This is what February looks like

I am still slowly working my way through vacation photos and may eventually get the rest of the trip documented but thought I would take a little break and catch up with the latest from Unalaska. We have had a relatively mild winter but have had a couple of good snowstorms, too.  We live on a hill and have a bunch of wooden steps leading up to our house.  Usually the guys from housing keep them cleared off but I'm sure they were super busy on this particular day.  It's a little concerning to try to make my way downstairs without being able to see exactly where the stairs are.  Lead with one foot, step down in snow up to my knees until I find something solid, steady myself, repeat.  I posted this photo on Facebook and someone suggested that I get a sled. :)  Thankfully I made it down without any mishaps.

We often have eagles sitting outside our door. I am glad I am not an eagle and get to stay inside my warm house.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, this little cutie turned 6 and lost her first tooth soon after!  Happy late birthday to our Elle, a sweet, smart, funny girl with a tender heart and a happy disposition. We love her so much!

ESL/GED classes have begun again so I am teaching on TTh nights once more.  I have a smaller class this time, and mostly new students.  I have to admit that I was quite bummed out to realize that many of my favorite students are working night shift this session so they will be attending the morning class.  I really do miss them but I love my returnees and am enjoying getting to know my new students. 

I had no idea that such a website existed but one of my cousins posted something on Facebook about DonorsChoose.org and I have become somewhat addicted to it.  School teachers from all over the country post items they need for their classrooms or projects they would like to have funded, and individuals or groups make donations to help them achieve their goals. First off, I think it is a crying shame that school teachers have to pretty much beg the public to help them buy sometimes the most basic of needs like books, art supplies, music supplies, PE equipment and so on.  The state of public education in some locales is just appalling. Most of the schools are classified as high or moderate poverty schools.  I know that teachers, for years, have purchased supplies out of their own pockets so I am glad there's a way for them to get some assistance. On the other hand, I am ashamed that some school districts have so little money that they cannot buy enough books for the whole classroom, paintbrushes for an art class, or fans to keep a room cooled off enough so that the students can concentrate.  If you have a few extra bucks, check out the site and see if there's a classroom project that resonates with you.  You can sort by "lowest cost" to see which projects only need a small amount of money to be completed.

Finally, a bit of fun. The organization Protect My Public Media had a Valentine's Day campaign for communities to show their love for their public station.  Our station went all out, getting over 60 photos of locals showing their reasons for loving public media.  Here's mine, above, "I love my public media because I can go downstairs and plug in any song I want!"

 Of course, I had to get the cats into it. Kali "loves to rock with the Stray  Cats, Cat Power, Cat Stevens, Pussy  Cat Dolls, Def Leppard and Atomic Kittens!"

And Ajax simply said that "Cat Scratch Fever" is his fave. One of my friends reminded me that "Cat Scratch Fever" is sung by that crazy right-winger Ted Nugent so I am a little sorry I didn't think of a better song! 

Rich was more philosophical and gave a shout out to Nikola Tesla, who reportedly REALLY invented radio and was ripped off by Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi.  (Hey, Suzasippi, he is wearing the apron you sent him from South Africa!)

KUCB did such a good job that we got a shout-out on Protect My Public Media's blog.  If you click on the link at the very bottom of their blog, it will take you to our full album on FB and you can see lots of great folks from our little island town.  

What's happening in your corner of the world?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

The holiday season is upon us! Rich hit the ground running as soon as we got back; it's time for all the local parties and banquets so he's been working very long hours. I'm back at work and trying to tie up a bunch of odds and ends before the end of the year. My friend Melanie and I were talking about how much we love Christmas music and comparing our very long list of tunes on our ipods. We then decided we should do a Christmas show on the radio. We kicked it off last Friday with an hour of classics, oldies, rock, country, Texas swing, new artists, and Bob Dylan singing "It Must Be Santa," which we considered to be part of the "funny" genre. Above you can see our very cool newly remodeled radio studio. We love it!

I'm not very festive but Melanie is wearing her sequined Santa hat.

