Jen in AK

Kill the Wabbit!

2009-10-29T18:53:00.002-08:00

Over the weekend, SBF and I took Charles out to murdalize some bunnies.

This is the Matanuska glacier, as seen from the road.

The Matanuska river runs down that valley.

Perhaps I take too many photos?

Check out the feet on this snowshoe hare!

We got four bunnies. They make it kind of easy, since they've turned white for the winter, but the ground is still brown.

A neat hill in the sunset.

Caturday!

2009-10-18T16:20:00.002-08:00

Happy Birthday!

2009-10-17T19:12:00.002-08:00

Hey baby, how YOU doin?

2009-10-16T18:13:00.001-08:00

Ohai there!

Someone please tell me, where'd September go? And half of October? Did I blink? I sure as hell haven't slept through it. I know it got colder, and all the leaves turned pretty colors and then fell off the trees, but I swear... wasn't it just August?

Anyhoo.

Holy crap, I've been doing things. Let's play catch up, I'll go first.

SBF and I went to the State Fair for a second time. We had a ridiculous amount of fun eating porkchops on sticks and making out on a bench in a garden, and we disgusted dozens of teenagers by groping each other in the line for the ferris wheel.

This is what I spent all my mad money on. Pony rides YES PLEASE.

I kicked SBF's ass at a game of skill and won him this! Then we walked around and I shouted "Hey, mister, where'd you get that great big bear?" so I could giggle when he answered "My girlfriend won it for me."

Clematis?

Turning hairy.

Would this robe emit the same mojo as the Three Wolf Moon t-shirt?*

I laughed myself silly when I first saw this, but in hindsight, I wish I had bought it. It's tacky and I've fallen completely in love with it. If this jacket is at the fair next year, it is so gonna be mine.

In other news: I'm looking for a new Chez Jen. This quest is kind of a pain in my ass, because apparently there aren't a lot of landlords who like my six cats as much as I do, and are willing to rent to the Crazy Cat Lady. I don't want to find new homes for the kitties... how would I even choose between them? And I'm not sure I can convince anyone to actually sell me a house with a...oh, let's say 2% down payment. So, yeah, the housing search is going swimmingly.

Here's one I actually said no to:

Do you see that chain running from left to right? THAT'S TO HOLD THE HOUSE TOGETHER. And dig the post! Nothing sez "structurally sound" like a 4x4 balanced on scrap wood and cinderblocks. Behind that shining example of carpentry wall are the world's scariest water heater and shower. Trust me when I say "You're welcome" for not taking photos of those. YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW.

Me: NOM! NOM! NOM!
Jasper:I are not amused.

*I own this one, which is a combo of the Three Wolf Moon and Keyboard Cat memes. Because yes, I totally AM that cool.

Autumn Ahoy!

2009-09-05T05:21:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this at 5am on Saturday. I don't wanna be up so damn early, I've been averaging about 4-5 hours of sleep per night, which has me exhausted. I should be sleeping in, and the bed does look inviting.* But this time of year in Alaska translates to "Jen runs her ass off" because of all the summery activities that still need to be squeezed in before it's too late, and the ever-growing list of winter preps that's lurking at the edges of my brain. There's not enough time for ANYTHING lately, how can I waste it sleeping?

(OK, also, I have some kind of pinched nerve or something by my shoulderblade and yet another ear infection.)**

This picture is blurry, but such pretty colors!

The Chugach mountains, from a hillside in Birchwood.

Jasper and Smitty, still geigh for each other.

I want to write more about SBF, but it's so difficult. I don't want to get all mushy and disgustipating, and I've deleted huge chunks of babble already that OH MY LORD, SOMEONE STOP ME, NOBODY NEEDS TO READ THIS DRIVEL. I'll summarize the big stuffs: he's wonderful and treats me like I'm special and I. can't. get. enough. But it's the little things, the tiny surprises that pop out of rambling conversation (he gets obsessed with the Olympics too!) and the way he prepares supper, and how he walks with me through Target, and every day is like a new adventure and I wake up excited to talk to him some more, and SEE, OMG I'M GOING THERE AGAIN.

