Relocating

Hi everyone,

I wanted to let everyone know that I have moved my blog to a new location.  You can now find it at www.drycabinchronicles.com.  Please stop by!  The old posts from this blog are all there and I will be adding new ones.  Thanks for visiting!

Kate

Project

Lee and I went to the dump the other day and while he was unloading the car, I went to look at the drop off section to see if there was anything useful.  And there was!

Ta Da!

I had to convince Lee that we needed it.  It can act as an outdoor bench, I said!  Or a potting bench, or something we haven't even thought of!  So Lee loaded it into the trunk.  And now I have a project.

I've already started!  And yes, I'm sanding

by hand...

I'm going to sand it up, stain it and then put some sort of protective coating on it.  Polyurethane, maybe?  I don't actually know what you'd put on it, but I'm going to figure it out.  And we are going to have a bench.  It's even got wheels!

Fresh Veggies

So my absence on the blog has been a result of being holed up on rainy day after rainy day trying to plow through these summer courses.  I've been busy, and as I'm not the best student (in terms of quality study habits) I have found it to be a bit stressful.  But the past week has turned sunny and perfectly warm - in the 70's - and I'm finding my mind turning to other, summer like things.  This, of course, is despite the fact that all my course work is due next Monday and I have a crap ton still left to do.

One of the things that happens when your head is in the books, and your husband's head is in the books, and its cold and rainy, is your routine is the same.  For example, grocery store routine.  We've been going to the grocery store to get all our produce, like it was winter.  And the other week Lee and I noticed that the grocery store produce was icky!  The onions were old and bruised, the tomatoes were really red cardboard, the lettuce was awful.  And I thought, wait a minute, isn't it summer?  What are we doing buying crappy veggies?!

So on Saturday, Lee and I went to the Farmer's Market.  I know I know, you are saying to your computer screen, "Well, obviously Kate.  What were you thinking?"  Clearly, I wasn't thinking.  I was so engrossed in my school work that I wasn't thinking at all about the fact that it is summer and, despite our short growing season, people grow food here in Alaska, and not only are we craving fresh produce, but we should be supporting the farmers who work to provide local produce.

Here's our bounty (and Otis).

Most vendors had the usual cucumbers, onions, chard, kale, lettuce, and carrots.  Some had beets and turnips.  Lots of kohlrabi and cabbage.  One farmer had beautiful green and purple string beans.  Another had sugar snap peas (my favorite!).  There really was some great variety.  And so far, it's all been delicious!  Lee made scrambled egg quesadillas this morning, with sauteed farm onions in the local eggs from the green house, and topped with a homemade salsa with farm tomatoes and green onions, with our own cilantro and basil growing on the porch.  Seriously delish.  For lunch we are having a quinoa salad with arugula we got from the market.  And for dinner we are having tacos with all the veggie fixings from the farm.

I will say that I noticed there was no cheese being sold at the market .... and this got me thinking... maybe I should be raising goats instead of writing papers.

Dear Lee

Dear Lee,

It's Saturday and you have been gone now for four days.  I've been saying all day, I've made it half way.  It's been hard, though not as hard as I thought.  Mostly, I just miss you.  We've been managing fine, Moose, Otis and Me.  Otis has been snuggling on the couch with me all morning.  We all slept in till 9:00!  Now I'm just taking a break from school work to give you an update on our week. I know you won't be able to even read it until you are home next week, but I thought I could send it out to the Universe.

So far most of our antics have been Moose related.  He got out of his Kennel on Wednesday.  On Friday, I came home to his bed torn apart (sigh).  On our walk on Thursday evening, we had an encounter with two dogs not on leashes which was scary because Moose went all bat crap crazy.  Now I have cheese with me on every walk for those moments.  I had to babysit Wednesday night.  Their heat was all messed up so it was like 80 degrees in the apartment.  Kept having to open a window, let it get cold, then close the window.  Moose came with us.  Despite the heat, he did really well.  We came home at 5:00 am exhausted from a night of not sleeping.

