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I have the sweetest neighbors in the world. Remember the strawberry soup from last week? I shared a jar with Bud; Barb is a dedicated Weight Watchers member with a will power like steel. I told them to save the jar, because I reuse them.

When they returned my jar, they also brought me a case of new jars.

And this - special edition for our nation's 250th birthday. I love-love-love them. I'll use them but with plain lids and save the special lids forever so they'll stay beautiful. People love Mason jars, and these will be collectors' items one day.

Did you ever get an idea to do something which didn't make any sense, but you decided to do it anyway? Me, too.

I made up my mind to really concentrate on passing on most of the wonderful dishes, linens, silverware, candleholders, vases, etc. I've used for theme dining, tablescapes, teas, etc. but I wanted to use them one last time. 

One problem. Everyone is too busy right now to come for lunch, tea, whatever, so I decided to go ahead anyway. Remember the 5S Lunch last week? I didn't invite anyone. Elly would probably have worked it out, but she doesn't eat cold sandwiches (chicken salad on croissants) nor does she eat mayonnaise (macaroni salad,) so she would have starved. Who wants strawberry soup and potato chips for lunch? And I obviously wasn't paying attention, because I made chicken salad as if I were expecting guests, and my recipe for macaroni salad was one I concocted after making it for an after-funeral lunch with lots of people. I don't mind leftovers, but this was impossible. Don't laugh - I made soup. I had some chicken broth in the freezer, so I thawed it in cold water (love those glass jars) and dumped in the rest of the chicken salad (grapes and all) and a lot of the macaroni salad (stuffed olives and ripe olives included) plus part of a bag of frozen broccoli. It was actually very good. Now I'm ready to try anything.

All that trouble and I only got rid of four snack plates. Oh, well.

I was more successful this week. I'm saving the soup bowls; the set comes with bowls, but larger in the pink pattern, and no handles. I have service for eight, so two boxes out the door. Again, the guestless lunch. 

Cream of Artichoke Soup

Crunchy Chicken Casserole, carrots, green beans, Cranberry Salad, Parmesan Puff biscuits.

Quick Peach Cobbler with ice cream

Again, no Elly. The chicken casserole is made with mayonnaise.

Brother Bill is babysitting his daughter Sarah and SIL Josh's house and pets while they travel to Alaska. He told me about all the wonderful things they've seen and the beautiful photos. 

And I told him that my trip to Alaska was my least favorite of anyplace I've traveled. And here's why -

Yes, there are photos; we'll get to those.

Alaska

August 21-September 3, 2006

Monday, August 21, 2006 (En route to Fairbanks) 

I even had time to pick the squash, tomatoes and cucumbers, which were ready and left them with Martha before I took off for the airport.  The only hitch was that I couldn’t get everything in one suitcase and had to take my little one, too.

I had a grumpy teenager driving the shuttle from Thrifty to the airport.  I should have been the grumpy one – the price just went from $5 to $6 per day.   I had a very good breakfast burrito in the little café and went over to wait for security to open.  I was feeling a little smug that my first encounter with the Springfield airport had gone so smoothly.  Little did I know that my troubles were just beginning.
 
We boarded our little commuter plane, with a couple of empty seats.  The airplane said “Northwest,” but I found out later that it’s “Pinnacle Airlines”.  The flight attendant was a young male with acne scars and rundown heels.  He gave us the safety spiel in about twenty seconds.  He talked so fast and so garbled, I couldn’t understand a word.  I turned to my seat mate and said, “Which language is he speaking?” and the reply was, “Mumbleeze”.  Then he got the little short piece of seat belt and showed us over and over how to fasten the buckle and shorten or lengthen it.  We were already strapped in, of course.  Then he showed us over and over how to use the oxygen mask, without instructions of course, because we couldn’t understand him.  We sat and we sat and finally Mumbles explained that the office was working out the numbers for weight and balances.  We sat and we sat and finally we taxied to the runway.  By this time, we were almost an hour late and everyone was getting jittery because we all had connections to make.  Why I was routed to Memphis to go to Minneapolis to catch a flight to Fairbanks is still a mystery to me.  Anyway, we were pulled over into the penalty box and waited and waited some more.  Then Mumbles announced that we had to go back to the terminal.  They asked for a volunteer to catch a later flight because they were overweight, even though we had empty seats.
 
The volunteer deplaned and we sat and we sat.  Then Mumbles started the safety speech again.  We all looked at each other like, “Did he forget he already did that?” and he went through the whole thing right down to the oxygen mask. 
 
Then we sat and we sat and Mumbles said that were waiting for the office to work out the weight and balances.  We asked for water (can’t take it on board with you anymore) and they didn’t have any.  Finally we taxied to the runway and got put into the penalty box.  We sat and we sat and then Mumbles said that we had to return to the terminal.  This time they off-loaded FOUR passengers.  Everyone was waving his hand to volunteer, as we’d all missed our connections by then.  I moved forward to a front seat so I could get off faster.  Mumbles finally gave us a coke – no water available.  By this time my patience had been totally used up, so I called Northwest and asked if there wasn’t some way to get me to Fairbanks that day.  The operator worked out a plan to take United to Chicago and then the girl who kept running on and off the plane with her clipboard said that I couldn’t leave the plane.

All set to go again.  Mumbles starts the safety speech.  I said, “Are you going to do that AGAIN?!”  He just nodded and rattled on.  By this time the whole plane was laughing hysterically.
  
We taxied out to the runway and got put in the penalty box.  We sat and we sat.  Finally we were cleared for takeoff at 3:15 p.m. – we were supposed to leave at 11:35 a.m.
 
If I had driven to Memphis instead of the Springfield airport, I could have made my connection.   As it turned out, there was absolutely no way to get to Fairbanks that day.  I ended up on a Northwest flight to Minneapolis and then to Seattle where I spent the night, then continued on to Fairbanks the next day via Alaska Airlines.  I had to wait until 6:30 p.m. to fly to Seattle, so they gave me some meal vouchers and I had a chicken sandwich and some fries.  By this time, it was 5:00 p.m., and I hadn’t eaten since 9:00 a.m.  *I had gone to the doctor on Thursday with an ear infection.  He gave me some phony penicillin for ten days but I was only on the fourth day.  The infection was still there.  The high altitudes could cause my ear, my teeth and my throat to hurt, but at least it kept my appetite down.
 
