AmookIslandCreations

03212024 I have been home for a month and feeling much better now. I am back up to jumping 3x per day for 24 minutes each time, on my mini-trampoline. I can finally taste my food again. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

02242024 Just spent 2 more days in the ER and Providence Hospital! Even though I constantly wore a mask, the entire time I was out of the village, somehow I contracted Covid! It felt like I was drowning, every time I sat back in my recliner, and forget about sleeping and eating! No fever, vomiting or pain. They put me on new heart medicines and Lasix to draw off the fluid around my heart. I have an ultrasound on my heart tomorrow, and blood tests on Monday. Then, hopefully home, Monday afternoon. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska!

02082024 NO PURPLE PLZ! I am just back from 10 days of travel to have surgery for kidney stones. So glad it is done and I am back home again. Because we live remote, something that would usually just be a Day Surgery, took almost 2 weeks, to complete, 7 months from when I started having blood in my urine every day. Also found out that I had a silent heart attack, an old one, and will possibly need a pace-maker in the future. Gotta be brave to get old!

Good news is, I will be able to get back on my mini-trampoline in a week. I have lost 75 pounds since last January, just from consistently bouncing on my mini-tramp. I have a RAVS 48 inch one with a safety bar and arm bands. I love it because it has 8 legs instead of 4 or 6 and springs instead of bands. It is good for up to 450 pounds. I started out bouncing for 1 minute 1x per day, and now do 3 sessions of 30 minutes, 6 days a week.

Our mailman is gone again until, at least the beginning of March. That means that I can send out my swaps, because I can hand them directly to the plane pilot to mail in town, but I won't be able to rate as my mail will be warehoused in the PO, unless the USPO sends someone out for a day, to record and distribute it.

Drink plenty of fluids every day! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

07082023 I am taking at least the rest of July and August off from Swap-Bot. There is nothing wrong, I will just be very busy with visitors and gardens and won't have access to a computer most of the time. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska!

07032023 ATTENTION! Our neighbor village, Karluk, is offering an "all expenses paid," year of living, to 2 families with 3-4 school aged children. including a 3-4 bedroom Home and vocational training! What a great opportunity for someone to try out living remote and maybe making a life changing move. They are receiving a lot of interest as many people want the chance to move here! They will be screening to try to make the best fit. Only serious inquiries please! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska!

06212023 Finished 4,000 swaps! Yay!

0532023 NO Purple Please!!!

03102023 I finished rating all the swaps(75+), I received in the last couple days, both from swap bot and other sites. Thanks so much for your patience and especially for putting your names and swap names on your art! That made it so much easier to get through all of them! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03092023 No purple please! Our postman came into work today! So far, I have 50 swaps to rate, so please be patient with me as I work my way through them. He said he got about half way through the first class mail bags, so far, and has all the other classes and packages to do yet. Our temps reached into the low 50s, after teens for the last week. Spring is teasing us! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03042023 We have just cleared a heavy storm system. As a consequence of that storm system, the barge that brings food to Kodiak, from the Lower 48, has passed us by for more than a week. One of my friends just sent me a series of pictures showing empty shelves with no eggs, no produce, no dairy, no fresh meat and lots of empty freezer space. Just a reminder to keep your pantries stocked, with a few extras on hand, and to set it up so you use the oldest items first.

On top of that, our postman has been out of the village for over a month now, so we have not been able to pick up our mail, which includes internet purchases of food and supplies, and medicine. Just another reminder...My DH takes my swaps up to the airstrip and gives them directly to the pilot to take into town to be mailed from there, so you all will get your swaps. I just currently can't rate yours right now. The joys of living remote!!! :) Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03032023 To go shopping, I have to drive my boat to the village, where there is an airstrip, and take a plane 60 miles, to a "city" where the population is 5,000. They have a Walmart and a Safeway Grocery Store, along with a couple Hardware stores, a Marine/Boat shop, a couple barber shops, a few restaurants, and a greenhouse. If I want to go to a larger city, (Anchorage has 300,000 people), I need to take another plane, to get there. I can e-mail my grocery order (twice a year) to Safeway, and they will package it all up and take it out to the airport, and they will bring it to me. Generally, for everything else, we use the internet. You can see where I live if you Google "Amook Island, AK." Alaska is gorgeous! Anywhere you can aim a camera, you will find a beautiful vista. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

0222023 There is a new Covid outbreak here in Alaska, with 711 New cases, according to the Coast Guard, of which I am part of the Auxiliary. We currently do not have a postman, (he went on vacation) and cannot receive mail. However, I have my DH meet the planes, whenever they come, and put my outgoing mail on them. With their winter schedule, they are only supposed to come out 3 days a week, but with charters, they come more often, weather permitting. With correct postage, the pilots will carry our mail in and the postman, in Kodiak, will pick it up from the airline. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

01012023 HAPPY NEW YEAR OF SWAPPING! It is 40°F outside and we have no snow. Just high winds (40-50k) and 8-12 foot seas! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska!

