Almost immediately upon my return from Alaska, the kitchen light went out. I determined that the bulbs as well as the ballast were bad. Karen, her family, and the dudes at Grover's told me that the problem was the bulbs, not the ballast. I bought both anyhow. This evening, I replaced the bulbs, but the light still didn't work. I then wired-in the new ballast and the lights worked. I then tried all of the OLD bulbs, and they were all burnt out. VICTORY!
I proudly exclaimed my achievement to Karen. She said, "I guess you might know what you're doing...SOMETIMES." I haven't had a compliment like that from Karen since I picked out her Subaru Outback.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Alaska Fishing Trip
I have a few pictures from my Alaskan fishing trip to post. We have fished for halibut, king and red (sockeye) salmon. When I arrived at the airport, the three other guys picked me up. Within two hours we had a limit of reds. On the previous day, 230,000 reds entered the river from the ocean. Yes, that was a one-day count. Reds are arguably the best eating of the salmon, so we have been stacking them up. Here is a picture of our catch once the limit was increased to 6 apiece.
We fished for halibut in the Cook Inlet. For some reason I caught a ton of cod. These aren't your yummy fish and chips cod, but rather pretty nasty creatures. One day I caught 13, gaining myself the title "Codfather." Here is a picture of the place where we launched for our halibut trip.
My main goal for this trip was to catch a big king salmon. After catching three in the 10-15 lb range, I finally hooked a nice fish. The fish launched into the air a couple of times and almost took me for a swim at one point, but I finally landed it. It measured 49" and 56 lbs. This one might have to go on the wall.
This has been a great trip and I still have a few days left. I think I have fished more on this trip than I have in the past three years combined. Yesterday we fished for 21 hours straight. Today it is raining so we slept in and watched as a cow and calf moose fed about 70 yards from our cabin.
Well, the boys are gearing up to head out again, so I better grab my raincoat and get going.
We fished for halibut in the Cook Inlet. For some reason I caught a ton of cod. These aren't your yummy fish and chips cod, but rather pretty nasty creatures. One day I caught 13, gaining myself the title "Codfather." Here is a picture of the place where we launched for our halibut trip.
My main goal for this trip was to catch a big king salmon. After catching three in the 10-15 lb range, I finally hooked a nice fish. The fish launched into the air a couple of times and almost took me for a swim at one point, but I finally landed it. It measured 49" and 56 lbs. This one might have to go on the wall.
This has been a great trip and I still have a few days left. I think I have fished more on this trip than I have in the past three years combined. Yesterday we fished for 21 hours straight. Today it is raining so we slept in and watched as a cow and calf moose fed about 70 yards from our cabin.Well, the boys are gearing up to head out again, so I better grab my raincoat and get going.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
17 months
Elena reached the 17 month mark today. We celebrated this mini-milestone by having a play-date with Bev & Zarek.
Elena enjoys her new crafts, playing with Skippy, and snuggling with anyone who will hold her. She once again has decided she doesn't care for orange foods, misses her bath time, and playing in the dirt.
Elena enjoys her new crafts, playing with Skippy, and snuggling with anyone who will hold her. She once again has decided she doesn't care for orange foods, misses her bath time, and playing in the dirt.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Play-Doh
Barry is off on his fishing trip to Alaska, so I'm trying to post frequent pictures of our day-to-day activities so he'll realize he's not missing much.
Elena and I went to the store today and I picked her up some play-doh. I actually got the idea from Jeanie when we were discussing ways we could keep Elena occupied. The pictures are from our second attempt. The first try amounted to her throwing it on the floor and then screaming.
Amazingly enough, she didn't try to eat the play-doh. That alone was a major accomplishment.
Elena and I went to the store today and I picked her up some play-doh. I actually got the idea from Jeanie when we were discussing ways we could keep Elena occupied. The pictures are from our second attempt. The first try amounted to her throwing it on the floor and then screaming.
Amazingly enough, she didn't try to eat the play-doh. That alone was a major accomplishment.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Keeping Occupied
One of the biggest challenges we've had since Sprout's surgery is finding ways to keep her occupied. She's never been one for tv, so that hasn't been much of an option. We've also had difficulty finding furniture that she fits in with her cast. Bill & Jessica had this highchair that they have loaned to the cause. It's been great because Sprout is able to sit at the table and have some elbow room.
Below is a picture of her playing with her animal puzzle. She does fairly well with this. Her favorites are the frog, cat, and mouse.
We've been working with triangles the last few weeks and I was amazed when these foam shapes kept her occupied for 20 plus minutes. I'm sure the novelty has worn off and I won't be as fortunate tomorrow.