We had a blast playing some of our favorites and taking a few requests. We'll be on the air every Wed. and Fri. at 1 PM till Christmas. You can live stream at www.kucb.org if you want to join the fun. :)

The hotel held its annual "Moonlight Madness" arts and crafts fair on Saturday night. Rich had to work a banquet so I took care of his booth till he was able to come and join me. It's always fun to see lots of people and catch up, especially after being gone for a month! We had a good night, selling quite a few of Rich's photos and some of our homemade jams (local salmonberries with pomegranate, salmonberry/ginger/lime jam, or salmonberry/meyer lemon marmalade).

It's a great place to buy Christmas gifts from local artists and vendors. Sonia and Melanie stopped by while they were shopping. I got so busy chatting with people that I failed to take any more photos. :)

I ordered Christmas cards so I'm anxiously waiting for them to arrive. We've received a few cards from friends but I fear that sending holiday greetings by snail mail is becoming a lost art. I get the whole thing about not using resources like paper and fuel but there's still something about opening the mail and finding greetings from family and friends near and far that makes me happy. :) If you're debating whether to send us a card or not, please do! :)

Rich is in the Dog House

So you might remember that we had what we called the Cat Club House at our old place. The former tenants left a doghouse behind and our cats took it over. We didn't bring it with us when we moved but we kept talking about the fact that the cats might want it, especially in the winter. Last week, Rich and another guy went to get it and hauled it up to our new house.

It was in pretty bad shape so we decided to paint it and fix it up. We went to Alaska Ship Supply and bought primer, paint (little cans on sale for a dollar each...woohoo!) and brushes. It was a beautiful sunny day on Saturday so we got busy with the primer.

After that dried, we brushed on the brown sale paint. Not bad. As you can see, the roof was really torn up so we thought we would put new plywood on top. The clerk asked us the dimensions and told us to drive around back to pick up the wood. Silly us, we thought they were gonna cut it to size but no, the dude came out with one big sheet of wood. Another guy happened to be there with a pickup truck and took it over to the hotel for us, where Rich employed his chainsaw to cut it into two pieces.

Working, working....

We also had an old area rug that we were not using any more so Rich cut it to fit. Are these cats gonna be spoiled or what? Look, it's nice enough for a man. :) Okay, the roof edge is a little jagged from the chainsaw but what the heck.

I declined to join Rich in the doghouse, ummm, I mean the Cat Club House. He was pretty impressed with the whole thing. I think we're ready for winter!

Meanwhile, I had a super busy week at work, getting ready for our one day radio pledge drive on Friday. We had a total blast--super chaotic day but loads of fun. That's our new buoy design sweatshirt I'm wearing. This year, we set a huge goal of $25,000 and almost made it....we are less than $1000 away and pledges are still trickling in. I'm really proud of the fact that we could bring in that much money in our small town in just one day. Even if you don't live here, you can still support small town community radio in remote Alaska...just go to our website at www.kucb.org and make a secure pledge. We love donations of all sizes but if you pledge at least $125, you get one of those snazzy sweatshirts. There are lots more photos on the KUCB blog at www.kucb.wordpress.com and on our Facebook page (KUCB). Check 'em out!

Fun on the Radio

Melanie and I guest DJ'ed together. We had fun even though she had to play country music. :) Just kidding, Mel. I think I want to be a DJ in my next life.

Here are the fabulous people I work with: Lauren and Anne above, and Daniel below. Of course, Pipa, the camera shy one, took her photo out of the set she passed to me. I will have to grab it off my work computer.

Below are Darrell and Dan from the hotel having a big ole time playing music and raising lots of money.

Willie, Glenn and Jeff from the hotel stopped by to visit us and hand over some cash. Thanks, guys!

There are lots more photos and a re-cap on the kucb blog: www.kucb.wordpress.com. Check it out.

It was a beautiful sunny day today. Almost fooled me into thinking we were avoiding winter but I know that's not really gonna happen. Rich has been carving another pumpkin--this time, a witch. He's getting into this pumpkin carving thing! I'll put up a photo tomorrow.

