Been a While

Hi all. Sorry there have not been any posts for a while. With the traveling the past few weeks it has been hectic and not too much to post. Any way I will give you all a quick rundown of the past couple of weeks and what is happening now.

We flew to Ohio on Christmas day and Mandy, Rick and the kids picked us up at the airport. It was so awesome to hear the kids reactions as they did not know that we were coming. They had been trying to guess who was coming but Mandy just kept telling them she didn't know either, that Santa had told her they needed to be there to pick up a special delivery. What fun! We had "Christmas" with the whole family then on the 26th. Our son Mike, his girlfriend and their kids, my brother Vance and his kids came over to Mandy and Ricks and we all had a great time. It was so wonderful being with all of them again. I have missed that.

The week between Christmas and New Years was busy, busy, busy! Trying to get around to see people and go to different places we wanted to was exhausting! And the chaos! That really took some getting used to again. I had just spent from September 12th until December 24th in the bush seeing only about a dozen people total in all that time. Roger had made a couple trips into town after the river froze but still had not spent long periods of time with a lot of people all at once. Needless to say that was mentally challenging at times. Not that I did not want to see everyone and do all these things, I just was out of practice.

On New Years Eve day we went to Rogers sister Naomi's for a family get together. Their sister Kaye was also in Ohio (she lives in Vegas) and so all the sibs and their dad and step mom got to get together. A good time was had by all! I went back to Mandy and Ricks for New Years Eve as I had told several people that I would be there on New Years Eve and New Years Day so if they wanted to see me they could stop by there. There was just no way to get around and see everyone so that worked well. Several of my friends stopped by, my brother and his kids came and spent the night and we all had a great time ringing in the New Year together with homemade pizza, tons of other munchies, and sparkling cider. Roger had the pleasure of ringing in the New Year with his siblings also as he had stayed at his sisters for the evening and spent time with them.

The week after New Years we went to Michigan and spent an evening in Muskegon visiting with family and friends there. We then went to Grand Rapids and went to see my 100 year old Grandma who is currently in a nursing home / rehab facility as she fell and broke a hip. Luckily it was not a total break and they were able to pin it back together but there is still rehab needed. It was wonderful to see her and spend some time with her, although it also was hard as her sense of time is pretty well gone and she would mix up things that happened forty years ago with things that had happened 4 days ago. She seemed happy and comfortable though and at peace with what was happening so that is a good thing. We spent that evening visiting with my cousins and their children and then back to Ohio the next day. We spent a couple more days in Ohio and then is was off to Florida to see my Mom.

We arrived in Florida on the the 9th and that was the warmest day we had while we were there. It was about 72 when we arrived and the rest of the time it was around 60. Of course to us that was great! But boy were the people down there ever griping. There were a couple of nights of frost warnings while we were there so we helped Mom cover plants or bring them in so that they didn't get damaged. While we were there we spent time helping her with odds and ends she needed done, Roger went through her files for me, and all in all had a good time. On Thursday the 13th we received a phone call that Rogers stepmother had had gall bladder surgery and that something had happened and she was now on life support. The next couple of days were up and down, lots of praying, and not sure what to do. We were scheduled to fly home to Alaska on the 16th. Ultimately Roger flew back to Michigan on the 16th while I flew home to Alaska. It was the right decision as his stepmother passed away that morning. He has been able to be there to help his Dad through this difficult time and that is good. 

I am currently in Anchorage as it has been way toooooooo cold to ride out to the cabin. Even the freight haulers and the planes haven't been running. The temps have been -30 for the past few days out in the valley and no one runs in that. The weather is supposed to start warming up today and tomorrow so if all goes well I will be riding out tomorrow with Dan from Yentna Station. I will probably stay there on Thursday night and then have Dan ride up the rest of the way with me on Friday. It will be a rather slow trip as we have will have to take Jeff and Hans back with us but that is OK with me. I am looking forward to seeing my puppy dogs. I have missed them. I know that they have been well taken care of while we were gone though so that helps. I am so thankful for our friends and neighbors up here that have made the trip home possible. I owe them a lot.

Well that is about it for the moment. Roger will be flying back Monday and gets in in the middle of the night so he will ride out Tuesday or Wednesday depending on weather, shopping etc. Life should get back to "normal" soon. Whatever that is! Have a great day and thanks for sharing our adventures.
Blessings to all, Myra