I paged David in Minneapolis before we even left Springfield and left a message that I was delayed.  Finally, I made it to Minneapolis and called David in Fairbanks and left a message in his room.  We took off for Seattle and finally arrived at 11:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. to me.  Off came my little suitcase but no big one.  I was back and forth from Northwest to Alaska baggage offices, then up two floors to the Northwest and Alaska ticket counters.  No one could find my bag and they finally decided it wasn’t retagged for Seattle and was going to Fairbanks.  I couldn’t remember what I had transferred to the little suitcase, so maybe I only had shoes and purses or glitter clothes.  Alaska gave me a little cosmetic bag; some breakfast vouchers and a voucher for Red Lion Inn.  By the time I caught the shuttle and got to my room, it was 3:00 a.m.  My flight to Fairbanks was 10:30 a.m., so I had to be back at the airport by 8:30.  Seattle is a BIG airport with trains between buildings.
 
I opened my little suitcase and nearly cried.  I had underwear, pajamas and toiletries – even my curling iron and hairspray.  I normally put my toiletries in my carryon, but I can’t do that anymore, thanks to the stupid idiots who are after their 72 virgins.  (I hope those virgins really are nuns with shotguns.)
 
Bed sure felt good.
 
Tuesday, August 22 (still en route to Fairbanks)
I was up early, put on my dirty socks, slacks, and top and off to the airport to check on my bag by 7:00.  Alaska knew nothing but the day crew girl at Northwest checked the World Tracer System (who knew about that?) and she found that my bag was coming in on a Northwest flight from Minneapolis and there was a small window of time to get my bag over to Alaska and she would personally work on it.
 
I went up and got my boarding pass, reluctantly handed over my little bag again, gate N11, caught the little train to N terminal (for north, I suppose) and decided to check the board to see if my flight was on time.  Yes, leaving on time from gate C20.  What?!  I went to the desk at N11 and the clerk said that the ticket was wrong, the board was right.  Back on the train to gate C in the main terminal.  By then I was exhausted, not feeling 100% anyway with the ear infection, and fuzzy from lack of sleep.  I had a breakfast sandwich and a coffee and turned it over to The Universe.  By the time I had a stopover in Anchorage and then got to the hotel in Fairbanks, I would miss the entire day’s activities; the Fairbanks city tour, the four-hour Discovery Cruise to the fish camp for lunch, the sled-dog training camp, the old Gold Dredge tour.  But at least I would be in Fairbanks. 
 
 Wonder of wonders, off came my big suitcase and then I started praying that the small one would follow.  It did and I finally got to the hotel in Fairbanks about 4:00 p.m.  On Northwest flights, you get a beverage; on Alaska flights you get a beverage and a little bag of pretzels.  You can buy some horrible snack boxes or a turkey wrap on the plane, and that’s why I always travel with my stash of food.
 
The tour I missed returned to the hotel about 4:30 and David and I picked up where we left off 3-1/2 years ago in China.  Seemed like yesterday and he hadn’t changed a bit.
 
We had a light meal in the bar – salad for him, quesadillas for me – not a very fitting birthday dinner for David.  I went to check my room and get caught up on instructions and pick up my welcome packet, which was supposed to be at the Holland America desk at the airport but wasn’t.  The desk at the hotel had to make up a new one and David was there.  When he saw mine, he realized he was missing part of his.  We got that straightened out and went to see if my luggage had arrived.  No.  We sat and talked and waited and waited.  No luggage.  I called the front desk and they said the truck had a lot of stops to make and it should arrive soon.  Wait.  No luggage.  Finally, I called the front desk again and told them to check room 463 because I had asked to be changed to 467 because of a large noisy vent across from the door of 463.  Finally, a knock at the door and the bellhop said that it was locked in the bell closet at the hotel the entire time.
 
Then I heard David’s horror story.  His plane had a mechanical problem in Cincinnati and he didn’t even go to Minneapolis.  He paged me in Memphis, but I got there so late, I never received it.  He was put on a Delta flight to Salt Lake City and another Delta flight to Fairbanks.  We were supposed to arrive in Fairbanks on the same flight at 5:30 p.m.  He got in about 11:30 p.m. on Delta, and I arrived the next afternoon on Alaska Air.  When he knew he’d be delayed, he paged me in Minneapolis, but of course I wasn’t there yet.  I’ll bet everyone is still wondering who those David and Patsy people are and why they keep paging each other.
 
My second experience with Northwest.  The first was when Laurie’s luggage got delayed and left us running around the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam so long that our transfer driver finally left.  I don’t believe I’ll have a third experience with Northwest, even if I have to walk. 
 
Wednesday, August 23 (Train from Fairbanks to Denali)
I had some oatmeal in my room and tried to shake the cobwebs out of my head.  David  went down for breakfast and then we met to go by bus to board the train.  And what a nice train!  The seats were roomy, everything was sparkly clean and we had big high dome windows.  The trip was four hours, so we went down to the dining car for breakfast.  No lunch served on this leg.  The décor is art deco and real linens on the table.  Two ladies from Louisiana joined us, and we had a wonderful meal.  David had only fruits and yogurt, but I had eggs and hash browns, reindeer sausage (a large link which tasted a little like kielbasa) and half an English muffin.
 
The scenery was boring and some glimpses into life in Alaska.  We saw the radar antennas from the military base off in the distance, power plants, a dumpy trailer court, some little houses, but mostly trees and rocks.

 
We were taken by bus to the Chalets in Denali Park and were pleased to find our rooms were little suites; a living room with a couch which makes into a bed, a desk, a little table with the coffee service and a rocking chair.  JFK would have been pleased.
 
The bedroom had a double bed and a twin bed, a TV, a luggage stand, and a nightstand.  There were windows in both rooms, looking out on tall skinny spruce trees and beautiful fawn colored mushrooms.  The rooms are eight to a building – four up and four down – and you shuttle bus up to the main lodge.  Everything is rustic and nicely decorated – just what you’d expect in a national park.  And blissfully quiet at night.

 
David and I went to one of the two restaurants at the lodge – the Courtyard Café – and had prime rib sandwiches on rosemary rolls with Cole slaw.  It was the best prime rib I’ve ever tasted – they should teach the chef at The Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Tetons N.P.  

We caught another shuttle to the new visitor center where it takes twenty minutes to see the displays and twenty-eight minutes for the movie.  The movie is beautifully executed, so we went to the gift shop, and I picked up a DVD for my kids.  The displays are what you’d expect; a diorama of animals, paw prints, examples of scat, and paintings of local scenes by local artists.

