Home on the Tundra

Last Posting from the Bush!

2010-08-14T16:38:00.008-08:00

Our bags are packed we're ready to go......

This is our last week in Unalakleet and it will be my last posting for a while.

It has been a great two years but now it is over and we will be heading back to the lower 48. These last few weeks have been filled with picnics and friends.

Including stakes at Bebucks,

playing at the beach,

having picnics,

sitting on Isa's makeshift porch swing,

and playing out with friends. We will miss Unalakleet and it will always hold a special place in our hearts. We hope to see you all again.

Overlook of the Unalakleet River and wide open spaces

2010-08-02T09:11:00.003-08:00

This is an overlook of the Unalakleet River. Beautiful view of the landscape!

Jeremy, looking good.

Isa and her friend found great pleasure throwing rocks off the point and trying to reach the river.

Only in Alaska

2010-07-13T14:46:00.014-08:00

WARNING THIS ENTRY HAS PICTURES OF DEAD ANIMALS, LOTS OF THEM.

Alaska is a place that can be prosaic and monotonous at the same time it is mind blowing and extreme. Sometimes it is the expanse of ocean and tundra, the beautiful sunsets, seals in the sound, or the size of the mosquitoes.

One of the things that really defines this place in Alaska that I live is the relationship between animals and humans. It is neither reverence nor the hunger for the kill but something else entirely.

This blog pays tribute to this strange relationship.

Here is one example celebrating Christmas by stretching a real reindeer skin over a wooden frame. Empty eye holes lit up by Christmas lights.

A beautiful Arctic fox

Dead skinned fox frozen in the snow.

Fox fur made into ruffs for parkas.

Isa in her fox ruff parka.

Dead black bear, I think, skinned and left on the beach to rot and wash into the ocean.

Baby beluga from the deep blue sea, harvested for skin and fat. Known as white Muktuk it is served and eaten.

And of course the fish.....lots and lots of fish.

On the line...

On the counter...

And on the Grill!

Fourth of July Fun!

2010-07-06T08:29:00.006-08:00

I love fireworks. I really enjoy a good sparkly bang. Living up here in the Arctic where it does not get dark really puts a damper on fireworks fun, but the games, events, and people make up for it.

The entire town came out for the festivities on the Fourth of July. First there was the parade with lots and lots of candy.

This is our Mayor, the one that ran the Iditarod.

Then it was off to the field for the kids games. There were races, tug-a-war, wild animal calling, egg tosses, and gunny sack races. Isa won the bike race!

She used the money she won to have her hair dyed!

Jeremy and I did not do as well as Isa. We did the bike race, egg toss, horseshoes, tug-of-war, and anchor toss and did not win any of our events!

After the Adult games it was down to the ocean for the log walk. It was 9:00 a night as the kids changed into their wet suites to walk on a log covered in Crisco. Isa made it about half way.

By 10:00 the kids were all wet and covered in grease. It was time to take them home and wash them off. The adults continued with the games having a fish cutting contest, paddle boat race, and a motor boat race, all into the wee hours of the morning.

All in all a great day! (even without the sparkly bangs!)

Isa's new Parka

2010-06-29T15:59:00.004-08:00

Isa's Akka Sarren here in Unalakleet made her a parka. She is soooo happy she has wanted a parka for the last two years.

I am hoping that it will not be to hot for those winter nights in Montana and Idaho.

Yes that is Arctic Fox around her cute little face. Real fur is a necessity here in the Arctic as fake fur just freezes up in the cold weather. It is a wonderful gift for her to have as we plan our move back to the lower 48 this fall.

Great time on the ocean

2010-06-25T14:29:00.009-08:00

We finally had some beautiful weather and were invited to go down the coast with some friends. The ocean was calm and wonderful.

For most of our trip the driver was a five year old. He did a great job and managed to keep us a float!

We had many visitors to the boat including these cute little fellas. We were able to keep our friend from hunting them so we could enjoy the company. They were so curious they came right up to the boat.

After the seals we stopped on some islands to look for seagull eggs. Yes, we eat seagull eggs here. They are good and are about the same size as a duck egg.

The seagulls nest on cliffs like this.

You climb way up on the cliff and hunt for the eggs.

We found one!!

After seagull eggs we picked a couple of sacks of herring eggs on sea kelp.

Then we hiked up to the top of some cliffs. We did not see a bear but we did find a fox.

Here is the whole crew.

Then on the way home we met another friend. If you look close you will see a fin there under the cliff. That is a minke whale. It visited us a lot closer but I could not get a better picture.

Here is a drawing of this beautiful whale from http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=230.

Just a great trip on the ocean!

Hiking in Alaska

2010-06-15T15:57:00.006-08:00

Yes it looks beautiful. Wide open spaces, and it was even warm although a little bit wet, well a lot wet.

But the biggest problem was the tiny little bug, you know the one that hums all round your face and tries to pierce your skin and suck your blood.

Jeremy wasn't bothered too much. If you look really close you will see a swarm of them around his head.

You just have to hood up. Check them out trying to poke through my hood!

Oh and there is still ice on the sound. Lots and lots of ice. This picture was taken June 14th. That is just wrong......

Summer Fun Unalakleet style

2010-06-11T09:53:00.006-08:00

Well this is the season that many kids are busy with baseball or summer camps or soccer. We don't have any organized events here in Unalakleet for kids so they are left to invent their own fun.

This can lead to some unexpected and sometimes very messy projects. Here is a picture of Isa after she went on a walk with two of her friends. They found some old berries form last year. They were to gooey to eat but they made perfect face paint.

When you kissed her cheek you just wanted to take a bite!

Then it was fort building time. Here is Isa and one of her friends making a fort out of the two foot space under our porch. They scavenged through the village for random pieces of wood and tarps. Under the fort they had blankets, stuffed animals, and sleeping bags.

The fort is still up. The kids will not dismantle their "fort" and are so proud of it. The fort has been up for a week. I gave them through this weekend then they have to move it somewhere else where I am not forced to see it every time I walk out the door.

The kids have been having fun this summer and coming up with their own adventures without input from adults. It is a lost skill and I am happy they get the chance to do it, despite the mess.

2010-06-10T08:21:00.002-08:00

We had a May Day party at some friends of ours here in Unalakleet. I dare say it was the first May Day party ever held in Unalakleet. It may be because it snowed on us and never got warmer then 38 degrees outside. May is not the month for outside parties here in the Arctic!

We had some great food, a May Pole, and burning man. Here is Jeremy lighting the burning man by blowing fire. The kids loved it. No explanation necessary. Burn baby burn.

Back on the River

2010-05-27T10:36:00.005-08:00

Beautiful evening last night.
60 degrees and a small wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

So we decided to get the boat out and head up river. Isa did a great job driving and managed to keep her on the river!

Isa decided she would rather play in the water then drive so...

I took over and had a turn at the helm.

We stopped at a nice bend and tried to find some fish. We did not catch any but had fun trying.

Heading home Jeremy had to try one more time....nope no bites.
It was a gorgeous evening.

Summer is here!

2010-05-22T10:04:00.003-08:00

Here is a picture of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades at their end of the year party at the beach. My girl is right in the middle (of course) next to her best friend. Notice the sea ice out in the ocean. Will it ever leave?

Then we celebrated with a walk along the newly opened river! Beautiful day! Yes that is bear spray in Jeremy's hand. We did not see any this time, but we will keep trying!

Isa and Jeremy found some kriptonite from superman's planet. It broke off in the most amazing crystals when you kicked it. Shattering from the center out.

Then we stomped around in some mud.

Watched some birds.

Followed some tracks

And soaked up some rays. Can't wait to enjoy the beautiful summers here in Unalakleet.

THE ICE WENT OUT!

2010-05-18T08:11:00.004-08:00

The river is now officially open!
Last night around 7:00pm the river opened up with a crack and sent the ice out to sea.

It is a big deal here in Unalakleet. Everyone comes down to the river to see the ice go out. There will be boats trying to go up river tomorrow.

Bad news was that two highschoolers had taken their snowmachines over to another village to see graduation. They came back last night after breakup. With no ice to ride on they had to "waterskip" their snowmachine across the open water. Quite a feat. I am not sure if there snowmachines will work next winter, but they both made it safe and sound.