Fraidy Cat Jack-o-Lantern

Rich decided it was time to carve a pumpkin for Halloween. Look how great this turned out! I am highly impressed!
Our fraidy-cat Jack-o-Lantern is sitting in the kitchen window greeting the passers-by. Rich had so much fun, he just might carve another one!

Pretty cool, huh?

Well, it's been a crazy week and I have done a terrible job of documenting any of it. Today I helped with a baby shower for a friend who is having twins and I forgot the camera's memory card. You should have seen the very cute "two peas in a pod" cake! It was sort-of ironic that I was at a baby shower here while all my girls were in Dallas for a shower for Bonnie. I hated to miss it and to miss seeing all of them. But we will be on vacation in less than a month so will be happy to be with them soon!

All week we were working hard at the radio station for our annual pledge drive. We decided to do something different this year and reduce the hard-hitting pledge calls to just one day--Friday. Because we have so many talented local musicians, and live music in the studio has been the favorite part of past pledge weeks, we continued this tradition Monday through Thursday. I am always amazed at the level of talent in this small community! There are so many great singers, songwriters, and musicians that it's hard to squeeze them all in to just a few days, but we tried to showcase as many of them as we could. Friday I had to get up at 6 AM--something I haven't done in a very long time! We started out the morning with coffee and muffins at the station so our listeners could come by, chat with staff, request a song, look around, and hopefully make a pledge. We had a nice turn-out and lots of fun visiting with folks. Dan and Darrell were guest DJs from 8-10--these guys work at the hotel and every year, they get the morning kicked off with their high energy, great tunes and sense of humor. To make it even better, the hotel manager pledged to match all employee donations during the 9-10 AM hour which created a frenzy of giving. The phones were ringing off the hook and people were literally walking in the door with wads of cash in their hands! I've never seen anything like it!

Melanie and I then took over as guest DJs from 10-11. Right away, we were intimidated that there was no way we could follow Darrell and Dan! Melanie brought some songs for the country music fans and, of course, I had to have my rock and roll queued up. We jokingly referred to ourselves as "a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll," shaking our heads that we would ever have any reason to reference Donny and Marie Osmond. LOL We had a lot of fun, even if we were not quite Dan and Darrell.

At lunch time, we had pizza at the station and another crowd of people. The rest of the day included more guest DJs and representatives of community agencies stopping by to talk about their work while playing some songs they wanted to hear. All the while, I was typing away like a maniac, trying to get everyone entered onto the membership list. I am telling you, I could not catch up! What a great problem to have.

Finally, at 7 PM, we had an after-party at the Harbor View Bar and Grill with the band Bunker Battalion playing music for us. We also gave away a round trip Alaska Airlines ticket, which is a hot commodity around here!

At the end of the day, we had doubled our goal of $10,000 and were all very happy and exhausted. But a very good kind of exhausted. I will say again that I have never had a job that was this much fun!

I took my camera to work and never took one photo. We took a bunch with the office camera, though, so I will grab a couple and post them next week. I also have to load as many as possible on the KUCB blog but that probably won't happen till Monday so check back then! And KUCB would still be happy to accept any donations, even though the official fundraiser is over. :) www.kucb.org

The snow is certainly creeping down the mountains. We had a little bit in our yard and on our deck this morning. I am not ready!

Never a Dull Moment

Another weekend gone! Saturday we spent a few hours at the Senior Center hawking our wares at the Arts and Crafts Show. We've been printing, matting and framing Rich's photos a little at a time and then, of course, the mad rush on the day of the event is just a given. It wasn't super busy but we sold quite a few photos and enjoyed chatting with everyone who stopped by.

Here's our friend Max, who got every bit of enjoyment possible out of his cupcake!

