Gramma Alice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer, Summer, Summer...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Sunrise  6:03 a.m.  Sunset  9:20 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Towel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ooh, the possibilities are endless. 

Think Spring!

Old Dog, New Tricks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Nearly Spring!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another shot of blueberry skies....

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

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

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

Happy New Year!!!

 



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