October Celebration

 We gathered to celebrate Larissa, Carrie and Charles' birthday today! It happened to fall on CHARLE'S birthday. It's hard to believe Little Buddy is 3 - though he IS convinced he is 11.  He was happy with his cake and the singing. Danny is the one who gets into singing Happy Birthday. 

Little Buddy was thrilled to blow out his candles...

and then the candle on Carrie's cheesecake...and even the candle on Larissa's cheesecake. 

Charles is certainly the most exuberant celebrant today. 

Bre's got a houseful of sick children and couldn't make it today...but Krista, Luke and the kids were able to be here...and Charle's bio grandparents came as well. Allie was home in time to join the fun. We missed Alex and Nolan.  I picked up a few toys for the younger set to play with...cracked me up that the boys turned them into "muscles." 

Noah did eventually get to enjoy he and Trudy's new toy. It's hard to believe his is 9 months old today!

Photo by Larissa

Photo by Larissa

Allie and Stacia have a murder mystery to attend this evening. They broke away and got ready. Charles was very impressed with the "swishy" dresses. 

Photo by Carrie

Noah and Boys. Photo by Carrie

Benny & Livie. Photo by Carrie

It was a fun day. I am relaxing with a cuppa tea, waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in. LOL 

A Very Full Friday

I am a blogger. I have been a blogger for over 18 years. Therefore, I must blog.  Even when the day doesn't seem very blog-worthy and it's the end of Alaskan Fall, people! Soon we will be inside. 

It was 19 degrees this morning when I went out to release the chickens. That's a bit more than a "crisp fall morning" in my book - but, whatever. 

Michael has been working on new paperwork for social security. We were given false information when he was rated 100% service-connected, total and permanent by the VA. Thankfully, with a month to spare, we've been given the correct information. Michael is now in a race to see if he can get an application into the system and somewhat processed before his birthday in November. It will be close. It will be beneficial to our financial health if he can.  He has spent hours online and, on the phone,...and then was told he needed to wait 5 - 10 days for the authentication paperwork to reach us. He decided to drive to Anchorage today and talk to someone in person at the social security office. He came home with the authentication paper he needed and will now fill out the application online. The first appointment they have is in December and the lady encouraged him to submit it before his next birthday. Something about being rated for SSDI before you are retirement age. If only, the social security office in Crescent City had given us the correct info in 2016...it would have made the past years so much easier. 

The thing is we had a full day planned BEFORE Michael had to run to Anchorage. We cancelled what we could...an appointment to get our eyebrows waxed was essential. I had already had to cancel Allie's appointment and didn't want to cancel more. I appreciate businesses that let us put all the family appointments at once - and it leaves them in a lurch if we all cancel our appointments. GG was THRILLED beyond measure to visit the esthetician. ::wink:: We made it up to him by taking him out to his favorite restaurant for lunch. He loves to joke and tease with the wait staff. 

Today was cold but it was SUNNY and BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL. Millie and Stacia took time to play outside a bit. Millie loves the days Stacia doesn't have classes. 

Somewhere in the midst of the day I baked another loaf of bread. I need to invest in a little tool that makes it easy to cut the top of the dough. LOL I am experimenting with varying amounts of fresh ground wheat and bread flour...this loaf turned out pretty good. 

Michael got home and agreed to stretch and fold the sourdough for me while Stacia and I ran out to the local box store for a couple of things for tomorrow's family celebration. We were making great time, so we decided to stop for drinks and discuss our Bible study.  

We arrived home in time to throw pizzas in the oven and sit down for dinner. And then the unthinkable happened. We realized I needed to pick up an accessory for Allie at the store. I KNEW there was a reason we planned to drive into Wasilla. Which is how Stacia and I found ourselves at Walmart - discussing how we could see the church the kids and Allie were at, and we COULD crash the conference. We decided to come home instead. LOL 

I leave you with these darling pictures of Noah Bear. He is 9 months old tomorrow.  Roscoe stands guard so no harm befalls Noah when he is out and about. 

photo by Larissa

This is a great father/son shot...and it mirrors how Stacia and I feel getting home at 9:20 p.m. 

Photo by Larissa

We are going to end then night with a round of Despicable Me 2. 

Local Grass Fed Organic Beef - NOW WHAT?

 Another shot of our mountain in the fall! I can't get enough of the mountains. The snow is getting quite deep at the top. The bare mountain to the left is our gauge. Old-timers say 2 weeks till snow on the ground in town when it hits that mountain. Today there was snow on the slopes...not much but it may stay. We'll see tomorrow. 

