Trudy

If it were still summer, I'd consider taking the dogs out for a walk, but it is dark now before 10 - they can wait until daylight again A few more months and we'll be doing our walks in the dark anyway

He's playing racquetball I'm working (yes, at 12:30 in the morning) I see problems with this.... I want to be sleeping, but still rather wide awake.

We didn't die from eating at pizza hut once, and since they scrubbed the heck out of the kitchen, it can only be cleaner I think we should be safe hopefully :lol

already been posted at least 2 other times

I see this going nowhere fast.

I've not been in a shelter in a long time that you can walk in and say "hey, I want that dog/cat/rabbit/etc" and walk out with it that same day. Not to say they don't exist, but shelters do a lot to make sure the right animal is going to the right home. Personally, I'm not a fan of the home visits, but I can chose what group I adopt from so I don't have to deal with it.

Good news for Kodiak... someplace to eat!! Town gains a few new dining options Restaurant owners find replacement for intended building Article published on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 By ERIK WANDER Mirror Writer Kodiak residents will soon have three more dining options. In addition to the KFC/Taco Bell, set to open Monday at 10 a.m., Anna Maria Kaloumenou and husband Kostas Macheras will soon open Angelo’s Trattoria at the former Pizza Hut on Mill Bay Road. “We hope to be ready by the end of September,” Kaloumenou said. The restaurant will offer mostly Italian cuisine, including pasta dishes and specialty pizzas, and some Greek and American food. “We might be introducing lunch specials, and they will have a Mediterranean flare,” she said. “It’s a big variety of food actually.” The couple owned and operated Angelo’s in Dutch Harbor for six years. Kaloumenou said the restaurant was popular with members of the Coast Guard. “The Coast Guard were great fans of our food,” she said. “Whenever a boat came in, they said, ‘Where’s Angelo’s?’ They kept asking us to come to Kodiak, because Kodiak didn’t have this kind of food.” When their Dutch Harbor lease ended, Kaloumenou and Macheras began making plans to do just that. The couple made arrangements to buy the former Kodiak Pizza building on Lower Mill Bay Road, but when the building’s landlord decided not to sell, they agreed to lease the building instead. Macheras, whom Kaloumenou said has owned and operated restaurants in Anchorage and Kenai for nearly 35 years, came to Kodiak in April and started working to transform the takeout-only facility into a full-service restaurant. Macheras spent the next three and a half months painting, installing plumbing, windows, doors, appliances and bathrooms and building a new dining room. Kaloumenou joined her husband on June with the couple’s 11-year-old son. When the couple received the lease papers on July 15, they were surprised to learn that the terms were not what they had initially agreed upon, Kaloumenou said. After negotiating, the couple’s lawyer ultimately advised them not to go forward with the lease. “We had already spent so much time, so much money and so much work on that building,” Kaloumenou said. “It was a great disappointment.” That night, the two went to Pizza Hut for a meal and to lament their disappointment over what she described as “a big misunderstanding.” “Oh my goodness, this place needs a facelift,” she said she told her husband. “It was kind of rundown. If we had it, we’d do this and that.” The next day, Pizza Hut closed its doors for good. The couple learned about it on a trip to Safeway and saw a renewed opportunity. “It was a surprise to us. We didn’t know that the Pizza Hut would close,” she said. “We were very lucky. As soon as the Pizza Hut became available, we talked to them and we signed a lease first thing and went ahead with our project there. It was a big coincidence that we went there on the last day.” Kaloumenou said she is happy with the new location and looks forward to running the business in a place that will offer people “a variety of options.” “This one is ready to go. It’s a pretty good location,” she said. “It’s visible from everywhere, and there are a lot of homes all around.” Kaloumenou said the building, which is owned and currently being renovated by Brechan Enterprises, will have its own unique look and will not resemble Pizza Hut in any way. “It’s not going to look like Pizza Hut,” she said. “We are renovating the inside completely and scrubbing the kitchen, which is needed. They have to take out everything that looks like Pizza Hut.” Kaloumenou said Angelo’s will accommodate about 150 people, and she hopes to make it available for birthday parties. “I always dreamt of having a big seating area, and here I am. We got it,” she said. The restaurant also will offer delivery service, which Kaloumenou said accounted for 50 percent of their business in Dutch Harbor. She said she eagerly anticipates opening day. “I’m looking forward to it as much as the residents,” she said. “One thing didn’t work for us, and hopefully this will.” KFC/Taco Bell owner Dan Rohrer said the new franchise on Mill Bay Road will be open 10 a.m. to midnight and will offer customers a full menu at all times. “They can order anything they want off the menu at any time,” Rohrer said, adding, “People have wanted Taco Bell in Kodiak since I was a little kid, and it’s fun to be able to bring it to town. We’re excited to be able to provide two new options in town under one roof. It’s been a long time in the making.”

