Kodiak Kodak Moments

Hi All!

Are you ready for some more Alaskan pictures? I have lots of time today since I don't work on Fridays so . . . .I can tangle with Blogger to get them on my post!

I can't remember if I told you that Hubby and I requested a room on the "bottom floor," the lowest floor that passengers have rooms on. We were on the same floor for our last cruise and we really liked it. The third floor! There are only 15 rooms on one side of the ship. The rest of the floor is for the crew. Being on this floor means it is quieter and you meet a lot of crew members as they walk through to go to or from work. It is fun.

Anyway, on the third floor you get a porthole. I love taking pictures through the porthole!

While the landscape isn't that fabulous, I like the shot!

We were in Kodiak pretty much all day and Hubby and I didn't take any excursions so we had lots of time to "hang out" and I took lots of pictures. We went up to the top deck of the ship to take pictures (and for Hubby to play with the golfing net thing - I will show you pictures of that later).

The American flag was blowing nicely in the wind. I couldn't get a really nice picture of it since it kept blowing back on itself.

I spent some time watching this ship making its way around this point. I think I have pictures of it in many different positions. The weather was a bit overcast - hence the darker picture.

Here is the same ship closer to our ship.

Hubby and I went to eat at The Channel Side Chowder House. We were there last year and really enjoyed it. The view out the windows is fabulous.

The Chowder House is right on a channel between Kodiak island and . . . another island (I forget its name). While eating we saw boats go by and even saw what we thing was a sea lion swim by. Of course, I didn't get a picture because by the time I got outside to take it, the sea lion was gone. Isn't that always the way?

These are the crab legs that Hubby and I ordered at the Chowder House. Fresh, hot, and wonderful!

Can you tell we liked them?

What would Kodiak be without seeing a bear? Hubby and I sort of cheated. This guy is in a sporting goods store along with an Arctic fox whose tail in the orangish thing in the lower left corner of this picture.

Here are the bear's stats. Quite impressive, don't you think?

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After our visit to the bear, we walked to an area where locals were set up selling their crafts. We had a mission - to see the man who we had met last year and who we have emailed with a few times. Last year he was in a different spot and there were not as many vendors there. This time, he was closer to the dock (well, a bit!) and there were more people selling stuff. Paintings, jewelry, pictures, shirts, tote bags, all kinds of stuff!

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Being a bookie, I stopped at this man's table.

This is G. William Yngve. He wrote a book called A Cold, Dark Place to Die. He claims that Quintin Terrentino (or however you spell his name) is going to make a movie of the book. We will see! Can you tell that William is a bit of a character? He went to Harvard and then moved to Alaska to work on fishing boats! Now he writes and publishes books. I bought his book and have read it. Look for a review in an upcoming post.

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The main mission, seeing the man we have emailed with, was a success!

This is Jeff. He makes salmon leather products. Never heard of salmon leather? Neither had we until we met Jeff! It is neat stuff! Anyway, last year we met Jeff and asked him if he had ever though of making bookmarks. He hadn't and that was the subject of our emails. This year, he had a great display - see the boots in front of Jeff? The toes of the boots are covered in salmon leather! He also has wallets and key chains and earrings!!! and, of course, bookmarks.

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Jeff made four prototype bookmarks and I wanted to buy them all but restrained myself and bought only three. Two for me and one for Theresa. I love these things. However, I realize as I write this that I don't have any good pictures of them. I am going to rectify that today and I will get them on my blog ASAP!

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By the way - this picture of Jeff and me . . . it was about the hundredth try. Jeff's table was right in front of windows and Hubby couldn't get the pictures to come out due to the glare.

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Our trip to Kodiak was fun - especially since I got a book and some bookmarks!

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Trisha

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Voice Update: My voice is getting tired. All of the phone work at work this week is taking its toll. I am still doing pretty well but I notice that I am missing more of those always frustrating unvoiced consonants - especially H! SD can certainly be frustrating to live with!

Bookmark Mania

Hi All!

Hubby says that I am "really getting into this stuff." He means making bookmarks. I have been making a lot of bookmarks lately. I made the batch to give away to my ASL classmates and now I have another batch all made up and ready for someone. I don't know who . . .

Anyway, I enjoy beading these things and they keep me busy. Now, if only I knew what to do with them.

Here is a review of some of the latest.


This one has three little strands of beads at the bottom. I like this design and made another almost the same - different beads, of course!

I think this one is destined to remain in my permanent collection - after all, it has my initial on it! I really like the combo of the green beads and the silver.

