SNOW. September. W.R.O.N.G!!!

We got our first snow in Anchorage yesterday and last night.

While I know my New England people are enjoying the fall and my people in the South are enjoying the warm last days of summer and my people in the other parts of the planet are all like:

Saaaay, WHAT, now?

It's so pretty!!

The snow right now was sort of wet and sloppy since it was really quite warm for it to stick. But - stuck it did and I have to say the juxtaposition of the fall leaves on the trees with the white white snow? It's cheered me up considerably.

I was downright grim yesterday until I ran into some friends that I've been missing.

And the day before that I was also feeling VERY grim until I met one of the Deadliest Catch captains and hung out with him all evening. He is a delightful person and we had a ton of fun horrifying his newest greenhorn! 

Ah, the sea stories!

I miss my Gloucester guys and gals that worked the boats with me. Some of the best humans you'd ever hope to meet. Salt of the Earth.

So it was great fun talking Bering Sea stuff with these kids and the Captain. He's really famous and on camera a LOT! Delightful.

Then yesterday I hung with my guy Brian (who's originally from Minnesota) and a world-famous Chef that you've likely seen on TV many a time. I've known him for a while and we have a lot of mutual friends, so it was another unexpectedly fun evening.

Then I got home and ate some leftovers? Not good. Paid for it all night. BLECH. Luckily there was no barfing involved but it was darn close a couple times. I just hate being nauseous.

Better today after eating some apple and drinking about 80 gallons of water to flush out  my poor system. 

So, the housemate sitch? Still ongoing. She had told me she'd be out by the end of this month. Well, that's pretty much right about now in about 13 hours.

With the help of some legal advice, I was told to write her a specific letter to ask her specific things about her exit. So, little Miss Sunshine informed me that she may, in fact, not be able to be out until Saturday.

Three days. 72 more hours of closed doors and louds sighs. And the in and out of the bathroom each morning at O dark 30.

So, the note she left me was, as you'd imagine, terse. And my favorite part is something I've come across soooooo many times in my recent past.

And that thing is that the people (and I use that loosely) of the world who are the 9 to 5-ers or the 8 to 5-ers? They all think that people like me are lazy or unproductive.

My ex-husband D who I still adore, used to think that until he realized how much I actually did while I still had my gardening business and did lots of philanthropic stuff. 

My current soon-to-be ex-husband Mr. Sunshine also viewed me as some kind of leech because I had to get my business and life re-established in a brand new place 5000 miles from anything familiar.

My ex-housemate (past one) and present one - same thing. They think I don't do anything because I get paid to do the shit that they'd LIKE to do but don't know HOW to do.

You know what I've got to say about that? Too f*cking bad, princesses. I do what I have to do and what I CAN do to make ends meet. And up until I spent my g*ddamn life savings moving here getting my identity stolen (fun) going through a shitty divorce (real fun) and then being forced to move AGAIN and marketing and schmoozing clients and networking? 

I have been utterly self-sufficient since my 20s. 

So, yeah. Things are tough right now financially. Whooopie-SH*T. Happens when you least expect it.

Last thing I'll say - you cubicle people need to get a grip. Where do you think the books or newspapers you read come from? Poetry, art, dance, music - all of those things come from us non-traditional WORKERS of the world. 

Artists are workers. 

Writers are workers.

And frankly, if you can't understand that? You can SUCK IT.

To my Salem peeps - Happy October tomorrow! Try not to get too frustrated with the traffic and crazy - you have no idea how much you miss it when you leave. No one celebrates Halloween here. So sad...

Ciao for now and thanks for reading! 

xooxo

Throwback Thursday and Other Musings

Happy almost Halloween!

So, I hung several strings of lights outside to be all festive and fun-like? It's so damn cold here all but one of the strings of lights stopped working. Now THAT's cold! I'm gonna see if I can fix at least one of the strings today - but one by one they just pooped out on me. I guess 18 degrees doesn't cut it for punkin lights.

At Russell Orchard on my recent trip to MA!

My husband, Mr. Big and Tall
on his first trip to Russell Orchard.

Annnyywhooo, I recently went to Massachusetts, as you may be aware, and one of the best best best things you can possibly do when in MA in October is go to Russell Orchard (I know it as Gooddale Orchards). I've been going to this place for almost 30 years, so it holds a lot of wonderful, keen memories of the past.

