Yikes...Slacker Alert!

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!!  

Home Away from Home

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!