 

The wind picked up and was very nippy, so we were happy to see the bus to take us back to the lodge.  We didn’t wait for the shuttle to our rooms, but walked instead.  The rooms are so quiet and peaceful, but I was still in high gear and kept waking up every hour or two.  At least we didn’t have to put our bags out the next morning.
 
When I landed in Anchorage on my way to Fairbanks, it was pouring rain, but so far Fairbanks and Denali were dry.  My kids arrived in Anchorage about noon, but I was never able to reach them by cell phone.
 
Thursday, August 24 (Denali Tundra Tour)
David went up for breakfast, but I had oatmeal and the other half of my English muffin from the train in my room.
 
We went up to the main lodge and caught the Tundra Wilderness Tour just before 7:00 a.m., and they gave us a “box lunch” because we were going to be gone for eight hours.  Our box lunch was a hundred-year-old croissant, a little piece of cheese, a package of five slices of reindeer sausage, which looked like pepperoni, a granola bar smaller than a Snickers, and an 8-oz. bottle of water.  Eight ounces of water for eight hours.  Duh!  We’d been warned by our tour guide, so David brought a banana and an apple and some bottled water.  I brought the other half of my prime rib sandwich and extra water.
 
The Tundra bus looked like a school bus, with better seats but still close together, and we had to wear seat belts.  When we’d jump up to see an animal, we’d almost tear the seats from the floor before we realized we were strapped down.  The bus is now equipped with little drop-down video screens which show a close-up of the animals which the driver shoots on a zoom-lens camera.  No tripod and the driver has the camera sitting in his lap, so the picture jumps around a lot.  The animals are so far away, only rarely are they close enough to capture on a normal camera.

My one photo of wildlife the entire time we were on the tour.

 

Our first sighting was a big bull moose in the bushes, eating his breakfast.  Next we saw cute little ptarmigan running along the side of the road.  I thought they were brown camouflage until they turned white all over for winter, but it seems the breast stays white and only the top half turns back to brown.  I think.  Our next sighting was a big brown bear on the side of a tall hill, eating berries and moving along at a fairly good clip.  Later we saw a mother bear with three cubs (they said – I saw two cubs and a bush) walking along the stream and grazing here and there.  There were Dal sheep on a mountainside, which the driver caught on camera for a few seconds.  I couldn’t tell the white sheep from the snow patches.  Later we saw a hawk, ground squirrels, more ptarmigan and an eagle.

When we reached the turn around, majestic Mt. McKinley was standing tall; white snow against a blue, blue sky.  It brought a lump to my throat – such grandeur.  Even the tour guide-bus driver got out his tripod and zoom lens and took pictures; the first time he shut his mouth and gave us a moment’s peace.  I heard that only 2% of the tourists see the mountain the way we saw it. The guide made us hot cocoa, thankfully. Note: Sarah's guide told them only 15%. Hmmm. . . . .

 

On the return trip, we were on the down slope side of the one-lane highway.  Thankfully, David was sitting by the window, and I couldn’t see that we were barely clinging to the road.  Our driver, Joe, stopped on one particularly scary curve (you couldn’t see the side of the road beside the bus, just a big drop) and started talking about losing brake fluid but we have air brakes, etc. etc., and we told him to please move on.  He said that we were perfectly safe because we were sitting still.  I yelled up to him that we were in earthquake country.  I don’t know if he heard me, but thankfully he did move on. 
 
We saw a big bull moose lying by some bushes, calmly chewing his cud and looking back at us.  It was as if he were sitting on his front porch, watching the traffic go by.  We had several rest stops up and back to go tinkle, smoke, stretch our legs, whatever.  The rest stops have elevated platforms of wood with wooden rails.  One stop was covered with frost, as well as the ground below by the stream.  At the last stop we were given a paper cup and a tea bag, instant coffee or hot chocolate packet, and a little door opened on the side of the bus and behind it was a faucet which dispensed hot water. 

On the last leg of our trip, we saw a male caribou eating bushes and another lying on a gravel bar, watching us.

We scarcely made it back to the lodge in time for David to catch the van to go on a fixed-wing plane ride over Mt. McKinley.  While he was gone, I took our carryon items back to my room and then bought postcards and stamps, which I took into the bar to fill out while I sipped a diet coke – it was flat.  After David returned (he loved the plane ride), we ate in the bar (with a beautiful view of the river) – seafood bisque and wonderful rustic rolls for me and a glass of wine and a personal-size four-cheese pizza for David.  The food was very good.  We went out by the side of the bar to take pictures of the river and walked back the long way to the front of the lodge.

 
We decided to walk over to the Princess Lodge. I liked theirs better than ours.  We saw some shops across the highway with big “sale” signs.  Already everything was getting ready to button up for the  winter.  David bought a very nice blue denim long-sleeved shirt with “Alaska” stitched on the left side of the front in light brown.  Good quality and only $10.

 
As we left the store, we felt a raindrop here and there, so decided to head back.  We passed an ice cream stand with all the windows boarded up and a “for sale” sign.  We didn’t call to make an offer.
 
I reached my kids in Seward.  They were at a B & B with a shared kitchen where they had cooked scallops and were just finishing dinner.  We couldn’t talk but a minute because Mike had a weak battery.
 
More glorious peace and quiet - I had a wonderful night’s rest.
 
Friday, August 25 (Train from Denali to Anchorage)
A slow start today.  We didn’t have to have bags out until 9:00 and be in the lobby at 11:45.  I had oatmeal and apple in my room and worked on my journal while David went up to breakfast.
 
What a change in the weather.  It was cloudy, cold, foggy and drizzly.  When the buses arrived at the train depot, we found that the train was delayed.  We sat on the bus almost an hour.  By the time the train arrived, a light rain had started.  We had to leave the bus because passengers arriving from Fairbanks would be using our buses to go to their hotels.  We dashed to the shelters beside the tracks to wait our turns to board and found that they had overhead heaters.  What a beautiful sight – we were cold by then.
 