While the river is open the sea is not. About a mile off shore the ice is still thick and extensive. People were joking that there would be a snowmachine race on the fourth of July. I hope to god there will not be, I am ready for summer, but if there is I will post some pictures!

Bike Ride

2010-05-17T07:47:00.006-08:00

It is finally getting warm enough to ride our bikes around town. Well Isa has been riding her bike for months through the snow but Jeremy didn't get his bike out until we could actually see the road.

This weekend Jeremy and Isa took a bike ride up and around the hill about 41/2 miles from town.

At the top of the hill Jeremy and Isa stopped to have a snack and climb a tree. Well what passes for a tree around here!

It is nice to finally be able to get outside. River and ocean are still frozen but we are hoping the river will go out today or tomorrow. Then spring will officially be here.

Spring pictures in Unalakleet

2010-05-11T11:05:00.018-08:00

Still snowy and icy here in Unalakleet. We have been able to spend more time outside despite the continued snow due to the increase in daylight. We get about 15 hours of sunlight now.

The other day we took a walk around village and snapped some nice spring pictures to share with all of you.

Fog and frost covered the cemetery.

Then a walk to the ocean. Still frozen solid as far as the eye can see. That is Besburo island 10 miles in the distance.

Patches of melting water on top of the ice.

Then a ride on the only road out of town to see it we could make it out to the bridge yet....Nope. This part of the road was plowed but the next one was not. We had to turn around about half way there. Here is to hoping the ice melts sometime this month.

Qayak

2010-04-25T08:16:00.006-08:00

Here are some pictures of the North Alaska retrieval kayak that our friend Mark Kuhlman is building for Jeremy. It is based on a traditional qayak design from our area, built to allow a hunter to navigate small sloughs or leads between ocean ice sheets to retrieve geese or seals. Mark is building this one in his home shop outside Florence, Montana. It is a skin-on-frame design. The frame is formed with a multitude of mortise joints held together by wraps of lashing.

Some of the curved pieces are carved to form, others are steam-bent into the proper curve. The frame is then stitched inside a covering which envelopes but is not fastened to it. It makes for a beautiful, light, supple boat.

Sadly, no one here in our area of the Norton Sound is still building traditional boats and old boats are exceedingly, vanishingly, rare. Now there's one more in the world.

Community dog sled race

2010-04-20T17:49:00.009-08:00

Community sled dog race! Mush kids mush!
We were unable to have the Easter sled dog race because it was freezing (literally below zero), and snowing.

We were able to have it on April 18th and it was beautiful. So beautiful I came home with red cheeks and nose not from frostbite but from SUN!!!

Here is Isa getting ready to race. She took second in her age group. Not too bad. We figure she is ready to race the Iditarod next year.....

For those of you who do not know what a "real" sled dog looks like, well here they are! These are some of Middy's dogs that ran the Iditarod this year. They might not look like much but they are all energy and power!

Of course some of the kids were more interested in horsepower instead of dog power.

Jeremy raced but I was not there to get pictures. He tells me he came in second too. A much better showing then last year when he came in last. Maybe we are starting to adapt.

GAP tooth smile!

2010-04-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

It is official, this seven year old has lost her two front teeth.

Still winter here

2010-04-15T19:36:00.005-08:00

Yea it is still winter here! I am so excited, actually I am not, this is one long spring. We are trying to enjoy our selves.

A couple of weeks ago we went out to enjoy some "towing". Here is Isa on the back of the sled, she was a natural. I think we will get some dogs.

Then we checked out some very thick ice. Here is Isa and Jeremy looking to see if there are any fish caught in the ice.

We did not find any fish but we did find some jellyfish.

And this one is very cool.....warping reality.....

I never said that the winter was not beautiful or mind blowing... just long.

empty pages

2010-04-07T14:28:00.002-08:00

I know, I know this has been empty for a long time but there is a problem with our internet and it has not let me upload photos for about a month. So.... know that we are thinking about you all and I will try and get photos up as soon as I can!!!

wendy

More parents opting to have children school-homed

2010-03-30T16:54:00.002-08:00

I LOVE THE ONION!

Check this article out and have a laugh....or a cry.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/increasing-number-of-parents-opting-to-have-childr,17159/

WASHINGTON—According to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Education, an increasing number of American parents are choosing to have their children raised at school rather than at home. read more.......

(for those of you who are not familiar with the Onion, it is sarcasm.......)

The Mushing Mayor

2010-03-17T08:52:00.008-08:00

Here is Middy coming into Unalakleet.

The entire town came out to cheer him on!
Only 48 hour behind Macky! :)
Not too bad for a rookie!

Here is the mushing mayor laying out straw for his dogs.

All of the kids had the chance to pet Middy's dogs and tell them good job. Here is Isa cheering one on.

The best part of the Iditarod was getting to hang out with our good friends.

And start training the next generation of mushers!

IDITAROD

2010-03-14T11:32:00.006-08:00

The mushers started coming in to Unalakleet this morning. Mackey made it in first at 4:30am with King right on his tail. Jeremy went 40 miles upriver to a little cabin to meet Mackey as he went past.

Here is Mackey on the trail stopping at the cabin to "snack" his dogs.

One of Mackey's dogs waiting for a snack.

Here is our friend holding Mackey's sled for him. The duct tape is an old Eskimo secret to preventing frost bite, especially on a snowmachine at -30 without a helmet.

This morning it was cold as we went down to watch the mushers.

Here is King and his lead dogs before he took off this morning.

Updated: 11:16 AM AKDT on March 14, 2010

-24 °F

Clear

Windchill:	-24 °F
Humidity:	76%
Dew Point:	-29 °F

Cross Country Ski Race!

2010-03-13T18:16:00.006-09:00

The cross country ski team always has a ski race the Saturday before the Iditarod mushers come into town. This year was absolutely beautiful! Sunny but cold. Official reports say that the weather was 25- but it was a little warmer on the snow.

It was cold enough to freeze everyone's eyelashes before the finish.

This year was additionally fun because there was a fellow from Australia who came up to work with the school district for the week. He had never been on skis before and did great, except for that one big fall just as he was starting off! He was a good sport.

Tonight the first mushers will make it into town. Its going to be a couple long cold nights as we cheer everyone on that comes through! Lance is in the head with King right behind him. King rested at Kaltag while Lance rode straight on. Lance has got to be exhausted and needing a rest and King should be feeling good. We will see what happens when they get here. All I know is that these folks are tougher then me! City is busy and full of folks from the outside!

Our mayor, Middy, is still in there racing with the pack. I will post pictures when he comes through!

Ready for the Iditarod!

2010-03-04T13:26:00.005-09:00

Here is Isa with two of her friends in Jeremy's (well actually his fathers Richard, but we get to use it until we send it off to him!) new basket sled.

The girls had a blast riding in it as we took it for a test run around the village pulled by the snowmachine.

Maybe next year the three of them can take it in the Iditarod! We just need some dogs.....

Speaking of the Iditarod it started today and our mayor, Middy, is running this year! Go Middy!

To find out more about the Iditarod you can go to the official site http://www.iditarod.com/.

I was a bit worried about the Iditarod this year. A week ago it was 32 degrees and the river had overflow from melting snow and ice. I thought there is no way the dogs will be able to run in this weather. Well today it is cold, really cold, Alaska cold, with the wind blowing 30 miles an hour and it is only predicted to get worse. Perfect weather for this crazy sport and the crazy folks that run it.

Iditarod racers are some of the toughest people in the world.

They should be coming through here next Sunday.

Homeschool hats and cinnamon rolls

2010-02-25T15:34:00.006-09:00

Yesterday we spent the day making a bowl out of scraps of fabric. Like paper mache you dip the fabric into glue paste stuff and put it on a bowl covered in plastic wrap. This was part of our very serious study of Africa and basket making, as well as a discussion of recycling and using everyday things in different ways.

Today, when the "basket" was dry, Isa was very proud of it and proceeded to immediately stick it on her head as a hat. "It is a basket, like in Africa", I state. "No", Isa answered, "it is my hat. It is my baking hat, I want to make cinnamon rolls."
"What? There are no cinnamon rolls in Africa! Let's make couscous", I reply. No she wants to be a baker not a cook and a baker cooks cinnamon rolls. I finally gave in by telling her "Well I am not going to help except to read you the directions. I will not knead or roll. This is your project."

