To Alaska...And Beyond!

2011-11-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

Uff da. It seems that I've been slacking on the blogging business. Truth is with a cold, dreary summer and an uneventful hunting season, there just wasn't much to blog about. We've been managing to keep busy with work, some playing and preparing for all the changes that will eventually come our way.

Bolio Lake (above) is now covered in a thin layer of ice. Soon we'll be able to walk out, drive out and fish on it's frozen surface. The entire countryside has a fresh layer of white, and we managed to score some large, fluffy flakes, which are a rare here.

With the changing of the seasons comes the loss of light. In true Alaska form, this October 1st sunset left us loving fall, loving the return of the moon and stars, and the auroras, of course. They've been active so far this year, and if it kills me I'm going to figure out how to capture them on my camera. I will, I will, I will.

The rush of autumn is gone. The air has grown cold, in the last few days dipping as low as -20 degrees over night. The cords are being carried, our winter packs are thrown in, and the early nights and late mornings are upon us.

Sunrise: 9:36am

Sunset: 5:17pm

Our new wood stove has been such a welcome addition that I cannot even explain how much more efficient, cleaner and easy to use it is. We no longer have to keep piles of wood stacked in side the house, which means less debris and bugs. Thank goodness.

I'm sure the animals have loved the slow move into winter and the warmer-than-usual temps. I'm not complaining either. The dark, wet summer has left a sour taste in my mouth, and I admit, I've had a bad attitude about the onset of winter. Now that it's here, it's not as bad as I imagined.

I can't believe it's already. We've decided to do a little something different for Thanksgiving this year. Since it's non-traditional and we're away from family, we're heading to Fairbanks to stay in a hotel, all four of us. Then Brent and I are going to sneak away to a movie, and we'll end the night enjoying a part of our past. PIZZA DELIVERY!!!! Ha! The little things. We have so much to be thankful for. Our family, friends, good jobs, warm home, health and happiness.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. Please keep all birth mothers and their families in your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully soon we'll be welcoming a child into our home and hearts, as well as, his/her birthparents and family.

Hoping you find much to be thankful for in your world.

Love, Karla

Gramma Alice

2011-07-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

It's been terribly rainy here the past few weeks. Yes, weeks. It's not even the rainy season. When it rains, and you're stuck inside with no satellite tv, and a broke down internet modem you have plenty of time to reminisce. And reminisce I did.

Gramma Alice isn't mine by blood, or even by birth.  But she's mine none-the-less. She passed away 19 years ago, when I was 17 years old. It was November, and cold, and I remember exactly what I wore. How cold my toes were in my black patent heels, exposed legs and teal green sweater dress. And how my heart broke.

She's always been there. In my life. I don't have a moment in time when she wasn't present. She came to be our Gramma Alice because God, and my father's urge to farm, found us for eachother. Alice Elsie Bruckner Hook. She loved her husband, Lester, who passed shortly after I was born, she loved God, without fear, and she loved us. My parents and brothers.

When I was about 2 or 3 my father approached Gramma about purchasing her farm. It's where he wanted us to grow. Along with the crops and the pigs and our cousins and our aunts and uncles. They settled on a deal that would allow Gramma Alice to own her piece of land, and stay in her home, until she was ready to leave. What a wonderful gift we were given.

Gramma Alice was an only child, who lost her parents and her husband, and wasn't blessed with the gift of a child herself. That didn't stop her from loving. I sincerely think she loved everyone. Especially children and animals.

Eventually my parents, with help of family and friends, built us a home, a few feet from Gramma's house.  You could literally look out our windows into her windows.  Yet we all had privacy. It was nice to be able to check on her, to know she was okay, even without leaving the house on a cold winter night.

Gramma came to dinner often. Born with one leg shorter than the other, about 5 nights a week either my brothers or I would go over to walk with her to our house for dinner. She sat opposite Dad at the other end of the table. Strategically placed as not to miss a moment of Wheel of Fortune.  I do believe that the coming of Christ may have been the only thing to tear her away from Wheel of Fortune. Ha! She was a character.

My mom would often tell me that I was like Gramma in many ways. She's right. I am. Gramma was a messy, messy cook, and a relaxed housekeeper. She preferred to spend her time making her crafts, tending to her pets- house mice (shudder), and spending time with us. For the record mice are banished from my home in any form, and I tend to clean my toilet before a sledge hammer is needed, but we're alike in that I'm a horribly messy cook. We're both a little stubborn, a little too round, and don't know the joy of having a child of our own. But we love. And we're happy.

I know there may have been times that she really just wanted her peace and quiet. Yet she never turned us away. Her home was our home, and we were always welcome. I'd spend hours playing in the upstairs bedroom. Playing dress up in dresses that had not been worn by Gramma in years. We played an out of tune piano until I'm sure she thought her ears would bleed. We'd play I Spy for hours searching for bearded walnut shells, silky spider webs and a long forgotten calendar amongst her walls and shelves of treasures.

Gramma Alice was a hoarder long before there was a television show about it. We'd create crafts from the boxes and boxes of saved greeting cards, multi-colored remnants of candles, googly eyes, pipecleaners and all kinds of recycled things. Much to my mom's dismay she'd toss anything and everything in the garden in front of her house. Egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, left over pieces of sandwiches. Lots of things for our dogs to bring home.

She loved to make the trips to the barn to talk to the sows, play with the babies and even help feed them. She loved when Kyle, my younger brother, would bring his horse, Passion, to her steps to see her. She'd bring out treats for Passion. And Kyle.

Halloween meant popcorn balls, Christmas brought rosettes by the dozen. Fried in the freshest of lard, dusted with pristine powdered sugar. And so, so yummy. Occasionally I'd happen over at lunch time and end up with a plate of liver and onions. Still not my favorite meal. But I thoroughly enjoyed fresh fried parsnips, dredged in flour and fried in butter to golden perfection. Mmmmmm.

Upon her illness and eventual passing, I just tried to block life without her. She was always supportive, it didn't matter the course. Mud pies, frog collections (that she'd mysteriously set free), dress up, dancing to Little Jimmy Dickens Out Behind the Barn on the black, white and gray shag. I hope we brought as much joy to her life as she did to ours. Ah...memories...

Summer, Summer, Summer...

2011-06-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 3:15 a.m. Sunset 12:15 a.m.

We're a few days after solstice, which is wonderful and disappointing at the same time. We're having some of the longest days of the year, but it also means they're on the way out. Darkness will continue to creep in until we're down to 4 hours of daylight per day. Anyway...

I've been away. I had a little mishap with my ~~best friend~~ computer. I was waiting for Brent to get home from a fishing expedition. In my sleep-deprived state of mind I shoved it off the bed and broke the hard drive. I packed it up, headed to Fairbanks and was pleasantly surpised to be able to pick it up a week later. Since then we've been a tad bit busy. You know... playing.

Brent managed to wrangle a little time for his first dipnetting, subsistence fishing, experience. They traveled the long road to Chitna, traveled the treacherous trail, came upon a breathtaking river, fished for 10+ hours, and returned with 10 fish of the 120 possible for the 3 families there. 10. Friends of ours were there the day before and limited out. Pfffft. That's a lot of work, time and energy for 10 fish. 10. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Oh well...better luck next time. Right??

We've been riding ATV a lot. The trails this year are dry and easy to ride. This is the way I most prefer to ride. Easy. Dry. Though some might say that that's boring. That's okay. I'd rather not be waist deep in mud when eaten by a bear. Okay, just kidding. Maybe.

We've had a stray puppy, whom I would have loved to keep. We called her Little Bit. Black German Shepherd/Lab cross. So stinkin' cute. And smart. When we were walking with Cash she heeled, sat, obeyed. She was house trained and darn near perfect. However, 3 big dogs in one tiny house. Not gonna happen. So we advertised, posted religiously on facebook, and finally found her people.

The past week has been rainy. We managed to accumulate about an inch and a half of rain. No easy feat for us. Miraculously on Friday the clouds parted, the sun came out, and we've been enjoying a lovely weekend.

Today temps topped out at 85 degrees and we soaked up every bit of sun we could. We rode, we took the dogs swimming for just a very few minutes. Got sprinkled with rain, and then the skies cleared yet again. We came home to grill hot dogs and eat store bought potato salad, feed the dogs and enjoy more sun.

The wildflowers are out. Irises, fireweed, golden rod, arctic poppies, lupines, strawberries, and the smells are fantastic. As we ride the intoxicating smell is something that I'll be certain to never forget. It's absolutely fantastic.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

2011-04-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 6:03 a.m. Sunset 9:20 p.m.

It's Break Up season. Let me tell you, this may be more painful than late winter. As you can see we're having lovely long hours of sunlight. And we've been fortunate enough to have numerous days of sunlight, despite occasional snow showers here and there.

The white is slowly disappearing, and yuck and brown is taking it's place. Slushy roads can be frustrating, and fun. With the 4 wheel drive it's pretty harmless. My floors are muddy, the dogs are muddy, and Cash has a penchant for rolling in all things stinky.

The sun warms my face. Enough to have me trekking through 3 feet of snow to plop my behind in the depths of it to soak up as much heat as possible. I find myself wishing for the dusty trails of summer, looking forward to riding through the depths of night with the sun at our backs, and getting virtually no sleep.

In the past week we have seen the return of the geese, swans and even a small flock of cranes. Soon all the water ways will be spotted white with swans, as well. Song birds flit about, seeking the promise of more food to fuel their bubbly bodies.

The buffalo have moved back to the plains and fields behind Donnelly. We haven't been so fortunate as to see them yet, but we've been tracking their movement through the things they leave behind. I'm hoping they stick around for a while to have their young, I'd love to see them play in the meadows.

This winter has been long and hard for us. I've heard mixed reviews of whether or not it was a harder winter than most. The long-timers will think that perhaps this is nothing, but I know better. Alaskans are tough.

For now I'm imagining fields of wildflowers and endless trails to come. Think Spring!

The Towel

2011-03-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

When I woke up this morning my first words to the hubby were, "that's it, I've had it, we're moving"! To which Brent succinctly replied "No". That's it. I got a lot of words in, unfortunately they were after he left the house. The froze up, waterless house.

There's nothing like stumbling down the steps, blindly wandering through a dark house, tripping over toys and bumping into the table, use the bathroom facilities, flush, and nada. Nothing. Trust me, when you're expecting their to be a soft whooshing noise, followed by nothing. You're suddenly WIDE awake. WIDE. AWAKE. Ugh.

After a little bit of a temper tantrum (on my part) and a swift retreat (on his part), I packed up my pity party and thanked God for friends with extra bathrooms, houses, offices, etc. I found a place to shower, rushed home, went through my normal routine, and headed off to work.

This winter, and now break up season, has been challenging. I'm thankful for the abundant sun light, rising temps, and even the dirty, melting snow. I'm hoping, as in past years, that summer will revive my spirit and renew my love for this beautiful, bountiful state.

This morning wasn't the first time the well has frozen. Our fire damage is nearly fixed. I'm not really sure if, or when, the contractor's helper plans to come back to finish it up. I can tell you this, I'm happy it's not my bill, because we'd be duking it out. And I would not be paying. The work is fine. I've seen plenty of construction, and I won't say it's great, but it's fine. The customer service, terrible. As I said, it's not my bill, and I'm thrilled about it.

Sunrise 7:28 a.m. Sunset 8:08 p.m.

The above, is the most perfect thing in the world. :) I love the long days, the sun coming up high in the sky, light when I leave for work, light long into the evening.

Yesterday I took my first evening walk, without a coat. It was heavenly. With temps nearing 40 degrees, and over night temps ranging between 5 and 20 above zero, we're inching, sneaking, toward break up. Oh goodness, please let it come soon.

I'm hoping for lots of sun and warmth this weekend. Perhaps Brent will take a little time off from chopping, splitting and stacking wood to play.

Ooh, the possibilities are endless.

Think Spring!

Old Dog, New Tricks

2011-03-14T23:03:00.000-08:00

I'd start off by apologizing, again, for being neglectful. Truth is. It's been a long winter, and frankly, I don't think you'd want to hear what I have to say. I can officially say that I'm beginning to think this winter will never end. I don't know that it came particularly early, but for us, it's stunk. The cold, the fire, the frozen septic, and chaos. Our house STILL isn't fixed. We did start using the stove out of necessity. With fuel at about $3.60/gallon we would have been broke in no time. Luckily, knock on wood, we haven't had issues.

To say I'm frustrated would probably be the understatement of the century. The fire happened weeks before Christmas. It's March. STILL not fixed. As you might have guessed, customer service in this area is lacking. I believe some folks would say that most people here have a case of "My Give-a-Damn's Busted". Simply don't care.

To break up the monotony of February, Brent rented a snowmachine on President's Day weekend. MWR was having a deal, so he rented a sled and got in a little caribou hunting, moose hunting and play. It was darn cold that weekend, but he did have fun. As you can tell, so did Miss Chessa. She loves to ride. And she thought she was pretty darn smart. :) Cash was scared of the sled, of course, and chose to run behind and bark. Incessantly.

A couple weeks ago we got some snow and a lot of wind. Which made it nearly impossible for me to get my little sedan out of our driveway. In fact, there were a couple days I had to have my friend, and boss, come and pick me up. Nice.

After some more frustrating and expensive encounters with local "business people" we decided to just go buy a plow and be done with it. In the end it will be far less frustrating, and a lot cheaper. And provides much more entertainment for the hubby.

In Mid-February I started a new job on post. I went from working for one friend to working for another. The transition from jobs has been fine. The transition from work times has been quite another story. Luckily with our schedules we're home and working together, and I even get to sneak in lunch dates with the hubster. Occasionally. The new job is good, I'm enjoying the change, and despising being "the new person". Hopefully I'll be completely comfortable soon. Very soon.

As you can tell, everyone enjoys the new plow. And since plowing is very hard work he takes his gaggle of girls (and Cash) with him where ever he goes. Maggie (the neighbor's dog- front seat) is agile and frisky. She likes to play games of leap frog in and out of the moving ATV. Luckily Brent is adept at making sure that she doesn't get hurt. By him anyway.

The sun is finally warming, and giving me hope that spring, or break up, will happen soon. There's still entirely too much snow on the ground, and the temps aren't nearly as warm as I'd like them to be, but we're getting there. Slowly, but surely. The moose are lightening, which I'm assuming is a nutrition thing, and I'm hoping lots of them are cooking moose bambinos in there.

Soon we'll have to start watching for bear sign. Hopefully even sooner than that we'll here the drip, drip, drip of melting white. In the meantime we're embracing the last parts of winter and praying for a lovely summer.

Happy Nearly Spring!!

A little bit of this..a little bit of that...

2011-01-18T15:13:00.000-09:00

I know it's been a while. I've been lazy. There, I said it. Well, I don't know if lazy is really the right word, but I've been procrastinating this one, which always makes it worse. I've had a couple things on my mind, we'll talk about those later.

This is Brent and the dogs on Christmas Eve. We ventured out to take a drive, relax, enjoy our beautiful frosty surroundings and see what we could see. As usual it was a beautiful drive, despite Cash's never-ending attempts to climb into the front seat, and when reprimanded the constant sighing and squeaky yawn he does to let us know that he's irritated. Ches is a wonderful traveler, and I'm hoping (praying and begging God) that Cash will grow to be a better traveler. Since the day was particularly frigid I stayed in while the Three Amigos decided to hunt up some rabbit, or something.

This is Chris-moose! I (originally) wanted to do a post with just this picture. Our Christmas Moose! Ha! Such a pretty girl she is, all snuggled into the white wonderland. I wonder what Santa brought this Mama and her baby??

Christmas Day we hosted 8 friends at our table. It was a nice, relaxing day with so much food I thought I'd explode. Our cabin in the woods was cozy and warm. Great conversations, awesome food, some presents, and brimming with lots of laughs. My only regret is that we didn't have a slightly larger, more comfortable area so we could have sat longer, chatted longer, and had more friends to join us.

For dessert (I don't love baking) Brent talked me into baking this gorgeous pecan chocolate torte. Too bad it didn't taste as good as it looks! It was okay, but sadly not the best thing I've ever made. I think Brent was dreaming of a moist devils food, and this was NOT it. I'll be trying something next time.

New Year's Eve we decided to take in some ice fishing. What a gorgeous day!! It was 38 degrees out on the ice. As usual I avoided the bulk of the fishing, and played with the pooches. Sitting still, looking at an icy hole, waiting for a random fishy to swim by and happen to bite my teeny tiny hook isn't the most fun I can think of. But being on the ice on a warm and windy day, playing with fish (see above) and having a grand ole time is right up my alley.

Poor little fishy. Mutilated by Cash as he tossed and chased and barked and tossed some more. Before hauling the poor little trout off to be buried in a bank of snow.

This is Brent and Whitey. Taking a picture of the fish they caught. Yep. Both of them. It goes a little bit like this. Early in the day Whitey was feeling relaxed and lucky, he laid is pole on a chair while he chatted and jeered the other inhabitants. Much to Whitey's dismay, the pole lurched from the chair to slide down the hole, Whitey attempted to reach the pole, sticking his arm shoulder-deep in ice cold water. Unfortunately his crappie flop only earned him a very chilly arm. The (rented) pole was lost, and he spent a good amount of time belly-aching about having to replace the pole.

After a visit from a very nice conservation officer from Ft. Wainwright, Brent used the auger to make himself a hole outside of the shanty. As he was waiting and waiting he felt a faint tug on his line. He reeled it up to discover that he had caught someone else's line, presumably from inside the shanty. Whitey happened to be walking by at just that moment, right before Brent tossed the line back in. Whitey pulled the line, fish, and his lost rod out of the frigid water. And that, folks, is the story of how Whitey and Brent caught the same fish. Well, technically Whitey caught the fish and Brent caught the pole! Ha!

I'm pretty sure this photo strikes fear and loathing in my father. I'm positive he was happy he wasn't visiting on this particular slobber-filled day in our lives. My father tolerates my dogs, only because I leave him no other option, but he doesn't love them. They're fine as long as they don't kiss, touch, jump or come within 50 feet of him. Ha! Good luck, Dad!!

Brent and I decided that it would be nice for Charlie (dog #2 from left) and Cash (dog #4 from left) to have a play date for their birthday. They turned 1 on December 26th!!! YAY! While Charlie was visiting, Maggie (dog #1) decided to come and play, leaving us with a menagerie of mongrels. They are so much fun. Outside. Outside Only. Holy Cat! 4 dogs in the house is insane. Crazy even.

Alaska holds the most beautiful skies I've ever seen. They are expressive beyond anything I've laid my eyes upon, and change constantly. New Year's Day they presented us (and that's exactly what it was, a gift) with the most vibrant cobalt blue skies. They ranged from navy (nearly black) to the faintest aqua and you stood and circled your body.

The camera really does them no justice. They were fantastic. I just stood, in wonder, and watched them shift over head. Saturated color, you could almost taste it. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And with that sentence, I'm pretty sure my oldest brother just broke into a fit of hysterics. But you should have seen it. Fantastic!

Another shot of blueberry skies....

The periwinkle hue over the roof top was my favorite. I'm so blessed. Alaska is beautiful, harsh, rugged and glorious. I'm happy to have seen it, grateful to have lived in it. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. Leaves me wanting for more...

This is the usual scene at our house these days. Brent and Maggie snuggled on the couch, Cash pestering Maggie to play, play, play, and Chessa begging me with her eyes to "please send Maggie home". Ha!

In other news I have accepted a new position. I am experiencing bittersweet feelings. I will leave a job that I love, and a very, very good friend. I will miss seeing her, and her family, on a daily basis, but it's not like I'm leaving the country. I am taking a job on post, with another friend, so I'm lucky to have the best of both worlds. I don't know when I'll start yet, but 2011 is bound to be a great year!

Happy New Year!!!

2010-12-24T08:33:00.000-09:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! May you enjoy your time spent with family and friends, and take time to enjoy the season! We'll be missing you all!!

Winter Solstice

2010-12-21T22:31:00.000-09:00

Sunrise 10:45 a.m. Sunset 2:35 p.m.

The solstice came yesterday. Which means the longest of winter days are behind us. Phew. Unfortunately the additional light is slow to come for a few weeks yet. We'll pick it up quicker as time goes on. Did you all catch that lunar eclipse last night? Spectacular. I didn't get to see it go red, but I parts of it from the bedroom window. Spectacular.

The past few days have been quiet. I've been baking, attending Christmas plays and trying to get the house put back to semi-rights after all the crap that's happened. I'm ready for some peace. And I'm really hoping I didn't just jinx myself.

Friday afternoon Brent picked me up. I dashed from the truck to capture the moon. At 4:17 p.m. It was so pretty and bright. It casts eerie shadows across the driveway, making me more hesitant to spend anytime outdoors. Without dogs and guns. Luckily I have plenty supply of both. Phew!

Lately I find Cash in this position a lot. He's waiting for Maggie. His buddy. From a neighboring farm. She comes to play every day. Yes, every.single.day. Some days twice a day. Last Thursday I was off from work due to extremely cold temps. -50 and below. So, this is Cash waiting at about -35 below. He has thicker skin than I do. No thanks. Brrrr. That also turned out to be the day we got our plumbing back. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise God. This is as rustic as I get. I can't do outdoor "plumbing". There are some miraculously strong people out there. No thanks.

Saturday we made a trip to Fairbanks. We braved the crowds and craptacular roads. Got our necessary items, that I absolutely could not find here in Delta. Stopped at Pagoda for a quick and yummy lunch in North Pole. Tried to visit the Santa Claus house to pick up Savannah and RJ's letters from Santa. But alas, the lines were too long, and the parking lot was out of empty spaces. We kept driving.

Sunday Brent made us breakfast, I cleaned, baked and cooked. Brent put a moose roast in the oven, and we just enjoyed the holiday season. Sunday evening we attended the Christmas program at First Baptist Church here in Delta. What a production! There are some talented kids in this community. The program consisted of 45 children, varying ages, and a team of dedicated parents. It was uplifting, fun, joyful, and fun! You could tell the kids were thoroughly enjoying themselves up there, and they all did a great job!

Later that evening I packed up some cookies and headed to a friends house for games and friend time. It was the perfect end to a relaxing weekend. I have no complaints. None. At all.

Thursday I'll have off to prepare for Christmas dinner at our house on Saturday. Friday we're off to do some ice fishing. Finally. It's our first trip and I'm looking forward to it. Which means I can't procrastinate on Thursday!! There will be 9 of us for dinner, and I'm going to have to get mighty creative to get us all in here. But we'll work it out. For sure.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!! Stay warm!

Baby It's Cold Outside

2010-12-15T22:20:00.000-09:00

It's cold. Not just cold, really, really cold. How cold? Cold enough that I left my car running for a good portion of the day. Because I'm missing an important piece of equipment. A block heater. Kind of dumb for any Alaskan to live without one. Especially one without a garage. But it is what it is. So, run it did. Thank goodness my lovely little Volvo is good on gas. Phew!