NO PURPLE PLEASE! My word for 2023 is IMAGINE! Have fun and joy in creating!

11282022 Can you say SNOW?!?! We got 10" of the stuff, last night, and its still coming down gangbusters! It's starting to blow, so well have 3-5 foot drifts in a few hours. No planes or mail today! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

11222022 We made out our 6 month food order and my DH took a plane to town to do the shopping for us. He purchased over 1000# of food. He chartered a plane (a Cherokee) to bring it back to the village. If he would have just paid the regular freight cost per #, it would have cost us over $790 just to get our food out here. The Charter was $660, $30 more than it cost just 6 months ago. The order filled up both of our trucks. We ended up having to take 4 boxes of frozen food, down to the Senior Center, because we did not have room for it in our freezers. (We got 2 free turkeys!) We found out our fuel prices have all gone up at least 50 cents per gallon again. $5.85 for unleaded gas, $6.03 for heating fuel and $5,97 for generator fuel. The village was almost out of gas, because the weather kept the fuel barge from making it here any sooner. We were their "last stop for 2022!" Their next stop is Seattle and home until next spring. Happy Thanksgiving! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

10122022 I was finally able to make it back to Larsen Bay. We have been having some awful storms, strong enough to shake our 4-story island house, for hours on end. We don't have internet access on the island. My DH has been mailing my swaps for me. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska!

07242022 I am taking the month of August off from Swap Bot. There is nothing wrong and I will still be rating the swaps, I receive. I will be spending most of my time out on Amook Island working on my gardens and enjoying visitors. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

05022022 No purple please! We are preparing for our annual move out to Amook Island. Because of the weather and some volunteer work, we are doing, we are late getting out there. We just had one of our grocery orders filled. We need to e-mail the order, to the store, they package it all up for us, then it goes to Island Air. We usually charter a plane, because it is less expensive than the per-pound freight cost of 77 cents. I sent in the same list, as last year, at this time. I was able to get most of the things, on my list, but it cost almost 3x as much, as last year. Also the plane charter went up from $495 to $630, because they added a fuel charge. Our village fuel, which includes gas, diesel #1 and #2, just went up 50 cents a gallon for each. We are doing all of our buying off the internet, mostly on Amazon, because shipping is free on Amazon Prime. I hope you are all stocking up your pantries. Just buying 5 extra cans of food a week, will increase your food security. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

02082022 I prefer all handmade postcards be sent to me either in a plastic sheath or envelope. Since I live so remote, mail bags sit out in rain, mud and snow. Pieces are lost or mangled beyond recognition. I don't enjoy damaged mail, especially when you have gone to so much work to make something beautiful for me. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

01052022 My word for this year is "dynamic!" If the weather is anything to go by, this year is going to be a very dynamic one! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

12072021 No purple plz! Today, I received my 4,000th 5! We are stuck in record breaking cold! Usually, our winter temps hover around 40° F. This year, we have had sustained temps at 5° F. Yesterday, my ACS internet was out, (been out for 12 days now) my Hughes net was out, ( 3 days) both our cell phone and land line were out, and the radio wasn't working. Only way to communicate out was by VHF radio. There were no planes, yesterday, which means no mail. Today, we are having Gale Warnings which means 55-60 K winds. These will extend for the next few days. A great time to stay indoors and craft. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

10112021 EARTHQUAKE 6.9 at 114 miles east of Chignik, Alaska, 69.1 K deep. Happened at 0110 Alaska time. Epicenter is about 10 miles east of 8.0 pointer in July and is considered an aftershock of that one. It took an hour for my glass orbs to stop swinging! No Tsunami warnings for this one. Stay safe and healthy, Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

09222021 My word for 2021 is THRIVE! No purple please! My postman is out of the village, with no backup, until Monday. The planes are now on their winter schedule, weather permitting. I will contact my partners if their swaps are affected. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

09202021 We had our first hard freeze at 29° F. Covid is back in our village again! There was a big run on the village clinic, for testing, as two of the confirmed sick had visited virtually everyone in the village, except my DH and me. Bears and foxes are on the move. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

08132021EARTHQUAKE 6.9 at 85 miles SE of Perryville. 21 miles deep in the earth. Happened at 3:57 Alaska time. Starting to wonder if there is a new volcano growing out there. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

