Finding Myself In Alaska

Pearl Harbor hero laid to rest

2011-01-25T15:12:00.003-09:00

Ed Chlapowski didn't set out to be a hero the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, but he certainly played a very important role in helping save countless lives that day. This past Sunday, he was laid to rest in Montana. Please honor his memory by honoring his wish: That the sacrifices of those who died on December 7, 1941 will never be forgotten.

Pearl Harbor survivor Chlapowski buried in Laurel veterans cemetery
by Mary Pickett, Billings Gazette

Ron Crocker didn't know Ed Chlapowski, but the retired chief petty officer, decked out in his dress uniform, came to Chlapowski's burial on Friday to honor a fellow sailor.

As a young U.S. Navy radioman, Chlapowski witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor and sent out the first message to the Pacific fleet of the attack. He died at age 88 on Sunday at his home in Billings.

After a funeral Mass at Little Flower Catholic Church on Friday morning, Chlapowski was buried with full military honors at the Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery in Laurel, one of several veterans' projects that Chlapowski actively supported during his life.

Crocker had been stationed at Pearl Harbor for part of his 36 years of duty and considered Chlapowski a hero for his service during the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands.

Chlapowski had been a sailor on the USS Arizona until he was transferred to Adm. Husband Kimmel's staff as a radioman at the Pearl Harbor submarine base.

Just after he got off duty early on Dec. 7, 1941, he saw the roof of a Hickam Field hangar blown off and Japanese planes flying overhead. Running back to the radio shack, he sent out the message that the attack was under way and was not a drill.

Later, he would see smoke rise from the sinking Arizona, with many of his friends still on board. The painful memory of that sight never dimmed for him.

Over several decades of interviews with The Billings Gazette around anniversaries of the attack, Chlapowski expressed concern that the sacrifice of those who died that day would be forgotten.

Veterans attending the Laurel services remembered Chlapowski's support, too.

"Ed always came out to stand up for veterans," said Scott Stewart, a fellow member of Veterans of Foreign War Post 1634. "He was a nice man who will be missed."

Stewart's VFW post joined members of VFW Post 6774 to serve as the color guard at the burial. American Legion Post 4, of which Chlapowski also was a member, formed the honor guard.

As a chilly wind whipped across the cemetery, a volley of seven rifles rang out three times.

Burt Gigoux played taps on his cornet as Chlapowski had requested him to do.

Yeoman Second Class Terry Hunt and Engineering Aide Second Class Raymond Reeves folded the American flag after it was removed from Chlapowski's blue-gray casket. Retired Cmdr. Jim Forseth solemnly saluted the folded flag before presenting it to Chlapowski's family.

Hawaiian leis worn by most of the pallbearers brought a touch of the tropics to the service.

Although well-known for his World War II service, Chlapowski went on to a long life of other accomplishments. He and his wife, Betty, were married nearly 68 years and had seven children. His obituary in The Gazette noted his pride in his three sons and four daughters all graduating from college.

Chlapowski worked 34 years for the Federal Aviation Administration as an air traffic controller and served as a Billings City alderman for one term.

Cookies anyone?

2011-01-25T14:59:00.004-09:00

This is so funny, and so true! From World Magazine:

If you give a politician a cookie
by Alex Tokarev

(Inspired by Laura Numeroff’s books, with special thanks to my children Kristin and Noel)

If you give a politician a cookie, he will make a mental note to reprimand you later, on a Sesame Street show, for serving unhealthy foods. While he is chewing on his sixth cookie, he will ask you for a glass of organic milk. If you give him the milk, he will most likely spill some of it on your carpet. When he notices the stain, he will cite you for violating property maintenance codes. As soon as he is done with the paperwork, he will send FDA agents to raid the nearby Amish farm on suspicions that they have sold you unauthorized raw milk.

To prevent further spilling, he is going to ask you for a straw. While he is blowing bubbles in his glass, he may notice that the straw is plastic. This will inspire him to write a bill that requires you to recycle it. When he eats a few more cookies and drinks another quart of milk, he will need to visit your bathroom. There he may notice that your toilet uses more than the federally mandated amount of water to flush. This will remind him to increase your sewage tax. If he notices that you are out of kid’s dental floss, he may file a complaint with Social Services charging you with child endangerment.

