NEVER SAY "THE HONEYMOON IS OVER"

Ah, Monday, June 16th! The first day of the rest of our life. We had a busy day. I did some unpacking and kitchen cleaning. Every dish in the house needed to be washed. Some because they had been sitting unused for over six months. Others were dirty because Mark's former roommate hadn't bothered to wash them before moving out. When I had "cleaned" the kitchen in April, I had piled all the dishes on the kitchen table. It took a while before I had the kitchen really clean and usable. It was such a large task that I felt defeated before I even started. Mark encouraged me not to feel like I had to do it all in one day.

And indeed he didn't give me a chance. He needed to check the mail and find out what was happening with business. His friends (and sometimes co-workers) invited us to lunch. It was fun just to get away from all the work that was crying to be done.

We began to do some serious work on the house on Tuesday.

Noel had given us some buckets to use for hauling water from the creek. Cleaning was difficult when I had a limited supply of water with which to work. I wasn't very strong and wasn't up to hauling water such long distances at this point. The one time I tried it from desperation, I thought I was going to die.

The second afternoon of my life of Alaska (June 17th) was laundry day. We had all our dirty travel clothes in addition to all the dirthy things that were already in the house. When I asked Mark about how we would do laundry, he told me we would go to the Peters Creek laundromat. He went to our bedroom and pulled out his pitcher of change. Like many men, Mark would collect his loose change at the end of the day. His glass pitcher had almost $53.00 in quarters.

So late in the morning, we loaded everything into the car and headed to the laundry. Mark helped me carry everything in and get the machines loaded. It was quite an undertaking to fill up eight regular size washers. We put the blankets and sleeping bag in the oversize washers. Fortunately, it was a fairly big laundromat so we didn't take up every washer in the place. After helping me get organized, Mark went into town to find his friend Jim and to check the mail. I didn't mind his deserting me; I knew it was going to be a long, boring afternoon. I spent part of the time writing a letter to my parents. I also had a book with me.

I wrote my parents that "this house-cleaning is going to take time. While Mark was making calls and things this morning I started cleaning. I got the corner where the cat's food is kept looking better. Just started on the shelves above the waist height refrigerators. Hope to move some of the things over there when I finally get to the counter and the `cupboards'."

After being hot in Oregon, I quickly cooled off once we got to Alaska. I I wasn't used to having 68 degrees for the high temperature in the middle of summer. "The weather has been pretty and warm the last couple of days. The natives have been restless. Today is cloudy and we just had a shower. so I feel on the cool side. I may have to get Mark to light the fire if it gets any cooler."

Mark's ex-roommate and business partner came 0to see us that evening. I suppose we offered him some type of food and drink. It couldn't have been much considering we hadn't done any grocery shopping since the eggs, ground meat and bread we'd picked up in Palmer Friday evening. We hadn't had much need since so many people had been inviting us for meals.

On Wednesday Mark took me to get a bank account and my driver's license. We went to the credit union first. But I didn't have anything showing my current address. So we made a quick trip to the DMV. I missed three questions on the written test; fortunely that was acceptable. I lived with a real crummy picture for the next three years. My face turned out real yellow looking. For some reason, driver's license photos alway make me look dark skinned. Fortunately, clerks at stores don't look too carefully at pictures.

It was a relief to get the bank account opened for me. I had been carrying two paychecks and a large sum of cash. Grandmother Bolzern had given us $1000 dollars (in cash) as a wedding present. Plus there were other checks and cash that had been put in wedding cards.

After all our running around, Mark and I drove into town to see Miss Sally Monserud. She was a long time friend of the Bolzerns and a former neighbor. Mark drove me around the Rabbit Creek neighborhood and pointed out the sites of some of his former exploits. We had a nice visit with Miss Sally. For the first time Mark heard about the later years of his dog, Frisky. When Mark's family had to move from their Rabbit Creek home, they had been unable to take the big dog with them. Neighbors kindly offered to take him so he wouldn't be taken away from his familiar territory. Frisky lived to the ripe old age of 14.

Mark's high school class reunion was the first weekend after our arrival. We decided not to try at the last minute to go to the dinner since we hadn't signed up for it. We accepted a dinner invitation with the Frannson family instead. Sunday morning we headed back out to Palmer to the park where the picnic was to be. The invitation had said noon. Hardly anybody was there--even by 1 p.m. Mark didn't know the few that were there. I finally threw a tantrum and told Mark I was leaving. Despite my boredom, I shouldn't have misbehaved and embarrassed Mark. Even if it was dumb to specify a lunchtime picnic if no one was going to show up until later afternoon. We later heard things got rolling about 5 p.m.