We finally pulled out over an hour late.  I’ve seen such wonderful travel programs of the domed trains through Denali with beautiful scenery and everyone looking out the windows at the animals in their unspoiled habitat.  Not so.  We saw two white swans on a lake and some ducks flying over.  End of animal story.  The scenery was beautiful in some places and ugly in others.  Some of the little lakes are choked with algae, scum and water plants.  The little buildings along the way are just one step above shacks.  The plants are starting to take on fall color or are in the dying stage.  We could scarcely see some of the mountains because of the low clouds and fog.  The light rain landed on the dome, then slid down over our windows in streaks of drops that blurred my few pictures.  I probably would have read half a book if I’d come alone. I told David that we wouldn’t have to call each other for a month because we’d be so caught up on our gossip.
 
The call for first seating at lunch ended right before us, so we didn’t eat until after 2:00.  The lunch menu is light (except in price) so that we’d be hungry again for dinner.  The first item on the lunch menu was soup and salad.  I saw it served across the aisle.  It was watery clam chowder and a little pile of iceberg lettuce with a sprinkling of carrots and cucumber, served with crackers - $6.  The next item was a Denali Deli Platter: Sour dough or 12-grain bread, ham or turkey, cheddar, Swiss or pepper jack cheese, with waffle fries, cup of soup or salad - $9.  Next was the Talkeetna Whistle Stopper: Crisp lettuce, assortment of garden vegetables, Alaskan smoked salmon and parmesan cheese all tossed with Caesar dressing served with garlic toast and a cup of soup du jour - $12.  Then the McKinley Chef Salad: Juliennes of cheddar and Swiss, strips of ham and turkey atop a bed of fresh romaine with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers -$10. 
 
I liked the idea of “all romaine” with some protein.  So did David.  We both ordered the chef’s salad.  When our order finally arrived, it was in a small soup coupe and all iceberg lettuce.  The waitress said that they only had iceberg, sorry.  Being on a train and running back and forth to only one working bathroom where you usually had to stand in line was not my idea of fun.  I couldn’t take the chance, and told the waitress I couldn’t eat it, so she brought me the deli “platter”, which turned out to be dry bread, pressed turkey breast, two square slices of cheddar, and where did that nice leaf lettuce come from?  My side was barely warm fries.  A bargain at $9 when you’re hungry.  We were yearning for something hot.  David downed two cups of coffee in short order and ordered chocolate mousse pie because he was still hungry.  They didn’t even bring some nice rolls with the salad – only soda crackers.  Oh, well.  They promised that dinner would be wonderful.
 
On the way back to go upstairs, we met two southern ladies from Mississippi who were sitting in the little lounge.  Gail had a cane and a bad knee, so she had trouble getting up the little winding stairs.  Her friend was Audell.  They sat there for eight hours with seats facing inward so they couldn’t see out the windows except on the other side of the train.  And they were right by the automatic sliding door where people were constantly in and out, going out to the platform to smoke or take pictures.  They didn’t seem to mind; they were smiling and friendly.  We talked awhile, made a bathroom stop and returned to our seats for more trees and rivers.
 
It seemed only an hour had passed before they started calling us to dinner.  We refused to go until second seating – we had just eaten!  A little later it was our turn.  Now or never.  We found Audell already seated in a booth.  Gail was still sitting on that bench. Audell asked us to join her, that Gail rarely eats, and was just having a glass of water.
 
We were looking forward to the roast pork loin with apples and sweet potatoes and maple glaze.  Oops!  Not today.  Today it’s bourbon glaze.  Forget that.  David had chicken, and I had chicken stir-fry.  Audell had trout.  My stir fry came in the same soup coupe used for chef’s salad; peppers, julienne carrot, a few onions, chunks of tofu and chicken over rice.  Enough because I had just had lunch, edible but nothing to write home about.  Another bargain at $18.  You definitely pay for the ambiance here – not the food. And the ambiance is nothing to write home about.

We had a nice time visiting and suddenly out the window, a beautiful rainbow.  We sat with Gail and Audell awhile and Audell and David took people photos.  Audell and I started discussing recipes at the dinner table and carried it on to the lounge.  We were driving David nuts.  He only likes to eat the food – not cook it.  Audell reminds me of Paula Deen – in looks and the way she cooks.  She said that I must try the Lindy’s cheesecake recipe I’ve been moving around with me for years.  We exchanged cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses.  I promised to send my lemon curd recipe.
 
We went back up to the dome car and made our way to our seats for the last time.  Anchorage was a half hour ahead.  I reached Mike just as we were leaving the train.  They’d been to Kenai Fjords and the tour guide said that they had great weather only six days a year and they had one of them. 
 
We had a short bus ride to our hotel, another Holland America-owned Westmark.  Not as seedy looking as Fairbanks, but noise-noise-noise.  My room had a busy street under the window and vending and ice machines in the hall just across from my door.
 
I re-organized my luggage, took a shower, charged my phone and camera batteries, pressed my Saturday clothes, and worked on my journal.  The last person dumping ice was about 12:30 and the traffic had slowed a little, so it got a little quieter but by then the train whistles had started.  The whistles were spaced so you could go to sleep and wake up again all through the night.  Obviously, I didn’t sleep much.

 
Saturday, August 26 (Transfer to Seward by bus)
The first ice dumper was about 6:30 a.m. (Bloody Mary’s?), but I was up finishing my journal.  By 8:00 a.m., I’d completely caught up.  I made some coffee and got dressed.  The bus to Seward was leaving at noon – a four-hour drive.  I went down to the gift shop for postcards and waited for David.  We had a nice big breakfast in the coffee shop and then just waited in the lobby.  Every time we’d start out for a walk, the rain would start. 
 
The drive from Anchorage to Seward was beautiful, more like Western Canada than Denali.  The rain was light but steady.  We were so fortunate to have rain when we were on a long bus or train ride instead of when we were sightseeing.
 
xWe stopped at an animal rescue and research center on our way down.  The bus driver was not very careful about how he stopped and started and the windows were covered with rain drops, so the pictures came out blurry.  We were allowed to get off the bus to take pictures of the bears and then we stopped at the gift shop where I bought a book of pictures of the animals for Bos and Donna and took pictures of an orphaned three-month old baby moose (Seymour, Jr), some elk and beautiful vegetable gardens.  They feed the produce to the animals, but I’d love some for my dinner.  I guess the vegetables grow so large because of the short growing period, with long days of daylight.  The corn, however, was only two feet tall.
 
The mother elk were making little squealing noises to their babies.  Seymour was in a separate pen, but he’d squeal back to them.  I think he was lonely.  I didn’t know there were cages behind the gift shop, so I missed the eagle and the owl.
 
