Good eats

The other day, I made jiu-cai hezi, using a combination of this recipe and this one. The Chinese supermarket here only sells jiu-cai in enormous bunches, which I need to use up quickly, because it makes our fridge smell like something died in there.

The dough involves hot water:


Chop chop chop:


The filling is very simple; you don't need to cook the bean threads; just soak them in hot water:


And the dough is pretty resilient; it doesn't tear easily:


And you pan-fry them in very little oil! I had always imagined them deep-fried because in restaurants they are so greasy!


We had them with salmon and fresh tomatoes. Mmmm...


There is so much silicate material in the jiu-cai that it roughened my knife!


From another night, gai-lan steamed and dressed with oyster sauce:


Fly lice!


Salmon:


A very tasty meal!


Here is a beautiful cabbage from the Bs' garden:


A pizza made with hydroponically-grown basil that my coworker is growing in our office using a system he spent this past summer teaching Upward Bound students how to engineer!


Rockfish and gai-lan cooked in black bean sauce:


Plated:


Also, today is Cricket's 8th birthday! Here is a photo of her looking rather dignified:

Changing of the Seasons

I am seeing the first bits of yellow appearing on the aspens on my morning commute. We have not gone below freezing yet, but it's chilly in the mornings:


And I sometimes have to wear a fuzzy cap for my morning run with the girls. :)


Roo is still a Ther-Roo-py dog. Look, even after visiting all of her Friends at the Denali Center, she still has Love for me!


Awwwwww luuuuuuurrrrve


And she has a Heart on her Chest!


And she has a seester she loves to hang out with!


Cooler weather means nice soup! Like tortellini with veggies, and pork buns!


And salmon and corn chowder!


After weeks of copious rain, our neighborhood trail is sparkling with clean, fresh water:


Here are more photos from Charcoal's visit. Three beasts all line up for cheese!


Huge! He is huge!


DidyouhearaSKWERL??


Omelettes!


Morning snuggles!


Awwwwww!!


I sure hope this sunflower blooms! There are several buds not only on the head, but down the stem, too. I'd be happy to see even the main one!

House Guest

Charcoal, the Huge, is hanging out with us for a few days. He is getting on in years but still loves to play and run around the yard like a doofus. He is a lab, after all.

His appetite is not always great any more, but he always eats well with us.


The ladies finish first, and then Cricket supervises him until he finishes. "Real dogs EAT!" she says.


Charcoal, the Huge, looking very wise:


Charcoal selfie!


Roo selfie!


Cricket selfie!


Oh, oohhhh, Charcoal, the Huge, did not time his ker-flop correctly, and now his butt is hung up on Cricket:

So we are no longer "Financially exigent"

Dunleavy struck a supposed "deal" with the University Board of Regents to, instead of cut $135 million from the budget in one year, cut $25 million the first year, another $25 million the second, and then $20 million the third, for a total of $70 million from there forward.

It wasn't really a deal so much as something analogous to a spousal abuser "offering" to beat their spouse less often. Of *course* the Board of Regents accepted. What choice did they have?

Dermot Cole has pointed out that since the Legislature, and not the governor, appropriates funds, it's not binding.

Anyway, in response, the Board of Regents reversed the declaration of financial exigency, in a vote of 10-0.

What this means for us is that some of the emergency rules regarding spending and hiring have been lifted.

A few of the vetos reversed

The governor reversed himself on some vetoes, siding with a majority of the Legislature. The Alaska State Council on the Arts has had its $3.9 million budget restored after being entirely eliminated in June. There will be a prosecutor and assistant in Utqiagvik, something sought by the Legislature but vetoed by the governor previously. Agricultural programs have been restored, as have $2.2 million in grants for substance abuse treatment, mental health services, and shelter for the homeless.

Here is the current state of the budget.

Berry Picking photos

We sure picked a beautiful day! It had been raining until the day before, and it began raining again the day after!

Some small fireweed was left in the White Mountains:


The sunlight was warm and hypnotic:


And the sky was that bluetrueblue that it can only be in a subarctic summer!


When I'm berry picking is the time when I feel most vulnerable to bears, because I am hunched over in a vulnerable position. It is good to have alert dogs (and bear spray):


Stealth wolf, always nearby:


Some fall color was already appearing:


Suuuuuper stealthy!


They are always alert! Check out those ears!


Sweet Roo!


This late in the season, the berries are HUGE:


Wickersham Dome:


There were still plenty of berries!


And the view to the South was gorgeous, as usual:


We had to turn around here. I got a gallon of berries, and this was 3 miles in and my shoulders were starting to ache:


The North view to the rest of the White Mountains:


Today, I split my rhubarb for the last time this summer. I previously split off four babes and gave them to three friends. This is my last, and it's for me! We're going to have two rhubarbs from now on:

Rhubarb has become very meaningful to me as a metaphor for resilience. It is perennial, it thrives under any conditions, it requires no maintenance, it is impossible to kill, it pokes its little head out from melting snow every spring, and!! And you can share it with friends. I lovelovelove knowing that now three friends will have a part of my rhubarb, forever! It has become very meaningful to me.