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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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Tag Archives: journey
I’ve been cutting my kid’s hair since moving here a decade ago. Mostly due to necessity and hair cuts being expensive. Over the years I’ve cut many interesting hairdos, some by request and others by accident. Sorry about that kiddos.
I remember when Thing 2 asked for a mohawk. Okay, I can do that… Check it here. Recently, well the past couple of years or so, he’s moved into a more 80’s redneck style or as we like to say around here, a Northroader look, with a mullet.
He’s gone to the barber a few times of late, like before prom. He asked me to cut his hair last weekend. Just the top and sides tho, trim the back a little.
I obliged. The moment was not lost on me. He turns 18 next month and he’s getting ready to move back to Kansas to be with his Dad and find his niche in life. I pondered as I snipped the curls around his temples that this could possibly be the last time I’ll ever cut his hair.
Bittersweet.
Grown up already.
Where did my little boy go?
One thing a sourdough usually has is time to ponder. Generally in the darkness of winter, when there’s little else to do.
Since I embarked on this series I’ve spent some time pondering what being a sourdough means to me. I suppose it starts with a grandiose sense of adventure, with a stubborn persistence bordering on the insane. More than a can-do, but a will-do-or-be-damned spirit, the sort of determination you don’t run into every day.
If one is successful and survives their first Alaskan winter, (and doesn’t high-tail it for the lower 48,) they begin to shift into a more refined sense of adventure and wonder but still plenty stubborn and maybe a little cantankerous now. One’s mind will be full of a new found respect for Alaska’s fierceness and unpredictability. Hopefully, if said stubborn person is wise, they develop a better prepared can-do spirit that begins to ready for the winter right after break-up. It’s like feeding the sourdough and keeping it warm, it takes diligence and constant care to keep it going.
Get ready, “winter is coming” is their mantra.
After each winter survival the individual acquires more character and unique qualities, not unlike sourdough starter..
Before long they may even start to smell like a sourdough. Much to the shaggrin of the city folk. No worry, by this time, there’s not a care left in the world for what others think.
Time passes, and there’s no real measurement for this period as it varies with each sourdough, at some point the sourdough is perfected, working in harmony with Nature, ebbing and flowing with Her tides. Full of wisdom from experience, maybe not so full of themselves and their abilities but quietly confident & determined. Or maybe damned proud of themselves and more feisty for it. Either way, they’ll be quite content in their own existence.
It’s taken failure upon failure, possibly even a near death experience or two and quite a collection of “awes” and wonders to get here. There will have been a plethora of lessons learned. Many annoyances experienced. Lots of paths crossed and one or two well worn.
It’s a work in progress. A neverending tending to keep your culture. It’s a lifestyle, a journey.
Somewhere around this time, half a century ago, my existence in this realm began. Newlyweds and Valentine’s Day and all…
This being a milestone year I’ve been thinking a lot lately about things like accomplishments, unfinished business and future things. Thinky things.
I like to think about this being the time that my parents were happy.
It was the only time, so far, that I’ve been to Canada. And with Canada’s draconian behaviour of late, I’m not planning on going again.
I was born in the snow and cold. (Well not literally, like my mom was inside the hospital.) But is that why I’ve always loved the snow? Is there a genetic reason why I love the snow? A geographical one? Or just a generic one?
I loved the mountains, even before I ever saw them in person. They were the subject of many of my juvenile drawings and again in my adult art class experience with Beverly years later. Mountains with pine trees with a log cabin. I need to live near them.
Is all of this coincidence?
I’ve been on a health kick recently. Which has been building for quite some time. Trying to improve my overall feeling of wellness, increased energy, etc. They all say everything is harder to do after 50, so… Best get to it!
This phase of life has me seeing my first born graduating highschool and eventually moving out on her own. Of course I knew this day would come. I’ve tried teaching her all necessary skills and instilling what wisdom I have to impart. And yet I find myself wondering how we got here, quite so fast. It’s hard for me to imagine daily life without her right here, with me, in my house. At the same time I’m looking forward to having an adult child to experience life with. I’m excited for her and all the new things she will get to experience.
Then the second one will follow in a few years… And before I know it, they all will be out in the big world on their own. Whatever will I do with myself?