08102021 Covid is back in our village! Our postman was tested positive and his family, and about 10 others in the village, are sick at this time. He has another person trained in. I will keep you all informed if there will be any delay in either sending or receiving my mail. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

07292021 EARTHQUAKE 8.2 at 65 miles SE of Perryville, about 260 miles from us. All my hanging ornaments and glass globes, were making 1 foot diameter circles! I t made my fishnets on the walls, look like there were live fish caught in them. They were swinging 6-8 inches away from the wall. It felt like sitting in a boat with 2 foot swells and went on for about 5 minutes. The aftershocks, large ones, continued on for over and hour, and weaker ones are ongoing. Nothing broken and only a tiny Tsunami. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

07272021 There are 44 new cases of the Virus in Kodiak. We had been down to 1 or 2 a week prior. Alaska has one of the highest rates of contagion, in the USA, at this time.

On the island, we have 1 Fox, 1 doe, 1 speedie, no whales, no sea lions, 1 pair of eagles, and some song birds. No ducks, no puffins, a few gulls, and a few starfish. Our temps have stayed in the 50's and cloudy, so my gardens are way behind. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

04122021My word for this year is THRIVE! No purple please! We are up to a dozen eagles in and around our yard. The abscess on Jack's face broke and he looks much healthier. A couple of foxes look like they are going to have their kits soon. Tourist season is beginning. It is a dangerous time for all. Some people think this is a lawless place and they can do anything they want to. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03102021 Eagle is getting better! Able to catch fish, on the fly, on the first bounce now. We have at least one mated pair of eagles that hangs out here. I'm hoping they are catching voles! We have an ermine living out in our boat shop. They catch voles too. The raven (Jumpin' Jack Flash) has an abscess or growth on the right side of his face, that makes it so he has a hard time seeing out of his right eye. The deer, fox, magpies and crows seem to be doing OK. Hoping for Spring to come soonest. Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

02052021 We have been watching an injured eagle try to heal in the cold weather we are having. When we first saw it, a week ago, it couldn't fly and its right wing was drooping. It tried to fly and actually crashed into our deck railing. Now it can fly for short distances, and hold its wing at 3/4 mast. We are hoping for the best. Hoping for the best for all of us too with this extended time of separation and isolation due to the virus. Stay safe and healthy my friends! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

12212020 My word for 2021 is THRIVE.

12172020 we have had 10 confirmed cases, so far, but with only 40 people in the village, most of whom are related, I think the only ones that don't have it are my DH and myself. Even our health aides have tested positive and the clinic is closed until further notice. We have had our first death, here in our village. Kodiak is #15th in the NATION for spread of the virus right now. Please pray for all of us! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

11202020 2 cases of coronavirus yesterday, and 2 more today, in our remote village, despite all the precautions and safeguards we have taken to prevent it! With only 30 people in the village, expect it will go through here like a wildfire. Stay safe and healthy! Wear your mask! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

11142020 Back from Amook Island for the winter! We had a week of storms where the wind and waves shook our house like a 7 point earthquake, for 3 days straight. That's our cue to return to LB for the winter! Lots of adventures this summer! Stay safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

08292020 No purple please.

07012020 We are spending most of our time isolating out on Amook Island. The only way to get to us is by float plane or boat. I am completing my swaps as usual, doing most of them ahead of time and then addressing them as partners are assigned. Hope all of you are staying safe and healthy. This pandemic is a scary one. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

04152020 First confirmed case of coronavirus on Kodiak Island. Stay safe and healthy. Wash your hands. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03252020 Our village is closed to all outside travel except for medical reasons. If someone does make it here they are met at the airport or harbor, told they will be in quarantine for the next 14 days and followed to their house. The airline actually tells them that also, before they board the plane. Hope you are safe and healthy! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03212020 Happy Spring!!! Hope you all are safe and healthy! We are still getting mail, though it is slow. Now they are suggesting you either open you mail with gloves and a mask or leave it out in your garage for 24 hours before opening it. Other than that, we are having trouble ordering construction materials for projects we want to do.this summer. They cannot guarantee their arrival in time to make the boat that is supposed to come here in April. Wash your hands, stay 6 ft (2 meters) from others, and stay home if you are sick. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

01152020 Yay! 3000 hearts on a bright, sunny, calm day. Hugs from Alaska.

12312019 Happy New Year!!! Hope this is your best year yet! No purple please! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

12082019 I am attending a class in Anchorage, this week, and will not be able to rate my partners during this time. I sent out all of my partner's swaps, due up until 12162019. I will catch up on my mail when I return home. Hugs from Alaska.

