Pix of my black lab Tug, Happy 4th Bday!

Happy 4th Birthday to my lab Tug and his brother Derbin!!
Born November 17, 2005

Tug - Jan 5, 2006 - The day we got him!

Jan 5, 2006 - Look at those ears!

Jan 6, 2006 - First night in the house, passed out in his kennel

Feb 7, 2006 - Such a cute pup!

Growing up fast! Feb 17, 2006

Feb 28, 2006 - Loving his new duck toy!

July 26, 2006 - First time on a boat ride from
Akutan - Dutch on the F/V Oceanic

July 30, 2006 - First car ride from Anchorage to Valdez and back
(not to mention he just got "fixed" so he's drugged up)

First time in the skiff! He loves it! Wearing his life preserver too!

Tug in a valley of lupins! July 26, 2007

1st Halloween Costume! Super Tug! Oct 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!! Bat Tug, Oct 31, 2007

Hippy Tug!! Halloween 2008!!

Oct 3, 2008 - Tug and Roscoe watching me catch
humpies (pink salmon) ahead of the bay! Looking around dad, lol!

Derbin on the left (My uncle Darryl's pup) and Tug on the right (my pup)

Can't believe they are already 4 years old!!! The years are just blowing by!!

Bird Pix

Pretty Bird

Willy

Pix of Pretty Bird and Willy

Pretty Bird getting a bath, drying her off with papertowel

A couple days old!

A week old!

2 weeks old

Sweetheart at a month old (the male)

Stash a month old (the female)

My baby birds with their pin feathers!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Happy 4th Birthday to my lab Tug!! Also Happy 25th birthday to my cousin Tim S!!!

Well let me see where to start my blog...

My very first pets I got in my house were these pair of cockatiels. Pretty Bird who was yellow (lutino) and Willy who was a normal grey back in November of 2004. I loved those birds, they would whistle and make all these cute sounds along with these ear piercing screams. In April of 2008 they finally became proud parents of 2 hatchlings - which took them about 3 "tries", each time the eggs would just rot and nothing would happen with them so I'd discard them after about 6 months and they would wait a month or two then they start to try to lay again. Each time Pretty Bird was laying at least 5-8 eggs a batch. Finally when we were away on a trip, 2 of the eggs ending hatching!!! The female pushed them out of the nest as soon as they were walking and she tried to lay more eggs while the male bird used all his energy rearing the 2 little ones. He wasn't eating himself I don't think, just eating and regurgitating it back up for the 2 greedy little birds (who were eating on their own but still bothered their dad when he ate to feed them). One day we found our male daddy bird Willy dead on the bottom of the cage - I figured exhaustion from rearing took his little life. Well our little birds are a year and a half now, and last night I happened to find my Pretty Bird dead on the bottom of the cage - feet up in the air, lying on her back just like they do in cartoons... I don't know what killed my Pretty Bird, I'm guessing old age?

I never knew how old Pretty Bird and Willy were when I got them. I just know that I've had them for 6 year and my in-laws we got them from had them for about 3 years, and they got them from a friend in Dutch- who had owned them for a couple years - The original owner was my in-law's friend in Dutch's daughter who had passed away and her mom took the birds. So they eventually ended up with us for the last 6 years, living the great life. A nice big cage, plenty of fresh water and food, a nest box, gravel/grit, seed sticks & millet sprays and lots of birdie toys and all the flying space in the living room/kitchen/dining room!! I'm happy that they at least had baby birdies and we have them still!! I'm going to miss them so much; they were such great birds.... :( Their attitudes aren't replaceable and I'll never forget my first two cockatiels!! We'll dig thru all the snow in our yard to find Willy's grave and bury his birdie wife next to him... sucks to lose an animal family member!! I'm going to miss my Pretty Bird, she was my bird and was so lovey towards me.... I'm going to miss giving her baths and hearing her cute whistles and calls when I walk by the cage :( R.I.P Pretty Bird and Willy - I will never forget my first birds!

