Take it, take another little piece of my heart now baby.

Well I spotted this at Fred Meyers yesterday, the last "Sarah Palin, Hockey Mom" t-shirt was on sale for $9.99.  Does this mean all the others sold?  Does this mean they couldn't get rid of them?  Or did someone cleverly set this up knowing I would take a picture and blog about this pathetic circumstance.   We may never know...

In my other travels I found the transfer station overflowing beyond control.  This is the worst I've ever seen it and strangely my neighbors yard is actually somewhat picked up this week, aside from a light blue skiff he brought home the other day.  I had hoped with the degrading economy the transfer station would be picked clean, alas, no such luck.

The score of the day was this front end loader.  Shout out to super nice dude Mike the Dirt Guy for coming and spreading my 2 loads of tailings in 13 minutes, total bill: $26.  Priceless.  For everything else there's Rental Zone.

And lastly here is Mazzy Mae in a moment of Zen.  There is a chicken carcass in the playground and she has posted a vigil despite the fresh snow.  If only our government had such dedication to worthless causes...oh wait, it does...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

This is what it looked like coming back from dinner at a friend's house on Murphy Dome last night.  Surprisingly there was no snow out there but it was whiteout blizzard on Farmer's Loop Road.

This morning was crisp and gorgeous with sunshine lighting up the fresh inch of snow.  Angela and I took the opportunity to move in to our little cabin.
This is Fairbanks living here, somebody took an old airplane and towed it into the woods, supposedly to make a house.  I bet nothing will ever happen but who else has drive up stairs?  That rocks.

I hear the train a comin'

It is snowing this morning.  Not dumping, but there are nice, dry, styrofoam style flakes coming down and that is a good sign.  It won't be long before snowmachines are buzzing around, dogs are mushing and wolves are eviscerating helpless moose as they wallow in deep pow pow.  So put some hot chocolate on and make sure your Netflix is paid up...

Go North, the rush is on.

Well I got medieval on the front entrance yesterday and tore the deck off the house.  The plan is to add on a 8x10 Arctic Entry, which will add 80 square feet and I'm going to put in a 50 gallon water tank so my princess can have running water- sorta.

And then came more land!  2 loads of tailings (that's left over gold miner dirt) will add to the driveway and create a better foundation for the addition.  Now I just have to find something to spread 18 yards of rock.  Tune in tomorrow for pictures of Angela and her shoveling blisters...

If I were a carpenter, and you were a lady

The upstairs is painted, well, mostly.  Painted enough to lay carpet so that is next on the list.  When I went down to buy carpet yesterday my friend Stan at Florcraft said he would swap a carpet installation for a door installation so we'll be getting a pro out here next week which is good as I want the stairs to look maavelous.  In return I have to turn a window into a door at Stan's house.  You see, the economy takes a digger and the barter system thrives...  So this weekend will be spent painting the downstairs, designing the kitchen cabinets and tidying up outside as snow is just around the corner...

This week's reader survey:  What the hell should I do to finish out under the stairs?  

**note there is a monitor heater and breaker box in residence**

I'm on a highway to hell

I'm a bit under the weather of late, but fear not, nothing a little Nyquil can't fix.  The cabin is nearly painted upstairs and hopefully carpet will go down on the 'morrow.  Nothing like carpeting to clear up a head cold.

Max Dog tired quickly of my whining and I was thankful for my keyboard cover...

Oh please won't you be, my neighbor

Fairbanks is a quiet, laid back kinda town, and I like that.  It's nice to go to sleep at night and not hear sirens or wake up to the sound of garbage trucks.  There's give and take though, case in point, my neighbor.  He's a nice guy but he's a hard core dumpster diver and things are getting a bit out of hand.  Right now there is a massive church pew on the left side of his driveway beside numerous dead snowmachines.  And yesterday I shot this with my cell phone:

So I'll have to keep an eye on the dog when I let her out...

Where Da Hoes At?

It is done, after much diggery and surprisingly little cussery I exposed the septic, found the blockage, called Lemeta Pumping (totally awesome company BTW) who steamed out the line, then I replaced the pipe and buried the whole thing again.  Angela was my right hand shovel and we got er dun.

Even Angela appreciated the mighty hoe.

Here's the finished product with a new clean out line installed for good measure.  Note the grimace, there was a slight hint of poo smell, though I was unable to find the source...

I ain't sayin' she's a gold digga..

Ah yeah, it's time to rent some heavy equipment.  For those of you living in the Farmer's Loop area, I apologize, there will be much rejoicing as I rent a backhoe and claw my way into mom's defunct septic system.  It is going to get ugly... 

Now Ya Do What They Told Ya

Happy 9/11 everybody.  7 years ago this morning our president sat in a kindergarten classroom and tried to pretend that the United States wasn't under attack.  In honor of that moment of silence he has another moment of silence every year at the exact hour, so this morning was his 8th in a row.  Of course he has additional moments of silence when asked when our troops will withdrawal, how we can possibly afford to go on, and he is truly stumped when asked to spell "quagmire."