10292019 After a long drought-filled summer and fall, we have started getting huge storms, with record amounts of rain. I grew tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, peppers, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and cabbage, along with various bushes and flowers, in my greenhouse and raised outdoor beds. David had to haul 24 five-gallon buckets of water, from the waterfall by the harbor in LB, to water my plants, as all the streams by us went dry. Fish camps had their wells go dry and the village had to resort to using diesel fuel to run our electric plant.

Our beach is slowly showing life again. We have pics, from trail cameras, showing the animals turning around rather than come onto our beach, all spring and summer long, from the north and the south. Just recently, we have seen deer pass by, but no other large animals. We had no eagles nesting, no foxes, no bear, and still no intertidal animals and plants, except some starfish.

Time to put the gardens to bed for the winter and us to move back into Larsen Bay, as well.

06122019 We are out on Amook Island for the summer and fall. We come in once a week to check mail, get fuel and water, and send out swaps as well as attend City Council meetings as Sec/Treas and Vice Mayor. Out on Amook, we have seen a few starfish, a very emaciated deer, one fox and one eagle; one sea otter, one seal and no fish, where there are usually millions. No intertidal animals and the kelp is gone. We pray for their return. Hugs from Alaska! Sherry

04132019 My DH went out to Amook today to replace our running line. He saw virtually NO animals, no sign of animals and the birdseed, he had put out a week ago, had not been touched. Usually, there are deer, on the beach to greet us, as well as foxes. There are usually eagles repairing and building nests, sea birds everywhere, and, with as mild as this winter has been, the song birds should already be back. There should be whales, sea lions, sea otters, seals, river otters porpoises etc., in Uyak Bay. There is nothing! Pray for Alaska! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

04032019 Still no snow, the trees are beginning to show their buds. We haven't seen any bear sign yet. For the last few days, we have had severe clear, sunny skies! So looking forward to seeing banks of wildflowers on the mountain sides and watching baby animals and birds. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03082019 Yay!!! 3,000 fives! Been in the city of Kodiak for the week. So ready to get home after a week of meetings. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

02282019 No appreciable snow since before Christmas. Plenty of rain, rain, rain. My DH saw whales out in Uyak Bay. We only have a few eagles, crows, magpies and foxes, here now. Hugs from Alaska.

01052019 Happy New Year!!! NO purple please.

Currently, we have a Kodiak Bear mother with cub, prowling around, 3 deer, 1 fox, 2 bunnies, 15 eagles, 1 raven (Jumping Jack Flash), 50 crows, a dozen magpies and 1 little brown sparrow, that visit us daily, in Larsen Bay. The cub is tiny, only about 5 feet long. My DH went out to check on our Amook Island house and there were 4 deer out there, that greeted him and followed him around the house, as he was checking the trail cameras and hauling gas up to the greenhouse. There were very few pictures of animals on the trail cameras. No change in the ocean animals. All the kelp, intertidal animals and plants, and small birds are still dead. Please, pray for our oceans! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

12132018 BEAR! We had a 7 foot Kodiak Bear walk E to W on the road in front of our Larsen Bay winter house, today. When my DH went out to measure the track to see how big it was, the bear followed him back to our house. David thought it acted like it wanted to come into our house with him. He had to yell at it: "Get back in the woods where you belong!!!" Up here a 7 foot bear is not a "BIG" one, but it looks big when it it walks by and makes our truck look small! (How you measure to see what size the bear: Measure the track at the widest point, side to side, then add 1 inch to that and convert it to feet. For this bear the tracks were 6 inches wide, add one inch to that, 7 inches, so it is a 7 foot bear.) Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

12012018 Earthquake! A 7 pointer about 300 miles northeast of us. It didn't affect us except for not getting mail and having a short time tsunami warning. It affected the greater Anchorage Bowl to the MatSu Valley, the most populous area in Alaska, with close to 500,000 people. The miracle is: Even with all the road and property damage, during rush hour, there have been no reported deaths or serious injuries. On most days, the roads in and out of Anchorage, leading to the Ted Stevens International Airport, and to the Air Base and Army Fort (JBER), are bumper to bumper for 100 square miles. None of the bridges, or overpasses fell on anyone, that we have heard of, and though the stores are in terrible shape as far as having their wares thrown to the floor, and broken glass, people, for the most part, ended up with minimal cuts and bruises. The hard part now will be to repair all the infrastructure and determine what is safe and what is not. There are only a few main arteries of highways, and when those are affected, it causes hardship and isolation everywhere. They did reopen the Airport so we should be able to get and send mail, but it might be delayed.

That being said, strong aftershocks continue to happen and imperil cleanup and rescue efforts.