After the fair, we had a scrumptious dinner at the Chart Room. We have not gone out to eat in a long time! I had a spiced sangria which I really just wanted to chug-a-lug, it was so good. They're now having rotating specials and a "Top Chef" entree which includes three different preparations of the same item (this time it was beef, last time it was halibut). You get to try all three and then vote for your favorite--a fun little twist! Not only did we have a big dinner, but dessert as well (chocolate bread pudding for me and red velvet cake for Rich--aren't we bad?!) Anne and Jeanette came in and ended up sitting next to us so I donated the rest of my dessert to them. I was way too full.

Saturday night I could not sleep. I got out of bed and literally spent the whole night researching family on ancestry.com. Amazing what you can find on that site. The census records are pretty comprehensive and many relatives have been easily found, though it's getting harder the further back I go. I finally went to sleep from 6:30 to 9:30 AM! Crazy. Talked with my mom later and she filled in some more gaps for me, enabling me to find my ancestors Kunigunde and Johann Brumbach on a passenger list arriving in New York from Bremen, Germany in 1878. Pretty exciting!

I should have been finishing my book club book instead of trolling old census records and draft notices and passenger rolls. Off to book club anyway, where I was not the only one who hadn't finished, so it was all good.

Tomorrow is the National Day of Writing. My friend Susan set up a gallery for those of us who want to contribute a piece on the topic of "culture, geographic location, a sense of place, and relationship between and among people and communities in the pursuit of social justice and equality." Click here if you want to join our gallery: http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/511900. You may also set up your own at the Gallery of Writing http://www.galleryofwriting.org Although folks are encouraged to participate in the day of writing tomorrow, the galleries will be open for submission till June so you still have plenty of time!

It's a busy week at work--our radio pledge drive! Support community radio and join or renew your membership in KUCB 89.7 FM! We'll have live musicians in the studio all week, then a big ONE DAY drive on Friday, the 23rd. See KUCB's website at www.kucb.org or blog at www.kucb.wordpress.com for more info. You can even pledge online on the website, talk about EASY!

Happy Monday!

Rainbows, Earthquakes, Domestic Violence Awareness, Radio Pledge Drive, Electronic and Non-Electronic Reading Devices

We've had some big, gorgeous rainbows around town lately. This one was right outside our door the other day. It's one of the perks of the storms we've been having. I heard we also had some earthquakes in the region on Friday night, supposedly felt here in Unalaska. Can't say that I noticed! Blogger is not letting me insert links this morning but you could cut and paste this address if you are interested:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kial/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1565633/Local.News/Earthquakes.rock.region.no.damage.done

I've been up since 4:30 this morning when I received a phone call about a psychiatric emergency. At first, I was pretty disoriented but ended up being thankful that it had nothing to do with any of our family. You know how those phone calls instantly create a frightening scenario in your mind. I am not sure why I am still on the on-call list since I left my previous job in MARCH. I had to call my friend Donna, wake her up and scare HER next, so she could take over and make sure everything was okay with the situation. Thanks, Donna! Meanwhile, I could not get back to sleep. After tossing and turning for about an hour, I finally just made myself get up. I'm listening to our cool radio station (just so happens I work there but I am not biased!) which is playing Bob Dylan's "Tangled up in Blue" at the moment. One of my all time favorite Dylan songs.

This is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Last night, the City Council made a proclamation and the Chair of USAFV (Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence) presented a statement about the issue. USAFV staff, Board members, volunteers and supporters stood silently before the Council, masks over our faces, holding signs depicting common situations of domestic violence. Our masks represent the invisibility and anonymity of many victims, who remain "faceless" to the community at large. Because many victims are fearful to come forward, we wanted to stand for them.

Unfortunately, Alaska has one of the highest rates of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and suicide in the nation. Organizations like USAFV are working diligently to bring more awareness and education to the community as well as assisting victims with a variety of services. Look around--victims of domestic violence are your family members, your friends, your coworkers, your neighbors, your kids' friends.

