Whether the weather be fine, Whether the weather be not, Whether the weather be cold, Whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather, Whatever the whether, Whether we like it or not ~Author Unknown

If you have not heard, southcentral Alaska is under a severe weather advisory and has been for several weeks now.  This week it all came to a head and now we are experiencing major flooding, mudslides, hillsides collapsing, dikes and levees breaching, and everything that comes along with those events.  Most of all, we are wet.  Very, very, very wet.  And guess what?!  There is more on the way.  Today we enjoyed a few hours of blue sky and sunshine, just enough to give us time to realize we are in the midst of a disaster, to clean up quickly what we could, and prepare for the next onslaught. Luckily, as of yet, no lives have been lost due to the weather...that we are aware of anyway.  It is quite possible there are people who live off the grid as well as others who are out hunting that we will not know about until someone realizes they are missing.  Until then, though, I am celebrating that we are all safe.

Tyonek, Alaska on the west side of Cook Inlet.

Tyonek is on the west side of Cook Inlet and is currently without power and phones plus the roads around it are impassable. Most are washed out and if bridges are involved, either the bridge or the bridge approaches are washed out.  They are amazing people, though, and since they live off the grid, they are used to taking care of themselves.  There has just been so much rain and wind for several weeks with more on the way, there will come a breaking point for some people.  This evening Governor Parnell declared a disaster area for the Kenai Peninsula and MatSu Boroughs which is good to hear.  We are all going to require assistance in repairing and replacing all the infrastructure which has been affected. My hat is off to those on the west side, though.  Being off the road system, they tend to get overlooked.  Hopefully since Tyonek is in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, it will benefit from the disaster declaration.  No matter what, though, CIRI (where I work) will do whatever it can to assist.

This week it has been my pleasure to be able to assist many of our shareholders who live in the Cook Inlet region which spans from the Kenai Peninsula to Sutton and Chickaloon, to Talkeetna and along the west side to Tyonek and Beluga, as well as keeping an eye on all my projects is what I have been working on all week. Alaskans are amazing people and everyone seems to be pulling together to help each other out.  Here is a link to a page which has a map identifying CIRI villages and this entire region is experiencing this weather.  http://www.ciri.com/content/history/villages.aspx

Tonight Sam and I are relaxing, although I have my cell phone close just in case.  We plan on doing nothing this weekend (since it is supposed to rain all weekend) except watch football (as long as the power holds out), read and rest.  We also need to unload the trailer and get it ready for winter storage.

Sam is feeling much better, I am grateful to report.  Life has calmed down and is much more relaxed.  Next Friday is his final chemo treatment this round and then sometime in October will be a PET scan.  In the cancer world, each type of treatment is considered a "line".  This chemo is Sam's 9th line of treatment.  NINE.  That is absolutely nuts.  Usually the most is third or fourth line treatments.  Ninth is crazy.  The man is amazing. Once the chemo is over, I am hoping beyond hope that his energy level increases.  It will never be to the point it was before because it is just not possible, but even if he could go 3 hours without a nap rather than 2, that would be terrific.

Enjoy your weekend everyone and stay safe.

q'ua (Dena'ina for "good-bye")

Fishing tournaments seem a little like playing tennis with living balls... ~Jim Harrison, Just Before Dark, 1991

Helen (daughter #2) arrived Wednesday evening and we promptly took off for Homer as my work took me to Ninilchik, Anchor Point, and Homer Thursday and Friday.  Helen's goal...to catch a fish as she is her father's daughter.  The challenge is that fishing in Alaska is not what it has been in prior year's, so the pressure was on.  Sadly, though, she is headed home tomorrow without catching a fish, but as she says, memories were created and that is what is most important.  Check out the video of Sam giving Helen fishing lessons at Bird Creek today, the last stop before we got home in hopes of maybe catching a fish.  Sam did hook a couple, lost one and the other was snagged which he had to let to go (Alaska State Law).

So proud!

Seward's Silver Salmon Derby started yesterday and we did not know that until our arrival late Friday night to spend the weekend.  As soon as we figured that out, we all bought our derby tickets for Saturday in hopes of catching the big one.  We fished in several different places, but the best was Lowell Beach.  We were there in the middle of the day just lazing around, no one really catching anything.  In fact, I sat down for a bit and then decide to give it one more try...and bam!  I had one on and hauled it in before Sam even realized what was going on.  Once I caught mine, all the men on the beach rushed out to start fishing because you know...there is nothing worse than being outfished by a girl.  Of course, I insisted on registering my silver salmon (Coho) with the Derby judges and for a quick 30 seconds, I was in 2nd place with an official catch of 7.91 pounds, 1st place at that point was 7.95.  Darn it!  Then, Mr. 10.72 pounds showed up and that moved me into 3rd place quite rapidly. Those two were caught by people on boats, so I was, and still am, quite proud I caught mine on the beach.  Helen is certain I am going to win the prize for the biggest one off the beach.  That would be awesome (and would shut a certain person who lives with me up...just sayin'....)  By the end of the Derby, there will be many silver salmon well over 10 pounds but my few seconds of glory were very exciting.  And no, in case you are wondering, Sam nor Helen caught anything in Seward.

Clouds over Resurrection Bay.

Helen has not seen her dad in over a year and I am so glad she finally decided to come for a visit. It is difficult to convey to the kids how Sam is doing, even though they have already been through this process with their mother.  They need to see him, though, and he needs to see them. All three kids are in college, though, so it is a challenge for them to get to Alaska from Virginia and still have a few days to spend here with us.  Nikki is coming out over Labor Day weekend and we have yet to figure out plans for Alex.

Sam seems to be doing pretty good although yesterday was a challenging day. Friday was the one week mark from his chemo treatment and each treatment so far either brings different side effects or different timing of the side effects.  We made it through, though, and that is a good thing.  On my part, I need to constantly remind myself of the chemo because I tend to forget and then sit there wondering what in the world has brought on this crazy behavior.  Once I am aware of what is happening, I am better able to get a grip on my attitude and not feel the need to rise up and fight back thinking I need to defend myself.  Rather, I am able to calmly listen to what Sam is saying and move on.  Unfortunately, yesterday it took a couple hours of arguing for me to realize what was happening and back off.  Even then, it still took the entire day for me to gain some control over the situation and also reassure Sam that I indeed was listening to what he was saying.  Today, I am exhausted.

Yesterday he did tell me that he thinks we should visit some assisted living facilities here in Anchorage to get an idea of what is out there if we decide to go that route. Hearing Sam talk about that was extremely difficult for me as I want him here at home but it might not be the best option when the time comes.  Obviously that remains to be seen.

And no, we still do not (or at least I do not) know the actual results of the CT scan.  Still waiting for Sam to pick up the report at the hospital.

As for me, usually by Friday I am completely exhausted. Work is extremely busy and Sam demands my attention in the evenings when I get home.  Sunday evenings, because we live for the weekends, are spent rushing around doing laundry and attempting to clean house.  When Brian was here I told him cleaning is not a priority because I just have too many other things which are priorities.  Sam piped up with a "her Mom told me when we got married that she is not very domestic..."  Thanks Mom, although as I tried to explain to both Sam and Brian, I do not really think my mother was saying I do not clean, I think she was trying to convey to Sam work and play are much more important to me than staying home and cleaning house. One of these days I hope to hire a house cleaner, or rather, condo cleaner, and then I just will not have to worry about it again.

Ok, I am rambling.

Ciao!