Sutton -vs- Hatcher Pass

Two weekend get-aways - each one eagerly awaited and yet each one so very different:

 

Hatcher Pass: February

Sutton: March

 

Hatter Pass: the plan was for him to go skiing at Skeetawk and for me to just relax with my card making. Unfortunately, Skeetawk had no snow, so he was unable to go skiing. Instead, we both stayed in the cabin and relaxed with our computer/crafting.

Sutton: the plan was for each of us to just relax, him with his computer work and me with my card making.

Hatcher Pass: the cabin was very small. It did have a kitchenette and a bathroom, but it was very cramped.

Sutton: the cabin was quite spacious with a full kitchen/dining area, a nice living area, and a bedroom downstairs as well as a loft bedroom upstairs. We opted to not use the loft, spending all our time down on the main level.

Hatcher Pass: the cabin was just off the road in a nice, wooded lot. There were maybe three other cabins, each one slightly different in size. I don’t know if ours was the smallest, but it sure felt that way.

Sutton: located several miles off the highway in a sparsely populated residential neighborhood, overlooking a lake where several people were ice fishing. Our host lived just down the way, within walking distance.

Hatcher Pass: no pets allowed.

Sutton: Our kitten got to come too! I love having them with me, and they seem to enjoy traveling as well. They exhaust themselves exploring the new places, getting into all kinds of trouble throughout the night.

Hatcher Pass: We probably would not go back again.

Sutton: I would LOVE to go back again, specifically in summertime. I’d love to see what the view looks like when it’s all green and lush!

Dinner with Mother

Once each month, the Pioneer Home holds what they call a “Festive Dinner” where each resident gets to invite their family to come eat with them. They typically are a themed dinner, so this month’s decorations were all green leprechauns and four-leaf clovers.

Bryan and I arrived to find mother seated at a table with our places reserved beside her. She was happy and chatty, although I must admit that she did not make much sense. Her sentences were fractured and disjointed, and I never could quite figure out what year she was present in. She did keep asking about her car and wanted me to take her to go see Hank about getting a new one. She also mentioned several times that all her jewelry had been lost (she did not bring any of that with her when she moved for fear of losing it all). But overall, I think she had a good time.

Dinner consisted of Corned Beef with Cabbage and Potatoes. A few pieces of “bangers” on the side to add some more Irish flavor to the plate. Mother did not eat a whole lot, but I snuck my beef onto her plate, and she ate it all. Desert was a choice of Carrot Cake, a Cup Cake (I don’t know what flavor) or a piece of Grasshopper Pie. Mother and I chose the pie while Bryan had the carrot cake.

The music was, of course, Irish – and we listened to that for a good hour and a half while eating. There were three ladies up on stage, one playing an base guitar, one playing a dulcimer, and the other playing either a violin or a banjo. The music was quite good – the singing, not so much. Still, mother really enjoyed it.

Eventually we walked her back to her room and said goodbye. It’s so hard to walk away from her each time I visit. She never wants you to go and always follows you, no matter how many times you tell her she needs to stay.

Here is her room, by the way. She has a lot of space, with pictures up on the wall and everything. She says she is happy there and does not want for anything more. I think Kelly is working on getting her a nice comfy chair, though. She will be able to take naps on it while looking out her window.

Our Pantry Re-Org

We did a major reorganization on our Pantry the other day. What a job that was!

First, we took everything out of the pantry and put it all in the kitchen – on the counters, on the floor, on the table, in the hallway, in the living room. I was amazed at how much stuff was in there!

Next I swept the floor twice and then hit it twice with the wet Swiffer, finishing it off with actually getting down on my knees and applying some good old Elbow Grease to some of the tougher stains.

After that, we tackled the shelving. We didn’t have any surface cleaners on hand, so we had to make do with Clorox Wipes. They were mostly just dusty from age (it had been over 7 years since the last thorough cleaning) but there were a few persistent spills of indeterminate origin.

Since the pantry really isn’t that big, only one person fits comfortably in there at a time. So while Bryan took on the shelving job, I got a trash bag and went through all the items in the kitchen, tossing out anything that was obvious trash and/or so completely out of date that it would be too risky to eat.

Then came the task of deciding what items we really did not need anymore that could either be tossed out or sold at our garage sale that we’re planning to hold this summer. We managed to haul out three trash bags of trash and two of “stuff” we didn’t want!

Finally came the monumental task of putting all that stuff back in the pantry in some sort of organized manner. I have to admit, I was completely overwhelmed. But between the two of us we eventually got the job done.