I went there with my first husband, K. We were babies, of course back then. I was all of 23 the first time I met Ken and he was engaged to another person. He broke it off with her (which, I'm so sorry I caused you such pain, N) and then K and I started our torrid fling. It didn't take long for us to get engaged and then get married. We got married right before my 25th birthday. May 12th at the Annisquam Village Church in Gloucester, MA. We lived in a miniscule apartment in Rockport and then in an equally tiny apartment in downtown Gloucester.

Things fell apart quickly as my whale research career took off and K was a fisherman and was gone for long periods of time. We had no business getting married so young, but it seemed like a good idea at the time!

So, we officially divorced when I was 29.

I then hooked up with a boy, E, for 4 years. I adored E and still do to this day. But he was totally immature and cheated on me a bunch. That was a really painful breakup. Especially since I was LIVING in the same house with him and his wonderful Momma at the time. I moved out when he was on vacation. Best thing I ever did.

That's when I came to live in Salem, MA. It was the winter of 1995. I answered a classified ad in the paper for a roommate situation in a cute Victorian house on Carlton Street in Salem. I went for the interview - with the two other women tenants and the landlords. All were great (except the one tenant woman who had a penchant for skulls and vaginas (not even kidding)). And the other tenant woman is one of my best friends to this day! She and I were a constant in that house for 5 years and then we had the revolving roommate on the first floor.

There was skull/vagina lady, then came the vodka/Yankees woman, and then the girl who had "woman problems" and cooked Chinese herbs on the stove that made the whole house smell of death, dirt and poop. IT WAS DISGUSTING! Then there was the recluse who went on blind dates ALL THE TIME in unsafe places and sometimes late at night. My other roommate and I were petrified that she was going to end up being a statistic.

And then I met my second husband. OOOO, did I have it BAD for him! He teased me and made me laugh and his dog and my dog fell instantly in love! There were a bunch of dogs at the park in Salem Common but his dog, Koty and my dog, Lady were instantly besties! Just look at these two:

In our old kitchen. It was a restaurant before we moved in
so there was a big drain right under that rug! We had
3 pizza ovens that were my "cupboards" and stainless
tables and racks to store food and to cook! It was a
novelty for many years until we could afford to
make it an actual kitchen kitchen!

Koty helping us with the bait on the boat! The dogs loved boat rides.

Best friends until the very end.

This was the day Lady died.
I did this when we took Koty on his first solo walk after she died.
December 7th, 2007. She was one week away from her 14th birthday.
I have her ashes here with me now.

So, we lived an interesting a lovely life the four of us. We bought our big, beautiful house on Derby Street in Salem, made wonderful friends, bought an amazing boat that we used pretty much daily from early spring through October. We walked the dogs, my husband became wildly successful in his work, I started my own business doing flowers and small gardens for people...My husband's family was (and still is) the family I'd been missing since I moved so far from my own. They were kind, smart, fun, funny and loving people that welcomed me with open arms. It was a full-on love affair and I loved being married to him.

As Lady and Koty aged and then she died, things went sort of awry. Everything was off. Koty was miserable, my husband and I were devastated after losing Lady. We sort of started the long journey of growing apart. We still were best friends and had wonderful times, but he stopped being attracted to me and that was really really hard.

So, after three months of watching Koty mope around and be sad, we decided he needed a new friend to cheer him up. And we were TOTALLY right. We found this pathetic creature on Petfinder.com named Lady, which was weird enough - but she looked like Koty's sister! Look at these two! (We renamed her Sadie because it was too weird to call her Lady...)

Koty's new friend, Sadie. The world's OLDEST most pathetic creature.

 Sadie and Koty were not friends at the start. He was threatened (of course) by a new dog's presence in his domain. But we worked on making him feel secure in his status, and he quickly warmed up to Sadie. Sadie came from a pet hoarder in Tennessee. This person had 50 dogs in their house. All in varying states of disarray. Sadie had zero muscle tone and no incisors - she had learned to chew through cans to get into food (found that out the hard way). She didn't poop sometimes for days on end - we had to praise her for a basic bodily function...She learned over time that food was always gonna be there and that barking was okay (she never had barked in her whole life) and that pooping was good to do every day, too!