Other than my bird passing away. We've been getting lots and lots of nice fluffy snow today! I think I can make a snow man out of this snow! I tried to the other night but the snow was too powdery and wouldn't stick to its self.... but this snow is perfect. I already made a 1 foot ball in my front yard and noticed a 4 foot ball in front of the school!!! I can't wait to get off work and go play in the snow. It's been so long since I actually played in the snow like a little kid!! At lunch hour I even got the 4-wheeler stuck in the snow, took me about 10 mins to get it back on the boardwalk… guess I didn’t expect it to be that deep and thought I could turn around, but ended up getting stuck :P I thought it was kind of funny… about 10 mins later I got the bike out of the snow and was able to get home to cook up lunch!

I don’t remember the last day we had a plane that’s how long it’s been… going on 2 weeks soon I would believe… this winter weather just won’t stop. If it isn’t blowing then it’s white out snowing – always something Mother Nature is throwing at us that stops the plane from making the 20 min trip over from Dutch… I’m not really waiting for anything to come in, I just want my outgoing mail to get out… well I am waiting for my Disneyland park hopper tickets to come in :) And I know I have people in the hotel that are waiting to get off the island and some people waiting to come over. I heard that there aren’t any boats right now going either way… so everyone is stuck until the weather clears up for a plane to make it in…

My hubby and I got invited to eat birthday dinner for my cousin Tim, I made an angel food cake at lunch hour and I’ll whip up some salmonberry topping for it before I bring it down!! I love angel food cake with a salmonberry sauce! Mmm Mmm Mmm!! Thanks for inviting us! Guess I can wait to play in the snow after I eat dinner ;) LOL…

Well I figured I’d post some pix of my birds. I need to take up to date pix of my 2 little birds, they are full grown now! I’m really going to miss my original 2 birds though, but I’m happy to at least have the 2 little ones from my original pair! And some of my lab Tug growing up, since it’s his b-day today! :D I’ll do those in separate posts :)

Until sometime, TTFN.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Ok well it's been about 5 days since I last posted... a lot has happened in those 5 days... So on Thursday, November 12th my hubby said he saw his cousin Lorraine (who was once married to my uncle so I consider her an aunt still). She said she hadn't heard from her brother in a couple days and was worried about him. My hubby told her to pick lock his front door and break into his house to make sure he was ok!! Well not even 15-20 mins later my hubby said he saw Lorraine's husband walking her home and she was crying... He already had a feeling of what happened...

On Monday the 9th, Lawrence came in to the Corporation office to see if his paycheck was done yet, since it wasn't he said he'd be back later or some other time to pick it up, "No rush" he said. I heard some other people talked to him later that night. No one heard from him on the 10th or the 11th, so by the morning of the 12th his sister Lorraine was suspicious of his where abouts and started to ask people when they last saw him and if anyone knew if he left to Dutch Harbor once again or not... After realizing that he didn't go anywhere, Lorraine got her husband and they broke into her brother's house. There they found Lawrence Prokopioff (Born Sept 1, 1959) at the young age of 50 deceased in his house. The death was caused by unknown conditions he might have even had a seizure, but was most likely alcohol related. Everyone one knew Lawrence's love for his hard alcohol and sadly to say it has taken his life. He is survived by his son Leon and grandson Isiah, his sisters Lorraine and Linda, niece Angelica, and nephews Art, Tim and Jeremiah. Preceded in death by both his parents Helen "Tootis" and Leon, and his brother Leon.

Lawrence will be greatly missed. His giggles and hiccups, his jokes and carefree attitude will not go forgotten!! My furnace will miss you dearly and I thank you for all you've taught me to take care of it on my own!! It's still very hard for me to grasp the reality of the situation, even after burying him in the ground on Saturday. I still feel as if he's here with us and that this is all just a bad dream... but it isn't and it's going to hit me hard one of these days that he's really gone...
My sincere condolences go out to my Aunty Lorraine and her family, Linda and her family..... Aunty Lorraine We All love you lots! Stay strong for us all... you've been thru sooo much... please know Boy and I are here for you just as much as you are for us!! Thank you for everything you do for all of us!! lots of luvs to you!!! <3

Since people did talk to Lawrence on Monday... they had guessed that he passed on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 and was laid to rest in the St. Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church's cemetery on Nov 14, 2009.

His son Leon had come home for the funeral, making it by boat the day of the burial. Its been at least over 10 years since Leon was last here in Akutan, not the best way to come home to visit... but it was really good to see him again.


