Verizon Frustrations and Raging Jays

Could this be PJ?

A quiet day again today, which is just fine with us.  The Stellar's Jays seem to be getting even bolder, and have begun to fly up to the window and let us know they are ready to be fed (again and again).  We give them peanuts and they cram as many in their beaks as they can hold, and then go hide them in the garden and forest.  We have come upon some of them in our gardening.  Our friend Jim Hauck, who feeds them out of his hand says that they have a good memory of where they have hidden them so they can dig them up when they don't have suckers like us to feed them.

We have seen as many as a dozen on the deck at one time, and many are probably siblings as they can fledge quite a few in one nest and even have a second clutch of eggs if food (read "peanuts") are plentiful.  So Neil tried some hand feeding today and there is one who is bolder and more aggressive than all the others who will come right up and take a peanut out of your hand, and drive off others who try.  So we wait until he goes to hide his nuts and try the others.

 Neil spent what seemed like several hours today dealing with the voice mail and web parts of Verizon wireless, trying to set up automatic payments for our Verizon MiFi wireless internet card.  Believe it or not, it took four separate calls and being disconnected twice before the problem was solved.  Part of it was the fault of their website not working properly.  Maybe I should not complaint too much, at least they spoke English well and I think that they lived in America (but I could be wrong).  Anyway the problem got solved.

Sad news today that Steve Jobs, of Apple Computer has died at the age of 56.  Neil is a big Apple fan and really enjoys the iPhones, iTouch, iPods and the Macintosh computer that he had years ago.  Someday, he will probably spring for an iPad and maybe a Mac laptop, but not until after our move south.  Still no news on that front, unfortunately.

Be Well,

Neil and Pamela

On a Clear Day We Can See Further

A bit of a slow day around the homestead today.  We have a little bit of light rain, but nothing to really complain about.  After all, why complain if nobody is really listening?

We had two appointments at the house today.  The first was from the government moving company to do an estimate on how much stuff we have and what our "special needs" might be.  For one, the crating of the lighthouse lens coffee table is a biggie.  He gave us some suggestions and made lots of notes, so when we sell the house we can pull the trigger on getting the move started.  He recommended that we plan on five days to pack and move, and to have them start on a Monday.  Good advice we think.  We think that we are probably close to our limit on weight due to books and tools, so we will see about doing some reduction over the next couple of months.  After all, how many screwdrivers does Neil REALLY need?

The View from the Great Room is a LOT Clearer

The other appointment was for the people we hired to clean all of the windows, inside and out.  There was only one guy, but he was able to get all the windows and screens cleaned inside and out in about four hours.  It was well worth the cost and we wonder why we didn't get it done sooner.  One of the things the window guy used was a Little Giant ladder that we think would be a great home and RV ladder.  It is heavy duty and made in the USA.  If any of you have used one of these, let us know what you think.

Got One of These?  Whatcha Think?

Neil drove to the Juneau Fire Hall and voted in the local elections and then went to drop things by the recycling center.  We recycle all of the paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and aluminum that we can.  It is a little bit of a hassle, but is the right thing to do.  We just heard that the local landfill is so full that beginning next year, they will be barging garbage out to the Lower 48 for disposal.  Seems crazy to us, but several other communities in Southeast Alaska are doing the same thing.  One of the four laws of ecology states that "everything has to go somewhere".  

Neil also watched the announcement about the new iPhone 4S and the new software by Apple, and will download the software when it is available, but will probably wait on the phone for a while.  It would be nice to have the 8 megapixel camera, since he uses the iPhone for most of the Blog photos, but his phone is not eligible for an upgrade yet.

We hope that your Tuesday was a good one,

Neil and Pamela

Fifth Wheel Maintenance Day

Another nice day, and we finally got to our fifth wheel cleaning and maintenance tasks.  Good thing, because the long term weather forecast is for cold rain.  So today we cleaned off the top of all of the fifth wheel slides as well as cleaning the sides of the RV with hot water with Turtle Wax cleaner in it.  It looks a lot better, and we don't have to worry about the hemlock cones and needles that had fallen on the living room slide under a big tree.

Our Cleaned up "Fiver" Finally

While we were at it, Neil took one of the propane tanks to have it refilled and put some of the Dri-Z-Air dehumidifiers and a couple more of the good smelling Damp Rid bags in the fiver.  It has been amazing how much moisture that they take out of the air--just as they are supposed to do.

We also helped a neighbor unload our garden soil composter and move it to their yard, along with about 60 gallons of soil (twelve, five gallon buckets) and some of our extra bags of bark mulch.  It is another one of those things that are more difficult to move than it is worth it, and it is going to a good home.

Yesterday, Pamela was in the Mendenhall Valley and made a stop at Mendenhall Glacier and took some photos.  Posted below are a couple of the ones she took.

