28 July 2006

Summer in Sitka(finally)

Well, it's the end of July and we finally have a day worth calling summer. Of course with all the excessive heat in the lower 48 we are glad to have upper 50's. Today however it was upper 60's with blue skies and tomorrow is supposed to be the same. Of course this may be it. We have been told that this is an unsually cool/wet summer, so maybe it will get better.
With the cool weather the berry crops are really low. Usually I guess there are tons of salmonberries, blueberries, etc in the woods. There is worry that the bears could be a problem. No berries and the salmon haven't started going up the rivers yet so the bears may get bored. D'Artagnan and I took a walk last evening and saw a bear(yes-grizzlies) in a meadow. Today at a Church picnic we could see the salmon jumping out of the water at the beach...prepping to move upstream.
Our flowers are finally going strong...roses, foxgloves, peonies, and a bunch of things I don't know. We haven't messed with the flower beds since we didn't know what was there. They turned out very nice. The lawn has turned out pretty good considering it doesn't appear to have been taken care of for a while. We don't have much lawn, but it is set up nicely.

D'Artagnan the Dog Update


Well, D'Artagnan has been with us almost 2 months now and is approaching his 4 month birthday. He is now twice as tall and 3 times as long as he was when we got him. Lori has been working very hard training him and doing a lot reading and studying on how to create a "perfect" dog. Things have worked pretty well. D'Artagnan has us trained to take him out to do his business. Lori has him going to the back door and either barking or scratching on the door. He appears to be pretty smart, but boy is he stubborn. He is in a puppy class currently. Talk about a bunch of hyper animals...none of them can sit still...too much to distract them. This big ol' puppy just loves little kids and other dogs. He has socialized very well and so far hasn't had too many problems with others...except for cats...he likes them, but all they want to do is scratch his eyes out. We have taken several hikes with him and he is a trooper. Charles has a great time chasing and being chased by D'Artagnan...he (the dog) leaps and runs circles around Charles.

24 July 2006

When Rick Met Lori

Yea, it's plagiarism, so sue me. No, I've never seen the movie, but from what I've heard our story will be purer and more beautiful than that...kind of like Wesley and Buttercup only without the sword play and Englebert(you're old if you get that reference)...ANYWAY...
===Disclaimer=== This is based on my memory and if there is any variance from reality just blame it on my poor middle aged brain...
Oh, one more diversion...Happy Pioneer Day for those in Utah and the LDS folks out there....
OK...Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away there was a beautiful little red-headed girl and of course a Charlie Brown. The only thing bad about this story is that it occurred during a brief era that ended up defining and otherwise great decade... the 70's...ie, disco... so don't picture me in my Angel's Flight suit...I had no idea at the time what it stood for...
I had been home from my LDS mission to North Carolina for 4 months in the summer of 1979. I was the substitute teacher in a young adult Sunday School class. The missionaries in our ward had brought a young lady to church whom they were teaching. She was getting ready to start her senior year at Millikan High School. I was quite taken with this beauty and decided to fulfill my duty of a lifelong missionary...fellowship this young lady as she investigated the Church's teachings. At least I think that was my motivation....or maybe it was really love at first sight and the fellowshipping thing was just a great line. Which ever it was started a relationship that continues to this day and will forever...so far...27 years....and as mentioned in an earlier post...25 years of marriage.
So...how did a Charlie Brown get the little red-haired girl? I'm still trying to figure that out. However, I'm grateful every day that I did. She mentioned after church that the missionaries were going to take a group of them up to the Los Angeles Temple visitor's center that week. Well, I suggested that that would be pretty impersonal and I offered to give her a private guided tour of the center. Of course, I would have to take her to dinner first. Like I said...SMOOTH... Only looking back on this experience did I realize just how much I was taken with her and how hard I fought to keep here near me.
Since I was a young poor student/part-time worker our dates were pretty basic. She had a nice new Toyota Corolla and provided transportation. I had a nice home and a family who liked her and we spent a lot of time there. In Feb 1980 I got to baptize her a member of the Church. We were engaged on our 1 year dating anniversary eventhough she ask me if I was kidding when I proposed...
There were many ups and downs...long talks, arguments, make-ups, break-up, her parents at first not wanting to accept her course in life or me for that matter. I feel bad that the Church and I were the cause of problems with her folks. She tells me that it was well worth the hassle... Isn't hindsight great?