I continued working on the cleaning and unpacking. I felt the thrill of achievement when all the suitcases were emptied and my clothes hung up. We decided to make what had been Doug's bedroom into a closet/pantry for me. It was the size of a postage room and not suitable for a guest room anyway. At first we slept in Mark's office which had been his bedroom. But then we got the Northwest corner room cleaned out enough so we could move into it.

I ventured out to the Eagle River library on Wednesday, June 25th. Besides getting a library card, I wanted to inquire about the Alaska Library Association. I had belonged to the Texas Library Association before marriage. Although I didn't plan to actively work, I thought it might be fun to be around people who had the same interests I did.

One of the bigger trials about the house was that we didn't have running water. Heating water on the stove for dishes was bad enough, but I didn't feel very clean after sponge baths. Mark had always had a membership at a spa in Anchorage. That way, he could take showers. But that wasn't going to work for me since I didn't go into Anchorage very often and besides, Mark could take a guest to the spa only a couple of times each month. I ended up using the showers at the laundromat. If we were both there, they nicely only charged one fee if we used the same shower instead of dirtying up two stalls.

The next 2 weeks were very hectic. House cleaning would have been enough to take up my time. I went to a party in honor of Dorrie Drown. I had known her when she was a student at the college where I had previously worked. Dorrie was getting married and moving to Sri Lanka where he husband was to work. We also had severa other dinner invitiations. My mind was quite bewildered from all the people I'd been meeting. Actually, although it made for a hectic schedule, it did help to spend a relaxing evening with friends. It was easier to learn names when I was around someone for several hours.

HI HO, HI HO, IT'S OFF TO CAMP WE GO

Three weeks after our arrival, came the event of the season! Mark dragged me to the annual 4th of July campout our church was having. Since it was the first time I'd been, I didn't know what to expect. I packed way too much. Both clothing and food. The four days there were both relaxing and frustrating.

The campout was a trial to me. At this time, I was already going through a hard time with the adjustment period of marriage and moving to a different lifestyle. At the campout there were no showers. Mark and I did go swimming in the little pond with our soap. (I guess too many people did that... The next year a NO SWIMMING sign was posted.) That was the only time I wore my bathing suit the entire 2 1/2 years I lived in Alaska.

The evening we arrived, Mark pulled in among the bushes and weeds. We got out to look over the camp site possibilities. Suddenly Mark said he smelled something burning. We realized the heat off the bottom of the car must be setting fire to the weeds. He got the car moved just in time. There was a singed spot where the car had rested a moment before.

We camped along side Dee Dee and Tom Schmidt and two bachelors, John Pissanity and Dominic Bernardo. Maudie Zorn and her father camped across the path from us. Everyone was friendly and encouraging, showing me the way things were done. We basically pooled our food and cooked together. DeeDee loaned me their dishpan so I could wash my hair. Mark was sweet about hauling water whenever we needed it.

I was pretty uncomfortable. We were in a Mark's aging tent. I was feeling really crowded. Especially in bed under tons of covers. It was so cold (probably around 45 degrees at night) that it took lots of covers to keep this thin-blooded Texas girl from getting cold at night. I remember complaining long and loudly about feeling cramped. (Probably everybody else heard me, too.) The next morning, I found Mark had rolled off the mattress onto the floor so I could have as much room as I wanted.

My dispair was complete when we discovered the lovely pumpkin pies I had made had soured from the heat. I learned my lesson about eating pumpkin pies quickly.

Somehow we survived the weekend and were still speaking to each other. It was a relief when we arrived home. As primitive as our house was, at least it had a kitchen sink and a stove on which to cook. Also, it was nice to have a semi-private outhouse.

At the campout, we mentioned that we were hoping to get a well drilled. Terry Krieger told us of a well drilling company who might give us a good deal if we mentioned his name. We did contact Gee and Son about drilling our well. They agreed to do it for $19.50 a foot. They arrived early on Tuesday morning, ready to start the work.

Getting the well drilled was a major experience. Before anything could be done, Mark had to get out his chain saw and cut down some trees. We had expected to reach water by about 35 feet. At 60 feet there was no sign of water. We decided we had enough money to drill a little farther.

At 76 feet, still with no sign of water, the drillers stopped so we could discuss what to do next. We were pretty depressed as we really didn't have more money to spend. All of a sudden we heard a girgle, water started coming over the top of the well pipe. Hurray! We'd struck water after all!

The men drilled the well to 86 feet to get it cleaned up. We figured we could afford it since we knew the water did exist. They came back on Friday to finish welding the casing.