Seems like it's been really busy lately and I just can't get motivated to blog. We're working on the radio pledge drive for next week--local musicians in the studio all week long, which is always a lot of fun and everyone's favorite thing. We're calling it a one day pledge drive this year, not asking for money till Friday, the 23rd, when we will have a full day of activities and promotions. See www.kucb.wordpress.com for more info and go to our website at www.kucb.org to pledge online! You don't have to live here to support our local community radio station! You can even stream via the website if you want to check us out.

I just ordered a Kindle and am anxious to see how it works on our vacation. I usually weigh our luggage down with too many books! With no more free checked bags and outrageous prices for the second bag, I no longer have the luxury of carrying a library with me. My mom loves her Sony reader and I know a couple of people who love their Kindles. It sounds like it's a toss up between them but what sold me on the Kindle was that you can access wifi with it and download from anywhere. That will be easier for us on our many travels.

And it's Book Club this Sunday night--we are reading Red Earth and Pouring Rain, a novel by Vikran Chandra. It's a pretty thick book and I am just getting started, as usual. So far, it's intriguing. How could it not be, when it includes a poet reincarnated as a monkey who can type?

"A Christmas Carol" takes my mind off travel worries

Bad weather in Seattle has stranded planeloads of people in Anchorage for the last couple of days.   It's rainy and very windy here tonight so I am getting a little concerned about the odds of flying out tomorrow.   And even if we do make it to Anchorage, can we get out of there and on to Seattle?    We pricelined a room in Seattle and you know there are no refunds on priceline if you don't show up (doesn't look like quite the bargain then, does it?)   With connecting flights that will fall like dominoes, it's really important that we take off, and take off ON TIME, Pen Air, thank you very much!  Click on the title of this post above to see the full story at the Anchorage Daily News, and then send up lots of positive vibes that the weather and airlines will cooperate on Tuesday!  

It's been a super busy day, trying to get everything done before I go out of town.  I never correctly anticipate how much time it will take me, so I end up running around like a crazy person at the last minute.   Our little group of teens did a read-through of "A Christmas Carol" at the Senior Center tonight, so that was a nice little respite for me and then it was back to my office till almost 10 PM.    At this point, I just have to admit that what's not done is not getting done till January.

Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim

Anne handles the sound effects

Tiny Tim, The Ghost of Christmas Present, the Narrator, Scrooge, and the Ghost of Christmas Past

My coworkers Darcel and Donna

If you are local or can stream KUCB on the internet, the radio show will air on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.   I love all the things we get to do in a small town.  

I'm mostly packed and still have to clean up a little bit around the house before we leave it with our house/cat sitter (kinda like cleaning before the maid comes, you know, you hate to have anyone think you have a messy house, right?  Not that I am implying he's the maid...just sayin') 

We confirmed that we will be serving meals at a homeless shelter in Vegas (if we make it to Vegas...) on Christmas Day.   I asked how many people lived there because I thought we might be able to bring some unique Alaska gifts, especially if there were some kids in residence.  I didn't think I was so naive, but I was pretty shocked when I was told that there are 270 people staying there right now.    And that's only one of many shelters.   Really makes me count our blessings even more, knowing that we are safe and dry and don't have any major worries in our lives.   I imagine with the economy these days, there are increasing numbers of people who just can't make it any more, very sad to say.   Let's hope that their lives will improve soon.

Finally, Happy Hanukkah to the Kardon gang and congrats to my niece, Alana, who graduated from college in Texas!

Here's hoping the planes are flying tomorrow.   

Random Thoughts on a Thursday Night

I added an Einstein Quote of the Day but it's at the very bottom of the page so you won't see it if you don't scroll all the way down.  Today's, which is "Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it,"  makes me think of all the people who have spoken truth to power and taken a stand against wrongdoing in our own country and elsewhere.    Theirs are my favorite stories, inspiring and uplifting moments in time when something shifts and the collective consciousness is raised.  