Well here are the finished rolls that Isa made all by herself in her baker's hat. I really did nothing except to help her read the directions, oh and eat a few rolls!

Not bad for a school day.

school parking lot

2010-02-13T08:45:00.004-09:00

This is a picture of the Unalakleet school parking lot.

Here you get a great view of the vehicles in the town, snowmachines, four wheelers, and one bicycle leaning against the school. No cars.....

Well there are cars in town but not many. I am used to it now and think nothing of it when I walk down the street and see all of these vehicles zooming up and down the street.

The only thing that is missing from this picture is a dog team.
I will see if I can get that photo for next posting!

caribou hair and beading

2010-02-08T08:33:00.006-09:00

I had an interesting weekend. I took an accredited class from the university of Fairbanks on caribou hair dyeing, caribou tufting, and beading.
Yes this was for a college credit.

Here is a picture of the dyed caribou hair and moose hide.

After we picked out our colors and cut out a pattern you start working on your project, I chose a barrette.

Here is my barrette with the tufted caribou hair on it and moose hair around the outside. I am just getting ready to start beading.

After beading we put porcupine quills on our work. Our teacher, an Athabaskan artist, provided us with the quills.
Here are our quills soaking in the water.

Here is my finished earings and the barrette. Not too bad!

BRRRRRRRR

2010-02-05T10:35:00.000-09:00

Today's Current Temp: -26 F clear Wind: 5 mph ESE  Windchill: -40 F

Birthday Party

2010-01-29T13:10:00.010-09:00

The Birthday girl was sick on her birthday day but she sure made up for it on her birthday party.

It was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to like it. Isa said it was the best birthday ever. What a group!

Here is Isa making a wish on her birthday cake.
She did not tell me what she wished for but she sure took it seriously and really wished hard. I am just waiting to see what comes to pass from that wish.

Playing on the Ice

2010-01-29T07:46:00.006-09:00

Yesterday it was beautiful out. Still cold, but the sun was shinning and the wind stopped blowing so Isa and I threw down our school books and went out to play on the ice. Growing up in the mountains I have never spent much time by the ocean. What an amazing place. It does not matter if it is open and blue or frozen and white, I always feel as if I have stepped into another world. It is a wild world and one that I am stranger in.

The frozen ice goes on for miles. We found tracks from a dog sled and others from a snowmachine both heading due west out onto the ice.

The best fun was our exploration of the ice chunks standing like hills out in the ocean. We climbed and slid, made forts and found some strange animal's poop. All in all a very successful day homeschooling!

My favorite store

2010-01-22T08:27:00.008-09:00

These are some pictures of my favorite store Kathy's closet. Kathy's closet is actually a shed behind some apartments and I am really not sure who Kathy is.
The shed is latched by only a rope and a nail. Anyone can enter at any time.

Once you climb the snow hill and push open the broken door this is what you will find. The store has everything from photo albums to baby clothes, cards, candles, toys, and nick knacks of any sort. The price is marked on most of the goods and you just leave cash on a little table inside the building. I have been very thankful for Kathy's Closet on a number of birthday or anniversary occasions. Now if I could just find out who Kathy is to thank her.....

Oh and before you head out to the store be sure the dress up for the nasty weather we have been having. This is me before my walk to the store! Ahhh nothing like a brisk walk in the Alaskan winter.

Sick on your Birthday!

2010-01-22T08:16:00.000-09:00

Jeremy and Isa share the same birthday. This year was a bummer of a birthday for Isa. She was sick, sick! She spent her birthday laying on the couch not moving except to open her presents. The next day she was fine and full of energy so we had a birthday "do-over" and got to do all the special things we had planned for her birthday. Tonight is the big party!

Imaginative Play

2010-01-15T08:56:00.000-09:00

I love having a kid around, most of the time. This was definitely one of those time.

Isa and her dad built a hydraulic lift with syringes tubing and wood. She was absolutely into it and kept telling her dad that she loved to build things.

After they were done and showed me their accomplishment Isa ran off and got her my little ponies to lift up and down on the lift, after that she went and got her dump truck and loader. For the next hour she quietly and persistently lifted every one of her my little ponies up into the dump truck in order to move them.

Back from the lower 48

2010-01-09T17:27:00.000-09:00

We had a wonderful time visiting family and friends in Montana and Wyoming over Christmas. It was a great trip even though it was colder in Montana and Wyoming then it was in Alaska most of the days!!! So much for getting to soak up some warmth on vacation.

Some of the highlights included a great Christmas, snowmobiling into a cabin for five days, taking the cousins downhill skiing twice, and visiting with family and friends.

The flight home was long and we ended up being stranded for days in Anchorage. It really wasn't that bad and we were able to keep our spirits up, especially when we were able to meet Captain Sig and his crew from the Deadliest Catch. He was nice and even signed Jeremy's Deadliest Catch hat that he just happened to be wearing! I was lucky Jeremy did not just sign up and head off to Dutch Harbor.

Isa in this picture has no idea why we are taking a picture with a complete stranger!

Christmas Decorations Unalakleet Style

2009-12-12T17:15:00.000-09:00

Like many others at this time of year our family likes to drive around town looking at all of the beautiful Christmas decorations people put up. There are only a few differences here as opposed to the other places we have lived. The first is that we don't have anywhere to drive too and the second is the type of decorations you might find.

Here is one of our local Christmas decorations. Look close, this is a real reindeer hide and antlers on a wooden frame covered in lights!

I think someone might have eaten Rudolph.

After looking at all of the decorations we went for a walk on the beach. We could see a few seals bobbing up and down in the little patches of open water. The girls had fun climbing on the ice being ice princesses.

Yoga Kids

2009-12-11T16:46:00.001-09:00

As the days are shorter and shorter we look for new ways to get exercise.

Lately Isa has really been into a yoga tape that I have. Here she is with a friend doing the "monkey". The funny thing is that she will only do it if I don't.

Maybe my form really is that bad!

Warm tempuratures and playing in the SUN?

2009-12-09T07:28:00.001-09:00

This week has been exceptionally warm. 30 degrees ABOVE. This is at the same time as all of our friends and families are having below zero weather and storms. It just does not seem right.

Here is a picture of the sunset at about 3:30.

The sunrise/sunset is beautiful....the darkness is well dark...

Here is Isa looking more and more her heritage.
Look at the open water behind her! This never happens in December.

Here is Isa doing a very village activity...looking at a frozen skinned fox, legs sticking straight out of the snow. After someone "catches" a fox and skins it they just throw the carcass down to the ocean and wait for the waves to take it out to sea.

Here is Isa enjoying the sun for the last few seconds before it sunk beneath the waves.

2009-12-07T08:01:00.000-09:00

Unalakleet sunset 3:00 December 6th 2009.

I don't quite know what to think! It is December 6th and it is 30 degrees outside. We are warmer then all of our friends down in the lower 48.......I feel all confused. Not that I am complaining.

It is still darker then a goats belly up here most of the day. We get about 3.5 hours of sunlight right now, but it has been cloudy most of the week so I am not sure we can even claim 3.5 hours.

Unalakleet, Alaska (Airport)

Updated: 7:56 AM AKST on December 07, 2009

37 °F

Clear

Windchill:	26 °F
Humidity:	52%
Dew Point:	21 °F
Wind:	24 mph from the East

Winter activities

2009-11-18T08:10:00.000-09:00

So the days are getting shorter and darker. The wind is blowing and it is below zero. We are starting to spend more and more of our time inside the house.

How, you might ask, do we spend our time?

Well here is Isa reading a book to her little green turtle. He seemed to like the book.

2009-11-16T08:08:00.000-09:00

Winter is here!
37 below is just too &%$#$# cold!

Updated: 27 min 56 sec ago

-17 °F

Clear

Windchill:	-37 °F
Wind:	10 mph from the SE

The sun is rising at 11:00 and setting at 4:00!

Halloween

2009-11-02T09:02:00.000-09:00

Happy Halloween!
Here is Isa as a Barbie fairy. Perfect costume for the 9 degrees we had on Halloween night!

At the Halloween carnival guess who won the live turtle?
This is the only turtle living in the arctic! Isa named him greenee halloweenee flippers box.