Let's see... I have a ton of school work still left to do and I find it harder to focus on work when you aren't here.  I just feel a bit lonely and can't seem to escape into writing a paper.  It's easier to escape into Angry Birds :)  Plus I'm feeling some stress by all the other things that need to get done, like dishes and groceries and laundry and bills.  Not to mention walks and workouts and cooking and you get the idea.  I just wish you were here to talk me through it all.

So, you aren't missing too much around here.  The leaves haven't opened up like you thought they might.  It's been chilly.  It does get close to 60 in the day but still drops down to 30 at night, and the last few days the sun has only peeked out a couple of times, so it stays chillier.  I like it like that.  I think Moose does too.

Sending you all kinds of love and hugs.  It looks like it's been raining in Paxson.  I hope you are staying warm and dry and hope everything is going successfully and you'll be home sooner rather than later.  I love you.

Kate

Welcome Moose!

Last week, Lee and I went to meet Moose, the sweetest dog in the entire world. He came home with us and is living here for a mandatory 2 week trial period before we are allowed to adopt him. But there is no doubt. He's staying.

 Moose is a Newfie and Lab mix. Lee says he seems more Newfie, but to me he just looks like a big, black golden retriever. But I really don't know anything about dogs. At puppy class (yes, we already have him in dog obedience school) two different people said they thought he looked like he had Chow in him. I just shrugged my shoulders because, okay, what's a chow?

 All those details aside, he's an absolute doll. Happy, loves to play with his squeaky ball (which annoys Lee but I, surprisingly, don't mind) and is very interested in Otis. In a week, we have had many successful times with both Otis and Moose in the living room, sleeping and happy. It's not always like that. Moose gets too close. But he's learning, and in the meantime, Otis has the upstairs to himself. And Lee keeps reminding me that it will take time and if I believe they will be okay, they will be okay. So that's my mantra. They will be okay. And it's not all wonderful. There are a few behaviors that we need to work on, like pulling on the leash when we walk, and growling at the neighbors (that one was shocking). But that's why we are in doggy school. We'll learn, and he'll settle in.

 Having a dog has been all consuming. I am exhausted. Many people have said to me that getting a dog is the step before having kids. Having a dog has me questioning if I could handle kids! I'm pooped!

 Here are some pictures to help you fall in love with our new munchkin. We are totally smitten!

Saturday Night

I've been sick.  Like, curled up on the couch with tissues scattered around me, moaning kind of sick.  It's not fun.  We haven't been able to enjoy the weekend because of it.  But last night, the Northern Lights made a strong appearance.  As we sat watching the live feed from Poker Flats, Lee wanted to get out to go see them.  Some place high.  I wanted to go too.  Even though I was sick, I figured I could stay in the car with the blanket wrapped around me and my pillow, tea, and tissues and still be able to enjoy them.

Now, I'm going to stop the story here to explain something about my husband.  Sometimes, when he gets really excited, he's like a little kid.  You know, when kids get so excited all reason leaves them and they do something irrational and impulsive that, in the end, causes a problem, but at the time, their little-kid mind couldn't foresee anything bad happening because it wasn't actually thinking?  I love this about my husband, most of the time.  His child-like excitement and wonder about things makes me feel excited too.  Unfortunately, this childlike wonder and impulsiveness can sometimes get him into trouble.