Oh, I have plenty of ideas.
But I’ll think about that tomorrow. Along with those other inevitable things I don’t want to think about right now.
So thanks to my Mom & Dad for giving me life. Thanks to G-d for bringing me to this season, and with HaShem’s help, I’ll get through it.
Besides having insomnia last night
I was tired but for some reason sleep would not come easy. Oy. (I actually started this post at 1:50 am.) So automatically I know today is going to be harder since I’ll be sleep deprived.
But I made it.
Stopping for that post work soda and snack on the way home, I was good, I opted for water and beef jerky.
I’ll be ready for bedtime.
Thing 2 has been interested in kayaking for several years now. I bought him a starter kayak about 4 years ago I think. We don’t often use it but every once in a while a kayaking opportunity arises and we must go!
We’ve been kayaking to Cain’s Head out of Seward, across Kachemak Bay out of Homer and on Arc Lake and Stormy Lake. Once again we had the opportunity to kayak to Cain’s Head with IDEA for our beginning the year field trip.
We booked a cabin for the night before at Miller’s Landing. It’s a quaint little Alaska campground. It started out as a family homestead and the campsites are named after people. There’s a Wes and a Janet among others. I don’t recommend “Matt” as he’s a muddy mess with lots of tree roots!
Our cabin was a “tree” cabin, Alder, and sleeps 4. Me, my teens and one extra: Thing 2’s buddy, since it was his birthday trip and all. Trips like this are always the best because our friends are with us.
Staying over the night before is important, a 7:30am roll call on the beach with a two and half hour drive before isn’t very fun! So overnight it was.
We managed to get to the beach on time and started out paddling at 8 am.
The weather wasn’t awful but it wasn’t stellar either. Overcast and light to moderate rain all day. We had a brief moment of partly cloudy skies then the rain returned. But we managed to stay mostly dry with good rain gear. There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.~ old Norwegian saying.
Five miles out to the North Beach access. A nice uneventful paddle. Lots of birds and jumping silvers. We saw a jellyfish waiting to make our landing.
Then a two mile hike up to Fort McGilvray. An altitude gain of 650′, a “moderate” hike on the difficulty scale.
We saw so many berries on our way up. Thing 1 was taking photos every other step. Moss, mushrooms, flowers, berries, her boyfriend, me…. Trees and rocks and … Everything.
We made it to the top and a quick walk through the Fort and then lunch break. Thing 2 discovered that he forgot to pack his lunch in so we all shared a bit of our lunches to help him out.
While eating lunch he spotted a porcupine up in the top of a tree above us. Strange creatures porcupines. Stellar Jays we’re fussing at us the whole time. We were in their space.
Then we started our descent. The trip back is always quicker. Too quick to pick all the berries I saw. I hate walking past berries and not picking them.
Safe to say that we’re all pretty tired at this point. Five miles kayaking, 4 miles hiking. Now another 5 miles back. Oy vey
All the muscles fussed at us on the way back. Even those we didn’t know we had. But by 3:03 pm we were back on the beach at Miller’s Landing.
These children decided they deserved ice cream after their efforts. We headed into Seward for ice cream and coffee for the Moms. There were still some congratulatory posters and banners up for Lydia Jacoby which was cool to experience.
Looking forward to the next kayaking adventure! But maybe not so far next time? Maybe.
#aklife
#kayaking
Last Thursday morning, early, we embarked in our journey to see family. It Has been 2 1/2 years… Too long.
Our first sunrise before 10 am in quite a while.
On our way to make a surprise visit to Grammy and Papa, my seester and lots of folks along the way. We’ve been going nonstop since.
I stumbled upon this sweet poem back on my step-brother Mike’s birthday. It was a great find. This is a beautiful poem and one that resonates with me. If I Could Send A Birthday Card To Heaven by Kathleen Viaes.
Link over and read the full poem. ❤
Today marks our second anniversary in the great state of Alaska.
It’s raining.
Sorta dreary.
But I’m not complaining, because everything is so green due to all of the rain. It has been a dry two years.
Life is a lot like the weather. It changes. Sometimes it rains. Other times the sun shines, for 16 hours. Learn to enjoy it all. ❤
Alaska on my mind... 