Please keep Alaska in your prayers and thank you so much for those who wrote notes to check on me. You are special to my heart! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

11172018 We are now in Larsen Bay, for the winter, with intermittent trips out to Amook to check on the house and the animals. We had to put a new motor on our landing craft. We managed to finish, out the season, with it only running on 3 cylinders. Our landing craft is our "sea truck." Think of a pickup truck, with the walk-in cab and engine in the back. We can carry a 4 wheeler, and the bow has a door that cranks down so we can walk out on the beach, without getting wet. We use it for carrying water, fuel, food, pets, freight, plants for the greenhouse, books and anything else that needs to go between Amook Island and here. This year we used it to deliver insulin, run people around to get stories for the museum in Kodiak, and go see friends, who live even more remote than we do. It is the perfect boat to take whale/nature watching and subsistence hunting.

Our grandniece, Kacy Smith, came and stayed with us for 10 days. That was a treat! We wish more people would come and visit so we could share this wonderful place. My DH writes a daily log that he sends out once a week, with pictures of all the cool stuff.

We have noticed even more devastation of the animals and plants around our area. There are very few ducks this year and I have not seen a Mallard, when usually there are hundreds of them. All the chickadees and other songbirds are gone. There are no crab to be had. We have seen only 2 eagles in Larsen Bay, when usually by this time of year, there are 50. The bears disappeared too. The cannery, in LB, dug out a sewage tank that's the size of a semi trailer and dumped it on the beach facing out into the ocean and left it there. Since, whatever they put in the water, lumber, plastics, construction supplies, ends up over on our beach, we figure that the chemicals that were in that sewage container are what killed everything. That's the only thing that is different from other years, so that is a logical assumption. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

10042018 We have been noticing that more and more of the life around our island and beyond is disappearing. First, We didn't have any eagle nestlings, though for 20 years, there have been 2 nests behind our house. Then we noticed that the fish, starfish, crabs, snails, sea anenomes, sea urchins, nudibranchs, sea worms, sea weeds and all the other little sea creatures we gone and the barnacles and blue mussels were dying. What really brought it to our attention was a sick deer and 9 foxes except for one, with an eye infection and a limp, disappearing. We went on one of our boat rides to a place called Brown's Lagoon, where the water is shallow and clear enough to see the whole bottom, which usually is teeming with life, and it was like a table top, no life whatsoever! We went into town and spoke with the US Fish and Wildlife, Alaska Fish and Game, and NOAA and they thought it was because of the warm water we had this year...that doesn't explain why the small song birds are gone, even in Larsen Bay! We are used to seeing rafts of thousands of seabirds, getting ready to head back out to sea, this year there were 2 flocks of 7 birds! It is not just us that are noticing this! I'm worried! Hugs from Alaska!

08292018 Saw our first bear, in front of our Amook Island house, on the beach and ready to climb the steps to our house. It stopped and ran away when my DH shouted at it. He later went down to measure the width of the footprints to see how big a bear it was. The foot print was 7 inches wide, which means it was an 8 Foot Bear about 3 years old. It still had its "boy" bear collar, which is a lighter colored fur around its neck. I love to see them, but don't want them by my house as they can do soooo much damage. See stories below. There were pods of whales around us when we came back to LB. They are magnificent! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

08212018 Transient Orcas were hunting seals off our beach. The seals, sea otters, river otters and sea lions, either haul up on the beach or hug the shoreline as closely as possible! The orcas splash and cast about trying to frighten them into fleeing into the ocean, where they can get them. Resident Orcas only eat fish and the two types do not speak the same language and they do not mix. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

08052018 My DH just saw 2 dozen orca in Uyak Bay, out in front of our house! Amazing! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

07252018 Yay!!! Hit the 2000 swaps completed mark today! They were all so much fun! I've learned a lot and met the best people! Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

07182018 Fox and deer play frequently on the beach in front of our house. Yesterday, as we were leaving Amook to come to LB, the fox was way down in a corner of the beach with first one deer and then 2 chasing him. The fox climbed a pretty sheer cliff to escape, and when the deer rose up on their hind legs to sniff him, he jumped over the top of them and came racing down the beach with the 2 deer in hot pursuit! About 100 feet from the corner, he turned and raced up into the long grass, leaving the deer on the beach. They looked around for him for a bit and then started walking towards me. They came to within 50 yards of me, when David came in with the boat, to pick me up. I have had them pass within arm's length of me. Just another day in a National Geographic life. Hugs from Alaska.

