Going on Vacation!!! And a couple of Meme's.

So, first about the vacation..... Tay and I will be going to Spokane for the 4th of July. We'll leave the night of the second, get in at almost noon on the 3rd. Then we'll head out of Spokane on the 8th and arrive back in Fairbanks early on the 9th. (As in, so early that I'm going to take the 9th off work as well so Tay and I can sleep without having to worry about work or anything else.)



Here's how it's happened. My baby sis now lives in Spokane. Dad drove to Spokane as his first real stop on his way out of Fairbanks. Mom planned on spending the 4th of July in Spokane with her family anyway. Mom and Dad grumbled a bit about how I insist that we cannot afford a plane ticket (it's the truth, esp. on this short of notice) for Tay and I to Spokane to visit. Mom decides to see if there's some way to get my sister Shelli from Tucson (where she lives) to Spokane for the 4th, she found a ticket for less than $300. Dad says that he doesn't think I'd come to Spokane even if he bought my ticket.



Was that a dare?!?! *wink* I asked my boss if there was any way I could get the time off, she said yes, Mom arranged the tickets. I'm going to Spokane for the 4th of July.



It's the first time I've been to Spokane in about 14 years. Tay got to go with Mom and Shelli when she was just a tot, not even 2 yet. But, we haven't seen Mom or Shelli in a year and a half. Ironically as well, Mom and I and Tay will be on the SAME FLIGHT from Seattle to Spokane, so Mom rearranged her seat to sit next to Tay and I for that flight. *BWG*



I GET TO SEE MY FAMILY AGAIN!!!!





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Now for those Memes. PeppyLady tagged me last week. Sorry it's taking me so long to get to them!



The first is the "What Won't You Give Up" meme that started making it's way around and was posted by both Wendy and Barefoot Gardener. I meant to post my answers back at that point, but kinda lost track of it. So, here we go.



What Won't I Give Up?

1) My family. I think families may change, may become less nuclear, even more tribal, but I still won't give up my immediate family.



2) Washing my hair every other day, at the absolute least, preferably with hot water. My hair gets nasty-greasy if I go more than 48 hours with a shower. Even at 24 it's starting to get nasty and my scalp starts itching uncontrolably. Even if it has to be done with water simmered on a hot stove, and mixed with cooler water, and poured over my head, I WILL be washing my hair every other day (at least! preferably more often!) no matter what else comes.



3) books. I won't give up books. Not entirely. I may be forced to reduce the number of them I own, but I won't give them up completely. I think that books are the surest source of information surviving intact from one generation to the next, at least for a while. As long as _I_ live, I'll hold onto my books.



4) My crochet tools. With my crochet hooks, a small pair of scissors (always in my hook case), and some fiber (which can be made or gained at a later point) I can make garments, I can make blankets, I can make bags to carry necessary items in. These may not necessarily be "the tools of my trade", but they are very important to me and not something I go without willingly.



Everything else, really, is negotiable. I cannot guarantee that in a worst-case scenario I wouldn't give up my internet connection. I'm well aware that when push comes to shove, I don't need the internet to survive. It would make me greatly unhappy, but so would going hungry because I insist on paying for internet access. My home would be a great loss, but as long as I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my belly, my family by my side, my crochet hooks, and a good book to read...... *shrug* Really, there's not much else I need.



Food, being a fragile commodity, is not something that I can count on either way, which is why I didn't say "I won't give up food". The time may come where I wind up having to go hungry for a little while, or having to be hungrier than I usually am now.



Ok. There's that meme. If anybody else wants to participate, feel free. You may approach it as a "peak oil/climate shift" what wouldn't you be willing to give up in the face of reducing your impact on the earth. Or, you may approach it as a general, what do you hope you never have to get along without. It's up to you. Again, the initial point was that there are things that we all could do without, usually somewhat individual to each of us (not everybody feels as strongly about keeping their hair as clean as I do, for example), to reduce the strain on Earth's resources. But, the question was what would you be unwilling to negotiate on. You could even approach this as a "What WOULD I give up, and how would I work around the whole left by that energy-drain?" It's up to you. Participate or not, it's your choice. Just let me know if you do.



