We are going to be here three more months

You can tell from Peggie's last post that things are getting more and more exciting here. Earlier we were enjoying watching the snow melt,and the trees leafing out, but now we are thrilled to be watching steel rust!!!
It is a fast paced world we live in!
Our new mantra is "we are going to be here three more months". We use it to justify putting up a book shelf, getting a sewing chair, raising the bed, and any other thing that costs time or money, but would make life easier and more fun.
Yes, life can be easier and more fun than it already is.
For instance: I am not the new guy at work. That means I am not running up to Whitehorse with broken busses and losing out on tour driving. Derrick does that this year. But, it also means that when Dave is in Whitehorse, I get to run the office, which occasionally puts me on the short tour instead of the long one I prefer. Tomorrow after work, I get (have) to run up to Whitehorse to pick up Dave who is stuck up there with a bus that can't be fixed until the part (an alternator) arrives from wherever it is. That is okay because when Dave is in Whitehorse I have to make too many management-type decisions and think about the job when I am home. I don't want to do that.
What I want to do when I am off is go bear hunting in Dyea. (Five sightings of what I think is the same big brown bear and one black bear, so far)
One of these days when (if) it quits raining, I want to try that road into the mountains past the mine on Tutshi Lake. And I want to go to the fire lookout on Jubilee Mountain over near Tagish.
Meantime, the snow is still melting, the grass is growing, and the steel is rusting so there is plenty to do. I barely found time to type this, but discovered that with Peggie's help, I can heat up left over beef and onion soup and type at the same time!

Waste Not!

It's really nice when jobs and hobbies intersect. A couple weeks ago I had a Saturday off from the quilt shop. What did I do to relax and enjoy my time? I quilted, of course. The next day Bill was off from his drive around the country and look for wild animals job. What did he do to relax and enjoy his time? He took me for a drive around the country and looked for wild animals, of course. We saw both--country and wild animals.

We also found this:

RUST!

I'm working on an art quilt and have some silk chiffon and silk organza that I need to rust dye. Vinegar soaked fabric, rust and time and wonderful things happen. This source of rust is quite a few miles away and we plan to take a day so I can borrow some rust while Bill looks for moose and caribou. Of course I'll look for moose and caribou too because it's more interesting than watching fabric turn rusty.

In the meantime we've only had the 4th of July off work and we stayed around town to enjoy the parade, a barbeque and the Ducky Derby race. We were dressed well--a few shirts, a couple jackets, a scarf, ear muffs--not our typical 4th of July weather--and we had a great day. The following day we were out walking and went down to the harbor to look at drift wood. I found a great walking stick and some great RUSTY CHAIN!

Forward to yesterday (Happy Birthday, Margie) and we had SUNSHINE!!!! Right after work I took some of my silk fabrics, baggies, the chain and a couple other rusty things along with the magic potion and 24 hours later I have this:

Silk Organza

Lightweight Silk Chiffon folded over the chain and then coiled

Mediumweight Silk Chiffon bunched on a flat piece of metal that had rust and some paint or putty substance that transferred color.

Happy Birthday, Margie

I know, you already celebrated with cake and ice cream and fireworks. But today is the actual day. The fifties are passing in a blink. Almost gone. It is a good thing you have brothers to show you that 6o is no big deal.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

Well, we had a little hitch in our giddyup last night.
Plan A was for us to join Jeff, PJ, and Gloria at the ore dock for the fireworks last night. I even took a nap in the afternoon so I could stay up. The fireworks were scheduled for 11:00 pm.
Jeff called at about 9 saying he had heard on the radio that the fireworks would be postponed one day because of the wind. So we went to bed.
At 11, Peggie was awakened by loud booming. She looked out the window at fireworks. So we threw on our clothes and headed down to the dock. We got to see about 15 minutes of the display. It wasn't windy at all.
So now we are back to step two on Plan A. We will find a good location and watch the two-for-one parade. Hopefully, the rain will hold off a while longer today.

Cinnamon Cache, R.I.P.

We discovered the Cinnamon Cache in 1995, improbably located on the edge of the Carcross Desert (World's Smallest Desert) on our way out of Skagway and on to central Alaska. Killer cinnamon rolls were the signature menu item, but other bakery items and sandwiches could also be found. Yesterday the signs came down and it closed forever. Gail, the owner, could not find a buyer, so she just closed up. Twenty five years were enough. The last ten without her husband.
We stopped in several times last year for cinnamon rolls. I took busses in half a dozen times and Gail always comped me a roll or some cookies. I will miss the signs, "Get your buns in here," and "If you don't eat here, we will both starve." And I will miss the passengers' incredulity, similar to ours all those years ago, that a bakery can survive in the middle of nowhere. I hope Gail enjoys her retirement.

Oh, yeah...

Just as I finished the previous post we walked across the street for dinner. Peggie said, "Aren't you going to put on your coat?"
I said, "No, I'm wearing three shirts."
So I guess it is summer, if I only need three shirts to walk across the street.

Happy Birthday, Dick

I know, the birthday is tomorrow, but most of you won't read this 'til Friday, anyway.
According to last year's blog, we got snow on June 28th. We got good snow yesterday, June 30th, above 4000 ft. Is there no summer here?
We plan to enjoy the 4th much as we did last year. Two-for-one parade, street grilled burgers, constests, ducky derby, no work.
Today is Canada Day so there was a parade in Carcross at which the local Mounties marched in their red serge uniforms. Joni, who has the ranch where we take horse riders, called them to report her neighbor driving drunk. They showed up in the red coats and she got to get her picture with them. Fun stuff.