060518 Spent the week out on Amook Island. Saw whales, deer, foxes, sea otters, seals and lots of eagles and other sea birds. We come into town once a week to gather our mail, do laundry, take showers, attend community meetings (we are both on the city council), mow the lawn and send David to Kodiak for weekly PT treatments. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

03302018 My DH went out to Amook to open the house up so we can move back there soon. He had 20,000 pictures on the trail cameras, but only saved 175 of them. It sure is fun to watch the foxes and deer hang out, while we are not there. The storms of the winter, took out the first 4 feet of the stairs, we build of rocks, cooling racks and chain-link fencing. Every year we build it, and every year we have to repair it. The ocean is so strong, it lifts 100# rocks, and carries them 100s of feet down the beach. Sometimes we never find the rocks that we used. He saw whales, deer and foxes while he was there. Soon!!!

02132018 NO Purple Please!!!

01222018 Earthquake!!! It was an 8 pointer. I was reading, in my hotel room in Kodiak, at 12:30 am (We were in town for the Leadership Forum) when the earth started shaking. I wasn't concerned, at first, because it just sounded and felt like a big truck going by, and we have big earthmovers on the island. But...then it kept shaking on and on and on, and the Tsunami Alarms started claxtonning. so I woke up my DH, who had slept through the whole thing, and we accessed the net, found where the epicenter was and listened to updates. There was a report of a 32 foot wave, on its way to Kodiak, that would hit at 0145. We were evacuated to our car, after being told to pack everything up, and directed to drive above 100 feet to the Library parking lot. We stayed there, in the rental car, listening to the radio, until 0400, when the Tsunami Warning was decreased to an Advisory. We were also in contact with our village, thru cell phone, with a friend, ready to go get Dusty and Blue Fish, if needed.

This turned out to be a non-event, but was a great exercise and training to get ready for the next big one, which may not be. Kodiak had been completely devastated by the '64 Earthquake and there were lots of people who still remembered that one, at the Forum. Almost all of our first morning, was spent debriefing and discussing alternative ways of communicating and getting information. We were lucky, in that there was no cell phone disruption and we could use the internet, though many of the internet sites were quickly over whelmed. Most people have become so dependent on cell phones that they have put away their marine and ham radios, which do work, in case of emergencies. Something for you, in the Lower 48, to think about. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

12212017 Today was the shortest day of the year, with 6 hours and 20 minutes of daylight. Winter Solstice means more to Alaskan's than those in the Lower 48, because from now on, the days will get longer, first by seconds, then by minutes, until the longest day of Summer Solstice. No snow for us, except on the high mountains. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

10312017 What we thought was 1 bear breaking into places turned into 5. One has been destroyed, caught in the act of breaking into a house. The others have been caught on film. Most people in the village are leaving all their lights on at night, using Critter Getter sensors, that make a high pitched modulated squeal, and putting nailed boards in front of their doors. The door, that the bear broke out of our boat house will cost $1,000 by the time we purchase the door, get it shipped here and get it installed. We were "lucky" in that we only lost one door and not all of our food out of our freezers. Some places have had multiple "visits" with entire kitchens and pantries destroyed, living room and bedroom furniture destroyed, entire walls taken out, greenhouses destroyed. Any replacement items have to come by plane or boat, and shipping is 73 cents per pound. That's if you can find the items to get them here. All of this because of the irresponsibility of a few people wanting to get pictures of the bears. Now they have to be destroyed as they cannot unlearn these bad habits. A fed bear is a dead bear.

10162017 A bear broke into our boat shop last night, while we were still on Amook. It broke the back door frame, twisted the steel door, opened our freezers and took about $500 worth of food: taco wraps, hamburger patties, salmon, cheese, hot dogs, and all our Halloween candy. It ate half of it in the shop and took half into the neighbor's back yard to eat. (we found more wrappers) This same bear also broke into a bunch of other places, so far. That's what happens when the cannery and lodges feed the bears. They get habituated to human food and start breaking into places to get it when the lodges and cannery close down for the season.

09252017 32 degrees F today. Winter is on it's way. Whales are still here.

09022017 We are back in Larsen Bay for a few days due to a coming storm. It's better to have our boat in our slip, in the harbor, rather than on a running line in 50K+ winds. We haven't really had a summer here; temps have been around 50 degrees F, with only a couple of sunny days. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

0652017My DH had a successful cataract surgery. Looking forward to returning home, after his last appointment tomorrow. 2 flights and a boat ride.

No Purple Please.