When he gets out of the bathroom, he may notice that the place is littered with cookie crumbs. He will ask you to evacuate your home until EPA removes the bio-hazardous material from the floor. (He will solemnly pledge to PETA that the ants and cockroaches attracted by the crumbs will be relocated in the most humane manner and at the expense of the homeowner.) All this talking, thinking, and legislating will make him thirsty. So he will ask for a glass of milk. And chances are, if you get him the milk, he will want a cookie to go with it. . . .

Join us for Reagan/Palin Appreciation Month!

2011-01-24T16:57:00.006-09:00

Won't you join other supporters in celebrating the month of February as Reagan/Palin Appreciation Month? Please read this note from Fay of the Sarah Palin Information Blog:

February is the month five of our presidents were born (4 past and 1 future). It also marks the 100th anniversary of President Reagan’s birth. We would celebrate Governor Palin’s and President Reagan’s birthdays anyway, but since the liberal media has called for a Palin moratorium, the authors at the Sarah Palin Information Blog have decided to spearhead a Reagan/Palin Appreciation Month. We want to honor Reagan for his outstanding service to our country, and we want to honor Governor Palin for her accomplishements and for all she continues to do for our country.

President Reagan fought Communism from the time he worked in Hollywood through his years in office and won the Cold War without firing a shot. His famous line, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” will ring through history. America prospered during his Presidency as Reaganomics stimulated the economy, increased employment, and cut taxes and government expenditure. Ronald Reagan’s policies also increased the strength of our military.

Governor Sarah Palin has stood up and spoken out fearlessly in defense of conservative principles and national security when others remained silent,and she has taken the darts and arrows for doing so. And we have seen over an over that she was right. Her tireless efforts during the mid-term elections also helped elect men and women who will represent the American people instead of the establishment. All of her supporters are waiting anxiously in the hope that she will run for President and help lead our country out of the mess the current administration has gotten us into.

During February, as we celebrate President Reagan’s legacy and Governor Palin’s accomplishments, the Palin-friendly blogs that participate in Reagan/Palin Appreciation Month will be ramping up their coverage of all things Sarah Palin in a show of support for Governor Palin. We are asking all Sarah Palin supporters to sign the Reagan/Palin Appreciation Month Proclamation. Palin-friendly blogs that want to participate in this celebration can request to be added as sponsors of the Proclamation by using the Contact Petition Sponsor button on the petition website after signing the Proclamation.

February is barely a week away now, so let’s get organized to have a great month of celebration for two great Presidents – one who has finished his course and one who is waiting in the wings to bear his torch.

If you'd like to sign the proclamation, you can use the link in the note above, or by clicking on the Reagan/Palin graphic on my right sidebar. Join us in the celebration!

Dick Morris tells Sarah Palin not to speak out

2011-01-20T21:02:00.005-09:00

What is it about Sarah Palin? Political pundits want to put her in a box. She is unconventional and does not do what is "expected" of someone who is involved in politics. She does what Americans expect of their politician.

Dick Morris (with Eileen McGann) wrote a piece titled "The Perils of Palin." Ah, there ya go Dick. You haven't been making headlines lately, so write something about Sarah Palin and you'll be sure to pick up a few readers. He states in his article:

"The lesson is simply this: She should not become a battering ram hammering at liberal critics - getting down into the mud with them - answering every attack, no matter how low, personal, or undeserved it is. She is a potential candidate for the Republican Party. As such, she needs to keep her own head unbloodied and intact. Battering rams don't find that easy to do."

Dick Morris goes on to say "The point is that Palin should not and cannot answer." What is wrong with this picture? How many times have we seen government officials stand there and not answer the questions asked of them. She did not ask to be put in this spotlight, and yet she was compelled to speak out. She was criticized recently for taking too long to answer, and now is being criticized for answering at all.