So that's my profound thought for the day.  Otherwise, we are having a busy week with work and activities.   My coworker Darcel and I, along with radio news director Anne,  are helping a group of teens with a project, recording "A Christmas Carol" to be broadcast for the holidays. We all shouted "Merry Christmas!" and Anne added "God bless us, every one!" as we finished up.   We did it twice for good measure.   The dj, Daniel, knocked on the door to the booth to announce that someone had called to ask him what was going on because we were heard on the air.   Oops!    Just a little early Christmas cheer.    The kids did a great job and will also be presenting a read-through at the Senior Center next week.

Rich is having fun with shrink-wrap tonight.    We are finishing up photos for Midnight Madness and he is shrink-wrapping the trios since we did not have any clear bags big enough to hold them.   He thinks it's the coolest thing ever and I have to say that they do look very professionally done.    This project is becoming a bit time-consuming but we are still  having a good time.  Apparently, tomorrow night I have to show up at the hotel at 4:30 and wait in line till the doors open, when I am supposed to elbow people out of the way and sprint for a table in a good location.  Wow, I guess some folks take this thing really seriously.   :)    

It was a pretty day with the sun shining on the snow.  I meant to take some photos around town but just didn't have time.  Maybe this weekend.....

Frost on the Windshield

8 AM on Tuesdays, we have an all-staff meeting.  I am chronically late and I imagine my boss does not look too kindly on my weekly comments about why.  It's always something, of course. What I really cannot figure out is how the clock at home and the clock at our meeting place can be so far apart.  Last night I made up my mind that I would get up early enough, not spend too much time on the computer, not tarry over my hot tea, not spend ten minutes sitting half dressed waiting for the hot flash to pass before I put on my pants and sweater, not have to come back in the house because I forgot something.   Feeling full of myself that I was not only going to be on time, but maybe even first to arrive,  I opened the door to let the cats out. Remember all of our beautiful blooming flowers on the porch?  The poor little darlings were shivering in their frosty  snow-covered pots.   OH NO.  I hurried to the car and, sure enough, there was a freakin' inch of ice on my windshield.  "So sorry I am late, but I certainly was NOT expecting to have to scrape the car windows this morning...."    

Early voting started yesterday in Alaska.  Get out there and vote--don't wait till Election Day and risk something coming up to prevent your participation.   There's early voting in lots of states so check your local information and see if you can take advantage of this opportunity.  I just found out that I am going to Anchorage for my job next week so I am definitely going to vote before I go.  It would be just my luck to get stranded due to plane problems or weather issues  (see previous post about When Air)  and not get home in time.  I am taking no chances!

Our local radio station had a GREAT pledge drive.  Our goal was $10,000 and we raised $18,000!   Thanks to a certain friend of mine from Mississippi who pledged a membership from afar--now that's some support!  Your cool  KUCB sweatshirt will be on its way tomorrow. I heard a rumor that some of the guys from "The Deadliest Catch" will be wearing those sweatshirts this season.  You know that will make them the latest fashion trend.  :) Speaking of "The Deadliest Catch," the brother of one of my coworkers  is on one of the boats this year and their whole family was video-ed at the dock, saying goodbye.   Now I will get sucked into watching the darned thing again.

Pledge Week on Local Radio

We have a great community radio and TV station! Want to have your own radio show? Want to host the weekly news on Wednesday nights? Want to learn how to use the equipment and become a volunteer? Have some video you want to show the community? All of that and much more is possible through our little local station. I have been amazed at everything this very small staff covers! No matter what's happening in town, they are almost always there. I've learned a lot more about community radio and TV since I joined the Board last year and I certainly have a much better appreciation of the role the station plays in our town. We just switched to FM and what a difference it has made in the quality, reception and sound of radio in Unalaska. Very exciting! This is Pledge Week for our new station, KUCB--89.7 FM, and I had a blast being a guest dj this morning. That's station manager Lauren in the background and finance person Rhonda in the front, making some announcements. They are so much fun and I had a great time playing my favorite tunes and encouraging folks to call in. We are trying to raise $10,000 and are doing pretty well, but if you are so inclined, click on Unalaska Community Broadcasting on the right side of this page and make a pledge to support true community programming.