Well other than the funeral and trying to deal with those feelings... I've been doing great with my pregnancy! Baby is finally kicking good, I realized that baby kicks a lot once I eat anything! I've been trying to not let what's going on stress me out too much for the sake of my unborn child... no need for baby to feel stressed out because I am... so I stayed as strong as I could, but that didn't stop the tears from falling...

The weather has been crappy lately.... we've had a good High pressure sit over us bringing nothing but Northerly winds... making it freezing cold outside! The temps are hanging out in the 30's right around freezing, getting down to the low 20's - then to add the wind chill it's getting in the teens!! We have a little bit of snow and I"m hoping it sticks!! I tried to go out to make a snowman last night, but the snow was all powdery and didn't want to ball up for me... so my hubby and I built a little snow wall with all the snow in the yard! I don't remember the last time we got a plane, has to be going on well over a week now!! Luckily people have been coming and going on the boats that are still around, so at least we have a way to get on and off the island still if needed (that's if a boat is going to Dutch!). No mail is moving though since we dont' have a "mail boat" like we did back in the day... oh well.... I'm only waiting on some little things for my vacation coming up... Going to go spend some time in Los Angeles before driving to Las Vegas for to watch a couple of our friends tie the knot! I'm looking forward to the warm sunshine and people watching since I won't be able to get on any kind of rides at any of the theme parks! I just hate stressing over my 3 chi's... my parents will take my lab Tug and I'm hoping my brothers don't have any problems watching the pups and my house while we're gone... I HATE leaving them at home and would rather have them with us... but it's just not possible all the time :(

Well I'm sorry to have to share the news of us losing a great member of our community, but I figured I'd at least let everyone know, you know?!?! LP will be greatly missed by all of us here in Akutan!

Until some other time, TTFN

Pix from our trip to ANC

Just some pix I took during our trip to Anchorage for the ultrasound. We ended up taking the F/V Farwest Leader over to Dutch Harbor in about 8-10ft seas.... I can say I was good the first hour, then threw up into the garbage bag they provided for about 3 hours, then I was good the last hour or so.... I did get a 30min nap though, which felt good! We ended up staying a night in Dutch Harbor at the Grand Aleutian - joining CB for Sunday brunch the next morning before heading to the airport for our flight to Anchorage. Just because we took a boat, there ended up being 4 flights back and forth between Dutch and Akutan, and 3 more the day we flew to Anchorage! Glad we stayed the night and enjoyed Sunday brunch anyway, even though I had to endure the 5.5 hr boat ride over! We were in Anchorage for about 41 hours to get my ultrasound and all my tests done before we were getting back on a flight to Dutch Harbor and we actually made it home all in one day (of course we got put on the LAST flight and didn't get home until 6:30PM!!!). I seriously don't know why they bumped us from the flight and sent over Trident employees when we were scheduled on that flight!!! And the flight we came home on was one they had to "think" about for a bit before deciding to go...... I was not a happy camper - just sitting there in the airport from noon until 6PM trying to keep ourselves occupied while we waited for Pen-Air to tell us we can board the Goose and head home! Then in the rush of trying to get home, I left my braided money tree on the Pen-Air counter!! Luckily there was one plane that came in the next day and the pilot brought it over for me!! (Thanks Steve!!). Quick trip and we weren't able to get as much done as we wanted to but this wasn't a pleasure trip, we have our vacation rolling in around the corner here soon!! I figured we can just wait! :) Here are a couple pix anyways :)

PIX:

F/V Farwest Leader

An old bumper sticker from the Akutan Roadhouse
(Note phone number is now 698-2219)

The beautiful Grumman Goose!

The Saab 340's in Dutch Harbor, Mt. Ballyhoo in the background.

We flew on the "Spirit of Sand Point"

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have served
or currently serve our great country!!!
Everything you do for our freedom is greatly appreciated!