22 July 2006

Tijuana Brass Reminisce

In the mid-60's my folks bought 4 Tijuana Brass LPs(for you young'ins that is a 12 Long Play album). I use to listen to them on our old hi-fi and became intrigued with the trumpet. Although my trumpet career was mediocure at best I still love to hear the TJB. Recently the LPs became available on CD...I have been checking via the internet for several years...and I just received 3 of them today. So...I am listening to some very fond memories of not only music, but of parents who exposed me to music early on and allowed my brothers and I to appreciate most types of music...I am not a disco/country/rap fan though.
Here 40 years later(whoa) this music still makes me feel good. As a result of my intrigue I got to enter the orchestra at Prisk Elementary School in Long Beach, California to learn to play trumpet. This was under the direction of Joe Burger. I progressed pretty well and even was 2nd chair in the all-city orchestra in 6th grade. Then I got lazy and never improved much more. I did however continue to play in junior high school with Herbie Burger(Joe's older brother) at Stanford and then in the marching band at Millikan High School under the direction of Roger Johnson. Now except for Christmas time I rarely play. My aunt Nonnie bought me a nice trumpet in 9th grade which I still have.
Music has played a big roll in my life. Playing in school and getting into choir and singing have given me opportunities to be in musicals, community choirs, and church choirs. I have the chance to sing Beethoven's 9th, Handel's Messiah, and Mozart's Requiem. My children are all into music and quite good. Anneka and Meg have performed with me, Richard and Charles and Meg have taken me to some of their concerts, I taken Richard to one of our favorite groups concerts...Styx. In addition, I have had the chance to see all 4 of them perform in so many ways and with so many groups I've lost count. It is always a thrill to see the talent they have and what just an appreciation of music can lead to. Thanks Mom and Dad.

21 July 2006

Beaver Lake Hike

We have some really nice hiking trails that are quite close. This evening D'Artagnan(the 15 week old labradoodle) and I tried a hike we hadn't done before.
At the end of the road is the trail to Beaver Lake. A relatively short loop trail of about 2.5 miles. The first 3/4 mile are a bit tough, but you then level out and circle around the lake. Remember this area is a rain forest and especially under the trees it can be very wet and slippery. For that reason the trails are constructed with a lot of boardwalks and large flat rocks as well as coarse gray gravel they call "shot rock". The trails stay amazingly passable although the board walks can be slippery.
This evening It was not raining when we got to the trail head, but then it did. The dog got soaked, but as long as I have my hat protecting my glasses I don't mind a bit of rain. The trail has varied terrain from bogs/ muskeg to ceder forests to hardwood areas. Spanish moss hangs from many trees.
I will say that this will be one of Lori's favorites ...when she gets back from camp next month.

18 July 2006

Why Are We Here?

