Lazy today

Feeling lazy today. Don't want to do anything but sit by the fire with Jim and veg. Don't expect much from me today. This selfie just might be it.

Jim's a damn good cat. 

On sleeping in, then and now

I went to bed last night really looking forward to sleeping in late this morning, like until 9 or 10 am, maybe even 11 - noon perhaps. How wonderful to sleep 'til noon! But no. Despite having gone to bed totally exhausted and sleepy and having had my sleep interrupted numerous times through the night, mostly by Jim, I couldn't sleep a wink past 6:30 and finally gave up and got up about 7:00. Just a bit ago, I was lamenting to Margie about how I seem to be losing the ability to sleep in, no matter how tired I am or what I have done. My career has been marked by frequent deadline pushes of 24 to 52 hours straight - no nap, no break, no stop: just go until the job is done. I hated it and I loved it and what I loved most about it was that afterward I could just go crash and sleep for 12 hours straight - even longer, sometimes. No more.

I try to avoid such extreme pushes now but I still wind up doing some pretty big stints and then I go to bed looking for a good long sleep in, but it seldom seems to happen. Margie said when she was a kid, she always saw the old people get up early - now she was beginning to understand. I witnessed the same thing. I always thought the older people had better habits than did we sloven young. Now I think maybe they wanted to sleep but couldn't - just like me now. Just now, a good three hours plus after we got up, we heard little footsteps pattering down the hallway. It was Jobe. He had slept long and good and late, yet was up before his brothers, mom or dad.

The curtain, by the way, is not to keep light out but to hold a little more heat in.

I can't leave Kalib out, so here is a story about disappearing moose butts, absent the butts themselves

I suppose it is very unfair of me to post a picture of his brothers and then leave Kalib out altogether. When they first arrived, as he and his brothers came through the front door and caught the attention of most of us, someone else, maybe Melanie, saw two moose charge past the back door. By the time I could respond and get to the back door, all any of us could see were two moose butts, disappearing into the trees. I wonder what frightened them so? Do you think it might have been the racket and commotion caused by the three little boys coming in through the front door?

At Thanksgiving dinner number 4, Jim gets an embrace and train bonk

Well, I don't know what to do! I told you there were two Thanksgiving dinners for me today, the second one here at the house with all family members and significants, except for Bryce, who had to work. So I really need to put up some kind of picture of this feast, right? But I am so tired I am almost dizzy! I try to sort through my photos but my eyes go blurry. So for now I am just going to post this picture of Jobe embracing Jim. Lynxton is coming with a tiny toy train which he will bonk Jim on the head with. Jim barely flinched – if he even flinched. He is a bit wary of little Lynxton but he seemed okay with it.

Today I ate Thanksgiving dinners numbers 3 & 4. Here is number 3: Niqipiaq

When I was still in Barrow, I received an invitation to come to the home of James Matumeak and Eileen Boskovsky here in Wasilla today for a Thanksgiving weekend Nikipiaq - a feast of Iñupiaq food - at 2:00 pm. As I had been gone on turkey day, my family also scheduled a late Thanksgiving dinner for me today at 4 PM. I did not want to miss either one. Please forgive me for not writing anything descriptive, but turkey dinners have always made me very sleepy. And Iñupiat dinners always make me sleepy. I am so sleepy right now I could fall through the floor. I'm so stuffed I'm probably heavy enough to fall through the floor.

Pictured in front is James and Eileen with James' Auntie Mabel Pederson and Kenneth Tagarook, whaling captain of Wainwright now living in Anchorage to be close to his grandchildren. In the background is Hattie Long of Nuiqsut, her husband Frank, Salomi Martin, Frieda, Leon Matumeak and son Nathaniel. A tape of Kivgiq '96 plays on the tv, filling the feast with the sound of Iñupiat drumming and singing. 

PS: I should note that there were many more people than this present, several in the dining room around the corner.