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The other Meme was the Two by Two meme:



Two things you are wearing right now? shorts and a t-shirt


Two of your favorite things? reading and crocheting


Two things you want very badly at the moment? to get that job out here at North Pole Lib, should it EVER actually open up. And, to see my family.


Two favorite pets you have or had? Two I have currently, Jenny and Puck, both dogs.


Two people you hope will fill this out? I have no hope or expectation that anybody will participate. Whomever wants to, may. Let me know if you do!


Two things you did last night? watched a soccer game (results below) and made dinner


Two things you ate last night? Chicken Paprika-Dijon and rice


Two people you last talked to? Tay and Scott (Mom was the first person I talked to this morning, though.)


Two things you are doing tomorrow? Tending my veggies and going to town for some clothes for Tay.... Maybe. We'll see.


Two of farthest trips taken in the last 5 years? Anchorage and Anchorage. (What can I say, I don't travel much.)


Two favorite holidays? Samhain/Halloween and Mid-Summer's Eve


Two favorite beverages? berry-flavored wine coolers, and water.



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So, Tay's team lost their two games this week. Tuesday night's score was 5 to 4. Last night's (Thursday night's) was 6 to 4. Tay was feeling very disgruntled last night. 3 of the 4 goals made on her team last night were made while she was in the net, and the ref was calling EVERYTHING she could come up with (even a couple of "off-sides" that were inaccurate) on our team, and NOTHING on the other team. (Well, one time that a girl from the other team attempted to use her hands to redirect the ball -from her face- did result in the whistle being blown on a "hands" call. But I think that was the ONLY instance anything was called on the other team last night, even given the fact that they hurt one of our girls.)



Scott said that so far EVERY game has ended with the other coach come up to him and griping about SOMETHING one of our girls supposedly did to one of the girls on the other team. *shaking head* Our girls aren't innocent, but neither are the other teams.



(Tay was "talking smack" last night, though not anything that wasn't true. She was just warning the girls on the other team that if they got in her way, she WOULD run them down in her attempt to keep control of the ball. Is it really smack when it's true? She took some deliberate elbows to the belly on Tuesday night's game, and yet Scott didn't get on the other coach's case about how that the parents on our team don't rush on-field to rescue them from every little scrape & fall like so many of the other parents on other teams seem to do.)



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Anyway, so that's the news. I'd meant to take pictures at the FIL's house on Wednesday, but got there and found that the battery in my camera was dead. *sigh* I really wanted to get a pic of the pretty wild-roses that are all in bloom right now.... Bluebells and some other pretty purple things that almost look like Statice are also blooming. However, we still haven't seen any irises this summer. Usually they bloom in May, but they're only just getting to the point where they've got buds on them. As I said, they usually bloom in May and we see our wild-roses this time of year. This year things are happening bass ackwards.



But, for future reference, if any of you want to come to Alaska, I'd strongly suggest June as the best time of year to do so. That's when most of the wild-flowers bloom, though the fireweed will be along later next month, except in some of the warmer, more southern areas of the state.



Ok. Gotta get offline and get something to eat really quickly before I head out for work. I've gotta head into town early today to get gas in my car. There are so many road-jobs going on right now that all the traffic revisions make it take a LOT longer to get where you're going.



For Mom and Shelli and Kori, the Steese is shut down between Airport Way and College road. To get to Safeway Gas, I'm going to have to go down Noble, past the courthouse, make a right across the river, and down past the OLDest Freddy's. Then to get BACK toward work, I'm going to have to head further down college toward Illinios St, past ICS (catholic school, in case you've forgotten) and back across the river there at the "Flag" bridge, then up along First Avenue toward Cowles, up Cowles to the Lib.



DOT is also working on a section of VanHorn right there near Lathrop St, and on Wilbur St. I think they've even got job crews on the Johannsen Expressway. And that's not including the over-pass being put in out here at Dawson and Mission on the Richardson. (That last accident this past winter with that little girl getting killed was the last straw. The ok for the overpass got pushed through pretty quickly after that.)

OK. Gotta go.

Have a Blessed Day!