It's been a subdued indoor kinda week. Lots of cooking. Had the elders over for a halibut feed on Sunday which was well received. I've started doing some housework for auntie a couple of times a week although her daughter arrived on Monday so it will be a short week on that front. Auntie seems to appreciate the help and I think it will do wonders for her morale if we can keep the house in reasonable shape.
There was a break in the weather on Monday and I got all three yards for which I am responsible mowed, weed-whacked, and raked. I reckon there's only one more mowing left to be done before it's time to put away the mowers. And in another couple of weeks it will be time to cut-down all the perennials and toss the annuals - a job I truly detest - not because I object to the chore, as such, but because of what it says about the calendar.
The last gardening activity early in October will be to plant spring bulbs - a more cheerful task even though the payoff is many months down the road. And after the last bulb is planted I will go retrieve the snow shovels from the rafters and put them at their duty stations...
My step-daughter Amanda has had a serious outbreak of her chronic ulcerative colitis and was in the hospital in Portland for a few days. She's back on a medicine she took previously and feels better now. I expect she'll be back in Juneau early next month and hopefully will be able to move back into her job at Harborview School.
The Juneau Golf ClubTournament is happening this week in Redmond, Oregon. Doug, Alison, Eric, Dick, Candy and about eighty other folks are playing golf in the sunshine. Part of me wishes I had joined them - although I have not swung a club in over a year and I'm sure it would have been an unmitigated disaster golf-wise. Maybe next year... Sounds like the golfers are having a good time although they seem a tad reticent about the actual golfing part...
In other news, the political front has been largely dispiriting and I have been unable to muster any enthusiasm for the subject. Perhaps that will change now that we are on the final stretch. The polls are somewhat encouraging on the Presidential race; but I see no light at the end of the tunnel as far as Congressional gridlock is concerned. Alaskans will, of course, enthusiastically re-elect our neanderthal lone Congressman.
I have been reading a lot. I finally fired-up the Kindle I got for Christmas last year and really like it. Much easier on the eyes. I have read a few trashy novels and of late several excellent books on the campaign in the Pacific in World War II. I particularly enjoyed Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal" by James D. Hornfischer.
The Solomons campaign was truly brutal and while it is generally viewed through the eyes of the Marine Corps fabled stand, the naval campaign was equally brutal. More sailors died at sea during the campaign than Marines and soldiers ashore. Much of the fighting was big gun ship-to-ship action.
The torpedoing of the U.S.S. Juneau by a Japanese submarine was particularly horrific with only ten survivors.
Well, I'm just rambling...so reckon it's time to head to mom's for coffee and then a workout. Think I'll do some baking this afternoon.
I leave you with a couple more pics from the Alaska Coastal series.
A PBY at Sitka by the sea
In Sitka, the PBYs would land on the water and then taxi to the beach. Pontoons were raised and the undercarriage was lowered allowing them to taxi right onto to the beach. Pretty cool. Note the waist blisters and rounded tail - this was before modification of these structures. The paint scheme would make this in the 1960 - 1962 period.
The Goose fleet at the Juneau Seadrome - late 1950's
Later gang!
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