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Tag Archives: Alaska life

Moose Salvage

It’s a thing here in Alaska, to salvage moose after vehicle collision. If your lucky enough to get called, a quick response is required. Go pick up the critter beside the road and then bring it home to process it.

We got a call this morning just in time for Dean to load it into the truck and get it home, hang it up for me then leave for work. Lucky guy. So guess who got to process this little fella single handedly? Well I did have a good bit of assistance from Thing 2, so there’s that.

We had a host of onlookers patiently waiting for a scrap or two.

3 of the 11 eagles who came by to watch.
The first feathered friend to visit. They are so big.

It was cold today and I had to work against the sub zero temps. It took me about 3-4 hours but I got this little guy quartered and in the house to clean up and prep for processing. The rest of the day was spent picking hair, cleaning and cutting up the quarters. My bathtub looked like Lizzy Borden had been there.

This calf was pretty small. About half of him was too damaged for human consumption so will be made into dog food for Panda Bear. The rest of him will be processed into tasty breakfast sausage.

Its bittersweet when a young moose goes this way, but we’re thankful for the opportunity to make something good come from it. Tomorrow will be another full day of grinding, making sausage and dog food.

#alaskalife

#moosesalvage

Nontraditional Turkey Dinner

The high was a balmy 29° F today so we decided it was a great day to smoke a turkey.

Dean got the grill going with an indirect heat set-up. I spatchcocked our little turkey. Oiled it up and put on a a Spice Island turkey rub. And then we smoked it for 4 hours.

Naked and oily.

After four hours I put it in a moderate oven for about 45 mins while I finished the sides.

Smoked spiced turkey.

I made a potato salad reminiscent of Grandma’s but not quite as much mustard and not totally mashed. Then I worked super hard to open the can of Bush’s baked beans to round out the meal. BBQ sauce and an olive/pickle tray and bam, dinner’s ready!

#AKstylebbq

#familyaroundthetable

#itssogoodimfullbutkeepeating

8 Nights, 8 Lights and 10,000 Latkes.

Well maybe not 10,000 but certainly a lotke of latkes.

We had our favorite everything bagels latkes, plain latkes with sour cream, Reuben latkes, pizza latkes and chili cheese latkes. Plus tater tots, which are basically mini latkes. And more plain latkes.

This was the year for latkes for us. And donuts, don’t forget the donuts.

Happy Hanukkah!

#AKlife

#hanukkah

#winter

Pumpkin Pie

Way back in October, Lil Mister asked for a pumpkin when grocery shopping. I asked him why did he want a pumpkin? And he replied because he wanted a pie. So of course we got a pumpkin. It sat on the table for fall decor until Thanksgiving.

Lil Mister’s pumpkin, preparing for the slaughter.

He had bugged me almost daily for a month as to when we’d make his pie. When I told him we were getting the pumpkin ready for pie making he got really excited.

Top off.

I honestly expected him to reach into the seeds and “guts” as we call the pumpkin insides and declare it too gross for him and quit. Well he did say that it felt gross and weird but he persevered. He emptied that pumpkin with some assistance from Lil Bit.

Peeling the pumpkin

Then we started the peeling process, which took a while. He helped until the whole thing was peeled and chunked up. It filled the instapot to the max line. Mom set it to cook and then started in on the rest of Thanksgiving dinner.

Mashing the cooked pumpkin. That’s my cool birthday gift from Mo in the background. She decoupaged some recipes I found out at Dad’s cabin onto an old spoon rack. I can’t wait to put it up in my kitchen!

Needless to say, Mom had way too much to do for Turkey dinner and we decided to let the pie wait until the next day (Mom’s birthday) for pie making.

Lil Mister was bright eyed and bushy tailed the next day, ready for pie making. Mom had to go work on a tile project so Big Sis took the reigns and she and Lil Mister made two pumpkin pies, one gluten free.

They did an amazing job, the pies turned out nicely, even after a last minute adjustment, Big Sis forget eggs in the wheat pie… But it all turned out good.

Sadly, I didn’t get any pics of the finished pies. Trust me that they were delicious and didn’t last long. Mom rather likes pumpkin pie for her birthday. And Lil Mister was super proud of himself for making pumpkin pie from scratch!

#thanksgiving

#kidsinthekitchen

#scratchcooking

Waning Sunlight.

Darkness enfolds us as we fall deep into our winter sleep. I don’t mind, this is supposed to be our resting season. Officially under 6 hours of daylight today.