It's cold. Cold enough to freeze a septic system. Yep. You read that right. And since we live in the land of self-sufficiency my dear hubby has been trying to thaw it. He's done a lot of research. Learned the tricks that do and don't work here in the tundra. Until finally. He called a septic guy. This guy's words of wisdom. "Good Luck". Yep, that's it. He wasn't going to bother to come out in -40 degree temps. Nice. It's obvious he's not the one peeing in the frigid temperatures. No outhouse either. I think I might have to build one this summer. You know. Just in case.

3 days I have lived without plumbing. Plumbing, electricity and an internet connection were my only requirements for moving to Alaska. Well, two out of three ain't bad! Ha! Honestly, I'm taking it in stride. It's livable, though not ideal, but we'll survive. The rumor is that Septic Guy #2 will make an appearance some time tomorrow. Brent's not-so-secretly wants his last ditch effort to work. I'm optimistic, but realistic. I'm not canceling Septic Guy #2 just yet.

So, as of now we have no toilet or shower, and no wood stove. I am very thankful for back up heat. The rumor around town is that -40 is warmish compared to what we may get. It was -48 degrees at the Clearwater Lodge tonight. Where we ate dinner. While the car idled outside.

We're snuggled in. Waiting for normalcy to return. Praying that it's soon. And just trying to find the positive in all the discord that's found us. Someone did tell me that Mercury was in retrograde. I hope it's out soon...

Stay Warm!!

Keepin' The Home Fires Burnin'

2010-12-11T00:21:00.000-09:00

**Before I start this post I want to say that we are all fine, unharmed, healthy and warm. Enjoy the read.

Thursday evening I came home, as usual. Stoked the fire, as usual. Let out the dogs, as usual. I took care of the dinner dishes that I had been too lazy to tackle the evening before, which is unusual. I was doing dishes, laundry, and watching something on the computer.

I needed to soak one of my pans, the reason for my lazy delay in the first place. I sat in the chair, computer on my lap, Ches at my feet. Cash and Maggie (the neighbor dog) playing in the yard. As I was watching I heard a dripping, or maybe a sizzle. I glanced at the faucet. Nothing. I glanced at the fire place. Fire! In the wrong place. Panic. I let out an expletive. And went into action.

I first replaced my pajama pants with real pants. Jeans. Slipped on my Uggs, shooed Ches outside, which confused her, dialed Brent. No answer. Panic. Dialed 9-1-1. All I have to say, is thank God for 9-1-1 dispatchers. She kept me calm, kept me even, soothed my frazzled nerves. I got out the dogs, put them in the car, and proceeded to back away from the house to give the fire truck room, if needed. Said a prayer that it wouldn't be needed. Was obviously frazzled, got the car stuck. Left it there, running, with dogs inside. Sent Maggie home, and she miraculously listened. Did another silent Hallelujah.

When the operator was satisfied that I wasn't going to stay in the house, and that the fire personnel were on their way, I hung up. Dialed Brent. Got Steve (his co-worker and friend), and once I heard his voice, LOST MY MARBLES. After I shouted that the house was on fire, about 3 times, I hung up. At this point I was nearing a panic attack, and needed someone to calm me down. I was alone. I called my Mom. Which in hindsight, only made her panic. But she managed to calm me down. The stove pipe was neon orange and glowing. I had managed to save the dogs, the computer, the camera and the guns. To be honest, I couldn't think of anything else that was that important. We weren't inside.

I grabbed a coat for myself. And some gloves. It was -10 and I'd been outside for about 10 minutes in a thin t-shirt before I noticed that I didn't have a coat. Once I'd grabbed a coat, and still on with my mom, I decided to head down the driveway with a flashlight, to signal the people coming to help. I started out, forgot a gun, and headed back for a gun. All the while my mom is trying to convince me that I can't go, I'll be eaten, or something. That I should drive. I had to cop to the fact that I got the car stuck. Luckily I didn't have the where-with-all to be embarrassed.

I hung up and headed down the driveway, in the dark, sobbing, with a pistol and a phone. By the time I reached the end of the drive way I got the giggles. It may have been hysteria, but giggle I did. As I stood there, calmer, pointing my strobing flashlight in every direction, seeking for glowing eyes in the dark. Phew. Relief. Soon I saw headlights. More headlights and FINALLY, heard the sirens, horns. Utter relief.

Delta Junction has a volunteer fire department. Let me tell you, they reacted quickly. I saw the first, second, and third set of headlights. Volunteers coming from their homes, to help me at mine. I walked back to the house, and two firemen were already inside. I just stood outside and watched. Soon the big truck with lights flashing was there, and I could breathe.

I stood there, talking to my husband, whom I begged to drive carefully and assured that the whole house wasn't in flames. Tried reaching our landlord. And couldn't. And waited. Thankfully the men were much calmer than I was, and kind. Considerate. Conscientious. Turns out that while the fire was very hot and very real, they managed to put it out quickly, all while being contained in the stove pipe. Phew.

In the end we lost some drywall, and some insulation. We'll need to replace the pipe all the way up through the roof. But we are lucky. Fortunate. Blessed. It could have been so much worse. I have attached some photos of the damage.

This is the discoloration of the pipe and ash on top of the stove.

The stove is fine. In perfect condition, just coated in a fine ash.

This photo is the top of the pipe, where they cut out the wall to access the insulation.

This is two pieces of charred foam insulation and the rope that goes around the top of the pipe.

You can see the black charring on all of the pieces.

Our deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks goes out to the volunteer firefighters with the Delta Fire Department. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Whose Idea Was This?

2010-12-01T23:00:00.000-09:00

I'm going to vent. In fairness, I rarely do so (on here) so you're just going to have to deal. Last year got cold. And it got cold a lot earlier. But for some reason, this cold snap, we dropped approximately 40 degrees in 12 hours, has me not loving Alaska so much. Good gravy, Mavis. Now to be fair, it's technically warming up out there, and we only saw about -36. Which, in reality, is cold, but not as cold as it can get here. I remember January 9, 2009 all too well. Anyway, it's been cold. Did I mention that already?

In reality, the roads stink because the temps were too warm and we got rain. Now that we're seeing the below zero temps they are marginally better, but will take some time to become normal. The cold has also brought the sun along with it. And I LOVE that. I almost has one convinced that you won't need long underwear, wool socks, a heavy jacket, gloves (I wore 2 pair), a scarf to breathe through, a hat, and whatever else you deem necessary to function.

My biggest challenge is plugging, unplugging, plugging the car in. We had plug-ins in Northern Minnesota, but I don't remember ever using it. Let alone carrying around not one, but two extension cords. All. The. Time. My saving grace is that it's normal here. Everyone gets out, plugs it in, comes out, unplugs it, drives it home. Weird stuff. And if you're the idiot that forgets (hypothetically, of course) to unplug the cord, or the car, and you're driving down the road with the cord dragging behind you. Yep, you're the idiot. Luckily I haven't done that. Yet. This year.

I did get a nice ~~lecture~~ reminder from my hubby that failing to unplug the car one more time will result in some major repair work to the outdoor outlet. You know, since someone obviously forgot a time, or two, last year.

Today had me at my knees. It took me 45 minutes to put all my layers on, which cause me to sweat because the wood stove is cranked, then go outside and freeze to the car that's been running for 35 minutes and still isn't technically, warm. Luckily it warms up quicker when I drive. Phew. I pulled into the office parking lot, unloaded myself, discovering that I'd rode all the way to work with my coat stuck in the door. Swell. Rolled out, because with that many layers you have to, and attempted to plug my car in. The plug was bent, I was wearing gloves (two pair) and I was cold. Growing increasingly frustrated by the moment, the tears came, just as the plug miraculously slipped into it's mate. Success. Damn tears.

On a positive note, this cold snap has not changed my love for this town, this state. There are good days, and bad days, today just happened to be one that tested my patience and resolve. The above photo- sorry about the quality- is the view from my window at work. The sun tipped the trees just before it set yesterday afternoon. It was quite lovely.

Happy Winter!

It's a Marshmallow World

2010-11-29T23:14:00.000-09:00

Sunrise 10:07 a.m Sunset 2:55 p.m.

We have been fortunate to have such a warm early winter/late fall here in the Interior. Fortunate, until last week. We got socked with a nasty ice storm, which was much worse to the north, in Fairbanks/North Pole. We seemed to receive enough damage. The trees were loaded and drooping with ice, the roads were slippery and treacherous, work and school was canceled, and then we got snow. Woohoo for snow. TRACTION!! Then the snow plows came and we're back to icy, slippery, treacherous roads. Dislike.

Saturday morning I slept in, another bonus to the sunrise coming so late in the day. I wandered sleepily downstairs to use the facilities (thank goodness we don't have an outhouse) and stopped to take in the snow falling lightly outside the living room window.

As I was standing there, Cash came running, like a streak of lightening, into the yard. That usually means one thing. He's in trouble. Ha! Just as soon as he got to the edge of the gravel, his ears perked up and he took off, just as fast, back down the driveway. Luckily I knew that Brent must be calling him, and I didn't think much of it. I continued on my way to the destination afore mentioned.

Not two minutes later, Brent and the furkids came back to the house. All in a line, and no one seemed to be in trouble. No sooner had Brent gotten through the door, than he was telling me about his attempted walk with the dogs, down the driveway, out to the road, through the woods, back home again. It didn't happen.

As he started down the driveway there were fresh prints and scrapings. Like any good dog, they marked their territory, right on top of the fresh scrapes. They continued along to the berm that flanks the East side of the driveway, only to discover more prints, and much more scraping. All of this is old news, familiar smells and sights to Ches, but not to Cash. When he smelled them, he dashed, for home. Unbeknownst to Brent. Who thought Cash was on the chase, called him back, only to discover that he was tucking tail and running home to Mama like the scaredy cat he is! LOL.

Turns out...THIS is what he was smelling... Camped out on the street outside our house. All. Day. Long.

Meet Mr. Bull. Proud old man.

And these were his companions for the day. Mrs. Moose and The Twins.

The rest of the weekend seemed to fly by. And four days was simply not enough time to play. I did some cleaning, some organizing, attempted to decorate for Christmas and realized that I don't have much of anything. And since I don't have much, I'm going to change the color to scheme more traditional Christmas colors.

Sunday night we had friends over for dinner. I fixed a lovely bacon topped pork loin, mashed potatoes, cauliflower au gratin (which was supposed to be broccoli au gratin- but the IGA was OUT), fresh rye bread and Rose brought a Delicious lemon cranberry bundt cake. A little bit of heaven in a pan.

Tonight the temperatures continue to fall. I find myself stoking the fire in an attempt to get the interior temperature above 69 degrees. It doesn't seem possible. The logs are wonderfully warm insulators, the upstairs walls are not quite so warm. And I find my hands, and nose, dreadfully cold in the morning.

Sleep tight. Stay warm. Sweet dreams!

Thankful

2010-11-26T23:44:00.000-09:00

It's officially Black Friday, but more importantly it's Thanksgiving weekend. We had a lovely, relaxing day yesterday, spending it in the home of friends. New friends. Today we're relaxing, taking up past times for which we haven't had time. I'm blogging, and watching a movie. Brent is currently napping, but spent the morning setting and checking traps.

I'm thankful for:

* A warm home, comfortable but small, with only the things I need.

* My furbabies, who frustrate me deeply, make me laugh, almost constantly, and can always lift my spirits.

* Good jobs that afford us a comfortable life. And life in a place that is perfect, for us.

* Good health and happiness. Things we all too often, take for granted.

* Mostly I am thankful for family and friends that love us and support us so unconditionally. That understand the things are are important to us, and are so excited to see that happen for us. That lift us up, and understand when we are down. Who may not always understand our decisions, but choose to support us, rather than try to divide us and tear us apart. Who truly know who we are in our hearts, instead of assuming they know what we want and try to force their opinions upon us. For this I am truly thankful. It makes my heart happy, and helps demolish the hurt and disappointment from those who do not.

For this, I personally thank each and every one of you. And you know who you are.

On another note, my dad called last week. He asked a simple question, but one that touched me so very deeply. He asked if they should be Christmas shopping for anyone else in our family this year. While sadly the answer is no, it meant so much to know that they are excited for us too. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

On that note, we have chosen to keep the rest of our journey to parenthood private. We'll let you know when we have good news to share. Thank you all for your kind words and support.

2010-11-24T23:34:00.000-09:00

Sunrise 9:43 a.m. Sunset 3:15 p.m.

The days keep getting shorter and shorter. This picture- sorry about the quality- was taken at 8:56 A.M. Yes folks, that's the moon. The morning moon. The sun didn't rise for another 45 minutes after this photo was taken.

The temperatures have unseasonably warm for us. This past week consisted of temps near or above 30 degrees, rain, snow and more rain. My Volvo has a lovely crystalline sheen and it's nearly impossible to open the trunk. Even more impossible is closing the trunk. The graders and plows have been out, which is fairly rare. They have sanded, grooved the ice coating the highways, and lo and behold, someone actually plowed the road to our house. Last year we had tons of snow, and no one ever seemed to find us...hmmmmm...

While friends in North Pole and Fairbanks experienced power outages, we had black road reports out on base, which means all non-essential personnel are either sent home, or shop bound. Brent and I both had early days on Monday. School was out for Monday afternoon and Tuesday, thought they were back in session for one - I'm almost positive- rowdy day before Thanksgiving weekend. I worked a record-breaking week of 7 hours. I can tell you're impressed.

I took time to play in the ice and snow with my furbabies. I read a book, took a nap, made lasagna for dinner, and also managed to fit in some mundane household chores. The dogs really liked having me around. Treats, treats and treats...and throwing the dummies. That's my purpose on earth, as far as Cash and Ches are concerned.

Brent has been busying himself with snares and traps. I'm not thrilled about this hobby, but it brings him joy, and memories of many childhood winters with his grandpa. It's proving to be a slow year, which is frustrating him to no end, and making me silently blissful. I would never admit such things to him, but he knows how I feel. We have a rule. He can have as much fun as he wants, be as happy as he wants, but there is no discussing it with me. Thankfully he can talk to my dad about it until the cows come home... phew!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. And we have much to be thankful for. Life in the Last Frontier has proved to be challenging, exhilarating, happy and slow...all the things that we were ready for it seems. Winter is a time of reflection, and the holidays only compound that, so I thought perhaps I'd be thinking more about "home" and my childhood. I'm not, as much as I thought I'd be. I'm thinking about our next adventure. Where it might be. When it might be. And hoping it doesn't take us away from Alaska too soon...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Hoping you find much to be thankful for this holiday season. Hoping your hearts and homes (and tummies) are filled to the brim!

Much Love,

Brent, Karla, Ches and Cash

p.s. Grammatical and spelling errors corrected- is that better Dad?? ;)

Back and Getting on Track

2010-11-08T08:42:00.000-09:00

Sunrise 8:57 a.m. Sunset 3:56 p.m.

It's 8:28 a.m. when I'm beginning this blog post. Which means, technically, that the sun isn't up. There's light in the sky, but I fear it's going to be another gray day. There gets to be a lot of them this time of year. It is November, after all, and this is the time of year that we lose light, at lightening speed. So I sit by lamp light and write. I would like to say that I miss the midnight sun, but that has it's place, and it's nice to have a little dark back in my life. Soon the sun will come back, and life will even out, once again. My main goal for this time of year is keeping the electric bill down. Easier said than done.

We've been home for nearly a week. And I will admit the jet lag was a little bit hard on me. We had a wonderful trip to Minnesota. We had nice weather, despite a few days of rain and wind, and I have nothing to complain about. We visited with family and friends, met new members of the family, and drove by old haunts, or houses if you will. Everything looks the same, feels the same, and yet, I have changed. All those things that were once so important, didn't matter so much, and at one point (much earlier in the trip than I imagined) I was wishing for home and my stuff and my furkids.

I had a hard time sleeping once we were at the in-laws. Seems the train is closer than I remember. And there's street noise, something I'm certainly not accustomed to, and LIGHTS. :) All minor, but odd to adjust to when you are used to the peace, quiet, and dark.

The visit was too short. We certainly didn't get to see everyone we would have liked to. We did, however, take the time to go see Brent's grandparents (graves) in South Dakota. I wish the weather would have been nicer so we could have spent a little more time, but it was comforting to be there.

We celebrated the holidays, complete with gifts, visited, laughed, shopped, celebrated Halloween, hugged chased, golfed, shopped, hunted, trapped, stayed out late, it was a great visit. And I'm so happy to be home.

Thanks to our wonderful, competent house sitter we came home to a clean house, cleaner than when I left, freshly laundered sheets, and happy dogs. A good house sitter is an absolute necessity when traveling from Alaska this time of year. He kept the home fires burning, literally and figuratively. We are happy and thankful.

So far life back home is good. The days are shorter, we've gotten a little more snow, but the temps have been up and nice. No reason for complaint. Hopefully our good luck will last. I never want to see -63 degrees again! Do you hear me!?! lol.

Thank you to all of you who made the time to see us. It was great to see you all, meet the new little ones that have joined the family since the last time we were there, and catch up with everyone's lives.

Happy Winter!

Wintery Weather

2010-10-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 8:36 a.m. Sunset 6:18 p.m.

It's true, we've been having wintery weather. The kind that makes your toes wish for a pair of warm, fuzzy slippers when you skitter to the rest room in the middle of the night. The kind that brings a lovely green glow the sky and the most amazing moons I've ever seen. Though, you won't have known it today.

Today we had overcast skies, but I didn't mind because the air warmed to a lovely 37 degrees. I even wore short sleeves, with no coat, because frankly, I get darn tired of wearing a coat by spring time in Alaska. So I was a rebel, and went without. Dear God, please don't let me get sick.

I would have taken some pics of the auroras and the moon, but I've been busy. Readying the house, the pets, and the suitcases for our trip. Where are we going? I'll tell you in a minute. We have an awesome house/pet sitter. For us, it's the best of both worlds, and worth every penny. He takes care of the house, keeps the home fires burning, literally, and keeps the pets happy, fed, played with, and anxiety free. Which in turn, leaves us anxiety free. See? No complaints.

Brent and I are off to Minnesota. They've been having lovely weather and I certainly hope that they keep it around. As you can tell by today's short sleeves, I am sooooo not ready for winter. Let me tell you what I am ready for. Laughter with friends, family, the ones that have known me for so many years that I can't remember when they weren't there. Mom, Dad, family, family, family, hometown football games, Grandma and Grandpa. SHOPPING! Sorry, we have very little shopping here. Can you tell? Ha! Familiar places, familiar faces, my nephews and my darling niece. My Savannah girl, whom I miss so dearly that I have tears just hoping that she won't be shy, I need a Savannah hug. She was only 3 when I left. Shannon. And more shopping!

We've been loving our life in Alaska. And truthfully, it hasn't really hit me how much I've been missing certain people from my "old" life. Sometimes it feels like years ago, which technically it was, but let's not split hairs here people, other days it feels like we were just packing up that little aluminum trailer and hitting the not-so-dusty trail. I had no idea how much I'd love it here, or how much my life would change. How much I'd change.

So, I'm signing off. I'll check in when I can, but really, I make no guarantees. I'm going to savor every moment. Happy autumn!!!

Monotone Days

2010-10-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

Ches and Brent at Nickel Lake

There is something particularly beautiful about a first snow. It blankets everything, making all the ugliness of late fall disappear. The last lingering leaves are coated with hoar frost and frosted off with a topping of light, fluffy snow. It looks good enough to eat. And then you do, and it tastes like dirt. The picture, the thought of snow on your tongue is much more romantic than the actual taste.

This past weekend we headed to our favorite spot in the Donnelly area to roam around and shoot pictures of the newly fallen snow. It really was beautiful despite the gray skies. It's been pretty bleak here, and a glimpse of sun would go a long way right now. But I have to admit, it's pretty.

Saturday we made a trip to Fairbanks for some things that we needed. And Brent needed a haircut. He's picky, to say the least, and he's cheap, which makes the treacherous winter drive to Fairbanks a necessity, in his mind. The roads were terrible. Our drive, which usually takes us 1.5 hours took us 2 hours and 10 minutes. Too long. Along the way there were numerous accidents, and evidence of accidents. No moose. Thank heaven for small favors.

Ghost Lake and the Delta River in the distance

While we were in Fairbanks we took the time to meet with my friend Susan and her hubby, Steve. Susan and Steve had to make the terrible choice to put their beloved Sedona to sleep this past week. And because I can only imagine how terrible that hurt is, I felt the urge to just hug Susan. I know that when our time comes I won't be able to handle it well. But let's not think of that. You can read Sedona's story here.

We met Susan and Steve, whom I hadn't met before Saturday, at Gallo's in Fairbanks. The food was okay, as is the case with most Alaska restaurants. Sorry. I have yet to find a meal that blows my socks off. We immensely enjoyed our visit and it was great to have a face to put with Steve's name. I'm looking forward to getting together with them more.

After lunch we managed to wrangle Brent a haircut and get out of dodge. The drive home wasn't much better. We saw some pretty gnarly accidents, a couple tow trucks and some very lucky, shaken drivers. This is why we needed a relaxing drive on Sunday afternoon.

The above photo is really cool, in my mind anyway. The dark paths are made from animal bodies as they move their way through the tundra, knocking the snow/frost off as they move and munch. Looks even cooler in real life. Come on up!

Alaska Pipeline

This week has been pretty quiet. Now that winter is upon us, we're snuggling in, enjoying the warmth of the fire powered heat, and loathing the constantly wet feet. I hate socks! The roads, even locally seem to be lacking at best, and I can only hope they improve as winter rolls on. There are no animal pics because we have seen no animals. None. Zip. Zero. It's so disappointing.

We're getting geared up for a whirlwind trip to Minnesota to visit our families. As always our trusty house/pet sitter will be watching the homestead, keeping the fire burning, the furkids fed, and the pipes thawed! :) That's always a good thing, and he's fantastic.

Life has been boring. I've been studying, Brent's been learning, as always, and anxiously awaiting colder weather so he can split more wood. I have told you about his wood obsession, right? We've been making lovely berry teas with the fruits of our summer picking, enjoying cozy dinners by firelight, and trying like mad people to keep the electric bill down. I'll let you know if we succeed.

Bundle up. Stay warm! Happy Reading!

**Note: For the record, the photos have not been taken in black and white. This is the color of the sky the past few days. Kinda gloomy, kinda mystical. Enjoy!

Sunday Morning

2010-10-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful Sunday morning in the Interior of Alaska. Beauty, I've learned, comes in different forms here, and your heart will be happier if you learn to appreciate all the beauty Alaska has to offer. Summer is my favorite season, as the hills, trees, ditches, and mountains come alive. But early winter or late fall in Alaska has a particular beauty as well.