Now how did it already become the 11th of November?!?!?! This year is just blowing right by us like the winter storms that blow thru! So far we've been having our usual week long storms that pack lots of wind with them and depending on from what direction the wind is coming from, the wind controls our temperatures. Northerly winds always bring the cold weather and snow while Southerly winds bring warm temps and usually lots and lots of rain! Just last night it got up to 54F but woke up to 35F since the wind changed direction from Southerly to Northerly overnight. But after about 4-9 days of windy stormy weather we'll get 1-2 days of clear weather before the next storm hits us. Usual weather for us this time of the year! We still haven't had snow that's stuck for a day or two... barely gets cold enough for any of it to stay... The temps have been averaging right around 34-35F the last week or so, leaving it cold enough to frost the tops of the mountains, but leaving us to deal with slush here at sea level! No worry though, winter is definitely making it's appearance!! Especially in these back to back week long storms that don't seem end - it'll be like this until next March or April!!

Well my baby likes to kick good once in a while, feels like a big twitch in my tummy that makes me giggle to myself... LOL. The morning sickness has finally all but disappeared being replaced by heartburn... just have to watch what I eat... I can eat spicy food without suffering, so I'm happy about that! :D It's simple things like cream of wheat and oatmeal or toast that give me heartburn bad! I am officially in week 20 day 4 of my pregnancy!!! I can't believe I'm already half way thru!!!

King Crab season has come and gone... I wasn't able to get any great pix because of numerous excuses I can come up with.... :P We have already devoured a 20lb box @ 186.00 a box! Thinking about getting another box from Trident before they run out and I'll have to order it from Dutch Harbor!! I love hot right out of the shell dipped in hot butter!! My hubby prefers it hot from the shell by its self, he says "why mess with something that already tastes great?" He's not a fan eating his King Crab any other way but the way nature prepared it for us! I can't help but soak it in butter!! :D I love that I am fortunate enough to live somewhere that it's processed and I can get it as fresh as we do!!

I have to get a hold of our credit card company and let them know that the printer down at the store stopped working. I tried everything I could but wasn't able to get it to print - the lights would just blink at me and there is nothing in the manual that says anything about a blinking power light!!! So I was able to move the printer from the office machine to the store so that they can still process credit cards, debit cards and Quest cards (food stamps card) for our customers. I think the Corp office and Store are the only places open on the island today... Hopefully our credit card company can get us a replacement in the mail ASAP so I can get the office CC printer back in the office so I can process credit cards for payment on store charge accounts and payment for the hotel!

So far I can say I've been craving sweet stuff... which with my sweet tooth isn't a good thing, but I've been trying to watch what I eat.... I've been wanting powdered doughnuts.... I asked my younger sis to send me some... so hopefully if she does I hope it gets here quickly but I doubt it with the way the weather has been acting lately...... but you never know! :D

I still can't believe it's that time of the year and the holidays are just around the corner! Turkey sounds so good... I wonder where we're having Thanksgiving dinner this year?? Usually try to go to my hubby's parents early in the afternoon and eat again later that evening at my parents! Lots of turkey and stuffing!! Yay... sounds so good!!! I can't wait!! I'll find something to whip up and bring to each dinner. Speaking of which, I'm going to bake up some pumpkin pies tonight!! I have to remember to get some whipped cream from down at the store to go along with it! Not sure what I'm going to make for dinner... been cooking big meals and trying to get enough healthy food for my growing baby to feed off of!! Been eating lots of fruit, mostly canned though so I'm trying to stick to the lite variety instead of heavy syrup. I still can't believe I'm half way done with my pregnancy already!! I swear with in no time my baby will be in our arms here soon with the way time is just going by!

Well I hope everyone is having a great November so far! Until sometime, TTFN! :)

Attention Alaskan Artists!!

Hello everyone in Alaska –

Rep. Edgmon was recently informed that the legislature would like to purchase Alaskan art for the new Thomas Stewart Legislative Office building in Juneau. The nearby building was purchased by the legislature and has been renovated, including the construction of an adjoining walkway between the two buildings. The access point is on the second floor of the Capitol and is located near the House Speaker’s office.

To properly commemorate the new addition to the Capitol building, the legislature would like to acquire art from all regions of the state for hanging in hallways, conference rooms, and committee rooms.

If any of you have recommendations on any artwork you think would be fitting for display in Juneau, please contact me with a picture of the artwork, the dimensions and the cost. Our office will be glad to send recommendations on to the Legislative Affairs Agency. Please respond either by email or by phone.

Adam Berg
Staff to Rep. Bryce Edgmon
800-898-4451
Adam Berg [mailto:Adam_Berg@legis.state.ak.us]