Ongoing Alaska Chat-- New Thread September

[spruce]

Hey, gals. I am very sorry for the way my comments in the last thread came out. I definitely should have stepped away from the computer and come back with a cooler head.

It's definitely Autumn! Our trees have all turned gorgeous yellows and mushrooms abound. Wow, what a year for mushrooms and berries!

We're spending the day splitting wood-- I am trying to instill a sense of gratitude in my kids, and sometimes it's so so so hard. We are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to have so much wood (we still have a few more trips to Cash Creek to go, but still), and a friend loaned us his wood splitter, so we don't have to split it by hand any more (. My 15 yo, however, is finding it very tough to be grateful, and I find that sad.

Even tiny little Iris is out there hauling wood with everyone else! It's amazing!

My big, beautiful 12 yo will have her 13th birthday this weekend. I'm so proud of her, and every time I think of how she's changed and become this unbelievably gorgeous young woman, I want to cry. Thirteen!

Anyway, back to the wood splitting. Enjoy the beautiful weather!

love, penelope

[unfrozncavegrl]

maybe we should keep these threads shorter...like a monthly thread or a quarterly one?

I missed the comments, but I do think that we need to remember the UA and remember that we do not all feel the same on many issues.

We have a 10x25 lots of white raspberries and they are in abundance right now. It is so nice to go out and eat right off the bush. Yum!

[BusyMommy]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh
I have nothing to say!
Just couldn't resist all this virgin space :
Okay, well, the weather is odd. I did a long bike tonight between work and kid p/u and one side (the mts) looked phenomenally bright & clear and the other side was black & closed. So, yeah, we rode into the black and got drenched.

Where's the Termination Dust?!?!?!!?

Oooh got some Icebug shoes. : Ladies who walk/run here in the winter...get thee to Amazon for $100 OFF sale.

[alaskaberry]

at first I was happy that I was going to Vermont for September, now I am sad! I miss the sunshine and the leaves! Not that it's not nice here--it isn't! 80 degrees and humid as Hades. But at least gas is cheaper! :

I missed the last few pages...I take it there was a big fight about She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. I did NOT know she was so right-wing...wow. Alright, that's enough about that...how was everyone's Labor Day weekend?

[tallanvor]

How was my Labor Day weekend? Great until Tuesday, though not sure that really counts as the weekend. We just got back from 3 weeks in Michigan and while it was wonderful to see family (including my new nephew who was born while I was there), it definitely could've been a better trip. We found out that Natalie is allergic to watermelon and at least one thing that grows in Michigan that doesn't grow here in the Valley. But she is not allergic to bees. At least, not at the moment. None of her reactions were serious, but they were consistent enough and bothersome enough to ruin her sleep for the whole trip. I think we got about 3 good nights of sleep.

Spent today getting ready for school and I still don't have everything. We're starting Monday even if we don't have it all. We're already behind schedule and we might be moving in April, so gotta get going.

Must say, I was pleasantly surprised at the weather here at home, though. I figured with as cool as the summer's been it would be much cooler after 3 weeks that it is.

[salmontree]

aw man I missed the drama!? dang.

I'm loving this weather.. crisp air, sunny skies and the leaves turning.. mmmmm my favorite season.

Question: (that's my Dwight Shrute impression. )
Is this a good time to go high bush cranberry picking or do I wait a bit longer?

[roadfamily6now]

I totally missed all the excitment and then the mods shut the thread down.

Well, it's nice to be back with you all.

I dont see any leaves changing colors here yet.
But Good News!!! We are buying a house! So we have made a commitment to stay here until our highschooler graduates! (4 years if not longer) that is HUGE for us!

[annettemarie]

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[spruce]

Tammy, a house! Congratulations! I've lost track, with all your bouncing around, where exactly *are* you now?

I think it's a good time to pick high bush cranberries, Stephanie. Ours are *everywhere* and are very ripe. It depends on their sun and shade factors. We also have a ton of rose hips, which I think we're going to turn into our next project as soon as we finish splitting the wood. (B is on duty today, so I'm trying to finish all the wood splitting and restacking before he gets home tomorrow).

Anyway, in the next few days I think we're going to collect both high bush cranberries and rosehips and make some jams. Maybe we'll try some syrupy potions or something. With as much peanut butter and jelly as my kids eat, and as much as they like preserves on their waffles, I think we owe it to ourselves to get out and take advantage of the free food on our property.

I'm already thinking about next year's gardening season and what I'm going to do differently...and I'll be darned if I'm not going to finally grow some tomatoes that aren't GREEN next year!

Back to the wood splitter!

love, p

[roadfamily6now]

Spruce,

we have landed in Anchorage.

Gee, I am envious of all you with fresh berries in your yards and neighborhoods! With the cost of gas, we found it cheaper to buy blueberries then to pick them. so sad.
But I WILL be planting some raspberry bushes in our new yard!!!

[tallanvor]

I can't afford to drive up to Hatcher's Pass this year in hopes of blueberries and don't know of anywhere closer to home. I am seriously considering going over to Pyrah's to pick some raspberries, though. Going to have to call and see what else they have for picking right now, though, because I don't want to drive over just for berries. Last year we got beans, peas, and potatoes from there, but I don't remember when it was we went.