We were anxious for the whole business to be over with. Mark and I had a dinner invitation in town that evening. It was a relief when the drillers cleared up the last of their belongings and climbed into their rig.

The drilling rig had been driven down our steep hill. We expected it to leave the same way. But as it started up the incline, we heard a clunk.

Oops, that didn't sound good! That sound was the first indication we had of how the rest fo the afternoon would go.

The clunk was from the transfer case going out on the drilling truck. We had two options, either hauling in the appropriate parts and fixing the truck in our yard. That would take several days. Or we could drive the truck out over the tracks. Mark didn't favor that last option but the driver felt he needed to get the truck back into town where it could be more easily repaired.

Mark tells this story more vividly than I do. With lots more gestures and arm waving. I'll try to do it justice.

The truck was driven down to the tracks where the men looked the situation over. Mr. Gee was sure he could do it. They lined the wheels of the truck up. Mark gave instructions. He'd had lots of experience with driving trucks over the railroad tracks.

You're probably picturing a flat area with train tracks. No so! The tracks were at the top of a gentle hill. That doesn't sound so bad. But the problem was that a ditch ran alongside both edges of the tracks. A small area had been filled in to make a usuable path to cross the tracks. This path wasn't meant for vehicles. It was not an official railroad crossing.

Even the narrow path wasn't such a big problem. But the two sides of the path we not at the same angle. This wasn't bad for padestrians. However, a driver must leap the vehicle over the top of the tracks, and wrench the wheels in the other direction so when touching down, the vehicle would be aimed in the proper direction. Mark explained all this to Mr. Gee.

Everything went well at first. But just as the front tires were balanced on top of the track, something went wrong. He put on the brake and proceeded to back up. It was kind of like seeing your life go by in slow motion and not be able to change a thing. The rear end of this 20,000 lb. drilling rib slowly slid into the ditch. The front came to a rest with the bumper still over the top of the tracks.

Mark and I were petrified! What if a train came. Mark sent me back to the house for my car keys in case we needed them. In the meantime, he ran to Noel's house and kicked the door in to get inside to the telephone. Time was of the essense!

He managed to get in touch with the Railroad. They said they would send a message out to any trains on our rails and send an employee out to assess the situation.

The employee promptly arrived on a truck that was riding on top of the rails. He was not happy with the situation. I won't repeat his terminology. Mark went back to the house to call Jones Tool Rental in Eagle River. He asked if they had a Case 850. A 450 was the largest machine available and it hadn't returned from a job. After much "back and forth", it was agreed that they would radio the driver and deliver the Case directly to us.

Mark had sent me down to the tracks to "flag" down a train if one should come. What did I know about stopping trains? Anyway, after all this was decided, he came for me. We walked slowly back toward the road. Just in time to see a truck with a Case on a trailer heading in the wrong direction. They had missed our turnoff! Mark pelted down the tracks to the road. Eventually the driver saw him running along behind. Mark got in the cab. I followed with the car once I finally huffed and puffed to where I had parked.

Mark and the Case driver progressed toward the "accident." Everything was fine until the driver saw the sign before the bridge stating the weight limit. The truck, trailer and Case were way above. But they decided to do it anyway. Then they saw some bicycles on the bridge. Mark jumped out of the cab, yelling at the children playing there and started to throw the bicycles in the creek.

Fortunately, he thought better of it and contented himself with just getting them off the bridge. A few minutes later when I came along in my car, the bicycles weren't but the children were on the bridge. I poked my head out the window to do my share of yelling. I never saw children disappear so quickly.

Mark persuaded the Case driver to drive the Case when trying to haul the Rig from the ditch. The driver was technically only a delivery man. However, he agreed that he had the most experience. They hooked a chain to the case and to the front bumper of the Rig.

It took us awhile to get over that excitement. We have a major story with which to entertain our friends.

It was such a job to have water on the premises that we didn't worry about organizing the "piping" the water into the house. I was just happy to have water a little closer than the creek. Now I was able to bring water into the house without having Mark do it all the time. On Friday, July 25th, I wrote my parents:

"You asked about the well. It's just a pipe sticking up out of the ground. Since ours is artesian, the water flows out of the top. We've had it rigged with a hose surrounded by an innertube over the pipe so the water flows through the hose. We finally got going this little pump connected to Mark's old drill. So I can plug in the drill (extension cord coming upstairs) so it's going downstairs to power the pump to pump water through a hose to my sink. I'm still using my buckets to store water for several reasons I won't go into--but at least it's easier to get water now. We hauled the hot water heater upstairs (puff, puff) last night and filled it with water. But we haven't yet hooked up the electricity to see if it works. If the water heater works, then we can run a hose down to the bath tub so I can bathe."

