When Joel and I were walking along that beach in Homer,

soaking up God’s creation, something unexpected caught my eye.

Joel was taking off his shoes, AND, he said that he was going to wade. He walked into

the ocean and I said, “We’ll, how is it?” “Not bad,” he replied. I said, “That’s what I told you yesterday and you wouldn’t get in.” “Well,” he replied, “I didn’t believe you yesterday. Now

hurry up and take my picture before it gets any colder.”
On our drive back to Nikiski, we made several stops to check out the sights.

We wound up at

this little river. We walked up to its edge, and as we stood there, something unexpected caught Joel’s eye. We weren’t able to get a very good picture, but the shadows that you see

are salmon swimming up stream. Wow, two miracles in the same day!

When I come to Nikiski I go to the

the North Star United Methodist Church, not because I’m Methodist (I’m actually pedestrian), but because that is where Mom attends. It’s a very welcoming group of folks, and I loved them the first time I showed up there.
Today was work day

at North Star, and Mom was in charge of the front flower beds. So…Joel and I volunteered to help. We showed up at nine and left around two…and stayed on our knees most of the time.

And, we weren’t the only ones on our knees.

Nora worked with us, and we had great conversations. Her dog,

Echo, watched over our efforts.

We planted pansies and

and did some watering.
The weather was wonderful, with highs in the low sixties. And THAT will bring a girl from the South to her knees…even if it’s not work day.

Yesterday morning early Joel and I left for Homer. We wanted to go to the Spit and see the panoramic view of the mountains. We went to Soldotna, for breakfast

at The Moose is Loose, before making the 75 mile drive to Homer.
It was foggy the whole way, and when we got to the Spit the fog had still not lifted.

We couldn’t see ‘Diddley squat’.
So, we went to a little place, not far from where the Spit begins,

and had breakfast AGAIN while we waited for the fog to lift. Come to find out, the owner is from Louisiana.
We drove around Homer…waiting for the fog to lift.
We went back and walked along the beach

a ways…waiting for the fog to lift.
Again,

people were camping along the beach,

and walking dogs.
We visited a few shops and drank tea and hot chocolate…waiting for the fog to lift. As a matter of fact, we waited about three hours before that fog lifted. But…

it was worth the wait.

Wednesday morning, we left the

Grouchy Old Woman B & B long enough to take a walk along the beach. There were several people

out there camping, and some

were out playing with their dogs.
I decided to take my shoes off

and do a little wading.
When Joel saw what I was doing, he asked if the water was cold. I said, “It’s not bad.” Convinced that it was bad, he decided not to not to follow suit. I said, “Why would you come all this way and not walk in the water?” Do you know what he said? He said, “Susan, that’s like saying why would you come all this way and not work in the mosquitos.”
Speaking of mosquitos,

Mom, AKA The Grouchy Old Woman, had informed me that the mosquitos were unusually bad this year. I didn’t tell Joel, but the minute he got out of the car Monday night, I didn’t have to tell him. We went to town and got some Deep Woods Off, and yesterday we started to work in Mom’s garden.

Joel ran the tiller

and I pulled weeds. And we had a fabulous time…mosquitos and all.

Yesterday was our first full day in Alaska after a FULL day of travel, so we didn’t do a lot. But, we did enjoy the difference in temperature and the difference in scenery.

We walked along Cook Inlet when the tide was out. We probably walked a mile, and I would like to share that with you.

We also discovered that Woodworth, Louisiana is not the only place

with a 25 mph speed limit.
While we were out and about,

not far from the Swanson River,

we passed this character.
Oh, and in case my friends from the South are wondering, it was 48 degrees when we opened our window to listen to the loons.

Nikki and the kids

took us to the airport. I sat in the very back of the van with

Denton and Hudson, who had already taken their seats before I opened the door to squeeze in. When the door slid open, the first thing I noticed was Denton’s shoes.