That is why the GOP stands around like a bunch of sheep, being led to slaughter. That is why when one of their own is viciously attacked, they just watch, not wanting to be "bloodied" themselves trying to defend her.

"Critics charged that she looked more concerned about her defending own personal reputation from the attacks than with the national tragedy that had just taken place."

Dick must have been watching a different video. Sarah Palin repeated over and over again how terrible this tragedy was, and did not single herself out but spoke in general terms, reminding everyone by quoting Ronald Reagan: "We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker."

Sarah Palin said she's not going to sit down and shut up. Encouraging her to do so is foolish. She got your attention, didn't she Dick?

Safety-conscious moose

2011-01-20T14:43:00.002-09:00

Video from KTUU.com showing a moose using a crosswalk on the streets of Anchorage, Alaska!

Moose Uses Crosswalk

GOP Watches as Palin is thrown "Under The Bus"

2011-01-20T12:59:00.008-09:00

I remember watching an episode of a news program once, something like 20/20 or 60 minutes, where they planted a small child, say 2 years old, in the middle of a busy shopping mall with a hidden camera on the child. The child was safe, being carefully watched, but the implication to those in the mall was that this child was "alone" - this child had somehow become separated from whomever was supposed to be caring for him. The experiment was timed to see just how long it would take before someone would come to this child's rescue. To everyone's astonishment, it was a very long time before anyone even approached this child. He was obviously alone, obviously distraught, but alas no one entered to help him.

What about a woman who is being attacked, say in a mall parking lot? Who among us would step forward and actually "do" something? Would we just stand by and watch as this woman is victimized? Well folks, many just have, and especially those in our GOP leadership. They've stood by as they watched Sarah Palin being thrown "under the bus," being blamed for the terrible events that unfolded in Tuscon. Where is our leadership? Why are they not interceding? Sarah Palin is far from helpless, far from the child in the mall, but nonetheless, no less deserved of defense than that child, or the victimized woman. Why have they not defended her?

Some GOP leaders, days after the event took place and Sarah Palin was libeled, took to the microphones and spoke in generalities about "rhetoric" and "targeting" and "crosshairs," but did one of them mention her by name and come out and defend her? While the "blamestream media" (according to Michelle Malkin) took Sarah Palin apart piece by piece, the GOP just stood by and watched. You know what they call that in legal terms? Being complicit. They had a moral obligation to say something and did not. How can we expect them to stand up for our rights on the floor of the house or senate if they can't stand up for one of their own against the media onslaught? This has been a wake up call on many levels. If you're a republican but not a Sarah Palin supporter, take a good long look at the person you support and ask yourself - where was your candidate? What did they say about this and when did they say it?

Rush Limbaugh discusses the lack of support for Sarah Palin from the GOP leadership while reading a post from Legal Insurrection titled We Just Witnessed the Media's Test Run To Re-Elect Barack Obama. He also predicts she will "wipe the floor with Obama" if given the chance. I hope he's right.

Please watch the video by clicking this link: Rush: Palin would wipe the floor with Obama

Palin Promotions' "A Debate I'd Like To See"

2011-01-20T12:30:00.003-09:00

Here is a great promotional video from "Palin Promotions." Yes, this is a debate I'd like to see as well, only the scenario in my head is one where instead of Obama being tongue-tied because his teleprompter is not working, he reads and promotes conservative points through his teleprompter! I doubt he would even notice, he's so dependent on that thing!

Why the left hates Sarah Palin

2011-01-18T16:27:00.004-09:00

As my friend Thomas S. Schmitz put it, this article is "spot on." Of note, the person who "got me to thinking.." as the author put it was a woman. I've personally witnessed that the anti-Palin vitriol is most keenly professed by women. As women we're told, like recruits in the Army, to "be all we can be." Yet we get confused on what it is we're supposed to "be." Are we supposed to be pretty, or smart? Are we supposed to be maternal, or successful in our career? For some reason, women are conditioned to believe one person can't achieve all of these things, and yet Sarah Palin has. And there is the rub, for most women at least. Forget all the feminism talk. Like I've said before, it's a bad bill of goods. It only applies if you're self-centered, and Sarah Palin is far from that. This article is spot on, if you're talking about why the left hates Sarah Palin, and why left-thinking women in particular hate her.

