Last October we began the process of buying the house we’ve been living in since 2014. It was an exhausting task to be sure. We had some things to do to satisfy the lender but we finally closed in late January 2020.
After signing our life away, we began the process of renovating to suit our large family and our lifestyle.
In no particular order…
We had our driveway regraded as it was super steep and on icy winter days our vehicles would slide right down to the bottom of our property.
We took out the large front window to create a main entry.
Girl’s room, they picked the color and scheme.
The main bath was a blank slate.
Framing the front entry hall/master bedroom wall.
Jake grading the driveway.
Dean moving the improperly installed gasline in the kitchen ceiling. There was a lot of this sort of thing. Major frustrations.
More wall framing.
We took out the side entry door and put in a window.
Added a front window, and my new bedroom will be bright and cheerful!
Flooring going down in the girl’s new room.
My new front door.
Painting prep in the girl’s room.
The inside view of my new bedroom windows.
Girl’s room, painted and ready for final trim.
The beach themed bathroom coming together. I built a linen storage, installed beadboard wainscoting and picked some cheerful colors!
Thing 2 doing some painting.
Getting ready to make the first cut.
Pocket door in the bathroom.
Drywall going up in the kitchen.
My new vessel sink for my beach bathroom.
Tile backer board around the tub. A whole lot of prep work.
We’re no where near done, but we’ve got a good start. After winter sets in and our outside work schedule slows down we’ll start working on the master bedroom and front entry again.
Outside the Salty Dawg Saloon, Homer AK, after our kayaking trip.
Playing our grown up dreidle challenge game at Hanukkah.
He said he could eat the whole 5# block of cheese!
My little flower.
Visiting my Rickerd in the hospital after his aneurism surgery in August.
Pesach.
My holiday wreath at the office, Central Peninsula Advocacy Center.
Mark enjoying his 2nd, or 3rd? Childhood. What a sport he is! 
Lil Bit and the star of Willy Wonka.
Lil Bit & Lil Mister playing at Little Puffins.
Me & Lil Bit. She sure is growing up.
Our kayaking trip out of Homer.
Lil Bit and her violin instructor at Odies Deli, for a recital.
Thing 1 and her boyfriend at Pesach.
Her first formal recital.
Shirley Mae came to visit me! What a special treat!
Yom Kippur with Mark & Laquita.
Pirate’s 23rd Psalm driftwood art. Gifted to me by my fellow piratty dreadie at heart. 
Pesach flowers.
All spiffy!
Me and my girl at Salmonfest. 
Our violins.
Pretty lil butterfly at Mom’s house.
He wanted to be in the picture too.
Fishcamp sunset.
These two…
Lil Mister’s new Play-Doh set, he said look Mom, it’s you, she has dreadlocks!
Glorious cheese and fruit trays made by Mo.
Sukkot campfire.
Thing 1’s first multimedia art project.
Just us gals at our holiday party.
Hanging with my chicks at their birthday party.
Working on my copper salmon for the Kenai River Festival recycled art show.
Thing 1 helping my on a tile job.
Thing 1 with her new bunny “Francis” Franny, or bad bunny as I call her.
Solstice Sister’s dinner at Princess Lodge above Cooper Landing.
A glorious fire at Mo’s.
Miss Jane trying to infect Lil Mister with the bug.
Fun at Salmonfest.
Solstice Sisters dinner at Shawna’s before Niki leaves.
Wine & paint for Elaina’s birthday.
Fierce ninja warrior. He cracked his head open roughhousing with his brother. This child goes not do well with blood.
She wanted to try curly hair, so her sister put her up in rollers. Cute, but too much work.
Passing the time before our plane arrives. Our family trip to Kansas & Georgia to see family.
Epic ice unicorn. We had some killer icicles this winter.
Practice makes perfect.
Rock climbers out at Gray Cliffs.
Truth!
Dean’s siblings & Lil Mister in Georgia.
Solstice Sisters Fourth of July cookout. Photo bomber Thing 2.
Thing 2 learning to tape & mud. Working on the girl’s new room.Whew, what a upload of photos! 
I even scattered some grass seed. Who knows if it will grow or not, stuff might be 10 years old. I’m ready to try out my new pit, can’t wait to build that first fire!
The dinning hall.
Fishing was restricted again this year, we could only fish one tide a day. (Due to lowered king salmon returns.) This allowed for a slower pace but it significantly reduced our overall catch. None of us limited out. Most of us got enough to get us through the year, we hope. You never know year to year how much you’re going to actually go through. Some years we eat way more salmon than others. It definitely is a staple in our diet.
And then there’s the card and board games. I found “Joe Name It” at the thrift store this year and it was a lot of laughs. 
Hmmm…. 
Arts & crafts time. They made jelly fish.
Then there’s the friends who come to visit and bring their little puppers. 
And not so little puppers. Burt still has that puppy demeanor even tho he’s as big as a horse.
Once in a while there’s even time for laying down on the job. It’s a hard life Mr. Jimmy! 
There’s always time for good food though. We do eat well at fish camp. Mo is the “Kitchen Queen”.
These enchiladas were amazeballs.
Dessert even. Oy I ate too much.
Dean does a damned fine job of grilling. He usually works all day then comes down to the beach at night. He can sure cook up some delicious food even after working a full day.
This year was a bit overcast and drizzling so the camp stove was a must. We enjoyed its warmth under our dry canopy.
This old fire pit of Niki’s sure has been handy. One bent leg gets propped up in a rock. And a salvaged oven rack with two pieces of rebar makes a nice cooking surface. Hey, we’re Alaskans, we make do.
The kids are always up for a wienie roast. Which is good for when camp isn’t set up and we have no kitchen. 
Putting the nets away for the night. We pull them, stretch them out and flag repairs, Jane takes the time to carefully mend each one, then we gather and store the nets up beach. Get up the next day and start over again.
Here’s to having a warm, dry kitchen out of the wind. L’chaim!
And that’s a wrap. Another year in the books. Smoked salmon and plain jarred salmon adorn our pantry shelves. Life is good.
Alaska on my mind... 