To honor Hubby's Alma mater, I made an Ohio State bookmark. For those of you who don't recognize the brown thing on the end . . . it is a real buckeye. The nut from the Buckeye tree - the state tree of Ohio. Ohio State's teams are the Buckeyes and their mascot is Brutus Buckeye. I love Brutus!

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How was the tour? Now, if you would just tell me what to do with the bookmarks!

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Trisha

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Voice Update: Doing well. My neck is a bit crunchy but nothing I didn't expect from the week of coughing, sneezing, etc. I am missing a bit on words starting with "c" but not so much that people who didn't know would notice. Lori, the co-leader of the support group with me, did notice when I talked to her on the phone but, she knows my voice pretty well!

Weekend Happenings

Hi All!

Sorry I didn't get any posts up this weekend. I was busy studying for my finals which are on Tuesday. I also did a few other things.

On Saturday, Hubby and I went to see the musical Rent.

Apparently, Hubby and I have been living under a rock for the past million years because we seemed to be the only two people in the audience who hadn't seen Rent before. We also seemed to be the only people who hadn't memorized all of the songs as well as all of the entrances for the actors.

Hubby and I had no clue why people were literally screaming seconds before certain actors walked onto the stage for the first time. We also didn't know which lyrics were being covered up by wild applause and cheering during certain songs in the show.

Is it just us? Do you all know Rent by heart?

Anyway, the musical was enjoyable. The sound was a little too loud at times, especially when two people were singing a duet, and it made it nearly impossible to actually hear what was being sung. The actors all had amazing voices which made the solos particularly enjoyable. The ensemble work blended well but it seemed like the women were out sung and they were a bit hard to hear when everyone got going.

The setting was simple - one set with movable tables and chairs to depict different places. This really let you focus on the story and the actors. The costumes were nice even though they were pretty pedestrian. The character of Angel, a drag queen, certainly brightened up the place with his/her bright costumes which included a Santa outfit with zebra striped tights and high heels.

Over all, this was a good show to see. Three of the cast were originators of their roles on Broadway (which might be why people were so darn excited to see them walk on stage) and one was an American Idol contestant who dropped out of AI to perform on this tour.

Definitely worth seeing if it shows up in your city.

My only real gripe - the soundtrack was selling for $36 and that was a bit out of my price range. I am looking on eBay and found one for just over $11. Maybe when I get it I will have a chance to listen to the songs a bit more closely to figure out just what was said during the cheering.

Next, I spent an evening making these.


I scanned these so the picture quality isn't too hot but . . . they are book thongs. You know, bookmarks! I plan on giving some to my ASL class buddies tomorrow. I think they turned out really well and . . . as an added bonus, I got to make them while watching Grey's Anatomy! Yeah!

I hope you had a fabulous weekend and a great Monday. It is raining here! Lovely!

Trisha

Voice Update: Well . . . it is a bit rocky right now. Why? Well, I had a very, very annoying "tickle" in my throat starting on Friday which is slowly turning into a nice, full blown cold (just in time for finals!). Anyway, the tickle REALLY made me want to cough to get rid of it. Coughing, in case you don't know, isn't very good for your vocal cords. So - I resisted as much as possible but . . . eventually, the tickle won out and I started coughing. And coughing. And coughing. Fun. Today my voice is very deep and hoarse from the coughing and the "gunk" which is draining down the back of my throat. Darn cold!

My Office Helper and Bookmarks

Hi All!

Things have gotten go busy around here that I finally broke down and hired office help. Communication is a bit difficult but . . .

Screening all of my very important emails is his first job every morning. He takes it very, very seriously.

He hasn't quite gotten the knack of responding to emails yet - if only I could convince him that the screen isn't a touch screen!

At least he works cheap!

In other news - I am meeting Flea for breakfast this morning! I am so excited. Of course, I am a bit afraid that I won't recognized her! Over the past couple of days I have been making things to welcome her to my part of the world. I must admit that I got a bit carried away with the bookmarks. Here are the ones I have finished.



The flash washed out the lovely blue color of the disk. This almost reminds me of turquoise.

Appropriate for St. Patrick's day, don't you think?

Again - the leaf is a bit washed out by the flash but this is a nice "earthy" bookmark!

An interesting experiment! I got the long beads while I was in Alaska last summer and finally used them!

Another experiment - I really like this one but am a bit worried it is too reminiscent of a cat-o-nine-tails!

What do you think?

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing well, doing well!