Then we has a party for some of Isa's friends on Saturday. Here is how Jeremy met them at the door!

Then we had to have a slumber party of course! 5 little girls on Halloween night! Great fun. Hope that you had a blast too!

Starting to Ice up

2009-10-18T20:32:00.001-08:00

We took advantage of a beautiful, if cold, fall day here in Unalakleet. We went out to the North River Bridge and spent some time fishing, cracking ice, and playing in the sand.

Jeremy did not catch anything but ice chunks.

Isa and Judy had a great time soaking up some vitamin D before the sun goes away for the winter.

Less then 32 degrees and it was still not cold enough for the Inupiaq to zip up their coats!

Or Jeremy either!

Here are some pictures of bear prints. We still have not seen one but two were killed in town last week.

Fall Equinox and Snow!

2009-09-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

Today is the fall equinox and it is snowing. (No we are not ready for winter yet.) The day and night are equal today everywhere on earth even here in the subarctic. After today we will get darker and darker until the winter solstice on Dec. 22nd when the sun will start to come back to us. Whew that seems like a long dark time away.

I have not been posting much lately because I have gone back to grad school. This is what my life looks like right now. It is an interesting program on rural community and economic development. The program is all on line, which is the only way I am able to do it.

I am still homeschooling Isa and she has been great self directing her own learning and giving me time to do mine. I have told her that we are both homeschooling now! We just finished learning about Africa, Islam, and mosaics. Here she is doing a project making mosaics. After you make your mosaic we then iron it and the little beads melt. Don't look to close, you may be getting one for Christmas!

Running Cross Country

2009-09-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

I have been helping out the elementary cross country team here in Unalakleet. Check out this blog to see some of the pictures of the athletes and myself practicing. I am amazed at the dedication of these young runners. The blog is posted by the third grade teacher and coach here in Unalakleet, Nancy Persons. Thanks Nancy.

http://blog.bssd.org/mu/skiunk/

Art Time

2009-09-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

Just so you don't think that we are science nerds in this house here are some pictures of Isa with an art activity that she came up with. We knew there was a tie-dye hippy girl under all those princess clothes! All I did was get the food coloring down. She came up with the rest. I think we will string all of the colored paper together and make our own prayer flag.

Science Homeschool Style!

2009-09-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

Oh do we love science in this house. Both Isa and I love science more then any other subject and try as hard as we can to incorporate it into anything we do. Sometimes though, you just have to get a science kit and make a mess. The bigger the better and boy did we make a mess.

SLIME day at our house!!

Isa loved it. This is Isa with her Flip/Flop goop made of cornstarch and water.

After we made the Flip/Flop goop Isa started to get creative. What happens if I stand up and drop it?

Big long strings fall from your fingers, wiggling like worms.

Hey that gave her another idea. Could we paint with it? Yep we can paint with it......

Then came the Sewer Slime

And finally Wiggly Wonder.

Is it any wonder why I love to homeschool. Who gets to spend their day playing with goop?

great day on the river!

2009-09-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

This is what they came to Alaska for, not visiting us but catching that huge salmon on a fly rod.

Here is Richard with his.

And then Jeremy with His.

Then of course a group shot.

Fighting those salmon is harder then you think. Jeremy needed a nap!

2009-08-28T10:25:00.000-08:00

Jeremy's dad, Richard, is arriving today with his friend Steve. We are so excited to see them and have some visitors. This is what it looked like the last time that Richard visited in November. It was below zero and getting dark.

When he was here last he spent most of his time on the snowmachine and ice fishing.

Now he gets to come up here for some fun silver fishing!

And it looks more like this now. Weather is in the high 40's and it is sunny. I hope that it lasts while they are here.

First Day of School

2009-08-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

Well it is the first day of school here in Unalakleet. Here are some of Isa's first day of school pictures.

Although we are planning on homeschooling again this year Isa is going to go to school for the first week and then she will go for two hours every day after that. It looks like "school" is all going to work out again for us.

It seems that I too will be returning to school. I found an online masters program for rural community and economic development. I am excited and it will help pass the time when those looooong winter nights hit us.

Beautiful Fall Day

2009-08-17T08:50:00.001-08:00

Yes, it is already fall here. We do check the weather of those of you living down south. I know you are still having 80 degree days and sunny. Here the temperature no longer reaches 60. A great day is about 56 with sun and a little wind (to keep the bugs away). The tundra is starting to change color, the berries are ripe and the Silver Salmon are running. We, like everyone else here in Unalakleet, are trying to fill up our freezer with fish for the winter. This weekend was a Jackpot! Jeremy and I brought home eight silvers to cut up and freeze. Here is Jeremy with his beauty and then me with mine.

Of course once you get home you have got to cut up your fish. We made salmon steaks, salmon fillets, and are now trying to dry some to smoke tomorrow. Here I am cutting up a salmon with an ulu. An ulu is a "women's knife" and is really good at cutting up fish. I guess the Inupiaq have had thousands of years perfecting it so it should be.

While we were fishing Isa spent her time building "rockets" and "shots" out of a syringe Jeremy gave her to play with. (It was not used and it did not have a needle of course!) What amazing things you can build and experiment with when you have water, air, and a little bit of pressure. Here Isa is showing you how she put a hollow grass into the syringe to build her own "shot".
She immunized us against diphtheria, MMR, and diabetes. We also talked about how salmon feed the river as well as the people. Isa stated matter of fact that of course, it is the cycle of life.

In our exploration of the tundra we found a sundew. A sundew is a carnivorous plant. We had no idea that they grew in such cold climates, but here is the proof! There certainly are enough mosquitoes to feed these plants.

Fishing, berry picking, and fish heads for dinner!

2009-08-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

We have been able to spend some more beautiful days on the water fishing for Silvers. Here is Jeremy trying his luck on the beach one night. He was luckier on the river the next night and came home with four Silvers.

After filleting all the fish we had salmon for dinner and Jeremy could not let the heads go to waste.......so he made fish head soup as we have been told to do. I did not eat any but Jeremy said it was not bad. He even ate an eye!

(Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads, fish heads, fish heads eat them up YUM!)

Just so that you don't think all we do is go fishing around here these are some photos of us going berry picking. Here is Isa with her friend picking, and eating some blueberries and salmon berries. After a while we took a rest on the tundra and ate the rest of the berries in our buckets!

I think next time I will go out alone with my own buckets to fill. There might be less eat and more picking!

Beautiful weekend

2009-08-04T08:17:00.001-08:00

We had a beautiful weekend thanks to a generous family that let us stay at their cabin 30 miles "upriver". They wanted us to go up because a bear had been breaking into the cabin and it is always good to have someone check on it. The cabin was in good condition with only a few big piles of bear poop and big prints on the door. We hoped to see the bear but never did.

The cabin was on a hill with views in all directions.

Here is Isa showing you a Salmon Berry. We were able to pick a bucket full of blue berries and eat just as many.

Isa really felt at home on the big tundra. Here she is snuggled down like a baby caribou calf. She entertained herself for hours braiding plants together and eating berries.

The next day we took off floating down river and fishing. We caught 3 silver salmon and countless numbers of grayling. All in all just a great day! With weekend like this it is hard to imagine ever leaving such a beautiful, amazing, and wild place.

Back from Vacation

2009-07-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Jeremy Isa and I had the opportunity to take some time off and visit parts of Alaska that we had not seen yet. We had a great time, took the train to Denali, also known as Mt McKinley, with Jeremy's sister and nephew. We then drove to Kenai and visited Homer, Sewerd and camped in all of the places in between. I would love to show you all pictures but....um.....welll.......Jeremy lost the camera out hiking so we have no pictures. So you all will just have to trust me about the beauty of the place and plan your own trip.

After that Isa and I went to Boise and visited all our friends and relatives. We also got to do all of those fun things that you never get to do here. You know like sweat in 104 degree heat. (I am not kidding). After two weeks of 104 degree heat we flew back home to 57 degrees and a cold 20 mile an hour wind! Good God! From the heat of summer to the beginning of fall.

It is the end of summer here in Unalakleet. The berries are all ripe, flowers are all blooming. It is really beautiful. Here are pictures of some Salmon Berries, also known as aqpik. Aqpik is my Inupiaq name here so I had to go out on the tundra and find some berries. They are very interesting, not very sweet, but good. I really liked them.

