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What else has been going on around here…
- We Made It! December 22, 2025
- We Make Do, So Can You! November 2, 2025
- Twice in 3 Days October 31, 2025
- Processing Day October 26, 2025
- Raspberry Saskatoon Mead October 18, 2025
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Monthly Archives: September 2021
Coffee is our drink. Without it we cannot think.
We brew a pot in the morning & drink it up. Stop on the way to work for another cup.
We drink it blended, hot or cold. The flavor never grows old.
Thermos, travel cup or disposable, we drink it wherever we go.
At home, the cabin or on the beach, There’s no place brewing is out of reach.
Coffee machine, french press, brew bags, or jet boil, build a fire do the work, it’s worth the toil.
When fishing buddies need a treat, it’s Irish Cream in their cup you sneak.
At work when tempers flair, a coffee break always clears the air.
Every corner here a coffee stand, we have the most in the land.
There’s Allen Sisters, Kaladi’s, & True Blue,
Amore Mocha, Ammo Can & Brew 602.
Coffee snobs, café queens, call us anything you please.
We drink it black or dress it up, it’s always coffee in our cups!
#coffee #drinkofalaska #gojuice #cupofjoe #caffienenation #coffeesnob #cafequeen
Just a little gift from Jake this morning. His friend grew it and left it on his deck, a “little” cabbage. So he sends it to me and asks for a jar of sauerkraut. Okay!
I forgot to weigh it before I started cutting but the best guess is it weighed about 20 lbs. It wasn’t a very tight head so not as much there as you might think.
Then I sliced it all up and started mixing salt and beating the daylights out of it. It’s a great way to work out aggression! I also used some whey to jumpstart the lacto-fermentation process (WAP method, adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon).
BTW, to get the whey I strain out some plain organic yogurt in cheesecloth. The resulting cheese will be used like cream cheese, it’s delicious. It also makes the BEST cheesecake.
After it was all said and done I got about a gallon of kraut. Jake gets the little jar. 😜
#aklife #preservingtheharvest #healthyfoods #lactoferment
This past week has been a whirlwind of activity. I’m not sure if I’m coming or going but it’s been great. The tail end of the previous week I spent time out hunting for moose, with no luck yet. Saturday we headed into town, the kids and I that is, to see Niki who’s home for a quick visit. And Sukkot is happening too.
We have enjoyed the time with our dear friends and have tried to do most all of the things we used to do when she lived here full time: foraging, bonfires on the beach (it’s not fish camp but it’s close!), Solstice Sisters Dinner, MNO, and just visiting while the kids all play.
True friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.
Author Unknown
All in all it’s been great for us. I know Niki has been going non-stop and these kind of trips aren’t really relaxing! But it’s been wonderful having her back, even for a short while. And having my Solstice Sisters all together again has been magical.
She’s been out on the road for two years. That separation has taught me to be thankful for all of our times together and share the gratitude I feel with others. Life is too short to do otherwise. Tell someone special in your life that you appreciate them today and why. You never know what your impact your words can have for good!
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Melody Beattie
She heads out to Wasilla today, we said our goodbyes last night. Until next time!!! 💕❤️💕
#thankfulforfriends #blessed #solsticesisters #grateful
Spruce bark beetles are ravaging our trees, everywhere. At home we have dozens dead but at the cabin they are more noticeable. Three lovely big spruce by the cabin have died and either us or the wind have taken them down. Cutting these trees was certainly bittersweet. I love these big ole trees. But they were no longer safe and had to go. Definitely a down.
It opened up the yard tremendously and let in more sunlight. Also less privacy, win some, lose some I guess.
Jake came out with his mini excavator to help take down the trees closest to the cabin as well as pull some stumps for us. While there I had him dig a test hole in a consistently wet spot of the driveway. After about half an hour we had a pretty good seep of clear water so it looks like I’ll be developing a spring house for fresh water!! I’m so excited! Up for sure!
We still have several downed trees to turn into cord wood. And a deck to finish. And another coat of sealer to get on the cabin before snow flies. Our last two weeks of moose season will be filled with chores during the “not hunting” hours. Here’s to having a successful and productive moose camp! Hoping for a big ole up!!
#aklife #drycabin #beetlespruce #beetlespruce #bettlespruce
We spent Sunday morning foraging. Niki, Mo, Thing 1 & I. City Hall has some crab apple trees and an abundance of rosehips that we harvested for jelly making.
While there we enjoyed each other’s company and solved all the world’s problems. We also enjoyed the flower beds and various different trees planted around the premises.
We found a large patch of wild roses and harvested a nice amount of rosehips. Thing 1 had a good time practicing plant identification for her Botany class.
We harvested enough crab apples for jelly, cider, sauce… You get the idea
Also enough to share with others. Part of the joy of wildcrafting is sharing with others.
We also had to harvest our own plants. Lil Bit planted several herbs for her Botany class last year. They did very well and we’ve enjoyed fresh basil, cilantro and parsley this summer.
Alas, Old Man Winter is knocking at the door. Time to harvest as much as we can. Hoping for another cranberry picking soon. And a moose.
And afterwards we went for coffee.
#aklife #foraging #wildcrafting #bounty
To pick berries, with my Solstice Sisters.
Sunshine, a little wind. Glorious big low bush cranberries. A few blueberries left and a good batch of crow berries too.
Children running amuck. Playing with their friends like they just saw each other yesterday.
Also a great day for a campfire on the beach. Roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, drinking a little homemade rhubarb wine. Enjoying the beach with my buddies.
With the sun right in our eyes. 
Roasting the wieners 
Roasting my tootsies. 
Tide rolling out. 
A little hazy but nice weather.
Friends make every day a great day.
#aklife #solsticesistersak #beachplease
So we got to the job site Monday morning to clean up and get the orders to do window & corner trim. So back to the mill for some trim boards and off to work we go again.
Gotta admit it looks better with a little trim.
Now that we’re really done… I hope… It’s off to moose hunting camp.
#aklife #arewedoneyet #didyouseethatmoose
Alaska on my mind... 