Chugach Foothills, Anchorage, AK

Chugach Foothills, Anchorage, Alaska
Originally uploaded by djwudi

My childhood friend Michael Hanscom posted a cool little "memory map" that he made via Google Maps and Flickr. Mike has added little Flickr-notes to the picture, and I added a little comment below that...feel free to have a look at my childhood neighborhood.

The southern edge of the photo shows the forest I peered at from my bedroom window on winter mornings...moose would strut in and out of it regularly. During the summer I would wander around back there with tons of mosquito repellent on, whipping the heads off dandelions with fireweed stalks.

I don't know why I'm blogging this today...it may have to do with the anniversary of my mom's passing coming up. This Monday it will have been nineteen years since she died. I tend to think of my increasingly distant childhood around this time of year...I have felt less gloom these past few years. Making a little ofrenda to Mom for 2006's Day of the Dead helped...I never did get a picture of that thing posted here. I have a couple shots sitting on a drive at home. I'll make a note to get one of 'em up for you, dear audience. I'm going to try for a bigger ofrenda this year with some friends at a Day of the Dead bbq that we're planning...I may even make some alcapurrias for it. Stay tuned, true believers...