We had a late arrival and then discovered there was a wedding in progress in the main lodge.  We had a few guests staying at the Edgewater downtown, so we delivered them and then returned to the Windsong.  We got a fairly good idea of the town – it’s very small.  We had to wait for one of David’s bags as it was on the second bus, so by the time we got a shuttle and arrived at the Sea Life Center, it was almost 7:00 p.m. – closing time.  We didn’t want to pay $15 for fifteen minutes, so we declined, but the attendant let us run through anyway just to take a peek.  Not much after Long Beach and Monterey Bay Aquariums.  Kathy met us; Mike was doing laundry.
 
We walked over to the Crab Pot for dinner.  David is such a good sport – he hates seafood, but humors us by eating lots of chicken.  I had wonderful bay scallops and Kathy had calamari in garlic sauce.  The servings were so generous that when Mike arrived, he had half my huge baked potato, all my vegetables (they were seasoned with garlic), half of my scallops, and half of Kathy’s calamari.  He didn’t even order since the extra food would have been tossed as no one had a chance our final day on shore to eat it.  We had a bit of a fright when we discovered that David’s leather jacket and my trench coat, which we had put in the adjoining empty booth were missing.  The waiter thought they’d been left behind and took them up front, right in front of us and we didn’t even notice.
 
Mike and Kathy went back to their B & B and we arrived at the Sea Life Center just before the shuttle pulled up.  Windsong Lodge is in a beautiful wilderness setting with peace and quiet – you can’t hear the river when you’re inside.  I had a very good night’s sleep.

 

Sunday, August 27 (Kenai Fjords, board ship)
Up and repacked to leave at 10:45, I took lots of pictures of the plants and flowers before David came down to go to breakfast.  The restaurant has a beautiful setting across from the mountains and river and surrounded by cultivated flowers.  We had the buffet because we had heard that lunch would be at 2:00 p.m.  David went back to his room and I sat on a bench in front of the lodge and called Michelle.  David arrived, so I hung up and the shuttle pulled up, so we piled on.
 
We were shuttled to the harbor where we went immediately on board to cruise to Kenai Fjord; another six hours of sitting.  No sooner had we boarded than we discovered we’d both brought our big heavy room keys and so had the guy behind us.  I called the lodge to tell them and ask them where we could leave them.  He said to leave them at the tour boat office.  David took off with them and ran into our tour guide, Meagan, who promised to see that they reached the lodge.  Our luck is holding.  We scarcely got underway when they announced they’d be serving lunch.  The kids had all-you-can-eat prime rib and salmon, salad, etc. when they did the cruise earlier.  We didn’t know how we’d be able to eat another big meal so soon.  Not to worry – we had little strips of chicken or halibut, a small bag of potato chips, an apple and a coke.  What happened?  I found out later that they had a different tour company. 
 
David bought us some motion sickness pills, as everyone told us it would be really bumpy.  It was.  We didn’t get sick.  Once we got into the gulf, the bucking stopped and we saw two humpback whales and then later, a whole pod of Orcas.  We got up close and personal with the Holgate Glacier – the main attraction of the Kenai Fjords National Park.  I loved hearing the gunshot crack when the calving occurred.  Again, we had a perfect day of weather.  The day before, the tour had almost been canceled because of rain and choppy seas.  So we got one of those six days and the kids got another.  Lucky people.
 
We stopped to look at sea lions, puffins, eagles, birds of all kinds.  I just wanted to get back, board the ship, unpack and settle in.  When we got back on the buses after the cruise, they took us right to the ship’s terminal.  Check in wasn’t too long and I met my nice little cabin steward, Hari.
 
The kids boarded at noon, had lunch and dinner by the time we boarded.  We had life vest drill at 7:15, and I caught up with the kids on deck at my same station.  We talked only briefly because David and I had to get to dinner – informal, of course, so we dropped our life vests and went on up to the dining room.
 
I love the little servings, so I can have lots of courses if I choose.  I had a crab appetizer, tomato basil soup, pork loin with mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots and some of David’s zucchini; custard with berries for dessert.
 
 I could barely stay awake long enough to shower and get into bed.

 
Monday, August 28 (College Fjord)
Up at 5:15 to get dressed and out to see the glaciers for photos.  The “voice” said that there are over 100,000 glaciers in Alaska; some have never been stepped on.  I took lots of photos and walked around the ship a bit.  Mike found me by the elevator and we were still out of sync.  They’d already had breakfast, so I ate in the Lido with strangers.  By that time, David was up, so I had coffee with him while he ate in the dining room.  We were seated with Wu Pong from New Brunswick and had a nice chat.
 
David and I went to the kitchen tour, my favorite cruising thing to do.  We found that there are 94 persons on the dining room staff and 83 persons on the kitchen staff.  It’s fun to see the gleaming stainless steel pots, tables, utensils etc. and the giant mixers and coffee makers.  My perfect cruise would be one where I could help in the kitchen; with the cooking, not the cleanup.  There are two elevators which go down to lower decks where the storerooms, butcher shop, and vegetable prep room are located – these were not on view.  They also have the mess crew, where they employ two Indonesian chefs and one Filipino chef to prepare meals for the crew.  Also on a lower deck is the garbage area.  Leftovers and trimmings are turned into mulch and then dehydrated and burned, along with shredded paper.  Plastics and other non-burnable garbage is collected in compactor boxes, kept in cold storage and put ashore at the next port.  Glass is crushed and tin/aluminum cans are turned into bricks for recycling.  This operation takes four full-time persons.  Also on the tour are pictures of the different plates for each day of the week.  They’re posted in order on the walls where the plates are prepared.  In another area are pictures of how napkins are to be folded for each day.
 
An average weekly grocery list includes: 5,500 lbs of meat, 2,000 lbs of poultry, 2,700 lbs of fish and seafood, 8,000 lbs of vegetables, 2,500 lbs of potatoes, 13,500 eggs, 20,000 individual sugar packets, 200 gallons of ice cream and 2,100 lbs of rice for the crew.
 
After the tour, David wanted to read, so I went back to my cabin and filled out luggage forms, changed out of my hot sweater, went up to the front desk with my forms, came back and worked on my journal and met David for lunch in the dining room.  I had a crabmeat appetizer (needed a magnifying glass to see it), pear soup (which was white foam with two dried cherries but very good) and my entrée was a salmon cake with sugar snap peas. 
 