*

**Stupid Q-tips, looking so damn inviting. I broke my addiction for the most part, but every couple months, I am compelled to grab a couple and DDDDDIIIIIIIGGGGG around. And then I get talked into a shower, where water ricochets into my ear, and I ran out of ear drops last night, on a stupid holiday weekend, so yeah. It's making me cranky.

The State Fair v1

2009-09-01T17:27:00.003-08:00

Finishing out August

2009-08-28T04:43:00.000-08:00

The past couple weeks have been crazy busy. The boys are back in school and work has me hopping around with a million tasks.

In the summertime, my commute is always in daylight. But now the sunrises have dwindled, and I leave Chez Jen before "official sunrise." I try not to (pessimistically) look ahead to the darkness, but I know it's coming. Summer is thisclose to being over; winter will be here any minute.

A neat cloud formation near the Knik river bridge.

Mr MT made this for lunch last week; it's a convenience-store brat and a can of tamales all on buns. I should get hazard pay.

SBF knows how to make bows and arrows, old-school style. He's making a bow for Charles.

We celebrated Caturday.

Charles sez "Is it done yet? Can I shoot with it? When is it gonna be done? Is it done now? How about now?"

Generally, Squirrel is a standoffish cat. She barely tolerates me, and pretty much hates everyone else. But with SBF, she follows him around, sits on his lap, and purrs her head off. I'm not the only one warm for his form.

The fair started yesterday and runs through Labor Day. SBF is taking me and the kids this weekend, and I plan to snap a million pics of them eating a variety of sugary treats and riding spinny rides.

Fishing at Jim Creek

2009-08-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

Alternatively titled: How a Dumbass* Tries to Impress a 7-Year Old.

On Saturday, Charles and I went fishing with SBF and a couple of my friends, because a relationship is not officially official until you get the friend seal of approval, and I was showing off SBF like a shiny new toy. One friend caught a couple fish; the rest of us went home empty-handed.

On the way out, SBF decided to show off for Charles, and tried to drive through a large deep puddle. Halfway through we stalled, although a nice Trooper in a 4-wheeler was kind enough to winch us out of the deepest part, which was deep enough that several inches of water flooded the passenger compartment of SBF's vehicle.

This is what manly men standing around having a manly conversation about manly things looks like.

Because clearly I need to commemorate this.

The guy on the right is named Lee. He stopped to give assistance in the removing of the spark plugs to blow out all the water that flooded the engine, and to get it restarted.

Charles is surveying the water levels, getting prepared to dodge the waves from all the other silly fools who attempted (and to their credit, accomplished) the drive through the water. In the foreground: one amazing ass, in jeans that aren't nearly flattering enough.

*I would have said something different, but SBF suggested this.

I Can Has Boyfrienz?

2009-08-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a blogpost I thought I'd never write. For serious, if you had asked me a few weeks ago how I thought the rest of my life would go, I woulda said something about being semi-lonely and descending into Crazy Cat Lady-dom, and then I die, the end. If you had said, "But Jen, what about those craigslist ads you were talking about?" I would have pooh-poohed those as not much more than an amusing diversion.

And yet, here I am. With a boyfriend. That I found on craigslist. Can you believe it? I certainly can't.

I'm disgustingly head-over-heels, too. Like, ZOMG, dudes, he's SO HAWT. He's practically perfect in every way, except for his political views and television tastes. He's a great cook. He doesn't drive recklessly. He carries a (large)(*wink*) weapon. He looks at me like I'm something special. Oh, and the things he says? Make my knees weak.

I'm twitterpated. Smitten. Infatuated. Besotted. Really, just get out your thesaurus and look for whatever equates to "Jen's in love."*

I'm all about the acronyms-for-names here at Chez Jen, and this guy is no exception: henceforth, he is to be known as Slutty Boyfriend** or SBF. And, at risk of jinxing everything, I think he's going to stick around for a while.

Don't you agree? H. O. T.

*Oh yeah, I went there. I AM FULLY AWARE OF THE EXTENT OF MY CRAZY.