04012017 Put the landing craft back in the water and into the harbor. It was 48 degrees F today so spring is here. Soon we will be back out on Amook Island for the Spring, Summer and Fall. We have had 50 deer, we have counted here in the village, over the winter, and about that many eagles. With the warmer temps, came rain and fog. Badly needed here as we have had no precipitation for a month and temps hovering around 18 degrees F for the same amount of time. Hugs from Alaska, Sherry

120516 YAY!!! 2000 Five ratings reached today!

102616 We are officially back in our winter house, in Larsen Bay, after closing the house on Amook Island, until next spring. The whales, sea otters, deer and foxes as well as the eagles and sea birds have been so entertaining, this year! Winter storms are here! Already 5-10 inches of snow, high winds and seas, dark clouds and fog. Great times to stay inside and create! Also volunteering, at the school, having the kids read aloud to me. Hugs from Alaska!

080316 Taking the oxygen concentrators back to Kodiak City tomorrow! Yay! Never take any breath for granted. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes! I know they made a difference!

052216 Thank you for all the well wishes! I am still on oxygen at night, (my oxygen goes down to 80%) but am gaining more energy every day. Had a Sleep Study done. More results in 2 weeks. Hugs from Alaska.

042416 Home after a week in the hospital with pneumonia. Had to come home on oxygen. Trying to wean myself off the oxygen. No energy, but swapping takes my mind off that. Hugs from Alaska.

012416 We just had 2 earthquakes, one almost on top of the other, a 6.5 and a 7.1. I live about 216 miles south and west of the epicenter, and they shook the house and made my lamps and mobiles swing. Nothing fell off the walls. Up in Kasilof, there are huge cracks in the road, with parts of it raised high enough to be able to slide down. They lost at least three houses to gas line fires. My Dusty kitty hid out for an hour, and my DH slept right through it.

011616 All of our snow has gone away, though we are getting winds of 40k and seas that are 18 feet high. Hope everyone is having a safe and creative new year!

120915 We were visited by Santa and his elves today, via 2 US Coast Guard helicopters. They brought gifts and holiday foods. Our children, then, put on a Christmas Program for them, the pilots and engineers. It was a beautiful, glorious, severe clear day!

102515We are officially in LB for the winter now. We have to go out and pull the running line and see what damage this last storm did (if any), but we will be mostly in LB. We have been monitoring scrap metal removal, (almost 3 million pounds so far), watching out for teenage bratty bears, (there are twins, breaking into buildings, in the village) and getting ready for winter.

06152014 My DH and I spend most of our summer and fall out on Amook Island and come into the village about once a week to check messages, get our mail, do laundry, etc,, weather permitting. I check SB and rate all the mail, I receive, on those days, as well. Please do not think that I am ignoring any messages/swaps/rating. I treasure each one I receive. Hugs from Alaska.

04092014 Home from Anchorage!!! Yay!!! Denali Vena Cava Filter removed. Hugs from Alaska.

Please...if you have any unexplained swelling on one side, any type of heavy (like a period) clear discharge from your vagina, or something doesn't "feel" right, get it checked further than a PAP smear. PAP smears do not find ovarian or uterine cancers! I was "lucky" that I had a blood clot, that after further tests, lead them to diagnose before it was too late. Don't wait. You are important!

09122013 My son is safely home from Afghanistan! Thank you Lord!

06292013 I'm home from my Lower 48 trip: Tomorrow,(4-1-13) I am beginning a long journey around the Lower 48 States. I am taking the ferry, down through the Inside Passage, to WA, (Here on 4-12-13) going from there to Idaho (4-14-13), down thru UT (4-16-13) to AZ and the Grand Canyon (4-20-13). Then I am heading east thru TX (4-23-13), into LA, thru AL to FL (4-25-13) to see my sister, After that, I will be driving up the East Coast, thru the New England States, to ME to see my uncle (5-5-13), Then, I will be heading west, and driving around the Great Lakes (with a side trip to MO to see my Nephew 5-11-13) to WI,(5-13-13) to see my other brother, Then it's thru MN to South Dakota (5-18-13) to see my Pa and his wife, north to Canada (MB 5-22-13, BC 5-24-13, YT 5-28-13) and back to Alaska (Tok, AK 5-31-13) over the ALCAN. Will get home on the 29th of Jun, weather permitting. 36 USA states, 5 Canadian Provinces and 17,000 miles, and my trip is completed! Happy Swapping!!!

NO purple please!!! Think of this as a severe allergy! It's weird, I know, but that's how it is.

I am a retired Occupational Therapist, living with my husband, David, on a remote Kodiak island, called Amook Island. The nearest village, Larsen Bay, is 4 miles across Uyak Bay. That is where we pick up our mail, fuel and have our winter house. We generate our own electricity, and use a composting toilet, but all our other appliances are the same electric and gas types as elsewhere. Our lives are ruled by the weather and the tides. We have whales, orcas, sea lions, seals, otters, sea birds, eagles, ravens, magpies and song birds, as well as fox, deer, Kodiak bear, ermine and all the sea life to watch. It is absolutely beautiful here!