Back to the story.  So Lee and I loaded the car with camera equipment, a warm blanket, my pillow, and some tea.  Off we went, headed to Murphy Dome.  From the top of Murphy Dome (about a half hour north of us) you can see the whole sky.  We made a stop in Goldstream Valley, along with about 20 other people, and then continued on to Murphy Dome (there were just too many people in Goldstream).  I was cozy in the car, looking at the Northern Lights as we drove and watching to make sure Lee was watching the road and not the Northern Lights (this was a challenge).  Up up up the mountain we climbed.  Farther and farther.  Now, the further we drove, the farther away from town we drove.  Up up up.  Near the top, we could see the naval radar dome and the aurora all around.  About one hundred yards from the top of Murphy Dome, to the right, the aurora burst out over the radar dome.  It was spectacular, blue, green and red.  And Lee, in all his impulsive, childlike enthusiasm, saw this sight too, and decided that he had to turn the car toward it.  Yes, he needed to pull off the road immediately so he could capture that image, not stopping to consider that there was no one else around to pull to the side for, or that there was no side of the road, only snow drifts.  So you can imagine, the car, turned sharply to the right, went WOOSH and then THUD.  Straight into a snow bank. Lee said, "Uh Oh." and then continued with the impulsiveness by throwing the car into reverse and flooring it. This happened all so fast that the only thing I could spit out was, "Rock it!"  meaning, when you are stuck in snow, you need to gently rock it.  But the flooring of the gas made the front right tire spin itself about a foot and a half down into that snow bank.

I had to take over.  I told Lee to let me get out, made him get out so I could drive and he could push, and was certain that we would be out in no time.  This didn't happen.  We were so thoroughly stuck that nothing worked.  Lee took out the floor mats and tried to shove them under the tires to give them traction.  That didn't work.  Lee tried digging out a path to reverse through.  That didn't work.  We even found our throwing shovel in the back seat for added digging assistance (thanks Dayle!).  That didn't work.  This was probably 20 minutes now.  One truck drove down the road from the top of Murphy Dome.  Upon seeing us stuck, it sped up.  I was getting nervous.  How would we get out of this?  Would a tow truck even come this far out of town, and if so, what on earth would they charge?  Another 10 minutes later, an SUV came down the road, slowed down, rolled down the window, and asked if we needed help.  Finally, hope!

Out of the SUV stepped the nicest people you'll ever meet.  Jessica and Ray and their dog Marty.  They had a strap in the car for tying down snow mobiles.  Lee got down on the ground, hooked it to the frame of the car, and Ray backed their car up to try to tow us out.  I stood in the road with Jessica.  Lee drove.  Ray drove.  The car started to roll back, my arms went in the air in triumph, and wait.... Ray's car stalled.  He started up, tried again, and cablammo!  The strap burst into a million pieces.  Hope faded.

It was decided that Ray and Jessica would take one of us to the top of the dome to ask if anyone had a tow strap (a real tow strap that many Alaskans carry in their car for just such occasions - believe me, it just got added to the shopping list).  Lee suggested I go.  But I passed that one right back to Lee.  I was sick, in my pajamas, and had no desire to go begging for a tow strap.  Plus, Lee was the one who had gotten us into this mess.  So Lee got in the car with Jessica and Ray and I got on my knees to continue digging.  It was futile.  There was just way too much snow.  About 10 minutes later, they returned with a tow strap.  Thank goodness!  They hooked it up, and voila!  The car came out of the snow bank.  Relief washed over me.  We shook hands with Ray and Jessica and thanked them for giving up their Saturday evening to help us.  And continued on up to the top of the Murphy Dome.

This is what we saw.








I won't be letting Lee forget this adventure any time soon.  But the aurora was worth it.  Thanks, Ray and Jessica, wherever you are!

Road Block

The other night Lee picked me up from work and we ran a few errands; dinner, Sam's Club for a large doormat, gas.  By the time we got home, it was almost six and I had to pee.  We brought a load of groceries into the house and I ran out to use the outhouse.  Only, there was something in the way.

Well, not technically in the way.  I heard some rustling.  I stopped, listened, then heard it again.  Ahead and just off the trail that leads to our outhouse was a moose chomping on some willows.  She saw me, and kept munching, but I couldn't move forward.  I would have been walking very close to her to get to the outhouse and I would have most likely walked right into her safety bubble, possibly prompting a charge.  I knocked on the window to get Lee.  He came out with his camera and tried to get some pictures.

I, meanwhile, did an award-winning pee-dance.  It was a sight to behold, I'm sure. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's why the moose stayed - it was just so entertaining!  Lee suggested I just pee in the woods.  I said no.  I already have to pee in a hole outside and brave moose encounters.  Peeing in the woods just outside my house would have been too much for my pride.

