WHEW !
The last month or so was filled with so much grandkid fun it has taken several days of sleep to re-engergize.
Well, maybe sleep might have helped, but it didn't end up at the top of my list of things to do.
Instead, there was a honey-do list from theHansMan that he sent from Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
One would think that with him out of the house, things would settle down, providing some time for rest and relaxation.
Not.
Thank goodness, unexpected help arrived in the form of my cousin. Had it not been for him, everything would have turned to sh . . . ummmm . . . water.
Little did I know that he would save the day . . . or rather . . . save the ice.
So far, nothing written here has probably made much sense. So, it's at this point that you must decide whether or not to waste spend the next few minutes reading about theHansMan's latest endeavor.
This is my cousin, Randy. We have just entered a post office annex facility through a gate that said, "No Admittance" and now he's going to knock, knock, knock on this door.
Trespassing is nothing new in my world. It happens all the time while riding with theHansMan, so no reason to be skeered.
A jumbled explanation follows . . .
It is a tradition for us when we are in Alaska to visit Portage Glacier and 'fish for ice.' (Not to be confused with 'ice fishing.') If we have a successful 'catch,' that ice is sent home and what hasn't melted is placed in a freezer to be used for drinks in the future. This makes for interesting conversation when people realize that there is thousands-of-year-old-ice in their glasses. Not to mention, it is beautiful . . . blue and sparkly.
I won't go into past fishing for ice experiences, but they do include words like: cardboard boxes, newspaper, hanging out the window and flagging down FedEx drivers, you're speeding, and OSHA . . . to mention a few. Just use your imagination and it probably won't come close to everything that's happened.
Today theHansMan called from Dutch Harbor (on his way to Akutan) and informed me that I needed to be at the house because USPS would be delivering an ice chest (aptly named), and my signature would be needed.
No problem.
Except that when Randy went to the mailbox, the carrier was just delivering our mail and there was no ice chest.
Lucky timing. Had he not been there at that exact minute, we would have never known how to find the missing ice chest.
You see, theHansMan thought he had shipped it "overnight," but in fact he had shipped it express with a guaranteed delivery of August 27.
August 27 is not today. August 27 is Monday. Meaning that the ice chest had been delivered to the annex and would be there in a 'hot' warehouse until Monday, about 3:00 p.m.
Hence, the photo above of Randy knocking beating on the post office annex door. Actually, he's reading a sign that said, "This is a mail processing office and no customer services . . . blah, blah, blah." He banged on the door later.
Not to bore you with the details of what happened next, just look at the photo below . . .
Yes, that's the ice chest containing what we hope to be ICE and not WATER.
Yes, he is posing as a hero here, and in all actuality, he is.
This may be the most expensive cooler of water ever . . . or, hopefully, a very expensive chuck of ice.
Ice or Water ?
Water or Ice ?
Will wonders never cease ?
This is just one of several pieces of Portage Glacier . . .
. . . that will end up in someone's libation at our next dinner party.
Moral to this story ? Create your own !
