the day after birthday pictures

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday. Today I feel a year older. Why is that? It's funny because birthdays never bothered me, or at least not mine. When I turned 40, it didn't bother me; when I turned 50, it didn't bother me; when I turned 55.... okay, it finally clicked that I was no spring chick anymore! Yet, when the kids turned another year old, I would think, "wow, they're really getting old!Imagine, ME, with a 30 year old!" Ha!

Here's Tracy hanging up her Happy Birthday banner custom made by Jerusalem at Storia Home. Oh, my gosh! If you have a birthday coming up or some other occasion -- a new baby being born -- a wedding -- you MUST run, not walk, your little fingers to Jeru's Etsy shop and order one of her banners. Her pictures don't do them justice. My picture doesn't do it justice. It was just too beautiful and I can hardly wait to order another one for my first grandbaby due in November. (By the way, I had the banner hung already but we wanted a better placement for it to take a picture. It's not like Tracy had to decorate for her own party!)

We had a busy day yesterday getting ready. Birthdays and other occasions are always events at my house. They're all about the details. Bucky built a fire. I love having a fire pit on our deck, but sadly the only time we use it is when Bucky builds a fire. I love my son for that detail that he adds to our gatherings.

I'm not certain why I feel such a need to make birthdays and holidays so special, but I suspect it goes back to my childhood. I was raised in a very dysfunctional home and, unfortunately, don't have many good memories of my childhood. Not to say I didn't have a nice birthday, I just don't remember; they were usually overshadowed by the drinking and fighting. Anyway, I think that's why I've tried to make good memories for my children. So when they got older they had more good memories to fall back on than bad.

Most parties have a theme involved. One year for Bucky's 8th birthday, I think it was, the theme was "snowboarding." The balloons were all white and hovered over the dining table, like clouds. On the table was a white cake with a skiing theme. I stuffed Soapy's (my first husband) wet suit with clothes and then dressed it with skiing clothes and propped it next to the table to look like a snowboarder. It was pretty fun although Bucky says he doesn't remember it.... Maybe these birthday themes are more for me.... than my kids.... hmmmm....

Yesterday's theme was Bullwinkle's Pizza Parlor. Tracy wanted home made pizza, cooked on the grill, "just like we had at Bucky and Michelle's that time." Oh, so yummy. We got popcorn from Bullwinkles and I placed it in some cute little popcorn holders I bought last time I was down "South" (The local's term for anywhere in the "Lower 48." Another local term for anywhere other than Juneau.) It looked really cute placed on my bathroom-cupboard-doors-turned-into-a-serving-tray. I also made a gigantic salad, but it ended up being mainly for looks because the pizzas were so good.


Michelle and Bucky came early so she could "help" make the pizza dough for me.... Okay, she did it all but only because I'm not so good when it comes to working with yeast.... and I didn't want dinner to be ruined. Doesn't she look so cute all pregnant? We just love Michelle and can't imagine not having her part of our family. Bucky couldn't have picked a better partner.

The pizzas turned out incredible, as I knew they would with Bucky in charge. He's an incredible cook. One of my favorite combos was Italian sausage, sun dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. I think it was. Really really good. Of course Canadian Bacon and pineapple being one of my favorite. Earlier in the day the weather was gorgeous, but by the time it came to grill the pizzas, it was just pouring down. Poor Bucky was outside, under the gutters, trying to stay dry while us girls were inside eating pizza as it came hot off the grill!

And for dessert? This cake. Oh, so good. Michelle is an incredible baker and I've heard rumors would like to open her own bakery one day. I hope she follows her dream and heart and makes it happen one day, when the time is right. This wasn't any box cake mix but the real thing. Too bad she forgot to take the leftovers home.... :)

So that was our birthday party yesterday. I hope Tracy had a great birthday. I love you, sweetie. mom

speechless....

Okay, I know in my first blog entry I wrote that blogging would be a piece of cake for me because I always have something to write about. But I was wrong. Today I'm speechless; don't know what to say. If you look hard enough, you might just see me blushing.... I'm not so comfortable having special attention bestowed upon me.... But Jerusalem, at My Little Life, nominated me for the Nice Matters Award. My first award! That was so nice and I feel so honored. Thank you, Jerusalem!

But why....? The only reason I can think of is because I plugged my daughter's new Etsy site with her cute, homemade journals. Oops, there I go again! Tracy said it was a shameless plug, but what's a mother for if not to help and encourage her children through all stages of life?!

