What I did while Margie was gone; the correct spelling of S-h-o-s-h-a-n-a

Once again, I have selected and loaded too damn many pictures. Oh well. I am not going to take them out now. After I left Margie in town to take care of Jobe, I had no desire to cook my steel cut oats and then eat them in a cold house while waiting for the fire to warm up.

So I headed to Family Restaurant. It is not starting to get light as early as this picture implies. It's just that I was going to breakfast very late.

I like late breakfasts. Late breakfasts are good - and then you don't have to worry about lunch.

I actually took this following breakfast after I got in my car to leave Family, but what the hell. I will pretend that I have just arrived at Family, have just parked and have just now spotted these people walking to the door ahead of me. This causes me to worry, because there is a certain booth that I like to get - by the window so that I can see outside, but also in a corner, against a wall, so nobody can shoot me in the back the way that damn coward, John "Broken Nose" McCall did Wild Bill Hickock down in Deadwood, South Dakota.

That's why I always try to sit with my back to the wall. You just never know - especially when your name is Bill.

Fortunately, I got the corner seat with my back to the wall. Nobody would shoot me from behind - and I was left in a good position to do some shooting myself.

My waitress - she is fairly new and I did not get her name. She poured, I shot.

Reflections on the window, cars parked behind.

I did not see a train come by. It always disappoints me a bit when I go through an entire breakfast at Family Restaurant and not a single train comes by.

A raven flew by, though.

I leave Family Restaurant. The moon is framed.

Later, I go walking. I come upon a new dog, one that I do not recognize, barking at me. This dog wants to scare me. This dog failed. This dog was not scary at all. This dog just puts on airs.

On Tamar, a car zipped past, creating its own little mini-blizzard. We have had a reasonably amount of cool weather and the temperature out in this neighborhood has been below zero most of the time for awhile, but we haven't had much snow. Very little.

They have much more in Anchorage at Jacob and Lavina's house but still not that much for this time of year.

I came upon a raven that was carrying something around. I wanted to find out what so I began to follow the raven.

That raven led me from pole to pole - each time I would just about get close, the raven would hop off the pole and then fly to the next one.

See? I have been trying to tell you that this is now ravens are.

Do you believe me now?

Chooo'weet, Sandy. Chooo'weet. This raven is for you.

We are now nine days beyond solstice. The sun is coming back.

As I reach the house, a Super Cub scoots by overhead - kind of like I used to do back when I would buzz the house after a long absence and signal the family that I was home and they should drive to Anderson Lake airstrip to pick me up. When will such a thing ever happen again?

Before the end of 2011 maybe? Right now, it feels impossible, but this will be a goal for 2011.

I think in the beginning, I might have spelled her name correctly, but then, somehow, my brain misfired and I began to spell it, "Shoshauna." Then I saw that she had written it as "Shoshana." I began to do the same.

Again my brain misfired. Again I began to write, "Shoshauna."

She's so understanding and gentle that she never corrected me. The other day, I realized what I had done. I apologized.

No need to apologize, SHOSHONA said, people make this kind of mistake all the time.

Well, if some dummy is going around posting her name as Shoshauna for all to read, then of course other people are going to do the same, because they will believe that the dummy knows.

Sorry, Shoshana - and thank you.

A guy bought my coffee the other day. She didn't know who - a guy who once lived in Wasilla but now lives elsewhere. He reads the blog to keep a connection to home.

After I left Shoshana behind the Metro window, I headed towards town. Jobe was doing better. It was time to go pick Margie up.

And this one from India:

As we drove about southern India... I would like to tell you more but I just can't get enough sleep. I am too tired to write another

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Comments

[twain12]

well i learned something new today, that family restaurant has paintings on the windows

[Shoshana]

Thanks for getting it right, Bill =)