Blessedly Normal

The day began with a bang. Jamin sent this shot from their town down the Glenn. 

The borough let us know that they would be clearing brush and trees from the utility easements in our area. From talking with them we expected to lose quite a few trees. Previous owners had planted ON THE LINE - next to the power poles - and we are supposed to give them 15 feet from the poles. Made me sad....but getting rid of the brush sounded really good. The photos don't do justice....much of the brush has died down with fall......They did this last week 

Before 

After

Today, I heard a noise, looked out the window and saw this......

It appears they are cutting branches and leaving the trees. Win Win. They may come back and cut down trees - but I'm hopeful.

The day was blessedly "normal." Michael worked in the garage. The kids and I did school.

Stacia and I tried to catch some falling leaves

The kids went to youth group at a local church for the first time. 

Sunset from our window

Shake and Go Balsamic Vinaigrette

We like Balsamic Vinaigrette. This one from Angela Liddon in, 'Oh She Glows Every Day," is the easiest I've made.  I discovered it is yummy on steak fries, as well as salads.

Notes: Angela suggests adding a dash of liquid smoke, paprika and thyme for a "smoky" dressing, a pinch of dried or fresh herbs (oregano and basil) for an Italian vinaigrette or dashes of cumin, coriander, and turmeric for a slight Indian flair.

INGREDIENTS: 
1/3 to 2/3 extra virgin olive oil, to taste
1/3 C balsamic vinegar
4 1/2 tsp low sodium tamari
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp maple syrup, or to taste

DIRECTIONS: Combine all in a small mason jar, seal and shake vigorously. Store in the fridge up to a couple of weeks. Shake before each use.

Make it so-free Swap the tamari for 2 - 4 T coconut aminos, to taste.

Krista Update

Krista has the distinction of being the only Gherkin outside of Alaska. She is WAAAY outside - in Virginia.  Some have asked for an update, and since we had a nice talk today, it's a good time to update. 

Krista received our package - and gamely tried the cookies. 

She's been considering options for her future - with her goal being to go active duty as soon as she can - because airmen are her heart. 

There had been talk of finishing a 75 credit MDiv this summer,  coming here and going into the Reserves....getting her required time done while working on a doctorate online and going active duty in  a few years with the doctorate.  The big benefit here for us - is SHE WOULD BE HERE.  The benefit for her is she would be getting her reserve time in so she can go active much sooner. Her advisor had thought that was a good idea. He changed his mind.

She's had a nice, long, beneficial talk with the program advisor at her university. He has suggested she cram stuff into summer, spring, winter intensives, continue her full load of classes, and graduate with her 91 credit MDiv next December.  He feels, in the long run, it will make her a stronger chaplain and she can work on the Doctorate while active duty.

Now - the whole reason of sharing any of this is he is very supportive of Krista entering active duty.  He said he has no qualms recommending her to be an active duty chaplain and she is the type of young lady he loved to have on his chapel staff. He mapped out a whole career for her in his office.....and it will be fun to see what God says about the map as time unfolds.  Frankly, affirmation for a female in a male dominated  program is wonderfully encouraging.

For now, she will be finishing with the Big MDiv earlier than expected and is doing well adjusting to the challenges of working and full time graduate studies. She is enjoying her studies.... And us? Well, sure we were excited at the idea of having her up here this summer......but our heart is to see her chasing God...and that she is doing. How can we do anything but rejoice?

A recent fun even for Krista was the Chaplaincy conference at Liberty. She  met two chaplains who we love from our last assignment.  Holly was sweet enough to make sure I got a photo of her and Krista. 

God has chosen a challenging road for Krista. Through the ups and downs of walking it out, she is growing strong and courageous in her beliefs in God, country and even her own ability to walk it out.  It's a good thing to watch.

9 Spice Mix

Ingredients:
1 T sweet paprika
1 T garlic powder
1 T dried minced onion
2 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp  ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:
Combine all in a small jar. Screw on the like and shake. Store in cabinet up to 2 months. Shake before each use.

This is yummy and can be used in hummus, soups, veggie burgers, steak fries, omelets, salad dressings.....

From 'Oh She Glows Every Day,' by Angela Liddon  - a great library find.

FIRST SNOW!!!!

There was screeching, dancing, laughing, singing and texting - lots of texting. Finally, snow at our HOUSE. There is quite a bit of snow accumulating on the mountains all around us,  but our little mountain was stubbornly bare...and only the teeny flakes on Sunday.

I was surprised Arielle was as excited as Stacia. 

The snow was falling - and it seemed it would cover a bit of the ground - so we all agreed this counts as the FIRST SNOW at our house - and we have a winner to our contest!  Slammin Salmon guessed Oct 17th! We'll have a post shortly about the contest and the prize.

These two have missed the snow of Northern Japan. How fun it is for them to enjoy this moment together! I think it makes up for us taking the trampoline down this weekend. 

And, our mountain? For a few hours there was just a bit of a dusting on it. Enough for us to imagine it will eventually be snow covered. LOL  Our guess is real snow, the kind that stays around and heavily covers, by the end of the month. 