I finally stepped forward and said kindly to the young moose, "Okay lady.  I'm sorry but I need you to be on your way.  Please come back later."  She looked up and walked away.  Just like that.  Sometimes you just need to ask.  Saying please helps.  And I was able to pee.

A Bad Day in the Dry Cabin

I wasn't really feeling the whole Dry Cabin thing yesterday.  It was -44 and I either ate something bad or had a stomach bug thing because, in the -44 degree outdoors, I needed to use the "restroom" multiple times (of course I did....).  In reality, it could have been just one long visit to the "restroom."  But that would have induced frostbite.  So it was broken up into three visits, with warm-up sessions inside each time that caused fogged-up glasses from leaving -44 degree air and stepping into 68 degree air.

When I finally could take off all the layers, I slipped off my boots and put my feet into my slippers only to find there was snow in there!  With my foggy glasses still foggy, I bent over to grab the chunk of snow and WHAM! Smashed my forehead on the mitten and hat drawer that was still open.  

Later that evening we discovered that the boiling point of propane is -44 (of course it is...).  We use propane to cook.  Our propane tank is located outside.  It was so hard to get a flame for dinner that we didn't eat until 9:30.  

While there are days that I like our dry cabin, yesterday was miserable and I was seriously wishing for modern, non-arctic living.  At least it's still beautiful where we live.  I have to stay positive, because we won't have running water for a while....

Yearning for a Snow Day

We've had snow here for over a month now.  In all, we have close to a foot of snow on the ground, and thick patches of snow on the branches of all the spruce trees.  As we don't really get wind here, it always feels magical outside and all cozy inside.



This has me yearning for a snow day.  You New Englanders know them well.  They are the truest gift of time, where the day can be filled with knitting and cooking and no guilt that you really should be doing something else.  But alas...

One of the things about working in Alaska's school system is that people are accustomed to driving in the snow.  Everyone has snow tires or studded tires.  Even the school buses have chains for the tires.  The DOT trucks throw gravel on the road instead of salt and sand.  Kids go out for recess until the thermometer hits 20 degrees below zero.  Winter is a fact of life.  It's half the year up here.  All of that means we don't get snow days.

Not never... last year right before Thanksgiving we had this freak warming in the night, so instead of snow it rained.  But the ground was still frozen, so the rain froze instantly on everything.  And then the temperatures immediately dropped to below zero again.  There were two inches of ice on the roads and no way to treat it, because salt doesn't work below a certain temp.  So we had two days off.

Unfortunately this is a rarity and I have had no anticipation of something like that happening again.  That is, until Friday, when we received multiple emails from principals informing us of a fast developing storm that might bring up to 2 feet of snow Sunday night, with gusts of wind up to 55mph! "Don't forget your phone tree" and "Review procedures for delayed openings" my bosses declared.  And there it was....that familiar flicker of excitement and possibility returned to my belly.  Hope.  I remembered longingly the feeling of the phone ringing at 5:30 and sitting up and cheering, before even answering it!  Is it possible I could receive this glorious gift of time?

It's not looking too promising.  The weather advisory has been taken off NOAA's website.  Snow is "likely" with the possibility of freezing rain.  In Alaska, just snow isn't enough.  My hope lies in the freezing rain.  The only downside is the freezing rain and wind will take away my magical treescape outside.  So I guess there'd better be a snow day to make up for it!

Wanting Memories

I'm spending the morning listening to the radio and preparing stuffing.  The turkey is still frozen (again) though not to the crisis level of last year.  Maybe next year we'll finally be able to properly defrost a turkey in time for Thanksgiving!  So the turkey is in a tub of water.  I have onions and celery chopped for the stuffing and am sauteing chorizo for the stuffing as I type.  Everything I am cooking this year I have made before, so I wanted at least one new recipe.  I got this recipe from NPR.  I'll let you know how it turns out!

