Its May 17th and….its Snowing. May 18th….still snowing.

In Alaska, you just never know what weather you will be dealt.

It could snow in July and be 70 degrees in December.

This was my back yard this morning.

That is a WINTER weather advisory I got on my phone today. HAHA

Yes, this is Alaska.
Crazy weather, crazy beautiful scenery and an extreme life.
I love it.
Snow in late May and all.

Took this picture of my chicken yard this morning, May 18th. Hahaha yes I am still laughing, especially reading through my facebook news feed and seeing all the big whimps whining about a little snow in May. Regardless of what people think, summer is coming. The snow will melt, we will not just skip summer this year and I have a feeling with such a weird spring under our belt this summer might be pretty nice! Even if it isn’t, Lord knows we will appreciate any warm weather we get.

Summer To Do List

Hours and hours of sunlight, geese and sand hill cranes flying over, water everywhere from snow melting, mud knee-deep and the smell of dog poo in the air….Ahhhh springtime in Alaska.

The ansty-ness of Alaskans this time of year is hard to describe. I find myself writing a to do list every spring because after a long winter summer activities are very enticing. Also summers are SHORT here, you have to really work to cram everything in before snow flies again. Having a list makes me feel better about remembering all that I want to do so I don’t forget anything, and it also gives me something to do while waiting. {Wink}
So here it is, my summer list……

1. Camp and camp and camp some more. With a motor home in the driveway, there is no reason not to.
2. Clam dig and can up a bunch of clams for yummy clam chowder this winter.
3. Fill the shelves with sockeyes in jars, as I do every year.
4. Catch a King Salmon
5. Build a smoker
6. Plant a Lilac Tree
7. Start gardening more
8. Build a compost box
9. Fix/update a few things in the coop
10. Catch a LOT of trout, big ones
11. Float the Kenai
12. Berry Pick in Seldovia, last year we scored.
13. Camp in Homer

That’s all I can think of at the moment….I am sure I will add to this list frequently.

Do you have anything special planned for this summer? Is there anyone else who makes a yearly summer to do list? {wink}

My kiddos building a fort in the backyard…in the rain.

Let the Good Times Roll

It is mid May in Alaska

The snow is almost gone

…and we bought a motorhome

I am so spoiled rotten.

My in-laws bought a new travel trailer so we decided to buy their old motorhome.
It runs great, is very clean and has low miles.

I really love camping but ever since I had kids there are many reasons I prefer NOT to tent camp anymore.

1. My hips hurt ALL the time…sleeping on lumpy ground, not cool.
2. There are bears EVERYWHERE.
3. Alaska is COLD, even in the summer night-time is pretty dang chilly.
4. Tent camping is a mess. The put up, take down, clean up, pack up, haul out is exhausting.

All that to say,

I am VERY happy, excited and thankful for our “new” motorhome.

We went camping last night! We had a blast!

 Here are a few pictures of the first of many camping trips of Summer 2013-

There was only one other group of campers at the whole campground. Very quiet, very relaxing, very nice to come out of hibernation.

Yes there is still snow on the ground here and there.

Yes we had a snowball fight.

Chickens, an Owl and a Rusty Wheelbarrow

Found this old wheelbarrow today at a second hand store! 22.00 is a good deal for a planter this size, especially one this cute!
Cant wait to plant flowers in it! Come on summer….hurry up!

This picture cracks me up…..A few weeks ago (actually unknown to my daughter, April Fools Day) I went out to the chicken coop to collect eggs and found this tiny weird little egg. I was baffled. It was in the nest box and I couldn’t imagine my chickens laying such a small hard egg. A minute later I realized it was a piece of candy! When I came inside I asked my six year old daughter if she had put it there and she grinned big and said, “it was just a LITTLE joke…hehehe”. She is too stinkin’ cute!

Chick Burrito. If that doesn’t make you happy, your name must be the Grinch.

Seriously…..

Happy spoiled chickens digging around in new straw

This is my ex-best friend turned enemy. She attacks me every time I go into the chicken run. Getting kind of old. Looking for a new home for her.

And THAT is a huge owl scoping out my chicken run. The chickens had escaped for a while and were wondering around the back yard….which always brings in a hawk or owl. Thankfully they made it inside before the owl had a nice chicken dinner!

