It's sunny!

Hurray!
I woke up to sunshine this morning, and it is still wonderful. We've got towels hanging outside on the line and Steve is pulling up dead plants. Could this be spring finally? I am so ready to go outside and plant some flowers.
I'm looking forward to Sunday, Steve and I are gonna have a date. We're eating at Wildspice and going to see Iron man.

Till then

scooters, jam sessions and a baby

So it's May. I keep meaning to post, but I just don't seem to get around to it.
The last time I posted I had only been home for awhile, and was getting ready to start another round of metal removal. It's not been fun. I do have the flu like symptoms, and extreme fatigue. Dr. Huffman said it was harder on the body to take oral pills instead of chelation, I think I agree. My house is a wreck, and I only have energy for a little bit 2 days a week. I still have 3 or 4 weeks to go.. and then I retest. If I still have arsenic, then I get to continue on with treatment. I'm praying it will all be gone, I want to get back to my life.

We've had a cold spring, but we did have a nice 10 day stretch of sun and warmth. I hope we have a hot summer!

Miriah graduates from Calvary Bible College this month, and comes home. I sure miss her! Not too much longer and she becomes my 2nd daughter in law. Miriah Peterson... sounds wonderful!!!
Erik bought a scooter today, he loves it. I have to tuck my motorcycle fears away. . . I'll just pray alot!
Anything else?????? I'm knitting a baby blanket, a gorgeous scarf for me, and still plodding away on my shawl.
oh duh.. the other new thing, the high electricity bill to come. I'm dreading our first bill, although we have been conserving. Less tv, less lights, less everything. It will still be terrible though.
That's about it. I am gonna take my camera to church on Sunday, I need an Asher fix. Oh, and Angela and Jason's new little girl Kayleigh.
:-)))))

See, there really was sunny weather. Erik and David had a nice jam session outside. Loved it!





Max, wearing the shield to stop him from chewing on his stitches. He was so pitiful!

Can it really be April already??

My goodness, how time flies.
I have been back from Homer since the middle of March, and now it's April 10th. I don't like April...it's yucky tax time. Oh well.

And it's been snowing! I want spring. We did have a lovely taste of spring two weeks ago.. Steve and I went for a nice long walk on the trail behind the airport.. it was so nice. Blue skies, geece, dogs and quite the breeze. I was glad to have brought a sweater.

Now for some updates.
Gabe Wilford is staying with us for awhile.. Max (our dog) had to have knee surgery.. you really don't want to know how expensive that was! He is healing, but can't ever go for runs with Brian Felix again. Emmy was spayed, David was made the manager at Starbucks, Erik and Miriah chose their honeymoon location, and their wedding date.... July 19th. Oh, and I finished my lead chelation treatments in Homer, and got my metal testing results back. More on that later.

My time in Homer was relaxing and good for me. I got to do nothing but rest and have quiet time, which was good since I had no idea how tired those treatments were going to make me. I watched lots of the Food network and came home with great ideas. Steve came up and spent the last 2 days with me in Homer.. we ate at two wonderful resturants- Fat Olives and Cups. Oh my gosh, the food was amazing. And yes, I ate dairy. Yum. We drove out to the Spit and took pictures of the beach-it was so nice that day.
This isn't the spit, it's the view of the spit from just outside of town. And this next picture is of Anchor Point.
These are on the spit, and this next picture is Steve and I. I love the sound and smells of the ocean. It was a nice end to my Homer time.
Then it was back to the usual grind of being home with 3 boys, 2 dogs, 3 cats, fish and birds and a messy house. Oh, and rain and snow. But it is Juneau, and it's my home.

Metal testing. Ugh.
My original metal testing was with a pill as a binding agent, and the one I had in Homer was a very accurate IV one. My doctor called me with the results and told me that good news, the lead is gone! Yea, rejoicing. Then he said do you want the bad news?? huh? Turns out, I have mercury and arsenic poisoning. The previous test didn't pick them up. The chelation therapy I had in Homer did remove some of the arsenic, but apparently I have lots and lots of it, so I will need more chelation sometime. The mercury is removed differently, so he is sending me pills to take for 6 weeks. Lovely flu like symptoms are predicted. BUT, when the mercury is gone, I can begin to fix my thyroid, then work on the arsenic.

I was quite discouraged when I got the news, but God is in control. I will just continue to do the next thing. At least we now know what all has been causing my troubles.
That's all for now folks!
Thank you Sue for encouraging me to update my blog. I sure do miss you.