VACATION

2009-06-30T10:34:00.000-08:00

Jeremy, Isa, and I are heading out on vacation. We will be taking the train from Anchorage to Denali and spending a few days there with Jeremy's sister and her son Gage. We will then head down to Homer and spend some days on the beach camping, sea kayaking, hiking, and fishing. I doubt I will be able to post anything for a while so enjoy your fourth of July and I will post when I get back!

Summer Solstice

2009-06-21T11:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Solstice everyone. Today is the longest day of the year. Here in Unalakleet it will be 22 hours long with the sun setting about 2:00am and rising at about 4:00am. With 24 hours of visible light. That means that although the sun has set it is not dark. This IS the land of the midnight sun (and summer insomniacs.)

Although we do not have any specific celebration for this day we do try to get out and celebrate in the woods. I am sure we can find some fire to dance around or sing to the gods and goddesses in thankfulness.

And thankful we are! It is beautiful 60 degrees and sunny. Jeremy is already out in the boat fishing for king salmon, Isa is riding her bike with friends, and I went for a run. Tonight we plan on a bonfire on the beach.

I want to share with you all the feast we had for dinner last night. This King Salmon steak and King Crab legs were fresh caught right here in the bay. We grilled them both and discussed how that this place really has its perks. I think we might just have it again tonight.

So to all of you friends and family get out there and celebrate solstice. Find a fire to jump over, read a Midsummer's Night Dream, dance with fairies, or just have a feast. Whatever you do I hope you enjoy the day, how ever long it lasts!

KING SALMON

2009-06-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

A friend here in town shared some of her first King Salmon catch of the year. The fish was almost as big as Isa form top to tail. She was a beauty 25 pounds or more!

The Alaska Natives are allowed to net for salmon in the ocean. King Salmon spawn in the spring after spending 5 years in the ocean. The kids loved seeing the fish and all wanted to stay for dinner. We had enough for dinner last night and ten more dinners besides (and lunch and breakfast)!

You can catch these fish on a pole too. Can you imagine? Anyone want to come visit? Jeremy's boat is all ready.....

Herring Eggs

2009-06-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Here is dinner tonight, raw herring eggs on kelp!

Camping!

2009-06-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend. Even though it was rainy and kinda cold we decided to brave the weather and head out camping. As you can see it was a windy ride out to the camping spot but when we got there everything was calm.

Nothing like a gin and tonic when you are sitting by the fire. It was beautiful and wild. We enjoyed seeing a muskrat, beaver, and lots of water fowl. No other big game yet, but we are still looking.

We did find a house floating in the river. Oops.

Isa had a lot of fun and we all really enjoyed our time together. I am so glad that she likes to camp. She keeps asking when we can go again! Yes!

Here are some pictures that Isa took of us while we were camping. I guess this is how every mom and dad looks to a six year old. I love how she caught the sun behind Jeremy.

Hugo Chavez is paying our heating costs.

2009-06-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

I just love the irony.

Villages will get free Citgo heating fuel again

VENEZUELA: Self-styled U.S. foe Chavez pays for program to benefit poor communities.

By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com

Published: March 25th, 2009 09:52 PM
Last Modified: March 26th, 2009 07:50 AM

Millions of dollars in free heating fuel will flow through Alaska villages early next month courtesy of a controversial giveaway program paid for by the Venezuelan government.

To read the rest of the article go to http://www.adn.com/front/story/736627.html

Jeremy's Boat

2009-05-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

She may look a little rough but she floats!

Jeremy has spent the last three weeks procuring, retooling, rebuilding, and overhauling our new boat. It has been quite the experience in "the universe providing" whatever he has needed to get it done. Lord knows there is not a hardware store/boat store within five hundred miles of us.

We got Flossy (that's the boats name, no we did not name her.) at a great price, but she lacked a motor, a trailer, and her floor leaked. Jeremy was able to find a great motor not 200 miles away, but of course it had to be flown here. Then just as we were wondering how we were going to try to get the boat to the water we were informed about a great trailer someone was getting rid of! Jeremy fixed the floor, the motor, the trailer, and made a steering "box".

She is heading out for her maiden voyage this afternoon! With any luck we will all be filling her up with salmon this fall. Anyone want to come visit??????

Ugruk

2009-05-17T19:24:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from my latest adventure.

This is Ugruk, also know as a bearded seal. Ugruks arrive here in Unalakleet when the shore ice breaks up. Hunters all drag, push and pull their boats to the ocean and somehow jump in with out getting wet. Then they boat up to 40 miles away to find seals. When they find an ugruk they shoot it and drag it aboard and bring it home for the ladies to cut up.

Here is the butchering line. They invited me to help out so I grabbed an ulu, (a traditional women''s knife) and started cutting "strips" to dry.

I was glad I had this job because the other option was helping strip the intestines. They eat the outside of the intestine and then use the inside of the intestine to make waterproof coats.

Here is Heidi stripping the intestines. She has already made one raincoat and is planning on making another. After stripping the intestine she will then blow them up to help them dry. She promised to let me see.

It is a tradition in the Inupiaq culture to share what you hunt with the village. After all of this work the families who shot and butchered the ugruk gave almost all of it away. We were happy recipients of some meat, liver, and yes, some intestines.

So how does one cook ugruk you might ask. Well I fried mine up with some onions and ate it with some potatoes. It was fantastic. It tasted like red meat soaked in salmon oil. I have never eaten anything like it. It was so good. Besides salmon it has got to be my favorite food here. (I also love musk ox burgers!)

Our friends also gave us some Eskimo salad to try with our meal. Eskimo salad is made up of dried ugruk, salmon, beluga, white fish, and carrots covered in a thin layer of seal oil. Also very very good!

So here is our final meal. Ugruk and potatoes with Eskimo salad with a Merlot to drink. It doesn't get any better then this!

Parachute fun!!

2009-05-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

So the other day I went to the dump and there in the garbage was a perfectly good parachute! Well ok, it was not perfectly good, it is kinda ripped but we were not planning on jumping out of a plane. I took my wonderful find home and washed it. Now on windy days we bring it out. I am sure that this parachute will be a good addition to our summer play.

Here is a movie for your enjoyment......and yes I did put down the camera and play with the kids. Don't you just want to jump in and play with us? I am so excited to fit this into our homeschooling. How about the study of wind, or how parachutes work, or how hard you can laugh until you fall on the ground?

Spring Concert

2009-05-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Isa had her spring concert last week. Here are some pictures of all of the kids. Isa had to speak all by herself because her partner was gone. Although she had some stage fright she did great. After she was done we just had a blast watching all of her friends sing and play instruments. I don't know what kind of sick person I may be but I just LOVE listening to first year band. Maybe it is my lack of interest or knowledge of music but when music is played perfectly you just don't understand just how hard it is. When you watch those just learning.....well you realize that it is much harder then it looks.

Eskimo Ice cream

2009-04-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

This is Eskimo Ice Cream.

I had heard about Eskimo ice cream before coming up here but could not really believe that people ate it. I guess now that spring is here we can all celebrate with some!

Eskimo Ice Cream is made first with crisco. Yes all that white stuff in the cup....pure crisco. Then mix in some white fish, some blue berries (from the tundra up here), and some sugar and eat up!

The taste is, well, kinda fishy. The texture is like eating a spoonful of crisco. It was not too bad but Jeremy and Isa could not stomach more then one spoonful. It is just the thought of eating an entire cube of grease that makes you cringe!

Isa thinks that she will stick with good old milk and sugar ice cream.

2009-04-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful day! Yes it is still very wintery here but there is spring in the air. We had a beautiful trip out in the bush on the "snowmachine". After traveling out for about 20 miles we found a beautiful spot to have lunch. Here is a picture of Isa and I by our fire.

We put on our snowshoes on and followed tracks all over the river. I followed some big ones until I found this....

A little while farther down the creek I found this......the beaver den. You can look down inside the den and see the water.

..

After we had lunch Jeremy took us up on top of a mountain here to see the Isuk's, or rock people. No one can really tell us what they are for. Some say that they are trail markers, others believe that they are places of shaman magic. I like the shaman magic myself. The place really was magic, black soil was visible there at the Isuk. It was the first soil I had seen in six months. It smelled fantastic!