When I started my blog, I wasn't certain where I was headed with it. I had been a faithful reader of Jerusalem's blog and loved it. Hardly a day went by that I didn't "check in" with her life and her family. It was like I was eavesdropping; spying on them. Eventually I left a comment. That opened up a whole new beginning of blogging for me. I was no longer a closet blogger! And now I have my own. It's been a wonderful experience; I don't know that I'll blog for ever, but for now it's filling a void in my life.

Blogging brings like people together and friendships are formed. Creative people blog together; share inspiration and creative ideas. Gardeners tend to attract other gardeners and share their garden ideas. People who love to cook, tend to cook together. Then there's people like me who don't seem to have a theme. I get the best of all blogging worlds. I so appreciate the friendships that are forming; my readers; those people who have decided that Pieces of the Puzzle are worthy of their time. We may never meet in person, but know I'm sincere when I say I appreciate the time you spend visiting me and my family on-line and for giving me the opportunity to visit you.

On that note, I would like to nominate the following for the Nice Matters Award:

My daughter, Tracy at Simply Blissful, of course. Tracy for her sweetness, her creativity, her integrity, her love for her family, and just for being Tracy.

Connie at Notes From a Cottage Garden. Connie has THE most incredible photos of vegies and flowers and butterflies and hummingbirds that she shares with us. It's truly a treat to visit her site.

Julie, from Equus Villa. When you go to Julie's blog, the first thing you see is this beautiful barn/home that she lives in. From there, stories of her life.

A Pink Bee from fairiebees. She's a busy lady; very creative; and so very nice.

Manuela from The Feathered Nest. Just because she always has such nice comments.

I know some of you have already been nominated, probably many times over, but I just wanted to acknowledge that I appreciate your friendships and your regular visits to my life. Nancy

journals are a girl's best friend

What great news I have today! My daughter has her Etsy shop, Simply Blissful, up and ready to shop from! Tracy has always loved paper. Even as a young girl she used to collect the cellophane that came wrapped around candy. Now, today, she makes the cutest journals. In her blog she says, "Honestly, though, I am still wondering if people will buy them. I mean, I think they're totally cute, but underneath it all, they're still just composition notebooks & anyone can make their own if they were so inclined." CAN being the key word. Sure, we could! We CAN do anything we want. But the majority of us won't. That's what I love about all the Etsy homemade craft sites. I can enjoy everyone elses talents without having to actually invest in all the different craft materials!

I love Tracy's journals. She gave me one a few months ago to write all my thoughts down; to vent. I was going through a difficult period of time (involving a 17 year old stepdaughter who came to live with us.... against her will....) and she knew this was an avenue I've used for years and years to keep my thoughts straight.

But journals can be used for anything, not just as a diary. I need a place to keep "all my ducks in a row," as my sister would say. But it's true! If I don't write things down.... it'll never get done, it may never get purchased, we may never actually arrive at our vacation destination site with our toothbrushes and underwear! Yes, I'm a master list maker and I'm proud of it! You, too, can be a master list maker by following the steps below:

STEP ONE. Find a notebook to keep all your ducks in a row. One of those note pads you steal... I mean take from the hotel room does not count.... You need something with some substance. Something you will navigate toward each time you need to write a thought down. It doesn't work if you have notes and thoughts written on a hundred different pieces of paper laying here and there.

A medium size notebook works best. You want something easy to write in. Although I have to say, I love Tracy's idea of a mini journal to throw in your purse! I also carry a little notebook in my purse that is mostly used for traveling. This mini notebook is where I keep my shopping list, most important email addresses, places to visit, etc. But a notebook, color coordinated to go with my purse.... hmmmmmm...... Okay, so, first step--go to Tracy's Etsy shop and purchase one of her journals! Or better yet--two--one of each size!

STEP TWO. Purchase some sticky notes. Post-it-Notes. These will come in handy to identify the different sections of your journal/notebook. I use them as tabs. Here's some of the sections in my journal:

1. To do. The items on this list range from cleaning the toilet to painting the bathroom trim white. I don't know about you, but often times I feel like nothing ever gets accomplished. Why? Because most of what we do has to be redone next week. And the next after that. It's not like our men can go out and chop a cord of wood and feel that sense of accomplishment. Woo hoo!! There's not a lot of satisfaction in knowing the toilet is clean... But there is sense of satisfaction looking at all the check marks on your "to do" list once it's been done. Do you agree?