April ~stinks~ in AK

Anyone who has ever been in Alaska during breakup knows….April, quite literally, STINKS.
The snow melts, the ground warms up and the mud/ frozen poo does too…which results in a nice muddy-poo smell everywhere. But no one cares because….SUMMER IS CLOSE!

There is no describing the amazing summers in Alaska. I have been working out as much as possible just to prepare for summer. We are a lot like bears, us Alaskans. In the winter we sleep, and sleep and eat. (I know bears don’t eat in the winter, but we definitely go into some sort of hibernation) THEN spring rolls around and we start sleeping a little less, rubbing our eyes in the bright sunshine and we come out of our winter fog. Then summer hits and its pure chaos. The traffic gets intense from all the tourists and us locals about lose our minds. We never eat, not because we aren’t hungry but because we are too busy to remember to. When we do eat its a fillet of sockeye salmon on the grill. Summer jobs start-up, which doesn’t make a difference financially because there is SO much more to spend money on in the summer, fishing tackle, camping gear and food, etc. And as for sleep…if we get a few hours at night (its light all night remember) we are lucky. And we love every minute of it….at least us real Alaskans do.
Then BOOM. It’s over. The sun starts disappearing, the air gets cold, the leaves turn yellow, a few weeks later…its winter.
Full blown winter.

I am really looking forward to this summer.

We bought a new car! It’s a 2011 Ford Taurus SEL. I LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE it. The V6 in it might get me in trouble, but its worth it. {wink} I was NOT expecting to buy such a nice car but God found us a great deal and we couldn’t pass it up. I am one spoiled lady. Having a reliable car that doesn’t burn my eyes from burnt oil smell in the cab is so wonderful….especially such a pretty, fast and new car!

Yesterday I went over to my grandpa’s house and he helped me clean up my guns. It was nice chatting and getting my .357 and .22 all shiny and oiled up.

{new candlesticks….LOVE THEM!}

{me and my baby girl hanging out while little brother napped yesterday}

Chicks are here!

They are here! Our two adorable, poofy little peepers! They actually came in a day early, much to my children’s delight! The feed store calls them Americauna….which I did a little researching and found that it means they are Easter Eggers. Mutts that have Ameracauna in their blood. {wink} We had an Easter Egger last year, Ellie, but she was taken by a hawk before she was even old enough to lay. I am very excited to see what color eggs these chicks lay this fall! We have beautiful brown eggs, pinkish brown and medium brown. So it will be fun to have a little green/blue in the mix!

I went back and forth about getting new chicks this year because last week my chicken coop was full of drama. Every time I went out there two of my girls were HARASSING each other. I was afraid one of my little buff orpingtons wasnt going to come out of the rifts alive! A couple of days ago I noticed something different… The drama was over and it seems the pecking order had changed up a bit. I believe Black Betty(our ginormous Black sex link) stepped down from Queen Bee after fighting tooth and nail for a week or so and my little Buff Orpington stepped up. You go girl!

Then I had a scare of an egg bound chicken and then thought one had bumblefoot. Yeah last week was trying. But this week a few days before the chicks arrived things went back to normal. My girls are happy and nice to each other and are all laying and walking around limp free. I am so glad I decided to go along with the new chicks. They are so adorable!!

I bought my daughter the compete set of Little House DVDs for her birthday in Feb. So we have been watching them in the afternoons while her brother naps. She loves them of course and I have ALWAYS loved Little House. What a beautiful, hard, simple, meaningful life people of that time lived. Honestly I am quite jealous I wasnt born back then.

Anyways, We named the darker chick Laura and the blonder chick Mary.

Strawberry {Pinot Noir~Vanilla Bean} Jam

I have had a hankering for canning up some new jam.

I tried some fabulous Pinot Noir Strawberry Jam from a gourmet shop I found a company in Oregon made. It was wonderful. So here is my version.

Strawberry Pinot Noir Vanilla Jam

2 pounds of Strawberries, chopped
1 Box Low Sugar Pectin
3 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup Pinot Noir

Wash jars.

On medium heat mash and heat strawberries in a non reactive pot.

