Busy Monday

I got a text from Michael early this a.m. like 0500 early.  I needed to run an errand for him as soon as the post office opened.  Michael has safely landed in Colorado. He'll enjoy a few days with his brother and family. Krista will meet him in Colorado in a few days. They'll proceed to drive to Alaska.

Dad and I went to the post office to mail Michael's passport, get my photos and renew my passport, and get Dad a new passport. We managed to mail Michael's and get my pictures. We'll go back tomorrow as Dad needed an appointment. The man told me I could "mail this yourself." At the end of  helping me, after I'd paid, he gave me a flat rate envelop and recommended I send the passport priority.....as I walked out I realized...."No, I can't mail this FROM home, I'll have to bring it all back to mail it here." ::snort:: Tomorrow.

I didn't even get to walk into the door before Stacia met me and we headed to Freddies to get her a couple of things she needed for camp.  This is usually a 5 - 6 minute drive. Due to road construction it takes 20 minutes to get to Freddies. Tis the season.

Nolan came home and agreed to drive out with Dad and I to take the kids to camp. He was making a call to the oral surgeon before we left and they said the could see him THIS Friday. WHAT? No initial consult. They'll remove the offending, painful teeth this Friday...IF we registered him before the end of business day. I knew we wouldn't be home before the end of business day....that was a LONG registration form. ::snort::

We met a friend and followed them out to camp. I was a bit worried about trusting the GPS in totally new territory.  Gorgeous area, nice camp. I took a photo, but promised one of the girls I wouldn't put it on Facebook.....

Yes, the kids are at camp. Michael is gone. I freely admit this as one would  be a fool to attempt to get into this house. Enough said. There are still 3 men here... CoRielle had recommended Smashburger...they said the burgers were good, the view great, AND they had a vegetarian option.

Our table with a view

They were right on all counts. It was another gorgeous summer day in Alaska and we scored an outside table with a stunning view.

Back at home, Nolan and Dad headed to bed. I spent another hour watering, weeding and settling chickens for the night. I've discovered it's very refreshing to sit and watch a sprinkler....with a cup of tea.

Saturday Projects

We worked on projects today. Michael and Alex were determined to finish the upgrade to the chicken coop before Michael leaves to bring our baby girl home. They succeeded. Michael can leave knowing the chicks are contained and I'm not chasing them up and down Mat Peak. LOL 

They'll have a covered area this winter and I'll wrap the fence in that corner to cut the wind and snow drifts. We are hoping this will allow them to be outside more and cut down on the pecking and such. We also hang cabbage for them to peck on, give them carrots, put balls in there, and I'm looking for a xylophone to attach to the wall - anything to give them something to do. LOL   

They errected a temporary fence that runs from the corner of the coop to the existing fence. This will keep the chicks in and close to the bigger chickens. We're letting them get used to each other, waiting for Phoenix to mature, then we'll sneak this year group into the coop some night. Maybe it will go smoothly. Lucille still can't go back into the coop. She is bloodied every time we try. She WANTS back in....that'll preach. 

Josiah came by as we were finishing our Saturday projects and helped catch chicks. They have enjoyed free-ranging. I am tired of the poop on the front porch. They've started heading for the road, and one made it. They are also easy prey the further they range.  They are adjusting well to their confinement.

CATCHING them was an adventure. Benny jumped in to help with this as well. They love hiding under the trailer.

As we caught them, we introduced them to their new home. Stacia with Lorri 1. 

Josiah and Lorri 2. 

Alex with Red - needs a name. 

 See the thin one with the white head and gray back lower half. She holds herself very upright when she runs. She's fun to watch. We've named her road runner - and we'd love guesses as to her breed. 

 While the guys worked on the chicken coop, Stacia and I continued working on the garden. 

I hadn't realized how big the garden spot is. I planted all the seedlings I had....and still have 1/2 the garden to plant. I had hoped to find some squash and pumpkin starts - no luck.  The chick weed up here is like Kudzu in the south. It's terribly prolific! I don't want to look at a huge patch of weeds all summer....the wood shavings did not deter the weeds last year. They grew through ROOF shingles. ::snort::  I am covering the areas we are not using with black plastic in an effort to check the weeds.  We were given a roll and used it. Michael had a huge box from Lowes and we used all of it today. I need to go buy more. 

I am standing in the NE corner of the garden by the fence post...all this grassy area needs taken down and then covered. To the left is corn. 

Stacia and I covered from the beds to the fence line and over to the other SW fence line. 