I do almost everything, craftwise except make baskets. As an Occupational Therapist, I used crafts and art to help people who had been injured or had some other life changing event, regain function and become as independent as possible. I used the modalities of leather craft, stained glass, weaving, paper arts, painting, woodworking, ceramics, metals and jewelry making, polyclays, etc. I continue to keep those skills up now for my enjoyment and to share with others. I love to learn new skills. I love mini-zine swaps!. I also learned how to do Ravenstail Weaving (deceptively looks simple to do) I made a Ravenstail weaving for the "Giving Strength Robe" project in Feb of 2019. I love mail art! I learned how to make a beaded Alutiiq Headdress in May of 2019.

I LOVE Yellow and Blue to Blue Green (teal blue) as my favorite colors.

Vintage and antiqued items.

Small printed papers, rather than large ones

Doilies, crocheted and paper

Art nouveau and art deco, think of Alphonse Mucha and Maxfield Parrish. . Birds, the ocean (and all the creatures that live in it) and dragonflies are favorite subjects.

I love lemon anything, and yellow/white daffodils.

Mail art that is thought provoking and intriging to look at with textures.

Interested in all kinds of lands, peoples and cultures.

Natural Sciences: Biology, Botany, Geology, Herbology, Meteorology etc.

POSTCARDS: I love all of the above subjects. I have an album going of ALL kinds of birds, (ravens and birds of prey are favorites). I love foxes, muskox, wolves, old decrepit buildings and outhouses too. I appreciate every single PC that I receive!

Dislike:

I DESPISE Purple!!!

If you want a heart, from me, please do not make anything, send it in, or enclose anything with that color within the packages or envies, or postcards that you send. That includes writing on PC with purple ink.

That being said, I am thrilled that there are other people who DO enjoy purple as I can pass purple papers and pens, etc., that come in sets, on to them :)

It has been brought to my attention that people are feeling "intimidated" by my request for no purple and are "afraid that you will mark them a 3 on a sender's choice swap." I have only rated one 3 and that was because that person sent a swap that was not within the parameters set by the swap, and did not reply to any messages, until after I rated a 3. I have only rated ones to those people who flake. As it states above, I will just not give a heart for swaps that have purple on them, they will be rated a 5 if they fufill the requirements of the swap.

vulgar language or gratuitious nudity.

political subjects or running down any country.

cutsie or childish, including stickers with childish themes

apes and monkeys

Pretty eclectic in this area. It all depends on my mood. Only things I dislike are head banger/ violent music and rap.

Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell Series by Dana Stabenow, Iris Johansen, Kay Hooper, Marjorie Liu, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Briggs, Margaret Coel, Sue Grafton, Susan Henry, Mercedes Lackey...for fun. I have read all of John Sandford, and Toni Hillerman and am working on Kendra Elliot's Bone Secrets series. I like urban legend anthologies too. I read about ancient cultures from Egypt to Herculanium, to the Mayas and Incas, etc. I am book poor...all my money is spent on books. I have a Kindle Fire now, and Kindle unlimited on Amazon. I read a book every day or 2 so this saves me tons of money and storage!

We do not have a TV. I catch these shows when we go into town. Project Runway and All Stars, Bones, CSI, Mystery on PBS, Crafting in America, Home and Garden TV, Discovery and Animal Planet

If I sign up for a Swap, I will be sending out the item(s). If you do not receive something from me, please email me, and I will rectify that. That being said, also please be patient, as I do live in a remote place and sometimes we do not get mail for 2-3 weeks. I will also rate my partners, usually on the same day I receive the item(s). Thank you in advance for not flaking. Hugs from Alaska.

I now have one of every State Map Card! Thank you so much for helping me reach this small goal!

I know Alaska has, at least, 4 state maps cards, so I would not mind getting more than one from each state. If you would be willing to, I would like you to PM me to make sure you are not sending me a duplicate. Thanks in Advance.

NOTE: I have found, through swapping, that I absolutely LOVE those PCs that have the terribly old and neglected buildings on them that say "Retirement Home, only needs a little work," or "This can be yours for $999,999.00" I would love to have one from each state! I currently have one from California, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Oregon, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Colorado, Tennessee, Montana, and Wyoming and West Virginia! Thanks!

Oh, Oh...now I have a new LOVE, thanks to Heather!!! Outhouse PC!!! She sent me a blue one with a smiley face on it. :) I have one from: Alaska, Texas, South Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky!!!. Thanks.

@Lucine @Merimax @Thelittledreamcatcher @MichelleWillow @VLD