Bryan braved the windstorm this weekend and got us a tree! We spent a nice afternoon getting all the decorations out and setting everything up.
Naldo then enjoyed rearranging everything for us. Because… she’s a cat. That’s what cat’s do.
Next on the list of things to do: get the packages wrapped and placed under the tree!
For his birthday this year I got him a new Vacuum Sealer!
He’s been wanting one for years, but it’s very expensive. However, if you add up all the money he’s paid other people to seal up all the fish & game he brings home, he could have gotten three of these things already. And we both paid for halfs, so it wasn’t such a bite to our pocketbooks as it could have been. It took a while for it to arrive at our doorstep, so we are just now getting to play with it a bit.
During our weekly grocery shopping run this weekend we came across a really good deal on a huge chunk of New York Strip, so we figured that was the perfect “excuse” to try out our new toy. We also got a nice big ham and some chicken breasts – but the deal on the beef was exceptional: regular price was $175 but we only paid $70
I’m sure by now everyone knows I don’t eat red meat. My preferred source of protein is more plant based, like Tofu. Seeing that huge hunk of bloody meat in the bag at the store was quite gross, but Bryan was really excited. He had fun cutting it into meal-sized portions. I failed to get a final tally, but I’m guessing he got at least 14 or 15 meals out of that chunk!
The new sealer is very loud and make lots of hissing noises – but it works pretty well. It came with a package of various sizzed sealer bags, so we had plenty to work with. It took us maybe an hour and a half to get all the meat packaged up and in the freezer.
The valley got hit with another big windstorm – actually bigger and longer than the last one. The other one, back in January of 2022, only lasted three days with gusts up to 90 mph. This one has been going on for well over a week and they’ve recorded 100 mph gusts out at the airport in Palmer.
I am exhausted; I just can’t sleep with the howling winds. My mind keeps picturing trees falling on top of us. Or debris crashing through a window. Or our pipes bursting & flooding the place. Or any other of the hundreds of worst-case scenarios my brain can come up with. The only reason my cats haven’t spent the past 10 days in their traveling crates is because Bryan talks me down to a more reasonable level of panicked alertness. As it is, Viktor needs a lot of hugs lately. He does not like the wind any more than I do.
The worst to happen so far has been the three trees that got blown down. Two of them are just tiny things, with no damage done to anything. But that third tree – that was a big one! Thank goodness it didn’t hit anything, it could have taken out our house for sure! Bryan says he couldn’t have laid it down any better if he’d done it on purpose – it JUST missed our trailer and the shed out back.
Our neighbor wasn’t so lucky – you can just see the tree on his roof. The poor guys were out there in the freezing cold and bitter wind, all with chainsaws and ropes, working to get it off his house. Hopefully the damage was minimal.
During a lull in the winds, Bryan went outside and did a walk-around to see the state of things and found that somehow, something got our water main! It’s just the marker, so basically an easy fix – but seriously: How did that happen?
Inside the house we have silt everywhere. The winds definitely come from the glaciers nearby! So far, I have swept up hands full of the stuff at each door & window. Once it’s finally done blowing, I will have to do a more thorough cleaning with a mop to get it all.
November’s crafting project was a crushed glass suncatcher in the shape of a butterfly! I only had one, however, so we all had to work on it together. The kit came with a picture of one that had been completed, but the girls didn’t like that color scheme so decided to go with a rainbow pattern. I must say, ours looks way better! They did such a good job on it!
Working with resin was a new experience for me – I had never done anything like that before. It was pretty cool, though. The girls declined to help with that part of the project – but since they had placed all the crushed glass, we were okay with having the adults do the pouring part.
The most difficult part of the project was figuring out where to put it after we’d completed it so the cats couldn’t get into it while it cured! We ended up placing it in one of the storage cupboards on a piece of cardboard.
24 hours later, and this is what we ended up with! I am so happy with how it turned out! We will have to trim some of that resin off, obviously (we apparently got a little heavy handed with the resin) – but once it’s hung up in a window, I think it will be just beautiful!
This year, we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house! Bryan invited his daughter, who brought along her husband & her daughter, as well as her husband’s mother Patty. We had a great time – they arrived Wednesday afternoon and left Thursday evening after our meal.
Bryan went a bit overboard with the food, of course. He cooked a nice big turkey, a big ham, with a batch of chicken wings & some meatballs for snacks. Patty made the stuffing and sweet potato dishes, while Lindsey helped with all the other dishes that needed to be put together. Ryan kept little Betty occupied, while I ran around and looked busy doing not much of anything except take pictures.
We had the Red Room and the Blue Room both set up for guests. This required a bit of shuffling around with the remainders of Mother’s stuff – but we got things organized well enough that both guest rooms looked inviting. I worried about the heat in the Blue Room since mother always complained that she was cold. Turns out, it was quite warm – Patty said she didn’t need the extra blankets I put in there.
