So what have I been up to?
The past two days I have been making earrings and necklaces. It took me a little while to get my creative groove on, but now that I have it turned back on, it’s all that I want to do. I have been thinking hard about whether or not I would like to try and sell some things. I tend to change hobbies often, so I need to make sure this is something I really want to do for a longer period of time, before moving onto selling. I have been searching for something like this for a long time, and I’ve always known that my ideal “job” would be to hand make something and sell it. I recently learned that if I am not doing something creative with my thoughts, I am not a happy person.
Last Tuesday, August 16th, Ashley and I took an overnight shopping trip to Anchorage. We shopped and ate and shopped some more. We had a great time and it was the perfect way to make a couple days go by quickly during what, for us, is the lonely fishing season.
When we got home Wednesday evening, Paul and crew were home and stayed home through the weekend. Late Tuesday night they left again for what is most likely the last fishing trip. A big sigh of relief on my part. If I can just make it through the next couple lonely, rainy days. Our fishing season was a complete success this year, it might be our second best year, ever. And I could not be happier to write out three big checks to our crew- who consisted of my two brothers and Richard, who has fished with us for 3 years now. They deserve it.
So now it’s close to time to watch crew members leave. We will put the boat up for the winter soon and start making plans to return to Tennessee. I am hoping to fly home the week of September 12th or possibly a little earlier. I am scanning airline tickets everyday to find the right one. I hate flying.
I am excited to return home for a good month or two of warm fall weather before winter settles in. I’m also looking forward to seeing all our family and friends. And I can’t wait for my parents to see all the ways Brant has changed in the past 5 months.
Brant is a little over two years old now. He is trying hard to figure out words and speak in complete sentences. He is trying to count and tell me colors. He has grown like crazy in the past month and I am finding that all his clothes don’t fit so well anymore, but mostly things are too short. He plays a little more alone now than he did before. He loves his trains, cars, airplanes and his daddy’s boat. He sleeps from 10pm to 9am and then takes a two hour nap usually starting around 1pm. I take that time to sit on the couch and watch tv and try to hold very still. 
He wears me out! Our first attempt at potty training will start this fall when we get home and settled in to Tennessee.
Paul took Brant to work with him Tuesday morning and Brant was so excited to go. When Paul came through the door with Brant asleep on his shoulder that afternoon, I felt like my heart was just going to explode with love.
My house got some siding put on it this past week. It has been half siding and half tyvek for a couple years. And there are plans in motion to get our septic system buried correctly, as soon as fishing is officially over. (that has been a major eye sore for me) I am also hoping to get a yard planned out and a raised garden put in before packing to leave for TN. We just got to get the weather to cooperate. I haven’t seen the sun for a week. It peaks out every couple days, but it’s mostly been rain. I noticed the leaves on the trees starting to turn yellow, and I thought “Time to migrate!!”
I guess that’s all for now.
We flew to Alaska this year. We rented a van and drove it from Tennessee to Chicago, got on a plane in Chicago and flew 6.5 hours to Anchorage. It was really nice having one flight! To fly from Tennessee, it takes 10 to 13+ hours with usually 2 stops. So we opted to take a single flight and spend the day in the car driving. Also, we flew Grizzly so it was much better for him to be in his crate for only 6 hours. Our trip went well and we are happy to be in our home in Homer.