Mix half a cup of sugar with the pectin. Add to the strawberries.

Add lemon juice, vanilla bean caviar and Pinot noir. Simmer until strawberries are mashed and it starts looking like jam.
Bring to a roaring boil for a full minute.

Add 3 cups of sugar and bring to a boil again for a full minute.

Fill jars. Wipe rims and put lids on.

Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.

California and a blown engine

I believe I mentioned before about a Mexican Vacation. Due to Passport issues, (which I later figured it was Gods will to keep us out of Mexico, so thankful He always has our backs) we changed our plans to 7 days in California and a night in Seattle with my sister and brother-in-law.

It turned out fabulous. We had such a wonderful time in the sun, and a nice break from our kids, housework, work and just the day in and day out stuff.

We stayed in Oceanside California in a World Mark resort. Cant say enough good about it. We had a full kitchen stocked with great cooking tools, a grill on the lanai, and a washer and dryer in our room! SO handy! I really get sick of eating out on vacation (I am a VERY picky restaurant eater) so it was very nice cooking several meals from all the FRESH and cheap ingredients I found in Cali.

We enjoyed the beaches, went bass fishing at El Capitan Lake, enjoyed a wine tasting at Long Shadow Ranch, went to a HUGE antique mall, my husband went go carting, walked on the longest pier on the west coast, laid by the pool, played basketball, sat in the hot tub and chatted on the lanai. All in all a wonderful and VERY VERY relaxing trip!

I am VERY thankful for the opportunity to get out and enjoy my husband’s company in such a beautiful place.

Drive to Anchorage Airport…beautiful year round!

Morning cup of coffee on the lanai

Oceanside Beach, just below our resort.

Fun little walk

Pelican on the Oceanside Pier

Long Shadow Ranch and Winery

AMAZING wine, I bought TWO bottles of Chardonnay… which are both gone now. *sniff sniff*

We ate fabulously….notice the glass of Long Shadow Chardonnay

Oh yeah, we also had a fireplace in our resort! So homey and romantic

El Capitan Lake, it was a cold day fishing 9 hours, but we enjoyed it!

The catch!

My handsome husband burning it up at the go-cart place

View from my lanai, Oceanside harbor

We had a BLAST in Seattle with my sister and brother-in-law! So good to see them and a perfect way to end our fabulous trip.

But….that wasnt the end.

I was told last summer my engine in my 03 Mazda 6 was about to blow. We decided to drive it until that happens.

On the way to Anchorage I drove myself to the airport and I prayed the whole way my car wouldn’t decide to die on the way up.

Well I made it safely.

When my husband and I got to Anchorage and started it up it wasnt sounding good and continued to sound worse and worse until it almost hurt my ears the clunking taking place in my poor little engine.

We made it to our town a couple of hours away, barely, and picked up the kids. At this point we were AMAZED we made it that far. (about 140 miles)

We live 3 miles from my in-laws where our kids were staying and about a 1/4 mile from our house my car went CLUNK CLUNK BOOM and that was the last time my Mazda 6 will ever run. It was weird. I have put about 120,000 miles on that car. I bought it as a senior in highschool and it has served me well. Never had to fix anything and always ran like a champ (until last summer that is). I will miss it.

There we sit in the dark (it was after 10pm) so my husband and son run down the road and grab the truck from our house. My daughter then starts bawling saying she doesn’t want to die. {I’m worried about her in a few years when the hormones kick in…she is already a little drama queen haha bless her heart}

I explain to her we are nowhere near death and told her we just need to push the car home and we will buy a new car. That kind of settled her down but she was so tired at that point we just dragged her inside and sent her to bed.

So my husband shows up with our old purple ranger, I throw my car in neutral and we push our junker home with our still running junker.

To put it lightly, that was quite the wake up from our vacation haze. What a dose of reality eh?

So we are looking around for a new car, we really like living debt free so we might buy something older so we don’t have to get a loan but we will see. I really prefer to live within our means but financing a littler nicer car we can pay off real quick seems smart too….less upkeep and then I can drive it another ten years. But we are praying and searching.

Never a dull moment.