Lee is out running last minute errands - trash run, water run, and last minute Fred Meyer run.  Just got the phone call.  Every store is out of sage, so the stuffing will be sageless.  Oh well.  I'm sure it will still be tasty.  Or not.  Such is life.  

Me, I'm enjoying the quiet of the morning, listening to a concert on NPR with a men's vocal group.  They just sang Wanting Memories, originally written and sung by Sweet Honey in the Rock.  If you don't know the song, go to itunes and download it pronto!  It's beautiful and matches the mood of the morning.  

I am missing home this holiday.  The past few days I've been very teary, missing my family, my Meme's cooking, just the joy of everyone coming together, too much food, fun conversation, my mom, uncle Mark and Auntie laughing in the kitchen - they have great laughs.  I miss snuggling on the couch with my cousin.  It's the first time since we've been out here that I've truly missed it.  I even tried to get our guests into the tradition by asking them all to cook.  It didn't work, and really wasn't fair.  They are all bringing things, which is generous.  I think I wanted to try to replicate that feel of everyone coming together, working together to make it special.  

I also feel very blessed this morning.  I have wonderful memories fueling me through the morning.  And I have the most amazing husband.  He's been so loving these last few days and helpful without blinking an eye.  Our home is cozy and clean - such a blessing!  The light outside is dim and grey, but inside it's warm.  I feel grounded in cooking and dancing and listening to music.  We have guests coming over at 1:00, who will be happy to come together, missing their families as well.  We'll be spending our time playing Settlers of Catan.  No football or parade for us, as we have no TV!

Sending wishes for a wonderful day to everyone.  Here's hoping it's a day that makes many memories for you and yours. 

Alaskan Lingerie

This weekend it got chilly, down to 20 at night!  This prompted me to reach into my drawers of winter clothes and pull out my Alaskan Lingerie - the Flannel Nightie!

Here's a picture.  I'm not wearing it because that would be just too racy for the internet.

It's long - almost to my ankles, and has this lovely, simple ruffle around the neck.  You know, so as not to reveal too much.

On top of the obvious sex appeal that the grannie nightie - I mean, flannel nightie - brings, it has the bonus of being toasty warm.  Which, in Alaskan winters, is a must!  Function meets fashion.  Who could want anything more?

Spinning At Last!

For my 30th birthday (almost two years ago - yikes!) my parents generously fulfilled my birthday wish by giving me a beautiful spinning wheel.  It's a Kromski Minstrel in Mahogany stain.  A beautiful, compact, double treadle wheel, it fits perfectly in our small cabin.  However, I had never learned to use it, until this weekend.

The wheel did come with an instructional video.  Both Lee and I watched the video and tried to make it work.  It didn't.  I couldn't get the flyer to take in the yarn at all.  It was frustrating, and frankly, I really didn't understand how the whole thing was supposed to make yarn.  It didn't make sense.   So the wheel sat as decoration in our home back in NH, occasionally being treadled for fun.

When we moved to Fairbanks, I found a store here called A Weaver's Yarn that offers spinning lessons.  But I never felt we could afford it.  So I survived the winter content with knitting.  A few days ago, however, while out running errands, I turned down the back road where A Weaver's Yarn is located, on a whim, and ended up signing up for my private lesson.  That lesson was yesterday.

After two hours, I now understand how the wheel works.  Well, at least enough to make it take up the yarn.  My yarn isn't pretty yet.  But I'm getting there.  My assignment is to practice for 15-20 minutes each day until my next lesson, where I will learn to ply my singles that I create with my 15-20 minutes of daily practice.



I'm super excited to have a new pastime for the cold winter months.  I'll be busy with knitting and spinning all winter long!  I think Lee might be a little worried...

Cranberry Pickin'

It's that time of year in Fairbanks when the cranberries are ready for picking.  Last year we did no berry picking - we didn't know where to find them.  I was afraid that this year would be the same, with the plants in our backyard only producing a few handfuls.  But then Lee and I went for a walk on labor day.  I can't tell you where.  Real Alaskans don't reveal their prime picking spots (hence not knowing where to go picking).  But we went for a walk on a hill near town.  It was a place I'd never been.  As we walked down the trail, the woods to our left opened up to reveal a grove over grown with lowbush cranberries.  It was a sight to behold!  But alas, we were without containers, so had to return another day.