Easter

2009-04-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

Isa had two little friends spend the night before Easter with us. Although it did not feel very Easterish to us with all of the snow outside the girls did not seem to mind. We all had a great egg hunt and everyone ended up with a lot of candy.

After the eggs were all found Jeremy made the girls bunny pancakes.

It's been a while

2009-04-12T19:16:00.000-08:00

It has been while since the last post. The reason for this is three fold. First, I lost my cord to connect the camera to the computer so no photos. Second, I was very sick for two weeks with "influenza". No I did not get the shot. I will from now on, I promise. Third, before I was sick my mom was to come and see me but she got stranded in Anchorage due to the volcano. So I was depressed for the rest of that week. So those are my excuses.

Today was Easter. We had two girls spend the night with us and they were up at the crack of dawn looking for eggs and eating candy. Then we went down to the river for the annual dog races. These dog races are for the kids and Isa got to race with all of the other kids down the river and back. It was a lot of fun and Jeremy got to race too. (He lost.)

tae kuando

2009-03-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Isa doing her Tae Kwando. I think this is one great, yet very strange, program to have up here in the tundra. Some Tae Kwando instructor in Nome got a grant to bring 6 college age black belts from Korea here to this area of Alaska and station them at little villages around Norton Sound.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for these young men to show up here in December! All of the instructors are from the big city and they were just dumped, each one in a separate village. They had no idea what they were getting into.!

I am a strong believer in martial arts training especially for the girls. It is so good for them. This culture has a high incidence of violence toward women, sexual and domestic assault. In the Tae Kwando classes over half of the students are girls.

The instructor is also teaching mental discipline. Children as young as 5 are taught to sit straight with hands on knee, eyes front. They also must meditate for at least 5 minuets before class. We could all use that sort of discipline.

Garden at the White House

2009-03-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

So this is the coolest story to read on spring equinox. I knew that these folks were really tree hugging pagans. They just could not run on that platform......

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/03/20/ST2009032002547.html

Spring Equinox

2009-03-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Today is the spring equinox. On this day all over the world everyone has 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. After this day we will continue to get more and more light until on summer solstice we will have 22 hours of daylight.

Back in the states this was always an important day to me. I am a big gardener. I love to grow things and the spring equinox, with all of its pagan overtones, was an important planting day and celebration of life. Here well, it is just another -20 degree day with a little bit more sun. The snow is still 6 feet deep and we will not be seeing the dirt for another 3 months.

So what can we do to celebrate? I think we will be going down to the Iditarod and watch the "red lantern" come in, maybe have a slushy (pictured above) and eat some Cheetos (pictured below). Not quite the pagan celebration I long for but you do the best with what you have. I have to remember that instead of planting seeds I am planting memories and hope that the seeds of Isa's culture take root. Happy spring everyone. I hope you are busy planting your garden in whatever form it may be.

Iditarod

2009-03-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

You just can not appreciate the Iditarod unless you have been up here and seen the landscape and felt the cold. It was -30 degrees last night when Lance Mackey left Unalakleet at 10:00pm. He, and all of the mushers, were running their dogs in the middle of the night following little trail markers in 30 below weather across the alaska wilderness. They are tougher then anything I can even imagine. I was just out watching the mushers at 10:00 and my eyelashes kept freezing together. My Alaska quality parka and mittens were not enough to keep me warm. I came home cold and tired after four hours watching the mushers take care of their dogs. I cuddled up in my warm bed and they continued on their eighth day on the tundra with out any sleep or warm bed. I admit it, I am not that tough. Anyone who has ran this race has my utmost respect.

The Iditarod makes it to Unalakleet

2009-03-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

Here is Lance Mackey making it into Unalakleet at 3:00 on Sunday the 15th of March! We waited in the deep cold for three hours to see the leader of the pack. The dogs did not make a sound as the came into town. Lance took care of the dogs, got them all fed and bedded down in straw, then he took care of feeding and caring for himself, oh and picked up his $3,000 in gold he won for being first into Unalakleet. Not bad. More mushers expected tonight.

The population of Unalakleet doubled as the media, mushers, and helpers descended into our little town. Here is Jeremy, Isa and friends in front of Lance's dogs. Isa was one of the first people down on the ice when they showed up and had a front row seat.

The Iditarod is quite the community event here in Unalakleet. I believe that the whole town was on the ice to greet the musher and his dogs. Here are two local ladies in their beautiful parkas.

One more photo of the town out for the Iditarod. If you look close you can see Isa right up front next to the media and Lance.

2009-03-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

The last two days we have been experiencing some great weather. Every kid in the village is outside climbing, sliding, and throwing snow. The sun is shinning and today everyone is walking around without coats. I even saw one guy with a short sleeve shirt. Ahhh spring I thought is here! It must be 35 degrees, 40 degrees, maybe 45 degrees! Then I saw this.....

Updated: 8 min 15 sec ago

27 °F

Clear

Windchill:	18 °F

Windchill:

18 °F

27 degrees???

Oh well it feels like 50 degrees to me! Now where are my shorts?

2009-03-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

As a family we love to go out and explore the woods. In the winter we love to go out snowshoeing and find a nice place to have a fire and drink some hot coco. Isa usually loves to go out on an adventure but up here we have had some really cold adventures. The last few times we have gone out Isa has been very discouraged, cold, and misserable. We ended our last snowshoe trip with Isa saying that she never wanted to do that again.

Early this Sunday morning Isa and her friend Judy anounced that they wanted to go outside and play. It was a balmy 20 degrees so be bundled them up and sent them outside. After being outside for a short while Isa came in and asked us for some wood. Hmmmm the mother in me asked, "What do you plan on doing with the wood?"

"We need the wood to build a fire." Isa replied. So with a little adult assistance Judy and Isa went on their own winter adventure complete with a fire and hot coco. Sometimes you just have to have faith that the things you hold as important are being absorbed by your children and if your lucky they are willing to share them with others.

2009-03-01T09:57:00.000-09:00

Well we made it through yet another winter storm here in Unalakleet. Here are some new photos for you to enjoy....
Yes this is the inside of our door. This storm lasted for three days. We were litterally stuck inside for three days. Just Isa, the wii, and I.

This is what the outside of our door looked like. Jeremy spent much of his first night back digging us out.

The minute there was a break in the storm Isa called her friend Judy to come over and play out. As you can see the storm was not quite over. They had played out for only a couple of minutes before they came in saying it was still to cold!

Isa and Judy were not the only kids playing out the minute the storm let up. This picture is for Chloe and Tennyson who always ask if there is any place to snowboard up here. Well if there is a will there is a way......

The weather is supposed to be nice for the next couple of days. Oh sweet March bring us some sun!

weekly wrapup

2009-02-27T11:43:00.000-09:00

Well it is another snowy day. Did I say snowy? I mean blizzard/white out, no planes, no mail, no clinic, no stores, no schools. I am not going to complain though because the last two days were beautiful if not warm. Isa had a blast the last two days playing out. The giant snow hills were perfect for carving tunnels, caves, making slides, King/queen of the hill. One of the great things about homeschooling is that we get to take advantage of every sunny day. We stop everything if it is nice and sunny. We put on clothes and go play out!

Isa is now doing Karate here. She is sooo cute. As soon as I get Jeremy's computer back I will put up some pictures in her in her outfit. She really likes it and will do almost anything her "master" asks her to do, even eat her vegetables! This karate program was brought here through a grant from Nome. The Nome Karate program hired 6 college level black belts from Korea to come here and teach. Can you imagine???? Korea!!! What they must be thinking! IF this weather is sending me into fits of cabin fever what must they be experiencing? Well we will find out because Master Park will be coming over for dinner next Friday. This is our attempt to keep him here so that Isa can continue to practice Karate!

Digging out

2009-02-19T11:09:00.000-09:00

If you read yesterdays post you know that we had one hell of a winter storm here in Unalakleet. It was the first time in 17 years that the school closed due to weather! Well this morning when we woke up we could not get out our front door.

Thank god we have a garage that was a little easier to get out. After getting out of the house this is what Isa and I found. (That is Isa up in the top left with her red sled. Yes she did slide down the back side of the hill and run into the other house.)

