Monotone Days

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

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.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

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!

Warm and White

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

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!!!

The "S" Word

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!

White, White, White

We awoke this morning to snow, snow and more snow. When the sun came up it was full and bright until it wasn't. The snow started again, and boy did it come down. I ran into Delta Jct this afternoon to do the weekly run to the post office, the grocery store, and the video store. By the time I got home it was near white out conditions, and a deep, deep reminder that it is most definitely still winter. Despite the fact that we "Spring Ahead" this weekend, it isn't happening here. Spring is not happening here. Not anytime soon in my estimation.

After hitting the video store I headed home to make some yummy french bread pizzas and pop in the first of 3 movies. There was no driving tonight, the roads are too crappy and with limited visibility and the possibility of Bullwinkle showing up on the hood of my Envoy, I passed. So we all snuggled up on the couch with pizza, to watch Wall-E, a Tom Selleck western (Mom you'd like it-wink,wink), and The Bucket List. So far, so good, I'm happy as a clam.

So we have been having issues with getting Brent's pistol here to Delta Jct. The sports store in Mankato didn't send the correct info, then we had the whole issue with Brent's account due to driving through Canada which was a mess so his credit card didn't work, and now the gun is here, but not only did Red Bear not send the correct information with the gun which makes it illegal for Granite View to give it to us, when the kind, kind people at Granite View called Red Bear to correct the issue, Red Bear yelled, screamed and eventually hung up on the nice people at Granite View. Which means that I have to call on Monday and try to talk some sense into them, or the gun has to go back. And then what? I'm 3000 miles away. That seems to be everyone's excuse to use and abuse me.

The week has gone seemingly well. With a few hiccups along the way. We did manage to rid ourselves of one stresser, I just decided to cut my losses and do what was necessary to evict them from my life. Done. Game over. Hasta La Vista! Sometimes being the bigger person is easier than being right.

We're hoping to get to Fairbanks sometime this weekend. I'm still looking for a table to double duty as a desk and a dining area. We plan to hit up a thrift store, or four, and see what we can find. I'm feeling creative and would like to put my stamp on this place. Something commercial just doesn't feel right for me, or this place. Who knows what else I'll find along the way. I'll let you know.

Have a happy day! Stay warm!

Surprises...Surprises...Surprises

Sorry I haven't blogged in a couple days. The last few days have been particularly, um, boring. So, I decided to save my blathering nonsense for a day when I actually had something semi-interesting, and some fabulous pictures to show. Yes, FABULOUS pictures. Though the above photo isn't breathtakingly beautiful, it is the view from our front door, or driveway if you will. The snow came down, but not in the big, fluffy flakes I would have preferred, but in the small icy particles that seemed to cover the trees like a sheer on a window. Everything was hazy and gray, but pretty, in my opinion.

Today Brent got off early because he worked late last night. So after he got home we decided to run some errands in town. Earlier in the week I had received a notice that a package had arrived. Some jeans I ordered from JCPenney for Brent, I assumed. Then today we got another notice stating that we had another package to pick up marked PERISHABLE. Perishable? I looked quite confused. So we ran the necessary errands and off to the post office. We picked up package #1 which was indeed the jeans that he had been waiting for, and package #2? Well, it was marked from...SCHMIDT'S. Schmidt's Meat Market in Nicollet, MN makes the best summer sausage I've ever tasted. Ever. It's the ultimate treat. Who from? Denise. My friend and (former) boss from MSBA. Wow. She rocks.

We have been here for one month, seventeen days. All the while I've been moaning and whining and complaining and grunting and groaning about one very elusive animal. Everyone I know has seen them, most of the time, up close and personal. And while I did catch a very quick glimpse of the big one down the road, I usually get the backside. I was beginning to get a complex, I mean really, what was the message I was missing? Kiss my rump? Here's the mooses behind? This is the best I get? Ha! So, my friends, you will be as surprised as I to see what we caught a glimpse of today...

A MOOSE!

OR TWO!

They were amazingly willing to be photographed. Of course, it did help that we caught them at snack time munching on the branches of the bushes. But even after I rolled down the window to get a clearer shot they just stood and watched us with equal curiosity, or so it seemed. All the while munching away on the buffet before them. Score! I am now a very happy girl.

And this is the glorious box of meat. LOL! Oh my. That sounds horrible. But really. It was a wonderful, and thoughtful, and greatly appreciated surprise. There are 3 varieties of summer sausage, 2 packages of jerky, 3 varieties of beef sticks, and 2 farmers sausages. Wow. What a treat! Brent and I snuck a little treat from the box before we transferred some of it to the freezer, but I'm sure we'll be sampling more of it...soon! Thank You so much Denise! Your thoughtfulness is truly and greatly appreciated!

And this is Chessa Luna sitting and waiting for her sampling from the box of meat! She sniffed and sniffed the box all the way home. After I had emptied the box I set it by the front door to go out and Ches just sat and licked the box. Poor thing. I did give her one of her own treats...or maybe two.

Also, I wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kari (Brent's sister) in Wisconsin! We're hoping you have a wonderfully happy and special day!

Have a happy day!

Homeless

We finished packing up, and cleaning up around 7 p.m. last night. It was a long, exhausting day. However, it felt good to just be done. Ches took off for one last night of spoiling at Cindy & Rick's and we headed to Darryl & Audrae's for a little pampering of our own.

This morning we woke at the bright and early hour of 3:30, much to my dismay. It seems that Brent was particularly restless last night and glanced at the wrong clock that read 5:30. He woke me, and I was starting to get dressed when he realized his error. We did go back to bed, but sleep eluded us both until morning.

Darryl & Audrae came with to our house to help Brent with the trailer. I just don't like to show off my She-Ra strength that early in the morning. Chessa returned home from her sleepover, we packed up, said our good-byes and headed out on the road.

We had great roads until the Hutchinson area. The snow started to fall and the roads just weren't great. We took it slow and easy, assuming that this won't be the worst we see in the days/weeks to come. So we kept trucking. Luckily we managed to drive out the snow and roads North of Akeley, and the rest of the way was clear sailing.

I was supposed to have pics to show you, but I can't find my USB cable so I'll have to share them later. It's been a long day, and I'm wiped. I'm off to find a shower and a bed. Ches and Brent are happily snuggled.