WooHoo!

Whiskey Infusion Kits

Instead of flowers or candy for Valentine’s Day, this year I got him a couple different Whiskey Infusion kits. I just thought something different might be appreciated – and it was!

The kits come from a company I found online called CAMP Craft Cocktails. I got four of their mason jars that create different cocktail drinks:

• The Old Fashioned
• Pineapple Jalapeno
• Hot Toddy
• Sweater Weather

And I got one bigger kit for just general whiskey infusion - but apparently, they don’t sell that anymore because I cannot find it on their website anymore.

Each kit comes with all the ingredients already for you – all you have to do is supply the alcohol and let it set for at least 3 days. You can even infuse your drink twice but we did not do that.

We ended up trying three of the mason jars during one of our Weekend Getaways – infusing two of them with Bulleit Whiskey and the third one with a white Rum (Captain Morgan, of course). I have to admit that I did not choose the best whiskey for this experiment: Bulliet is just too overpowering. I should have picked something a lot quieter.

I’m not sure when we’ll get around to trying out the remaining kits – but when we do, I’ll let him pick the alcohol of choice.

 

 

Turmeric Ginger Cinnamon Pepper Honey

I’ve been making myself a drink each night that is supposed to be quite healthy and “good for me”.

Chop up a hunk of fresh ginger root. Pour 2 cups of whole milk in a saucepan. Add a teaspoon each of turmeric, ground cinnamon, and black pepper. Boil for 10 minutes and then strain it. Pour it into your cup and add a teaspoon of honey.

I have to say, I am not a fan of milk. I tried it, though, and found it to be quite tasty – but it’s a holy mess on the pan! It takes an industrial strength sander to clean it off, and if you happen to accidentally drip any on your counter, you can forget about ever removing the stain.

I learned through trial and error to:

1. Use a stainless-steel pan
2. Use a stainless-steel spoon to stir with
3. Strain and pour it in the sink

I also decided to switch from milk to water. It’s not only way easier to clean up after, but it’s also quite tasty!

The end result of the drink is quite thick and very spicy. You almost chew the drink rather than swallow. I don’t know if it’s doing anything for me, but I like it so I plan on continuing with it.

My Spark Bird

Noel and I went to a lecture the other day on birding, hosted by a local hiking club. It was really a good talk; the speaker was very engaging and was truly excited about the subject. Plus, he as easy to listen to – so that definitely helped.

One of the terms he used that is apparently quite well known in the birding world was a “Spark Bird” meaning, the bird that first sparked your interest in birding. I had never heard that term before, but it got me to thinking.

What is my spark bird?

I’ve always had a bird feeder and have thoroughly enjoyed watching the birds visit each day. At my house in Anchorage the feeder was on the back deck. The deck was very old and dilapidated, with lichens and moss growing in patches and the fireweed grew right up through the floorboards. I always thought this made the birds more comfortable, giving them a space they could eat that was protected and more private. Each time I refilled the feeder (which was almost a daily occurrence) I would also toss some around the deck as well, and eventually the birds would walk right up to the sliding glass door just inches away from us: both me and the cats would be laying on the floor with our noses pressed up against the glass, eagerly awaiting our avian friends. This also, however, encouraged the local rodents to move in. I ended up with a serious mouse problem.

I remember one day standing by the door looking out over the fireweed and watching numerous mice running around gathering seeds and whatnot. “I seriously need to do something about that.” I thought to myself.

Just then, right in front of me, a rather large bird (large compared to my usual patrons, at least) swooped down – grabbed a mouse – and swooped up into a tree at the edge of my back yard – and proceeded to eat it! I was so shocked! I just kept squealing “Oh My Gosh! He just ATE THE MOUSE! Right in front of me!!!” And then he did it AGAIN!!! Just swooped right out of his tree – grabbed another mouse – and went back to the tree to eat it.

That time, I got a good enough look at him to be able to identify him in my birding book: a Northern Shrike.

So, yeah. I think that is my spark bird: A Northern Shrike.

The runner-up would be a Northern Goshawk.

That one came into my life several years later. We had moved into our home in Palmer, and I was upstairs working in my office/craftroom. I heard a commotion outside with all the birds in the neighborhood getting all worked up about something, so I ran to the window to see what it was. Down on the ground below I saw that a goshawk had caught himself some lunch: one of the pesky Starlings that have invaded our neighborhood.

That was pretty exciting!