Fair Weather, Poor Cashflow, :-(

We had another very relaxing weekend, with very little rain, just cold. We spent time preparing for the arrival of Kelli and Jared and Henry this Thursday! We are very excited. It doesn't look like we'll have snow to great them, but hopefully we'll get some by Christmas.

Friday night we went to the Klawock Head Start Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser. The Head Start facility is just a block down the road from us. The dinner was average, the kids very entertaining, the company nice and the cause was great. We had to sit in very small chairs, but it was fun seeing the classroom and all the colors and projects of the kids. We met some new people, and of course, Kathy saw one of her clients.

Sunday we went to the POWER Thrift Store volunteers Holiday Party. This was at the Craig Youth Center, right across the street from the Thrift Store. It was a small group, so conversation was easy. The ED was there, and the two people I volunteer with on Wednesdays. There were also two people we had previously met but didn't realize they also volunteer at POWER, including our immediate neighbor. We learned a little bit more about some of the island people. This was a gift exchange, just for fun, in which we were to wrap things we'd found at the Thrift Store. Kathy opened a Disney flannel all-in-one pajama with booties, but it was kid sized, so not very useful.  I got a Dave Barry book. I've never read one of his, so guess it's my opportunity.  I gave a set of books, one on living in the desert and the other Into Thin Air, about a fatal climb up Mt. Everest. I figured both would make you feel warmer, one way or another.

When I worked at Glacier National Park in Montana many, many years ago, I remember hearing my first radio commercial for crop-dusting, and thinking “I’m not in San Diego any more!” Now in Alaska, the near-constant news and talk about harvesting salmon or halibut or lingcod or crabs or geoduck clams or even sea cucumbers, and secondly the intense attention to the cruise industry, all remind me I’m in a place far from San Diego.  Ketchikan is excited that one of several cruise lines is adding a third boat to its 2013 schedule. I just found out a friend is taking an Alaska cruise next year, cool! We are planning a trip to Ketchikan to meet up with he and his wife in May, when their boat drops anchor.

We still don’t have a way to get cash without paying one or two service charges. We tried the local credit union, but they have only one ATM on the island, and it operates on a dial-up connection to the mainland. Half the time it's out of order. It's very disappointing, as we would like to support it. The major grocery store here, Alaska Commercial, or AC, doesn’t offer cash back, ugh. That’s how I got all our cash in San Diego, cash back at Ralphs. California Coast Credit Union will refund their service charge, but we still get charged by the bank or company that owns the ATM, even at the local credit union ATM!! I had far less trouble in Europe!

The price of gasoline dropped eight cents a gallon, WOOHOO! It’s now $4.46.

The power failed on Friday, for about 50 minutes, for no obvious reason. The skies were clear, there was no wind, and it wasn't particularly cold.  Strange. Luckily we have many windows in our house, so I could at least read.  I think I mentioned Craig has an excellent library with a continuous stream of new books, plus I usually come home from volunteering at the Thrift Store with two or three interesting books.  

 I stay up to date on home news by subscribing to the U-T online, and trading emails with my fellow community activists.  They have collected over 3,000 signatures on a petition to try and convince the CVS Corporation to allow a Fresh And Easy Grocery store to move into the little shopping center in Serra Mesa.  CVS's contract gives them veto power over any new stores that would compete with them.  Serra Mesa has needed a grocery store for years, and the shopping center is suffering from a serious decline in traffic, resulting in about eight empty storefronts.   We so need that grocery store.  Hopefully CVS will get the message and change their mind.  


Two developments at Civita had open houses on Saturday.  Civita is the huge new development on Friars Road.  When it is completed, it will add over 4,700 homes to Mission Valley!  It's huge, but is also bringing new parks and a village-type square.  


Well, I feel like my postings are not as entertaining as they once were.  I guess the rose if off the bloom, with us settling into this island life.  Or, I'm bored:  I did volunteer for another organization, so that will help keep me busy.  I may yet get elected to the board of one group, too, even though I'm brand new here.  I'm sure it won't be so boring after the boy, the daughter, and the future son-in-law arrive!  


I hope everyone is warm, has their Christmas shopping done or nearly so, and is enjoying the season.