We got a sprinkling of snow last night. Not much, but enough to cover the ground. Our world is slowly turning white. Hoar frost covers the trees and brings a bulkiness and elegance to ratty old weeds that were previously ugly and brown. The ground crunches underneath your feet, and you can hear silence every where you go. The sky is dull and gray, but instead of being depressing it makes the perfect backdrop for the white blanket. It's a somber feeling, a quiet feeling.

As I sit here sipping tea, made from the berries we picked, cleaned and froze by hand, laced with a bit of fireweed honey, I feel rather content. The furbabes are snuggled up, napping after a busy morning of breakfast and a little bit of playtime in the yard while their toes adjust to the newly fallen white stuff. They're happy to be wrapped in warmth from the flames dancing in the stove.

Brent had a touch of the flu yesterday, and I'm happy to report that he is fully recovered. The sun is rising later, so we were both able to sleep in this morning. Of course, with later sunrises also comes earlier sunsets, so by 9 p.m. we get awfully drowsy.

Brent is making breakfast, and it sounds like quite a production. I can see him moving lively and happily in front of the stove, but I do not dare ask what he is cooking. He likes to surprise me with his sometimes questionable concoctions. Some day I'll have to tell you about when he blindfolded me in order to get me to eat the dinner that he prepared, early in our married years.

I like winter and all it's ambiance. Of course that's easy to say since it's early in the year, and not late February. But for now the world is white, quiet and oh so very pretty. Of course my urge to drive anywhere is nil. But my nerve will come with time.

Happy Sunday! Stay warm.

Batten Down the Hatches, Boys!

2010-10-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while. And while something tells me that I should feel guilty, I'm not. I do this for fun, the blogging. In the mean time, I 'm living. That means, I share when I have time. And since we've been trying to soak up every bit of autumn splendor, I haven't had much time for blogging.

The above photo is of Brent and Cash hunting at Castner Glacier. It's a lovely hike, and I'm sorry that I didn't let Brent drag me out there sooner. Anytime I hear the word hike, I cringe and dig my heels into the ground. It's reminiscent of days spent hiking in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He's drag me around every mountain at least 3 times. I like to wander, watching the skies change above, not him. He's more of a get there, get back kind of person. Not so at Castner, it was such a nice, easy walk. Easy pace. Watching Cash and Ches dash in and out of the woods, the water and the dirt.

This is Brent with the Alaska Range in the background. This was before the "s" word fell and coated the mountain tops with fresh white powder. He's standing on top of the world, showing me where he should have shot a moose. No such luck for these newbies. It was incredibly warm and while he saw a few cows with calves, no bulls. Hmph.

Once you reach the peak on which Brent was standing you come down to view the glacier. Not really what you picture a glacier to look like is it? But it's awesome. How absolutely unique to think that you can stand on a glacier. It's pretty cool and I'm glad I saw. I'm also looking forward to doing that hike again. Really soon.

I prefer to be behind the camera, but this is me, holding the bear protection, while Brent snaps a photo. It was such a nice day.

This is a lovely Soapberry bush. A favorite food of bears, or so I read somewhere. Of course, I stumbled upon this knowledge after I left the area, and it made me extra thankful that we had the bear protection along. Something stronger than mace x 100. Ha! Alas, we did not see a bear. I think they're hiding from me.

Fall comes early in the Interior of Alaska. Sometimes you have to be careful to blink or you will miss it. This is a photo of the changing colors in early September, on Triple H Road, near our home. Now the leafy trees are bare, and withered and decaying leaves litter the ground. I should feel melancholy about it I suppose, but it's lovely to see more sunlight peaking through the tall trees. And I will admit while winter is long here, it's particularly pretty.

Lately we've been enjoying unseasonably warm temps. We got our first sprinkling of snow on Sept. 26th, and much to my delight it didn't stick around. The days are warm, hovering in the 40's and low 50's, and the nights are crisp. Each morning we wake to a covering of glittery frost and the warmth of the wood stove.

I have missed the warmth that wraps around you like a soft, fuzzy blanket, except when the nights are warm and it becomes a sauna in here. I have not missed the headaches that come with puffs of smoke escaping the door and blasting me in the face when I go to reload it. The humidifier hums in the background, and lets little chugs here and there.

Brent had a nice birthday, I think. I made him a fairly large dinner, since we so rarely eat out here. His requests were simple, and I let him choose his guest list. Since our home is smallish, okay, it's just plain small, we had 4 dinner guests, and 4 additional dogs. Yes, it was mass chaos in the house of Kings...6 dogs, 6 people. 5 square feet. I made him salmon cakes and grilled oysters with chili-lime salsa for starters, for dinner we had roast grouse, braised brisket, au gratin potatoes and roasted acorn squash with maple/orange glaze. We had some slightly over done bread, which is pretty much the norm for me, and for dessert his beloved German chocolate cake. Straight from home in Minnesota. Provided by my mom. :) I'm not much of a baker, so it was a perfect compromise. :) He had a great day with great friends!

I must go, both dogs are alerting to something in the yard. Knowing Cash it's just a leaf drifting across the driveway...but since Chessa is alert, I think it might be worth the look.

Happy day to you all!!!

Yikes...Slacker Alert!

2010-08-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 5:51 a.m. Sunset 9:56 p.m.

Holy Moly! This summer has flown by. I can't believe it's been such a long, long, long time since my last post. I won't bore you with gory details or meticulous time lines since there's been such a gap in blogging. I'll do us all a favor and give you a brief little time line of life. In the last frontier. In summer.

As you can tell by the above photo our puppy is now a man child. He bounces somewhere between precocious and down right annoying. We went through about a month period of time when we all wanted to give him back, and even though he keeps us hopping, he's ours, for the long run. I love that ~~little~~ big booger. We'll get back to Cash later.

In true King family dog form, they both LOVE to ride. As you can also tell by the above photo. When we "lose" them, it's now common knowledge to check the back of the ATV first. And since we all love to ride, it's not too much of a hardship to please them. This year we have been sticking on trails closer to home. With the wet and many busy, busy friends, we just don't have the explorer notion this year. We enjoy the trails close to home just as much, so no complaints from any of us.

Please rest assured that despite the fact that they look like they could rip the skin from each other's limbs, both Cash and Early (think deep south hillbilly) LOVE each other. They are surprisingly gentle and thoroughly enjoy the chase, the hunt, the nipping and the biting. Just don't expect them to share bones or toys. That's just asking too much. And don't bother to ask Ches what she thinks of Early, as she spends all of her time, rounding him up and out of her house. Early is laid back and oh, so lovable, but our Chessa girl will have none of it.

Have I told you how much I love my job? I truly do, though I will admit there may be a day or two, or maybe even a week sprinkled in, that I would tell you that I don't. But there's a reason I've stuck with the profession for so long. I do love my job. Especially here. It affords me the luxury of getting to know the most fascinating people. I get to know what brings them here, whether permanent or not. This is exactly how I met my friend Dennis (in the camo jacket above) and his friend Jared, whom has a very important military title and if I wasn't so deficient in my knowledge of such titles I would be able to impress you all with that information.

Dennis called the office one day looking for a rental. In true Lusignan form (thanks Dad) we got to chatting and I shared my blog (yes, this blog) and tried to give him a very true idea of Alaska. Though I don't really know if that's possible since it's such a personal feeling, personal experience. Anyway, Dennis and I became friends, and chatted regularly. Then he came to visit. And though we didn't get to spend nearly as much time as we'd like, we managed to have some dinner and knock back a couple Coors Light's. I'm looking forward to getting down Dennis' way and staying in that gorgeous hand-crafted cabin of his. Thanks for visiting!!! Don't be a stranger. I'd love to meet your beautiful wife.

As most of you may know it's been a wetter-than-average summer. This is fine and dandy by me, though a bit more sun, and a little more warmth would have been okay, it has made for a glorious, bountiful berry season. In June we spent more than a couple days picking, cleaning and freezing these luscious blueberries. We have already enjoyed them in pie, pancakes and cobbler. It's going to be a fruity winter, indeed. Ha!

Our Chessa girl is doing well. She turned 13 this summer. And though she's slowed, and her nose isn't quite as good as it used to be, she is our beautiful, beautiful and oh-so-perfect dog. She loves to hunt voles, even though most of the time it's my foot she's finding. She's spent boundless time in Clearwater Lake, the pool and guarding the house from stray dogs. She tolerates Cash, and it will be interesting to see how she does with the next addition to our home.

Now, you didn't really think I'd open that can of worms and leave you hanging, did you? Nope. I'm not really a secret keeper. Brent and I have been having a very exciting summer. We have started the process of adoption. We are hoping to add to our family by two (or four) feet in the very near future. At the moment we are plugging away at our home study, and are blessed to be working with a wonderful caseworker. It's been said that we could have an approved homestudy as soon as September's end.

That's when the real waiting will begin. So please keep us in our thoughts and prayers. We'll need patience, guidance and understanding on our side. Also, please keep all birth parents in your thoughts and prayers. For without them, Brent and I may never have a family.

Since we'd been having such a stressful summer (yeah right!) I decided to whip together a girls' night. Actually, in truth, I had been meeting so many wonderful new people, without enough time to spend with all of them, so I decided to throw them all into one room (or house or yard but who's counting hairs here) because I knew it would be a blast! I was NOT disappointed. I always ask the same thing. Bring a friend, and a dish to pass. Glorious!!

Above are my Alabama friends, Hayley and Amy. I thought I'd throw them together and give them a little taste of home. They had a lot of common denominators and interests. Well, duh!

And this is Matt and Courtney. They look like they're having a good time, right? What you don't see is the fact that they are torturing me. Courtney (my friend, boss, nemesis) and Matt, a friend I met by chance, love to plan my career demise. What they don't know is, that they'd both miss me terribly. Especially Courtney, since my purses would leave with me...

In truth, it's in all good fun, and we had a GREAT time. Such a nice, relaxing evening.

This is my favorite part of every girls' night. The plethora of food, the smorgasbord of delightfulness. It's so great to see what everyone comes with. We had a wonderful Puerto Rican coconut custard treat, fruit and dip, pretzel salad (a personal favorite) kabobs, meat and cheese platter, homemade fudge, spinach dip, a lovely strawberry trifle, and so much more deliciousness. You'd have thought the place would have been quieter... LOL. I cannot wait to do it again!

In addition to all this loveliness I have managed to sprain an ankle, pick delicious high bush cranberries, nurse Cash back from a (likely) encounter with a foxtail. Which we hope he is on the mend now. And enjoy the tropical heat wave that hit us last week. It was such a heat wave that we managed to break a record in Fairbanks. I believe the new temp record is now in the low 90's.

However, fall is upon us. And I will not lie, had we just a smidge more sun, I would be in hog heaven. Fall is my most favorite time of year. The smells, the cool nights that are perfect for sleeping, darkness comes back and allows for my head to rest sooner and longer upon the pillow. We are mostly prepared for winter, and hoping that it doesn't come too soon.

Happy Summer to you and yours!!

Time Flies...When You're Having Fun!

2010-07-07T00:18:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 3:46 a.m. Sunset 11:48 p.m.

Howdy! Well, when I was talking to Dad tonight he informed me that he was waiting, none-so-patiently for me to update the blog. He's right, I haven't updated in quite a while, so I'll hit the highlights.

Mom and Dad came to visit!!! They arrived on June 17 and stayed until June 27. We wanted to show them everything that we loved to do. Unfortunately the weather, and time constraints, and JET LAG rained on our party. Just a little tiny bit. But all-in-all, we found a little time for fun.

We decided that splitting up and hitting the highlights for each parent was the best way to go about things. Easiest, and more fun for all of us. Dad and Brent hit the not-so-dusty trail seeing Coal Mine Road, Ken's Pond and a little bit of neighborhood the first couple days. Mom and I headed for North Pole and Fairbanks. We stopped and browsed and snacked on ice cream at The Knotty Shop. We listened to others tell Santa where they hailed from at the Santa Claus shop, and we hit up all kinds of little shops in downtown Fairbanks.

Mom and Dad celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary while staying with us. What a treat! Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!! Here's to many, many more years!!

On the Sunday following their arrival we headed bright and way too early, to Valdez. It was Father's Day and to celebrate we decided to take our time getting to Valdez, site seeing along the way. Above is a photo of Mom and Dad at Thompson's Pass. It's lovely and green this time of year, but I'm not so anxious to take the same photo 6 months from now.

The drive to Valdez is lovely. We cruised off the beaten path to check out some historic sites. Along the way we stopped at a couple of the many waterfalls that greet visitors along the road. This is Brent and I are Horsetail Falls. We hiked up to take a photo with the water, me in flip flops, none-the-less.

Once we arrived in Valdez we headed straight to the Totem Restaurant for some breakfast. After we had finished our delicious grub we headed to the pier to check out the fishing reports. We were ecstatic to learn that Brent and Dad's charter had brought in the largest halibut for the week. After checking with the locals the guys learned that their charter was one of, or the best, charter in Valdez.

Oh, if only. If only they hadn't risen so early to make it to the pier on time. If only they hadn't spent so many hours on a boat, if only it was called catching instead of fishing, as my husband reminded me. If only they hadn't gotten SKUNKED. Skunked. You heard me. Not one flippin' halibut. PFFFFFFFFFFFFT. They said that they captain worked hard, kept them out a couple hours late in attempt to get them some big fish. But nothing. Not. A. Fish. I dare say I was extremely disappointed and relieved that I hadn't joined them on the charter.

While the boys were off fishing, Mom and I caroused the town of Valdez. While it's a nice little town, there isn't a lot of shopping to be had, and we were hard pressed for good wholesome entertainment. We managed to find a few laughs, dodging the maids, trying to stay awake during some horrible Lifetime movie.

While we were waiting, freezing-our-buns-off waiting for the guys to return from their "fishing" trip, we met a nice couple from Hilton Head, SC. They, and their young son, were traveling the US in an RV. They spent some time in Alaska last summer and couldn't resist so they came back to end their year long adventure in the wilds of Alaska. We thoroughly enjoyed talking to them, spending our time, trying to capture the eagles. That was the draw for all of us. Magnificent bald eagles. I managed to capture this guy, as he flew in to grab some halibut leftovers (in his talons) through a flock of seagulls.

When we got the guys back, and had enough of Valdez we headed for home. We were all exhausted from the jet lag, the fresh sea air, the late nights, early mornings and well, we were exhausted. It was nice to have a little time at home. For all of us. Brent and I had to go back to work for a couple days, so Mom and Dad putzed around the house, oh, who am I kidding, they washed my windows, mowed my lawn, cleaned my house, did my laundry, all while they were on vacation. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it didn't seem fair to me.

After a couple days rest, we threw in some drives, exploration, more fishing, more fishing, more fishing, and flower capturing. Mom picked me a lovely bouquet of irises, we listened to the glorious, and eerie call of the Loon. My first Loon experience here in Alaska. Mom and I snuck in a little more shopping, and to end it all. WE PARTIED!

Because our house is small, we tend to party in the summer, when we have outdoor space. Well, the weather wasn't quite as cooperative as we would have liked, but we partied anyway. Rain or shine, nothing scares these Alaskans (and two Minnesotans). LOL. We invited friends whom we share our time with here in Alaska to meet the parents, and just spend a little time getting to know others. I think a fine time was had by all. We're looking forward to doing it again.

This is Tara guarding her bird nest, which her brother demolished later. And her new friend, Charlie. Charlie is new to Delta Junction, and moved her from Alabama. Oh, and she brought along her mom and dad too. LOL.

The meal wasn't fancy, but it seemed to suit the bill. We had tacos. Why not, right? And even turned some non-fish taco eaters into fish taco eaters. We did it up right with beef, chicken and fish tacos. We were hoping to have halibut tacos, but we substituted some mighty fine tilapia instead. Better luck next time boys!

When the evening was over we cleaned up, quickly and headed to bed. Dad and Mom had a 3:30 a.m. wake up call, and I lucked out at plopping a hat on and running at 4:20 a.m. We drove the windy road to Fairbanks and were greeted by loads of wildlife. What a send off! 5 moose, a fox (we think) and Mom saw a wolf. Lucky lady!

Their visit was lovely, but too short. We're looking forward to their trip next summer. Right, Dad?!?! LOL. We'll see...but we are looking forward to their return.

What have we been doing since they left? Sleeping. Ha! Just kidding...I'll be back with later! Happy Summer!!!

Summer, Summer, Summer

2010-06-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 3:24 a.m. Sunset 11:59 p.m.

Hello from Central Alaska! Summer is here. Which explains why I've been MIA- I've been out playing. Having fun, exploring the unexplored, by me, anyway. And visiting some favorite spots, as well.

Since my last post we have seen and enjoyed Portland. Loved Cannon Beach and all it's salty sea air. We saw Goonies Rock, which is awesome, and admired trees, trees and more luscious green trees. In Seattle we met up with friends for a drink before heading back to Fairbanks. It was great to see Crystal and Ken, after working for her for a few years, it was nice to just relax and enjoy each others company.

After unpacking and reuniting with the furkids we settled back in life on the Last Frontier. Memorial Day Weekend found us picking up our boat...FINALLY. Brent has been anxiously checking the mail, the phone and the email every 3 minutes for weeks. I have never been so glad to have to make a trip to Fairbanks in my entire life.

Saturday we attempted to get out, but with 2 dump truck loads of gravel to shovel, we found ourselves working instead of playing. Finally, late Saturday evening we managed to head out to our favorite area in the Donnelly area of lakes. Of course, we knew that finding a free lake was going to take some time.

Brent and the furkids tromped up and down dale and hill to find a free one. And when we did, we all celebrated. The dogs love to run, but don't love to be reigned in mid-sniff. I mean, after all they may miss a rabbit trail...

Once we found an unoccupied lake, Brent set about inflating our new flotation device. We were all excited, well, scratch that, Brent and I were excited to try out the new boat. Unfortunately, Cash and Ches were more interested in gulping fresh lake water and swimming, swimming, swimming.

In the interest of sanity, Brent and I decided that he and Ches would make the maiden voyage while Cash and I watched from shore. So, they hopped aboard, we pushed them off, and about 5 ft. from shore Ches projectile vomited all over Brent and the new boat. I wish I had a camera to capture the look on Brent's face. Somewhere between sheer rage and udder disgust. He maneuvered back to shore and we gave up the boat for the evening.

After indulging Ches and Cash in plenty of water play, we took off for home. We were thoroughly enjoying the late night sun, lamenting a bit about how we "never see any buffalo" and voila! As if sent to us, they were there. Lots and lots of buffalo.

And then even more buffalo. So we sat and enjoyed every bit of the experience. They mulled around, interested, then suddenly stampeded off towards the majestic mountain range. I wish they had stuck around a little longer.

As always the scenery near Donnelly is fantastic. The mountains were out and proud, and waiting to be admired.

This is a photo of one of the forest fires burning near Delta on Memorial Day weekend. Luckily we've gotten some rain, and the fires (and smoke) have subsided slightly. It continues to rain, and hopefully it will work in putting out the rest of the fires in the area.

This is the sun at 11:15 p.m. on Saturday, Memorial Day weekend 2010.

We also grilled with friends, took in the local Memorial Day service at the cemetery, and picnicked and napped...and well, just enjoyed the weekend. Oh, and lucky hubby worked, too.

This past weekend proved to be equally busy as the one before. Friday we were both beat and hit the hay early. Saturday found me holding a Sassy party and readying the food, the troops and the camper for our first outing.

Saturday morning we woke to more rain, which was welcome, but irritating, and cooler temps. Luckily in the afternoon it warmed up and we managed to get out and enjoy the cool, damp, but lovely weather. All in all, the first night in the pop up was a grand success. Despite the hundreds of pin-sized bloodsuckers preying on us in our sleep.

Sunday we headed for home, napped, played, walked, napped a little more. Work, play, work, play. The cycle of life, as it were. Tonight we are getting more rain. And while I know that it's needed in the area to help combat the forest fires, I can't help but dream a little dream, involving sun!

Happy Summer!

Sunrise, Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset...

2010-05-14T00:22:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 4:30 a.m. Sunset 10:49 p.m.

Let me put this in perspective for you. It's midnight in Delta and I can still see, though it's dusk out there, across my yard. And around 3 a.m., Cash's favorite time for a mid night pee, it's already starting to lighten up. So, that means, LIGHT BLOCKING DRAPES. Lol.

So, we've been out riding ATV and wandering the woods. In areas there is still snow, and ice, and well, it makes for interesting, and messy riding. It's still a little on the cool side, topping out in the 60's, but I'm hoping that soon, very, very soon, we'll see some warmer temps.

The leaves are popping. Grass is greening up and hopefully Delta will soon be in full bloom. Alaska is so beautiful, in every season. But I have to say, summer is the best. THE BEST. The wildflowers alone offer infinite opportunities for capture via film, er, digital capture. Fireweed, poppies, blue bells...there are so many to choose from. I cannot wait.

In addition, the summer berries will appear. Teeny tiny wild strawberries, which I'm determined to find, pick and consume this year. Blueberries, high and low bush cranberries, and Brent's favorite rose hips. I know there must be more out there, but we're new, and just learning. Remember?

This week we've been uber busy. Over the weekend we sent the Envoy packing. Our beloved Envoy. Bought out of necessity, kept out of love. It got us through the wilds of Canada, and into our new territory, Alaska. It didn't let us down, but since it was growing older, and worn beyond it's miles, we decided to send her on her way.

We replaced the Envoy with a new, yes brand new, Chevy Silverado. Still have the 4 doors, so plenty of room for the 4 of us. But now even more room for the boat, the ATV, and anything else we need to haul. So far, so good. I hope the Chevy treats us as well as our GMC did.

Tuesday I found myself in Fairbanks for a doctor's appt. It was a very nice day and I was sorry to waste a day off in the "city". But now and then, we must sacrifice, I guess. Ha! So, I ran the necessary errands and got home. Safe and sound.

On other good news, the moose are back. They're moving again, and back in sight. It had been weeks since I'd seen a moose, and now I've seen several this week. With no camera in hand, of course. That's always the way it goes...hmph.

We have a busy week ahead. Tomorrow I'm planning to visit the Sno Hook Club. A local restaurant. I've heard good things about them, and I'll be meeting friends their to celebrate the May birthdays. Happy Birthday to my friend, Kathy, who celebrates tomorrow. And then someone else, someone you all know and love, yes, me...celebrates on Saturday.

Saturday evening Brent and I fly out to Portland. We've hired a wonderful house/pet sitter to stay with the kids. It's much easier, and cheaper, than kenneling them. So, I'll be on the road. Traveling. Ooh. And I'll let you know exactly what I think of Portland, Oregon. I'm pretty sure it won't compare to Delta!