Why the Left Hates Sarah Palin
by Evan Sayet

It just happened again.

I spend a fair amount of time at my local coffee shop. I like to do my writing outside and, besides, it gives me an opportunity to try and initiate political conversations with the people who pass by — my hope always being to begin to enlighten them as to what conservatives really believe (and not just what the leftist media tells them.)

Today, the conversation turned to Sarah Palin and my latest acquaintance blurted out: “Oh I hate her.” Since she did not yet know my politics, and since we were in Los Angeles, it is clear that she expected to hear back what you usually hear back in this city: “Yeah, I hate her, too.” Instead, I asked her why.

At this point I could have predicted her response because it’s the same response you get from liberals no matter who on the Right you’re talking about: “Because she’s stupid.” I replied: “Being stupid is no reason to hate someone, but tell me, which one of her policies do you disagree with?” It wasn’t hard to predict her response: “All of them!”

I continued to push. “Well, then, if it’s all of them, it should be easy for you to name one.” Her reply? “They’re too many to list.”

“So don’t list them, just give me one,” I said.

This went on for awhile until my new acquaintance finally admitted that she didn’t know any of Ms. Palin’s policies. Before she ran off – Democrats always run off when asked to provide facts to justify their hatred for Republicans – I looked her in the eyes and said, “If you don’t know any of her policies, perhaps you should look into them.” She promised she would. She won’t. If there are two things you can count on with Democrats, they are filled with hate and empty of facts...

Follow this link to read the rest of this article.

Teachable moments

2011-01-18T11:22:00.004-09:00

Teachable moments present themselves at not-so-regular intervals in our lives as parents. Sometimes as parents we rise to the occasion, and other times we struggle with them. A friend of mine experienced a teachable moment this morning with his son, and I just had to pass this along, with permission of course.

Had a good teachable moment with my son this morning...

We were listening to the radio on the way to school and they were talking about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords among other topics. When he left the car, he said, "Who even invented guns, anyway? All they do is hurt people and spread terror." And he closed the door.

So I rolled down the passenger window and he leaned on the door, standing in the school drop-off zone at 23 degrees below zero. That was my teachable moment where I was able to explain to him that guns are tools, the same as a knife or a car.

You wouldn't call a car "evil" but some drivers do not drive very well. You wouldn't call a knife "evil." What is a knife used for? For cutting things, just like we cut our meat before lunch yesterday or we cut our sandwiches or we cut string when we need a certain amount. That's not evil, but some people use knives for evil purposes.

In the same way, you couldn't call guns "evil" either. In themselves, they are a very powerful, dangerous tool; nonetheless, they are benign. It is the one who wields the gun who is good or evil, not the weapon itself.

My son seemed to understand. I'm sure we'll have to talk about that again sometime. What a wild and crazy world we live in where we have to explain such things to our children!!

I think this father did a wonderful job, during a very difficult teachable moment. Maybe this will help you explain recent events to your children as well.

"In another place and time..."

2011-01-17T20:06:00.003-09:00

I'm not so much a "birther" (one who questions the origins of Obama's birth) as I am a fact-seeking constitutional conservative. What does this man have to hide, and why is his life story so tortured and twisted?

"In another time and place, the Obamas would have had their own reality TV show."

That's an understatement! Read this article from American Thinker. But be forwarned - you'll have to put your thinking cap on.

What Obama Has Said About His Own Birth

Food shortages predicted

2011-01-17T19:40:00.004-09:00

We're tetering on the brink right now as a society. Our government is enacting laws and policy that affect us at a very basic level - our national and global food supply. Think about it - energy costs are rising. When energy costs rise, everything goes up. It takes energy to make things happen. Watch this video and ask yourself - are you prepared should we run out of food and supplies?