We couldn’t miss afternoon tea at 3:15; hadn’t eaten for two hours.  I had a bite of a sausage roll, part of a little patty shell with creamed mushrooms and a chocolate-dipped strawberry.  David had three strawberries and a little piece of chocolate cake with chopped pistachios on top.  We were very good, because there were trays and trays of beautiful pastries.  I photographed them so that I could at least eat them with my eyes.
 
I went back to my cabin and worked on my journal some more.  Before I knew it, it was time to dress for dinner, as it was a formal night.  I wore a glitter top and sleazy pants; the gaudy diamond ring Jim gave me and my rhinestone earrings, which out sparkled the ring.  At the end of the evening, my cabin floor was covered with glitter, which looked like gold plated dandruff.  Kathy looked stunning in a black dress with a ruched bodice and a handkerchief hemline.  I was happy to see she wore one of the necklaces I gave her, because that means she likes it.  David wore a dark business suit and looked very distinguished.  Mike’s jacket had gotten a little snug, which pleased me because he’s been a little skinny in the past.
 
Our dinners were all very good.  David had beef Wellington, I had duck with a sweet and sour glaze, Mike had rack of lamb, and Kathy had sesame-crusted salmon.  I also had pate’ de foie gras for my appetizer, arugula and frisee salad, and a little bit of mango sorbet.  We were still sitting and talking when we noticed the 7:30 seating was starting.  We took some pictures and went our separate ways.
 
I needed some down time.  I looked at the movie schedules and got up to date on my journal.
 
At 9:30 p.m. I went to bed to read some of my ship bulletins.  The glaciers weren’t scheduled to appear until 10:00 the next morning.

 

Tuesday, August 29 (Glacier Bay National Park)
I didn’t wake up until 7:00 a.m.  I finished catching up on my ship bulletins, washed my hair and took my time.  I didn’t go to breakfast until 9:00.  David was already at the table with two couples, so I had a bowl of oatmeal and a little croissant.  We parted after breakfast and I went for my coat. 
 
We entered Glacier Bay N.P. at 10:00 a.m. and still no glaciers in sight.  I ran into David on the promenade and we did a lap (1/4 mile).  David went to check the tennis scores, and I continued on.  Then I ran into Kathy and we did three more laps.  She’d already been up riding the stationary bike for 45 minutes.  That girl has stamina.
 
My coat was too warm, so I went back to the cabin and watched shore excursions on TV.  Still nothing I want to do.  Kathy brought down a few pieces of laundry and left to find Mike.  I made my way slowly to the dining room, taking pictures here and there.  The four of us met for lunch at noon and we had a nice window table.  Where are those glaciers?  I had the nicest strawberry soup.  I must practice fruit soups when I get home.  My poached chicken breast and orzo were nicely flavored with orange and the zucchini and banana squash were cooked perfectly.  For dessert, I had Earl Grey chocolate pot de crème.  I could definitely taste the bergamot, but it was very subtle.
 
We split up after lunch, and I decided to do laundry (no glaciers yet at 2:10).  I ran into one of the couples from breakfast.  They won $95 at bingo and they were so excited, you’d think it was $95,000.  By the time I finished the laundry, someone told me we’d already been by three glaciers and were turning around.  I got my camera and took a picture of a glacier so dirty it looked like a gravel slide.  I went exploring, took pictures, found out about the DVD (ships and ports, four hours for $29), went to the shore excursions window and bought one, then went to afternoon tea.  They’d moved it from the Explorer Lounge to the dining room, so I only had time for a little piece of pound cake and a cup of mint tea.  I took a picture out the window of another dirty glacier.
 
I explored the reading room, which has lots of history books (envy, envy); a beautiful setting but next to the espresso-latte bar where people stand and talk.  Poor planning again.  Dinner was thirty minutes earlier, so time to change – informal, so a nice blouse and slacks worked.
 
Holland America started The Master Chef’s Dinner only a month ago.  Everyone gets a tall white chef’s hat to wear and a special die-cut menu with courses listed on kitchen utensils.  The waiters danced and twirled napkins, the musicians played instruments which looked like fruits, the drum looked like a cake.  A special dessert was a white chocolate chef’s hat, hollow on the back side and filled with chocolate mousse and a piece of chocolate cake.  Also on the plate, a puddle of berry conserve with a cookie shaped like a lightning bolt and a dollop of whipped cream with a mint leaf – a very attractive presentation.  For the grand finale, the cooks all came out and paraded around and shot gold and silver metallic streamers from pastry bags.  And Mike slept through the whole thing.  I hoped he would wake up in time to get some dinner in the Lido.
 
After dinner, Kathy and I were going to do laundry, but it was busy, so I went back to my cabin and started watching the Alaska DVD so I could pass it on to the kids.  Early to bed at 9:30 to read my daily program for the next day, and lights out at 10:00.

 

Wednesday, August 30 (Haines)
Up at 6:30 – we were already docked in Haines.  I walked the deck and watched the workmen and just like everywhere, one was hanging over the side on a scaffold, cleaning the ship and five were hanging over the railing watching him.  There’s a clever way to wash ship windows.  A water line runs up one of the posts on the outside of the promenade deck.  They attach a long hose which has a 3’ section at the end which is full of holes on one side.  A weight on the end helps control the movement and a guy hangs over the railing and swings the hose from side to side and up and down along the window.
 
I called Effie and she fell and sprained her wrist.  No fun.  I’ve had a sprained ankle before and it was extremely painful.  I had breakfast alone in the Lido and then watched a program about Alaska on TV.   I was meeting David at 10:00 to go ashore.
 
David and I walked into town.  Not much of a town – very small.  We stopped in the grocery store and I got a new toothbrush case – my 99-cent souvenir of the trip.  I bought a package of Sharpies for Hari, my cabin steward, who is so sweet and always smiling.  What do you buy for a guy who spends a year at a time on only two decks of a ship?  And not the nice decks, either – the cabins he attends and the crew’s quarters right in the bottom
 
Haines is quaint with old weathered buildings, baskets and boxes of colorful flowers, the white frame buildings which were the original fort and the newer buildings and houses like you’d find anywhere, but flowers, flowers all over the place.  There’s a little marina, the usual gift shops, a bank, a school, a cultural museum (small), a hammer museum (smaller), a few restaurants (one called The Bamboo Room), an acupuncturist who also has Oriental medicine, and bars.  I later found out from Mike and Kathy that there’s also a really neat old cemetery, a nice Senior Center, and a library voted America’s best small town library in 2005. We missed those.
 
