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It’s been a long time since I did a sugar cleanse, must be 20+ years! Whoa!! I think it’s time to overhaul my diet again.

Our diet changed drastically when we moved to Alaska almost 9 years ago. Being a newbie I was unaware of local buying clubs and honestly, didn’t have the cash flow to buy in bulk anyway. I tried to maintain a few constants like whole grains and no sugar but…. sugar crept back into our diets as did white rice.

Change happened gradually but mostly due to finances & Dean having a sweet tooth didn’t help. He often brought candy home to the kids in our early years here. They were thrilled, I was not. Also, cooking with natural sweeteners only is quite expensive here. What I used to buy a gallon of honey for will only buy a quart here, if that. Maple syrup is pretty expensive too. So unbleached sugar has been a regular part of our diet for several years now.

I’m planning 30 days w/out refined sugar, HFCS, alcohol, and all that stuff. Maybe a week of no sugars, fruit included, to jumpstart the process. Then I’ll add whole fruits back but leave the rest of the sweets alone.

Oy. Can I do it? I feel like I need a huge grocery shopping trip to prepare myself! Stock up on protein snacks and unsweetened beverages.

Also, I picked up a rectangle loom at the thrift store last week to start loom knitting again so I have something to keep my hands busy.

We’ll see how it goes. With a house full of sugar eaters and bakers… I’m sure it’s going to be a challenge!

I know that I will feel better and that’s my encouragement!

The plan is to start tomorrow, MNO with the Solstice Sisters tonight. Wish me great success!!

You Bake!
Lil Mister's cookie designs.
Outside temps, feels much colder.
Filed my last harvest report for 2021. 
Also applied for our PFDs.

We hosted our friends last night for New Year’s, it’s become our annual tradition. They stay the night so no one has to drive home late at night in potentially inclement weather or with other unsafe drivers on the road. Then we have breakfast the next day, or lunch perhaps, depending on how long we sleep.

We had so much food last night! Both Mo and I made enough for an army! 😆 But 13 people is not army it seems. Lots of leftovers! But we had the good stuff!

Taquitos, egg rolls, wings, salmon ricotta crostini, buffalo chicken dip, beef Lil smokies, humus, veggies, cheese ball, chips, Texas Caviar, cows in carpets (what the kids have named our kosher hotdogs baked in crescent rolls), cherry bars, peanut butter cookies, candy, pistachio truffles, (with most of it being gluten free) and the drinks…. All the drinks. We had our very own junior “mix master” who whipped up some great mock tails for everyone to enjoy!

Jake came down with the dogs so the pups had a party of their own. Complete with hats and leis. (See previous post!) And after midnight he and the dogs went home (he lives across the street and up the hill).

I made two breakfast casseroles for brunch, a sausage-hasbrown & egg dish and stuffed banana bread french toast. Mo brought zucchini muffins and we had a refreshing peach shrug to drink, which happened to make a good belini with the left over prosecco from midnight! We make do!

We were creative with getting sleeping quarters set up for everyone but we did it! It’s a lot of fun to have our friends over like this. Reserved for special occasions (or very bad weather)!

It’s a great way to start the new calendar year! I hope yours was just as wonderful!

Panda has had too much party.
Party animals in the house.

No dogs we’re harmed in the making of these photos.

Happy New Year y’all. Woof! 🐾

It’s official!! 2021 is done, B’ H!

Be safe, love to you & yours!










Good morning Alaska!