But before we even got at far as rigging the drill and pump, we took a "mini" vacation. We went to Soldotna to visit the Father-Daughter team named Zorn. They had camped near us at the campout and had invited us to come see them. We decided we would go down to spend a weekend. That was a hectic Friday (July 18th). Mark wanted to change the oil on my car. It hadn't been done since we arrived in Alaska. It didn't take Mark long to decide it was cheaper to have the oil changed by a "professional." Not because Mark couldn't do it but because the oil filter on this particular model of Skylark is in a strange place that is difficult to get to. Better to let someone else have the hassle!

We had a lovely weekend at the Zorns'. Maudie insisted we sleep in her bedroom which had a double bed. She slept in the third bedroom that had only twin beds.

Maudie introduced me to rhubard "in the raw." I'd only had rhubarb once in my life before and had never seen it in its natural state. A pie was slated as dessert. I was quite intrigued and was thrilled when Maudie wrote out the recipe for me.

I misplaced the recipe when we moved from Alaska (don't worry, we'll get to that part of the story toward the end of this book.). However, this is the recipe in substance. Please forgive me if you find an identical recipe in another cook book book. I'm not trying to take credit for somebody else's work.

VIRGINIA'S VERSION OF MAUDIE'S RHUBARD PIE RECIPE

Cut several sticks (probably around 7) from a large rhubarb plant. Cut off the leaves; these are poisonous. After washing the sticks, you'll want to "skin" them. It's kind of like taking off the outer layers of onion. It makes the rest much more palatable.

Then chop the sticks into pieces, about 1/2 half inch thick. You can vary this according to preference. You want to end up with enough rhubarb pieces to fill up a pie plate. (By the way, you will need an unbaked pie crust, both top and bottom.)

Put the pieces in a bowl. Sir in a couple of tablespoons or so of flour for thickening. In another small bowl or a measuring cup, stir together 3 eggs and approximately a cup of sugar plus however much cinnamon you want. Then pour that over the rhubard and stir it all up until the rhubarb pieces are covered with the egg-sugar mixture.

Dump the rhubarb into the unbaked pie shell. Put in some little butter pieces. Put on the top crust and slit it so steam will come out.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven. It is advisable to put some aluminum foil around the edges of the pie so they won't burn; then take off the foil about 10 minutes before the pie is done. The pie takes approximately one hour to cook.

I was really enamoured with rhubarb. So much so that Maudie took me out to the "pasture" and dug up a plant for me to take home. I took it home and divided it into smaller plants to set out. I put them out on the knoll overlooking the creek. I've been told that it's difficult to kill off rhubarb. Maybe so, but mine never seemed to grow. Little shoots would start up and then it would sort of rot away at the base. I wonder if ten years from now we'll go back and discover rhubarb all over the place.

Fortunately, Noel had numerous rhubarb plants and was always willing to let us have some. Since that time, I've become quite a fan of rhubarb.

July 27th was a frustrating day for me. Mark went to the store for wood, etc. and spent $200 (including my grocery money). The big expense was a metal storage shed. I did have to admit that we needed it. A number of things were currently being stored under a tarp outside. That certainly wasn't the best of situations. Rod Henson later came out to help him put it up. What had been advertised as a quick job turned into a 13 hour marathon. I was glad I didn't have to do all the helping. We did turn a few more screws after Rod left that evening.

Mrs. Leona Huffman invited my neighbors, the Brusses, and me to go to Mirror Lake. That's a small lake near our neighborhood. Mrs. Huffman rented a paddle boat so the girls could have some fun. I enjoyed getting to relax and get better acquainted with my neighbors.

About this same time I had my first dinner party. We decided to cook Chinese. Mark had bought me a wok at the Rural Discount Center in Peters Creek. It is near the laundromat. For the dinner, I had my first attempt at cooking rice. I didn't know how to estimate how much people would eat. Fortunately I knew enough to use a big pan. However, we had lots left over and had to eat rice dishes for days. Noel had allowed us to raid his strawberry patch. I got the out Bird's Custard Powder. I made a custard, folded in the berries, and poured them in a cooked pie shell. I served the strawberry pie at dinner. However, I also made a raspberry pie.

The berries start ripening in July and can be found for more than a month. Raspberry bushes grow along the railroad tracks by the parking area. We also have currants and cranberries. Lowbush cranberries are regular cranberries like one buys in the store. Highbush cranberries are not really cranberries but can be used the same way. I called the extention services and asked them what to do with them. I was invited to come in and look over their recipe books. Mark came home one day with a book about berries. That gave me alot of ideas.