Happy Spring!!

Happy Cinco De Mayo

2010-05-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

Sunrise 5:09 a.m. Sunset 10:09 p.m.

As the title states, it is indeed the 5th of May. Guess what greeted us on this gray May day? Yep, you guessed it. Snow. SNOW. Ugh. I was really hoping that we'd keep the rain, if absolutely necessary, and lose the snow. But nope. Not so lucky. And some of it is sticking. Pffft. Snow, mud, rain, mud...

So, we've been wading, in mud, water, snow, more mud. And having fun, while we're doing it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?

In an effort to socialize Cash, and have some fun of his own, Brent took Cash on a playdate with a couple of his friends, and his friends dog, Early. Early is a pitbull/lab mix pup, who is about a year old. And since Cash thinks he's the King of Kings, we decided to put the pups together and see what happened. Well, as you can tell, he had a lot of fun. And he got really, really muddy. Silly boys. What's a little more mud?

A couple weekends ago we took our first ride on Coal Mine Road. It was a gray day but fairly warm, and the ride was enjoyable. We hit plenty of puddles on our ride, but I was happy to report they weren't nearly as deep and rutted as last year's puddles this time of year. Last year I thought we might all get swallowed up, but not so this time around. This time we skated across a number of them, and broke through the rest.

As we wound up and around the path (road) was covered in snow. Amy and Trevor, our Alabama friends, decided to take their Rzr up and over, in hopes that if they didn't make it, we could pull them back out. Luckily for all of us, we all made it up and through. Though a couple times I had to take Cash and Ches out to walk, so we didn't turn the Rhino over and break their little necks. It was a great ride. Despite the gray.

That evening Amy treated us to a gourmet Southern style meal. I even tried my first helpings of collards, and am happy to report that I loved them. Amy treated us to twice baked potatoes, steak, pork chops, ptarmigan, and pot roast. A feast. I'm telling you. Delicious! And such a treat.

I'm happy to report that I have finally been feeling better. Much more like myself than I was for a while there. It was a rough month of April, and May is looking up. Promising indeed. I'll stick with May. We've had a day or two of sun, and for the most part it has rained. But we needed the moisture, as April left us with an early season burn ban. I'm thankful for the rain, as the smoke and haze last summer was bad enough. I'm really hoping to avoid it.

In other news, it's been an exciting week at work. Chuck came to visit and say Hello. Chuck is Hailey's hubby from Alabama, and he's new to Delta. It was nice to meet him and I'm looking forward to meeting Hailey and their daughter when they reach Alaska.

Also, I was sitting at my desk on Tuesday and a nice couple walked in. We chatted a bit, and the gentleman handed me his business card. Turns out they were from Park Rapids, MN. Small world indeed. They're thinking about moving up to Delta, and I am anxious to see if it works out for them.

So, here we sit. Waiting for the sun to come out so we can play, play, play. No moose. I think they're in hiding. Maybe they joined the Witness Protection Program. Hmph. In all actuality, I think they're calving somewhere. Enjoying some peace and quiet before the woods light up and get really noisy.

And I'm studying. Studying away for my real estate license. I only want to take the exam once. So, I'll be studying for awhile.

Happy Spring!

Oh Give Me a Home...

2010-04-11T23:07:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize it had been quite so long since my last post. I apologize, I haven't been feeling well, so I've lacked the energy and desire to tell you about life in the Last Frontier. Now that I'm feeling better and the snow is diminishing, I'm hoping that changes.

Last week we saw beautiful weather, and mid-week, snow. Yes, SNOW. I was hoping that we'd seen the last of the blasted white stuff for awhile, but no. More snow. I adopted the mindset that since I couldn't change it, I could embrace it. So, embrace I did. I do have to say, that while the skies were gray, the snow fell in a soft, downy curtain. It really was beautiful.

This weekend we found better temperatures, and while the sun stayed tucked away today, the temps were nice. Of course, along with nicer temps comes the wind. WHOOSH!! I have a permanent whoosh going on in my ears.

Saturday we headed to Fairbanks bright and early to take care of some errands. I always feel guilty for not stopping to see our friends when we're there. But truth be told, we hurry in and scurry out, usually trying to beat last trip's time. This trip was no different. We made our rounds, crossed most items off our list and bee lined straight back to Delta. It was much too nice of a day to spend in the "city".

Once home and unpacked we took a little snooze. Just a short one, I promise. After all, Brent did wake me up at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Travesty, I tell you. After our nap, we bundled up and headed out on our first family (of four) ATV ride. We rode a nice, easy trail that was still half buried in snow, but it was lovely. Cash loves to ride nearly as much as Ches. It's going to be a great summer!

We stopped at Clearwater Lake landing on the way home to explore the shoreline and get a glimpse of the geese that have returned to Delta. As we explored the quickly melting shoreline we stepped gingerly across islands of receding ice. First Ches, then Cash, then Brent, then me. As you may guess, me being last, is almost always a bad thing. When we came to cross a particular spot on the shore, I stepped with my right foot. The snow/ice gave way just enough to make me nervous. I quickly retracted my foot. You see, I have an issue staying upright as it is. As I was turning to retreat I got "the look" from my husband. So, fighting my own inner knowing, I proceeded forward. Bad, bad idea.

I stepped with the right, intending to make a quick left and a small jump. I didn't make it. I fell through the ice/snow straight through to the muck. My right foot buried 12 inches deep in sludge. I pulled, and it pulled back, threatening to keep my long sought after winter boots. And as if losing a foot, and gaining 7 pounds of muck to walk off wasn't bad enough, I had to land (hand first) into a fresh pile of Cash poop. Ggggreeeeaaatttt. Thank goodness I was wearing gloves. I survived, despite Brent's hysterical laughter, and Cash's enthusiastic licking. Having a body/face/victim that close to the ground was far too much for him to bear. I kept shoving, he kept coming back for more. Little booger.

After that debacle I decided it was time to head home. We loaded up and rode back to our haven in the woods. We took a walk to the field to help clean off my boot/pant leg some more. And then I retreated to the bedroom to watch The Time Travelers Wife. As I was just finishing we got a very frantic, excited call from a friend. The buffalo were spotted, and we quickly dressed and drove as fast as we could.

By the time we got every one loaded, out of town and down the windy, bumpy, icy road, the buffalo had moved off the road further into pasture. Not being the kind to give up easily, Brent and Joe headed out on foot in search of the great beasts. About a mile in, success. As you can see by the photo above, it's a small herd. However, I sense that there is more than one herd out there. Just judging by the number of patties dotting the landscape and road.

Once we were frozen and wind burnt we headed for home. Pooches in tow. Just as we turned onto our "street" we saw these guys. They've been hanging around all winter, though before they were hanging with their mom, we suspect she was the victim of a car/moose crash in mid-March.

They frequent Mason Street and often the field out front of our house. I love seeing them around. And it's always a good sign to have moose. "They" say that when you have moose, you don't have bear. I'll keep the moose. Thank you very much.

Today we took a few walks to enjoy the lovely day. Drove out to see if we could see more buffalo. No cigar. Battled the wind. Baked some delicious lemon bars. Visited with friends. And just thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Happy Spring to You!

Preparing for Spring

2010-03-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

Break up hasn't happened yet. But I'm hoping, and wishing, and praying that it's close. And that it gets over in record time. Because I already I know what it's going to bring. With a total of 12 feet in our household, I'm expecting a lot of mud. I've already resigned to rolling up the rug, exposing the much-easier-to-clean bare wood, and I should probably break out some sheets for the furniture. Just a little extra protection. Uff da.

We have been beautiful weather. The evenings still dip low into the teens, but the days have been warming up. The sun is shining and is sticking around long into the evening. The hubby even goes to bed when it's still light out now. It really is a nice break. From the dark. And it makes the coming of spring, and Alaska's best season (in my opinion) summer, much anticipated. The sun already feels warmer. The parking lots, and our yard, have slick spots where the snow is warmed by day and frozen to slippery hardness again at night. But it's all worth it.

Brent was out this weekend, with the dogs and without the camera, driving in our favoritest of spots. And spotted a lynx. Broad daylight, perched on the side of the road. He was pretty excited when he got home to tell me about it.

Monday I was off to Fairbanks for a doctor's appt and he was out, playing, again. He spotted 16 moose. Yep. 16. I swear, I'm wildlife repellant. He has the best luck. Ever.

This week we plan to go look at pop up camper to improve our summer adventures. When I say "look at" I really just mean that we plan to buy it. Who am I kidding? But it will be fun. Brent already has Memorial Day (and every other weekend I think) planned out, for plenty of fishing, camping, and reading. Yeah. He threw in that last little bit for my benefit. What he really means is I can bring a book along, in case I find a spare minute to bask in the sun and read. Don't tell him, but I really don't mind.

The boat should be arriving in April. Brent, for one, is UBER excited about this. I'm looking forward to all the places we'll be able to go, but boats really do make me nervous. Just another one of my chicken tendencies to overcome, I guess. I'll let you know after the first trip, if I think I'll be able to do so.

Hope that spring is coming to your neck of the woods.

What's first on your spring cleaning list?

Happy March!

Home Sweet Alaskan Home

2010-03-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it. I ventured "outside". For the past week I have been living the "high life". Do you really want to know what I think of that? Pffffffffffffffttttttttt. I spent the last week in Dallas, Texas. This was my first visit to Texas, and while I had some highlights, which I'll tell you about, I have to say. Dallas is not the place for me. It was not my most favorite place in the world.

I'm not sure what I expected really. I knew that Dallas Fort Worth is a metroplex. So why then would I be surprised at the traffic, freeways and lack of...wildlife? You tell me. The people were friendly, our stay was fine, but nothing, not even the Dallas Galleria, impressed me much. Sure there was shopping, and good shopping. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Saks, DSW, and yet...I found a hard time finding things that were practical for my space, and for my life.

The number of people didn't bother me. The traffic, while difficult to drive in, didn't shock me. But I felt very displaced, unsatisfied. Now, I'll be the first to admit that Brent's schedule, and my refusal to drive in Dallas, left me alone in the hotel room. But really, I LOVE my alone time. And I LOVE sleeping in. In the evenings, and at lunch time, we'd go out and about seeing parts and places of Dallas. We were adventurous with the time we did have.

I was just yearning for home. For the quiet, the peace, the wildlife, the ease. No rushing around, no hour long commutes.

We enjoyed parts and pieces. It wasn't totally miserable. But it certainly was different. The trip "outside" truly opened my eyes to how removed from the real world we are. There are some things I miss. Getting dressed for dinner, wearing shirt sleeves in March, and some other such small things. But for the most part. I'm happy here. Happy to be where the wild things are.

Keeping in Touch

2010-02-22T15:28:00.000-09:00

Most parents call or email their children to catch up, see how things are going, share information about their lives. Not mine. My dad calls or emails, or both, to let me know that I haven't updated the blog. Since I write exactly how I talk, it leaves me wondering if reading the blog is the less annoying way to keep current on all things happening in my world. Hmmm...food for thought, indeed.

Last week was busy with the addition of little Cash. He's definitely mucked up all of our schedules, but in a good way, of course. I survive on little sleep anyway, being a night owl my entire life has prepped me for him. It's my morning schedule that's taken the biggest hit. He's unpredictable, and has the attention span of an acorn, which makes it difficult to get anything done in a timely manner. Except eating. Just put a plate of food in front of that boy, and be sure to keep any apendages away. If a finger was to fall into the bowl, I can assure you your chances of getting it back will be slim.

I brought both Ches and Cash with me to work a couple days last week. It's fun to have them here, but it's also chaos. Ches is a great listener, and an easy dog. Cash is too, when he's sleeping. LOL. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to continue handling his naughtiness at work, so I'm hoping he's growing fast enough that his little bladder can handle his kennel for 5.5 hours a day. We'll see, I guess.

Friday night we decided to lay low in preparation for the busy weekend ahead. It seems that we haven't had plans on a weekend for eternity, and then got pounded this weekend. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, I've always been much more social than Brent is. He would truly be happy to sit home, by himself all day, night and weekend. Me, not-so-much. I guess I'm just a little higher maintenance than he is. Either that or I'm boring. Nope, that can't be it. Definitely not boring. Ha!

Saturday morning Brent and Ches got up bright and early. As usual. They headed out to do a little scouting, rabbit sight-seeing. Since the little guy had been put into bed with me, I rose much earlier than usual as well. We bundled up when Brent and Ches got home, to go for a drive out to Meadows Road. I know, you must think how incredibly boring, but I assure you it's changing all the time, and that's precisely why we headed out there. The snow is nearly gone. Two weeks ago it was laden in white crystally frost and snow, now, dry parched looking branches peek out of small mounds of dirty snow. Amazing.

Once we were home I did some laundry, made a dessert for Saturday evening, made some lunch and got ready for the day ahead. We needed to run a few errands before we headed to a friend's daughters birthday party, so we headed out a bit early.

When we had browsed to our heart's content, and partied with a room full of 5-10 year old's we headed home for a much needed nap. I whipped out another load of laundry, gotta make hay while the sun shines, right? And prepared for the evening ahead.

I was invited by a friend to attend another friend's girl's night with her. I'm always nervous meeting new people, and I know this is hard to believe, but I'm shy, until I get to know you, just a little bit. Despite my nervousness, I was very excited. It turned out to be a great evening. Have I told you about these Alaskan women? How they do EVERYTHING? Yes, and I mean everything. They really put me to shame. They cook, bake, sew and build a house, all while nursing a baby. We had a wonderful assortment of pizzas. Sausage and sauerkraut (which was suprisingly fantastic), halibut pizza, artichoke pizza, Dad's creation pizza, and then the desserts. Good heavens. Fantastic. And the company and movie (of the hostesses marathon- made by the hostess- see what I'm saying??) was even better.

Sunday morning we rose and packed up to head out ice fishing on Boleo Lake, near Delta. We rented a fish house for a day, and it was a gorgeous day to be out there. As we were driving down Meadows Road (yes, again) headed towards the lake, a moose ran in front of Brent's vehicle. As he passed the hubby noticed his chewed up hind quarter. Looks like someone was trying to make ceviche out of the poor guy. But he escaped, with just a little bit of tenderizing.

As we were unloading the vehicles and taking our first, tentative steps onto the lake, you could hear the ice popping, groaning and shifting. I was about half way between shore and the ice house when the ice gave off such a loud and disturbing groan, that I shot back to shore. Yes, this should be embarassing information, but we have had warmer-than-usual temps, and for the record the dog skeddadled with me. Thank-you-very-much.

After a little coaxing, and maybe a threat or two from my hubby, I ventured back out onto the ice. I deposited all things fishing and ice related and headed back to shore for the little guy. He's a little tentative yet. As I was gently calling his name and whistling, coyotes (or perhaps wolves) started to howl on both sides of the lake. Poor little guy took off for the ice house, and never looked back. Ches ran for shore, I'm thinking she was thinking they sounded pretty hunky. Silly, girl. Hmph.

I got Ches settled with Brent and Cash and I headed back home for a hatchet and some wood. Brent didn't realize that there was a handy wood stove located inside. We made a quick trip, and were back on the ice in no time.

This is our humble abode on Boleo Lake. It was plenty roomy for 4 humans and 3 dogs. And we stayed plenty warm when we aren't playing on the ice. It was a perfect day, about 30 degrees, sunny and very little wind. Glorious day.

Cash obviously enjoyed his first taste of fish. The outside anyway.

This is Charlie (Cash's brother, the whole-reason-we-got-Cash) our friends dog trying out his fishing skills. They learn early here in Alaska.

When we had our fill of catching some bigger, mostly little fish we packed up and headed home. The fresh air and sun must have done us all well, as we were all tucked in long before 10 p.m. That almost never happens at our house!

Have a happy, happy day!

Puppy in Training

2010-02-17T12:57:00.000-09:00

Howdy! Greetings from Camp Puppy. I thought perhaps I'd have to name this post Sleepless in Delta, but much to my amazement Cash is doing very well in the sleep department. He's a good little guy, and having Ches to lead him is fabulous. She's a model dog, really. She's perfection in nearly every bit. Except that she's a bit insecure. So, we hope to make Cash just like her, but a little more secure.

We are in the process of crate training Cash. It's going very well, and while he does whine a bit, he settles himself within a matter of minutes, and in most cases seconds. He's really doing well. We have been reading book, after book, after book, trying to do it right this time. The last time we had a pup was 16 years ago, and we did it all wrong. All. Wrong. This time I'm happy to have Kyle (my younger brother) to help out. His dogs Hondo (Belgian Malinois and a K9), and Dax (Yellow Lab) are both happily crated, trained dogs. So, first hand knowledge is fantastic.

Of course it helps that we are having awesome weather. We're supposed to reach a high of 35 degrees today, though with the overcast skies I'm not sure we'll be quite that lucky. The temps have been mild, and the wind is down, for now anyway, so it helps the shy, not-so-fattened-up little guy feel a little more comfortable in the snow.

Last night we had a sprinkling of new snow. Not enough to create issues, or even play in, but it's always fun to get the powdery snow here. It's so different from the heavy, water-laden snows in Minnesota. It looks the same, nearly, but it's not.

In other news, I bought Brent a game cam for Christmas. We have been putting it out in various spots around trying to catch the lynx, coyotes and other fun things that creep about in our woods. Unfortunately the camera hasn't liked the dark days and cold temps, so it's been a little tempermental. However, yesterday morning we hit the jackpot. We captured (on film only) a marten. EEK! They're so pretty. All cinnamon and black colored. I'll be sure to post pics this week.

We did, in addition to the marten, capture a german shepherd on film. This disturbs me for a couple reasons. 1. It's not safe for dogs to roam. 2. He's awfully close to my home, and I have two furbabies to protect. 3. The woods are full of traps and snares (not just our woods, not ours) and I would hate for harm to come to him. Hopefully I'll not capture him on film again and hopefully he'll stay close to home. Hmmmm...

Last week I registered for my classes to prepare to get my Alaska real estate license. I am still waiting on the materials, as it's a correspondence class. I'm excited, and nervous, but mostly excited. I love what I do. And it will be nice to have the knowledge, and legal right, to help Courtney out more. I hate having to say that I can't help someone because I'm not a licensed real estate agent. So, now I have the remedy. That is, if I put my nose to the grindstone and pass the darn thing. Have I mentioned how cute and fun Cash is? Ha!

Brent has been busy with his new hobby, preparing for spring and summer. Yesterday a vast assortment of flies arrived for his new fly rod. And he's been watching videos and getting casting tips. Ches thinks he's plum crazy to be out in the yard casting away. She's tempted to chase, but then just assumes that Brent's gone loco for the moment.

Life continues to go well. We're looking forward to spring, and the glorious summer (that we hope) follows it. Last summer was perfection in nearly every way, and I'm certainly hoping that we get a repeat. Especially with the Pro Pioneer on it's way to us. Since I'm known for being a bit of a chicken, I'm sure this summer will be a test in faith, trust and courage. We are looking for a handgun for me, since I need to know how to use one, and protect myself. And I'd like to do some trap shooting this year. Don't ask me why, but it looks like so much fun. The sad truth, however, is that I have no aim. Well, that's not true, I have bad aim. Really bad aim. So, I'm hoping to improve it, with some trap shooting. Watch out Annie Oakley, Karla King is here...lol. Okay, even I think that's hilarious. I think Annie's safe...

Hope you're having a happy day in your neck of the woods. Until next time...Happy day!

Chasing moose...auroras...and tail...

2010-02-15T13:59:00.000-09:00

This week has been good. I started it out early in the week, when I was greeted with this lovely sight. 4, count them, 4 long-legged Bullwinkles in my yard. Twins (last year's calves?) and two full growns. I'm sure one was their mother, but the other I'm not sure if it was father, aunt, uncle, or just some creepy guy following them around. LOL. Anyway, one of the little ones decided to use my car windows as a mirror. I guess he just wanted to check out his bad self, and then they went merrily on their way, into the woods behind the house. I love them being there, so this was pretty awesome.

Other than work, our jobs, and working at home, cutting wood, cleaning chimneys and what not, we've been fairly busy. This past weekend the Delta community came out for the Festival of Lights. It's put on my the Chamber of Commerce. They did a great job. I took part in the Galleria show of vendors. It was a great show, with a good turn out, and it was certainly fun. We had a beautiful day. I did, however, miss the Polar Plunge. However, there was a lot of excitement generated, and some truly awesome costumes. I'm looking forward to next year's festivities.

Saturday evening, we had friends over with their new little yellow lab pup. He is such a good little guy, we truly enjoyed his, and B&R's company. We relaxed with some Hungarian beer, and some lovely blueberry wine made from native Alaskan berries. I threw together a trifle and we just kicked back and relaxed.

Later that night the auroras made their debut. And although we didn't get to see a lot of them, we did walk out to the field to enjoy the spectacular sky, and the green throbbing glow, just above the tree line.

Sunday we slept in, which is nearly always my favorite thing to do. We took Ches for a wander through the woods. We creeped around the game cam, tracked little tracks through the snow, and then came back home to throw the ball for Ches. It was a good morning for all of us.

For Ches, however, the day went downhill quickly. We decided since it was Valentine's Day, and we hadn't gotten eachother a gift, that maybe, just perhaps, we should. And since Charlie was such a good boy, we decided to go see a lady about a dog.

I'd like to introduce you to Cash. Named after the late, great Johnny Cash. Though since he's the color of a cashew, it serves a double purpose. Here he is with Brent, and his new toy. A sock. He's rather fond of the sock, and likes to shake it vigorously.

Here's our little nut chasing, and ultimately biting, his own tail. He is just a baby, please keep that in mind.

And this is little Cash ready for bed. No, I did NOT give him Grandma's quilt. He's just snuggling with me on the couch for a bit, before tucking him away in his escape proof bed.

So, today Ches and Cash are at work with me. They are being good dogs, and they're not fighting much at all. Cash is a little feisty and has taken to biting everything, and growling and barking at Ches. But she does a great job of ignoring him. And I think in the end we'll all escape without injury.

Have a happy day!

Wintery Wonderland

2010-02-08T21:41:00.000-09:00

Howdy! Greetings from Alaska! It has been a wonderful last couple of weeks. The weather this winter has been fairly mild. We did dip to about -30 degrees last week, but the temps quickly rose again, and there's nothing to complain about now. We're sitting at around 0 tonight, but it's lovely. We have a light dusting of powdery white now, and today the sun shone brightly above in the Delta sky. Ah, life is good.

I have to apologize are these pictures are about a week old. I have been busy, and just haven't had the time to sit and blog. You'd think with it being cold and well, wintery, there would be plenty of time. But with wood to haul, dog to play with and moose to capture, there simply isn't enough time in the day.

