What Could Go Wrong - Ice Cream Bucket Challenge - How Do You get FROST BITE in JUNE?

 Here is the rest of the story from Sunday's Father's Day ice cream shenanigans!  Grands had gone home...we were standing around talking in the kitchen. The ice cream bucket had been sitting in the sink. Michael looked around at everyone and said, "Time for the ice-cream bucket challenge." This could have been simple. It could have been laughed off, if not for the competitiveness of this gang. 

Michael stuck his hand in, and it was extremely cold. He pulled it out - about 7 seconds. 

Jenni went next and lasted 20 seconds. 

Jamin went next. I don't remember his time - I think a bit longer. 

Nolan went next! He just kept his hand in that water....60 seconds. 

I was chirping it was time to pull it out. He pulled his hand out and it was WHITE and COLD, and I wasn't happy with the way it looked. BUT I'm just a worrisome mom these days. 

 

Proving the Gherkins are not the only competitive members around here - Jenni went AGAIN! She lasted 63 seconds this time. This made Jenni the winner. 

This was Sunday night. Monday Nolan's hand was swollen. We were unaware of this. He googled what to do with swelling and it said "ice." He worked with the ice...and began taking Tylenol. He took quite a bit of friendly ribbing from the kids at work. 

"Did you burn your hand?" 

"No, the opposite." 

"You froze it? How?"

He explained the ice cream bucket challenge. 

"Why?" 

"Because the whole family was doing it?"

"Nolan! If your whole family jumped off a cliff, would you join them?" 

This is evidently one of the pieces of wisdom Nolan shares with the youngsters at work. 

Tuesday night at dinner we saw Nolan. He had his hand encased in ice. We looked at it. It was SWOLLEN and I was worried. He explained he was icing as that helps swelling. I asked if it was getting better or worse. He thought maybe better - but he WAS taking Tylenol, and his hand was numb. 

I bought Ibuprofen and dropped by his house. I suggested he stop icing his hand as it had been 2 days (I'd checked with nurse Jenni and she agreed). I also explained the dosing he could do and told him if it wasn't getting better or if it started getting worse it would be time to go to the urgent care. 

This morning, he sent me a picture and asked me if I thought he should go to the urgent care. 

Um YES. It's turning colors now and still swollen. His hand is stiff and he doesn't have great range of motion. He made an appointment. When it asks WHY you need to be seen he wrote down, "Suspected Frostbite." 

This started a humorous chain of events in the office.  They were perplexed! HOW do you get frostbite in JUNE when it's been in the mid 70's. 

Nolan came in and the nurses had questions. They thought the story was hilarious. 

The doctor came in and said, "I know your family." 

Nolan, thought, "Of course, you do!" LOL 

We knew Rob and Dollie at Goodfellow AFB and they moved up here about the time we retired.  They loaned us a trailer for BreZaak or CoRielle to stay in during the great migration to Alaska. Rob has since retired and is now a doc at our local urgent care. He is the doc who caught Allie's appendicitis too. 

Nolan shared the story again.  I said we need to tell Rob to expect a Gherkin every 3rd Saturday....or the Monday following every 3rd Saturday. 

His hand IS frost-bit. Really and truly. This is why his finger felt like a literal ICE CUBE after the "challenge," it's why the pain was so bad he was dizzy and nauseated (facts hidden from us).   They began him on antibiotics to ward off infection. The way to tell if there is permanent damage is to wait and see if it gets better...but if his fingers change to black, he's to go back in. 

As he was leaving another nurse ran out and asked him, "Did you win?" 

"No, Jenni won by 3 seconds." 

And THAT is how you get frost bite in JUNE! 

Grief Finds a Home

Today, Michael and I did something we never imagined we would be doing. We met with Carrie at a local cemetery to pick out a plot for our son and her husband, Josiah.  We knew we wanted to try to get this done before winter comes again. Josiah loved Pioneer Peak. We selected a spot with a beautiful view of not only Pioneer Peak but Mat Peak and The Butte as well - all spots with fond memories. 

Below is Mat Peak. We live at the trailhead to this peak...we have fun memories of Josiah, Jamin and Jared setting out to hike Hatchers Pass, getting lost, and ending up hiking Mat Peak then stopping to laugh with us about it. LOL 

The taller mountain in the background below is Pioneer Peak and The Butte - a popular hike - is the smaller mountain to the right. 

What can I say? It's surreal to pick out space in a cemetery for your child. We never imagined a scenario where we would be doing this.  However, we all decided it was important to have a place to go, a place to sit and remember and feel connected...and yes, we all do all that every day, but this brought a measure of peace. 

