Stacia has a Birthday

It is nearly impossible to believe our baby - OUR BABY - is FOURTEEN and entering HIGH SCHOOL. 😏 We have four short years of homeschooling left. We have NEVER started school before her birthday - it just seems it should be a holiday. 

Stacia asked for Yakisoba for dinner. This is a favorite of hers - not so much with the men-folk.  I stopped at the commissary and picked up ingredients we can't find locally. We were able to use carrots, cauliflower and broccoli from the garden.  It looked yummy.....but um...when Krista doesn't add Sriracha sauce one KNOWS it's spicy! 

We gave it a valiant effort. We tried all the "cut the heat" tricks any of us had heard...we drank milk, plugged our noses and at pickles with it. I finally mixed mine with mashed potatoes and that tamed the heat a bit. Our lips burned. Krista said it was just a step below ghost peppers.  I served it on paper plates. I am NOT making this up. When we moved the plates it had taken the varnish off the table.

I have promised to make it again - and to be SURE to cut the heat! LOL

Josiah and Jamin came over after dinner. Bre, Donna and the kids came over. The S's came upstairs for dessert and cards.

Auntie and Sweet Bella

Cory has two short weeks left until he is FINISHED with his college degree! We're proud of all the hard work he's put in to make this happen. It would have been easy to  be derailed with the move, Benny joining their family,  and his full-time job. He often has to stay downstairs and "focus" - but he joined us for Stacia's birthday and it made just that much more special of an event. Benny was impressed Daddy can make noise with his noise maker. Benny can't. 

Unfortunately, the cake photos were blurry. Michael made a yummy Mint Moose Track ice cream cake....and then we moved the fun outside. Adults played disc golf  or visited, while the kids enjoyed the play structure.

Oops - Gideon is tough

Note I have added a bit of a padding at the bottom of the kami-kazi slide. 

It remains a blast to give Stacia gifts.  Alex got her more pieces for looms. 

 CoRielle and Nolan get her a DVD which should be here soon....and we've been warned we'll have to expect a Descendants marathon.

Krista gave her a DQ card and Gpa gave her a bit of spending money.

She had requested an adult Bible. Specifically, she asked for one with adult language rather than a 3rd grade reading ability. (Did I mention we are shocked she's going into HIGH SCHOOL? She's our baby.) Um - that would be New American (high school level). She was happy with her engraved name on the front. 

It was a fun day of reflection and celebration for the blessing Stacia is to our family.

Berry Picking with the Girls

We've been wanting to go blueberry picking. I had scheduled an event for the women's ministry at church - but it was the week school began and many of our ladies were  back at work. It didn't happen. TODAY is Stacia's birthday. Krista had to work and Bre had other plans; but  Arielle, Stacia and I decided to make this happen. Stacia wanted to do it for her birthday - a free gift we could give her - time.  It was "Girl's Day plus 1."

Stacia and I were sure to grab the bear spray. Unfortunately, neither of us realized we couldn't wear the can without a belt.😜 It may have been a bit more effective if we'd worn belts. We tried to post the name of the trail and where we were for safety reasons - but it didn't post until we were out of the mountains. ::snort::

Arielle brought Cory's gun. She wasn't 100% sure how to wear it - but we were happy to have a back up if the spray didn't work and back up was needed. Yes, she knows how to shoot. 

We GREATLY over-estimated how many berries we would get! ::snort:: We got about a quart all together.  Once we figured out the bushes on the ground were berry bushes - we set to work.

Benny did not understand why we'd put "boo barrys" in the container rather than eating them. LOL 

"The hills are alive...with the sound of...music." 

It was a beautiful day to be out in nature. It was quiet and we had to remind ourselves to make noise....When we worked up the rise to the point where we no longer had a sweeping view of the mountain - we left. It was eerie not to be able to scan far for bears. 

Iconic Alaskan Photos....Benny on her back and a gun on her front.

This was our maiden voyage with Benny's new car seat. Arielle had assured us it would make it easy to take Benny on adventures in my van. It did. 

We couldn't help noticing that the Fireweed is blooming out. 

When we were done picking we set out to find a fun place to eat our lunch. We usually stop at Gold Mint Trailhead and it's nice....but we drove on to Government Peak Trailhead this time. I think I liked it even better. It was a very easy walk down to the water.

14 years old today! 

We ate, visited, threw rocks, and played pooh sticks. 

Before any of us were quite ready - it was time to head back to town. We had birthday prep to finish. It was a great day. I think we need to have more outings like this.

A Well-Lived Summer Day

Summer evenings* are made for campfires. We set around the fire until after midnight with sweet friends last night. Tonight - it's a family circle around the fire. Cory is just 2 weeks away from finishing his degree and is pushing to finish, Dad decided he wanted to turn in early tonight (he was out until 8:45 p.m. last night).  We LOVED nightly campfires when we lived full-time in our RV. This is a habit we have worked to carry over into our stationary lifestyle. It is FINE if everyone simply reads at the campfire...some nights we talk, or read a chapter of Patrick McManus....tonight we relaxed.