I don't think he's qualified for boarding with the Munro yet, so I don't think he's in that pic. I think he did boardings on the Spencer from Boston though.

another pic of the boarding

Shed is from Lifetime - much more sturdy as the trusses are made of steel and there are steel reinforcements added to the roof as well. The partially reclaimed dining room. Bike can move when Jeff gets home The tool chest... that's staying inside. I use that a lot and don't want to run outside to the shed to grab something from it all the time. The shed

Jeff is on the Munro. Jeff is way out at Sea. Somebody on the boarding team took that photo before boarding the fishing vessel. The press release that goes with the photo: Aug. 21, 2008 Coast Guardsmen aboard the cutter Munro, homeported in Kodiak, Alaska, conducted the first-ever high seas boarding and inspection of a fishing vessel Tuesday under the authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. The WCPFC is a regional fisheries management organization whose objective is to ensure, through effective management, the long-term conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory fish stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. This convention area stretches across the WCPO from the south coast of Australia to the Bering Sea. Munro's crew boarded the fishing vessel Tokuei Maru 17 out of Yaizu, Japan, and conducted an inspection of the ship, its catch, fishing gear and all relevant documentation to ensure it was operating in compliance with the provisions of the convention and the conservation and management measures adopted by the WCPFC. Despite this being the first high seas boarding conducted pursuant to specific WCPFC guidelines, the boarding and investigation process went smoothly, without incident and the Coast Guard boarding team did not find any violations. "We found no violations of WCPFC conservation and management measures, the crew was very friendly and the master very cooperative," said Lt. Ellen Motoi, the weapons division officer aboard the Munro and the boarding officer in charge of the boarding team that conducted the investigation on board the Japanese fishing vessel. The team's investigative report was sent to the Coast Guard's 17th District headquarters in Juneau, Alaska, where it was reviewed and forwarded to the government of Japan and the convention's commission headquarters in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. With the ever increasing demand on the world fisheries stocks, international joint management under the WCPFC holds significant potential for improved oversight of highly migratory fisheries, such as tuna, covered by the WCPFC. "This is a great step forward, both in terms of international cooperation and effective mission execution for Coast Guard vessels in the operations area," said Munro's Commanding Officer Capt. Craig Lloyd. The WCPFC convention was adopted Sept. 5, 2000, in Honolulu, and includes more than 30 nations and territories, including the United States and Japan. WCPFC convention area tuna catch for 2006 amounted to 78 percent of the total Pacific Ocean catch and more than 51 percent of the global tuna catch. This catch is worth more than $3 billion annually.

Japanese fishing vessel Tokuei Maru and USCGC Munro

Finished it a while ago. I'll think about putting stuff in it tomorrow

Roof is half done - stopped to order, pick up and eat some pizza. I'll head back out when I'm done to finish up. The roof so far is going much easier than the panels along the side of the house.

I call this progress... everything unloaded from the boxes and sorted and the floor put together and laid down and about 90 mins and lots of cursing later The walls snap into the floor, but only if you have a block of wood under each junction. Not a problem on the left side. HUGE problem on the right side Now to head back out there again and see how much more I can do on my own.