The Rotterdam dining room was closed, so we had lunch in the Lido.  My butternut squash soup was delicious, and I had a little scoop of hard-to-find black walnut ice cream.
 
I spent the entire afternoon in my cabin.  I watched a movie (Over the Hedge) and part of the DVD I purchased on board.  I was going to finish it and pass it on to the kids, but it was so good, I decided to keep it.  I went up and bought another for them. 
 
The kids didn’t show up at dinner.  I had Thanksgiving dinner – turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts and cranberry sauce.  During dessert, I got a voice mail from the kids.  I had to go outside to retrieve it.  They were just back from their second trip into Haines and were going to the Lido for dinner.  I joined them and we sat and talked until after 9:00.
 
I had my lights out by 10:00 and slept until 6:45 with only one interruption about 1:30 a.m.  I’m finally used to the hum of the ship’s engines, I guess.

 

Thursday, August 31 (Juneau)
We were already docked when I awoke.  It was 51 degrees, dreary and drippy.  The gods were no longer smiling. You can only get to Juneau by plane or ship. I guess you could ride a horse, but it's right at the foot of some very high hills on one side, and the water on the other. Lots of little sea planes here.
 
I met David at 8:00 for breakfast in the Rotterdam.  He decided to brave the rain and go to the capitol.  He had to be back to go on a whale watch cruise at 11:15.  I opted to go out later.  I put my lining back in my trench coat and wore my white cardigan under it.  My coat is long and I had my umbrella, so only my feet were exposed to the rain.  It was actually very refreshing.
 
I went into a souvenir shop and bought postcards and a little golden brown soapstone jar with a lid.  I walked along the main shopping street (Franklin) and most stores jutted out over the sidewalk, so that helped with the rain.  Next stop was a used book store (of course), where I picked up two books from Joey’s list.  Isn’t it ridiculous that I have to go to South Dakota and Alaska to find them?  I could have knocked out the whole list in one book sale in California.
 
Next I toured the capitol.  The building was formerly a federal building, so it just looks like a big office building with some pillars stuck on the front.  The floors are marble, the carpeting is plush and patterned, lots of wood in the assembly and senate chambers.  Everything looks substantial – just like a government building should look.  Some nice bas relief framed art, one depicting the bounty of the sea and one depicting the bounty of the land made of blocks of baked clay in a warm brown; another, carved from a solid piece of wood, of seals swimming and looking out at you with those sweet gentle brown eyes.  The halls are lined with old photos of Alaskan life.
 
One amusing peek at political life.  In the senate gallery, a chair has a seat and seatback pad fastened with straps and machine embroidered with a woman’s name.  I asked about it and was told that she’s a 78-year-old wife of a senator who shows up every time the senate is in session.  She says that she’s always cold and the senate is warmer than her house, but I think she’s there to keep her husband in line.  She sits right behind him.
 
The drinking fountain runs continuously.  The plaque says that they have so much water, they have to use it some way. 
 
I walked back to the ship following a different route and found a shortcut.  It was still raining and I’d seen enough of Juneau.  Another dot on my map.
 
I stopped on the wharf for photos of Patsy Ann.  Patsy Ann was a bull terrier, deaf from birth, loved by her family and brought to Juneau as a pup.  She refused to be a stay-at-home dog and went visiting the shops wherever she was welcome and wherever she could get a treat.  The cruise ships came and went without the set schedules of today, but Patsy Ann had a way of knowing they were arriving a half hour before they came into view.  She’d trot to the pier to welcome everyone ashore.  Once there was a welcoming committee at the pier, but Patsy took a look and trotted to a different pier.  The ship docked at Patsy’s pier.  When the town council passed a law that all dogs must be licensed, the townspeople took up a collection to license Patsy Ann.  She wore her collar for a while, but it soon disappeared and thereafter her license was automatically subsidized by the city.  After she died, donations paid for a bigger-than-life statue to sit on the pier – a way for Patsy Ann to continue greeting visitors to Juneau.
 
I went to my cabin, got out of my wet shoes and had lunch in the Lido with strangers.  My kids were off to another glacier.
 
The Juneau library is right at the pier – a four-story structure with three levels of parking and the library on top with a beautiful stained glass window.  You can sit in the Lido eating lunch and see the shelves of books through the windows.  That did it!  I had to go.  I checked the used books and found two novels for myself and a book on nutrition for Kathy.  No Joey books. 
 
I went back to the ship and started tracking everyone down.  We finally decided to go to the Rotterdam for dinner because it was surf-and-turf and baked-Alaska-with-sparklers night – formal.  I scarcely had time to change into my glitter clothes and get to the table.  I was the last one there.  David doesn’t like seafood so he had a vegetarian something or other.
 
After we changed clothes, the kids came to my cabin and Mike used some of his high-tech equipment to show their pictures on my TV and then we looked at some of mine.  We didn’t finish until almost 11:00 p.m., so we went up for the Dutch snack.  It wasn’t very exciting.  They’ve cut down on the midnight buffets.  Guess everyone has decided that enough is enough.  We talked until after midnight and finally stumbled off to bed.
 
A little rough that night.  The next day I heard there was a storm.  It didn’t seem that rough.

 

Friday, September 1 (Ketchikan)
I didn’t get up until 8:00 a.m., washed my hair, showered and had breakfast with a couple from Windsor, MO, in the Lido.
 
The weather was drizzly, foggy, gray and dreary.  Our docking wasn’t scheduled until 2:00 p.m., so I checked on some DVD’s on Holland America cruises, which they advertised on the ship’s TV.  No one knew anything about them.  I checked on disembarking procedures and cancelled the service where they take your bags in the middle of the night, check them for security and whisk them to the airport – never to be seen until your final destination (if they’re not lost).  With the new airport security procedures, you’d have to leave all your toiletries behind or pack them the night before and have nothing to use on your morning of departure.  Now I have to have my bags out at midnight, but we’ll be reunited so that I can stuff my liquids and gels into my checked luggage before the airline whisks it away.  Life is getting complicated.
 