2. Needs/Wants/Things to Purchase. This doesn't need much of an explanation. Most things I want in life are written down in this section. Items like: tv cabinet, white sheets, new pillows. Then there's the Bose stereo system.... Unfortunately this has been on my list for about 14 years now! It's a need/want of my husbands and not so much my need, but I still write it down and maybe one day....


3. Travel section. This is where I write down everything I need to take on a trip, plus some. I've mentioned before that I'm not a light traveler, and this is why. As long as there's room on the page.... it means I need to pack one more thing.... Maybe the mini journal would work better for my travel section! I also write down my shopping list and stores/places I want to visit while on vacation. These are eventually transferred into my mini notebook that I carry in my purse.


4. Landscaping section. Here I list plants I want to buy, yard art I'd like. You'll even find drawings of garden sites.


5. Holiday Plans. This is where I write my ideas for Christmas--gifts to buy, decorating to do, craft projects to attempt. I always keep track of birthdays and other special days and ideas to celebrate them.

This is just a sampling of what I write in my notebooks. Okay, on to the next step.

STEP THREE. Always, always have your notebook/journal handy. It won't do you any good if you have to search for it when you need it. Next thing you know, you'll have 100 post-it-notes laying around again!

STEP FOUR. When you've filled up the journal, don't toss it! No! I love going back over my journals years later to see what I was up to. Do be sure you write a date in the cover though so you know what dates/years it covered (June - December 2007).

So that's how you, too, can become a master list maker. And if you just need a place to keep your most personal thoughts, these journals are perfect for that too. Happy journaling!

seafood chowder

My cousin and his wife were in town a couple weeks ago, visiting my ex-husband. They've been good friends for well over 30 years, in fact, I met my first husband through my cousin. Anyway, we had everyone over for dinner and some good conversation before they headed back home. My "ex" brought the brightest red sockeye salmon that I sprinkled with a little lemon pepper, a spread of mayo, and lemon slices, and then baked. Oh, so good!


Also on the agenda was seafood chowder. As summer closes in on us and fall hovers overhead, you might need a good, solid chowder for dinner one night, or two. What's nice about this chowder is you can put anything in it--halibut, salmon, crab, shrimp, scallops or clams OR some of all! Keep in mind that these quantities are just estimates. I generally triple this recipe using 2 lbs of bacon, a whole onion, six stalks celery, five or six cloves of garlic, 5 lbs of potatoes, etc. You might want to add a little more flour than called for too if you like a thicker, creamier soup base.

I love my chowder full of goodness--lots of bacon, potatoes, and seafood. I probably don't put as much water and cream (whole milk) in that it calls for either to give it a thicker base. In this version I added about 3 lbs of halibut, 1 lb of small bay scallops, three cans of baby clams (with some juice), two trays of small Petersburg shrimp, 2 lbs of bacon, and 5 lbs of potatoes. Anyway, this recipe gives you a base to go by and you can feel confident that no matter what you add, it'll be scrumpuous! Add some crusty bread and you've got a meal!

Seafood Chowder

6 slices bacon
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup flour
6 cups water
8 tsp chicken bouillon
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 pound salmon or halibut or a variety of seafood
2 cup light cream

Cook bacon until crisp. In droppings cook celery, onion, and garlic until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in water and bouillon. Bring to boil. Add potatoes. Reduce heat. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in seafood. Cook 15 minutes. Add cream. Heat. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Bon appetit!

BBJs

It's 5:00 a.m. and I have a migraine; second day in a row now. I'd probably still be in bed if it wasn't for the tap tap I heard. There it is again--TAP TAP TAP. Is someone at the door? This early? Can't be.... TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP again. Louder and more desperate. Now I know where it's coming from. I get up and stumble out to the sliding glass door and, sure enough, a whole passel of BBJs (Baby Blue Jays) are sitting in front of the glass door, on the table, on the chairs, on the gazebo, in the trees. Just waiting for their breakfast. And impatiently, I might add! It's only 5:00 A.M. for crying out loud!!!!!

My question is, how do they know I'll get up and feed them?! How do they learn that? Did their parents tell them I'm a sucker? As I talk to other ladies, Blue Jays don't even bother them, let alone knock on their door.