It's here, It's here!!! Ok, now who is going to help me build this darn thing?? So much for door to door delivery, I gave up and picked it up myself. It made it to the island on Tuesday. They called Wed morning to let me know I could pick it up, they'd call back in the afternoon to schedule delivery (I called back and said I needed it delivered as I can't get 500 pounds off the truck in 2 boxes). They didnt' call back. So I called again this morning and they wouldn't be able to deliver until MAYBE tomorrow since they were short handed and working through a backlog. So I said I'll just come in and get it then and just open the boxes and take it out piece by piece. Not supposed to rain today, so I better get my butt out there! Oh yeah, arrange the delivery on my own... $360. Another place I looked that would actually deliver it to Alaska... $900.

grapes have a cumulative effect. Time to stop sharing your grapes with him.

Takes a year to be considered a resident and then another year before you can apply for the dividends. You have to intend to stay in Alaska or at least retire here if military. You cannot buy a house anywhere else, you are supposed to list Alaska as the top pics on your dream sheet. The dividends are for true alaskan residents, not those of us just floating through. And if you claim and don't retire here and get caught, you get in a boat load of trouble and have to pay it all back. I will not be claiming the dividend unless we actually do decide to retire in Juneau or Anchorage (those are the only places we'll consider in AK)

I'm sure they do, but even with that, oil has gone up a lot since last winter, so the budgets they are on will need to be redone the same as many are facing in the lower 48. I just pay when they fill up the tanks

Alaskan residents will be happy to get those checks. Heating costs this winter are going to be very high. We are paying almost $5 a gallon for gas... that translates over to heating oil as well.

You will find tons of articles on both sides of the fence for diet and protein loss. Many feel that if the dog is losing protein, feed a high protein food. Others feel that is not at all the way to go. We did change Ryan off of Evo, but not because of his issues, but because he just wasn't doing so well on it. My vet would not suggest a Rx food and just told me to feed Ryan whatever - not too high and not too low in protein. He's still around after 11 months, so something is working - but he's still peeing out protein faster than his body can make it.

Not sure if I posted this pic.... Kodiak Ice Cream truck thing Kodiak intersection set for fully functioning stoplight Article published on Friday, August 15th, 2008 By ERIK WANDER Mirror Writer Kodiak drivers beware. The city is about to become a one-light town once again. On Monday, a new, state-of-the-art traffic light at Rezanof Drive West and Marine Way will go into flash mode, Jason Baxley of the Alaska Department of Transportation, said. On Tuesday or Wednesday midday, the signal will be fully operational, complete with red, yellow and green lights. “Part of it is to let us know it’s working,” Baxley said of the minimum 24-hour flashing period. “And we’ve also got to let everyone know it’s on and working, so they know something’s about to happen.” Baxley said a light at the same intersection was first installed in 1984 but went into permanent flash mode after just a few weeks because of faulty sensors embedded in the road on Alder Lane. “They got it on for a very short period of time,” he said. “Then they got it into blinking mode for 23 years.” Baxley said he doesn’t foresee any such problems with the new light because of advancements in technology. “The software and hardware have come such a long way since 1984,” he said. “We feel pretty confident.” Baxley said the light will improve traffic flow at the Y intersection by providing gaps and making it easier for drivers to make turns. “It’s not going to be a big change,” he said. “But it’s a change from what everyone is used to.” Baxley, who served as project engineer for the Y intersection project, said he considers the overall project a success. “The project had its challenges,” he said. “But it came out rather well. I’d like to thank the people of Kodiak. It was a challenge for us as well as for them. But we’re pretty much done.” umm, it isn't at the right intersection to help traffic at the Y and well, there really isn't a lot of traffic at the Y to be a problem and need a light. But hey, Kodiak Island will have ONE traffic light :lol

High speed. Mine goes from 1-10 and I usually do it on 8. Course grit

Not Jeff's hand - maybe one of the cooks. We get a picture of the day from the boat. I've not seen any that were picture of the day worthy, but at least the bananas were cute

The bananas were picked up in Korea or Japan, not Kodiak. The boat left here with normal sized banana. And neither Jeff or I like banana, so we wouldn't be incorporating them into anything we eat here even if we could find the baby ones.