To all nine of my loyal readers:
Happy Winter Holiday of your Choice!
May you be warm (but not too warm) and comfy (but not too comfy, so you'll always have something to strive for!)!!
Tomorrow, a big storm is coming! So I'm spending this evening buying Things We Can Eat Without Cooking, and Things We Can Cook on a Campstove, like couscous, cold cuts, and instant oatmeal. I hope it stays cold, so we can keep the wood stove going on high and use that to cook as well. If temperatures get warm, then no way! I'd rather eat cold cereal than overheat the cabin! (pant, pant, pant)
I was thinking that our situation must be unique in almost all the world:
1) We could lose power, but we won't worry about refrigeration (we have the porch!).
2) If we run low on food, we can always still drive to the fully modern store, or to a restaurant in town!
3) But not if the roads aren't plowed.
4) Our "emergency foods" aren't canned foods and Mountain House packs. We can buy fresh things!
5) We won't worry about heat, because we have the wood stove!
Where else on earth do those 5 statements all go together? Some sound like a developing nation, while others are thoroughly modern America. Life, eh?
On the transition from the Silicon to the Tanana Valley, from urban to rural life, and from working in industry to being a full-time student to working in academia. If you see your name or photo on this blog and want it removed, please let me know and I will do so!
nopin
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Happy Solstice!
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Starbuck and her teammates
All Photos taken by JR Ancheta, the official UAF Photographer. :)
Starbuck has Love to Give!
Starbuck sez, "Love comes from my eyes!"
Starlight is a border collie and super intense!
Hank is a sweet gentleman!
Love fest!
Steele is a HUGE malamute!
HUGE! I wanted to give him a big ol' hug, but he was too squirmy and wriggly... it's hard to remember he's still only 3 years old!
Starbuck has Love to Give!
Starbuck sez, "Love comes from my eyes!"
Starlight is a border collie and super intense!
Hank is a sweet gentleman!
Love fest!
Steele is a HUGE malamute!
HUGE! I wanted to give him a big ol' hug, but he was too squirmy and wriggly... it's hard to remember he's still only 3 years old!
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Starbuck working finals week
Monday, December 12, 2016
Tiny dogs, dangling paws, fallen logs
So the other day my friend and coworker MC called out to me as I was passing her desk. She had this in her front pocket:
Wowee! She said it was not only a tiny dog, but an 8-week-old runt. On her vet's advice, she was feeding the pup all-you-can-eat moose stew, dog kibble, canned dog food, and Nutrical supplements for good measure. She was hoping the little thing would grow from its current 15 ounces (!!) to a pound.
By the following week, it had. It's also super perky and bouncy!
"Pet me!" "Hold my paw!"
Here are Very Important photos of the elderly ladies dangling a paw like Starbuck.
Autumn dangling her paw:
Linden dangling her paw:
This is Super Important! Because paws!
Booger sez, "Dis is my Pawpaw, and dis is my paw."
Third Exciting Thing to report! We had a radius of trees cut around the cabin! Now that Climate Change has brought occasional windstorms to our valley, we were concerned about trees falling on us. DL spent the following weekend cutting the trees to stove lengths, so now we have firewood for another year or so!
Wowee! She said it was not only a tiny dog, but an 8-week-old runt. On her vet's advice, she was feeding the pup all-you-can-eat moose stew, dog kibble, canned dog food, and Nutrical supplements for good measure. She was hoping the little thing would grow from its current 15 ounces (!!) to a pound.
By the following week, it had. It's also super perky and bouncy!
"Pet me!" "Hold my paw!"
Here are Very Important photos of the elderly ladies dangling a paw like Starbuck.
Autumn dangling her paw:
Linden dangling her paw:
This is Super Important! Because paws!
Booger sez, "Dis is my Pawpaw, and dis is my paw."
Third Exciting Thing to report! We had a radius of trees cut around the cabin! Now that Climate Change has brought occasional windstorms to our valley, we were concerned about trees falling on us. DL spent the following weekend cutting the trees to stove lengths, so now we have firewood for another year or so!
Friday, December 2, 2016
Yay! Snow!
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Winter has arrived!
After a two-year hiatus, it looks like winter has finally come to Alaska!
I SURE HOPE THAT MEANS MORE SNOW THIS YEAR!!
This is what I wore to walk the ladies this morning:
Wool shorts, wool long underwear, running pants, and a down skirt.
A wool base shirt, a fleece shirt, a down vest, and my "light" winter coat.
A neck gaitor, a hat, and my $18-mittens! (I have no idea why my warmest mittens are my cheapest...)
And... a cold-weather headlamp that has the batteries at my waist, so it doesn't blink out in the cold!
The ladies wore their standard fuzzysuits. :)
Cold weather means, time to eat more!
I won second place in the annual Thanksgiving pie contest with an apple-rhubarb pie! For only this occasion, I make a crust with only white flour. I usually make 50/50 whole wheat and white. Said DL: "If you want to win the contest, you have to give your friends diabetes." Haha
Mmm, pie!
We had the leftovers over the next several nights, reheated and served with caramel ice cream! Mmmm!
Starbuckeroo and we humans have been walking the trails on weekends. Our new weekend routine is that Starbuck, Autumn, Linden, and I take a shorter walk (2 miles) first, then Roo and I drop the elderly ladies at home and trade them for DL for a longer walk (our regular loop is a little over 5 miles). It is my sincere hope that some neighbors see us on both walks and think DL is a shape-shifter. :)
Look at that pretty winter light!
We are at the top of the ridge when the sun comes over it:
Roo sez, "I just walked seven miles and look exhausted, but I'll be wagging my tail at the door again as soon as I see a human put shoes on!"
I SURE HOPE THAT MEANS MORE SNOW THIS YEAR!!
This is what I wore to walk the ladies this morning:
Wool shorts, wool long underwear, running pants, and a down skirt.
A wool base shirt, a fleece shirt, a down vest, and my "light" winter coat.
A neck gaitor, a hat, and my $18-mittens! (I have no idea why my warmest mittens are my cheapest...)
And... a cold-weather headlamp that has the batteries at my waist, so it doesn't blink out in the cold!
The ladies wore their standard fuzzysuits. :)
Cold weather means, time to eat more!
I won second place in the annual Thanksgiving pie contest with an apple-rhubarb pie! For only this occasion, I make a crust with only white flour. I usually make 50/50 whole wheat and white. Said DL: "If you want to win the contest, you have to give your friends diabetes." Haha
Mmm, pie!
We had the leftovers over the next several nights, reheated and served with caramel ice cream! Mmmm!
Starbuckeroo and we humans have been walking the trails on weekends. Our new weekend routine is that Starbuck, Autumn, Linden, and I take a shorter walk (2 miles) first, then Roo and I drop the elderly ladies at home and trade them for DL for a longer walk (our regular loop is a little over 5 miles). It is my sincere hope that some neighbors see us on both walks and think DL is a shape-shifter. :)
Look at that pretty winter light!
We are at the top of the ridge when the sun comes over it:
Roo sez, "I just walked seven miles and look exhausted, but I'll be wagging my tail at the door again as soon as I see a human put shoes on!"
Labels:
beasts,
food,
geriatric doggie issues,
photos,
weather
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