**YES, he's a slut. I'm so damn lucky.

Anchorage Botanical Garden, Part II

2009-08-14T12:06:00.002-08:00

Visit the Botanical Garden!

Anchorage Botanical Garden, Part I

2009-08-13T19:05:00.000-08:00

Mom was in town for a week, and over the weekend I took her and Charles to the Botanical Garden*.

*Also, we met up with someone. He is a subject for a different post, coming soon.

Before and After

2009-08-10T07:40:00.002-08:00

This was taken moments before they left for the airport a few weeks ago.

Aaaaaaand they're back! Charles is rocking the tribal tats, and Valen has no hair left to hide behind.

Weekend at Hatcher Pass

2009-08-06T20:51:00.002-08:00

Because I can't seem to stay away from this place.

Caturday!

2009-07-26T21:20:00.002-08:00

Rawr!

Squirrel is operating under the delusion that the braille playboy (YES! I know, right?) belongs to her.

I am the funniest person Smitty knows.

Caturday is for lounging!

On Writing

2009-07-22T20:10:00.001-08:00

The kids are gone! GONE! They have been on the east coast, terrorizing the populace of My Hometown for the past week. (My parents ROCK.) For two more weeks, I just have to put in my time at work and toss some kibble in the general direction of the fourleggers; otherwise I am FREE!

And yanno what I'm doing? Yeah, sitting here. Duh. It's lovely quiet. But! I'm also writing, because, see here? Is blogpost. Although that's not really what I'm talking about, nay. My irc peeps know what I mean, but thus far, I've managed to keep my dirty little secret, well... secret. I'm writing, but it's not where you'd think.

I've been dipping my toe daintily into the Craigslist personals pool. And it's not at all what I expected. (And also? EXACTLY what I expected.*) There are a surprising number of people out there who can string together pretty words, and my little nerdy heart goes pitterpat when a missive hits my inbox. My inner writer has been getting a workout lately, and it feels good. I have a huge list of ideas for future wordsmithing, and I've churned out a few essays and short stories that I'm kinda proud of, even if no one but me will ever read them.

I believe this kitty belongs to my neighbors. I see him a couple times a week hanging outside with my cats, but he runs when I get close. Clearly he's not starving.

As I was leaving for work this morning, Dexter freakaliciously climbed the chokecherry tree.

*Because, DUDES. I got my first dickpic. Wearing a bow. FOR REALS. Do you have any idea how badly I want to slap that bad chicken up on my blog? SO VERY BADLY, OMG, THE RESTRAINT I'M SHOWING! Who does that?** But apparently the bow was tied too tightly, cause that guy couldn't spell for shit. And also, ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

**Apparently, at least 4 other people in the Anchorage-Valley area. I'm amassing quite the collection.

Hatcher Pass Again

2009-07-18T20:15:00.002-08:00

Absentia

2009-07-07T22:20:00.001-08:00

For the past...what, couple months? longer?... I've been having the hardest time birthing blogposts. I've started a zillion drafts, and I work on them just about every day. It's not writer's block, because I have plenty of ideas, and in the beginning, my fingers get a workout trying to keep up with what my brain is trying to write. But then I edit. And edit, and edit until there's nothing left but meaningless phrases. It's like I warp a loom and weave myself a scarf, and instead of finishing it off and wearing the damn thing, I turn my scissors loose and wind up with a pile of yarn. Which the cats play with.

I don't know how to fix that.

From the commute this morning, in stop-and-go traffic near the Knik River bridges, about halfway to work. High tide and hazy.

See that 18-wheeler in the background? About 10 seconds after I snapped this pic, he rear-ended the Focus in front of him. Ouch.

I See All

2009-07-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

Seen this weekend

2009-06-28T21:22:00.001-08:00

Does a bear scat in the woods?

2009-06-24T20:20:00.002-08:00

I can't stop laughing at this.

Swamp Spiders!

2009-06-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

So this morning, I'm headed off to work. I turn onto the new road and start through the swamp, and think to myself, "Wow, it must have been colder than I thought last night! Look at all those frost spots!"