This is my morning friend. Nearly every morning, this guy, and one or two of his friends, come to munch on the saplings and shrubbery and who-knows-what-else. I snapped him right before he turned tail and ran off. Apparently he thought my camera was a 30.06. LOL.

The above photo may not look very interesting, but it's a close up of the crystally fluff that covers each and every shrub on Meadows Road. They are placed in a little puzzle and fall off quickly to be nibbled up. Beautiful.

Moose on Bolio Lake Road

These two are a cow and calf pair. They frequent our road, and this photo was taken about 100 yards from our driveway. Chessa and I were going on a walk and quickly changed our course of direction when we saw this mom and daughter/son pair. It's hard to tell, but the calf is actually lying on the side of the road. I guess he/she found a comfy spot to rest. Eating is very hard work, for a little guy.

Brent and Ches looking for rabbits at Nickel Lake

The gorgeous Granite Mountains

Meadows Road moose

This past weekend we laid pretty low. I had a busy day at work, so I came home, took Chessa out for a little exercise, and of course some play. When Brent got home I made an easy, but yummy dinner of risotto with tons of veggies and some delicious prawns I picked up at IGA. We're fortunate to have such a good grocery store here on the tundra.

Saturday woke to the howling wind. Despite the breeze I decided to head to Fairbanks. There were a couple of things I needed before this weekend's Festival of Lights Galleria. The roads were clear, except for a spot or two, so I was fortunate. Last year they were snow packed and slick, this year they're clear with occasional snow pack. I met a sand truck at Birch Lake and managed to escape without a new windshield chip, how? I'll never know.

Once I was home I unpacked the car, admired Brent's ever-growing pile of wood. We'll certainly be warm next winter! And then I tucked myself in for a short nap. When my nap was over I got up, and enjoyed what was last of the beautiful Saturday afternoon. Later that evening we went over to meet Brad and Rose's new bundle of fluff. He's adorable. A six week old yellow lab named Charlie. Oh, I'm telling you he stole my heart. I nearly caved in to Brent's pressure for a new little labrador...but gained my sanity, just in the nick of time!

Sunday was a day of organization and relaxation. We started the morning with a batch of homemade blueberry muffins, lovingly baked by my rockstar hubby. And then we all bundled up and trekked the road for a walk on a brisk morning. Unfortunately our jaunt was cut short by a pack of local dogs. Pish tosh. I'm all for a freer way of life, but roaming dogs are dangerous, for me, my dog, and for them. I've nearly hit them a time or two, and I've shooed them from my trash bins one too many times. Hmph.

Today was beautiful. The sun was out all day long, and it was a lovely day. Brent and Ches were home, and despite Brent's new cold, they got some wood chopped, and made me a lovely dinner of chicken fajitas, with a couple too many chipotle peppers! Nothing like getting the metabolism roaring with capsacin. LOL.

Life is good! I want to give a shout out to my new friends, Hayley and her mom Estra, in Alabama. Hayley and her family will be moving to Delta this spring. Estra is a little nervous, which is understandable since Delta is a looooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggggg way from Alabama. Alas, have no fear, Delta is a friendly place, with friendly people just waiting to help out and make their stay a happy one.

Have a happy day!

Let The Sun Shine In

2010-01-28T21:31:00.000-09:00

I overslept this morning. Big time overslept. But the good thing is that when I woke, without peeking at the clock, I realized by the light in the room that I was late. Like the fabled rabbit I was "late, late, for a very important date." Well, maybe not a "date", but work.

The days are getting longer, and the past couple days have been beautiful. Full sun and gorgeous. Today the sun decided to hide for the better portion of the day, but just when my mood was turning to a darker shade of blue, good ole Mister Sun peeked through and granted me a reprieve for my blah mood.

I think I have said before that the dark doesn't bother me so much, and it really hasn't been as bad I imagined. Last year when we arrived (a few weeks earlier than now) we were on the upside and all things were new and wonderful. This year, while things are still wonderful, they are no longer new, and therefore reality has set in, a bit. I do enjoy the lighter mornings, they make it a little easier for us, um, more resistant wakers to rise. I'm not a morning person, putting it lightly, and it takes me a while to become my usual cheerful self. By the time I leave for work now the sun is up, and I can see the mountains, the moose, and whatever else comes along my way.

Brent has decided to take up a new hobby. Since he's about all things outdoors, it shouldn't surprise me. However, he was resistant to it when we lived in Colorado, so it took me a bit off guard. He's decided to try his hand at fly fishing. I will say that I'm somewhat relieved, hopefully (with fingers crossed) it will give him a winter hobby that doesn't include dragging me out in the cold.

In addition to his new hobby, he's been keeping himself busy by chopping wood. He's quite the efficient lumber jack, and all our wood has been chopped, split and restacked. Now that the task is complete, I have no idea whate he'll do for the remainder of the winter. Hmmm....maybe I should order him some fly tying gear...

Our tasks for the immediate future include keeping Ches entertained and well exercised, registering for next year's PFD- Permanent Fund Distribution, and enjoying all things that come with being residents of Alaska. And then there are always taxes to file, of course. I think I'll leave that particular task to Brent this year.

In addition, I am looking for work. Additional work, that is. I am quite happy where I am, but I would like to add some other sources of income to my life. I have the time, and the patience, so I've been brainstorming. My dear husband has his ideas of what I should do, but we'll leave them there, as ideas in his ever-storming brain.

I have been fortunate this winter to see more moose than I did last year. While I haven't had the luck that Brent has, I have been seeing them out and about. It never gets old seeing them, unless of course they're on the road. That I could do without.

Time for me to catch up on soaps, and watch a little Jane Austen. Friday tomorrow. And more Sassy fun...

The First

2010-01-26T22:03:00.000-09:00

Well, it seems it's been a while since I've been here. I thought I'd have more time, and I guess I do, I guess my time management is the issue these days. I have been busy, but just doing the good stuff, the fun stuff. Cooking, taking care of my family and playing with our sweet Chessa girl.

The great news is that the sun is coming back. It's noticeable now in the morning and in the evenings. The lack of light in the evening never really bothered me much, but the mornings were a different story. I was definitely lazier, sleepier in the mornings, and now I rise and (almost) shine with the sun. But it's nice to see what's lurking on the sides of the roads when I go to and from work. And the moose are a-movin'.

We celebrated our 1st Alaska Anniversary on January 10th. We went back and read through the blog posts from our trip. I remember the stress, the excitement, the sheer panic of the trip. Looking back, it's the gutsiest thing I've ever done, and now it really doesn't seem like a big deal. Makes me wonder...what's next for the Kings? In the present, we are truly enjoying every moment in Delta.

We love this area. We've been busy making plans for summer travel, and seeing as much of Alaska as we possibly can. Last year we spent a lot of time in the Delta area, and we're hoping to expand our travel range this year. There are so many beautiful places in Alaska to see, I'm wondering what/when/where we'll choose first. Hmmmm....

This also leaves me to ponder...who (**hint, hint**) is going to be the first to visit us in Alaska??? There's a lot of talk, my friends, but not a lot of action. Yet. Come on over....we have a lot of places to see and a lot of things to do. And a freezer full of salmon to cook for you.

Work is going well for both of us. We've been spending our time endulging Brent's current WWII infatuation. We are watching a lot of war documentaries, including the ever-hard-to-swallow holocaust recollections. I'm personally intrigued by this bit of history. I think we're both looking forward to a European vacation in the future to see first hand (again, for me) the camps, the devastation, the emotion.

In addition to war documentaries I've been taking advantage of my spare time to do some cooking and baking. This weekend a made a large pot of ciopinno. Since I'm relatively new to eating fish or seafood I was impressed that I even decided to cook it. Ciopinno is a tomato-based seafood stew. I made ours with crab, scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams. It looked good, but wasn't really my cup of tea. Brent, however, loved it. So guess what he's eating for the next month??? lol.

Saturday and Sunday we got out and soaked up some sun. It was lovely. Sunday was warm, balmy almost, which is funny since the rest of the nation is having uncharacteristically crappy weather. I really hope that means we aren't going to have a crappy summer. I will really be sad if that's the case. lol.

So, that's what we're up to. How about you? I promise to post pics soon... :)

Back to life...Back to reality

2010-01-08T00:49:00.000-09:00

Can you hear it? The lyrics to the popular 90's song in your head...sing along... :) lol. Anyway, It's my first week back at my normal schedule. I have to admit, I've been a little schlumpy (yes, that's a word...google it...lol) and slow. But I'm hoping to get back to normal soon. Very soon.

My job on Ft. Greely ended on New Year's Eve. Fitting, I think. Out with the old, in with the new. Perfection. As I packed up my things to leave, I couldn't help but feel just a little bit sad. It was grueling, it was tiring, and don't get me wrong, I'm happy it's over. However, I did enjoy the work, I liked having lunch with my hubby everyday, and I am going to miss the G's, the Benjamins, the MOOLA!!! lol. However, as the old adage goes, money isn't everything, and I'm happy to be back at Durham Realty.

New Year's Eve I packed up my desk and headed home, for a long winter's nap. It was fabulous. When I woke we ate a nice dinner of moose ribs, au gratin potatoes and bleu cheese coleslaw, prepared by my loving husband. When the feast was finished we packed up and headed out to Jeff & Courtney's for a little fun in ~~sun~~ moonlight. When we arrived I kind of wished that we hadn't had such a lovely dinner as the ladies had knocked themselves out and prepared a veritable feast. Next time... we visited, laughed, enjoyed some lovely caramel chickory and bundled up to enjoy fireworks on a frozen pond, in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska. It was bliss.

Friday we just laid around like slugs, did laundry and I cooked. Yes, this should be documented, I have done so little of it over the past couple months. It was nice to be semi-lazy and get some things accomplished in the house.

Saturday morning we packed up bright and early and headed for Fairbanks. Operation Organization was in full swing. That is until we arrived in Fairbanks. I have handled the lack of variety here very well, I think. I tried for weeks/months to order a desk. Nope. No cigar. No shipping to Alaska. Pfffft. Jerks. But I nearly lost my marbles when I tried to find an economical solution to my lack of organization. To put it lightly, I was really frustrated. However, in the end Sam Walton came to my rescue and I found a doable solution. And we scored a great deal on a leather club chair for the living room. Which led to the issue of lack of space to haul everything we needed to haul.

Brent had made plans with a friend, Trevor, to hunt little bunny fufu (sad, tragic ordeal) that evening, so I decided to head back to Fairbanks for more storage goods. Luckily Brent's friend, Trevor, is married to my friend, Amy, so I convinced Amy to ride back with me. Thank goodness I did. She spotted a wily moose that darted out in front of me, in time for me to hit the brakes and avoid his gigantic butt. Bullwinkle lives! So, I managed to score some loot and get home, safe and sound, in one piece.

Sunday Brent set about assembling furniture, burning boxes and other fun stuff. As you can tell by the photo below Ches was thrilled at the prospect of sitting inside, doing um, about anything. Lol. Poor girl. She did get out in the woods to explore and hunt wascally wabbits, her new favorite past time. Those poor little rabbits...Oy.

One of the things that I love most about Alaska is the moose. I could see them every single day and it would not be enough. They're so large and wobbly looking that it's hard not to love these dopey characters. They're very large, and so quiet, that you can literally turn around and there they are. Standing in the driveway. These two younger bulls seem to be out on a Sunday stroll. They meandered through the stand of trees in the center of the yard until Brent tried to sneak outside to get a better shot of them. With the knowledge that he was outside they took off like lightening, big galloping lightening, and one of them totally diggered in the driveway. Priceless.

I'm happy to be back to life as it was.

Sending a prayer to my Grandma Blanche who is recovering from a stroke. Sending you lots of love and hugs.

Happy New Year!! Wishing you all a very happy 2010!!

2009-12-27T22:01:00.000-09:00

Howdy! Happy Holidays from Alaska!! Well, we survived our first Alaskan Christmas. And I will say despite missing our families we had nearly a perfect day. Brent and I both worked on Christmas Eve day. While I was disappointed in that it really worked out for the best, I guess. Brent headed home early to play with Chessa, and while it's been warm we dressed her up in her new gear, so you could all see how cute she looks! She looks great in red. We couldn't buy ourselves new coats and boots, and not treat Miss Chessa to the same. In all honesty, when it reaches the deeper levels of cold, she appreciates the warmth and protection as much as we do.

Christmas Eve night I made oyster stew and homemade tomato soup. The oyster stew being a King tradition, and easy peasy for me, I decided to treat Brent to a little taste of home. That evening we laid around, chatted with family, and opened gifts. Man, was I spoiled this year. Brent bought me an iPod (FINALLY) and had it engraved to say - KLK ALASKA ROCKS! My sentiments exactly. In addition he bought me the Mac Daddy of all food processors. Little does he know I would have settled for a Walmart cheapie, but I got a great one. I'm sooooooo looking forward to cooking with it. In addition, he bought me a new lens for my camera. Ahhhhh...bliss. I'm stoked. We took it out and tried it out, but I need a few lessons before I can attempt to capture the auroras and the night sky....soon...very soon.

Brent didn't make out so poorly himself. I decided to buy him a winch for the ATV since he kept "mentioning" it all summer. So, come Spring, he'll have plenty to occupy himself with. In addition, I bought him a game cam. Well, it turns out he decided to sneak a peek at the shipping list, so he knew all along what it would be. I have never seen a kid more excited to open a gift. I think it's already been in one, or two, locations already. We're both excited to see what's lurking in the woods beyond the house. Lastly I got him (er, or me) a mini projector. Since we don't have tv I decided that we should have something fun. So viewing movies, or football games, should be extra exciting here.

Christmas Day was plenty busy. A friend of Brent's worked on Christmas Day. She works on base, alone, and wasn't able to make it to the dining hall for lunch. So we picked up prime rib for all of us, and had Christmas lunch with her. It was a nice visit, and I got to see a part of the base I'd never been on. After I was wanded down of course. They are stringent, and I happily comply.

After lunch we headed to Brad & Rose's for Christmas dinner. What a treat!!! Rose treated us to paella, and it was wonderful. Crab, scallops, shrimp...yum!!! Can you believe a year ago I wouldn't have touched it? She also served us a vegetarian African pesto dish with couscous that was divine, made by Quinn, fresh homemade bread, blueberry/raspberry pie and the best bloody mary's I have ever had. It was a darn good Christmas dinner. I dare say it will be hard to top. Not to mention the company, which is always easy and relaxing, oh and fun!

Today we picked up a couple of co-workers of mine that are working on the same project I am. Since it's ending soon, O was anxious to see a moose. He lived in LA for 20 years and recently moved to Seattle. He's not seen a moose, and was happy when we offered to play tour guide. Brent went out this morning, scouting for moose and hit the jackpot. We weren't disappointed this afternoon either. 5 moose total, and some wolf, coyote and a mystery (or not-so-mystery) print that comes later in the post.

The weather was lovely and we enjoyed stopping and snapping photos. I took some nice pics of O so he'll have to remember Alaska by. O saw his first frozen lake, and he was thrilled. It's those little things that we just don't think about. So it's fun to see the firsts through somoene else's eyes.

The moon in the sky at 3:00 p.m. on December 27, 2009.

Bashful bull moose on Donnelly Flats - he still has antlers and I threatened to chase him down and steal them!!

The mountains were out and proud today with just a touch of clouds.

The above print, or the mystery print, can you tell what it is? From what we can tell, it belongs to a very large brown bear, or Grizzly bear. From our understanding it's rare for them to be out and about this time of year. I'm curious what brought him/her out of hibernation, or if it's the warm temps that are keeping him/her out of hibernation. I guess we'll truly never know, but it's interesting and I really hope I don't come across him/her.

This is my final week of the grueling job. I have enjoyed it, and I have no complaints. I am looking forward to going back to "real" life, and having homecooked meals, a clean house, and clean laundry. I've been, um, slacking the past couple months.

Wishing you all a great week...and A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

2009-12-15T22:59:00.000-09:00

I keep expecting the "newness" to wear off. You know, that giddy feeling you get when you are about to embark on an adventure.

This time last year was hectic, stressful, and sad. We were selling off, donating, or packing up, for storage and travel, all the things we owned. Which in hindsight, was entirely too much stuff. UGH. I remember feeling sad to see "my stuff" going home in the hands of strangers, family, friends.

We were excited, scared and nervous. Ready to tackle the Last Frontier, not having a clue what lie ahead of us, in miles, road conditions, and plain, old gumption. Driving the Alaska Hwy is not for the faint of heart. And especially not in January. Many others before us have done it, but I can tell you one thing, I do NOT intend to do it again. Summer, perhaps. January. No. Big, emphatic no.

As we near the one year mark I'm thinking that we should probably be missing "home" a lot more. But truth is. We just don't. Sure, we miss our families, and friends we left behind. I miss Sunday, Wednesday and sometimes Monday girls' night with Shan, Steph, and my favorite, Miss Savannah.

But now, Alaska is home. It is truly where my heart is, and I have no desire to leave, not yet, not even on vacation. Don't think that with that admission that doesn't come with guilt, because it does. Tons of it. But while I miss Minnesota, I don't miss it enough to go back. Right now.

I'm looking forward to our first Alaska Christmas. It's snowing tonight, the most beautiful, powdery, glittery snow. It coats everything in marshmallowy softness. Making fallen trees more appealing, and covering mounds of dirt, tires, or what not. We will indeed have a white, white Christmas.

We don't have much planned. Christmas Eve we'll follow the King tradition of Oyster stew (for Brent), and some other kind of soup for me. I'm planning prime rib roast for Christmas Day, but that's only if we can find it here in Delta. A little birdie told me that the IGA has some, so I need to call and order tomorrow. Brent hopes to get in a little rabbit hunting, and I plan to spend the day in my jammies, or relaxing clothes, watching Christmas movies, and staying warm by the fire.

Plans can change, and I'm open to whatever comes our way.

Wishing you and yours a warm, happy and blessed Christmas!

Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...

2009-12-14T18:48:00.000-09:00

Can you hear it? The clock keeps ticking away, and I am running out of time.

Temp: -2F degrees Sunrise: 10:29 a.m Sunset: 2:47 p.m.

That's right, we're down to just over 4 hours of light. Yesterday was the first that I noticed, it could have been that it was so darn gray and gloomy, or that I was home during waking hours. I don't know, but it wasn't sooo bad. I guess.

I'm exhausted. Working so much is really not up my alley. I've been trying to keep all the balls in the air, but I think I keep dropping some, and I rarely notice any of them, except when I trip over the vacuum cleaner on my way to the dishes in the sink.

Yesterday I had high hopes of getting loads of things done, the house cleaned, laundry caught up, SASSY stuff organized. None. That's what was completed. Not one thing. I was beat. I did a couple loads of laundry, and I cooked, which is something I rarely do anymore, but I certainly did not get accomplished what I set out to do.

I am hosting a Holiday Open House here this weekend, so I'll be super swamped this week. I was hoping to just buy cookies, but it turns out, I'll most likely have to make them. I'm not so excited about that either. I have gifts to send, cards to write, and little time, so I'm hoping you all get your goodies on time. If not, I'm sorry. Truly I am.

Wishing you a happy holiday season! See you soon!

Warm and White

2009-12-03T22:25:00.000-09:00

We have been having a great week. The weather has been warm, in the upper 20's during the day and upper teens at night. Certainly nothing to complain about, in December, in Central Alaska. This afternoon the snow started, and mixed with the nearly constant wind, it was quite the little bluster. I can't say storm, because while it was coming down, it was light and fluffy. No where near menacing, and awfully pretty.

Now that I'm feeling better I'm in the groove of working more hours again. Of course, next week will be the real test, since I've had a brief reprieve from my duties at Durham due to malfunctioning equipment, which could in fact, be me. lol. However, I'm hoping that my good vibes keep flowing and things continue to go well. We'll see.

Right now we're down to approximately 4.5 hours of light per day. I would love to be able to report when the sun comes up and goes down, but frankly, I just don't see the sun much, and I can't honestly tell you. Okay, so I Googled it and Weather City is reporting the sunrise today in Delta was 10:19 a.m. and sunset was at 2:47 p.m. So there you have it. Not. Very. Much. Sun. Truthfully, I don't really notice, and that could totally be because I come and go at dark. Perpetually. But hey, maybe it's a good thing for our first full winter in Delta. I'm just sayin...

Sassy continues to go well and be a heck of a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to getting back to "normal" and having plenty of time to shop, fondle, and ogle my goods. I got three new boxes of goodies this week, and I'm hoping that I receive at least one or two more by Sunday's party.

I'll be traveling north to North Pole. Home of Santa and the Santa Claus House. Too bad you're not here Mom, we could be having a blast!! :) Oh well, I guess Santa can wait, a little while longer. So I'll travel north to sell my wares, and I am so excited. It sounds like we'll have a fairly large group of ladies, and the excitement that comes along with that is always high. Awesome.

I have unfortunately been continuing my moose drought. I swear, everyone else has seen them everywhere, even Delta's albino moose, which you can see here, on the daily photos. Magnificent. I'd settle for a small brown one. REALLY. Do we remember last winter's drought, except now, I'm out and about at least 4x a day. Ugh!

For some reason having less time has made me more productive in every portion of my life. I guess that would make sense since I'm a procrastinator, so I have less time to procrastinate, sleep, or frankly, even breathe. Ha!

We are unfortunately still Christmas tree free. My home is seriously lacking in holiday spirit and I'm hoping to repair that issue this weekend. We'll see how that works out for me. Since I'll be gone most of the day I'm thinking we may end up with a fake tree and a pine auto freshener. You know, that classy little tree that we all know and love.

Tonight Brent is out playing with the boys, watching football on a really big tv, which is a luxury that he ~~rarely~~ never gets to enjoy. So I'm happy that he was able to take some time and help Joe celebrate his 50th birthday!!

Tomorrow night I'm spending some much needed time with my girls. My Durham girls. I'm really looking forward to catching up, and I know that they're looking forward to rifling through the newest additions to my lovely little collection of goodies. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to it too. I love it. All of it.

So, that means I need to go to bed. I'm sleepy, Ches is sleepy, and my clothes are ready to hit the dryer.

G'Night!! See you on the flip side.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

2009-11-29T17:29:00.000-09:00

Welcome to our winter wonderland! It's Sunday, and we've had the most beautiful day. Big, fat, fluffy flakes have been floating down to the tundra all day long. It is possibly the slowest, most idyllic sight I've seen. And since I have no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Today has been a very uneventful, but particularly wonderful day. I woke to an eerily quiet house, as Brent had planned to go hunting with a friend of his. I knew that he wouldn't be home, but Chessa was gone as well. So it was me, alone, with the day to waste away.