I found there were all sorts of uses for berries. The thing I liked most was to make frozen dacquairis (our version, that is) in the blender. After we finished off the vodka Mark had in the kitchen eves, we had virgin dacquairis. Later we bought Peppermint Schnapps for Ski Lifts, but never did purchase anything that might be suitable for a regular mixed drink.

Mark and I decided we would hit a few garage sales. One family near us was having a moving sale. We hoped to pick up a few more "house building" items. We didn't find anything except a pair of ice skates for me. I sincerely hoped that we would be able to go ice skating some time. Since the seller was willing to sell part with them for only $4, Mark was willing for me to purchase me some skates if it would make me happy. I discovered the elementary school by the post office had a hockey rink. I also understood that Goose Lake was open for ice skating during the winter.

August came before I was able to do much about shoes. My flimsy sandal type shoes that were appropriate for East Texas weren't very suitable for walking on mud and gravel paths in Alaska. Unfortunately, the only pair of loafers I owned had ended up in a box that hadn't been shipped yet. Once again Trisha had come to my rescue earlier in the summer. She gave me a couple of pairs they had at their house. Fortunately, Heidi Bruss wore the same size shoes I did. They helped tide me over until the box from my parents arrived. On August 5th, Mark installed a computer at a shoe store, Mark arranged to buy me a couple of pairs of shoes. One pair was "tennis" shoes and the other one was what I would call "clogs."

Mark left for Denver on the 1:30A.M. plane Friday morning, August 8th (my birthday). Champion paid for Mark's trip down. They had some work that needed to be done. They were ready to push through his project so it could be marketed. I didn't get to go with Mark. As I wrote to my sister, "We're down to our last dollar so no waay I could come. We have several hurting clients who owe us. We hope they can pay up this week."

While Mark was gone, I had my first experience at driving in Anchorage after Mark had me drop him off at the airport. %Sundown is around 10:30 but sunset starts about 9:30. When I first arrived, I had complained that we never saw the colors of sunset. By this time of the summer, the sun was going down earlier. I hadn't really noticed because we would usually in bed or at least closed up in the house. This was the first time I'd driven in Anchorage by myself. I was really worried about driving in a strange city. Actually, Anchorage is an easy city in which to drive; the streets are laid out pretty squarely.

Mark was really sweet about my nervousness. He drew a little map with elaborate instructions about how to get to the places we knew I'd be going.

So I set out for home from the airport. We left the house when it was still light. By the time I got back home at 1 p.m. I had forgotten that it can get dark in Alaska. It was pitch black by the time I made it to Birchwood. And nary a flashlight was there in the car! I sat there awhile trying to figure out what to do. I certainly wasn't going to wake up the neighbors to tell them I wasn't brave enough to walk down a darkened path. Finally I pushed aside my fears and inched my way down the path to our house.

I later found that late August before the leaves started falling and late spring once the snow melted are the darkest times in Alaska. There was nothing for the moon to reflect. By mid-September, the fallen leaves would reflect the moon and the path would be "see-able."

One of the few things I had to do during Mark's absense was some data entry for a shoe store in which we had recently installed a computer. They had a number of addresses they wanted put in for a mailing list. It gave me an excuse to go into Anchorage and I had to get over to apprehension of driving in "the city."

I thought the weather was pretty strange in Alaska. I wrote my sister that "We've been having alternately sunny and rainy weather. Rain here means "sprinkles". A hard rain is what we Texans would call a summer shower. You see, weather is made up here so everybody else gets it instead of us. Rain is so llight that they don't use umbrellas or anything. Mark jsut puts on his hat. Both my umbrellas are dying. We plan to stock up when we come down next. There have been a few hot days in the 80s. I wish we had a thermometer. That hasn't yet gotten on my list. During the church campout, July 4th, it registered 96 degrees in the sun. But that was 280 mi. farther north. Mostly the temp. is comfortable during daytime. Slightly chilly in morning and late night. It's been about 52-72 degrees during the day. Termination dust (light snow) has already been sighted on the mountains."

While Mark was gone, I also experimented some with the berries. The cranberries were getting very ripe. I should have picked more than I did. I planned to put some in the freezer but never got that far. Mrs. Bruss gave me a recipe for cranbery catsup which Mark said his mother used to make. She must have taken her cookbooks with her because I only found one in the house. The raspberries were at their peak at this time. Unfortunately, I don't care for raspberries because because you can't chew them. Mark also likes blueberries. We never did go pick any although Noel gave us a few that he had gotten somewhere.