Solstice will be here soon and then we can begin counting up.

#aklife

#lovealaska

#winter

Bathroom Remodel, Part 1

We’ve been working on our upstairs bathroom. It’s been partially out of service (the toilet) since early March when we had a smallish fire in the bathroom trash. Thank goodness for keeping fire extinguishers in our home! And for being home due to covid-19 shutdown!

Trashcan fire damage.

We had some drywall repair to do and let’s face it, neither one of us likes to do drywall. So it has been waiting on us to finish it. And finally we’re back to it. I’m tired of only one toilet in the house with 6 people!!

The meantime I’ve been sourcing materials as they go on sale or clearance. So when we were ready we could do the reno for less $$.

Beginning the drywall repairs.

Dean started sanding & applying more mud while I started to strip down the map decoupaged vanity top. I scored the surface and used some fabric softener mixed with water to loosen the paper. Most of it scraped right off after soaking for a while. The rest got a light sanding and then I wiped down the surface with a damp rag.

Next was fitting the tile to the vanity top. I rough cut the tile to fit, now I need to trim the edge pieces to fit the tile into place. I had intended to use penny tile, since it would be easy to fit and no cutting needed. The colors Home Depot had just weren’t right though, and this hex tile was perfect. Plus it was on clearance so I got a bargain deal on all the tile for about $13. Now I’ll be learning a new skill, cutting tile! Yippee!??!?

Rough fit tile.

Dean never has been fond of the dark taupe colored walls so we opted for a sage green color. With accents of beige tile, sable grout (bought on clearance for 10¢ a box!!) and one wood accent wall we hope to add interest to this unusually long, narrow, odd shaped bathroom.

#renonation

#updatedbathroom

#diyAK49

Studly

Spent some time this morning studding my tires. *See previous post*

I bought these studs a couple of years ago and just finally got the nerve up to install them. I was a little freaked out about ruining my tires.

These things cost about $1 each and require a special install tool. Their are many sizes to chose from, I picked these since my tires have thick tread.

It may not look like it but I wiped the tire off to remove gravel and sand on each place I drove a stud. Carefully and slowly, I drove them in just until the driver tips we’re just pushing into the tire.

My Makita, the best lil drill ever, with the install tool and a bag o’studs.

I’ve got the two front tires finished and will tackle the rear tires next.

Let’s hope this makes traveling this winter safer and easier.

Oh, a bonus is that they also work great in your snow boots! Give them a try.

I put 6 studs in each sole of my Baffins that I work in. Don’t wear them inside!

#aklife

#icyroads

#screwit

#thesebootsweremadeforwalkingonice

Once in a Blue Moon

Spent the weekend at the cabin. Went out with the idea of working on the deck posts but the frozen timbers were adverse to the idea. So we puttered around doing other things and relaxed a bit.

Dean pulled the leaning support post out from under the sun room and put in a temporary post until next spring. The old log post Dad installed had just rotted off and was skidding off its base.

The moon was so bright Friday night the kids thought it was full! Didn’t need a flashlight to go to the outhouse at night.

Saturday night’s full moon did not disappoint. We sat around the fire and watched the moon rise through the spruce trees.

The kids we’re catching up on LHotP episodes inside while Dean and I enjoyed the fire.

We had a wind advisory for Sunday and it started blowing early. Little Mister got a fright with a tree top breaking off and falling on the neighboring lot.

On our drive out there was a tree down across the road. So we made quick use of the chainsaw and cleared the road.

#thatsthewaywedoithere

#graycliffs

#alaskalife

A Day in the Life of These Alaska People

No work for me today so the kids and I spent some time outdoors. We took a little walk to the sawmill. Little Mister wanted to go help Dad at work. So we leashed up Panda and went for a walk. Once there, Lil Mister went to work shoveling sawdust while Panda explored these new surroundings.

Doggie supervisor, note ear protection in Lil Mister’s ears. Safety First!

Then Lil Bit and I went berry picking for more lingonberries. And a botany lesson for good measure.

The start of our berry harvest and an unusual uprooted tree stump.

Just a regular day.

Making a solar print.

We got about one cup of berries this time, they are slowing down. Might get out once more for a few more. We’ll freeze these for making cranberry nut bread for Thanksgiving dinner.

#alaskalife

#lovealaska

#wildcrafting

Looking Back

Four years ago my Seester came to visit me. Seems like yesterday and yet so long ago! I told her last week that it’s her turn to come visit me!!

Tu me manques.