The week behind us was a busy one. We enjoyed our Thanksgiving day, just the three of us. We slept late, played in the snow, and just enjoyed a day of rest. I baked a coffee cake for breakfast, and then braised some grouse, which Brent provided for our Thanksgiving feast. I cooked up some wild rice from home, similar to the rice dish that Grandma Adeline cooked every year. We completed the meal with yams, green bean casserole, fresh baked rolls, and I even whipped up a pecan pie. Needless to say, we didn't eat pie until Friday. We were too stuffed!

In the afternoon we hiked to the woods to cut our first Alaskan Christmas tree. We haven't had a real tree in the house since our first year of marriage. I believe we managed to ruin two vaccuums that year. Apparently I thought "evergreen" extended into life after cutting, and there was no need for watering. Or very little anyway. Ahh. Yes. Lessons learned, indeed.

Well, this time around I was smarter about it. But alas, we were both scared awake at 3 a.m. Friday morning to the sound of a crashing tree. Needless to say, at that time of night, it wound up in the yard. It has yet to come back in. We'll see what happens next. I'm guessing a much smaller, less messy tree. Perhaps we'll go back to artificial (gasp!).

So, we worked on Friday. Came home to relax, then Brent had yesterday off with the Ches monster, while I plugged away at work. Poor Chessa had a rough day. She was attacked by a raven, good thing Brent was there to rescue her. It got a hold of her when she tackled it, and had her lip in it's beak, poised with talons raised. Brent helped him release her and gave it a little loft. Hasta La Vista raven.

After a nice, relaxing day I'm planning to make dinner and then find my way back to the fresh Tide smelling sheets that have been calling my name all day!

Happy Day!!!

Thankful

2009-11-24T21:54:00.000-09:00

Hello from Alaska!

I have started numerous posts in the last week or so, and as you can tell, I have not completed a one of them. I have been tired, lazy and unmotivated to complete the boring dribble. So, here I am, feeling better and I have to admit, a little bit snarky.

We have been trucking along. We finally got into a groove with work, and then I was stricken with my neck issues of last summer. Thankfully I recognized the warning signs early enough and scheduled an appointment with my new favorite person. Dr. Jamie. She hooked me up to some electrodes and then cracked me. I have to say, I felt much better leaving her office. However, despite her wonders I'm still having issues, and I'm hoping she comes back to work soon. I'm fine during the day now, but sleeping is still a bit tricky.

Brent's back to his normal schedule. And while we don't see eachother much he loves lazing around in the morning, playing with Chessa, and then we meet for lunch at the Bistro on base. It's inexpensive and easy, and the best part, no dishes.

Ches is doing well. She has two new pair of boots that she loves. While they're a little harder to stand on in the house, she loves the extra protection on her tootsies. She has issues with snow balls between her toes, and the boots help considerably. The best part is that they're from a company in Brainerd. Ha. Who knew?

Brent has become my hero, and finally got the Toyo up and running. Now we can leave the house for longer periods of time without having to worry if the fire will keep the house warm enough, long enough. We have also learned a lot about the wood stove, that would have come in handy last week, and now we're nice and toasty warm. Sometimes too toasty when Brent gets to stuffing that stove. Some nights I even crack the window...Uff da.

I had my first purse party last Friday. It was a great success and I just love the vibe the excitement that purses evoke. It starts out as a little hum and as people come it gets louder and louder. I have two more parties coming up, one in early December and one in late January. I'm also planning a Holiday Open House here at home closer to Christmas. Should make for an interesting holiday season.

Thursday we're planning a true day of rest. A day to relax and enjoy and reflect on all the wonderful things we have to be thankful for. We are truly blessed. And while this experience was perhaps the scariest we pondered, it has been well worth the effort. It has brought so many wonderful things, experiences and people into our lives. I truly had no idea. None.

We are planning to cook up some grouse, that Brent has harvested from our woods. I am hoping to make some wild rice, yams, and pecan pie. We have invited a friend/neighbor whose wife is wintering in Alaska, and we are hoping for a quiet, football-filled, nap-ridden day. Later in the day, before dark falls again, we are planning to hike into the woods and harvest a little tree to be adorned with candy canes, pine cones and string of popcorn and cranberries. When I think of it, I'm picturing a cross between a Charlie Brown tree and updated version that Laura Ingalls might have seen. This could be interesting!

We still have a coyote around, and now I've been told that while I might think it's nice, they may be trying to lure my dog. So now I'm a little less enthused about his/her/their presence. I've been told that one will come in as bait, and then lure the dog away. I understand that they're partial to female dogs, something about mammary glands...ANYWAY, we're being more cautious these days.

Brent, the-lucky-duck-that-he-is, woke to two moose rubbing themselves on the Envoy last night. And while I really would have liked to have seen them, I'm very happy he didn't wake me. I have been striking out on moose viewing luck, however, so I'm hoping for a change on that front.

We do have a bit of sad news to relay. Ches's little buddy Willie was killed in a car accident a week ago. He was such a sweet boy, and I know he'll be missed by us all. Rest in peace Willie boy.

The days keep getting shorter and shorter. We have about 6 hours of day light now. I get up and go in the dark, and I come home at dark. While it's not ideal, it's life. For the moment I don't mind, and it's not nearly as bad as I had imagined. I know that we will continue to lose light as the month goes on, but for now, I'm not too worried.

This is for my friend Tracy in Texas. Yes, we plug in our vehicles here. I will try to clarify it a little bit for you. Alaska is cold. Or it gets cold, and while it is indeed colder at night, it stays cold during the day as well. So, it is necessary to plug your vehicles in whenever they sit for extended periods of time.

The base here recommends plugging in at 20 degrees F or below. I don't usually plug-in until 10 or lower, but it depends on the weather, I guess. Most people follow the same guidelines. Most Alaskans carry cords with them at all times, like they would carry a winter survival kit, an extra pair of gloves, etc.

And yes, while it seems funny, stores/businesses do provide plug-ins for customers to utilize during their shopping/business times. I don't really know that there's a set time that your vehicle can withstand the cold temps without restart becoming an issue. I guess it will depend on your vehicle and the lengths of winterization, etc. It helps save your vehicle/battery/etc to plug it in and keep it warm. I've even known some people here to use space heaters inside their vehicles. Though I don't, and I'm certainly not claiming that to be a safe option.

In other news, I have to congratulate my dad on his recent hunt. He hunted elk in Northern Minnesota and brought home a nice cow. I'm excited to see pics! Congrats Dad!

Also, to my friends Kori & Jim in Colorado. After 8.5 years of infertility, they are expecting a very healthy baby GIRL in May! What a wonderful blessing and certainly a reason to be thankful this holiday season.

We are thankful for each of you. Our family and friends, and others who happen into our lives along the way. Hoping your year is wonderful, warm and blessed!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Brent & Karla

A Day of Rest

2009-11-15T20:11:00.000-09:00

Greetings! It's definitely winter in Delta Junction. Today has been cold, and it's about to get colder. Tuesday we're being predicted temps around the 30 below mark, and in my estimation it's much too cold for that.

We've had more snow this week. It hasn't amounted to much, as it's been of the light and powdery kind. At our house we have about 6-7" of light, fluffy white...everywhere. I forgot to take pics today, and since I won't have another day off until next week, you'll have to wait. It's lovely, and you'll just have to take my word for it.

Today was -9 degrees. I dare say it felt a lot colder, and it feels warmer out this evening. I don't know if it's because the snow has stopped and the humidity has dropped, or if it indeed, just that much warmer.

The jobs are still going well. We're both adjusting to the new schedules and the new demands. Brent has taken on a lot of the cooking, packing, and some general housework. More than he was doing, anyway. And I have been trying to help more with wood hauling, playing with Ches, and general "manly" things.

In true Alaskan fashion I am hauling a cord around with me everywhere I go. This may sound ridiculous to those of you who live in the south, but for Alaskans (and some other cold weather regions) it's just a way of life. I unplug it in the morning, drive to work, plug it back in, work the day, and then come home, to plug it back in again.

Today I was off while Brent worked, yesterday I worked while Brent was off. I did some laundry, made pasta for dinner and caught up on tv. At one point on the day I was curled up on the couch, hot chocolate in hand, and a movie. It was pure bliss.

In other news we've been seeing more animals. Brent walked up the driveway to find 3 moose perched on our berm. I'm happy to hear they are back, and can't wait to see them. I wish I knew what they ate so I could bribe them.

Thursday night I got up over night to stoke the fire. We are still having Toyo issues here, so we're relying on wood alone, so the stoking of the fire is necessary. Anyway, I stumbled down in my sleepy stupor, got a drink, did my thing and decided to load the stove. I stepped out in the frigid night air to grab a frozen log. I jumped back in, closed the door, and tried to grab the too-big-for-my-hand log with one hand. Much to my dismay, this very large, very frozen log dropped right onto my big toe.

Since I try very hard to not wake my husband I cussed quietly, under my breath. While tears threatened to stream down my face. I shoved, forcefully and angrily, that stupid piece of wood into that stupid stove, just as I turned to see Brent coming down the stairs.

Seeing that he was already awake I let it fly, and the tears flowed. I'm pretty sure I blamed him for something, even though we both knew it wasn't his fault, and I hobbled back to bed, for another 3 hours of slumber. Friday morning I woke to a very swollen, very tender toe.

The photo was taken today and it looks much better. I'm happy to report it also feels better, and we now have a nice warm, large tote of wood sitting in the living room. Sometimes it's about practicality and not pretty. Ha!

Please ignore the polish, I clearly don't have time for a pedicure.

Friday evening we invited some friends over for a very casual happy hour. I don't mind the work, but I'm a very social being, and the work, work, work was growing thin. I picked up some spirits and ale, cooked up some uncreative, but comforting appetizers and opened the doors for some fun and relaxation. It was a wonderful time, and it felt great to laugh and catch up with friends while sipping a nice glass of Moscato.

When our guests had left we headed up to watch a movie. We snuggled in just in time for the itchies to catch up with me. I got up to fetch the bottle of lotion from the closet and noticed that the motion light was on. At first I thought it was just from the puffy snow, and then I saw her. A slight movement, and I saw her, a very pretty, petite coyote. I know, a coyote, not exactly exciting, but I love seeing the wildlife. Any and all. As long as she doesn't misbehave I'm happy to have her around.

My eyelids are growing heavy. The temperature is rising, and I'm looking forward to hitting the hay with Brent and Ches.

Good night! Stay warm!!

The Good Life

2009-11-10T22:13:00.000-09:00

Hi. Well, it's been awhile. Sorry. But I've been just a little bit busy. Just a little. As you know I'm working out on base, at this point I'm working 60 hours a week. As is nearly the entire crew on and around the project. It's quite impressive, and I'm astounded at the progress that's being made. I hope it's a good omen for things to come, even if they don't directly benefit me.

In addition, I'm working a handful of hours at Durham, which regrettably isn't enough, and I really miss "my girls". I managed to squeek in a dinner and some shopping (courtesy of my third job) with them last week, and I had a blast!!! I only wish I hadn't had a desk full of work to do, too.

So, the third job is selling designer inspired handbags, wallets, jewelry and sunglasses out of my trunk, or home, whichever you prefer. I started this little venture before I knew about the job that has quickly become Job #1, no matter how temporarily.

In addition to that we've been doing little else. We try to sneak in some sleep, some cooking, and even a little baking. Occasionally I catch up on laundry and even the dishes. Of course it helps that we're on opposite schedules and that with the ton of help that Brent gives me, we are hitting a pretty good groove.

Sunday I knocked myself out and made a smorgasbord of food. I grilled some lovely steaks, baked some honey-glazed salmon (both products of Alaska), baked potatoes with all the fixings, candied carrots, fresh, crusty french bread, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Needless to say, we'll be eating leftovers all week.

It's been chilly here, hovering around and slightly below zero. I've been plugging in the vehicles for a week and a half now, and that always seems to illicit giggles from far off places, like Florida, for instance. (right Chantelle?)

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now that all that is out of the way, I'm here to converse, reflect on the opinion that perhaps, even maybe, I glorify Delta Junction, and life in Delta.

I disagree. Whole heartedly. And now I'll tell you why. Delta itself isn't the most beautiful town I've ever seen. That isn't to say that it's dumpy, or run down, it's your average rural small town. In some ways. In other ways, it's pure perfection.

There are other towns in America similar in some ways, I'm sure. But I haven't found them. The first thing I have to say is that there are no Jones' here to keep up with. People live in big houses, little houses, stationary houses, houses with wheels in various forms. In Delta, you just live. Some have more, some have less, and it's not a constant nagging panic attack.

In addition, there is such beauty that surrounds Delta, that it's easy to view the whole works as the greatest place on earth. Mountains, mountains everywhere. And I have missed the mountains so very, very much.

But I think the best parts about Delta are just the liberties that are still in place here. The fact that I can ride my ATV, without having to trailer it and haul it hours and hours and hours.

There are tons of places to hunt, boat, fish, explore. The sense of community is amazing. And well, it's just an all-around great place to live. If I wasn't so tired, I may be more poetic. Frankly, I think if small town life is what you're looking for, Delta Junction, Alaska is the place to be.

Come check it out! I'll meet you in town, and we'll catch up.

Have a happy life!

Winter Welcome

2009-10-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

Welcome to winter in Delta Junction. I'd like to post some photos of the freshly fallen snow, that is coming down at this very moment, but I've been a little busy, so perhaps this weekend I'll find some time to snap away.

Monday marked a new chapter in my life. In the past couple of years I've gone from working 1 job with loooong hours, to a reduced schedule, to absolutely no schedule, back to a part-time schedule, and now my schedule is working over-time. Mind you, I'm not complaining, I'm having fun, I'm just needing a couple more days for adjustment.

So, Sunday evening I did not sleep a bit. Well, just a bit. About an hour and a half, to be exact. But, I arose on Monday morning at the buttcrack of dawn to greet the morning with vigor and grace, and was bombarded with white. White, wet, snow. Which, of course, led to not-so-wonderful roads on my very first day of work, where I actually had to drive more than 5 miles. Nice. Or something. Anyway...

Thankfully I was able to ride with Brent on this particular first day, which helped tremendously. When I arrived it felt like the first day of school all over again. Frizzy over-permed hair, a face that looked like it's a connect-the-dots puzzle. I hate being the "new girl". Luckily, there were 3 of us, and that made the transition a little bit better.

As first days go, it wasn't so bad. We did a lot of sitting around, a lot of waiting, and a lot of laughing. Sometimes all you can do is laugh. But there was still a lot of awkward laughing, awkward silence, and introductions to more people that I won't remember, most likely. But it was a good day. And I was happy when it was over. Ha!

I have to say that I've been spoiled the last couple months, so I missed "my girls". Especially since Monday was Courtney's birthday. Bummed-ola. But I'll be back there in a couple of months...and I'm hoping the time flies by.

So, now that the first day is over, the rest of the days have improved markedly. Today was better than yesterday, and I'm hoping tomorrow is way better than today. But in other news, though the days are long, I occasionally get to squeak in a lunch with my hubby, which is a wonderful bonus.

Other than that, there's nothing exciting to report. I'm hoping that the bears are tucked away all snug in their dens, and that the moose will stay away while I'm traveling the road between here and Ft. Greely.

When I find time this weekend, I'll update some more, hopefully with some wintery wonderland photos.

Oh, which brings me to another point...some people tell me that I may or may not glorify Delta Junction...I have a tendency to disagree, but we'll discuss it again in our next post... :)

Have a happy day!

The Last Ride of the Year

2009-10-19T22:53:00.000-08:00

We've been enjoying a gorgeous, albeit it cool, fall. We have had plenty of sunshine, and the temps are cool, but enjoyable yet. After our 6 inches of snow in late September we've been virtually snow free, though I think our luck may be running out in that department.

Two weekends ago Brent and I decided to make the most of the warmer temps and head out for one last ride on Meadows Road. It was a fairly warm day, when propertly dressed, of course. The problem was the WIND. It was terribly windy. I finally had to wrap my scarf around my hat to keep it from blowing off in the gusts and gales. Unfortunately, it was so bad that we didn't stay out as long as we would have liked to, but we took advantage of the day and snapped some pretty pictures.

Donnelly with it's dusting of snow. It actually had a pretty nice cap about a week or so before this photo was taken, and I'm happy to see that we've lost some of it. I'm sure it will be frosted soon.

Now that Brent is working less overtime he's had a little more time to get out and do some salmon fishing. These are the silvers, at the end of the run, the end of the spawn, and they're coming North to die. By the time the reach us, they're tired and well spent, and although we don't eat them, Brent finds them a lot of fun to catch.

In addition to salmon fishing in the river, he's been doing a little grouse hunting. And just generally relaxing, which is a huge change for him, and something he finds very difficult to accomplish.

We've had some exciting, and nerve wrecking, encounters with wildlife. I was headed to work one day last week to find a cow moose standing guard of my car. Needless to say I shut the door and grabbed for the camera. By the time I got the card put back in she had sauntered to the opposite side of the house and I managed to catch this (not-so-great) photo of her. When my heart rate finally calmed down, I headed out to work.

Brent was out playing with Ches in the yard, walking the driveway in search of birds for the freezer, when something caught his eye. That something turned out to be a black bear, at the end of the driveway, in nearly the same spot I saw him/her. He reared up on his hind legs to sniff the air and booked it out across the hay field to the West of us, where Ches was hunting for voles.

Fortunately they didn't notice eachother and Brent got himself, and Ches, back to the house without incident. I don't think Brent will admit it, but he was a tad shaken. All he was carrying with him was a .22. Not exactly bear protection.

Last week was a whirlwind and was busy. I was offered another job, so I'll be starting that in the near future. My friends at Durham have been gracious enough to allow me to adjust my schedule around this temporary job on base, and I'm hoping that the situation will work out well for all of us. At the end of the week Brent started his new shift, which is still an adjustment. But I think he'll really like it when everything settles and he gets used to it all.

Saturday I spent the day in Fairbanks. I was fortunate to finally meet up with Susan, a fellow blogger, in the North Pole/Fairbanks area. We met up for a late lunch, and it was truly delightful. I love to hear of others' stories of travel to and from Alaska. Susan is a brilliant photographer, and if you can check her out here, I promise you'll be impressed. We chatted and learned more about eachother, though I admit, we knew quite a bit through the blogs and facebook. My only regret? That I didn't have more time to stay and play and chat and catch up. I'm looking so forward to doing it again, soon!

I had two goals for the day. And I got neither accomplished. After a hellish wait on an oil change at Walmart, I didn't manage to get in that day, despite a 2.5 hour wait. I rushed, grabbed my things for Tanya's shindig and rushed to North Pole to cross item #2 off the list.

Hmph. No luck. AT&T store. Closed. BUMMER. I was so looking forward to finally having reliable cell phone service. Everytime I make a call, get a call, attempt a call, I get dropped. Grrr. It's time to switch. Maybe soon.

Saturday night I arranged for a babysitter and took Tanya out on the town to celebrate her 30th birthday! I had messaged a few of her friends, with Tony's help of course, to meet us at Pike's Lodge for dinner. We arrived, fashionably late, to a table full of smiling faces, all there to support Tanya. We enjoyed great conversation, mouthwatering food, the carrot cake of my dreams, and gifts galore for the birthday girl! It was a great, and memorable, night for us all!

Sunday morning I rushed around trying to complete the tasks from the previous day. I never did get the phone, but only because I need to drag Brent back to North Pole to make use of his hefty discount. I did, however, manage to get an oil change. Two days wait, 5 hours total, after buying my own oil filter from another store...it's done. I can safely say, I will be trying out someone else next time. And for the record, there were several other people in the same situation.

When I got home I was wiped out. I took a nap, and woke to dinner lovingly prepared by my awesome hubby. I lounged, nursed a headache (no hangover, I was sober cab), and laid low. Much to my dismay, and thanks to the weather, I've been having headache issues again. Hopefully the barometric pressure changes again soon...I could use a reprieve.

Have a happy day!

Windy City

2009-10-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

I think that the people of Chicago are wrong. Wrong! Delta has definitely been the windy city the past couple days. My electric meter is working over time due to the contiual spot light on all things King. What am I talking about? My motion light. It's now running about 12 hours a day. I think it's time to flip a switch. Oy.

We are losing light at rapid speed. It's hard to say when we actually reach dark. I would guess between 7:15-7:30 p.m. Though with the gray days the light seems to disappear even quicker. The mornings are harder to gauge because the towering trees that surround our house. While the sun comes up, it takes a little bit longer to make it over my trees, so I'm not actually seeing sun/gray days until about 8:30 a.m. I promise to pay better attention in the coming days and report some facts.

The temperatures have been nice. Nice enough for me to leave my coat at home, though I've regretted it a morning or two. We are having temps in the mid-40's, which to my understanding are lovely days, and abnormal? The rumor mill is churning and I've heard we're supposed to stay nice into next week, even reaching temps as high as 60. Phew! I will have to get out my sunscreen!!

Brent and Ches have been hunting the woods high and low for grouse. We have few in our freezer, and I'm sure they'll be nice and tasty when we cook them up. Brent's also been duck hunting. Much to Dad's surprise we do have ducks left here, and each morning I wake to a cacophony of shots vibrating off the shores of Clearwater Lake. It's a highly hunted area...I guess.

In his adventures through the woods he's noticing a lot of moose tracks. It's great to know that they're around, but I'm a little bummed that they haven't visited the yard more. It's also comforting to know that moose usually keep their distance when bear are present. Hopefully that means our bulkier friends have kept moving out of the buffet, er, my yard.

I'm antsy, working on new things, and scheming, er coming up with new things to occupy my time. I'd share, but I really don't want to jinx anything, so I'll fill you in if and when, those things become truth.

Hoping you are all well.

Prayers be with my Grandma Blanche as she heals from a back procedure she had done earlier this week. It sounds like everything went well and she is healing at home with her family.

Thoughts and prayers with Brent's family as they grieve the loss of Grandma Helen and lay her to rest beside Grandpa this weekend in South Dakota. We will be with you in thought and prayer.
Have a happy day!

Home Away from Home

2009-10-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

People, who shall remain nameless, have been pestering me for photos of the inside of our house. The fact is, I didn't take any photos before because, starting over from scratch takes a little bit of time. I mean, really, we started out with nothing. Have you forgotten? 18 totes in the trailer. My entire life in 18 little, measly totes. Seriously people. I had to work some magic!

While Brent was away in Portland, I had plenty of time on my hands to pound, hang, experiment and admire without sighs of impatience. I sewed, I stuffed, I primped and then I photographed, so here they are. If you have no interest in seeing my house. Please skip to the bottom of this entry...now.

This is the view of the living room from the kitchen entry. Dad, the little box under the far window...that's the Toyo I talk so much about. It's efficient, too bad it isn't working right now. See those pillows there, I made those. With my own two hands. A little blood, a little sweat, and a lot of cuss words. I'm still working on the patience thing...

