Staggering Sunrise

The advantage of leaving for work on a one-hour commute every day at 5:45-6am is that eventually the daylight schedule allows for the sunrise to happen as you're driving. That was the case earlier this week, and we had clear skies. Talk about colorful and dramatic scenery! 

Also during those days, I had to drive myself into Anchorage, so I took the camera. Despite Andy's raised eyebrow, I took aimless photos while driving.  Of course a sunrise is never captured the way it touches you, but here's some of the images I got...the first one is about 1-2 miles from our house when both Andy & I left for work at 6am Tuesday  (that's his cruiser).

There's a B&B on this dairy farm property, about 5 miles from the house. I'd like to book the entire B&B next summer for a few wedding guests.And now starting on the Parks Highway, headed for the office in Anchorage!Hope your spring mornings are full of sunrises!

*Amy

In the Sticks

With the sunshine and lack of snow in Wasilla, Andy & I bummed around the newly awakened & exposed yard last Saturday. First, we went exploring and found at least six piles of this around the property:Okay, you Alaskan biologists, who or WHAT made that?! I'll give you a hint: it belongs to the same thing that made the hoof print marks in the grass above the pile!

Second, two major sections of the property are covered with birch trees. The ground is also covered with debris, felled trees, dead branches, sticks & brush. We have lots of gathering, sweeping and cleaning to do!

We started collecting this organic garbage and piling it near the bonfire pit in the back of the yard.And look what made an appearance! Our old friend, the 2008 Christmas tree!

This is all going to make for an awesome bonfire(s)! Wanna roast some hot dogs over our burning fir tree?

While we turn our home improvement attentions to the outdoors, I'd like to solicit suggestions for what to do at the spot above...along the ditch between the front yard property and Ridgeview Drive are scraggly, living, stick-things. Leave them be, plant something more, pull 'em out? Any ideas for what to do with this sad area?

*Amy

All For AmeriCorps!

Great news today for the U.S.! Our President signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, tripling the size of the AmeriCorps service program with an increase of $5.7 billion! At my work place, we've been cheering & hoping for this huge expansion & investment.

You can read more here, or look up nearly any news source today. Why is AmeriCorps such a big deal to me, other than offering opportunities to better the U.S. (the domestic version of the Peace Corps)?

It's how I got to AK! I was a two-year AmeriCorps Member at KNOM in Nome, and now I coordinate 10 of 35 Members from & around Rural Alaska. AmeriCorps drives my Division at work, and it does amazing things for communities and the volunteers committing to service.

What's really cool about this legislation is that it allows the Education Award--given to all one-year finishing, full-time Members--to match and increase with the national Pell Grant. As with every AmeriCorps Alum since the '70's, the amount has been about $4700 to apply toward future education costs or to pay back existing loans. I dumped both my Ed Awards to my good ole alma mater. Now the amount finally rises after 30 years.

Hurray for the spirit and call to service...whether you're in the AmeriCorps family or offer your time in community service!!! What a good day.

*Amy

WEDDING DATE ALERT! 7/3/2010

It's set! We've reserved a church and reception site! When you start playing the game this early, we get your pick of the place and day. Scheduling a wedding on Saturday, July 3rd (2010) will hopefully allow for a great, long holiday weekend in the beauty of Alaska.

The Catholic church ceremony will be at Sacred Heart Parish in Wasilla. We've booked the downstairs banquet room at Settler's Bay Lodge (no housing at this lodge, though!), also in Wasilla. Settler's is actually 8 miles from our house and we've enjoyed a few meals and tours there. We've also started looking at large-group accommodations for guests to avoid expensive, peak season hotel rooms. Very promising locations around the area.

Andy is now checking out the average costs for weddings (yikes!); ours will be on the smaller side. Well, I guess we're getting our feet wet now--with plenty of time to go!

*Amy 

Smokin'

I've always been a bit jealous of G2's supply of smoked salmon.  Well, I finally bucked up and purchased a smoker for myself (thanks G1) so I could fill my freezer with some smoke.  While Amy and Wes were snowshoeing last weekend I took advantage of the day to take on the task.  I was a bit confused as how to approach the project but with some online recipe searches and some consultation with G2 I decided on a plan of attack.

After brining for about 16 hours I decided to chuck in the pecan wood chips and let the smoke rise.  The little smoker lived up to my expectations and held a constant temperature quite well.  I couldn't help but open up the smoker a couple of times throughout to check on the progress.  This is a pic of the smoke just about an hour or two in.

The final product is excellent.  The first batch came in 3 flavors: maple syrup, teriyaki, and cayenne.  I can see that I will be smoking a lot more fish in the near future.  Just in time too, the eye Doc told me I need more Omega-3 (think salmon and fish oil) for my dry eyes.........not that I needed an excuse to eat and smoke salmon, but I'll take what I can get.

Another Nome pal

Andy & I hosted another good Nome friend over the holiday weekend. I'm really enjoying these visits! Wes experienced some funny "Valley" moments over the weekend, but one really great Valley opportunity was snowshoeing at Hatcher's Pass. Spring in Alaska is phenomenal for the good snow left to play in, increased sunshine and finally warming temps. We hiked up to Independence Mine in the mountainous bowl.

Then we got a little silly. We were sober, but sun-drunk. Wes turned Coldplay on his iPhone and strange, interpretative snow dances started to happen...

I'll let Andy share what he was up to while we frolicked Hatcher's Pass.

Thanks for the visit, Wes!

*Amy

Ka-bluey!

Have you ever seen a volcano while it's active? Neither had I until Monday and Tuesday this week. It wasn't spewing lava (that would be scary) but Mt. Redoubt, since waking, has caused chaos for airline passengers and spewed enough ash to leave dust or even inches here & there. I was on my way to a Southwest AK village site visit when our prop plane (better for flying with volcanic sediment in the air than jet planes) gave me a view from the window I was not expecting. Mad scramble for camera.It was like catching sight of a celebrity! So much talk, hassle and observing over this Mountain, and here it was in front of my eyes! Every day when leaving work I cover my computer in a plastic bag in case abrasive ash leaks into the building's ventilation system and brings our electronic world to its knees...okay, that's an exaggeration but we make preparations based on this very event. 

I should add that I never made it to my village given bad snow conditions. I was weathered in at Dillingham, which again proves that Alaskan hospitality is the best. I stayed and visited with my friends Heather and Dylan. I've shared our story before on the blog.  They're moving from D'ham in just a few days and having a baby boy in just a few weeks, so it was a true gift to spend time  in their just-sold home. They really treated this stranded traveler well! 

Guess I'll have to try for New Stuyahok another time but who knows if the volcano will be steaming then. In the meanwhile, my work has made a policy that if Anchorage schools close for ash, our offices do too!

*Amy

Time to Brew

It's time to brew up the next batch of home brew.  There are only 2 bottle of the Pale Ale left and all who have consumed seem to approve.  Maybe everyone just liked getting a free beer, no matter how it tasted!  

In round 2 I"m going to brew a nice little Hefeweizen.  This should help bring Spring in and get me out of the yet to come break-up blues.  The ingredients are at the house, now I just need a few hours of time to brew and some patience.   I'm going to name it the Hopeful Hefeweizen because let's be honest here.......we all have no idea how it will actually taste until we pop the top.  Keep your fingers crossed and your taste buds ready.  If you don't like this next batch, keep it to yourself.......you're drinking my beer for free!

G3