Colleges, Residency Vent, Budding Baker

Nolan and Michael went to college day at University of Alaska - Anchorage. Reviews are mixed. Nolan has options. They do have a business degree at UAA, their tour guide didn't know much about it. They discovered he can complete the entire business degree online from UA - Fairbanks. He can also do two years at the Mat Su University (UA Branch) and then the final two years at UAA. (Send men to College Day and you get no photos!!!!) ::snort::

One issue for us is this state's illogical  residency laws. Jamin discovered he has to live in Alaska for two years before he can get in state residency at UAA. The certification he is looking at is $32,000 for an out of state student. TWO YEARS. For Nolan in state tuition is around  $5-6,000, out of state tuition is $17,000+.  When I look over the entrance requirements, I see some loop holes for Nolan....he will graduate with a diploma from an AK public high school (though we are homeschooling), our tax returns will show we are AK residents, as we have been for decades.  We shall see.  It will probably have to be evaluated.

We have been Alaska residents since 2003. Alaska was listed as our home of resident on all our military paperwork. We made an intentional decision not to receive the Permanent Fund Dividend years ago, as we were not actively contributing to Alaska's economy. No judgment for those who did differently, this was our choice. In other words, we LOVE ALASKA.  Who would have guessed that NOT taking the PFD would result in all sorts of issues for us as military retirees? If we'd continued taking the PFD, through the military clauses, there would be no question about our residency. (Maybe the military clauses have changed since we quit taking it in 2006).  The state has some great benefits for Vets (property tax waivers for one) - we can  get none of them until we receive the PFD (which will be 1 1/2 years since our arrival up here post retirement)..... This is getting crazy.....tuition, taxes....we have had all our vehicles registered here for 14 years, the IRS considers us AK residents, the military considers us AK residents, AK told us we were residents - even though not in the state due to military service. Now they say WE ARE RESIDENTS, we just aren't entitled to any in state breaks. Go figure.  It all seems illogical. Why have a way for military members to remain residents if you are going to penalize them when they retire?  We plan to talk with someone higher up - as soon as we figure out who that may be.  I keep wondering if the various officials in the offices we've been to aren't listening. They hear "No, we didn't receive the PFD last year," and their automatic response is, "Then you aren't eligible for tax relief or vet license plate...." One tries to explain why they didn't take the PFD - but there seems to be no comprehension beyond the one all important question - "Did you receive the PFD?" In other words all of AK seems willing to let the guys who work at the PFD department determine eligibility for every other department. I guess it seems a fair and easy bar to judge by - but they can't seem to comprehend folks like us, who qualified but chose not to take it. There is talk of the PFD going away. I wonder how all these offices will determine residency then. ::snort:: Bottom line - we love this state, we'll wait another year and a half for Disabled Vet benefits.

 ANYWAY - they enjoyed the tour, but aren't sure if Nolan will be able to go to college there in the fall - because we aren't paying 17K for out of state tuition when we LIVE HERE. LOL He can pay out of state tuition in many states outside for less than UAA. Nolan may take online college or something until AK determines he qualifies for in state tuition  - as he's schooling through IDEA, I think he will be considered an in-state student. I guess joining IDEA was good for reasons we never considered! Wise choice, Nolan.

It was cold today - all day. No snow...but a heavy frost. In fact the frost never melted in the side yard. There is STILL no snow on the top of our sheltered mountain. It never got above 22* here in our little neck of the woods.

While Nolan and Michael toured college, the rest of us schooled. Stacia filled the afternoon with baking. We found a cookie cookbook for .50 at Bishop's Attic. She's spent many happy afternoons trying out new recipes.  Chocolate, chocolate chips were a  hit....much better than the cake mix cookie variety. ::wink::

In honor of fall, she tackled Chocolate Caramel cookies today. She wrapped chocolate cookie dough around caramels, frosted with a cream cheese/chocolate/caramel frosting, and topped it all with more chocolate.

She topped them with chocolate chips, and after discovering they looked like alien eyes and other assorted things, she switched to grating chocolate over the top. She's 12 y'all. I have at least  six more years of this amazing chef/baker in the house! YES. 

The thing is Stacia will only allow herself two sweets a week. If she uses them up before Sunday, she skips ice cream. She's not TRIED these - others are happy to taste and give her suggestions. One thinks they could use more sugar....other than that....judging by how they are disappearing, I'd say they are a hit.

I need to post a host of recipes......

Sunday Dinner, Devo and Prayer

We up to teeny, tiny, perfectly round snow flakes flying around in the air. None of them seemed to land, so we won't count it as the first snow.  We're wondering who will win the snow guessing contest.  It is noticeably colder today. 

The highlight of the day is when everyone gathered from dinner, a devotional and prayer. Josiah and Jamin were able to make it out this week. 

He's won Bella over

Jamin, Bella, Bre, Izaak

Alex and Josiah

Gideon

Cory share the word today as we continue to work through the book of Philemon 

Michael, Cory, Arielle

I continue to look for easy meals to serve a big group.....What do you feed a crowd? We've had roast and all the go withs, meatballs, potato bar, pasta, tacos and cobbler today.