This is not the first time that something like this has happened. Nikki didn’t notice till we got out at the airport.
Most of our day

was spent up here.
On our flight from Houston to Anchorage,

the guy to my right watched cartoon movies. The guy to my left,

who happens to be my husband, watched

The Incredibles. I did not care for the movie selections, so…

I watched this. It kept me posted on our altitude and speed, but moved pretty slow. That’s why I had to resort to other ways of keeping myself entertained.

I looked at the guy to my right

and, bless his heart, I could relate.
When the nose of that little white plane

finally crossed the Alaska line, I can’t fully express the joy, joy, joy, joy

I felt down in my heart.

Tomorrow I slip the humid bonds of Louisiana to dangle my feet in the glacial waters of Alaska. I have stayed true to my announcement that I would start no new projects until I return from my adventure. I moved slowly and deliberately through my week, making sure that no loose ends were left untied, and, found joy in that journey.
Yesterday I mowed…a lot…

and I enjoyed every minute that I rolled over those fields. I watched birds and

dragon flies, and breathed in the fragrance of the freshly cut grass.

The smell of the bitterweed sent me back to my childhood, and suddenly I was six years old again, walking through the pasture with my daddy.
There was this one egret

that hung around a lot waiting for lunch to fly up out of the grass.
I wondered if those loons would be back at Daniels Lake. I thought about how different the air is in Alaska, and how it will be at least twenty degrees cooler…maybe thirty. But I didn’t linger there. I wanted to continue enjoying my day…drinking the air…with a smile on my face.

Last night, Joel, Lindsay and Nikki went to see that new Superman movie. Since I’m not a fan of that particular genre, I agreed to stay home and keep the twins,

who stayed busy playing some sort of Lego Indiana Jones game, and

the girl…who just stayed busy.

She had her little hands on a lot of things.

Then finally the double nine

and Josie took a little nap.
When she woke up, she wasn’t real happy, but we went out on the porch to watch it rain, and that seemed to solve the problem. Then I convinced her to watch a little Andy Stanley

with me…very little.
By that time,

Hudson was through with the game and on to something else.
Denton, who for whatever reason, had been wearing

his pants wrong side out, said,

“Hudson, if you don’t play this game with me, I’m gonna pack up and leave!” Hudson didn’t pay him any mind. Then, with a swipe of his hand, Denton said,

“O.k. that’s it!”
Whatever ‘it’ was must have taken place in another realm, because in the physical, I didn’t notice a difference.
If Denton had wanted someone to play the game with him he should have asked the girl.

She was on the couch locked and loaded.

Now, about those girls from New York…

Katie graduated from the University of Buffalo, on Mother’s Day, with a degree in Medical and Physical Anthropology. The day that Joel and I return from Alaska, she leaves for India to participate in something called Operation Groundswell.

Lindsay has one more year at the same university before she earns her degree in Cultural Anthropology with an emphasis on museum studies. But until then, we get to have her here, because SHE GOT A SUMMER JOB!

She is working as a receptionist at Woodworth Family Medicine, which is a half mile from my house. And do you know what that means? That means that she can drive a golf cart to work, which if you remember, is larger than the vehicle that brought her here in the first place.
This morning I cleaned up one of the carts for her.

I even made it official by adding a license plate. All I have left to do is get one of those Duck Dynasty bobble-head dolls for the dash, and she’ll be riding to work in style.

No new projects for this week. On the 24th we leave for the peaceful shores of Daniels Lake

in Nikiski, Alaska, and I don’t want to be worn out when I board the plane.
I think I have everything set up with the animals so that they can be easily cared for in my absence. Sassafras and Polk Salad Annie have made friends

and I was able to remove the divider and allow them the share the whole pen.
Vegetables are starting to come in,

so someone will have to be in charge of the produce department. Perhaps one of those two girls from New York. That is,

if they can manage to keep their heads out of the clouds. This is what they did yesterday, and they haven’t quite come down yet.
For the next seven days, I think I’m going to just really enjoy my little piece of heaven. Maybe I’ll get caught up on a few things that I have let slide, and since it is so hot, I might do a little painting. A couple of weeks ago, I purchased some small canvases, and perhaps its time to capture some of those daylilies

that I can see from my kitchen window.
At any rate, I’ll be slowing down for takeoff.