Beautiful, crisp fall day 

Michael had an appointment today. Allie had class. Stacia worked all day on homework. The chickens ran hither and fro. Millie barked at chickens all day. I took care of some paperwork associated with women's ministry and made sure the FB blurbs I'd scheduled earlier in the week for the church's page were actually posting. ::snort:: 

I met Rachel, our new pastor's wife, for a hot drink at a local hang out spot. 

Michael worked on paperwork. He's currently dealing with paperwork from 3 government agencies. He suggested he come with me to go back into town to pick up Dad's meds. I forgot to pick them up when I was in town. We got a text while standing in line that our beef was ready to pick up. Our cow was MUCH smaller than expected, but it's a good start for us.  Locally raised, grass fed, organic beef for the winter...or at least part of the winter.  Our 1/2 turned out to be 213 hang weight...and approximately 150 lbs of beef we can eat. We decided it was o.k. to be less than we expected because this is our first year. We'll figure out how much we need and if it is worth it to use to get the grass fed. ::snort::  NOW what do we do with a box of "offal" and "bones."  Michael told me to get them - I'm a bit sickened by it all. Tell me, if you've gotten such...what do I do now? 

After dinner and homework, Stacia and I finished White Collar. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending.... Allie is with our youth group at AKYC as a chaperone. 

A Magical Sunday Afternoon

It happens every year in the fall.... we get busy with projects; we spend as MUCH time as possible OUTSIDE and I neglect the blog...but we have been living LIFE to the FULLEST since September 6th. I'll try to get my act together and do some back posting in the near future and then be ON the mark again. LOL 

Sunday was a gorgeous day (blogging on Thursday). I can hardly believe we do NOT have snow yet. The snow is creeping down the mountains...but most years we've had it on the ground by now. We've had a few flurries but nothing that sticks more than an hour or so. I LOVE the fall colors shown in front of the mountains topped with snow. 

I had just laid down for Sunday nap after a busy Sunday morning when what did I hear? The excited voices of little ones. Arielle had let the boys run around back...not knowing the chickens are free range these days. There is no grass left in the chicken yard and we know they'll soon be cooped up for months. Michael ran out and introduced them to each other. The hens pose no threat at all - but that rooster is another story. 

The Chicken Whisperer 📷by Arielle

While Papa wrangled chickens, Bachan followed Jamin, Allie and Benny into the woods. The youngers hadn't explored this part of the yard. Jamin and Allie talked photo effects and Jamin caught some Big Foot footage. It was magical back in the woods.  

Danny, Bachan & Charles 📷by Arielle

Less than a minute after I took this photo Danny climbed even further into the tree and we heard, "I'm STUCK!" ::grin:: 

Such a brave boy! 

Mighty explorer.

When one discovers a magical world of trees, leaves and sticks...one must of course, play at sword fighting. Allie is a good sport. 

Allie, Benny & Danny

"Bachan! I'm in the ORANGE tent!"

Of course, a comment like that brought the other two running. Three peas in a pod. 

Michael started a fire. Cory finished his meeting at their church and the boys and Arielle went home. The girls ran over to MAG to let Millie run in the field. We visited with Jamin around the fire. 

Michael enjoyed seeing all Jamin's photo gadgets. 

The girls joined us around the fire when they got home. Millie pretends to be disinterested in the fire. We enjoyed a chapter out of,  "Call of the Mild" by Torrey Martin. 

A quick note as I haven't kept up well. Both girls completed their midterms with flying colors. They are busy with their course work, social lives and ministry service. We couldn't be happier at how well they are settling into brick and mortar college life! Neither are working this semester so they can focus on all the transitions in their lives. 

First Pathetic Snow and Fire

 We had our FIRST snow at our house today. It snowed for quite a bit of time...big fluffly flakes...it's still too warm for them to accumulate but it was pretty. 

We also had our first fire of the season. The temps are dropping and it's nippy. 

I know it can't REALLY count as our first snow as it certainly isn't sticking...HOWEVER, we find ourselves looking FORWARD to the snow. Maybe we are becoming Alaskans. Slow days around the fire, baking, hot drinks, sleds and snowmen, winter reading... 

Winter will come, and it will test us, but we will be here at the end...we will rest as the summer and fall is certainly fast-paced. 

Each day feels like a bonus! We are used to having snow and colder temps by now. 

Bachan's Fort!

 "Bachan, come see!" 

"We made a Bachan fort!" 

They sure did. They found Arielle's blanket and made a little fort of the bunk bed just for me! It was in their room as the Wreck Room was to be the most amazing boy fort. I guess they felt bad about not allowing me in last week. I was still separate but I had a special spot all my own. 