Below is a picture of her playing with her animal puzzle. She does fairly well with this. Her favorites are the frog, cat, and mouse.
We've been working with triangles the last few weeks and I was amazed when these foam shapes kept her occupied for 20 plus minutes. I'm sure the novelty has worn off and I won't be as fortunate tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Surgery Day
We started the day off early by waking Elena up at 5 am. When we got to the hospital we checked in and everything went smoothly. I've gotta say that St. Lukes did an awesome job. Anyway, Karen went into the OR to be with Elena while they put her under. Here they are ready to head out.
We went to the cafeteria and met up with my parents and Grandma Jeanie. We hadn't even finished breakfast when we were paged to come back to the waiting room because the surgery was done. The surgery went well and the doctor was able to do closed reductions on both hips, which means he didn't need to do any invasive cutting. We made it home at about 10:30. Here are some pictures of Elena in her new cast. You can see that she isn't psyched about her situation, but overall I think she's doing pretty well. Side note: Skippy still thinks that cameras steal his soul. Anyway, I think the hardest part for us in the coming days will be remembering to walk sideways through doorways so we don't break one of her toes.
Thanks to everyone for your concern and well-wishes.
We went to the cafeteria and met up with my parents and Grandma Jeanie. We hadn't even finished breakfast when we were paged to come back to the waiting room because the surgery was done. The surgery went well and the doctor was able to do closed reductions on both hips, which means he didn't need to do any invasive cutting. We made it home at about 10:30. Here are some pictures of Elena in her new cast. You can see that she isn't psyched about her situation, but overall I think she's doing pretty well. Side note: Skippy still thinks that cameras steal his soul. Anyway, I think the hardest part for us in the coming days will be remembering to walk sideways through doorways so we don't break one of her toes.Thanks to everyone for your concern and well-wishes.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Craft Time
In preparation for Elena's surgery and the prospects of trying to keep her entertained while in her full body cast, we started a infant/toddler home preschool program. The idea of this is that we could have a few structured activities to keep her occupied. We have no illusions that she's a genius, but just wanted to have a few things to work on.
The theme for the month is "On the Farm", which I find quite handy as there are ample horses, chickens, cats, dogs, and tractors right out the back door to serve as real life examples. Here is Elena working with her farm puzzle.
Here she's having a go at painting her tractor.
(Amber- this one's for you). Here is a picture of Elena playing with her rooster mask that we made last week. She painted the head and I glued the accessories on, as she's not skilled enough for glue- at least my table isn't ready for her skills.
The theme for the month is "On the Farm", which I find quite handy as there are ample horses, chickens, cats, dogs, and tractors right out the back door to serve as real life examples. Here is Elena working with her farm puzzle.
Here she's having a go at painting her tractor.
(Amber- this one's for you). Here is a picture of Elena playing with her rooster mask that we made last week. She painted the head and I glued the accessories on, as she's not skilled enough for glue- at least my table isn't ready for her skills.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
4th of July Weekend
This weekend we stayed home for the most part and worked on projects around here. John and I decided to have a little weenie roast, so the cellar house had to go. Here are some pics...
Once the building was gone, we decide to take the boat out. I was a nice day on the river for Sprout and Skippy to get accustomed to the boat.
Speaking of Skippy, we have been pretty happy with him so far. He is pretty laid-back, and has some interesteing quirks. For instance, he sleeps on our headboard:
(You will notice that the toxic nerve gas is emitted directly into my face.)
Skippy and Elena are about the same size, so they have been playing together a bunch. He has been a great baby-sitter.
This afternoon we went to Bill and Jessica's for a barbecue. It was nice to check out Bill's fancy new grill, their garden, and best of all, the wading pool. Elena was hooked. Her head actually went under water at least 4 times, but she always came up smiling. She didn't get that from me!
Once the building was gone, we decide to take the boat out. I was a nice day on the river for Sprout and Skippy to get accustomed to the boat.
Speaking of Skippy, we have been pretty happy with him so far. He is pretty laid-back, and has some interesteing quirks. For instance, he sleeps on our headboard:
(You will notice that the toxic nerve gas is emitted directly into my face.)Skippy and Elena are about the same size, so they have been playing together a bunch. He has been a great baby-sitter.
This afternoon we went to Bill and Jessica's for a barbecue. It was nice to check out Bill's fancy new grill, their garden, and best of all, the wading pool. Elena was hooked. Her head actually went under water at least 4 times, but she always came up smiling. She didn't get that from me!
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