This is the other angle. And obviously Chessa's favorite hiding spot. I often lose my balance stepping around her. She blends in perfectly!

And if you couldn't tell what room this is...it's the kitchen/dining area. I would suggest if it's difficult for you to figure that out, you may want to spend a little more time at home, and a little less time at the Golden Arches.

This room is the master bedroom. If you see the two smaller pillows and the table topper, I made those. Can you imagine, Mom? I sewed. Remember that big cream machine in the closet, that's a s-e-w-i-n-g - m-a-c-h-i-n-e. You can make things with it. Seriously. Dig it out and try it!

This pathetic looking space is the guest room/office/craft room/hopefully-someday-nursery. Phew. It's a little sparse, but I don't want to fill it up with a bunch of stuff to have to empty it out. So, this is an act in patience building. Can you see a theme here?

Okay, now that we're done with that little virtual tour I can tell you what else we've been up to. While Brent was away playing in Portland, actually he said he was working, but I'm not convinced. So, anyway, he was away and I had planned my first Alaska Girls' Night. I invited 8 ladies. I asked them to bring a friend and a dish to pass. We had a great time. I have been doing Girls' Night for years, and they're all a little bit different. The ladies here are a little more reserved. I'm not sure if that's because they're just better behaved, or if I just scare them a little. Guess we'll wait and see how many show up next time!

Brent came home the following day, which was also his birthday. Though he vetoed it and made Sunday his birthday because he was traveling and it was a crappy day. Okay. I'm game. Heck, if I knew I could just veto the day at the end of it, I would have been milking this birthday thing loooooong ago. Score! Just wait until next May...awesome. ((evil laugh))

Sunday we took a trip over to a trail near our house to pick rose hips and cranberries. It was a perfect day, cool, fresh snow, and sunshine to warm our faces. We donned our rubber boots and trekked back into the woods. Wandering the paths, trees and fence lines in search of low bush cranberries and rose hips. We hit the mother load in rose hips and will be steeping hips for tea until eternity. Much to my chagrin I left the woods with not only berries but big, nasty blisters from wearing my new Bog boots without socks. This was a hard lesson to learn, and it will NEVER happen again.

Rose and Brad invited us over Sunday evening to celebrate the old guy's birthday, so we went over to be treated with a lovely Mexican feast, and Brent's favorite German Chocolate cake. I'm pretty sure he was in heaven. I did have to put him back in his place, however, when he told me that he thought maybe he should veto Sunday too.

The following week we were busy trying to catch up from being behind. Brent's been working a lot, though that's supposedly coming to an end. So he caught up at work and I worked at catching up on his laundry. I still don't think I'm caught up.

This past Saturday I made in impromptu trip to Anchorage with my friend, and boss, Courtney. I guess you could say she pays me to be her friend! LOL. Okay, so maybe that's not the best way to describe our relationship. I work for her. Yes. She's my friend. Yes. So, I guess you could say that I have the best of both worlds. Except when she yells at me. She's brutal. :) Just kidding Courtney. Maybe.

Anyway, we headed out at an ungodly hour to see a man (and a woman and a child) about a horse. For her. Not me. Are you kidding? Me and a horse? I. Don't. Think. So. The weather in Delta was good, cold, but good. As we traveled South and higher in elevation we didn't have as much luck. We stumbled upon snow and slush, and just as we reached the Summit Lake area, ice. Slick, slippery snow and ice. Fortunately it didn't last long, and since Courtney is a long-term Alaska resident, I knew I was in good hands.

A little further down the road we caught our first glimpse of wildlife in a bald eagle, and then a golden eagle. Pure and simple beauty. Unfortunately neither of us thought to bring a camera, which was disappointing considering what lay ahead. As we neared the Paxson/Paxson Lake area we were amazed at the number of hoof prints on the road. I'm not talking a smattering, the entire road was laden with hoofprints as far as the eye could see.

We passed cars pulled over on the edge of the road. And while we didn't see what they were seeing, we were hopeful we might catch a glimpse of something up ahead. It wasn't about a mile up the road and we struck furry gold! Caribou. Caribou, caribou and more caribou. Big ones, little ones, boy ones, girl ones. We just stopped in the middle of the road and watched. It was brown, horns and white butts as far as the eyes could see.

As we crept forward on our journey we came to Paxson Lake. At one point Courtney looked down and asked if those were caribou in the water. Of course, being the observant smart alec I am, I promptly told her that they were not caribou and they were most definitely trees. I think I need my eyes checked. We didn't travel more than a hundred feet when I could clearly tell that they were indeed caribou. Hundreds and hundreds of caribou. We pulled over just as a group of animals hit the road to shake their coats free of water, and dash off into the woods beyond.

It was beautiful and while I wish I had had my camera to capture it, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'm happy I just got to watch. We watched as they stampeded down the bank on the opposite side, hit the water, and swam in large groups to our side of the lake. It was wonderful. Wish you could have seen it!

When we had our fill of caribou we continued on our way to Anchorage. Past Lion's Head, road construction, the Matanuska Glacier, a terrible car accident, more road construction, only to get lost in the hills of Anchorage. To be fair, the roads are whacked down there. They turn from one into another back to the other. Goodness. We finally arrived to check out Maggie the wonder horse.

When our quest for all things horses was complete we headed to heaven, er, I mean Target, for a little hands-on retail therapy. We power shopped, and filled our carts in record time, loaded up the back of the SUV and headed North towards the mountains, and home.

We were blessed with a beautiful night for travel. The moon was full and high and lit the whole way home. We were fortunate enough to see a fox, a coyote and an owl. And even more fortunate to see the port-a-potty up on the hill at a much needed moment in time. And thank goodness for headlights, and Taco Bell napkins...we'll just leave it at that.

Sunday I was feeling particularly domestic and whipped up a lovely beef stew, some homemade buttermilk biscuits and peach pie from the peaches we bought on our trip to Valdez. It was delightful and we were stuffed to the gills.

We have lost most of our snow now, and we've been having beautiful, albeit chilly, weather. We are predicted 40's and 50's for this week, and while we didn't reach 40 today, the sun was beautiful, and I'll take every single last drop of it that I can get.

Today has been hard for Brent, for us. His Grandma Helen passed away this morning. We pray for her peace, and are grateful that God has taken her home and ended her pain. But we miss her. Tonight we decided to clear our heads, so we headed to the woods. When Brent is upset, or happy, or sad, or mad, his favorite place is the woods, with gun in hand.

We didn't see a bird, or a moose, or anything else, but we enjoyed the peace, the solitude, and the sun light as we walked the pathways of Bluff Cabin Trail. It has been a glorious summer, and beautiful fall.

Have a happy day!

Happy Birthday!

2009-09-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

Wishing my hubby and his brother, Bryan, a very Happy Birthday!!! Hope you both have wonderful, wonderful days!!!

The "S" Word

2009-09-23T08:21:00.001-08:00

LOOK WHAT WE GOT LAST NIGHT!!!

It looks like it's stopped for now, but it's been snowing all morning. It's early, but beautiful. I can't change it, may as well just love it! Have a happy day!

Lurkers

2009-09-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a chicken. There I said it. Are you happy now? I am. And while I think it's wise to be cautious, I get frustrated with my chicken self on a regular basis. We live in the trees. Surrounded by woods, at a close proximity to the house. For all intents and purposes this situation is divine. Except for that first sentence, I'm (literally at times) scared of my own shadow!

Last winter I complained at our lack of moose viewings. This being mainly because I was home all day long, stuck inside, and jonesing for a big, fat moose to walk right up to my front door. I read lovely stories of people who had moose looking right in their windows, which would freak me out, but thrill me to no end. Now that it's happened, I can say it was worth the wait. It is still a little freaky, and wiping little moose nose prints off my car windows is annoying, but I'll take them.

What I'm having a harder time with are the bear scat, and now seeing a bear, at the end of my driveway. It happened last week. I had been hearing about people seeing bear, or bear sign, everywhere. Though I've heard that the bear here are elusive with some people only seeing one in the past twent years. Anyway, it's something we love to talk about. I was driving home from work one day last week, and as I pulled into the driveway, I thought "hmmm...that was big". I backed up and sure enough, there was a pretty little black bear sitting at the end of my driveway, in the gravel pit. I suppose it was a smallish bear, and so pretty, but still I couldn't help but imagining him trying to eat me.

I've always had a pretty healthy imagination. When I was growing up in Northern Minnesota, I would be scared at night that a bear would climb up the outside of the house, into my window and eat me. See, I have this ongoing thing with bears! LOL. Anyway, I respect wildlife, I don't want to get in their way, and I do enjoy having them around. However, I do wish that my first (and hopefully not only) bear sighting would have been a little bit further from home.

Like many Alaskans we've been busy trying to prepare for winter. Which, if we listen to the weatherman, is predicted to come with the first snow this weekend. I have to admit. Mentally I am NOT ready for this. But I will be. I cannot lie that I enjoy the first snow falls, the fluffy whiteness. The serene quiet of the world around. But I'm nervous about the dark that is pushing up against me like an unwelcome hug from a smarmy "uncle". We are losing light at the rate of 7 minutes per day. That's rapid. At this point in time we're about on par with light in the lower 48, well, Minnesota anyway. But the deep, dark night is coming.

We attempted to pick cranberries this past weekend. Brent really wanted to get out and get some berries in the freezer before he left for Portland. The berry season will be pretty much over when he gets back. But much to our dismay, and not for a lack of trying, we ended up with a small container of rose hips and no berries. I'm going to dry the rose hips for future use, or perhaps just freeze them. Apparently there are a number of things to do with them. This is new for me. I've not eaten rose hips before.

Other than that not a lot is going on. Brent's away for class this week, and the first night went much better than I thought. I guess that's one benefit to having a big dog and a few big guns! Ha. But really I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't freak out more. Of course it could have helped that I had been up for about 20 hours when I hit the hay, hard. I'm surprised I don't have bruises!!

While Brent's gone I'm busy organizing and getting ready for my first Alaska girls' night. Since winter is coming, quickly and with wild abandon, I decided that the only real way to meet people is to invite them over, er, bribe them with cocktails and food. Some of the ladies I know, and some of the ladies I've met on one or more occasions, but I don't know as well. I asked each lady to bring a dish to share and a friend. I invited 8 ladies, so that's potentially 16 new friends. Am I smart or what?? Ha!

In between there I'll snap some interior photos of the house so that you can all see where I'm living. And where the magic happens. My writing that is, let's keep it PG here people! Sheesh. My parents read this thing...

Happy Monday! What's happening in your neck of the woods? Have a happy day!

Last Summer Blast

2009-09-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

We have been on a mad dash to soak up all this late summer sun, and warm temperatures. Labor Day weekend did not disappoint. Last Saturday we loaded up the ATV, the dog, and just about everything else we owned and headed south of Delta to Meadows Road. This is a road we have traveled much these past few months, and we are rarely disappointed by the scenery, and the animals. We have been itching to ride it all summer long, and finally we had our chance.

Our first stop on the the Tour de ATV was Ghost Lake. We had walked part way back a few times, but since it is unreachable by road vehicle (for us anyway) we rode in and were delighted with the view. Brent threw his line in, and while he didn't catch his trophy, or anything for that matter, the scenery was breathtaking, and catching fish just didn't rank very high that day.

As you can see from the photos it was a beautiful, clear day with temps in the 60-70's, The sun was warm, and much to our delight the lakes area was nearly abandoned. I think we saw 4 or 5 people the entire day.

When we had had our fill of the views for the moment we headed onward to Nickel Lake. Nickel Lake has been a favorite of ours. The lake itself sits along the road, but the open area is tucked away, far away from the prying eyes of passers by, and it complete solitude.

We set up camp. Chessa played in the water, Brent fished for his lunch, and I took a nap on the banks of the lake. It was pure bliss. At one point I even got so warm in the sun that I had to move into the shade. We lazed around the most of the afternoon, and when Brent had caught his fill, which ended up being two rainbow trout, we lit a fire and roasted fresh trout and buffalo sausages for our lunch.

After lunch we headed back into the hills to capture the fall colors of Donnelly, the flats, and whatever else we could feast our eyes on. I dare say, it was one of the most relaxing days we've had in years. Delightful.

The following day we decided to stick around the house a bit. I did a little cleaning, and some cooking in the morning. In the afternoon we headed out to Borman's farm, a u-pick it, vegetable farm in Delta. What a wonderful idea for those of us who are new to Alaska gardening, and don't really have room for a full-blown vegetable extravangza. We picked beets, cabbage, a lonely little zuchini, and dug about 20 pounds of potatoes.

That evening we had Rose and Willie for dinner. We grilled up some buffalo steaks, halibut and I roasted fresh potatoes and beets. It was wonderful.

Monday morning when I woke Brent informed me that the day was too nice and he wanted to ride Bluff Cabin Trail. Ugh. Not this again! Seriously. This trail has been my nemesis. All. Summer. Long. The first time we were out there we tried to walk the beast. Oy. Not gonna happen. So, we tried again in July, when the trail was sure to be dry. Not so much. Turns out between the mud holes waiting to swallow us whole, and the bear prints the size of my head (now does it ring a bell?), I threw a prime time hissy fit and we left. With our heads in tact, thank you very much.

After I put my big girl panties on, we recruited Rose and Willie to be our suckers, er companions, and we headed out to conquer the big, bad beast. Now I know what you're thinking. "Karla, it's just a trail, there's no need to be dramatic." Well, phooey on you. Have you ever heard the saying, "Tougher in Alaska"? Well, my friends, this beast is muddy, mucky, rutted and ugly. After a fairly dry summer, and weeks without rain, this trail is still full of tar pits.

We started out, apprehensively, and I have to admit that the trail had dried out significantly since the last time we were there. Eventually I loosened my death grip on the "Oh My God" handle, and regained a little feeling in my hands. The first portion of the trail was pretty painless and I was thinking that this could be a fairly uneventful trip.

Well, those thoughts were short-lived. And while the trail was better, it was far from easy and we had some hairy moments along the way. Some of the mud pits are fairly shallow and firm on the bottom. Most of them aren't.

When we reached the mud hole that served as the turn around spot on our last try at Bluff Cabin Trail, even Brent had to admit that we were lucky we made it out, and with the center of the pit being at approximately 6 ft. deep, he was fairly happy that I had a pitched a fit. I'm fairly certain our little Love Buggy would still be sitting in the center of that big, slippery mud pit.

While the trail was tough in places, there were portions of the trail that were easy riding, and trust me, the end is worth the pain and suffering along the way. This is the lake at the end of the trail and it was beautiful.

Brent and Willie took the time to throw in a line, and managed to wrangle in a couple rainbows. Willie gets SOOOO excited for fish. He is just beside himself once those slimy little suckers are hooked. He whines, and fidgets, and once the fish is in hand he licks and licks and licks. Then he perches on the end of the boat to wait, with constant whining and nearly unbearable anticipation, until the next trout is hooked.

When they had had their fill of fishing, Ches and Willie decided to swim, er take a mud bath, in the lake. The shoreline is pretty squishy but they romped and played and chased and explored to their little doggie hearts content.

This is a little foam fishing boat that sits on the shore of the lake. It's not quite seaworthy anymore, but it sure makes a nice launching pad/fishing dock.

Brent tried to convince me that I could easily walk out to this swimming platform, for a little dip in the ice cold water. I declined, I am not that gullible, ever-pleasing girl he met so long ago. I have grown smarter with age, thank goodness! Though I seriously doubt I would have done it, even back then. Well...maybe...

Once we had our fill of water, mud, and bugs galore, we headed back down the dusty/muddy trail for home. Rose stopped to point out a spruce grouse that had flown from the path and landed in a nearby tree. I dare say that will be the last time she stops to point anything out to Brent. Much to her dismay, and horror, he pulled out his gun and shot it. Ches dove in, like the pro that she is, with Willie on her heels to retrieve the grouse. Just before she reached it, it flopped wildly sending Willie hurdling backwards on his haunches and as far away from that bird as possible! Ches swooped in and brought it back to Brent. I don't know who was more pleased, Brent or Ches. It seems our Chessa girl has found her niche. She is an avid grouse hunter, and I have a feeling they'll be doing a lot of it in the coming months.

This week we have just been getting out as much as possible. The wildlife is moving, and fall is defintely upon us. Thursday night we were working around the house. I was upstairs in the bedroom putting away laundry and something caught my eye. I stepped back in time to see a huge cow moose and her yearling bull saunter down the driveway, across the yard and disappear into the woods next to the house. I managed to regain my voice in time to holler down to Brent so he could enjoy it too. This is what I've been waiting for since we set foot in Alaska. FINALLY!

Friday evening, as with most weekend nights, I was up late. About 1 a.m. I was growing sleepy and decided to hit the hay. When I turned off the lamp I noticed the motion light was on. I decided to peek out to see what I could see and much to my delight, and surprise, I came face to face with a huge cow moose. Holy cat! I had to check myself to make sure I didn't involuntarily let go of any "surprises". I ran upstairs to wake Brent and we watched as she and her calf nosed around my car, snipped the heads off my pansies, and mozied along through the yard, slipping quietly into the woods.

If this is a sign of things to come, I. AM. STOKED. As long as their visits continue while I'm IN the house, I'll be happy and content.

In other news I finally broke out my sewing machine and have begun the crafty phase of my life. I'm not really the patient kind, and I haven't sewn since Mrs. Cleven's 7th grade Home Economics class when I walked away with that hideous sweatshirt with one arm shorter than the other. Do you remember that, Mom? I know you do. It was yellow with bunnies, dressed in all kinds of bright 80's clothes, hideous. But we thought it was sooooo cute.

Anyway, things are going well. I will post things when they're complete, as long as you promise not to scrutinize and grade me on them. I am certainly not a pro, but I'm having fun!

Well, 'til later. Stay warm and safe! Have a happy day!

Back At It

2009-09-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

The view from Tenderfoot Trail

Where to begin? It's been a while. A lot has happened in the past few weeks, and I guess, truly it's been over a month. Uff da. Well, let's see if I can catch you up to speed.

The first thing that happened is that my poor little Mini crashed. Hard drive kaput. Which is why I've had the blogging hiatus. We attempted to fix the little booger, then got busy, and well, it's still in the closet waiting to be fixed while I'm typing away on my new bigger, better, faster laptop.

While the computer was crashed we packed up and moved our meager belongings to our little house in the woods. It's wonderful. Peaceful, serene and more than just a little bit freaky. But we all love it. And I'm getting used to the howling dogs, the pitch blackness, and the presence of animals in the woods. I'm a fraidy cat. Haven't you figured that out by now? Hmph.

After we moved and got slightly settled we hit the trails in search of playtime. What a wonderful place we live in. There are new places to explore for years to come. Friends of ours were anxious to ride the Tenderfoot trail, so we decided to go along. I was reluctant, but willing to ride about anywhere. If I had only known, I would have been loaded up and ready to go hours in advance.

Tenderfoot is a nice leisurely trail. It has some straight ups which inevitably lead to some straight downs, but it's fantastic. We found the resting spot below where we stopped to stretch our legs, let the pooches run and be free, and watched a bald eagle swoop and perch on the tips of the trees.

After we left our part-way-there resting spot we continued upwards and onwards. We came to a grassy knoll on the side of the mountain that was perfect, and as far on the path as we were going to go. We parked and perched to eat our ham salad sandwiches, and munch on freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies, as we took in a view that was more phenomenal than the last.

Being warmed by the afternoon sun, we laid on the knoll and napped, visited and some of us even picked a few late season blueberries. It was a nice relaxing afternoon ride. When the berries were picked, and the sleep was rubbed from the guys' eyes we continued back down for some exploration and sight seeing.

On the way down we stopped at an old cabin. It was really just a shell of a cabin, most likely an old trappers cabin, or so I've been told. It has some beautiful tin work in it, but it was seriously lacking. It lacked a roof, and chinking, and windows, and a floor, unless you count the heavily weeded forest floor. I really don't think it was the place for us.

As we continued along, we stumbled upon an old mine site. From what we hear it's not that old at all, but the abandoned equipment says that it's been around for a long time. We came across this crane, and an old trailer home. I cannot even imagine living up in the wilds of Alaska in a trailer. These people are tough cookies up here! But it seems they lived happily and heartily until a few years ago.

When we reached the bottom we found our way back to a friends place near the trail. When we stopped to park the ATV's, now trailered and ready to hit for home, we stumbled upon these beauties. Aren't they magnificent? And surreal? They look like they're straight out of Alice in Wonderland. There were about a half dozen of them, in various shades of orange, some in the perfect domed shape, and others that had flattened themselves out like an over-extended umbrella.

The following weekend we headed off to Valdez, Alaska to do a little salmon fishing. Silver salmon to be exact. It was a cool and misty morning, not to mention dark, as headed off to the south in search of fish, fish and more fish.

As the sun came up we caught the above view of Summit Lake. This is the first time we've been by it without ice on it. It is a huge lake that seems to go on forever, especially when you're hurling yourself through the mist and darkness around the curves and dips and winding roads that follow along the banks, most often without guard rails. Another example of how Alaskans are much tougher than I!

This was our first trip to Valdez. If I had only known, I likely would have taken a week off of work to just explore. I've heard, from the natives, that you'll either love it or hate it. I, for one, LOVED IT. The entire day it dripped or misted, and moisture hung in the air. It was wonderful. You could smell the salt in the air. The views were magnificent, my only wish is that I had had more time.

We started the day with breakfast at the Totem Inn. They have a wonderful atmosphere, keeping true to their Alaskan ways. We were fortunate to be seated closest to a huge black bear, dead and under glass, of course. We enjoyed a tasty, and inexpensive breakfast of eggs, american fries, and reindeer sausage.

When we were full we headed to the parking lot to check out the produce truck that was advertising fresh peaches. Since produce in Alaska, especially Central Alaska, can be tempermental, I was eager to see what this produce aisle on wheels had in store for me. We bought delicious Anaheim and Jalapeno peppers, a huge Acorn squash and a bundle of those previously advertised peaches. They were juicy and sweet, and they're in my freezer waiting for just the right day to be made into a sweet, flaky peach pie.

Since we had time to kill before our boat would leave, we explored the city of Valdez. We bought tickets for the salmon derby. You can buy a ticket to be entered, in the instance that you catch a monster halibut, or in our case, salmon. We shopped, and wandered the piers, just taking in the marina, the sights, the sounds and the smells.

At promptly 1 p.m. we boarded the English Maiden and set out to catch silvers. We trolled and trolled and trolled, and trolled some more. We didn't have a single nibble for about the first two hours.

We paced the entire length of the Sound, or so it seemed, and even caught a glimpse of this pretty little creature. She was trolling for fish as well. She put on quite the show, swimming, diving and surfacing amongst the boats that were vying for the salmon that she so desired.