Gov. Palin addresses her critics

2011-01-17T19:21:00.002-09:00

Gov. Sarah Palin was interviewed this evening by Sean Hannity of Fox News. In this interview, she spoke openly about the shooting, her reaction to it, and her thoughts about the accusations against her by some, including the mainstream media. It was good to see her address this issue. She has accomplished so much in her time in the national spotlight, but I can't help but wonder how much more she could accomplish if her time weren't spent constantly dealing with all this made-up nonsense. In my heart I believe she will once again rise above all the fray and come out stronger for it.

Follow this link to the entire video:

Sarah Palin on Sean Hannity

Join me on facebook!

2011-01-17T14:36:00.003-09:00

"Finding Myself In Alaska" now has a facebook page! There are so many things - some fun, some inspiring, some serious - that I find that are just easier to post on facebook. These are usually short articles, quotes, small video clips, etc you won't see here. So, if you like what you see on this blog, hop on over to facebook and "Like" my facebook page! Click on the link to the right, just below my picture and it will take you to my page!

A different take on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2011-01-17T05:51:00.004-09:00

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day, a day in which to honor and great man, his works, his passion, and his vision. Many of my friends have posted quotes from his most famous speech as their facebook status and have included clips of that speech. So much is known about that one particular moment in time, but here is a different look at his conservative vision by another great leader, Herman Cain. This speech, given via the Young America's Foundation, also includes points from actors Joseph Phillips and Professor Walter Williams. They discuss conservatism and the role of government in a free society. Please follow this link to watch this inspiring video:

A Different Take On MLK Day

My Blackberry is not working!

2011-01-16T17:14:00.000-09:00

Gotta love the Brits...

News reporter gets hit by sled!

2011-01-16T17:09:00.001-09:00

I hope this guy has a good health plan!

Be prepared - The top 100 items you should have

2011-01-16T14:40:00.004-09:00

I found a really cool facebook page that I've been following. It doesn't appear they have a website, but if you have facebook you should be able to follow this link to their page:

Back to the Basics - Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

In a post today titled "Top 100 Items to Disappear First During a National Emergency", they give a list of the top 100 items they feel are most popular in a crisis and therefore, most likely to be in short supply or stolen if you already own them. Here is their list:

Top 100 Items to Disappear First During a National Emergency

1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water Filters/Purifiers
3. Portable Toilets
4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)
6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.
7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.
8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.)
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)
36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. {"Strike Anywhere" preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches, "No. 76 Dietz" Lanterns
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles
56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats
66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase
76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can"
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog
81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)
86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress's
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Livestock

This is particularly true here in Alaska, where nearly everything is shipped to the state. It is said that Alaskans would run out of core essential foods and supplies in about 10 days. Take a look at the list - are you prepared?

From American Thinker: The Wilding of Sarah Palin

2011-01-13T21:02:00.004-09:00

I've been struggling, trying to figure out how to be "profound" about the most recent onslaught against Sarah Palin. Weeks or months from now, the current insanities lobbed at this woman will fade into a blur with all the other insanities - not to be forgotten but not as keenly felt either. I'm so glad that when words escape me, there are others out there with the wits and will to write what I have thought. Everyone should read this. Women, particularly feminists, should read this carefully and take it to heart.

The Wilding of Sarah Palin

Under Construction!

2011-01-07T23:01:00.002-09:00

You may have noticed the site looks a little different. I've decided to change the template. It's a work in progress (as you can tell from my header!) so please bear with me. Things might be a little "wonky" for a bit but the content is still there. Please feel free to let me know what you think!

Honoring our veterans by building homes

2011-01-06T21:40:00.003-09:00

Whatever we can do - I say Whatever We Can Do - to help our wounded veterans is honorable and should be recognized. Check out this video about veteran homebuilder Dan Wallrath:

I'm especially impressed with their recognition that more still needs to be done for the victims of the Ft. Hood massacre. Please follow this link for the original story.

Magnetic north pole shifts

2011-01-06T21:24:00.003-09:00

I find this really interesting - maybe it's because I'm really close to the magnetic north pole? Who knows. Anyway, interesting article.

