The two best times to fish is when it's rainin' and when it ain't. Patrick F. McManus

Before I get started with our fishing adventures, there is one small thing I must discuss with my Anchorage friends.  If I ever see any of you pulling into the bike lane at 15th & Cordova to make a right hand turn, and then make that turn on red although there is a sign staring you in the face telling you a right turn on red is ILLEGAL and that the lane you are in is for bikes ONLY, I will be the first person emailing the picture of you doing that with your license plate number directly to the city, the police and anyone else I can think of! Also, please be aware that if I cannot obtain your license plate at that moment, I will chase you down until I am able to do so.  This morning I even honked at the guy who pulled right up next to me and pointed it out to him...whereupon I realized he is an EMT because he had his uniform on.  Unbelievable.  OK, I will stop here with my ranting and raving just because I want to move on and talk about other things but just know I am still worked up about this and it has been a good 12 hours since I saw this guy.

Sam fishing on the Little Su.

Sam and I celebrated our 8th anniversary this week.  We both agreed it does not seem that long because so much has happened in those 8 years.  Most of it has been fun although there have been a few blips on the screen, specifically Sam's cancer.  Plus, the Ducks not winning the BCS and Denver drafting Tebow, both of which hopefully are rectified in the very near future!

Silvers are slowly coming into the Little Su, one of our favorite fishing spots, so Sam decided he wanted to spend the week up there.  I spent the weekend and came home Monday morning for work.  Tuesday night I went back up and took Wednesday off from work to celebrate our anniversary, although it was one day late.  Sam had already been fishing and so I decided to go out Wednesday morning with some of our campground neighbors.  Good thing, too, because we all limited out.  We came home last night with 5 fish, 4 silvers (sockeye) and 1 humpy (pink).  Humpies are not at the top of our list, but if you eat them while they are fresh, they are pretty good.  We will probably end up canning it, though, and will share with Rocky the Cat because salmon is the next best thing to Heaven as far as he is concerned and he is not a salmon snob.

Sam came back to town with me this morning as he had labs in preparation for his chemo treatment tomorrow.  We will head back to the Little Su for the weekend, coming home Sunday night.  Helen arrives on Wednesday to spend a few days with us, so Sam is already focusing on what to do next week while she is here.  Seward is on the agenda for at least next weekend.

His weight seems to be leveling off and his appetite has picked up for which I am extremely grateful.  Fatigue sets in after a few hours, so he spends a lot of his time napping.  Overall his temperament is good, although I will tell you the grumpiness rears its ugly head at the most surprising moments.  Hopefully the current scenario of side effects are the worst we will experience, although I will reiterate I do not like the grumpiness at all.

As for me, life is great. Sam and I are happy, work is terrific, my boss is awesome, my colleagues are the absolute best and I live in one of the most incredibly beautiful states in the US.  What more can a person ask for?  One of these days, you must come visit.

Ciao!

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. ~ Mark Twain

People often ask me if I have a good support system.  Personally, I feel I have one of the best.  My friends here in Alaska, my friends and family out of state, and I am also involved with an online support group through CancerCare.org.  The support group I am with is specifically for caregivers of those who have lung cancer, so I  am involved with a group of people who thoroughly understand my world as I know it now.  We have become quite close, so when anything happens to one of us, we all are affected because at some point or another, we know each of us will also experience the same thing.  We share many tears of joy, frustration, fears, and many blessings in disguise.  As I have been with the group for 2 1/2 years, I am considered one of the "veterans," in fact, there currently is only one other caregiver who has been with the group longer than I have. That fact kind of scares me, but it also gives me hope because it means that Sam is still here with me and doing quite well compared to many others in his position.  I was reminded of that over the weekend as one of our members experienced a very deep loss and she has not been with us long which means it was also very quick after the diagnosis.  My heart breaks for her and her family.  Through her loss, though, the rest of us are able to learn from her experience, and hopefully by the time it is our turn, we will be much better prepared for our own situations. That is my definition of blessings in disguise because the more comfortable and aware we become of what we are facing, the greater the amount of dignity and respect will accompany that difficult time.  Hopefully it is a lesson learned for all of us.

Sam seems to have had a good day, although he did not venture out.  The snow is melting and therefore we have ponds of water, which as one journalist noted, compare well with the canals of Venice right now.  One of Sam's concerns is being wet, so to avoid getting splashed and therefore, drenched to the bone, he stays in.  I am grateful for that because besides looking like a drowned rat, he also runs the risk of quickly developing pneumonia, so we like to keep him as dry as possible.  Who would have a thought a former Oregon Duck swimmer would be doing his best to stay dry?  I certainly would not have!

First of many sockeye on the Kvichak last summer.  We stayed at Blueberry Island Lodge.
 One of our best fishing vacations yet.  Can't wait to see what this summer brings!

And now, we are looking forward to another terrific summer and the many mini-vacations we are hoping to take.  Fishing regulations for the Northern Cook Inlet Region came out yesterday and they cover our favorite spot at the Little Su.  It looks like things are going to be a bit different this summer, so we will have to plan accordingly.  Just makes for a bit more excitement.  Fred the king salmon is still out there waiting for me and I will definitely be seeking him out.  He has avoided me for 4 summers now, it is time for me to find him!  I am hoping some of Sam the Fish Whisperer has rubbed off on me because I could certainly use some of his secrets.

As the land manager for the Alaska Native corporation I work for, I also will be visiting a lot of our lands over the next 6 or so months.  Hopefully Sam will be able to travel with me on many of those trips as well.  That is one aspect of my job I absolutely love and am really looking forward to heading out and seeing our lands through the eyes of the shareholders, the Elders and the descendants.  Summer cannot come fast enough!

Ciao!