She had arthritis all through her spine and back legs and was certainly not 6 years old as I had been told! The vet and I think she was probably closer to 10 when we adopted her. She had an emergency splenectomy after a tumor burst in her spleen. So, that was fun. Then Koty got attacked by a fucking out of control American bulldog. The dog ripped his throat out (not exaggerating - I will not show the pictures - it's disgusting). Koty had to go through two extensive surgeries (over 250 stitches) to put him back together.

Then Koty got very sick about a year later with an inexplicable liver infection. We tried everything to get him well, but he had lost his fight. Koty died in September of 2011. He was almost 14.

By this time, Sadie had gotten ancient and had dementia really badly. She had depended on Koty for all of her cues. After he died, she screamed and cried most nights because she didn't know where she was and what was going on. I even slept on the couch in the living room so she could find me, but she still cried all the time. So we had to let her go just 2 weeks after Koty died.

I'm crying right now thinking about that terrible time. I knew that my husband and I were splitting - we had decided to stay together for the dogs' sake.

After Koty and Sadie died, we had to face harsh reality. We went through the motions, had our one last big Halloween bash - and we knew our marriage was over, but none of our party-goers knew except for two of our friends, Tom and Christine. It was a weird secret to carry around, but we didn't want to ruin our one big, last farewell party. It was farewell to everything that had been familiar for 13 years. Not a drop in the bucket.

I still miss my old house and my ex-husband and my beautiful dogs and my life back then. I felt like the luckiest soul on the planet for all of my blessings.

When it was all gone, I just didn't know how I could possibly carry on and start all over again. I was so beaten down by life and loss and both my Grandmas dying and my beloved Grandpa, then my beautiful friends Marilyn and Marcel...I just couldn't take one more shitty thing happening.

And then came N & K...These two ladies basically nursed me back to health. They made sure I was eating (I dropped like 25 pounds from not eating). They made sure I was getting out of bed (sometimes I'd lie and say I was up and N would inevitably call me back and call me out on my lies!!). They listened to me cry and grieve and they saved me from doing something terrible.

My family and a few choice friends were always there for me, too. I'm utterly SO very thankful for such wonderful souls in my life.

The chickens remembered me!! I had been there about 2 years ago and also have done some projects with the folks at Maitland Mountain Farm who keep the chickens running free in the summer at their farm in Salem! I had met "the girls" on several occasions as they were running about the property as we were in the greenhouses or picking flowers or hanging out on their big porch! The chickens are a hoot!
Each has her own personality and they love being talked to. So, the girls and I talked for a while when I was at Russell Orchard. This is where they stay for the winter in a big, comfy, warm coop.

Which brings me to the present. I met my husband while I was on an extended "vacation" in South Carolina. He contacted me on March 12th (which, incidentally, is the day that my second husband and I got engaged (and it's also his uncle's birthday!)). We never stopped talking from that day on. May 1st he came to visit me in South Carolina. We got engaged then and I decided to move to Alaska. By June 16th I was living here. Married again on July 5th. HOLY MOLY. What a life!

In the foothills of the Chugach Mountains last Sunday.

Thanks for reading! Have a safe and Happy Halloween!  

Halloween approacheth!

This is the first year in over 20 years that I find myself living away from Salem, MA during Halloween. Now, for 99% of the world that means absolutely nothing. But for those of us who have lived in the Halloween Capitol of the World (and we take that title quite seriously), it all just feels so strange to be away!

In recent years I dressed up as Cleopatra, Snooki (I know), Manny Ramirez and a host of other ridiculous outfits meant only to make others laugh and point! It's a good excuse to be silly and dance and laugh and show others how "adulthood" does not have to equal "boringhood!"

Here's a bit of the ridiculousness that was my life during October in Salem, MA:

The domestic Cleopatra! (I miss that gorgeous kitchen of mine)

My bestie, Karen. We were probably four or five here.
I believe we were going for Fairy-Princess this particular Halloween.
She can probably tell you the exact date, the time of day and what we ate for dinner.
She's one of those people who has a steel trap memory. Amazing.

Butterflies - homemade by my Momma!
It rained this particular Halloween and I remember crying because my
beautiful costume started to disintegrate! Booo hoooo!