After an hour here is what our front door looked like. It was time to go in a warm up before going back out and digging some more. I just heard that another storm is on its way. Yikes!

Winter weather

2009-02-18T10:33:00.000-09:00

WOOOOOOOO! I thought I seen some winter weather here in the Arctic but this is crazy. There is a blizzard outside that closed the school and stopped all flying, driving, everything. The clinic closed and no one can not get the ambulance out. Jeremy is out on a snowmachine right now trying to get to some guy who is very sick, possibly dying. He is a hero, no one could make it out in this crazy mess but him, but that is why we love him. I hope that he is alright.

The snow is actually blowing under my door. I could not shovel the snow out fast enough as it was blowing in. On days like this you have to be thankful that you have a warm house and a full pantry.

One more thing that is good about all of this winter weather is that homeschooling goes off without many interruptions. Isa is currently studying ancient civilizations. We are all having a blast learning about Egypt. We made conopic jars to hold our insides when we get mummified, wrote our names in hieroglyphics, and then Isa and Jeremy made a pyramid. Here is Isa being a pyramid. Notice her bare feet, shorts and tank top. Hey you can not blame a girl for dreaming......

Inupiaq Class

2009-02-16T08:29:00.000-09:00

So at heart I am really an anthropologist. I just can't stop. I am supposed to be learning the incredibly hard language of Inupiaq. Inupiaq is a guttural language with lots of sounds coming from your throat. What is more fasinating to me then trying to speak it is looking at all of the interesting cultural tidbits that you can learn. For example there is no "he" or "she" in inupiaq. You can just say "fishing" and that means that someone (you are just expected to know who it is) is out fishing. They also have no the, a, an, or at. What they do have is an extraordinary amount of words that describe places. As an example there is a word that means up when you are in a house and talking about something in the room with you. Then there is a word for up when it is in the house but not in the room with you. There is an up word for something outside while you are inside, a word for up in the house while you are outside. Then outside there is a word for up is you can see it and up if you can't. Up if you are talking up river and up if you are talking out on the ocean. It is amazing. Now what does it mean, you have to ask yourself, if your culture is so specific on directions but not on gender? Ahhhh now you are thinking like an anthropologist!

Here is a picture from Isa's birthday party. I just love it that Isa is friends with 6-12 year olds. We had a great time. Friends were supposed to go at 3:00 and no one left until after 5:00. I suppose that means it was a success!

Man on Wire

2009-02-09T14:06:00.000-09:00

Man on Wire is a true story about a French wire walker who dreams of walking between the twin towers in New York. This movie is insane, amazing, but more importantly it is beautiful. We think that Phillippe is crazy stepping off the safety of a building to walk among the clouds thousands of feet above the ground. But he is not crazy his dance with death is the same dance we all do every day. Yes he could fall off his wire to his death, but so could we all every day of our lives. He has not a death wish but an embrace of life and all the beauty that surrounds it. By showing us his courage, his love, his passion for this one thing in life we must ask ourselves are we fully embracing life? Phillippe can see his death all around him, yet he walks straight into it. Do we? Can you? If I can demonstrate a fraction of the bravery, beauty, and passion he has in this one moment I will have lived a life well spent. Get the movie, read the book, let me know what you think.

Big Day Today

2009-02-07T11:31:00.000-09:00

Today our daughter lost her first tooth. It was hanging on for over a week. She would not even let us touch it as it just flopped there. Well this morning it came right out. I love it when kids smile and they have a big hole!

2009-02-06T07:17:00.000-09:00

Some of you have asked about the cost of living up here in the bush. Well yesterday I got a good example. These del monte peaches are the only peaches we have up here. (no fresh ones). Check out the price...That is not for a case of peaches that is for just one can!. I bought three cans of peaches and it cost me $10.00. How is that for the cost of living. Oh and gas is still $7.50 a gallon. :)

weather

2009-02-04T14:59:00.000-09:00

I don't know if friends and family are trying to help us, torture us, or try to get us to move back home but telling me your temperatures is not helping me cope with the weather here. It is upper 50's in Garden Valley Idaho. It will be in the 60's this week in Montana. Well that is just great for all of you. I am not even going to tell you what the weather is like here. I am trying to forget that the outside even exists.

I am not bitter I am just moving through the stages of grief.
1) Shock! It can not stay this cold forever....right?
2) Pain remember those beautiful winter photos from the J Lazy T ranch in Idaho?
3)Anger This F*&%^ cold!
4) Depression......ugggggggg
5) hope....well the daylight is longer....that is something, at least we are not in the dark anymore.

I really do think that I am moving on to number 5, at least for today. Just don't tell me what temperature it is at your house. You may knock me back to at least number 3.

2009-01-29T15:52:00.000-09:00

We finally made it. The trip to Hawaii was beautiful. We had a great time. I can not even begin to write about the stark differences between these two worlds.
We will put up the rest of the photos on Picasa as soon as we can. Much love to all of you.

Mild panic

2009-01-17T16:28:00.000-09:00

Mild panic setting in. No let me rephrase that it has been severe panic for a few hours. Our plane to Anchorage was canceled yesterday due to weather, but not to worry we had scheduled an extra day just in case weather was bad.....Then the plane was canceled today......no extra time set aside for two cancellations! With Hawaii fading away into the darkness Jeremy and I grasp onto any shred of hope but dark circles start to form around our eyes. No beach, no ocean, no little drinks with the umbrellas! In the darkness and cold you can not begin to imagine the allure it holds over us. Then just minutes ago a call. The plane will try to land again at 6:00pm. We hold our breath...........

2009-01-14T09:30:00.000-09:00

Going from this.......
-30 snowy, cold, and windy.

To this on Friday.....

Martin Luther King Jr Day

Sunny. Highs 73 to 81. Light winds.

I do not plan on posting for a while. I have a lot of sunbathing to do.

Seal Skin Hat

2009-01-13T09:28:00.000-09:00

One of the best parts about traveling to new and unique parts of the world is getting to explore the culture of a place. Here at our home on the tundra we are surrounded by the Inupiaq culture. A huge part of that Inupiaq culture is the prevalence of and use of sea animals. Back in the states I would have been aghast at the thought of a seal and beaver skin hat. Here they are everywhere and they are perfect for the weather.
Here is Isa wearing her father's hat. The seal skin is beautiful, and furry. It is also waterproof and windproof just the thing for -40. Working skins here is seen as an art form. People are paid well for their hats, mittens, mukluks, and parkas. The skins and furs are almost always local caught and skinned right here in Unalakleet.

Feeling Better

2009-01-09T10:39:00.000-09:00

Things are going much better today. The jeep is shot. Don't quite know what we are going to do with her. She was a good rig for us up here. Thank you to everyone who sent me nice supportive messages. We love you all.

As most of you know we are heading off to Hawaii here in one week!!!! WOOOOO! Wow will that be fun. Anyway as part of Isa's homeschool we have been studying about Hawaii and the Polynesian culture. Here is Isa making us a mural of the making of Hawaii. If I could figure out how to do a video I would put it up here. We have one of Isa walking us through what her mural means. The first picture is of the volcanoes that created Hawaii. The next is the island filled with palms, animals, and flowers without any humans, next is a canoe carrying people from Polynesia to Hawaii, and the last is Hawaii with humans, pineapples, bananas, and coconuts. We made this while listening to Hawaiian music on the computer and dancing the Hula. (yes I danced too.) This was a great fun activity. It took our minds off the cold for a whole day!

Rough day!

2009-01-07T14:14:00.000-09:00

Ugg, some days you should just not get out of bed. To start things off we are on our second week of below -30 weather, the homeschool work I had planned with Isa was a flop, the computer continues to be slower then honey, I spilled almost an entire jar of pasta sauce on the floor, then I went out side and blew up the Jeep. Great, fantastic! oh and just to top it off we have guests for dinner tonight, echhhhh what else can go wrong? Did I really just say that?

Making Musk Ox Yarn

2009-01-05T14:14:00.000-09:00

It has been very cold up here on the tundra for a while now so we have been doing a lot of inside activities in an attempt to fend off cabin fever. Luckily homeschooling has taught me to be prepared for some on the spot "learning experiences." Isa and her friend Judy asked to learn how to spin wool. We had collected some Musk Ox wool when we were living in Nome so I brought that out and taught Judy and Isa how to card the wool. Both took to it like pros and carded all that they could find.