Except! That wasn't frost I was seeing, exactly. It was spiderwebs. HUNDREDS of spiderwebs. In the first photo, I've helpfully marked the locations of some of the webs.

Hatcher Pass

2009-06-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, I drove to Hatcher Pass. I didn't get many photos because I was there for two reasons: to see if the road was completely open from Willow to Palmer; and to recharge my batteries.

The dark areas in the snow? That's volcanic ash from Redoubt.

The last lone snowbank.

And here's as far as I got... this is the last steep bit before Summit Lake, and I was very disappointed that I couldn't drive further. Especially because it's about one more mile up, and then a mile down the other side, and tada! you're on the Palmer side of the pass.

So I turned around, headed for Willow, and then home.

Caturday!

2009-06-08T21:24:00.000-08:00

Q: How to take group shots of the kittehs?
A: Catnip!

Q: Where's the most logical place?
A: On top of weemobile!

The Haps @Chez Jen

2009-06-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

This is to catch everyone up on the Very! Exciting! Things! I've been up to.

Chez Jen had visitors.

This was a few thousand miles ago, and it turned out to be a glitch in computer code; the weemobile got a software update, and I didn't have to burn anything to the ground.

Dexter has doubled in size!

Charles performed in a concert a few days before school ended. This is him leaving.

Elmendorf Air Force Base has new F-22 planes: this vapor trail was visible for an hour. (Ignore my filthy windshield.)

As I was leaving the grocery store, I spied this.

I'm walking closer to get a zoom shot, and an employee strolls past and sez "Ma'am, is that your mayonnaise?" and I say, "Good GOD no, I'm just taking a photo of it." I'm pretty sure he had the hots for me, because I spied him giving this look that said "Who IS that woman with the condiment aversion?"

My daughter is now a high school graduate, and I am so very proud. It would have been nice to get a decent shot of it, though.

I think her classmate might be a zombie.

TMWMITW

2009-06-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so I was off doing my very best Moses impression, except I wandered for five extra days because let's face it: I'm not actually a Jew, I just play one on TV. Anyway, I couldn't blog but now I can, and I have a tale to tell about how a girl got her faith in humanity restored.

Do you remember about three months ago when I lost my wallet? I'm positive that you do, because I know my readership is vast and I'm not a narcissist AT ALL. If not, here's the basics: on the way to work I stopped for gas, and then drove off with my wallet on the roof of my car. And I never saw it again. Cue sobs and ALLCAPS RANTING.

Anyhoo, so this morning I'm getting gas AT THE VERY SAME GAS PUMP, and guess what I did? Go on, I'll wait, it should take you like 3 whole seconds to go o-no-she-di'int, but YES. Yes, I did. I left my wallet on the car roof and drove away. (Yes, CLEARLY, my brain has been replaced with kacked up hairballs and half-chewed mice guts. Because there can be NO OTHER EXPLANATION when asked "Why is Jen such an idiot?")

After I realized my wallet was missing, I called into my office and got a coworker to look up the phone number of the gas station, but once again, it was gone. And seriously, if I thought I had freaked out the first time I lost my wallet? THAT WAS NOTHING. I almost had a stroke or an aneurysm on the Glenn this morning, and I was beside myself with absolute disgust and flat-out panic.

And then, just as I was about to completely LOSE MY SHIT in the world's biggest panic attack ever, my coworker called me back. A man, now and forever dubbed The Most Wonderful Man In The World (TMWMITW) found my wallet, and I'm pretty sure coworker now has permanently impaired hearing from my shrieks of joy. I got directions, met up with TMWMITW, and was reunited with my wallet, completely intact.

For those of you in the Anchorage/Eagle River area: If you EVER need an electrician, call Rising Sun Electricians first. I think TMWMITW is the owner, but even if he's just an employee, I will recommend them until the day I die. Because, if it wasn't for TMWMITW, I would have been hopelessly resigned to believing that there are no kind honest souls left in the world. I would have told myself that society has become overrun with depravity and greed. But now? I have PROOF that there is at least one stand-up guy still walking the planet. I can believe again. A referral's the least I could do in exchange for such a gift.