No, this isn't a theological discourse, although that is a good topic for later... Why the Harts are in Alaska is a good example of faith, hard work, other peoples' faith, willingness, and blessings from our Father in Heaven.
For the past 15 years I have been an optometrist in Logan, Utah. The first place I worked for 6.5 years had no idea what I was worth nor did they realize what I had done for them. When I left there I attempted to create a private practice from scratch. Well, we had a good location and a really cool office, but after 4 years of trying it never got to where I made any money form the venture. When I closed the office it was right as Sam's Club was opening in Logan. It could have been a great place. However, another doctor already had the contract to operate the optometrist office. He already had charge of 2 other Sam's so he hired me to be the doctor in Logan. The catch was that I worked for 70% of what I made as an independent contractor. The next year I got a "big" raise to 75%. Oooo. Of course out that I got to pay all of the taxes. I ended up making less than I had 10 year before that. The staff was great, but the "boss" doctor just wanted his money for free.
We really loved Cache Valley and Logan. We had our house the way we wanted it...OK...it was in the process. Our prayers for a better opportunity for me always seem to include a clause about "but we don't want to leave Logan". I even looked at giving up optometry and going in to middle school teaching. That required that I get a bachelor's degree. Even though I have my Doctorate in a biological science, I never actually got my BS. So no state will all me to teach. I finally gave up the school thing and we went back to the drugery of work.
All this time at Sam's I kept trying to secure the contract for myself and inspite of a non-compete clause I had it looked promising last year. But, as with any business or government the politics won and I was on the short end again. Being totally fed up I started looking for something completely different, both in practice type and in locale. We also shifted our prayers to "...something better, wherever you want us".
I came across this position here in Sitka and one in West Virginia at a VA hospital. Both were hospital based, both would require me to relearn many things, and both would require a big move. We liked the WV one since we had lived in the South, the cost of living was pretty equal with Utah, and it was near a ton of historical sites. The only experience we had had with Sitka was one day on a cruise ship about 9 years ago. In our investigations it became clear that Sitka had a higher cost of living. However, we did as much research as possible.
When Dr. Pam Steffes from Sitka got a hold of me by email it quickly became apparent that this could be a good match. After a couple of phone interviews and several emails and lots more investigation AND praying we decided that this was what we need to do.... ie, pack up and move to Alaska.
This process all started at the end of September 2005 about 3 weeks after Meg had left for Italy. As things went along it was extremely apparent how much the Lord's hand was involved. First, our basement was all in shambles...waiting to be refinished...no carpet, no drywall, no ceiling. In 2 months time we had the resources, help, energy, and will to get it completed before moving. Yea, it was only a few days before leaving, but it was finished. And boy, did it look good.
Second, we had to pack and took advantage of the 2 months to go through things and thin out our "possessions". We ended up getting rid of 1/2 of what we thought was important. We had a garage sale less than 2 weeks before Christmas and it went great. Charles and Richard did the sale and were able to make some money for to spend for friends and family. By the time we left we were able to get everything in a 24 foot U-Haul truck. Richard and Charles were wonderful...hauling stuff to the dump, moving things to the garage, packing, etc. We ended up only taking one of our 2 cars after Richard wrecked Lori's 2 days before Christmas and 5 days before we left. This was good in that gas is really high here and the mini van's gas milage would have killed us.
One person we were able to contact here was the bishop of the Sitka Ward of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...Gordon Larsen. He provided us with updates regarding rentals, etc. He also arranged a meeting that resulted in Charles having a instant friend...
Lori, Charles and I went to Sitka just after Thanksgiving for a "site visit". We got to meet the staff, see the area, arrange for housing, etc... Bishop Larsen met us at the airport(along with Pam) and took us to the Bauder's house. They have a 14 year old son who hit it off with Charles. Charles spent the next 2 days going to school with Zack and meeting the other 90 kids in the 8th grade. The people have been praying for new people to move into the ward. So, not only were we praying to get to the right place, but we were being prayed here.
As we got ready we had to figure out how to get things up here. My new employer...SEARHC(Southeast Alaska Regional Health Contsortium)...provided us with a bunch of money for moving. We figured this would be great and we wondered what we would do with the left over... Well, moving companies would be almost double what we got, a U-Haul oneway to Sitka would take all the money for just the truck leaving nothing getting it here... Besides most of the moving companies considered this an INTERNATIONAL move...????...
Lori was inspired to get a truck from Logan to Seattle with 5 days total. We got to Seattle in 3, put the truck and my car on the ferry(Alaska Marine Highway), spent 3 days getting to Sitka, unloaded the truck, put the truck back on the ferry with me for another 3 days, dropped the truck off in Seattle. Even with the extra days, it was only 10% of what is was given... The rest provided ferry passage, deposit on a rental house, etc.
We left Logan with a heavy heart, but with a detemination to improve our lives, and follow what the Lord was asking us to do. The whole process was so smooth we have experienced a great increase in our faith and our appreciation of how our Heavenly Father guides and directs us when we allow Him to be in charge. Ever since we have been here it is evident how he continues to make this the right place. Leaders in the various group at church are such that they will be perfect for Meg and Charles. Our housing has fallen right into place. My job continues to be stimulating, challenging and great. Lori had found many things to inspire her. We now live in the great wet north with eagles and wonderful God-given beauty. We will never forget and forever hold dear our family and friends we left in Logan. Thanks for your support.

17 July 2006

It's a Small World

I know we all have had experiences where we see someone we know in a very unlikely place. We have had that experience several times... for me dating back to 1974 in New York. Well, yesterday we saw a couple at church who we had gone to church with in Logan. The were on vacation with a friend who used to live here in Sitka. Really weird!!!

16 July 2006

Lori/Meg/Charles Camp

This week Lori, Meg and Charles will be off for their 4th year at Kennolyn Camp near Santa Cruz California. Lori is the nurse for a 2 week session while Charles and Meg get to be campers. The last 2 years one of Lori's friends...a nurse midwife...went with her as her partner in medicine. It is a long 14 days for the nurses and a fun time for the campers. It is quite a high-end camp...George "StarWars" Lucas has sent his kid there as has Steven Speilberg. Last year Lori had to communicate with Paul Stanley(KISS lead guitarist) and Vanna "I want to buy a vowel" White regarding treatment for their respective sons. Not only do they have swimming and typical camp stuff, but there is water polo, fencing, and surfing.
This year instead of driving there, Lori et al will have to fly. Lori will come back after the session, but Meg and Charles will head to Utah for 10 days to visit friends. D'Artagnan and I will be alone. He will just lay around and be a puppy while I do projects around the house.