Then came the much harder job of spinning the wool on to a drop spindle. I am in no way a pro at spinning. I went through a phase where I learned the basics both on a drop spindle and a spinning wheel but never was more than a beginner. I taught Isa and Judy the basics and demonstrated the technique few time for them, including how to do a great job messing up. After I showed them all of the ways not to spin it I left them alone with the materials, carders, and drop spindles thinking I would clean up the mess later. After an hour of not hearing from them I walked up to check on their progress. They had spun a good two feel and Isa was becoming very good as shown in this photo. She could spin, pull and roll it all by herself!

And the best part? She learned it all by herself.

2009-01-02T15:49:00.000-09:00

Happy New Year! Here in Unalakleet new years day is celebrated by having community games and potluck. Here is Isa getting ready to race. She did great winning 5 of the 6 races she was in. After foot races the kids all had musical chair and wheelbarrow races. The little kids (4 and 5 year olds) were not allowed to participate in those ones yet.

After the kids the adults got to play. All the adults in the gym were expected to play all sorts competitions. Here are a couple of pictures of me doing a basketball relay race. Jeremy was a bit worried that my competitive side would take over and I might do something drastic but I behaved myself. My team won of course.

Jeremy and I got kicked out early on this game that is like musical chairs, only the man is the chair. The women walk one way and the men walk the other way. When the music stops the men kneel and the women rush over to their man and sit down. The last to sit down loses. We were the first ones out.

The last game Jeremy entered was the most impressive. Two men held a pole, the contestant has to hold on to the pole one handed and then they run with the contestant. Jeremy scored second! holding on the entire length of the gym.

It was great fun!

2008-12-31T10:51:00.000-09:00

Ok so I might have spoke too soon on that last post. Yesterday the temperature dropped right on through the center of the earth. You could hear the cold. It was -30 below with a -40 below windchill.

When I was ready to go out for the day this is what I found waiting for me on the inside of my door. Isa spent a good hour entertaining herself by scratching the ice off the window from the inside.

We wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope it is warm.

Boat Drinks

2008-12-29T09:35:00.000-09:00

The last few days have been quiet here on the tundra. While the lower 48 has been hit with below zero weather we have been a balmy 28 degrees! A bit of cabin fever setting in. All of us are a bit on edge and itching for something to happen. It really makes you think about all of those other people who traveled away from family onto the prairie, or tundra. Those long, cold dark winters that lasted for years. So in honor of those up here in the dark, those of you suffering in airports, and those of you experiencing winter down south...

We have been singing a lot of Jimmy Buffet lately. Sing it with us won't you?

http://www.last.fm/music/Jimmy+Buffett/_/Boat+Drinks

Boat drinks
Boys in the band ordered boat drinks
Visitors scored on the home rink
Everything seems to be wrong

Lately, newspaper mentioned cheap air fare
I gotta to fly to saint somewhere
Im close to bodily harm

Twenty degrees and the hockey games on
Nobody cares they are way too far gone
Screamin boat drinks, something to keep em all warm

This mornin, I shot six holes in my freezer
I think I got cabin fever
Somebody sound the alarm

Id like to go where the pace of lifes slow
Could you beam me somewhere mr. scott?
Any ol place here on earth or in space
You pick the century and Ill pick the spot
Oh I know, (I know)
I should be leaving this climate
I got a verse but cant rhyme it
I gotta go where its warm

Boat drinks
Waitress I need two more boat drinks
Then Im headin south fore my dream shrinks

I gotta go where its warm (I gotta go where its warm)
I gotta go where its warm (I gotta go where its warm)
I gotta go where its warm!

2008-12-24T19:31:00.000-09:00

It is Christmas Eve here at our house. It is a quiet night tonight. We chose to stay here in Unalakleet away from family and close friends. It was a tough decision but a good one. Although we are a bit lonely tonight we are thankful for everything we have been given and experienced this year. We are happy to spend a quiet evening as a family. Jeremy and Isa are out (7:30pm) cross-country skiing trying to spot Santa flying over head. After they come in we will read the Little House on the Prairie chapter about Mr. Edwards meeting Santa on the way to Plum Creek. Then we will spend a little time thinking about what we are thankful for and what we are hopeful for next year.

There are many things that make living in the bush difficult but for every one of those difficulties we can find "blessings". One of those blessings is the distance we have from any commercialization of this holiday. There are no Christmas signs, no toy rushes, we could not go out shopping on Christmas eve even if we wanted to, and trust me we do not want to. Christmas out here has to be about your family, about the simple things. We miss our extended family and our friends by being out here, but being out here we learn to value you even more in your absence. There are no distractions or consumer ways to fill a void created by the loss of family and friends. The quiet tonight will make all of those joyful celebrations with family and friends all the merrier when we are lucky enough to celebrate with you again.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

We made it!

2008-12-21T13:11:00.000-09:00

Happy Solstice Everyone!

Today is the shortest day of the year (3 hours long here in Unalakleet) and the official first day of Winter. Things start getting lighter and lighter now. We are celebrating Winter Solstice the way we always do, without lights. We celebrate solstice without lights in order to feel the darkness around us. It is only through feeling the darkness that you can truly appreciate the light. It also helps to give us an appreciation of modern lighting. Try cooking your breakfast, making your bed, brushing your teeth all just by the light of a candle. Once you do you start to wonder about all of the cultures past and present that lived and continue to live without the electric light.

Happy Solstice, (turn off your lights)

2008-12-20T13:41:00.001-09:00

One More Day Until Solstice!

Here are some more photos from our Tundra Home.

The first photo was taken this morning at 10:00 am.

Here are Isa and Judy "playing out" the day before solstice. This photo was taken at 11:00am! If you look close at the picture you can see the moon in the top right corner.

Jeremy took off today for a snowmachine ride up river and was able to take these pictures from a hill top. These were taken between 12:00-1:00pm.

And finally for your viewing pleasure the sunset at 3:30pm.

Sunset

2008-12-19T16:17:00.000-09:00

Sunset over the ocean, 2:45pm.

Isa's Christmas play

2008-12-18T09:20:00.000-09:00

Last night was Isa's school Christmas play. It was very cute. Everyone from preschool to highschool participated. Isa had to memorize a part and recite it. She got every word and was quite a ham as you can imagine. As you can see from the pictures Isa's class is primarily native as is her teacher.

Homeschool joke

2008-12-17T13:22:00.000-09:00

This joke was posted by Michelle on her blog, Pass The Flu Bug Please.

How Does a Homeschooler Change a Light Bulb?
First, mom checks three books on electricity out of the library, then the kids make models of light bulbs, read a biography of Thomas Edison and do a skit based on his life.

Next, everyone studies the history of lighting methods, wrapping up with dipping their own candles.

Then, everyone takes a trip to the store where they compare types of light bulbs, as well as prices, and figure out how much change they’ll get if they buy two bulbs for $1.99 and pay with a five dollar bill.

On the way home, a discussion develops over money.

Finally, after building a ladder out of branches dragged from the woods, the light bulb is installed.

2008-12-17T12:51:00.000-09:00

Solstice countdown: 4 days!

I seem in recent posts to be a bit down about Unalakleet and Alaska. This is not true. Both Unalakleet and Alaska have lived up to my expectations of them. I will be contemplating the meaning of both for many years to come. My mental state has more to do with lighting and weather. To remedy this we have spent more time in front of our sun lamp soaking up vitamin D. Even our little Inupiaq daughter seems to benefit from a little light therapy.

On a pleasant note, I found out that up here while the night is long, the morning/afternoon is filled with a beautiful sunrise until that sunrise gently turns into a sunset. It is absolutely stunning! Here is the sunrise we had today for about an hour and a half. The picture was taken about 12:40 pm.

Tonight is Isa's Christmas play. She is in it despite only attending school in the afternoon. While she is excited about the play she has decided that she does not like school at all. It continues to be a struggle to get her to go to her cultural class in the afternoon. Here is a picture of her doing homeschool this morning. She has decided that she wants to learn calligraphy and spent most of the morning practicing.