In relating my experiences of being alone for the first time since marriage, I wrote my sister,"I got off late and forgot to take your letter with me so I may as well write some more. On top of being late, I slipped on the little hill between us and the Brtusses and had to go back in to change pantyhose. Fortunately my leg had only a minor scrape so it didn't take long to wash up. I made it to church about 5 min. before starting. Then afterwards I went out with Vanessa Summers who had her visiting 2 nieces & nephew with her as her parents were going to visit someone not set up for children. Vanessa was in Mark's graduating class at West High. It was so nice to talk to an adult girl... "

Before Mark left, he bought an installed a lock on front (and only) door of the house. The hole in the door didn't quite match up with the knob. Later he put a plate on the door to make it all look right. But for the time being, I was just happy with the lock. It had driven me crazy not being able to lock myself in to feel safe.

Mark was gone for less than a week so I didn't have time to get too lonely. The Cat really missed him. She would walk around the house looking for him. By about the 5th day, she was ready for some loving. I was sitting on the couch. She came over. I was going "here, kitty, kitty" and patting my lap.

It looked like I she wasn't going to succumb to my persuasion. But finally, with a furtive look on her face, she quickly looked around the room. I could almost hear a guilty sigh before she quickly leaped to my lap and lay down. As soon as Mark returned the following Thursday, she once again abandoned me for him. I suppose Cat is what you call a "One man cat."

By late August, we really needed to so something about the "plumbing." It cost us good money to keep going to the laundromat for showers. Mark had a metal shower sitting out in the yard. The walls were flimsy and rusting. We took the base and then built a frame around it, which we covered with an aged green tarp. We put a curtain rod over the doorway hole and hung a piece of blue tarp in lieu of a shower curtain. We made a trade with the Brusses so we could have their washer and dryer in exchange for the refrigerator. With the Brusses help, we hauled the laundry appliances over to our house. We were worried that they might not work but they did. At least we found that out once we finally got more electricity hooked up so we could plug them in. We put them next to the shower so the washer hose can run into the shower drain. So that got some of the plumbing in, even if it was only made out of garden hoses. Our life was really improving. In addition to the electricity that we already had, we now had a shower, laundry facilities, and a metal shed.

And in answer to your question... No, we didn't hook up the toilet. It is sitting to this day downstairs in the house, unusable. Actually, if I hadn't had to go outside to use the outhouse, I really believe that days would have gone by that I wouldn't have gone outside. It was good for me to get the fresh air and exercise.

I wrote to my parents on Thursday, August 14th "I got the tape yesterday--it sure was good to hear how things were going. I wasn't feeling too well (cramps) plus missing Mark. I think my body is going through some type of re-adjustment. I wish the rainy cycle would stop or come in spurts instead of off and on all the time. It's hard to go out for exercise. I get out for fresh air but it's not the same. It's just cool enough that I don't want to walk in the rain--not very fun at 50 degrees."

My parents asked me what the cat's name was. I replied, "According to Mark, he's going to call his cat "Cat" because that's a practical name. Although now he claims I call her "Boca Raton" since the day I called her that when she came into the house and threw up a shrew. Mostly I call her "kitty" or "Kitty Cat" when I talk to her. I figure at this late date it's not worth trying to call her Fluffy or Tao or something. Just so long as he doesn't call our children "Baby 1, Baby 2, etc. (Ha, ha)"

Mark and I began having major dinner parties, starting with one on August 16th. I was ready to show the world that Mark hadn't married a total dunce. One Saturday evening we had invited a family to come over. The party mushroomed. At church we had run into, Ronnie Gunnoe, a former acquaintance of mine who had been fishing in Soldotna for the summer. So we asked him to join us plus another bachelor who could give him a ride to and from Anchorage. Then Brad Marson dropped in. He had been visiting Noel. So we invited him to join our cozy little group. Before the Butlers arrived, I suddenly realized that they had a small child who would probably need a high chair--which we didn't have. Mark had an inspiration which we used thereafter. The "secretarial" chairs in his office we equipted with hydrolic lifts to adjust the height. This came in handy; they would rise high enough that they were an acceptable alternative to a high chair.

About that time we also had a dinner party to which I invited Jim and Wil and their dates. For this evening, I planned spaghetti and soup.

In late August I finally got our pictures from our honeymoon developed at K-Mark. Unfortunately, I didn't think about prices being different than I was used to in East Texas. I had been expecting $5-6.00 a roll. I was charged $28.76 for 4 rolls. I was so disgusted that I didn't even look at the pictures for several days. Poor Mark had to listen to be being disgruntle about the price of photo development. Then he told me we should check Price Savers and Costco the next time I needed to get something developmed.