Except the two-years-olds weren't about to leave me in the fort alone. They insisted on climbing in and cuddling and this frustrated Benny's plans of a male and female forts....and so he came up with a new plan. We moved all the chairs back to the dining room and he made a massive fort...a separate WING for each of us. 

This worked well. We all climbed in, and I read a schoolbook to Benny. It was about mummies and mysteries, but I never caught the full name. I know it's an A - Z mystery. 

Yes, Benny is in a Mario Brother phase...I love his creativity. I had hoped to get a lot of schooling done for Arielle, but today we built huge forts and finished a reader that was supposed to last all this week and next. I love it when books are that exciting. We loved Sonlight read alouds. Except after lunch when I would be sleepy and the stories often took odd turns...

The Yard is Trying to Kill Us!

 Yesterday I learned how to operate the riding lawn mower. 

This afternoon I learned how to operate the chain saw Michael bought for me last fall. At first, I thought I had to hold the little start button in while I held the trigger handle and cut...that was awkward. Once I got that figured out my only trouble was having the chain pop off...could be too much brush or sometimes the grass and dirt clogged things up if I tried to go a bit too close to the ground. I'll have to talk it over with Michael. 

Learning these skills is becoming a necessity. Michael wanted to live out of town. I actually have come to love it here - though I dream of being able to walk everywhere I need to be - ala Tokyo.  The thing is now that everyone has moved out, or is busy, busy, busy with college...there is much to do. Michael needs the help. I either learn these things or we seriously talk about finding something with less maintenance. And, y'all, ALASKAN WOMEN routinely do these things. 

I had not a clue what I was doing...either with the little chainsaw (as opposed to the 3 or 4 big ones Michael has) or with pruning plants. Michael assures me they will grow back, and he would have taken things down even further. Though we haven't taken them down since we moved in and thus the wild, overgrown look.  I should have taken a photo before I hacked the lilacs. They were quite a bit above the deck railing. I reached as high as I could and that's where I cut. Turns out the tree-like thing is a birch tree. ::snort:: I got it below the window...but Michael says it needed to go to ground level and he'll get the stump out. Unfortunately, the battery died right as I began that task. 

Looking much better

I didn't get a before...but I cut down cottonwood growth so we could find the stone wall at the front of the property. And then took the line on down to the back of the yard...that bushy bit in the back is trimmed back.  

About this time, I got into something. I was going to go out in the back and cut weeds down to ground....but wow. My legs were BURNING...and from mowing I had a bit of the same...and then blisters and red bumps.  I am told to expect more tomorrow. This is why Michael bought a complete suit to wear over his clothes when he works with weeding. Looks like a colorful hazmat dude - but I get it now. LOL  I am not sure WHAT I got into but after the last two days I am convinced the yard is trying to kill us. 

The lilacs on the other side needed trimmed back too. They were above the windows...and interfering with photos from the deck. The nerve! They are UGLY now...but again, Michael tells me they'll grow back. 

Before

After

The thing is when one cuts brush - one creates a mess. I thought about leaving it - but it's been a pet peeve of mine that my love sometimes leaves brush piles in the yard...and he was busy stacking wood. We are expecting rain tomorrow....trying hard to get as much done outside as possible when we have dry-ish days. 

My shoulders ached...I didn't want to pick up the brush. I sternly told myself to, "Suck it up butter cup."  But I tried to "hint" - would a wheelbarrow be helpful to move the brush? Surely, he'll say to leave it and he'll do it while I cook dinner?  Nope. ::snort:: He introduced me to a rope with loops and knots in it and told me that it would be quicker and easier to lasso the brush and drag it away. OK then. 

"Suck it up, Buttercup." 

To be fair, if I'd asked him to do it - he would have done it....but I knew there wasn't time before the rain began. He suggested a brush pile out in the woods. I just didn't have it in me and we settled on me dragging it to the fire ring. We'll see if the woodland ferries will have mercy on us and drag it out to the pile he is thinking of adding to. 

OK, I admit it looks puny compared to the piles Michael and the boys routinely clear...but I still feel pretty accomplished. 

I should have probably helped Michael finish the wood before I went in...but as it was dinner had gone from a fine chicken dinner to chicken chili. Michael opted to have me start dinner rather than eat leftovers. 

Yep, the yard is trying to kill us...but we will continue wrestling with it....I plan to find someone who knows WHAT these things are and HOW to get rid of them, or groom them...and HOW to deal with the weeds in the garden, and what grows and what doesn't around here...and how to landscape because that is NOT a skill our nomad lifestyle taught me....I will find that group this winter and learn how to do better in the future....because there has to be better ways to manage all this mess.