Homer webcam

Well, I'm almost halfway done with my Homer trip. The weather has certainly changed from when I arrived...I take a picture from my balcony each day it's different. Today is just like yesterday, chilly with clouds that come and go. It is more sunny than Juneau, but I still like Juneau better. Good thing since I'm not moving here. :-)

My treatments are going okay, they make me extremely tired and shakey, I'm glad I can just come back here and veg out. I did drive down to the spit on Saturday, it is so different in the winter; I'll go again this weekend and take some pictures.

I've been reading in Isaiah and 1 John, the Lord is so wonderful to always have something to say to me, even when He's telling me how I'm not abiding in His Word. I am so glad He is patient and faithful. How terrible it would be if He just quit calling me, quit causing me to turn to Him. I must remember to thank Him for the bad along with the good in my life.
Now for the webcam portion of this post:


I arrived in Homer right before a WINDY, snow storm. I wish you could see how much blowing snow there was..there were times I couldn't see the sign to my hotel.
The morning after the snow storm..I can almost see the mountains across the bay. Oh, and that yellow building on the right.. it's a health food store with the most amazing soups. Yum. And finally, after being in Homer for a week, here is what I remember of it. Beautiful! I forgot to take my camera with me when I went for my drive to the spit, you can just imagine how pretty it was.
Sunset the same night...

This was taken last night, again from my balcony. That is the Spit, in the left half of the picture.

I'm in Homer

It is a windy, snowy Saturday in Homer, Alaska. I left a rainy 35 degree Juneau yesterday, to come to a 10 degree WINDY Homer. It is cold! I'm not used to this much wind; thank goodness my room is warm and cozy. I am near a coffee shop, a health food store, and there is even a theater just down the street. The owner of this Inn is really nice, and has told me of several good inexpensive places to eat. I will do almost all of my cooking here in my room though.
I was worried that I would get lost without Steve to drive me around, but everything is very familiar from our previous visits. I'll still miss him being with me, doing everything on my own makes me realize how much he does take care of me. Love you honey.

Tomorrow it is supposed to warm up, I will go for a drive and take some pictures.
Till then

yarn, flowers and snow

I love this yarn, it's going to be a scrumptious scarf and maybe fingerless gloves.

And this fabulous yarn is going to be my first Clapotis--- a rectangular wrap. It will be my most difficult item so far.

It's another cold, snowy Sunday. Days like this I love my wood stove, and my husband for chopping so much wood. Another thing Steve has done for me is to bring me a taste of spring in the middle of winter. He spent hours and hours researching how to force bulbs to bloom in winter, then more hours choosing which ones to buy. Followed by planting, worrying, keeping them cold, worrying some more, watching them, waiting. And................success! I have springtime in my window! See?

The first ones to appear...

These all came within a day of each other.

Aren't they beautiful? And you should smell them...divine.
Now for what it is really like outside...........

Where's the back yard?????


This was the actual temperature a few days ago...the coldest I have ever experienced. BRRRR!
I can't have all these pictures without at least one person... we get two Erik James's :-))))


I'll know tomorrow if I am going to Homer....................

It's been awhile.....

Hello to anyone who comes to check in on us. It's been awhile since I have posted, I've been in a funk. It's been cold and snowy, and I've been really tired. I have discovered that I have lead poisoning, from where I have no idea. I need to go to Homer for about a month for treatment, and it's gonna be really expensive. I've been trying to figure all that out, and will make my decision on Monday when the insurance company calls me. It will be hard on my family and my job to be gone that long, but it will be a much needed break, and a good time for me to get close to God again.

On to other updates.... Erik and Miriah have set the date for their wedding: July 19.
David is doing great at Starbucks, he is going to be the head lead soon. A raise will follow.
I haven't heard from you Tim, how are you? Your anniversary is coming soon, 2 years of marriage. WOW.

We're having another record winter, it's been incredibly cold, and now we're supposed to get around 2 feet of snow by tomorrow. With wind around 30 mph, and gusts to 80mph downtown. I'm glad I live in the valley!

Emmy is becoming more and more like a dog, she and Max are starting to like each other. She barks, she eats, she runs around like a regular dog. She is still timid, and doesn't like it when I yell at Lucy. All and all, a really sweet dog.
Hmmmmmmmmmm.....anything else?
I'm still knitting, trying to decided how many projects to take with me to Homer. LOTS! :-)
Now for some pictures.




The top picture is when Steve and I went for a Sunday afternoon drive, we took Max and Emmy. Max of course had to stick his head out the window.. We chased the sunset again, and I got the next two pictures on Fritz Cove Road.
Next is my very first hat... I was scared of the double point needles at first, then it was easy. I love it!
I'll post more tonight... I want to show the beautiful flowers Steve forced so I would have some springtime in the winter.
ttfn...