We thought we'd be able to order a headstone here but ended up needing to drive to South Anchorage to take care of that. We'd all planned the day for this and so we decided to just drive to Anchorage and get it all ordered and on its way. Again, we're hoping and praying this can be done before winter sets in. 

Stacia had stayed with the girls and GG at home. She agreed to come to Carrie's and stay with them all while Mike, Carrie and I went to Anchorage.  We are really happy with the choices made...we wanted to honor Josiah and capture who he was and what he gave his life for...I think we did. It's easy when everyone is on the same page.

There were tears. There was laughter and jokes.  While we were gone, Stacia and Livie had worked on cupcakes.  They were in honor of Josiah. Liv picked out some of his favorite things - fish, ice cream - and they made little molded chocolates to top the cupcakes. They were in the middle of their project when we showed up and announced their move to Eagle River and ours to south Anchorage. LOL 

Better even than cupcakes is this video Stacia captured of Josi out and out giggling. She said this is the end of the session and she was really belly laughing earlier before she thought to turn on her camera. 

This is how our days go... the sad mixed with joy...grief and celebration...I still find myself resisting grief, sadness, tears, pain...and yet I know it's right to feel each emotion fully. It's a struggle to stay present and there are many times when I distract myself to get things done...but today...it was good for the three of us to walk this out together. 

I am thankful to Kim for taking over my Wholesome Food Co-op role today so I could get this done. I'm grateful Linda picked up my fruit and brought it home. I appreciate Stacia watching the girls and GG.  I'm so thankful for our sweet daughter-in-law and the way she allowed us to walk this out with her. Josiah couldn't have picked better. 

Monday Revisited

 Stacia and I ended up with dental cleanings at 0900. I'm not sure HOW, but we did.  I was rather happy to fit an hour of gardening into the early morning schedule. This is my newest mug, a gift from Mona and Kari. 

The first buds are showing up in the garden this morning. We DO have an incredibly short growing season up here, but things grow amazingly fast with 20 hours of sunlight a day. 

The dentist was painless. They continue to push for me to have one of my wisdom teeth removed. I'm 60 years old. What to do?  My mother ALWAYS took us to Dairy Queen after the dentist. Always. I asked Stacia if she'd rather go to Dairy Queen or Sophias? She opted for Sophias - and that is how I scored one of Autumn's scones! We have eaten all the tea treats I had squirrelled away in the freezer. I just haven't had "time" to make more scones. I should - but the garden and devil's club calls...and I must go! 

It was good to sit and chat with Stacia. The summer isn't turning out the way she envisioned...but after the hard year it may be just the summer God knows her soul needs. She's doing a lot of work with her counselor (grief and trauma) and her physical therapist (TMJ)...she enjoys being busy. Distraction IS one of the most common coping techniques for grief. It's a hard good for her to slow down. 

Father's Day - Round 2

THIS Father's Day - Round 2. Those who are able to will join us this evening for homemade icecream....however, church first. I did not go to Eagle River today with the family. I was up bright and early...got GG ready and then booked for Wasilla to attend church with CoRielle. 

Have you ever noticed how MANY hymns are about death, dying and heaven? We started with "When We All Get to Heaven"...and ended with "I Fly Away." Just something I noticed. 

After church I took delight in a picnic with the boys and Ellie on the church grounds. They have a great sand box and play structure. We had no trouble amusing ourselves. 

"Would you like coffee, Bachan?"

"What do you want for BREAKFAST, Bachan?"

Discovering a ladybug. 

You have this, Benny! 

        

I made a run by Three Bears on my way home for cream, ice and rock salt. I got home at about the same time as the Eagle River crowd. Krista was home this weekend in between her 2 1/2 week trip to Hawaii/Guam and their 2-week vacation to the Lower 48 with the kids. They stopped by and it was great fun to fit in a visit. Luke's parents, Mark and Mona, were also here.  We had two ice cream makers running. This one was giving us a bit of trouble, so Jared brought it inside. Benny was his assistant. 

Krista and a bunch of the kids

 It was a great day! We played games, ate ice cream and visited. 

There were a few other pictures, but as I'm blogging from the vantage point of 3 days later, I think I'll include them in the rest of the story post. 

8 Months by Carrie

 Carrie says this so well. 

8 months.

It’s also international widows day and the theme is “it’s better to be the widow of a hero than the wife of a coward” - how perfect. Josiah will always be our hero and I’m still so proud of him for sacrificing his life and ensuring his coworker was safe. His most important moment was his last moment.

Every fun summer moment is paired with deep sorrow and an understanding that life would be so much better with you still here. Although I’m leaning how to survive without you, it never gets better or easier - just different.