I'm excited though -- we're looking to go down to Seward next month. We've not been before. We've been here 2 1/2 years and hardly gone anywhere. Andrew wants to drive up to the North Pole, but I don't like the idea of spending that much time in the truck with Natalie. The older two do fine on longer trips, but Natalie's limit is about an hour and a half.

[spruce]

I think that, with all the rain we got here in the interior, and the shorter, colder days, the growing season this year just stunk.

We were so psyched because the "apple guy" usually comes to the Farmer's Market--he grows apple trees way out Chena Hot Springs road. This year, no apple guy. My allergic 12yo can eat his apples, so we saved a bunch of moolah to buy quite a few $10 bags, but no go.

I wish I knew more about mushrooms, as we have had a blooming mushroom season this year. I'm looking forward to dividends so I can spend some on books, like a "Mushrooms of Alaska" book I found at Gulliver's that I wish I'd had a few months ago!!

What I find really hilarious is that the amanitas that always pop up next to our swing set are gone, but none of the edible mushrooms are being eaten...I wonder what happened to them? (No, don't worry, my kids didn't eat them ).

Oh, I did it! I got all the wood split before B got home today! I am just so frigging sore! But my 7yo, bless his heart, got up with me at zero-dark-thirty, skipped his normal huge breakfast and just had a yogurt, and went straight to working on the wood pile with me. Oh, I'm so lucky!

love, p

[roadfamily6now]

I am going to be SOOOOO exicted to leave this neighborhood! First kids steal my DD's MP3 player right from her hands. Took 2 weeks to get that back with a lot of threats from a very angry father.
Now we suspect those same group of kids stole my kids bikes! Can you believe it??? What is wrong with kids and their parents now days???

Ugh.

[spruce]

Dividend info is out!

$2,069 dividend, plus $1200 resource rebate = $3,269!

love, p

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by spruce

I think that, with all the rain we got here in the interior, and the shorter, colder days, the growing season this year just stunk.

We were so psyched because the "apple guy" usually comes to the Farmer's Market--he grows apple trees way out Chena Hot Springs road. This year, no apple guy. My allergic 12yo can eat his apples, so we saved a bunch of moolah to buy quite a few $10 bags, but no go.

I wish I knew more about mushrooms, as we have had a blooming mushroom season this year. I'm looking forward to dividends so I can spend some on books, like a "Mushrooms of Alaska" book I found at Gulliver's that I wish I'd had a few months ago!!

What I find really hilarious is that the amanitas that always pop up next to our swing set are gone, but none of the edible mushrooms are being eaten...I wonder what happened to them? (No, don't worry, my kids didn't eat them ).

Oh, I did it! I got all the wood split before B got home today! I am just so frigging sore! But my 7yo, bless his heart, got up with me at zero-dark-thirty, skipped his normal huge breakfast and just had a yogurt, and went straight to working on the wood pile with me. Oh, I'm so lucky!

love, p

Definitely get a mushroom book! We found a nice Ukrainian lady in Delta who taught us all about wild mushrooms and took us mushroom hunting. I still remember which ones are edible.

[spruce]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

I am going to be SOOOOO exicted to leave this neighborhood! First kids steal my DD's MP3 player right from her hands. Took 2 weeks to get that back with a lot of threats from a very angry father.
Now we suspect those same group of kids stole my kids bikes! Can you believe it??? What is wrong with kids and their parents now days???

Ugh.

Oh, Tammy, I am so sorry. I really don't understand so much of how the world works sometimes.

We're seeing more and more gang violence here, and I really do believe it begins with uninvolved parents and bored kids. Sadly, these same uninvolved parents are the ones screaming for bigger malls and more video games places for their kids, instead of buying them skis or teaching them to hike and fish. Sad.

I hope your new house is awesome! (And as stress-free as new house hunting and buying can be!)

love, p

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by spruce

Dividend info is out!

$2,069 dividend, plus $1200 resource rebate = $3,269!

love, p

speaking of PFD's

The appeals process can take months or even a year before a decision is made. Please be advised that appeals are now working on appeals received prior to November 2007. It is unknown when your appeal will be assigned or reviewed. Please keep your contact information current in case they need to contact you.

So since we sent ours in in August 2008, I am assuming this means we wont see anything until next year sometime.
:

[roadfamily6now]

thanks spruce!

If all goes well, DH will be moving us in at the end of hte month! Whooo Hooo!!

Did you hear what happened in Delta? I guess it was all over the news yesterday. Some sort of shoot out or something at the Texaco.

I will search around for more info.

[spruce]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

thanks spruce!

If all goes well, DH will be moving us in at the end of hte month! Whooo Hooo!!

Did you hear what happened in Delta? I guess it was all over the news yesterday. Some sort of shoot out or something at the Texaco.

I will search around for more info.

Can you give me a hint where around Anch you're going to be? My brother lives there, and my best friend, and my dad did 'til he passed on.

We're heading down that way right after dividends come. (In a few weeks). Doing some school shopping!

I didn't hear anything on the news yesterday, 'til I got about two minutes of McCain's speech. I was out with the wood splitter until after bed time!

love, p

[spruce]

Tammy, from what I can see w/out registering at ADN, there was a shootout at a gas station in Delta, and the gunman was arrested w/out any injuries.

p