I really enjoyed having them all over and look forward to doing it again – and not just for Thanksgiving.
We’d been to this place once before, but we liked it so much we went back for a second visit - and yes, it is as cold as it looks! We arrived Thursday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. I got a lot of work done on my projects!
The tiny house is very well laid out, with a kitchen and dining area downstairs – complete with a wood stove and bathroom – and the bedroom upstairs has plenty of room for my crafting table & his computer work. We took the kittens with us this time and they enjoyed reacquainting themselves with the place. We also took the opportunity to binge watch three whole seasons of Game of Thrones – and finished out the rest in the weeks following our little get-away.
The owners run a team of dogs who have their doghouses next door to the rental, so we can see them when they’re out and about. We could have gone for a run with them if we had arranged for it ahead of time. We opted to stay inside where it was more comfortable. They also have a coffee shop on the premises, but it’s closed for the winter. One day I would like to stop by when they’re open, just to try them out.
The first time I ever volunteered with Earthwatch, I went to the jungles of Costa Rica to look for caterpillars and study their parasites. I know, not everyone’s cup of tea – but I was very excited about it.
Half of our time there was spent at the La Salva Research Station, which is a top-notch station complete with maids & cooks. Hundreds of scientists (and tourists) visit each year, with people coming in from all over the world. The other half of our time was spent at the Tirimbina Biological Reserve, up in the mountains. This was a much smaller station – we had the whole place to ourselves! No staff, no tourists, just three scientists and 5 volunteers.
One of the scientists had brought his music along with him, and had it set up so that we could listen while we cooked and ate our meals or just relaxed after a hard day of searching. The music he chose to listen to most often was by Amos Lee - not local but so mellow and soothing. I enjoyed it so much I looked it up when I got home and bought two of the cds for myself.
And thus was born my practice of bringing home music from each of my journeys to remind myself of the experiences I had and the friends I’d made.
The music from Mongolia was kind of a no-brainer = of course I ended up with some Mongolian Throat Singing by a group called Huun-Huur-Tu. I got to see a performance while in Ulaanbaatar and just could not reconcile what I was hearing with what I was seeing – I do not know how they do it!
My trip to Africa was emotionally chaotic. I did not have much of a chance to look for anything local – but on the plane heading home (a 17-hour journey) I listened to the music channel on-board and came across two that I really liked. Niyaz is an Iranian group that blends medieval Sufi poetry and folk songs with acoustic instrumentation and modern electronics. Sara Tavares was the other one, a singer/songwriter from Portugal with African roots. Both were intriguing, so I looked them up when I got home and got several of their albums.
My trip to the Amazon led me to Eva MarÃa Angélica Ayllón Urbina - a female composer and singer, one of Peru’s foremost Afro-Peruvian musicians. Even now, years later, I listen to her music and immediately get transported back to the streets of Iquitos having a few drinks with the group of volunteers to celebrate our time together and say our goodbyes.
While in Lanzarote, the fourth largest of the Canary Islands, we visited a village bazaar and spend a good three or four hours wandering the streets looking at all the wares. At one of the tables I heard music that really sparked my interest, so using my broken Spanish and a few hand gestures, I got the man behind the table to understand that I wanted to know who was singing. He showed me the CD case, so I took a picture and was able to find Juan Luis Guerra once I got home. Juan Luis is known for combining merengue and bachata rhythms with poetic lyrics that often address social issues.
The trip I took to Patagonia to work with the penguins brought me to Adele. I have known of her for years, of course (who hasn’t) but one of the scientists on this trip was so in love with her voice that he played Adele the entire time we were there. Any time there was music going on, it was always Adele. Now I can’t hear her sing without thinking of Hilton, my friend from Portugal, and all the other people I met on that trip.
Last but most certainly not least, Iceland brought me to two new artists: Kaleo and Of Men and Monsters. Both of these are a little bit out of my norm, but both have a unique sound I find really interesting. They can get out of hand with the screaming and electric guitar – but for the most part, I do like their music.
I was reminiscing the other day, and came across these old photos. I wanted to share these with you, just because.
This one was taken on the front porch of the cabin I grew up in. That’s Mother holding Reed, who is probably 2 years old. Stewart is with them, and I’m guessing he was around 12 at the time.
Here’s one of me holding Pookie, our cat. Reed is beside me with his goofy grin. I believe he’s probably 6 or 7 which would put me about 12 or 13.
This is a great shot of me & my sisters! Kelly, the oldest, is in the middle - with Noel to the right and me to the left.
I love this shot – This is the day they brought Reed home from the hospital. I was so excited to meet my little brother! That’s me holding him and Noel patting his head.
Mother, back in the early ‘70s
A group shot – Mother, Stewart, Kelly, Noel, Ruth (me) and Reed. Oddly enough, none of us have either a puppy or a cat in our hands.