You were the most perfect husband and father, and I couldn’t think of a flaw of yours even if I tried.

I miss everything about you every single day @jgoecker_

Game Night @ Nolan and Alex'

The girls were invited to join the youth from MAG to hike the Butte and then have a BBQ afterwards. It was a beautiful day to hike, and they had a great time. 

I spent a few hours in the garden, did a few housekeeping things, fed GG. 

We ended the day at our family monthly game night. The kids began meeting to play games, it sort of firmed up and settled into a monthly family game night. Hosts alternate, pizza is provided, snacks are brought by guests, and fun is had by all. It's just another way to intentionally connect. We've all been much more intentional to connect since last fall.

This month we converged on Nolan and Alex at their home. KrUke are busy prepping for their upcoming vacation. Carrie and the girls were at the lake - perfect weather for the lake!  Izaak was on call - but Bre and the kids walked over. CoRielle attended. Larissa and Noah are in TX, but Jared came, as did Jamin and Jenni. 

Nolan, Jamin, Jenni, Allie, Ellie, Stacia, Arielle

GG and Jared

Alex set up Mario Cart so that it was "impossible" for the kids to lose. They had fun! 

Bre sent this photo later in the evening! Can you believe it? Gideon and Annie BOTH lost their first teeth this evening. As Bre said, "The tooth fairy is running a 2 for 1 special." LOL 

📷by BreAnne

I love those smiles!!!

FRIDAY AT LAST!

This morning began with baking 2 loaves of sourdough. I continue to play with fresh ground sourdough starters and rounds.... obviously there are benefits to using bread flour instead of fresh ground whole wheat. 

left = bread flour, right = freshly ground whole wheat - 100%

Allie kept busy with her 2nd full day of training at her new job!

I had a counseling appointment today. Stacia went into town to run some errands. We met up and did a quick run through the Friday Fling.  She continues to look for employment and so I am making the most of our times together before that happens. 

We got home to discover Michael and Cory attacking the back meadow. Michael has several piles to be burned...when it begins to rain, he'll get a permit and burn some brush back there. The devil's club is TERRIBLE. As we pondered WHY it's taking over when the woods were originally so nice to walk through (a selling point for the property even) ...we realize the HORSES made the difference. They kept the weeds down. I can't seem to talk anyone into the idea of a horse. Goats are hard to contain - at least that's what I've observed. I'm not sure what other animal options we may have. I've thought of renting someone's goats for the summer.  ANYWAY....the guys tackled this corner...the devils club has taken over the woods and are advancing on our yard. We've tried everything suggested to us. One expert told us he doesn't understand why folks try to get rid of it. In his view it provides "color." Ye'gads...and it stings and hurts if you bump into it!!! Maybe he was a city summer hire.  This meadow has so much potential - if we can get the devil's club under control. They made great progress - the clubs were taller were taller than me. 

One pile of devil's club 

Unfortunately, I'm writing from four days later and Michael is STILL covered in angry, red welts from the devil's club. 

I jumped into the garden, determined to get a row of potatoes and 2 beds weeded, and the beets thinned out. I also enjoyed some refreshing tears in the garden. I'm learning some of the best gardeners actually do enjoy tears and tea in their gardens. This may be the missing ingredient from past attempts at growing gardens. 

I'm still not 100% sure if I have ANY potatoes poking through, but I can weed the green around the rows and edges as I know that is not where the starts should appear. 

2 rows down

Time to thin out the baby beets

There is a LOT of grass in a couple of the beds. I think it's because I was doing the lasagna method and used a lot of hay in them. Did YOU know straw and hay are not the same? Hay can result in lots of grass in your garden.  This bed has two chocolate spearmint plants at the top left, our lone zucchini plant, I direct sowed all the beet seeds I had left from 2022, I started the swirly beets in the foreground inside and transplanted them, and two Brussel sprouts round out the bed. 

I know this seems like crowded spacing, but I grew two beds of beets in 2022 using this method. I use the spacing from square foot gardening. 

More room to grow 

The chickens get 1/2 a Rubbermaid tub of weeds a day! They also have planters filled with grass to enjoy. 

I picked up Papa Murphys while we were in town, so dinner was easy. Allie got home with fun tales from work. We were all ready for a restful evening after the outside work. 

The weather continues to be unbelievably gorgeous, and I love being OUT in it. With Michael's health being what it is just now, and Dad not loving being out....I am not getting out for walks, bike rides, hikes, walks around the lakes or to the swimming hole...but I AM still making the most of the weather...soaking up Vitamin D and it's great.