Did I tell you the story about my husband's shower? No? I didn't think so. I'm at work and he was in the shower. He said when he came out, he heard the two dogs barking like crazy. Our little Sadie gets in a real frenzy when she barks and it's like she can't stop once she gets going. The more she barks the more she shakes her head and the more she shakes her head, the more she barks. We have to physically put our hands on her head and gently direct her to her bed to get her sto stop. We have not been able to correct this behavior and I don't know that we ever will. It's a frenzy behavior for her and one can only imagine what horror in her history created it. Anyway, back to the story. The dogs are barking like crazy and Mike thinks someone is at the door and here he is soaking wet. Upon investigation he realizes it's only the BBJs tapping at the glass door and the dogs going crazy thinking some one's at the front door. Silly girls.

These pictures were taken last year but you get the drift. As try as I might, if I ignore them they've started flying INTO the door!!! All you hear is this heavy BANG! Blue Jays have their positions within the flock.... I wonder what this one did that he got assigned this job....?! When they get tired of trying to get my attention on the back porch, they just fly to the front porch and sit on the porch rail and stare at me or fly in front of the windows to get my attention. Again, I ask..... how do they know I'm their neighborhood sucker but more importantly, WHY ME???

a bridge collapses

We've been glued to the tv, watching the rescue unravel. It's sad to know that just 24 hours after it collapsed, the rescue has turned from finding the survivors to retrieving the dead. These are dangerous conditions. Thank God for the heroes and the goodness of every day citizens who have risked their lives to help and for the dedication of the firefighters and police force to do all they can. May God keep them safe and give them peace.

a road trip

I love road trips! They put me to sleep though.... It's a good thing we live where we do because our road trips don't take much more than an hour's time. Maybe 1-1/2 hours depending on how much time we spend taking pictures. If you start from one end of Juneau and drive to the other end, it's about 60 miles. Here's some pictures from this week's road trip:

Alaskan cotton. This grows in a marshy, muskeggy environment (soggy) and is sometimes difficult to get to because the ground is so damp. It blooms for a couple weeks and looks like a ball of cotton. This picture was taken at the end of it's cycle and after the wind and rain has been beating on it for days. It's looking a little shabby, but still a beautiful field of cotton. I was hoping to get some cotton picked on this trip but it just wasn't meant to be.


Deer. On the way home, we turned into a driveway of some new houses that just went up 4-Sale. We heard they are low income housing.... overlooking Auke Lake.... Interested, because they're not very nice houses, we wanted a closer look. As we were "critiquing" them, we happened to notice a deer just feet away from us. I was snapping pictures like crazy, knowing the deer would take off at any second. Sadie was barking like crazy, like she wanted to attack this deer. The deer just stood and looked at us for the longest time. As we started backing out of the driveway, my husband noticed a second deer! So we stayed a little longer and appreciated their stillness while I snapped away.

Fireweed. Isn't it gorgeous? Fireweed is one of our most vibrant, and massive, wild flower. The stems can grow up to 5-6 feet high. The flowers start blooming from the bottom of the spike and as the days and weeks go by, more flowers open up until they get to the very tip of the stalk. When they reach the top, the old timers say we have six more weeks until winter.... This gorgeous view is from Brotherhood Bridge with the wild Fireweed in the foreground and the Mendenhall Glacier in the background. This view is about four minutes from our home. How lucky we are to be so close to such beauty.


Cottage. We don't have many cute, cottage-style homes in Juneau except in the downtown historic district. Most new houses are just big, ugly boxes with no class, no individuality to them. This is one of my favorite little homes in Juneau. I think it's just as cute as a bug's ear and I'd love to live here. It's next to the main house and is probably a rental or maybe a grandma apartment unit. I just love it. If I lived there, I'd probably put a different window on the left . It looks like the perfect homestead for my sweetie and me.

Container Van. Most everything that comes to Juneau comes in these container vans, on a barge, towed by a tug boat up through the Inside Passage, along the Alaska coast line. Groceries, clothes, furniture, new vehicles. Most everything. Some perishable items will arrive via Alaska Airlines as freight. We live on the mainland; we're not an island. We just don't have any road systems in or out of Juneau. To get to Juneau you either arrive on Alaska Airlines, the Alaska Marine Highway System, or your personal boat or small plane. The barge arrives on Tuesday of each week. In the 1970s and 80s, you could find yourself in a pickle if you needed milk or eggs on a Monday morning.... only to find the shelves empty and the barge not due for another day.

This was a short road trip but thought you'd enjoy seeing some local pictures of Juneau.