Shift of Earth's magnetic north pole affects Tampa airport

Winter solstice sun

2011-01-06T21:09:00.003-09:00

People ask me about how I handle the dark in Alaska in the winter. The dark, for some reason, really doesn't bother me nearly as much as the light in the summer. Don't get me wrong - I love all that sunlight! But when the sun is up (which is nearly 25 hours a day) I feel guilty if I'm not doing something, and I get NO sleep!

This picture was originally posted on the University of Alaska's facebook page. It's a composite of six exposures taken on winter solstice from the Aka sofu Building on UAF's West Ridge. It's a good visual representation of how much sun we really get.

What to say, and when to say it

2011-01-06T20:58:00.003-09:00

I'm one of those people that always thinks of the best thing to say hours (or even days) AFTER the conversation originally occurred. I think that's why I like blogging. I can mull over things before I post them. That's also why I really like Ted Nugent. He just knows what to say and when to say it. He gets his point across, and I tend to agree with him most of the time. Here is a clip where he "educates" Roseanne Barr. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Back Up Your Social Media Presence!

2010-12-30T17:29:00.002-09:00

I'm online - A LOT. So are you or you wouldn't be here! You should back up your social media presence, and this article from Mashable tells you how.

HOW TO: Back Up Your Social Media Presence Before the Ball Drops

A Marine Honors God and Our Nation

2010-12-30T16:53:00.007-09:00

Many of you have undoubtedly seen this video. It's of a man who attended a tea party event in Georgia. After a young lady asked a question regarding bringing religion back into schools, this man shocked everyone by standing up and singing a virtually unknown 4th verse of the national anthem. Here is the original video:

Even if you are familiar with the video, you may not have seen the following interview with Lewis, the former Marine whose stand that day caused such controversy. He speaks eloquently in this interview about God, religion, and why he feels we need to take a stand in this most difficult time. I do so admire our men and women in uniform, and this man in particular.

Getting back to the business of blogging

2010-12-28T11:20:00.002-09:00

Yep, here we go again - another long hiatus from blogging. I could use a lot of excuses but the truth of the matter is I've been sitting on the fence about what to do with this blog. I started it, at the suggestion of a friend and fellow blogger, because I like to write and take pics and had some interesting things to say. In the beginning I stuck with what I knew best - family and daily life. As I became more comfortable, I started venturing out into the world of political opinion. Mine is unique and yet like so many others. Finally, the blog became about God, family, life, and most recently our move to a more remote part of Alaska. I've picked up a nice following and readership through this last venture, but focusing on this building project alone was out of necessity in the beginning. Now I feel like I have more to say and want to get back to the business of more commentary.

So, those of you who hopped on board because you liked what you saw about Alaska and our building adventures, please stay and give me a chance. For those of you who enjoyed my former writings with more opinion and less of the documentary style of late, I think you'll like what you'll see. If you're following this blog, post or email me privately and let me know what you think, where you'd like to see it go. My intent is to give you a mix of our daily lives, God, faith, family, friendship, veteran issues, cooking, Alaskan living, building, and political opinion. I hope to keep you entertained, amused, and maybe even give you something to think about. Here we go - hang on for the ride!

Cakes, floors, and cinnamon rolls galore!

2010-11-14T19:01:00.013-09:00

Thought I'd start this post out with a picture of a cake I made last week. November 10th, the day before Veteran's Day, was the 235th anniversary of the Marine Corps. Many of you know I am a US Navy veteran and very much appreciate our armed forces. I've been working part time (for fun!) at a local grocery store, decorating cakes. I love to be creative and this gives me an opportunity to make a little spending money doing something that I love, and it gets me out of the house every so often. Delta Junction, Alaska is also home to Ft. Greely, a United States Army launch site for anti-ballistic missiles. It is also the home of the Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC), as Fort Greely is one of the coldest areas in Alaska, and can accommodate cold, extreme cold, or temperate weather tests depending on the season. (See this wikipedia article on the base) There is a small contingent of Marines at the base and they wanted a cake to celebrate the Marine's anniversary. They made a photocopy of the Marine Corps insignia and said "put this on the cake." Since we had none of those nice little rice paper stick on thingys you can use on cakes, I had to freehand it. I actually think the emblem came out pretty good, if I do say so myself! Anyway, on to house building...

