The Good Life

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?)

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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

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!

Exploring

Today Brent, Ches and I went exploring. We drove around Delta and while we covered a lot of ground, we didn't manage to see any wildlife. Not a bit. We did see a lot of moose tracks but no moose. I was really hoping to get some pics of one. Just one. Not so much.

During our travels we ventured into Delta Meat and Sausage Company. They sell anything and everything. Beef, pork, buffalo, caribou (reindeer), yak and elk. All of the exotic meats that they sell are raised on farms in the Delta Junction area, however, you can also haul in your own animals to have them slaughtered (sorry) or processed. We came home with some buffalo burger and a buffalo steak. Brent REALLY wanted to try some reindeer steak, but decided to try the buffalo instead. One reindeer steak was $20. It seems a little crazy, it does, but we're here to try new things so I think that will be next. The only thing I'm not keen on trying is yak. I have no real desire.

Tomorrow is Super Bowl sunday and since we still don't have network channels I think I'll make up some nice buffalo burgers and we'll watch a movie or two. We checked out Nanci's Castle, a big yellow movie renting castle, in town for some new movies. At the moment we're watching Appaloosa. It's not riveting, but for a Western it's pretty good stuff.

Ches was happy to get out and see a little more than the inside of this house. While we were at Delta Meat we picked her up a nice roasted bone so she's been busying herself with that all afternoon.

We also wandered out for a nice walk in the woods behind the house. At 4:30 it was -19 degrees and by 6:30 it was -30 degrees. Needless to say it's mighty chilly and our little heater is working overtime tonight.

In other news Kathy, our landlord, invited me to go to the next Mom's Night Out. I laughed and asked her if it mattered that I wasn't a mom, and she said no. So I readily accepted. Frankly, I can't wait. She said that they meet once a month or so, so I'm hoping that it's sooner rather than later.

Well, the homemade pizza is done, and I'd better get back to the movie. There seems to be a lot of people dying in my absence.

Have a happy day! I'll post a couple pics of the mountains tomorrow.

Settling In

This part will temporarily have to be documented sans photos. I'm all pictured out. Seriously. But soon enough when our home is beginning to look like a home, I'll post pics. With all the white it's hard to pick out the sky from the filed from the road.

We arrived in Delta Junction, AK about noon on Saturday. We filled out our lease, got our keys, dropped off Ches and some of our stuff and headed straight to Fairbanks. Well, straight isn't accurate, we headed DIRECTLY to Fairbanks.

It was a beautiful drive and the roads were good. I drove there to give Brent a little time to rest and relax. Immediately when we entered Fairbanks we encountered ice fog. It's thick and inpenetratable and really hard to see in. Add to that a new town, complete exhaustion and I experienced a total breakdown. I actually had to leave one store because it was absolutely so overwhelming. Folks, when I can't shop, you KNOW we have problems!! lol.

We managed to get groceries, and some necessities and then we managed to find our way out and home. We were exhausted. I think we both slept about 11 hours on Saturday night.

Sunday we laid around in pj's all day. I unpacked and thawed out our belongings. Brent hauled them to the porch and then I hauled them in and such from there. So far all we've lost in some nail polish, and I can handle that. Our dishes survived!! I thought we wouldn't have a single one left. I broke out the pots and pans a made a nice hot beef stew complete with homemade biscuits.

Today (Monday) we are hoping to hook up some phone, tv and internet. We need to switch over the electric, and then we're going to nap, nap, nap. It's warming up here in Alaska. DJ is -5 today. The rumor is tomorrow will reach 25 above!! Holy Buckets!!

We'll be back with pics and town information soon!!!
STAY WARM!!

We're Here!

Hello Everyone!

We've reached Alaska. We're spending the night inTok. We are happy to be here finally. We'll see our new home tomorrow, then a trip to Fairbanks for a bed and supplies.