That day came on Thursday.  The week had gotten away from us and I was worried the berries would all be gone.  Surely someone else must know about this place.   At 7:30 at night, we got in the car, berry container in hand (old milk jug with the top cut wide) and returned to our secret spot.

Now, the sun has begun setting earlier and earlier, so we had about an hour and a half of usable daylight.  I hurried down the trail, not waiting for Lee as he took pictures of the sun setting on the golden birch trees.  Seriously, man!  We have berries to pick!  As I was walking (jogging) down the trail, I heard rustling in the trees next to me.  Some one was in the trees picking cranberries!  Crap!  I thought.  There really won't be any  left.  But she wasn't in our grove, so I kept on jogging.

I found our grove and lo and behold, it was still chockerblock full of cranberries.  We picked until it was too difficult to see in the dim light.


Aren't they sweet?  Juicy too!  The knees on my jeans were all red with berry juice from kneeling.



We left with a gallon of cranberries picked only in an hour!  Pretty impressive, I'd say.  I'll be going back again this weekend in hopes we can get more.

In the meantime, we have a gallon of cranberries frozen in the freezer.



And a new book on Alaskan wild berries and how to cook them.

A different kind of bravery

I haven't had my hair cut in almost a year.  It was getting really long.  Like, ratty long.  I needed a cut.  We live in Alaska.  Plus, I couldn't afford a cut.  Do you know where this is going?

I asked Lee to cut my hair for me.  No big deal.  Take off four inches.  Make it straight.  Easy.

I was wrong.  He took off at least seven inches.  It's really short.  Much shorter than I wanted.  Lee declared at the end of the saga that we were never doing that again.

I thought I was being Alaskan.  It was brave of me.  Now I need to access a different kind of bravery and feel okay with my new short haircut.

The End of the Summer

It's the end of the summer.  Fall is in the air.  I am knitting again, and dreaming of all the projects I want to cram in before the real cold sets in.  I realized the other day that my knitted hat basket doesn't have nearly enough hats!  And now that I've learned to knit mittens, I need to stock up on those as well.  

Knitting isn't the only sign.  I find myself curled up on the couch reading cookbooks, wanting soups and chowders.  On Sunday I called my mother at least five times to share a recipe with her (now that our freezers are chocker-block full of Alaskan salmon that WE caught!) 

I have jazz on the radio (which is fall music only).  

School starts in a week.  The newspaper is full of fliers for back to school sales and this Sunday's paper had the school bus schedule.  

But most notably, the air is cooler.  Lee and I have the windows closed most of the day.  We are wearing our slippers and sweatshirts.  We cover up with blankets on the couch.  Lee even wore his hat all day yesterday!  

There's a sadness that comes with the end of summer, a feeling that it's time to hunker down, work hard, store up to survive the long winter.  That feeling is more stark here in Alaska.  While I'm sad at the end of relaxation and having to go back to the grind of work and school, and I'm sad that our summer vacation with Mom and Dad has come and gone too quickly, I am excited for fall.  It's my favorite season.  We get to start feeding the birds again.  The foliage turns all beautiful, different from home, but still spectacular.  We get to wear woolen goodies.  We get to snuggle more.  

So we'll spend the next week trying to squeeze out a few more summer moments.  But then we'll plant the fall spinach and kale, put up the canoe and go back to work.  

Belle or the Beast?

Remember that scene from Beauty and the Beast where Belle is out in the winter garden feeding the birds and they come right to her hand?  And then later Beast is out there with birds perched all over his head and shoulders?  I'm not sure if this story makes me Belle or the Beast - I'll let you decide.

