So, I was addressing some envelopes today to go out to some patients. I realized that there are some seriously interesting names of cities/towns/villages/etc... up here. One of them today was Quinhagak. We also have a patient in Egegik (one of my favorite ones to say). Then there's always Unalaska (WHAT?!), Unalakleet, and Yakutat. So, I was thinking of all the ones that I COULDN'T pronounce. So I googled "Alaska Cities" yeah...let's just say that this is one cool state! Besides the interesting and unpronounceable names of living spaces, I was on my way home from work and saw a young man on a bike with a fishing pole on his back. Seriously, where else are you going to see something like that? Alaska is the type of place where you see people doing some salmon fishing on their lunch break downtown. They catch reds, silvers, pinks, AND kings all summer long. Ship Creek goes right through downtown, so people who work down there go fishing during lunch. Also, moose walk down the middle of the street like there's no other place they should be. After 10 years up here, I still get fascinated by it! It is truly an AWESOME spectacle!!! We also get Beluga Whales in cook inlet, sometimes we even see a gray whale or a harbor seal!!! I do love summer...it's when everything comes to life!!! Of course, we're still having cool-ish temperatures, so the seeds in my garden aren't really comming to life. In fact, they're sitting there going "OK, we're in dirt...what now?" Oh another thing about Alaska...nowhere else could you use a toilet as a flower planter and get away with it! I re-did my bathroom 2 years ago, and when I replaced the toilet, I didn't know how to dispose of the old one. So, some of my friends talked me into using it as a flower planter. I'm displaying some pictures so you can see. Sadly, a big piece of it fell off over the winter, so now there's a blemish on the front. I don't know if a moose kicked it, or if it froze. But I decided to plant some trailing flowers in it this year to see if they will grow over it. Not much growth right now, though....coolish temperatures and all that! Well, I hope all is well with everyone, and that everyone is enjoying their summer. I'm sure it will be over before we know it. Until next time...

Well, tonight (I guess last night, since it's after 1:00 am on Sunday) I had to chaperone a youth dance. Drama, drama, drama!!! We have different ethnic wards and branches in our stake. We have 2 Samoan wards, a tongan branch, and a spanish branch. In another stake there is also a Hmong branch, but that has nothing to do with tonight. More of an "FYI", if you will. Anyway, back to my story. Our YW Pres in our ward has decided to chaperone in shifts. So I went from 6:45 until 8:30 when my replacement showed up. Just as I was getting ready to leave, the Stake YW presidency escorted a couple of the girls out of the gym. 2 are sisters, 1 is their cousin. They were taken into a room to be "talked to", I guess. They belong to one of the Samoan wards. I guess they showed up at the dance for the purpose of beating up another polynesian girl that one of the sisters has had "words" with lately. So they cornered her in the bathroom and beat her up. So she went home, and then her dad and the rest of the family came tearing into the church, looking for the sisters, so that they could beat them up. Great example, huh? Anyway, so the stake YW President called the cops because now the girls were being threatened by an adult. Anyway, in the meantime, another girl was using the cell phone of one of the sisters to text her ex-boyfriend to talk "trash" about his new girlfriend. So he showed up looking for the owner of the phone, who was already being threatened by an adult, so that he could have an altercation with her. Confused yet? So the cops showed up, and when I say "cops" I mean 6 or 7 police cars, asking if it was this ward or that ward. Sad, right? It's a well-known face that there is a gang problem in some one these wards, and the "gangs" have named themselves according to their wards. So they call themselves "Samoan 16th" or something along thsoe lines. So it's truly sad that the cops know the names of the wards. Nice example for LDS youth to set, right? Anyway, they almost get things under control, when another fight breaks out. In the meantime, they're doing road construction and someone accidentally cuts a powerline, so the power goes out, too. So, the cops are there, kids are fighting, and the power goes out. To quote Bill Murray in "Ghost Busters"..."mass hyesteria!!" Needless to say, the dance was cut short (hallelujah!). Just think...if I had stayed just a few minutes longer, I would have witnessed it all. Seriously, though, it makes me so sad, and really sick to my stomach, actually. I know almost all the kids involved in this tonight. The other stakes haven't wanted to participate in our dances, but tonight some kids from the other stakes came anyway. And this is their experience. Next month, one of the other stakes is in charge, but I'm not sure that it's going to happen now. It's so sad that just a couple of kids can ruin the experience for so many!!! And I know that the leaders are heart-broken. I know that our stake YW Presidency loves each and every one of the youth. They have gone to great lengths to know each and every one of them by face and by name. It's hard to see so much potential go to waste with the choices that they make. It breaks my heart just witnessing it, you know? One of the sisters is a straight A student. She could so easily ruin her chances of any scholarships if she's not careful. But most youth don't think that far into the future because whatever is happening at the moment is the most important thing. Anyway, to change the subject, I also found out that a neighborhood cat is using one of my garden beds as a litter. Any ideas on how I can put a stop to that one? My sister is worried about rabbits getting to her garden in Colorado, up here I have to deal with cats and moose. I've heard that there's some product out there that keeps moose out of the garden. It's made of cow's blood. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, though. So far, the moose have not bothered my garden. But the cats...

Welcome to Life in the Land of the Frozen Chozen! So far, it has been a rather cool June. Cool in temperatures, that is. I am 2nd counselor in the Young Women, and my Beehives wanted to plant a garden. So we just did that 3 days ago (June 17). We planted 4 different kinds of Lettuce, zucchini, pumpkin, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes. 2 different kinds of peas, green beans, cucumbers, strawberries, yellow zucchini, potatoes, carrots, and radishes. Whew! Anyway, we'll see how much of it actually grows, especially since it's so late in the year and it's been rather cool-ish. We built the raised beds 3 weeks ago, and filled them with dirt. I have to admit that it's rather nice having 12 and 13 year olds for slave labor! We are applying this particular project to our Personal Progress. It's one of the 10 hour projects. Things certainly have changed since I was in Young Women! But I do love the calling, the youth, and the leaders that I work with. I am learning a lot! Last weekend, I ran/walked a 5 miler called "The Women's Run" with a friend of mine. We had to donate money to participate, and the money went towards breast cancer research. We finished it in 1 hour and 10 minutes. Next year, I'm shooting for under 1 hour. We finished just in time, though. When we got to the car, it started pouring rain. Next weekend is "Arctic Thunder", which is the air show up here on the Air Force base. The Thunderbirds are going to be participating this year. Last time, it was the Blue Angels. This year also marks 50 years of statehood for Alaska. It should be a GREAT show, that's for sure! Lots of celebrating going on. Summer Solstice is here, and now we start to lose daylight. It's a rather depressing time of year, believe it or not. Summer just started, and we're already on the way to winter! Oh, well. That's why we always seize every opportunity to get out and enjoy the summer. It certainly doesn't last forever. 3 months...4 if we're lucky. Not this year, though! I hope to see you all soon!