Kayakers Approaching an "Easter Island Head" Iceberg on Mendenhall Lake

It sure has been nice getting these nice days in early October to get some things done in the sunshine.  It hasn't really been warm, as it has been freezing overnight, but it is getting into the fifties in the afternoons instead of rainy forties.  Thanks to our families and friends in the Pacific Northwest for loaning us some of their weather for several days.

The Shrinking Mendenhall Glacier - Note the Rock Exposed on the Right Side

We are doing well and keeping busy doing some downsizing (Neil sold on Craigs List the Hotpoint Fridge/Smoker he built today) and Pamela is very active with her Creative Memories business.  She recently completed a book of our European River Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest with Viking River Cruises.  It will be a great tool to share with friends and family and to remind us of how much we enjoyed that cruise.

Many thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Sunny Sunday Salutations

Wow!  Sunshine for an entire weekend in October, and it is supposed to last through Monday.  We'll take it.  Another nice day to do some work around the house.  Neil decided to bring the canoe back over to the house and get the small outboard motors winterized.  He exaggerated when he said he was boat-less, as we still have the green Coleman Scanoe.

Our Scanoe Will Be Moving with Us to Oregon

In past years, Neil has caught some good sized king salmon out of the canoe on spinning gear--lots of fun to be sure.  He also is getting the two air-cooled outboard motors ready for the winter.  These motors work great on the Scanoe, and have also been used as backup for other boats over the years.  Neil has been able to keep them running, mostly because they are very simple machines.

We Have Used These Motors a Lot Over the Years

Neil also posted a for sale notice in the Southeast Alaska Craig's List for his custom made fish smoker.  He already has two people who want to buy it, so he spent time today cleaning it up and getting the racks into it and repainting the outside of it gloss black.  We doubt that the black color helps any since there is two inches of insulation between the inside and outside, but it does look pretty.

Smoker Ready to Sell -  a Bittersweet Occasion 

One of the things that we built into the back of the house was a fish cleaning and fillet station, and we set that up for the Open House and have left it up for now.  If you haven't seen it, this is what you get when you have a botched countertop installation and someone who hates to see such things go to waste.  We can even use warm water to clean the fish if it is cold.  Only thing we did not do is get a cover over it to keep the rain off and an insect repellent machine.

Many, Many Salmon Have Been Filleted on this Table (sigh)

Since tomorrow is going to be nice, we will probably clean off the top of the fifth wheel slideouts and treat the slide seals before winter.  We never know if we will see sunny days the rest of the month, so we will take advantage of the good days while we can.

We also had a great evening dinner of barbecued pork chops with friends Sam and Cindy and Dave.  Lots of good conversation, good eats, and a bit of wine.

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Sunshine in October? Sure 'Nuf

Saturday dawned as another great Fall day for Juneau, with lots of sunshine.  Just perfect for our Open House! We got a few things ready and drove into town for a late lunch as people started to arrive.  Nobody has written us a check yet, but it is good to get people looking at the place.

Not Every October Looks this Good in Juneau!

One of the things our place has going for it is the large back area for parking just about anything.  Right now, we have a good sized boat, a very large fifth wheel RV, a lot of crab and shrimp pots, and a large garden shed.

Our "Toys" in the Back Yard--the Boat is Under the Blue Tarp and is Moving Soon

Tomorrow is supposed to be as nice as today, or better so we will try to get some of those final fall outside projects done around the house.  Since our weather is often the mirror image of the Pacific Northwest where we both have family, we will not get too effusive about our weather these last few days and hope that they get some good weather as well.

Look at the Snow on the Mendenhall Towers Mountains

Keep your fingers crossed for a quick sale of the house at a good price (for us!),

Neil and Pamela

Open House Ready and "Green Fire" Film

A busy Friday with the final work in getting ready for our Open House tomorrow, including cleaning of all the carpets in the house--yes, cleaning up for a house showing sucks (or vacuums if you prefer).  Anyway we got it all ready and some other areas "de-cluttered" for tomorrow.  We are reminded that you can't catch a fish without wetting a line, but we will be happy when the house sells and we can move on to the next phase:  moving.  Not like we expect that will be any easier, but at least we have professional packers and movers coming in to move us.

We got the carpets cleaned by mid afternoon and took off to run a couple of errands and to go to the University of Alaska Southeast campus for a movie presentation.

The University and the Forest Service sponsored the showing of a Forest Service produced movie called Greenfire:  Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time.

We both know the producer, who works for the Forest Service in California, and it is an outstanding documentary movie.  It is well worth seeing if you see it on PBS or shown locally.  While at the University we saw a number of Forest Service friends and retirees, so it was good to get caught up with some of them.

Fall is settling in here in Juneau, and the snow is creeping down the mountains.  It won't be long before we have to shut of the water and begin the process of getting everything buttoned up for winter.  Tomorrow is October already?  Yikes!

Wish us luck at our Open House for several buyers bidding against each other--might as well dream big, eh?

Best Wishes,

Neil and Pamela