15 July 2006

Sitka Housing

Before we moved here we did a plethora of investigation about everything we could. The bishop of our church ward here was great for info as was the other optometrist I work with.
One thing we discovered was that housing was quite a bit more than Logan. Thankfully, not as bad as California. When we came for our site visit(that's for another posting) we found a rental house for which we signed a 1 year lease. Rentals here are hard to get and go fast when they are available. We had planned on taking a year or so to find a house. Then we found a house that we had seen in October on the internet. In March we got into the house and eventhough our landlord was quite put out and wouldn't let us out of the lease until he rented it again...fortunately it was rented before our deposit ran out so we could move into the house unhinderd.
Our house has a great view of an inlet off of Jamestown Bay which is about 3 miles south of downtown Sitka. We do have this thing for yellow houses. Our first house was light yellow as was the second and of course we have used yellow inside for years. This yellow house has 3 floors and .3 acres and 2700 sq ft. We feel very lucky to have this as most lots here are hill sides and small and the houses are smaller. Of course we don't have a population here that has bunches of kids like in Utah. We did get 4 BR though. Our lot is flat with just a bit of lawn...enough to keep me happy. The land scaping is nice and we have had a nice bunch of flowering perennials. We really didn't know what to expect or what to get rid of. Now we have a good idea.
The 2 car garage is nice since we only have one car...my Toyota Echo. Really good around here with lots of stop and go driving and gas like many of you at $3.50/gal. We didn't bring Lori's mini-van because Richard wrecked it just before we left and so we had a friend(thanks Steve) sell it for us. We did keep the Honda scooter we got last summer and I ride that to work every day... 80+ mpg... pretty nice. And since there are now speed limits over 45 here I rarely have to hold up traffic. Charles and Meg are riding their bikes a lot into town. We have a nice walk/bike path all along the road that leads to our house. Well, I've been pretty long winded, so I'll find a different subject later. Ciao

14 July 2006

Charles and Fine Arts Camp

Charles for the past 2 weeks has been attending the Sitka Fine Arts Camp here. Our kids have had the chance to go to a camp like this in Logan... the Utah State Music Clinic.... But the SFAC is more than just music. The is art, dance, photography, theatre, rock bands, and a whole bunch more.
Charles is SO tired. He is going non- stop from 8am to 5pm and then socializing before, during, and after. Then each evening they have some type of get together from the faculty performing to exhibitions to the past few nights where the students performs and share. Almost 200 kids from all over Alaska as well as many states "down south" (our term for you in the lower-48...Hawaii is just Hawaii).
This was the high school camp. The 2 weeks before was a middle school camp and before that was a 1 week 1/2 day camp for elementary and younger.
Charles did jazz band, rock band, orchestra, and beginning acting improv. His friends were doing ballet, music composition, literature, etc. He has learned so much about playing the bass both in jazz with his string bass and in rock with his electric bass. His poor fingers have bled, blistered and been sore.
Check out the website. They have dorms for those from out of town.

10 July 2006

Genealogy Part 1

As an amatur genealogist I would like to submit part of my family tree. This entry will be subject to revisions as I get the pictures and other information I need. Check out the FamilySearch to find your family tree.
I am a decendant of Heber Chase Kimball who was a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints(Mormons/LDS). Let's start with the current generation.

Anneka Jan Hart
b 27 Jan 1983 inLos Alamitos, Orange, California
m 14 Dec 2002 to
Michael Roy Smith
(3 Aug 1977 in Idaho Falls,Bonneville, Idaho
)
in Logan, Utah


Richard Edward James Hart
b 11 May 1987 in Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina


Margaret Ellen Hart
b 21 Nov 1989 in Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee


Charles William Hart
b 18 Mar 1992 in Brigham City, Box Elder, Utah


Richard William Hart,
b 26 Jan 1958 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
m 20 June 1981 to
Lori Ann Wagner
(b 8 Aug 1962 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Californa)
in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Margaret Harriet Minson
b 26 Mar 1934 in Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho,
m 21 Jun 1956 to
Richard Harold Hart
(b 30 Dec 1930 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah)
in Manti, Sanpete, Utah