Rhoda Reed and Glenn Woodworth were married on August 24th in Palmer. For some reason the wedding made me homesick. It was a very nice wedding. They even had dancing. Mark would have liked to have danced more (we were the only married people on the dance floor) but I wanted to watch the gift opening. We didn't get them a gift before the wedding so I wanted to see what they received so I hopefully wouldn't duplicate it.

Mark and I had our ups and downs. I wrote, "We'll be leaving the house in a few minutes. We're going to compute at the Roemer's house tonight. I hope we remember to take Mark's suit to the cleaners. He carried me across a big puddle and slipped on the far side and sacrificed his pants than have me fall from hight up."

I made an observation in a letter to my mother "After years of masquerading as a college student, it's strange to find out old, married people are may age or younger." I was used to being considered young even though I was only 30.

To celebrate our 3 month anniversary, Mark took me to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. "We left about noon and I took a couple of sandwiches. The we had a Greek sandwich called a gyro there at the fair before coming home. I was slightly disappointed in the fair although I didn't tell Mark that. Maybe my childhood memory of the Washington County Fair does me a disservice. They only had one building devoted to all the animals. There were about 6 cows that looked bored. A number of hogs and some goats, then a few sheep. But the majority of the "animals" were various poultry and rabbits. The food building was interesting but they didn't let you get close enought to really inspect the items. I would like to enter something next year for fun if it isn't hard to do. Since we don't get a paper, I never hear about these things in time to take action. I hope one of these days we can afford a daily paper.

We wandered by the booths and signed up for the drawings. We told the Kirby man that we don't have any carpets (at least we don't have any worth keeping clean at the present) and he said at least we have electricty which several people who passed by his booth didn't even have. It would be nice if we won the trip to Hawaii. I'd even settle for the free piece of cookware at the Saladmaster booth. Mark asked about the price of the turkey roaster because he knows I want one (picturing $50)_ and nearly fell over when they told him $200.

He bought me a trapper hat at the Alaska Leather at not quite half price. He says he doesn't want me complaining about being cold. It is really neat and furry, not what you'd call feminine--just servicable. They had coats on sale for $99 that were sheepskin lined and beautiful. Too bad. But I could see what his must have looked like before he killed it. We took it to the cleaners. I hope they do a good job on it. In hearing the clerk's sales pitch, he said that kind of coat should be thrown in the washer. But Mark's is so stained. I think it best we did send it out to be done."

On the evening of August 28th we attended the organizational meeting for a book discussion club. "They" called it a dining and discussion club since the meetings were held at restaurants. The first meeting was at Clinkerdagger, Bicklestaff, and Pet's. This restaurant has since gone out of business.

SEPTEMBER 1986

WE had an exciting September. That is we kept busy and got a lot accomplished. A man moved into the neighborhood who was looking for work. We hired him to help us catch up with a few things. In a letter to my parents dated September 8th (1986), I wrote, "The men were supposed to work on the road by the Ruesch's place yesterday. They (Noel's niece and Nephew-in-law) are building their house and have brought some equipment in. But it rained all morning. It's pretty swampy over there so they decided with extra rain water they'd really be sinking. So that gave us a chance to work over here some. They sawed up some of the logs that are in a pile. We're getting a nice pile of wood for the winter although Mark says we need more. They brought down the wood that's been at the top of the hill for ages. And they brought over the refrigerator from Noel's and built a platform for that."

When walking through the mall one day, we found a kitchen wares store. Since we'd spent most of our wedding money on the well, I was ready to be frivolous. We bought a 1 1/2 c. ice cream maker. It's a small thing made out of a type of plastic. It is to be frozen. After putting in chilled ingredients, one turns the dasher every so often. It was a perfect size for a "young couple." I was so happy with this find that I went out and bought one for Glenn and Rhoda.

My windshield had been cracked during our drive up the highway. It had never occurred to us that the windshield would be covered by insurance. Mark started to check into changing my insurance so all our cars would be covered by the same agency. We were told we should check with my current insurance company to have with window repaired before changing companies. We got an estimate for the repair work and sent the information to my agent.