Michael, Stacia, Nolan, Krista, Alex

We don't have s'mores EVERY night, but I have converted a tool box to a "s'more kit" and it IS always ready to go. 😉

Of course, relaxing around the fire is much more satisfying if one has been productive during the day.

I mailed off packages....and had a 2 hour ILP (Individual Learning Plan) meeting with our contact teacher at IDEA,  the charter school where our children are registered.  She loved the kids' plans....she knows our family and we truly like each other. She is a Pastor's wife and I keep thinking it would be fun to visit their church - but I haven't found a week where I want to miss our church. ::snort::  She said there will be no problem waiving the extra credits Stacia is taking as she knows we will do what we say we will do, and  she has seen how we are working to keep Stacia engaged and challenged. She had suggestions for Alex which I think will prove to be beneficial as we steer him towards his future. Specifically, she helped me create a much stronger "Career Prep" credit for him than the Sonlight texts I had....we'll incorporate local and state resources. She also explained  he qualifies for the Alaska Performance Scholarship and can use the money  for Voc Tech classes. As we talked, I realized Ales hasn't taken Ramsey's Foundation of Personal Finances - a requirement to graduate from our home school.  I mentioned we'd be working on that on the side and she suggested we incorporate it with the Sonlight Economics course to make it a full credit course.

And then....we simply talked. We shared about her recent visit home and my summer....and what it is like to be a woman in your 50's with parents aging and grandblessings thrilling....and to do it all from, and in, Alaska.

I stopped at Lowes for marking paint, peat moss and lime. Gardening and timber felling.... LOL I made a final stop before coming home for Dad's paper.

The front of our place is wonderfully private in the spring/summer/fall. It's very public in the winter when the cottonwood and birch trees lose their leaves.  It's a forest - and we're always working to keep the cottonwood from taking over.....

Michael and Alex went into this mess and cleared out Cottonwood. They left a a one deep stand between our home and the clearing. 

So handy to have these two in our midst

They planted four evergreens. It's a start. We'll leave the cottonwood as these grow...and then remove some of the Cottonwood to gain a bit more yard once the new ones provide privacy.  Once again, thinking in terms of years from now is an oddity for us - and we're enjoying it. We have the time to change this. 

Dad likes to come out and do what he can - always providing encouragement, and a few jokes, along the way. 

Michael, Dad and Alex 

THIS is the squash which grew from our secondary compost pile. This gives me great hope for my lasagna beds....it's taken over the area to the north of the garden which I hadn't weeded or planted. 

We aren't sure what it is. Arielle and I have talked about it and we both had spaghetti and butternut squash seeds we threw in the compost....maybe it will be one of those? Regardless, we have a lot of blossoms on it.... What do you think?

This tells me our compost is not heating up enough to really "compost" and that it IS providing enough nutrients to grow things...more than our soil. LOL  I have not been able to use the compost we started last year....we aren't adding to it any longer and I hope to be able to use it next year. I think it will just take longer for it to "cook" due to the cold winters.

I'm doing my best to awaken a love of growing things in the next generation. 

Bachan - look! 

 We have cauliflower! 

We have both red and green cabbage. It's amazing how much better it looks without moose eating the center out of them. LOL 

The bed is terribly over-crowded. I pulled off the lower leaves and put another green layer on the lasagna bed. I don't have any more "frames" for a bed...and the guys are busy with trees, so won't be making more beds. I think I'll stake out a few more beds so I can utilize our grass clippings, barnyard litter, and fall leaves. 

This is kale AFTER I've harvested 7 quarts. I think I'm going to harvest it all before we leave for OR and freeze it. I suspect more will grow while we are gone and we'll have plenty fresh when we return. 

We are getting lots of broccoli. 

We had another night of yummy veggies from the garden...zucchini, kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots....garnished with fresh basil....

Um....I tried to show him the goals for disc golf...but he thinks the goal is to throw the disc through the trees. Come to think of it, he has observed such playing. LOL 

My heart! Benny's new pose when he knows I'm going to take a photo. 

Playing with Mom is always more fun than playing with anyone else! 

It was a fun day.....and while I don't want to concede fall's arrival - I am looking forward to many fall evenings around the campfire. LOL


*Summer Evenings - it's getting dusky at 9 p.m. now, and it doesn't get light until 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. We have a few leaves on the ground, and the trees are starting to turn golden....fall is certainly on it's way...but for now, my calendar still says this is summer!

Stacia Launches a Business

Stacia makes hats. She's done this for a couple of years....all winter...all year long. Her brothers are convinced she needs to start a little business for herself and market online. The little Alaskan girl who wiles away the frigid winters crafting hats. She's made several for me, one for all her nephews, nieces, siblings, sibling spouses, guests to Alaska....The boys report these are WARM in the winter for ice fishing....

She recently SOLD her first two hats..to Terrah in Oregon. Two slouch hats.  She then sold a few too me which I gifted at a baby shower. Here she is mailing two slouch hats to Oregon. They wouldn't fit in the small box...From this we learned to save boxes, it is far cheaper to mail them by weight and not flat rate. We also learned she will need to charge for shipping.  ::snort::

We were discussing how we'd thought a slouch hat would fit in a flat rate envelope but they won't...that we needed to save cracker and cereal boxes etc....Michael asked why we don't vacuum seal the hats. Hmmm....

An adult slouch hat

The first try turned out bumpy and crumpled. 

They added cardboard from a bacon package and it worked. This may fit in a flat rate envelope? AND it's just fun to watch them expand when you open the bag! ::snort:: 

I found some books on Micro-Businesses; from starting one,  to running one, to paying taxes....I'm in the process of creating a high school credited course for her on start up, marketing, branding et al, she'll learn to build an online storefront and she has a lead on a local store that may carry them....I'm not sure what to call it....I'm leaning towards  Micro Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching and running a new business, which is often initially a small business. This fits.

Stacia's dream has always involved owning a small business (Whether that's a family farm or a bakery/tea shop) - we're going with it and getting her experience and school credit.

Currently, we're trying to figure out how to come up with a cool tag for her creations. She's come up with one that simply says, "Joy" and has a hiragana symbol with a wobbly weeble (incorporates her name, Japan, our place).  Recently, a sibling suggested "Anastacia's Accessories," she may play with that a bit too.  We're trying to find a place that could make a simple cloth or leather tag to sew onto the brims of her hats.

Read along for the rest of the story.

Smoked Salmon Chowder

I was originally given this recipe by Sandy D.  our first year in Alaska. I have made it so often and changed it much. I'm going to go ahead and rename it and put in the way I actually make it as folks always ask for the recipe and I have to remember what tweaks I've made. If you'd like to try the original, click here. 

Even our fish haters take seconds of this soup. 

Note: This makes a large pot...1/2 for a "normal" 4- 6 serving pot of soup. Above is my 6 qt pot with this recipe as written below. 

Ingredients 

6 T butter

1 1/2 C chopped onion (Large onion)

8 garlic cloves (less if you don't love garlic)

1 C chopped celery

2 tsp garlic powder

4 C diced potatoes

4 Carrots, diced

4 C chicken broth

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

4 tsp dried dill weed 

1-2 pint of canned smoked salmon (or 2 - 4 16 oz cans or, 2lbs salmon filet) *

2 (12 oz) can evaporated milk (in a pinch use any milk; I've used almond milk)

2 -3 C frozen corn 

1 - 2  (8 oz) block cream cheese, do one and see if you want more

2 - 4 caps of liquid smoke (if you aren't using smoked salmon) again start with 2 and adjust

Directions

Melt Butter. Sauté onion, celery, garlic and garlic powder until onions are soft. 

Stir in potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, pepper, and dill. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.  (If using uncooked salmon filet add at this point and it will be cooked in the allotted time. 

Stir in salmon, evaporated milk, corn, and cream cheese. 

Cook until heated through.

Recipe Notes: 

I provide shredded cheddar cheese at the table as the original recipe called for it. Most don't add it. 

Visits, Projects, and Accidents

Bre has a delightful friend from her days on staff at Calvary. Donna and Bre shared an office for years. Donna has come to Alaska to visit BreZaak. Krista and I deemed it easier for us than Bre to make the morning drive to Anchorage.  It was fun to catch up with Donna...hear a bit from our home church and here a bit of the reaction to dad's upcoming move to Alaska. 

She brought us avocados. I asked her to buy some as they were much cheaper than I can them here...and these are in great shape and big! 

It rained today - really rained! Dad and I smelled the rain and smiled and commented on how familiar and comforting rain can be. We're Oregonians. Michael, Krista, Alex, and Benny were outside putting trees on the ground when the downpour began. They weren't so enamored with the smell of the rain.

Just like Papa - sort of

 I heard a huge crash and then crying and moaning....I was worried dad had fallen. Stacia had slipped in a puddle of Yuuki's making (she's out of control these days) and fallen FACE FIRST onto the brick that lines the nook for our wood stove.

Benny sympathizes. He was covering his nose when I began to take the photo. Yuuki expresses her apologies. 

It took quite a bit of time to stem the bleeding to be able to see if we were dealing with broken teeth or WHAT....a very sore nose, a gash...lots of ice and we'll see what we have tomorrow. Poor thing.

She jumped back and helped me make some yummy salmon chowder and biscuits for dinner. As we cooked...I pondered....the biscuit recipe is one I've used for decades....Barb's recipe, a friend from Hardin, MT. The chowder recipe is Sandy's, a new friend. There is something so satisfying in fixing yummy food with connections to friends.  Chowder recipe to follow.