It's going to be a work in progress. I envision various sizes of beds, some flowery spaces, a bench and table to enjoy....a trellis and a wooden fence with an arched entry way....for now I'm content to slap plastic over it and weed every day....Things are growing this year. I'll do a post soon - I have garden questions too. Anyone surprised? LOL

As the guys picked up tools, we started dinner inside. It was fun to have Josiah out to visit and to catch up with him.

We played a couple of rounds of Farkle and STACIA won for the first time since G Dog arrived. LOL

Chick Antics or Name That Breed

If you are a chicken person, please give us your opinions on the breeds of the chicks we mention below. I am happy to have selected chicks from a local feed store - I got a bigger variety than I need when we ordered from Anchorage....but I haven't a clue what I got. I do have 6 Cochins or mixed-Cochins. I recognize the one Red Sex Link. 

The antics of this year's chicks keep us on our toes....Evidently this gal wants to go for a bike ride.  Anyone want to guess as to her breed? 

This is one of our black Cochins, shown providing natural fertilizer for my plants. 

Chicks happy in their new home - well ok - not so happy. They want to continue having free range of Wibbly Wobbly acres...but as they are not smart enough to stay out of the road....they now have a safer home.  Anyone know the breed of the one in the bottom right - white head, gray feathers, black tail feathers. She's really pretty. We have two of them. The Cochin beside her appears to be a mixed whatever she is and Cochin. Any guesses?  They run like road runners - therefore we have named them road runner 1 and road runner 2. 

Phoenix is getting the crowing thing down...though he seems to think 1 a.m. is an appropriate time to practice. I need to figure out how to make their pen DARK so they aren't waiting for the sun to go down.  Anyone know what breed he is? 

Guesses on breeds? 

Thanks all! They are two months old. We are waiting for Phoenix to be big enough to win in a fight with the mean girls before we combine the two year groups. We want him to establish order and not be terrified of the meanies. 

Summer Afternoon

Benny loves being outside. One benefit of having dad here is  I slow down enough to sit outside for an hour or two with him each day. Arielle and Benny often come out after his nap.  Here he is enjoying frozen banana/apple puree. Frozen in a long bag, it's better than otter pops by far but just as convenient. LOL

I use this time to check in on the garden. We have tiny cucumbers and tomatoes in the greenhouse. Pepper, melon and tomato blossoms and beans starting to come on. I'm calling the greenhouse a success and dreaming of simply enclosing the entire garden spot. I enjoy the humid warmth too - tropical muscle memory. 😏   Out in the garden I thinned the radishes. We have lettuce, carrots, kale, cauliflower, cabbage etc growing.  There are a few hills of potatoes sprouting and a bit of corn. I'm disappointed not to see more corn. What could be going on?

Michael and Alex are busy with the latest project. They are the wonder-workers around here. I think it up - they make it appear. They are making a covered area off the coop. In the long term this will provide shade in the summer and a snow-less spot in the winter.  In the short term, we plan to put a temporary divider off the corner of the coop to fence in the area for the free-ranging chicks. I tried to put them in  a couple of nights ago and Phoenix flew out and then instructed the girls how to break free.

We ended the night with a dinner of smoked salmon, roasted potatoes, and salad. We also played a couple of rounds of Farkle. Michael and I were the evening's winners.

Smoked Salmon

The day after a salmon trip..... 

THIS is the recipe I used last year. Everyone loved it - it was sticky sweet. As I am dealing with diabetes, sticky sweet is not a good thing. It also limited what could be done with the salmon. It was GONE by January.

I knew I wanted to make more as this was a favorite....but I researched to see if I could find another brine.

We sort of combined various recipes/techniques this year. Here is exactly what we did.

INGREDIENTS
4 C brown sugar
1 C Kosher salt (non-iodized)

Maple Syrup or Orange Juice
Apple and Alder wood chips (is what we used this time)

INSTRUCTIONS 
Mix brown sugar and salt.

Filet salmon as you desire. Rather than cutting salmon into small strips and chunks - we left it in big pieces this year. This made it easier to dry and smoke on the racks, took less time, and may be one reason it isn't as sweet this year. 

Layer salmon in container, top with 1/4 inch of brine on each layer. Cover your container and place in fridge for 12 -14 hours. I consistently read online that longer marinading leads to saltier fish.

Put salmon on racks. Save liquid from containers to baste salmon as it dries. Pat off any big salt crystals. DON'T RINSE. Baste salmon with liquid.

*Dry salmon on racks - with a fan blowing on them for 2 - 2 1/2 hours.  Baste around the one hour and 2 hour mark. Dry for 30 min beyond the last baste.  A sort of crust layer forms and this is desired. Can't remember what it's called but it starts with a "p".  It's helpful to have Yuuki stand guard during these 2 hours.

Beagle not essential to success

Near the end of drying...fill your wood chip pan with chips Heat smoker to 250* and let a strong smoke build up.  When a good smoke has built up, turn your smoker to the lowest setting, open the door and let it cool down a bit. Spray your racks with non-stick spray (I didn't do this and it was fine). If you didn't dry your salmon on racks as I did - load the racks - or place the racks in the smoker. Baste if you'd like.

Reheat smoker to 150* Cook for an hour under steady smoke.

Baste with brine or do as we did - maple syrup. Orange juice can also be used and I'll try that next time.

Continue smoking with light smoke on 150*. In the original recipe this took an hour or two.

This took 7 - 8 hour with the bigger pieces. 😏

We smoked to an internal salmon temp of 145*. I am seeing it can be smoked to 135-145. I think we'll aim for 140* next time.

Michael basted throughout the process whenever the mood struck him. 

It turned out really good. Not as dry,  or sticky sweet. Rather than a sweet snack, we ate some for dinner.  This will be great on crackers (as the last stuff was) but it will also be good in recipes and dips. I think the difference in the sweet is  we left the salmon in bigger pieces AND Michael covered the racks with tin foil the first time...we didn't this time.

The racks cleaned up quickly in the dishwasher.

Smoked Salmon will keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. We vacuum seal and freeze and it lasted until it was all gone - at least 6 months.

If you want to can the fish - smoke for an hour or so for flavor,  and then proceed with canning. I think it would be far to dry to can completely smoked fish. I have smoked for an hour and then canned with good results.

*Drying under fan - online some skip this step; all or most the Alaskans recipes I read say it is essential. I decided not to skip it.

Brenda sent this recipe. It uses a salt water brine for 4-8 hours in the fridge and then a sweet or savory dry rub right before you smoke. I plan to try the savory next time we have some salmon. 

Searching for Salmon in Seward

What would cause us to be up at 11:45 p.m. cleaning the kitchen? This. 

Early this morning we left the valley for Seward, AK. There are two types of fishing in Alaska. Sports fishing and Subsistence fishing. Dip netting and set netting are subsistence fishing. The amount of fish you can subsistence fish depends on the number of people in your family. As a family, we are allowed 65 salmon.  Sports fishing does not count towards our subsistence limit. We will go dip netting in July and attempt to fill our freezer for the upcoming year.

However, we've heard the run is good in Seward and the limit was raised to 12 per person. We headed out. Some have noted Dad doesn't look too excited about this adventure. He WANTED to come. 😊He was given the option to stay home. Nolan was working and was home in the afternoon.

Three hours later, we arrived in Seward. I have NEVER found disinfectant in an outhouse. I was impressed. We were NOT impressed the price to park  had gone from $5 to $10 per person in a week.

Before one can fish, it is wise to don waders. Stacia and I have poofy ones that make us look like sumo wrestlers. The guys and CoRielle have the neoprene type. I suspect they are warmer - they are certainly harder to get on!

Even grown up sisters sometimes need a little help from their sisters. 

Dad had fun. He'll rest well tonight.

Cory had the day off and we were glad they met us there. 

Yes, I do some fishing; though I have never caught a fish.  Mostly, I love being out in nature. The fishing spots are always gorgeous...and all is better if one has a good book and company (I had both today).

Alex caught the first fish. 

This isn't the best photo of CoRielle, but I love Benny's face. He was happy to be on Daddy's back.  

The eagles are majestic. There were many. Dad saw an eagle take a fish which was resting on the beach. He explained the mystery to the gal who came back looking for her fish.  

 Family caught fish. 

Arielle caught a fish - and my camera wasn't working. It was hilarious. She fell to her knees. Cory was yelling, "Hold on!"

Amidst the cheering and yelling we heard her yell, "It's a shark. It'll bite me." ::snort::

Cory helped her land it and get back on her feet. We were all suitably impressed.

Dad has the distinction of catching a dead fish. 

Michael - entertaining the tourists on the cruise ship

Cory has the distinction of catching the smallest fish. 

Fish on! 

Hauling a salmon out. The big splash is the salmon. 

Michael caught 5. Alex caught 2. Cory caught 1. Arielle caught 1. Stacia and I got skunked. She is convinced it's because she was not wearing her, "Shut up and Fish" shirt.

It was quiet ride home....we left Seward around 7 p.m. Arrived home at 10 p.m. with gear to clean, and fish to fillet.

Sleeping with his head on the cooler - hope he was having fishy dreams

Laundry started, gear cleaned and stowed, food and fish cooler unpacked, salmon brining... and it's now 1:17 a.m. on the 19th. I'm going to call it quits for the night.

Father's Day Recital and Such

Father's Day is  a bit bitter sweet for Michael and I. Seven years ago, on Father's Day, Dad G went to be with his Heavenly Father. We've been remembering him, his bigger than life personality, and his stories, as the day drew near. The legacy of a father is an amazing thing. I see it in Michael and in the way he fathers our children.

Today, at Matanusaka AG, we concluded an 8 week series - Heroes. We celebrated and prayed for our  hero fathers.  Our ministry required us to be away from family for decades. It was especially sweet to celebrate this Father's Day with children, my father and our son in laws.

Izaak, Michael, Carl and Dad 

Carl, Dad, Barney, Rick?, Pastor Shannon, Bob and Bob

Danny, Michael, Izaak.....

A word about church Father's Day gifts. Michael knocked it out of the park one year with fishing lures. This year? Pastor hit a home run. Best Father's Day gift ever - BRATS as in

Michael picked out ribs to grill today. They took a bit longer to prepare than we expected. We made good use of the time.  Some of the men headed out to play Bocce. I had meant to buy some new lawn games before today. Oops - it's been busy.  Note - we've pushed back the jungle - but it's still apparent we aren't quite cultured out here. Ah well, we have a defined yard. LOL

Josiah, Michael, Jared, Alex

  We are lurking on every buy/sell list we know hoping to score a nice, sturdy, wood play/swing structure for our yard. We don't have a lot for the kids to do in the back yard. We have the trampoline - thanks to Jared.  We're also looking for a hot tub. If you are local and see something - send us the link. We've missed a couple - but keep hoping.

Benny loves to jump

 Jamin and Arielle took the kids to play with BUBBLES. 

Larissa left the bubble machine for the kids when she moved to Juneau. It is perfect!

Bella, Benny, Jamin, Gideon, Arielle 

 Strange things these bubbles!

Gideon loved the bubbles, but loved the tools Jamin shared with him even more. 

Note the tape measure in his hand even in the midst of bubbles. 

I caught a shot of both boys on the move! Benny is trying to duck under the bubbles. 

Bella wins the creative catch award. Arielle to ld her we were out of bubbles, she attempted to catch bubbles in the bottle. 

Bre's such a good mommy

Stacia is always working on a craft or two. 

Dad and Josiah enjoy the gorgeous day. 

Izaak is the grill master extraordinaire - and he likes doing it. 

Bre and Jared used the wait to catch up. 

 Annie has been a mama only gal for the last couple of weeks. This afternoon she did let Stacia and Josiah hold her - as long as she could see Bre. 

Izaak shared with me the wonders of the chaga mushroom a few weeks ago. People  swear by it up here. It's supposed to boost immune systems, be good for livers and more... I found a chaga nectar for Izaak to use in his coffee...and some powder for Dad  I can put in his morning coffee. Keeping our heroes healthy.

Michael got Moose Poo and Cory got Bear Scat. Uncanny how real they looked. 

The advantage of our later than expected lunch is Nolan made it home while folks were still here. He came home with a sad commentary on culture. McDonalds was swamped with single dads who had their kids for the day.  He was expecting a slow day - it was the busiest yet.

Michael has been giving Stacia piano lessons. She usually practices with head phones on and doesn't want anyone to hear her play. She gave her first recital for Father's Day. She played Matt Redman's 10,000 Reasons and did a great job.  This song was sung at Mom's funeral and I couldn't help but think of Mom and how she would have loved to be here today. Stacia will soon be forced to find a new teacher...and we know just the one...but she's still nervous about playing in front of anyone.

She had quite an audience....

So sweet when Benny RAN to Stacia after she finished and all were clapping. Turns out he wanted to explore the wonder of the louder volume on the keyboard.

Bella and Gideon explored this wonder as well. 

The guys left to get Jared to the airport for his flight back to Juneau. Please continue to pray for him in his job. Obviously, anyone going into this sort of field knows they will have a target on their back. This mama just wants to make sure he's standing at the end of the onslaught. LOL

It was a red letter day. I had an extra smile in my heart as my baby brother and his wife are flying across the globe to the states today. They have reached Amsterdam. They'll be visiting us up here in a few weeks.  Krista called. This will be her final week at her Chaplain Candidate assignment. Michael will be flying to meet her and drive with her back to Alaska next Sunday. Family is a blessing and we are amply blessed. On days like today my heart sings. This life is not the one we had planned for this season - but the blessing of being with family is not to be rejected. I still pray fervently for Japan, I am happy to be here with the kids.