border of Idaho and eastern Washington (Hwy 95 and Route 6).

Most all of the barn series pictures were snapped from a moving 1989 Fleetwood Bounder. So no story behind them. I just like barn pictures.

Blue Star

Its pea planting time! Well, starts anyway in Alaska. YEAH!

Blurry picture of THE BEER HUNTER SPORTS PUB somewhere in Idaho off of HWY S 95.

Irish Eyes

In my Irish singing voice:

"I've traveled the mountains all over

and down to the valleys I go.

To live like a pig in the clover

in sight of huge mountains of snow"

Snowdrift Art

Woke up this morning feeling MUCH better. My bout with Sacroiliitis seems to be settling down. I don't feel like I need any pain meds either. Which is good because they are expensive and I don't want to be a pill popper the rest of my life. 6 Flexeril for $68.50 and thats for the Generic Cyclobenzaprine! It has been a rough two weeks and I appreciated all the well wishes, advice and encouragement. It was a wakeup call to try and lead a healthier lifestyle.

In other news: The FishTaxi blog is listed on the Alaska NewsReader website under Alaska Blog Reader today!

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/newsreader/story/8713403p-8615601c.html

Money Makers

That little bit of snow we got briefly, before the big winds came, got blown around. Drifts measured in feet are everywhere. With the chill factor of zero degrees Valdez fuel companys are busy making money hand over foot. The new Model 2400 Monitor heater has worked wonders this above average windy cold winter. It has cut our fuel consumption by almost half!

Loader operators were glad that the little bit of snow we've had in the last month and half got blown around. They were needed to plow out driveways of the drifted snow. Charging between $45-60 a whack.

Mr. FishTaxi works out a deal with this loader guy by bartering his skills with theres. He does the annuals on their commercial equipment and trucks.

As far as my Sacroiliitis goes the pain meds are helping. I don't relish the fact that I could need them the rest of my life. What I had this last week was considered a "flare up". Standing, walking and stretching exercises are helping but there is no way I can do crunches just yet. Losing 20 pounds and getting my ligaments around my pelvis toned will help, too. Diet, exercise and lots of water prevail. I also found out there is a connection between Scoliosis and Sacroiliitis.

Thanks for all the help. Especially all my friends at Whole Wheat Radio. Jimbob put a link up on the main page calling out for firsthand information. From that I got a lot of feedback. Thanks so much Jimbob. He's my internet buddy:)

Old Man Winter

Old man winter keeps marching on. It snowed a bit last night and it was a warm snow. Seemed like we were in for some snow after weeks of high winds. But no, the winds came back with a vengeance. Blowing snow causing whiteout conditions. Hold on to your hat!

Good/Bad News

The good news is I don't have Kidney Stones. The bad news is I now have been diagnosed with Sacroiliitis. I've had Scoliosis, most likely since I was 14, which is curvature of the spine. When I grew up parents did not know what to look for in a child with Scoliosis as its not painful when growing up. Now days they test for it in some schools and parents are more keen on the subject.

The doctor sent me home today with pain pills. Right now I am doing research on Sacroiliitis. Although I'm relieved the pain is not kidney stones I am now concerned with how much Sacroiliitis is going to effect my life.

I will be going for second and third opinions. I wish I could go to Dr. House! If anybody reading this is familiar with Sacroiliitis and/or Scoliosis please comment and tell me about it. The more firsthand information I can learn the better.

Fish Club

A Diamond Willow Fish Club.

Whats funny about this Alaska Map?

Carved Moose Horns

"Alaska...Vacationland" A 1963 unopened Fairbanks Daily-News Miner.

All these items and more were auctioned off Saturday at the Iditarod Auction. Click here for Photos and Catalogue and up and coming auctions.

Roxy of the North

My Nanooks got knocked out of the playoffs today and will be heading back home to Alaska Sunday. Thanks for a fun and exciting season and I'm looking forward to next year already!

I'm hanging in there and drinking lots of water with lemon. Seems dehydration can cause kidney stones. This past winter I'd been drinking more Pepsi, beer and coffee. Maybe one big glass of water a day and that isn't enough. No more Pepsi for me. I usually only have one cup of coffee in the morning. No more beer for a long while either. Getting these things is enough to make me want to change my ways.

Managed to get out and walk on this beautiful day. Roxy loved it. Doesn't this picture of her remind you of RinTinTin? It would if you are over fifty. And if you are over 50 drink lots of water so you don't get kidney stones.