There was a contest to see who could spot the fake amber in the jewelry store.  Five choices and I chose the correct one, but my name wasn’t drawn.  Before the drawing, we heard a little about amber.  It’s the resin of the tree – not the sap.  According to my encyclopedia, frankincense is also a resin, but I still don’t know the difference between sap and resin, except the consistency.  I was surprised to hear that amber comes in lots of colors – dark cherry, shades of yellow, green, butterscotch (which is opaque), and a new lime green which comes from the Dominican Republic.  You can tell a fake by heating a needle and stabbing it in an inconspicuous place.  If it smells like trees or sap, it’s amber – if it smells like burning plastic, that’s what it is.  Also, amber will warm in your hand while plastic will remain unchanged.
 
I found my kids and we had lunch in the Lido – David went to the Rotterdam.  We parted to get coats to go ashore. 
 
Ketchikan isn’t very big, about 14,000 residents.  It’s the home of the lumberjack show and Creek Street – the former red light district.  Creek Street has been converted to shops and restaurants, and cheering from the lumberjack show can be heard all over town.  There’s a good-sized marina and the creek along Creek Street is actually a salmon run, and I could see lots of them resting along the sides before attempting another run up the gushing stream.  The seals knew about it – the kids saw two of them in the area looking for dinner.
 
I stopped in the library – of course.  Nothing for me, but I found All Creatures Great and Small for someone on the ship.  I had told her about James Herriot, and she seemed interested. 
 
I ran into the kids in one of the shops – never did see David.  I learned later that he decided not to go ashore.  Just as I started back to the ship, it started raining in earnest.
 
I just missed tea time, so I went to the Lido for a cup of tea and worked on my journal.  I went back to the cabin and watched part of The Apartment with Jack Lemon and Shirley MacLaine.  The kids stopped by when they came in, sopping wet, to see of I’d had dinner.  We decided to go to the Lido. 
 
Kathy met me at the elevator – Mike was out taking pictures.  We ate alone and Mike came in just before closing.  We had dessert together.  The big dessert extravaganza was going to be at 10:30 p.m.  I missed it, but the kids took pictures.  I went to bed instead, because we were losing an hour overnight.

 

Saturday, September 2 (at sea)
I awoke at 7:00 – the old 6:00.  Smooth sailing, so I slept well.  Nothing but cruising all day.  No more ports.  I was ready to go home.
 
I started packing first thing and didn’t get to breakfast until 9:30.  I finished just in time to get to the disembarkation talk at 10:30.  I worked on my packing some more and then had lunch at noon with Kathy and David.  I finished my packing, traded my laundry quarters for currency (coins are heavy), filled out my evaluation form and turned it in, and time for tea.  I sat with a lady who recently moved to Hot Springs and loves it, and a Taiwanese couple from New Jersey.  My last tea, boo hoo.
 
I was walking by the casino and heard lots of tinkling like someone hit a big jackpot.  I went in to check it out and never did find out what was happening.  I decided to play the $5 from my quarters.  I won $6 and realized I was on a $1 machine.  I cashed out and used a $1 in the quarter machine and won $7.  I cashed in.  I played $1 more and lost, so I left.  Ran into David in the casino.  He played $40 and won $140.  I had more things to do, so I returned to my cabin to switch tags on my suitcases, etc.     
 
We all had dinner in the Rotterdam for the last time.  My last baked Alaska.  David, Mike and Kathy said their goodbyes.  David is having breakfast in the Rotterdam and we’re going to the Lido.
 
I went to my cabin, stopped to say good-bye to Hari (cabin steward), had a shower and packed my dirty clothes.  It’s so complicated now with no sharp objects, no liquids, and no gels. I watched Murder, She Wrote and put my suitcases out.  Lights out at 10:00.
 
Sunday, September 3 (Vancouver and then home)
Breakfast was a nightmare with everyone eating at once.  I went to the Lido and the    lines were back to the elevators.  I went up to the Rotterdam and David was already  seated with five other people at a table for six (why did they jam everyone together when most people went to the Lido?), so I sat with strangers and we were forever getting served.  I heard my kids’ code to disembark, so I left in the middle of my meal and just missed them.  Their cabin steward said that they had just left.  I was called soon after and met up with David to leave the ship.  Surprisingly, everything was organized very well.  As I left the terminal, there were my kids, waiting to say goodbye.  They were going to stow their luggage and spend the day in Vancouver.  Their flight wasn’t until 6:00 p.m.  Don’t know why I didn’t think to spend the night in Vancouver and fly home the next day. 
 
Our bus ride to the airport was with a driver who was witty and well informed.  He gave us a running commentary as he drove and we got to see some of the city.  Vancouver is forty percent Asian population now.  The check in and immigration are well organized and the airport is lovely.  I got a sandwich to eat on the plane.  We left on time.  David and I were seated several rows apart, so we planned to meet in Minneapolis when we changed planes.  As we were approaching the airport, the captain announced that the radar room was on fire, so we had to circle until we could get clearance to land.  Why am I not surprised?  No big deal for me, as I had a 3-1/2 hour layover.  David, however, had just over an hour.  We ran through the airport (it’s really big and we had to change concourses), but I couldn’t go any longer – I had to stop at the ladies’ room.  By the time I got to David’s gate, he’d already boarded.
 
I had some Japanese food at one of the stands right across from the neatest bookstore I ever saw.  The inside doesn’t look that exciting, but the front is magnificent.  I took pictures, but couldn’t get back far enough to get it all in the picture.  Enough to jog my memory, however.  My plane left on time and arrived on time and both bags came in – a first for Northwest.  Just as they promised, the Thrifty booth was open so I paid for my parking and they called the shuttle, which was there in jig time and I was on my way home.  No traffic at that time of night.  I pulled into my garage at 11:30 p.m.  Between Vancouver and Springfield, I developed a nasty cold and all I wanted was bed and a call to my kids to see if they arrived home safely.  They did – I collapsed and didn’t even take my suitcases out of the car.

 
*I was fine on the trip and I credited the prescription. When I returned home, my “infection” turned up again. I told my neighbor, Martha, and she laughed and said, “Honey, go to Walmart and get some over the counter allergy medicine. You just have Missouri allergies.” She was right.

Finally, we made it. I promise next week will be shorter.

START PLANNING FOR THE 4TH

A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY FOR OUR COUNTRY THIS YEAR

ITS OFFICIALLY SUMMER, SO PLAN YOUR VACATION

AND YOUR SUMMER READING

DON'T FORGET - LEAFY GREENS EVERY DAY

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE