Michael turns 61

Michael  informed us he is starting his 7th decade of life. He turned 61 today. He used to tease me about my tendency to think in terms of "running" birthdays. In the Philippines one who turned 61 today  is "running 62" tomorrow...but shoot...7th decade sounds WAY more serious than running 62. LOL 

We will celebrate family wide on Thanksgiving, but we simply can't let a chance to celebrate go by around here. LOL  Rarely a day goes by that I do not thank God for bringing this man into my life. Doing life with him has been one of God's best blessings...valleys or mountains...he's steadfast, compassionate, kind and strong. 

Unfortunately, our day began out of kilter when I had to wake Michael to help me as Dad had fallen. Dad had a hard day, this would have been his 59th anniversary. He hasn't felt well all day. We got dad settled and Michael went back to bed for a couple more hours...it was 0600. 

In the midst of lots of  unexpected laundry the dryer, which came with the house, QUIT.  When the washer quit a year ago Michael had found someone giving a washer/dryer away on Craig's list. We stored the dryer as we'd been told by an appliance repairman the dryer in the house was on it's last leg. We got a good year of use from the free washer before it quit last month and we finally bought a new one. We are hoping to get at least a year from the dryer before we have to buy a new one.  In any event - free is a great price. The oven is STILL not working. They are checking to see when the part will be here. They were getting it from ANCHORAGE and it's been over a week now. LOL 

Prepping to move into the laundry room

We had planned to meet Nolan at Michael's favorite restaurant at 5 p.m. Since Dad was having GI issues all day we didn't want to risk a public outing. We called in an order and the girls and I picked it up....temps are dropping. It was -6* already when we came home.  We were glad both the boys were able to be home for dinner and gifts.  

While we picked up the food, the guys finished this...laundry must go on...and on....and on. 

After dinner Michael opened gifts....here are a few glimpses. Nolan got him a puzzle which will keep he and Nolan busy for most the winter. It's 2000 pieces and is of a couple of women and a girl in a PUZZLE shop. 

These red pens have a very specific purpose -  editing Allie's papers. ::snort:: 

Allie and Stacia laugh as Michael quips about his own red pens

Stacia's package was a bit of a scavenger hunt...there were 8 or 9 steps to reaching the gift...Michael began the journey. 

She gave him a copy of a story/book she's been working on. It will be fun to read it. 

I ran to the church for ladies Bible study after the last gift was opened. I couldn't get the door to open so we settled on going to a local restaurant. It was fun. The rest of the family watched a movie of Michael's choice while I was gone. Mega mind it was. 

When I got home we had ice cream cake....and attempted to SING Happy Birthday. 

Winter Recess!

Even very studious young ladies eventually need to blow off a bit of steam! Today, these two hit the back yard. Their mission - work on the sledding platform/run. Millie was thrilled to join them outside. 

I LOVE the time of day when the sun comes shining through the trees and over the mountain. 

Millie is so pretty in her coat and boots. 

See - off grid is doable in the winter. LOL 

The girls got the landing done and needed to pack down the run. It worked well - except for MILLIE. Millie was determined to get in the middle of the fun. 

Millie's legs are all off the ground....

Poor Millie. Stacia wasn't having any more interruptions. Sled run packing is a serious business. 

Millie tells Grandpa all about it. 

The girls determined it was time to come inside and warm up. There is no better way to warm up than a mid-afternoon tea break. Though this time they made hot chocolate mix and fixed themselves mugs of chocolate. 

Eventually, recess comes to an end and it's back to the ole books for these two.....

Brrrr - It's a WINTER Day

I have capitulated. When the temps drop below 0, nose hairs freeze, you need to bundle up, and the woodstove is burning... it's WINTER...regardless of the calendar. 

What do you do when it's -4* out and the animals need to be fed? You bundle up....

Millie is content to stay inside, warm by the wood stove. 

I have over 100lbs of squash stored for the winter. The oven is out. I heard the instant pot was great for baking squash. Is THIS what it always does? I wondered if it went to long....lost quite a bit as I tried to be sure to get the seeds out. It was a yummy butter cup squash. 

THIS is a new to us vegetable. It's Romanesco...a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. I liked it. I liked the texture better than either of the others. I will have to try to order it again next co-op order. 

Such a fun looking veggie

Not to worry about us Alaskans...we know how to survive the cold...Though I have to say I think THESE THREE have a great idea for surviving a cold snap.   I'm thankful they are showing us the way to handle this mess....next year...I may cruise from Nov-May.  Not that we're a bit envious or anything...

Photo by Carrie - Cy, Livy, Carrie

Other notes this winter day: 

Michael and Alex worked on the woodstove...gave it another good cleaning out...took the thing APART and cleaned it. 

Nolan is pushing forward with college. I really don't get why his bosses think 30 hours looks like 50 hours...but he's handling it like a champ. He got a hair cut and I love it - but that would embarrass him so I won't post a photo. 

Allie and Stacia are also making steady progress on school. I am proud of them for helping to instigate some group events outside of youth group. They are rock stars. 

Benny is Four!

 Benny's birthday is today!  

We had a little gift. The girls and I were going to run it over, but one thing led to another and it was late afternoon.  We will be celebrating all our November birthdays on Thanksgiving Day, but it seemed impossible not to make mention of the day to the kids....so I've been dropping by on their birthdays with a small gift. Michael and I decided to run out and deliver the gift when Benny and his Dad got home from their birthday drive. 

Benny excitedly let us know, "Holy Jolly! How joyous God is celebrating me."  - Snow. 

We arrived in time to share Benny's blue birthday with him. LOL Arielle was worried Stacia would feel they were traitors...but no, Stacia will have a suitable cake for Benny on Thanksgiving....praying that oven is fixed soon! 

Benny was excited to cut his cake with his knife...he cut very generous slices. 

He also licked his knife in between each cut. 

He invited Papa and I to sit and play the game we had given him. We didn't quite get the directions right - but it was fun. 

We love the young man Benny is growing into...four years old...it seems he and Gideon were just babies!  I'm going to have to find photos of Gideon...I think we had some covid thing going on that disrupted those plans.....

Our Weekend

Michael says I don't know how to rest....I contend I love to rest...but relaxing to me includes walking in nature or reading a book.... LOL One can learn important things on nature walks...for instance, if there is a foot of snow on the bear's head, there probably isn't much to worry about. 

Michael and I were honored to spend Friday - Sunday with 50 adults and 52 children from JBER.  Frankly, I was quite overwhelmed BEFORE we left. It was well worth it once we executed the plan and got out of here.  I often feel these feelings before speaking engagements. LOL 

The event was well planned. Childcare providers were hired to provide activities for the children on-site, meals were yummy, and the schedule was arranged to provide maximum time for personal family activity as well.  Michael and I led 5 sessions on principles of parenting...the group was interactive, feedback was positive with several commenting on how much they needed to hear from us.  It is humbling to recognize we are now the "older generation". ::snort:: 

Saturday afternoon and evening was free! We took advantage of the time by taking a nap! See I CAN rest....and then I lobbied for a walk. We were at Alyeska Resort. It's beautiful. We both noted how much it felt like being at Komaki's, a resort in Misawa. The tramway to the top of the mountain and the tram station reminded us of stations in Japan.  It cracked me up to see machines on the slopes blowing SNOW in the midst of a snowy day. They are opening for the ski season on Dec 10th. 

The dots above the chair lifts are
blowing snow

A blessing to have the time for just us two....

THIS is so like New Sanno in Tokyo. 

We spent some time brainstorming something like this for the backyard...but really maybe the wood burning fire pit is just as warm....though more work to light. 

After our walk, we warmed up in the room. Michael turned the easy chairs around so we could enjoy the view. We spent quite a bit of time sitting here and watching the weather over the mountain. 

The resort has a salt water pool and hot tub. They currently require reservations. Each guest can reserve one hour a day. We donned our robes and headed to meet Luke and Krista at the pool at 5 p.m. 

Michael decided to stay in at this point. I headed into town and discovered a YUMMY pizza joint with Luke and Krista.  I wandered around when we got back and enjoyed the fireplace outside....

By day 3 I felt I had run out of words. I headed to the tramway cafe for a drink and muffin... I wondered if Michael would show pity and volunteer to handle the last session. He told me to, "Dig deep." 

And, I did....dug so deep in fact we were over time. ::snort::  It was a lovely weekend with some great young families.  There was a Strong Bond event going on as well at the resort. It makes me happy to think of that many families investing in their relationships. 

How did we do it? Did we take Grandpa with us? Did the boys take time off work? NO....CoRielle moved into our home. Benny told me, "Baachan, I'm going to live here forever and take care of GG." 

Benny & Millie keeping an eye on moose

The girls had helped to arrange a bowling event for the youth group... CoRielle and GG went along. This was Benny's first bowling event. Bowling and Burger King are STAPLES on military bases and military kids are often at both places. It appears Arielle won their family competition.  Allie won the  youth's game. 

   Go Benny!

Danny & GG 

Sometime between the picture above and the one below GG snuck away and got counterbond sugar. LOL 

GG and Benny

Things went well for them at home. One funny aspect is GG and the girls went to CoRielle's church. Grandpa has shown me the bulletin numerous times which lists Cory as staff at Farm Loop. He also really likes the size of Farm Loop. I asked him if more people talked to him there than at our church and he said, no.  I guess he just likes the size. 

Another funny - GG had Arielle running around frantically looking for his bottom dentures. He doesn't have any! And he was NOT impressed with Arielle feeding him chicken nuggets, though Cory's breakfasts live up to my breakfasts. LOL 

I enjoyed being able to sleep and get ready in the morning without the monitors and alarms going off. It was a great weekend for all. 

Cory and Benny 

*At home photos by Arielle.