Sharry Miller

Eager Trepidation

It never ceases to strike me as odd how much trepidation I can feel about something I really want to do. I bought my plane tickets to Bangkok, Thailand today, a necessary step towards bicycling in Bhutan. I will be leaving Anchorage April 14 at 6:00 a.m. and arriving in Bangkok April 15 at 11:45 p.m., just over 26 hours of travelling, excluding short layovers in Seattle and Seoul, South Korea. Needless to say, I... Read more →

Miracles of Modern Technology

I always feel like I'm aging myself (because I am) when I marvel about the wonders of the modern world. I remember when... learning to use a computer meant writing 10 lines of code on an original Apple (no, I'm not quite old enough to be familiar with computers that took up a whole room). we taped ourselves on cassette tapes to mail to Grandma so she could hear our voices. Skype - who'd a... Read more →

The Best Crone I Can Be

This week I have been reading Grace Eventually - Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott. It is a wonderful book of essays drawn from a variety of aspects of the author's life that have taught her about her faith. While many of her observations have resonated with me, one in particular made me stop, reread and nod my head in agreement. In her essay "A Field Theory of Beauty" she said, "I'm very glad to... Read more →

Wire Work Class

As always, yesterday's Sea Turtle Arts' class was a rousing success. Denyse Brown taught six of us how to make fun and funky jewelry with wire - it was her beginning wire work class. Not surprisingly, I'm eager to show off the incredible talent hiding in Valdez. Denyse demonstrates again how to do a secure eye wrap with wire as Bonnie, Donna and Mary practice theirs. Jan and Joyce concentrate as they practice making the... Read more →

For My Feathered Friends

Wind danced madly with Spruce, her skirts roaring in my ears as they sent Spruce's branches bouncing. Thane's down jacket and my Bogs boots, pulled on over my pajamas, protected me from her worst as I stepped out on the deck this morning. Dawn was breaking and my feathered friends were out of food. Scooping black seeds into the yellowed plastic feeder cylinders, my fingers began to numb. With a wind chill of about-10, it... Read more →

I Can't Wait!

"If you are in danger of imminent grievous bodily harm due to civil unrest, natural disaster or terrorism, Global Rescue's team of special operations veterans will extract you and bring you home." This reassurance describes just one of the services provided by the company that supplies the extraction insurance I'm required to have for my trip to Bhutan. Granted, I'm supposed to have it in case I need to be sent out of the country... Read more →

Snowshoe Season

I laughed out loud even as I ducked my head and squinted my eyes. Wind gusted up suddenly, flinging snowballs at me from the heavily laden spruce boughs. She took delight in blowing about so much snow dust that I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me. Delighted, I quickly trod down my street, seeking shelter in the trees at the end of the cul-de-sac for the rest of my first... Read more →

Bucket List Reservation

How can you resist a country that measures its worth in Gross National Happiness? I can't, and yesterday I made my reservation to visit Bhutan. I've been wanting to do this trip since WomanTours first introduced it a couple of years ago. I was wasting time drooling over their website a few weeks ago and was shocked to see that there was still space in their April and May 2012 tours. I thought for sure... Read more →

Alaskan Artists on Display

After spending a day working in my hotel room in Anchorage, I enjoyed spending several hours with my mother-in-law, Carol. The highlight of our afternoon was a trip to the Anchorage Museum to see the 28th biennial Earth, Fire & Fibre exhibit. As always, these artworks by Alaskans from around the state were varied and wonderful. I enjoy them not only for their own sakes, but also for the inspiration I derive from them. I... Read more →

A Day of Rest

It's been a day of indulgence in the Miller house this Sunday. Rowan had her friend Kendall over to spend the night last night. After playing in the snow this morning, they spent some time soaking in the hot tub before coming in to bake the sugar cookies they started yesterday. From the looks of my kitchen, they had a great time. Thane's been ignoring the fact that I've been having to use four-wheel-drive to... Read more →