Golden Birthday~ 26 on the 26th

To my sweet 20 followers,

I have been gone for a while. I would apologize…. but I’m not sorry because I was soaking up some MUCH needed sun in California! {cheesy grin}

But I should back up. A few days before we left for vacation I turned 26, on the 26th. Because we were so close to the vacation I didn’t expect anything and told my husband that the clothes I bought for vacation and the actual vacation would MORE than suffice for my present. Right before lunch time my husband called me and asked if I wanted to meet for lunch. We ate a lunch and we started leaving the restaurant and my husband asked me if I wanted my birthday present. I said sure why not….I figured it was flowers and a card or something….We walk over to his work van and he pulls out a black pistol case. I was SHOCKED. It was a beautiful .357 revolver!!! He had bought if off a friend who had it and didn’t really need it. I was just overwhelmed with thankfulness for my precious husband who loves spoiling me!

Then after lunch I was at home when my grandpa showed up with a huge bag of .38 special rounds he had reloaded. That was very nice because ammo is expensive and hard to find these days!

That is one of the main reasons I love my .357. If I am fishing and want some protection from bears a .357 round will suffice. Then if I want to save my wrists while target shooting I can load .38 specials! Very cool!

Then grandpa said he had another present he had to get in the truck. He walked in with a gorgeous .410 rifle! I was shocked and so very thankful! What a great birthday!! I am truly spoiled rotten!

I also got the One Man’s Wilderness DVD’s from my mother in law. I recently read the book and been trying to find the DVDs for a while and she ordered them for me! I REALLY loved watching them and look forward to watching them again. Richard Proenneke is one of my hero’s. His thoughts on a simple life, the Alaskan wilderness and way of life are exactly what I would say if I had his eloquent way of wording thoughts.

Here are my two favorite quotes from Dick P.

“I have found that some of the simplest things have given me the most pleasure. They didn’t cost me a lot of money either. They just worked on my senses. Did you ever pick very large blueberries after a summer rain Walk through a grove of cottonwoods, open like a park, and see the blue sky beyond the shimmering gold of the leaves? Pull on dry woolen socks after you’ve peeled off the wet ones? Come in out of the subzero and shiver yourself warm in front of a wood fire? The world is full of such things.”
― Richard Proenneke

“Needs? I guess that is what bothers so many folks. They keep expanding their needs until they are dependent on too many things and too many other people… I wonder how many things in the average American home could be eliminated if the question were asked, “Must I really have this?” I guess most of the extras are chalked up to comfort or saving time.

Funny thing about comfort – one man’s comfort is another man’s misery. Most people don’t work hard enough physically anymore, and comfort is not easy to find. It is surprising how comfortable a hard bunk can be after you come down off a mountain.”
― Richard Proenneke

What a great birthday. I’m glad I had such a wonderful start to year 26 because I loved 25. I changed, matured, learned, took chances, reevaluated, stopped comparing, and worked through some serious issues I had with a certain family member. I am so excited to see what 26 brings. My goal, to never stop changing, learning and seeking God’s special purpose for my life.

Jalapeño Sharp Cheddar Burger

I rarely grill in the winter, its hard to keep a grill up to cooking temperature when its -20. {wink} So when it gets above 20 I buy some steaks or burger meat!

Jalapeno Sharp Cheddar Burgers
(this makes quite a few burgers, my kids love them for lunch the next day)

2 pounds of ground beef (80-20)
2 fresh jalapenos (seeded, unless you prefer EXTRA spicy) chopped
1 shallot chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
A splash of milk (I have warned you all before I rarely measure)
1 cup SHARP shredded cheddar
Cajun seasoning, I love Tony’s
Salt and Pepper
Burger Fixin’s

In a large bowl crumble burger and add cheddar, jalapeno, shallot, and seasoning.

 For the bread crumb/ milk mixture add just enough milk to make the bread crumbs stick together, don’t want them too mushy but want them well soaked.

Mash the bread crumbs into the meat.

Form into patties. With your thumb press an indent into the center of the burger. This if very important for even cooking. The indent can be quite significant because as the burgers cook the indent will disappear.

Grill those babies up.

I always feel guilty eating a big burger so I chose to wrap mine in lettuce instead of yucky white “bread” buns.
Colby Jack or Pepper Jack tastes the best with these!

Enjoy!