Margaret Halliday
b 21 Apr 1913 in Lehi, Utah, Utah
m 21 June 1933 to
Smith Ernest Minson
(6 Mar 1913 in , d 24 May 1977 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Californa) in

d 13 Jul 2002 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, California


Harriet Maria Kimball
b 29 Dec 1889 in Meadowville, Rich, Utah
m 3 Jun 1908 to
William Levi Halliday
(4 Mar 1884 in, d 27 Oct 1956)
in
d 25 Apr 1974 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Californa


Eugene Heber Kimball
b 15 Jan 1865 in
m 24 Jan 1883 to
Margaret Jane Eldredge(
b 19 Oct 1865 in , d 16 Mar 1951 in )
in
d 14 Aug 1932 in


Heber Chase Kimball
b 14 Jun 1801 in , , Vermont
m 26 Jan 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois to
Harriet Sanders
(b 25 Jan 1824 in , , d 7 Sep 1896 in )
in
d 22 Jun 1868 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Meg back from Italy


On the 6th of July Meg returned from Italy. OK, it isn't exactly returning since she has never been to Sitka before, but she is returning to her family. As with anyone who has come home from a long stay away she is a bit disoriented and obviously confused with a new house and new town. Her little brother is now way taller than she is and he has built up 10 month of waiting to pick on his sister. She has met bunches of people and probably remembers few names. She has already made friends and is venturing out in to the community. Now, in less than 2 weeks she will leave again for almost 4 week to attend the summer camp she, Charles, and Lori have attended for the past 3 years in Santa Cruz, California. Then she'll be back to attend school. Lori is so glad to have her back...she has missed having extra estrogen in the house. It is nice to have her singing where ever she goes. She loves D'Artagnan and is speaking only Italian to him. He actually listens better to her...go figure. We are glad to have Meg home and part of our family again. So Welcome Home MEG!!!

07 July 2006

D'Artagnan the Labradoodle

OK, so what is a labradoodle? First, he is our new dog. Second, they are a mix between a labrador and a standard poodle. The idea being that you decrease the sheding of the lab while getting the good traits of both dogs. D'Artagnan (the 4th musketeer) is our first puppy. We have done "rescue" dogs in the past. He is now 3 months old and as active as a 2 year-old. I have to admit that although I'm not much of a dog person, he is cute and I'm making an effort to interact with him and enjoy him. Lori is spending a lot of time doing proper training and it has paid off. Here are few pictures of dear little(but getting huge) D'Artagnan. I am amazed the the information that dogs get from smelling things. At the ball park the pup looks like he is in heaven by smelling just a bunch of gravel. Of course he can identify who and when. He has been sleeping in his kennel in Charles' room. We tried a couple of nights in an extra bathroom, but he fussed terribly. As soon as he went in Charles' room he sleep without problems. Lori has him going to the back door when he needs to go out...if we ignore him we pay for it within a couple of minutes.

Longtime Friends and Lovers

As many of you know Lori and I have been married for a while. In fact, we just celebrated our 25th anniversary on 20 June. The next day was my parents' 50th. We didn't get to do anything on our actual anniversary day, however we did have a trip the week before. I attended an optometric conference in Fairbanks and Lori was with me. We got to stay in a nice bed and breakfast that uses train cars for rooms.
Being an avid golfer(when time and opportunity allow) I had to play golf as late as possible since we were having 24 hours of functional light in Fairbanks. I didn't get to be on the course at midnight, but here we are at 10pm. It was weird to have the sun go down(12:30am) and rise(3:45am), yet still have plenty of light. We took a hike that we finished at 10:30pm and had no problem seeing.
Anyway, we had a nice trip for our anniversary and got to see a very different part of Alaska...the part most people picture in their minds. We also took a trip to the Arctic Circle.

06 July 2006

New Beginning


Hello from Southeast Alaska. Sitka to be specific. I hope to put here some of our comings and goings. I'll include some background on where we are, why we are here, where we have been. It may be a bunch of redundant information for most, but the new stuff may be more interesting. Hopefully. The view out of our bedroom window is really nice. This is looking west.


The big news today is that Meg is home from Udine Italy where she has spent the past 10 months living with the Mineo family. We are glad to have her back. Charles is especially glad...now he has someone to pick on. Lori is glad to have some other estrogen around. Charles and I are offended.