Sometimes you get the porcupine, and sometimes the porcupine gets you.  Viva la Revolucion!

He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood.

Angela and I did some recon the other day and scoped out the distance from our cabin to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital by bike for Angela's new job.  It's 5.5 miles and we did it in about 30 minutes.  Luckily there is a bike path most of the way and no one even flipped us off.  On the way we passed a Taxidermist, Denny's, Ice Rink, Ice Cream Shop, Liquor Store and Building Supply Store and stopped just short of Crack Town.  

We want for nothing in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Nothing.

Please take a moment for a random internet poll (which will help settle a wee argument Angela and I had in the yard the other day)

Q:  Is it redneck to shoot a squirrel while talking on the phone?  

Thank you for your time, operators are standing by.

You drive me crazy

This is too good to pass up:

Well she's 5 feet high and rising

No, I'm not talking about Angela, it's my old nemesis fireweed.  It has taken over Mom's house and must be removed before snowfall.  Actually, the weed isn't the real issue, it's what lurks beneath.  A high speed weed wacker tends to eviscerate whatever it encounters, often sending unmentionables into the face and hair of the wackee.  So wish me luck...

It takes two to make a thing go right

Well hello civilization, I see you've kept busy while I was gone.  Seems Alaska has stepped into the spotlight of late thanks in part to a little lady named Sarah Palin.  Now everyone is wondering why Alaskans get so much free money.  Hmmm, good question except that in Bettles gas was $8.39 a gallon and here in Fairbanks heating oil is well over $5 a gallon.  But that's just water under a bridge to nowhere is far as I'm concerned.

I had a great summer.  Lots of delightful weather, clients and no forest fires.  Fishing was good and the bears kept a respectful distance.  Here are a few pics and I will post more when the voices in my head quiet down a bit, but I suppose they're right, I should be cleaning my guns...

Can you count the number of 38 inch pythons in this picture?

PS - I think Bristol should name her upcoming kid "Esox lucius" and carry on a fantastic tradition of unique Alaska names.

The final countdown, doodleoo doo, doodleoo oo oo

In less than 12 short hours I shall be leaving, on a prop plane, don't know when I'll be back again.  But I'm guessing early September, awash in the sweet smell of fresh caribou blood, me hopes, and ready to make mountains out of mole hills in the Golden Heart City (Fairbanks).  I signed on the papers today and Angela and I are now the proud parents of 3 acres of permafrost.  With a little help from global warming and our friends in the republican party we'll have beachfront property in under 30 years.  Now that's an investment baby.

Who needs a chainsaw when you have a Grover?

Domo arrigato Mr. Roboto

I had lunch with my nephew today, we talked about work and the stress of being 5.  It was nice.  And it occurred to me that there is no mood a little construction paper and a marker can't fix.  Give it a try and you'll see that I'm right.

Ain't too proud to beg, sweet darlin'

Well this week has been a nice welcome back to Fairbanks.  I hit the ground running and went out looking for property with some help from my old friend Joel.  He found me a nice little chunk of dirt outside of town so Angela and I talked it over and decided it might not be so bad.The red arrow is roughly where we will be if things go well, still haven't had the full thumbs up but I did put some money down so cross your fingers.  The neighborhood is brand spanking new, thus the lack of houses.  Hopefully power will be available by the end of the summer.The rest of the week was spent tracking down funding which apparently requires insurance which you can't get if you don't already have it.  So back and forth and up and down and who knows if I told the right people the right things but tune in next week to find out more.  In the meantime here's the old cabana that will finance the new:

it was squirrel infested and swampy, but nothing a few firearms and some yard work can't handle.  And still no t.v.  Yea!!

Below them old white mountains...

Well we made it, at 2 a.m. Alaska time we rolled into Fairbanks Thursday night.  Hard to believe but we're definitely not in San Francisco any more.  Here are some photo highlights:

Crossing the border from British Columbia to Yukon Territory.

Angela discovers the Alpine Bakery in Whitehorse.

Liard Hotsprings, the best stop in Canada by far.

A passing squall at 11 p.m.

Back in the land of midnight shadows.

Mazzy leaves a special sign at the Sign Forest in Watson Lake.

Oh, Canada

The Beez Kneez Bakpakers Hostel

Bison on the side of the road.

We are in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory after battling 3 days of torrential rain enroute to the top of the world.  Now just 600 little miles and we will be in Fairbanks.  The truck is running well, the trailer is holding up and life is good.  We saw our 4th black bear today, about 50 Bison, a handful of Mule Deer and 3 moose.  Last night we camped in the mountains and it poured on us and our green tarp shelter.  Tonight, we are in a cozy Youth Hostel chalet, The Beez Kneez.  It's a swell spot.  See you soon Alaska.

Mt. Vernon, WA

Mazzy likes to keep an eye on the road...

We're visiting John and Margaret after 5 hours on the road from Hood River.  The temperatures have finally cooled off and tomorrow we cross the border.  We hope to make it as far as Prince George tomorrow, perhaps a bit farther, 500 miles plus.  We'll see how it goes and what the mounties have to say about us crossing with American passports...