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Monthly Archives: October 2021

Day 5, Dreary Days

Today has been one of those dreary winter days. Overcast, trying to rain, not cold enough to freeze during the day but wait until night fall.

There’s still so much to be done outside but the weather kept me inside today. I cleaned out the freezers and pulled out all the fish reserved to make more dog food for Panda.

Found a few surprises, but not Jimmy Hoffa. Thought we were out of moose summer sausage and Italian sausage and I found some if each! It’s the little things in life. We’ll be enjoying these this week.

All the dog food that I had canned up has finally ran out. We’ve got one jar of salmon left. Not too bad for experimenting with the idea. Panda loves it.

Sunday is our day to clean the chimney. Thing 2 takes the lead on this and the girls help with clean up and getting the fire going again.

I’m thankful for a productive day, for every one pitching in and getting things done. For warm fires burning. Team work makes the dream work.

#thankful #blessed #grateful

What We’ve Been up to Lately

A late season build, a timber frame carport. Got as far as the rafters set before the snow put a halt to the roof going on. Waiting for a dry clear day to finish it off.

12′ x 21′ carport.

  • Setting the piers in place
  • Posts up
  • Now for the beams… Too heavy
  • Bring the mini in to set the beams
  • Rafters almost done.
  • King posts and cross supports.
  • Rafter cap up. One more side to go.
Progress

#aklife #snd

Day 4

Today was busy. BOW hunter education course with Thing 1 & Mo. We’ve been studying and preparing for two weeks now. There’s a lot of info to take in.

Study manual.

Thankfully we all passed the written and field test. Woo hoo.

My qualifying target. Shot pattern being the deciding factor.

These classes aren’t offered down here on the Kenai very often, usually in Anchorage. So not having to travel in winter is great!

The classes are hosted at Snowshoe Gun Club. They have a very nice facility. We had great instructors too.

It was nice to get a good refresher course, it’s been a minute since I took a hunter safety course. This one was more in depth than I remember. Experiencing the course with my girl was nice too. She did quite well and is a pretty dang good shot. Don’t mess with her.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to take the class, thanks to Mo for suggesting it. And grateful for the shared experience. Happy that I remembered far more than I forgot from all those years ago. Hunting and firearm safety is a lot like riding a bicycle, but it’s good having a refresher!

(BOW stands for Becoming an Outdoor Woman, it’s not an archery course)

#outdoorAK #aklife #shootest #hunt #womanswork #grateful #thankful #blessed

Day 3

Warm gear is essential when building outside in the winter. Some days even double layers beneath your insulated outerwear is essential. Without the insulated gear life is utterly miserable and those work days drag on.

My old Carhartts have seen better days. I’ve been wearing them for five years now I think. They were gifted to me by my friends Sam & Vanessa. They were a real blessing at the time and I’ve been grateful for their warmth.

I’ve patched them and tried to keep them serviceable for a couple of winters now. But the time has come that they need to be retired. These can become spares for the cabin.

Patches

I’ve been looking for a good used pair at the thrift stores for some time now to no avail. Even then a pair will be about $40 used. Heavens knows I don’t want to pay Freddy’s price of $200 for a pair! Today when we went for lunch at the local hardware store… Yes, you read that right… They were having a storewide sale and low and behold their insulated gear was included. And they had women’s wear and not just men’s!!

So for a little more than twice thrift price I have a brand new pair of insulated bibs, (that fit right & are long enough) to keep me toasty while working in the snow. I’m so excited! Lots of pockets & a hammer loop too! Woo hoo!

New Ariat insulated bibs, with pockets!!

Plus we had a great grilled panini and homemade soup at the Old Goat Cafe.

Triple blessed.

#thankful #blessed #nikiskihardware #alaskalife #womanswork

Day 2

Today I woke up to snow. Blowing snow. And cold. I’m thankful for my warm gear and good snow tires and four wheel drive trucks.

On top of old Smokey, all covered with snow…

#thankful #blessed

Day 1, 30 days of Thankfulness

I’m being lazy, not wanting to get out of my comfy bed. It’s nice and warm. I have a snuggly little boy who likes to climb into bed in the morning after his Dad gets up. And a spoiled puppy dog who snores, both cuddled up here with me. Moments like these are meant to be cherished as they won’t last forever. I’m very thankful for all of these blessings.

#blessed

Meanwhile, at a local Nikiski gas station

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Meanwhile, at a local Nikiski gas station
Who did that??

30 Days of Thanksgiving

Spending time with Niki during her visit in September we talked of many things but one very important concept was living a life of gratitude. Not just simply being thankful, which in and of itself is a good thing, but acknowledging others, being kind and realizing how much we have to be thankful for. Meditating on it.

As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness — just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

When we live a life of gratitude it changes things. It changes how you think and act, even how your brain is wired, how you view the world, and how others view you (that’s not the goal but a side effect of sorts).

An important aspect of gratitude is expressing it. Telling others that you appreciate them and why, otherwise they may never know. Don’t let your moment of gratitude expression be at their memorial service. Tell them now.

Won’t you join me in practicing gratitude and post something every day for the next 30 Days? Begin the habit, if you’re not already, of expressing thankfulness in your own life.

#gratitudeattitude #thankful #grateful #givethanks

Day 1. Day 15 Day 29

Day 2. Day 16 Day 30

Day 3 Day 17

Day 4 Day 18

Day 5 Day 19

Day 6 Day 20

Day 7 Day 21

Day 8 Day 22

Day 9. Day 23

Day 10. Day 24

Day 11. Day 25

Day 12. Day 26

Day 13. Day 27

Day 14. Day 28

I has to kill the squeeky!

She’s like a little kid. Whenever I come home from the store she’s checking the bags and looking at me with those “did you gets me new toy?” eyes.

She may be a little spoiled. But I’d rather her chew up a cheap toy than my Birkies. Lol

She immediately goes for the squeekies. They drive her nuts. She just has to kill them.

Invincible toy! We’ll see about that…

So excited to get a new toy. We usually time her to see how long the squeeky lasts. The first one she popped about 7 minutes in. The second one lasted a little longer.

No more squeeky.

But she hasn’t completely destroyed the toy yet. It’s lasting a lit longer than some of the others have.

#doglife #squeekykiller #princesspup #pandabear

What a view! My next job site location.

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What a view! My next job site location.