I was just sitting out on our deck enjoying the calm after a light rain.  The birds were everywhere singing up a storm.  Otis was in the tall grass, pretending to be a hunter.  Because it had just rained, I took out my camping chair to have a place to sit that was dry.  I was on the edge of the steps, sitting still and relaxed when I heard fluttering of wings behind me.  Very close behind me.  And then I felt it - gentle, light, clenching claws on the back of my pony tail.  Now, my reaction was not of calm oneness with nature - I wish!  I tensed right up and starting quiet-yelling "Ahhhhhhh ahhhh ahhh."  So the bird flew away.  I saw it.  It was a little black junco.  One of the many flying around, not at all afraid of Otis.  I guess he wasn't afraid of me, either.

I think my lack of grace in the situation makes me more like Beast....

It Looks Like Rain...

About an hour ago, Lee looked out the window and said, "Wow, it looks like rain!  Look how dark it is outside!"

Now, back east, our first thought would be, Let's make sure the windows are closed!  But not here.  Lee said, "I'm going to go out to the outhouse before it starts to pour."  To which I replied, "Good idea!  Me too!"

We walked out to and returned from the outhouse dry.  Now it is pouring outside.  And we don't need to pee.  This outhouse thing takes planning!

I've Returned!

Hi everyone!  I'm back after my science camp hiatus.  Science Camp was the hardest job I've ever had (minus that one waitressing job in Portsmouth where the computer screens were weird colors and the waitstaff never helped me but I was always supposed to help them - I quit / was fired).  Seriously, Lee and I worked between 80 and 90 hours a week for four weeks.  Seven hours a day with kids and no breaks, then many more hours into the evening for planning.  And working with kids is a whole different kind of exhausting.  One that I am used to, yes.  But not one that Lee is used to.  I think that part was the hardest.  Although, he managed a couple of posts this past month, and I did not.  So I guess that makes me the lame one.

Anyway, Science Camp is over, we are on a bit of a vacation that so far involves a little bit of cleaning, a little bit of knitting, and a lot of Otter Pop eating.  It's also going to involve running, as I've decided to begin running.  When we went camping with the kids, we played all kinds of capture the flag and elbow tag.  The running actually felt good!  Now, just running down the road isn't nearly as fun as elbow tag, but it will feel good.  If I could organize daily games of elbow tag to get into shape, I would. But I only know like four people in Fairbanks, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be as excited about elbow tag as I am.  So running it is.  Watch me go!  Woosh!  (Well, maybe put put put from all the otter pops).

It's The Little Things....

There are so many things that one becomes accustomed to in their home town/region that you wouldn't even imagine it could be different.  We've experienced so many different parts of life out here on a grand scale, that sometimes the little differences get overlooked.  So let me share with you something little that is different about living in Alaska.  It's something I don't understand and haven't yet figured out how to manage with ease.

It's the butter.  Butter here is sold in sticks.  But not long skinny sticks, like back home in New England.  No, the sticks are short and fat.  Now, you might not think this is a big deal, but it really is because the stick of butter doesn't fit in the butter dish.  It is too fat and the butter dish lid gets suspended in the air.  So when I add butter to the butter dish, I must cut it into pieces and turn it on its side so that the lid of the butter dish fits.

What I don't understand is, don't people in Alaska use butter dishes?  I actually suspect that this is a west coast thing, as the butter we buy comes from California or Oregon.  So the real question is, don't people on the west coast use butter dishes?  There seems to be a flaw in the manufacturing of west coast butter.  Are there special west coast sized butter dishes that I haven't discovered yet?  Seriously.  It's the little things that throw me for a loop.

Happy Mother's Day

Me and my Momma on my wedding day. (Photo by Rick Kloeppel)

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I spent the day wishing I was with her.  Alaska has been an amazing adventure, but I miss my mom so much.  Being far away has been hard.  We still talk on the phone all the time, but it's not quite the same.  Yesterday, I called my mom multiple times to chat.  I wished I had been able to be there in person to give her a great big hug and thank her for being the best Momma a girl could ask for.   I love you, Mom!  Sending hugs across the miles.