Old Dog, New Tricks

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!!

It's a Marshmallow World

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!

Oh Give Me a Home...

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.

I 

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!

Keeping in Touch

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!

Wintery Wonderland

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!

Back to life...Back to reality

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!!

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!!!!!

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.

Lurkers

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!

Back At It

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!

Living it Up...Alaska Style

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!