Yesterday the Costco phone info. said they were open on Sunday until 8:30 so we went. Evidentally they changed their hours but not the machine. Everybody welse was closed. So Mark decided we'd go to see Karate Kid II. The one blurb I'd seen didn't sound very good. But I guess they had to make it sound weird to draw audiences. I thought this one was better than the first, except the 2nd would be harder to understand if you didn't have the background of the first. I was glad we went except the price of the movies have gone up so much even Mark turned pale. Wee cerainly couldn't do that very often. What happens was the boy and the Japanese man who taught him karate flew to Okinawa because the man's father was dying. Mr. Miyagi had left there 45 years ago because this man wanted to kill him because the girl Sato liked fell in love with Mr. Miyagi. So after al these years, Sato is still out to get him. But during a storm, Mr. Miyagi saves Sato's life. So that works out after all. Then this young guy decides to have one more fight with Daniel who of course wins the fight in the last second of the show. I bet they will wait to see what the response is and then make a 3rd sequal to finish it all off.

The Deal's 25th wedding anniversary was on Sept. 14th. The younger daughters gave an anniversary party. I was flattered that Mark and I were among those who were invited. Mark was working on the road with Lennie and Mr. Bruss. As I wanted to go into town for the opening of the new library, I gladly said I would go.

The Grand Opening of the new ZJ Loussac Library took quite a bit of my time. "It's a huge building (I think there are some gov't offices in a wing.) Right now there is plenty expansion space. It was the event of the season on Sunday. The paper didn' guess how many people were there. It said hundreds, but I suspect thousands. You couldn't stir 'em with a stick. I talked to the acquisitions librarian for a while. She was nice. They imported a modern author named John Barth to be their guest of honor. I went to his lecture Tues. evening. It was inspiring. I can't say Mr. Barth's books sound very good. But it was interesting to hear his ideas. I went to the book discussion club that meets at the library. They seemed to be a more intellectual group. We shall see."

Sept. 15: "Mark is going to drop me by the library to see a DIALOG demonstration. The library opening is having a week of special activities. I plan to go tomorrow for most of the day but probably won't get in for the rest. Mark is working with Mr. Roemer tonight so that's why I'm going in today. I can go to the library while Mark is at his afternoon appointment. We have the AKLA meeting on Thurs. It will meet in Eagle River this time."

I had another opportunity to practice driving a stick shift. I promised to pick up the tire we took to be repaired. He picked up a nail in the green truck. Those particular tires cost $150 new so we wanted to get it repaired. The truck is knocking badly. Mark plans to drive it till it blows up (Hopefully not far from home) and then put in the engine that is sitting in the dead orange datsun.

Although the cat had begun to accept me during Mark's August trip, she still was Mark's cat. "I was so provoked--Last night I'd been tryng to get her to sit on my lap but she ignored me. I got up to get Mark a sandwich and when I came back she was stretched out on his lap. And he doesn't even think it's an honor for her to sit on him."

We received a letter from Mom Bolzern. The big news was that Ron had brought a girl home to meet her. It's nice Noelle was able to meet her before the wedding. Noelle was described at being short, blond with blue eyes. They had met in England soon after he had moved there. I don't believe at this time they had set a wedding date although we soon afterwards heard that it was scheduled for January 4, 1987.

I had an exciting September 29th, Mark rushed in one day, earlier than I expected. He asked if I wanted to go back in town with him to have something to eat. I grabbed my skirt and headed to the car with him. My brain wasn't operating. Suddenly it dawned on me that we were driving down the Seward Highway. That was the street on which Gwennie's is located. He had remembered the anniversary of our first date and was taking me for a repeat.

We missed having the same table by a second. They seated the couple ahead of us there. However, we did have the same meal. We were disappointed to find that the size of the sandwiches had decreased. However, the food was just as good. After eating, then we went to see one of Mark's clients.

My family had driven cars with automatic transmissions as long as I could remember. Therefore, my experience with driving them was limited. A friend had given me a couple of lessons several years before. However, I had never achieved comfort and proficiency. During the summer, Mark had given me a lesson in his old datsun pickup. The second lesson was rather improptu "...he started having stomach problems and we left his users group meeting early and he had me drive home (so you know he felt bad). That was horrendous driving across Anchorage aeing a novice. His car has a new clutch so is very unforgiving." Needless to say, after that experience we got busy giving me some practice. Within a couple of weeks I made a solo voyage to pick up a tire he'd left to be repaired.

The next "excitement we had was the phone line down to the Brusses quit working. It took us a couple of days to figure out what was wrong. We finally figured out the phone line had deteriorated since it was outdoors. I was housebound for a few days until Mark could get to a store for phone wire. Housebound becuas4e since the Brusses couldn't answer the business phone, either Mark or I had to stay home to answer it. I was antsy on Sept. 18th; AKLA was meeting that evening at the Eagle River Library. Mark did return as promised so I could go to the meeting.

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