Snooki!! My ex-husband went at Mike - The Situation this year! Hilarious

 Here are the decorations I did today in Alaska! Werd to my Salem homies!

Fall/winter in Anchorage...

Our perpetual motion machines, Phoebe and Jax! 

Spiral staircase with skulls and purple LED lights!

Huh?

Gay skeleton! Faaaabbulooous (said like Paul Lynde would)....

So that's the dealio from AK today! I hope you're all having a wonderful, safe Saturday. 

Ciao for now,
xoxo

Trippin' maaaan! To Massachusetts and Back. Phew.

(Just a reminder, if you click on a photo, it will enlarge for you!)

A beautiful mountain pass in the Kenai Mountain range.
Fall colors in Alaska are sages, yellows. oranges and deep green.

So, as you all may be aware, I left last Saturday the 11th to return to Massachusetts for a visit with my Gloucester and Salem peoples that I really didn't get to see before I packed up and moved my arse to Alaska.

It was kind of a closure trip meets walk down memory lane with my new husband who I will call Mr. Big and Tall. (He is both (if you get my drift! Hey there Mom and Dad!)!)

I wanted to show Mr. B&T the leaves in October in New England and also the National Seashore, which ain't all that easy to access unless you know the right places and the right people. Luckily, I worked as a researcher and guide for 20 years, so I got to know all the nicest places and people.

So we arrived in Boston about 9pm EST on Saturday night and then drove up to my dear friends P and M's house near Annisquam. She has a lovely house in the woods overlooking the Annisquam River. The house and her garden are TO.DIE.FOR. I love it there. It's quiet and lovely and she's the hostess with the mostess. PLUS they have a little sweet hound mix named Maggie who reminds me SO much of my dog Phoebe it's kind of crazy! Same feisty attitude along with a humorous personality...

Mr. B&T and I stayed there for two nights and then headed North along the coastal route from Gloucester to Essex, Ipswich, along coastal NH and then into Maine. We stayed in Kennebunkport at a GORGEOUS bed and breakfast called The Captain Jefferd's Inn. I cannot recommend this place enough. The accommodations, gardens, staff, amenities and food were nothing less than perfect.

We ate that evening at The Tides Beach Club which is located right on the beach. A beautiful place featuring fresh, local seafood, a very talented Executive Chef and great staff. The bartender knows his stuff, I'll say!

After Maine, we headed down to Salem, MA to stay with another great set of friends, L and T, at their 1800s home near downtown. We had dinner with my excellent friends Hank (of pun fame) and his schmoo, Marylou who I love and adore. They made us an Italian feast (as they are both excellent cooks) and we got to hang out in the garden and enjoy the unseasonably warm evening.

The next day, it was raining and windy, a feature of a perfect October storm in New England. Mr. B & T and I drove up the coast again through Salem, Beverly, Beverly Farms, Manchester and then on to Gloucester. I got to have lunch with my Captain Jeff that I hadn't seen in EONS! I am proud to tell you that I set Jeff and his wonderful wife up on their first date. They were married about a year later! They are so very good for each other...Jeff and I blabbed for hours and then he showed me their new home and drove me all the way back to Salem. I miss my Gloucester peeps.

I also got to see my excellent friend K and her beautiful daughter E...It was recently E's 5th birthday, so I brought her wonderous goodies from Alaska. She was quite wide-eyed and very appreciative. I love them both just tons. Miss you K & E!

The next day was my day to wander around Salem and visit with about 853 of my closest friends...I didn't realize how many people I know and love in Salem! Crazy how that happens after you live in one place for 26 years...a person tends to make a few friends along the way! Many thanks to all of you who visited and spent time with me. I miss you all and appreciated your time during the bustle of October...

I will leave you with some pretty pictures of fall in Alaska and a joke from my Hank! Ciao for now, dear readers!

The fall view of the Chugach Mountains along Northern Lights Boulevard.

Pretty trees along the highway near Seward.

A gorgeous fall day on our way home from Seward. We saw rainbows three times on this trip!

And finally, a word from Hank (I love this one!):

Ship in distress: May Day, May Day, help please.

 German in need of a Berlitz English course: Jah, vas is wrong?

 Ship in distress: we are sinking and need assistance.

 German in need of a Berlitz English course: Jah, I vill try to help, vas is it that you are sinking about?