Once the games began, we pulled in fish after fish. The mist came heavier and we hooked the fish quicker and quicker. It was fun, and messy, but most important of all, fun.

Here is the catch of the day! 19 Silver Salmon with the largest weighing in at just over 15 pounds. Our limit, for the 4 of us, was 24, so we didn't come up too short on the day. In the end we walked away with 42 pounds of salmon per family. Not too shabby. Next time I'm hoping to stay and play more. But it was a beautiful trip and I am anxious to do it again, next summer.

Autumn has most definitely come to Central Alaska. With each season I solemnly vow that it is my favorite season in the Last Frontier. Winter is bone-chilling cold, but crisp and serene. Everything covered in angel dust and the sky that shifts and moves with the Aurora's. Spring is messy, muddy and alive. The trees are budding, the grass greens, seemingly over night, and the days grow longer in leaps and bounds. Summer brings wildflowers in every hue of the rainbow. There are baby animals and the sun never sleeps. It is hot and dry, with cool summer breezes to take the heat away. And then there's autumn. It is a riot of color. Everywhere you look there are shades of yellows, reds and greens. You can smell the leaves turning, the fireweed fuzzes out and fills the air with wisps of white cottony seeds. Autumn in Alaska is magnificent.

These blueberry bushes have born their fruit and their leaves have turned a crimson shade. They coat the forest floor, and the contrast of the red against the blue-green of the spruce trees is beautiful.

Anywhere and everywhere the plants grow, they also change. This rock is covered in maroon and gold, and reminds to cheer on our home state team...GO GOLDEN GOPHERS!!!

Prairie grasses in shades of red and orange. Against the crispy white mountain backdrop, it is hard to imagine a more wonderful sight.

It's hunting season in Alaska. And despite the threat to his health this brazen bull took a walk on the wild side hear Meadows Road. Isn't he magnificent? Brent told me I couldn't give his exact location, as he'll be on the hunt for Mr. Bull next year. He is not hunting moose this year as we are still on non-resident status. I have to say that I am disappointed. We recently had our first taste of moose, and it's delicious. This from the squeamish, not-so-fond-of-venison, picky eater. I am really looking forward to next year, and having moose in our freezer.

This is a view of Donnelly Dome in autumn. Since I have a photo of the Dome in every other season I had to get a picture of it in it's pre-winter glory.

Here is another beautiful beast! This guy is slightly smarter, and he technically lives in town. When his head was down and he was munching you couldn't even spot him amongst the grasses. As soon as he raised his head, his antlers gleamed in the fading sunlight. We just stopped and watched, and he was in no hurry to leave his buffet.

Darkness has come back to Alaska. I let Chessa girl out to pee before bedtime the other night and caught this view. I stood and looked at it for a while, wondering what on earth that light was. I didn't hear a helicopter, and it took me a minute before I realized it was the moon! It's been a while since I've seen the man in the moon.

We have been enjoying our peace and solitude. The last summer, early autumn, has been good to us, and we're trying to enjoy every last minute of it. These are the colorful poppies that grow along the long driveway that leads to our house.

This is our new home. The front windows let wonderful light into the living room. There is an entry door on either side of the house, and the kitchen is at the back. Once we get settled, completely settled, I'll give you a photo tour of the inside.

In between a very demanding work schedule, and an equally demanding play schedule, we (mostly Brent) have been busy cutting, cutting and cutting firewood for the long winter ahead. I highly doubt we'll feel even the slightest bit of cold this winter! I am fortunate in many ways. Fortunate that we live in such a beautiful place, blessed that we both have jobs that we love, and lucky to be married to a very hard-working man.

Phew, well, that gets us a little more current. I'll be back soon with more photos from this weekend. I'm sleepy... Have a happy day!

Online Again

2009-09-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

Well, my new little beauty has finally arrived. What am I talking about? My new laptop. As I sit here, in my living room, watching a movie on Netflix and typing away, I have found bliss, once again. I have much to say, so I plan to get it all updated this weekend. We have been busy, exploring, riding, snapping photos of the gorgeous Alaska fall foliage and MOOSE!

Stay tuned...

A Fallish Feeling

2009-08-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

My favorite time of year is fall. So I have to say that I'm loving the temps the past few weeks here in Delta. A little more sun would be nice, but beggars can't be choosers, and well, sometimes you just have to find the silver lining. The days have been in the 60's, for the most part, and it makes for very nice working weather.

We've moved. We are settling in to our little log house in the woods, and we ALL love it. The biggest adjustment is that we are alone. All alone. And since it's a different house, the things that go bump in the night are different too. When we stand outside we can hear neighbors, running their chain saws, or driving nails to get the walls up before the four letter word beginning with "s" and ending with "now" comes. But the best part? We cannot see a soul. We are all alone. Except for the animals.

Brent has been busy cutting wood and cleaning up the yard. I estimate that he has cut about 6 cords of wood in the past two weeks. The yard clean up is moving along, but was slow at first because of the dry weather here in Delta. The weekend we moved was horribly dusty, and with the burn ban we had to settle for making mountains of dead limbs to burn when we finally received some moisture.

I'm happy to report that we have finally been blessed with some rain, and while I won't be needing Brent to construct me an ark anytime soon it has helped settle the dust. In addition to his Paul Bunyan duties Brent has been busy defending our home from visitors of the 4 legged variety. We have plenty of moose sign, but I have yet to see one in our yard, I'm thinking that will come later this winter. We have heard cows mooing, though that I don't suppose is so special, and we've heard the scream of a lynx, which is chilling but magnificent. I just hope they keep their distance. Unfortunately Chessa met up with a new "friend" and Brent had to shoot and kill a porcupine in our yard. It was a bummer, but since Mr. Porcupine was primed to fill our Chessa girl full of pointy quills he was left with little choice.

I have been busy readying the indoor space. We found a screaming deal, by my account anyway, on some gently-used furniture. Brent would have loved to have used milk crates, but since I'm not as inclined to having permanent diamond shapes impressed on my backside, I went against his wishes and bought some furniture. In addition I recently made an unlikely purchase. Unlikely because I have a serious lack of patience, but I did it, I bit the bullet, and I bought myself a sewing machine! Woohoo. I have yet to use it, because in my anticipation and excitement I didn't think about the lack of surface area to use it, but I will be heading back to Fairbanks soon to buy a table. I cannot wait to become the domestic goddess that lies within... watch out Martha Stewart...there's someone new in town!

So, after hauling wood, stacking wood, covering wood, and getting the fireplace ready to burn, we should be ready for winter. I just hope it doesn't find us too soon!

Have a happy day!

Welcome to the Dust Bowl

2009-07-29T09:12:00.000-08:00

The view on Coal Mine Road- close to the top of th world

Picking blueberries with friends- Ches LOVES blueberries

Lowbush blueberries on Coal Mine Road

Curious Caribou- This male was all alone- but isn't he beautiful?

Chessa ready to ride!

We have been busy, busy, busy. We're trying to explore more of our area and enjoy our first summer in Alaska, before the snow flies. I swear I can smell fall already, so I don't think it will be long now.

I've been away because our mini is still down, and well, we're moving so I just don't have time to get it all up and running right now. So, I'm bopping in to say "Hi" and tell you what we've been up to.

*Blueberry picking- Sunday we went out and picked piles and piles of blueberries. Everywhere we looked there were tiny bushes loaded with plump blue berries. We picked for hours and hours and came home with a big pail of berries for the freezer. What a treat! I was hoping to get out again this week, but with moving and work, I just don't think we'll get there.

*Cutting wood- Our new home, which we move into Saturday, has a wood stove in addition to the Toyo. So, we are stocking up on piles of wood. After we picked our fill of berries on Sunday we headed further into the woods, which is a forest fire area from 1998(?). The wood is spruce but it's the perfect size, and they say it's the best around. Since it's free, it sounds like the best for me. We cut a trailer full and should have a good start on a warm winter.

*Riding- We've been out riding the ATV. It's so relaxing and since Delta has trails that lead anywhere you care to go, we ride a lot. I'm dreading winter when we can't access some of the gorgeous trails we're on now. While riding this weekend we stopped to watch a family of spruce grouse that were on the trail. Mother Hen and her quads just wandered around, taking their time, and eventually Mama rushed them off into the safety of the woods.

*Shopping- With more space comes the need for more stuff. In reality it's not a lot of stuff, but we will need some pieces of furniture, and to Brent's delight we needed a chain saw. Saturday we went to Fairbanks and picked him up a new saw, which will be worth it's weight in gold with all the wood he has yet to cut for winter.

*Moving- Moving day is fast approaching. We actually plan to start moving furniture on Saturday morning. My plan of action is to clean, then move the largest things. One thing nice about starting over is that there just isn't as much stuff to move. The process has been much more relaxing than the frenzy of store/sell/pack we experienced just 7.5 short months ago. In actuality it feels like much longer, and we're both pretty pumped and excited for the weekend.

*Working- Life is good, and our jobs are still great. Brent has been working quite a bit of overtime and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any for the next month or so. He has training coming up in late September, and he's looking forward to that. I am still (like it's been a long time) loving my new job. It's always changing, challenging, and well, it's fun. It's great to have a place to go that you actually want to go to every morning. We're both very happy here, and have agreed that this was a great move.

*Missing you- Living great distances from family and friends, inevitably means that we will miss important days, events, times in our loved ones lives. My cousin Kelsey and her new husband Ben were married over the weekend. We were sad to have missed such an important day, but we were with you in heart.

On Friday past we also said goodbye to my Grandma Adeline. It was hard knowing that I couldn't be there to share the grief with my family, but I also know that they have eachother to support and comfort.

Also, Brent's Grandma Helen celebrated her birthday in Watertown, SD. Her daughters put on a great party for her with lots of family and friends.

My sister-in-law Sara celebrated her birthday on the 22nd. Hope your day was super special! And Brent and Sara celebrated their wedding anniversary as well. 16 years! It's hard to believe. We hope that each year just gets better and better for you both!

We love and miss you all!

*Enjoying Alaska- In our journeys and travels we enjoy seeing the wildflowers, the mountains and of course, the wildlife. We haven't been seeing a ton of moose, but we did manage a sneak peek of our first fox. She sat so proudly along the Richardson as we traveled to Fairbanks this weekend. Very pretty girl.

We have also been relaxing and spending time with friends. Enjoying the bounty that Alaska holds in it's recreation. Friends of ours brought us fresh red salmon from the Chiitna. What a delight. It melted like butter in our mouths. We're looking forward to being able to dip net there next year.

We also tried our first batch of yak. When we first moved here I decided that it didn't sound like anything I'd want to eat, however, one of the boys here at work professed that it was his "favorite" meat, and if a 6-year-old likes it, I decided I could at least try it. Try I did, and I will say that while buffalo is still my favorite, we'll be adding some additional packages of yak to the freezer. Very mild, yummy, and lean. It makes excellent taco meat.

It is extremely dusty and dry here in Central Alaska. We could truly use some rain. The forest fires are making our skies hazy, and while they're not as bad as the Fairbanks area, we are certainly affected by the smoke and haze. The dust here in Delta has been unbelievable. When we ride the ATV we prepare to come home dirty, dusty and gritty. Friday evening was terrible, and last night we noticed the humidity was up a little which definitely helped the dust factor on the trails.

Well, that's it for now. I need to get back to all of those things listed above.

BrrrrrrrrrrrOKE

2009-07-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

Fortunately I'm not referring to money, just equipment. I haven't updated, in quite a while, and you might be wondering why. So, here she goes...my hard drive is fried. No sunny side up here, it's hard as a rock. Dead. I guess I'll be buying a new computer sooner than later. The good news? I have a warranty. The bad news? I live in Alaska, and everything takes longer. I might wilt, and die before that thing gets here.

So, we're good, still playing, mudding, exploring. Just not able to chat about it right now.

On a sad note: Prayers go out to my Grandma Adeline who suffered another stroke about a week ago. We are praying that she finds peace soon. I love you Grandma.

Living it Up...Alaska Style

2009-07-07T23:40:00.001-08:00

We’ve been away, out playing in the glorious summer sun. We finally got some sun last week after too many rainy days. It seemed like it rained for weeks on end, and yet you’d never know it in most areas around Delta at this point.

Friday Brent and I both had the day off. Brent headed out bear hunting with a friend of his, and I headed to Fairbanks for a little shopping. Brent had a great day out in the woods. They did a little fishing, a little hunting, and Brent stumbled upon a caribou shed. We now have horns for our Alaska home.

When I got home we went over to meet Brent’s co-worker and his wife. They live close to us but due to schedules we were having a hard time meeting up with them. Success was had and we relaxed. The guys shot off a few rounds, we chatted, the dogs played and we just enjoyed the heat.

Later in the evening we drove over to another co-worker of Brent’s to look at an ATV he had for sale. After a thorough inspection, a lot of glee on Brent’s part, we wrote a check, loaded up and headed for home. I don’t know who was more excited, Brent or Ches. We are now the proud owners of a Rhino, and I will post some pics of that later.

We rushed home to take it for our maiden voyage, to feel the wind our hair and the bugs in our teeth. Ches camped out in the box and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that nose work faster, or those ears flap harder. Pure glee was felt by all!

Saturday morning we packed up and headed to the M Family’s home in North Pole to celebrate Independence Day with a soldier and his family. E had barely begun our journey when we had the pleasure of enjoying the splendor of a bald eagle perched high upon a spruce tree. As we traveled the windy, windy road towards Fairbanks we caught a site of a cow moose and her twin calves. Awesome! My first moose twins.

We hit up the Prosepector for some 4th of July deals before heading back to North Pole. We caught a glimpse of the parade, and then headed to the banks of the Chena Slough to spend the day. We had a nice day, hanging out with the M family, meeting T’s parents, and celebrating A’s birthday.

I was in charge of dessert for the day and spent the previous evening constructing a red, white and blue trifle in honor of our nation’s birthday. However, while we were loading up that morning we came to the unfortunate conclusion that the dessert would not fit in the cooler. Talk about a blonde moment. Oy. So, we shelved the dessert and picked up cookies and ice cream for ice cream sandwiches

T knocked herself making a 5 star dinner. I even enjoyed my first serving of moose meat (that I remember anyway) and I have to say, not too shabby. We’ll see how the next tasting goes. I’m reserving judgement, but my first try was mighty tasty.

As we were enjoying another warm Alaska day the smoke began to fill the sky and much to our dismay the sun became difficult to see. We managed to stay dry during an afternoon thunderstorm, and headed for home. I have to say it was strange not having fireworks on the 4th. However, some of the neighbors were setting them off and they were pointless, you can’t see anything, just suffer the annoying pops, whistles, and sputters. Not nearly as fun in the daylight. I guess I’ll have to wait for New Year’s.

Sunday we hung out at home. Brent did a little vehicle maintenance while I shoveled out the house. Goodness. I have been too busy playing. I cooked up a storm. I made homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast, halibut rolls for lunch and potato salad and steaks for dinner. Delicioso. That’s the most cooking I’ve done since I’ve started work.

After dinner we took a little ride on the best-money-I’ve-ever-spent and landed at Brad and Rose’s house for a cool refreshment and some good company. After enough jokes to make me forego sit-ups for eternity, we jumped in our love buggy and cruised home. Phew. What a weekend.

Monday after work we loaded up in the Rhino (aka love buggy, best-money-I’ve-ever-spent) and headed to another co-worker of Brent’s to look at a Pro Pioneer. That would be an inflatable raft/boat for all or you non-Alaskans. We’ve been going round and round about the boat/canoe debacle for weeks now. And I’ve officially thrown up my hands.

When we were leaving we stumbled upon Brad, Rose and Willie on a flower-gathering expedition. We both decided to throw caution to the wind, live dangerously and we headed out on possibly the dustiest ride of our lives. It was worth every single minute. Even the dusty uni-brow you’ll see in the pics below. We were all a dusty, dirty mess, but it was so much fun, I could do it every night.

We had planned to ride Bluff Cabin Trail tonight with Brad and Rose. They had something come up so we decided to go anyway, all by our lonesome. We started down the trail we had tried to walk a few months back, and were pleasantly surprised at how dry the trail was.

Well, that’s another thing I should have learned by now. Never count your chickens before they hatch, or shall I say, never count your dry spots before they become gaping mud pits ready to suck you in and swallow you up. Ridiculous really. We made it threw 6 wallowing pits before we got hung up, backed out and headed for home. While Brent was splashing around I got out to watch from the sidelines. As I was standing on the muddy banks of the trail I looked down and saw the largest paw prints, made by an obviously huge bear. I’m not talking a yearling people, those paw prints were the size of my HEAD!! Good heavens. That was all I needed to have an epiphany. I tromped through the mud with my camo flip flops, had Brent pull forward, piled branches under the tires and he backed out, turned around, we loaded up and we were out of the bear’s den. I don’t know if I’ll be willing to try that again for a while. You can officially call me a chicken shit. Fact is, I’ve been called worse. J

After dropping off some muddy boots and slop covered supplies we rode over to Sid & MaryLou’s to show off our new ride. We sat on their deck, watching boats come in and out of Clearwater Lake and I started thinking about how nice it might be to have the Pro Pioneer. I did, however, keep that little tidbit to myself, we’ll see what Sparky does about that. Frankly, I would be happy either way.

That’s our update. If you made it through all that dribble you should be awarded a medal. I’d offer to send it to you, but I’m pretty sure the shipping would be grossly exaggerated against the value of the medal!

I’m off to try to catch a couple winks of sleep on this hot evening without a breeze. Someone smarter might have bought a fan over the weekend, but then again, we’ve been busy buying bigger things. Ha!

Have a happy day!

In Remembrance

2009-07-04T01:04:00.000-08:00

One year ago today I was attending the wake of my Grandfather. Grandpa Elmo was a very special man. I have so many memories of him, and it’s hard to choose a favorite.

Grandpa Elmo was ornery and sweet, all wrapped up in one complicated package. He liked to drink his coffee from a plain white cup. He chewed tobacco, and liked to play tricks on us grandkids with his snoose tin. He would empty his Copenhagen tin, poke a hole in the bottom, and when he’d pop the top open his thumb would pop out and “surprise” us over and over again. We were surprised every single time.

He loved to tease everyone. He teased my mom about making him his favorite lemon meringue pie, every time he saw her. He teased me about his “nosey’ nosey”. He would bribe my older brother (who lived with them one summer) to buy him tobacco and stash it in their secret hiding spot, when he was supposed to be quitting.

When I was a toddler I was staying with Grandma and Grandpa overnight. They set up a portable crib next to their bed, and despite their efforts I would not sleep in the crib. Eventually they brought me into bed with them, and at some point I crawled on top of Grandpa, straddling his chest, and pointed out his “nosey, nosey”. I don’t remember the story fact for fact, as the words “nosey, nosey” generally about fits of laughter and the details of the story would be forgotten.

I know that each of us have special memories. We miss you Grandpa.

July 5, 2008 we laid my Grandpa Elmo to rest, and mourned the passing of Brent’s Grandpa Earl. It was a very tough day for both of us.

I know that most of Brent’s earliest and fondest memories involve in some way, his Grandpa Earl. Summers at the farm in South Dakota, trapping and fishing the creek that ran through the pastures of their farm.

We think of them both often, and we miss them, along with their other loved ones. And though they are in a better place, with spirits that are whole, we long for their return to fill the empty spaces in our hearts.

Also, on this Independence Day we must remember those who have, will, and are fighting today for our freedom. We pray for their families, we pray for their safe return and we honor those who did not return from the wars of their time.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Where is Summer?

2009-06-29T19:44:00.000-08:00

All winter long we've been hearing tales of how horrible last summer was. It rained all summer long, so the tale goes, and there was no sun to be seen. Hmmm. Sounds familiar. The past couple weeks have been less than summery, and I'm really hoping we start seeing some higher temps and more of that midnight sun. For now, I'm just happy that today we have seen less rain than days past, and we actually had some sun this afternoon. Much to my despair, there wasn't enough of that warm, yellow sun to ease the paste from my skin. Darn it.

Friday night I was back to my old rhythms. Staying up until the wee hours. I stepped outside to check the rain situation and I was greeted with this gorgeous sunset. I had to capture it, and I'm thinking this one is worthy of a frame on my wall. Beautiful. And pretty close to what it actually looked like. Only on a much grander scale, of course.

Brent has been working a lot lately, and worked Saturday as well. Sunday we were ITCHING to get out of Dodge, and decided to hit the road despite the rain. I like to think I'm made of sugar, and that I'll melt if I get wet, but even I was throwing caution the wind and the thought of a soaking rain was semi-appealing. Anything to get out of those four walls. Seriously.

As we were driving East towards the Gerstle River we experienced a downpour. Things were not looking good. I started to get a little nervous, but was confident that the break in the clouds ahead was real, and a good sign. Much to my sweet relief, the rain stopped and we trudged up and down the river bank.

Marching North down the river bed we stumbled on the carcass of a wolf. It was barely recognizeable, though the paws and head were intact. The wolf body was trapped under a tree, and we were left to speculate what might have happened to land him there. Brent suspects he may have fallen in to the icy water, only to be trapped beneath the heavy limb....I guess we'll never truly know. In total that makes two dead wolves we've stumbled upon, we have yet to see a live one.

One good thing about the rain is that it keeps the wildflowers in constant bloom. There are so many varieties, that the ditches, river banks, forest edges are a riot of blooms. Pinks, purples, blues and yellows are the primary colors, and there always seems to be something new to see.

The mountains are visibly growing darker as the snow melts and floods the rivers and streams. I was a little concerned that we wouldn't be able to walk far on the Gerstle, but I guess the rainfall and snow melt hadn't reached it yet. The banks were fairly dry, and we had to wander quite a ways in to find the murky, rushing water. It certainly isn't a river that I'd want to swim in!

In addition to wandering we were caring for the neighbors animals. Pigs, horses, cows, ducks, and chickens galore. Much to our dismay, the ravens swooped in and carried off about 80 little rock hens. But much to my relief, it wasn't my fault. The owners left them in an uncovered enclosure. Poor little chickens didn't stand a chance! We did enjoy playing with the little pigs, ranging from about 30-50 pounds. Cute little boogers. They LOVED Ches!

Ches was so curious and wanted to come in with us, so we opened the gate to see what she would do. She thoroughly enjoyed herself until the little ones discovered her. They followed her around like a bunch of little ducklings and Brent and I about laughed ourselves silly. She wasn't quite as fond of them as they were of her. When she would stop they would root at her, nibble at her, and she wasn't NOT happy with that behavior. So we'd let her out for a little break.

I think the best part of the deal was that we got to keep all the eggs we collected. I think we collected about 3 dozen eggs, so we have lots of fresh farm eggs. Yum! Our duties are over now, and I'm just okay with that.

Hoping you are warm and dry in your neck of the woods! Have a happy day!