I have been wanting a big chest freezer like my grandma had for years. I've always had the uprights and maybe it's just me, but they just don't seem to hold as much. You can put an upright and a chest freezer of the same size next to each other, stuff them, and the chest freezer holds more. Now, I know that's mathematically impossible, but that's my impression anyway. Tony and I shopped around for one and found a nice big one at Sam's Club that was much cheaper than smaller ones we had been looking at, so we went to Fairbanks and picked it up, along with food and some other supplies. In order to place it in the mudroom, however, we first had to finish the floor. So, we went to Loews and picked out some vinyl flooring we liked. Here is our mudroom floor, on the living room floor, waiting to be a floor!

But, of course, before the floor could go down, we once again had to have a Chinese fire drill with all the stuff in the mudroom. This is a small sampling of the mudroom contents before we moved it. It's pretty much been a utility and tool storage area up to this point.

Here the room is, almost cleared out

I moved all my canned goods closer to the kitchen

And Tony piled all the tools and building supplies in the living room

After we rolled out and trimmed the vinyl flooring, Tony applied the epoxy

He did this in stages, and then rolled the flooring down.

We tamped it down by walking on it. I think the finished product looks pretty good!

Next, we moved the freezer inside. Man, except for the couch we are going to get, I believe that is the last big thing we need to move in here. Boy, am I glad! Some of this stuff has been seriously heavy! We have been quite creative, though, using leverage, ropes, and sheer will at times to get this stuff in the house. We placed the freezer along the longest wall in the mudroom.

Tony started building the shelving and placing it above the freezer

Here you can see the two finished shelves! Nice!

We had been piling two days worth of wood along one of the walls in the mudroom. This is what it looked like

After Tony built the shelving, he made a really nice wood rack

In the kitchen, he built the countertop for my island. This was created with two 1 inch boards, epoxy, and counter material to match my existing counters. And Tony says I should let you all know that the bottle sitting on the island is flavoring for my coffee! This project hasn't pushed me to drink - yet!

He then built the bar on the backside of the island. We have already been using this, and he will be epoxying the counter material to this in the coming week.

And did you notice these nice barstools? Aren't they great?! I was surprised how hard it was to find basic wood stools. There are some seriously fancy, spendy stools out there, and none of them fit our decor. I was about to give up when I found these.

I also got this really cute spice rack set. By the way, you know your husband loves you when he 1) Puts up with you when you want to buy this, even though you really don't need it, but want it anyway 2) takes the time to set it up for you while you're at work, and 3) goes so far as to peel off all the little covers on each bottle and labels them. He spent some time on this! That's my man. He's mine ladies - don't hate!

So, on to the life segment of our saga. I love to cook, have I mentioned that? Lately? Anyway, I found this site a while back and revisited it recently. It is The Pioneer Woman. I love this site! She inspired me to do some serious cooking over the weekend. First was dinner. I made pan-seared parmesan peppercorn steak, green beans cooked in garlic and olive oil, and homemade bread with garlic butter. Doesn't this look yummy! It tasted even better than it looks!

I kept reading on other sites about this awesome recipe on The Pioneer Woman for cinnamon rolls. Since I was in a bread baking mood, I decided to try out the recipe. Man, these things are awesome! Be forwarned, however - this is a church potluck sized recipe and unless you're very generous with neighbors or you literally have an army to feed, this recipe may be too much. I cut it in half and we still have cinnamon rolls coming out our ears! They are so good though!

And there's the man, taking time out from his book to humor me for a pic. Ain't he cute?

Random thought - took this pic the other morning on the way to work in my car. Yes, it's Alaska, and yes, it gets cold.

But hey, who minds the cold if you can wake up to sunrises like these every morning!

Bread is baking and the bedroom is where it belongs

2010-11-07T18:46:00.010-09:00

The bread just came out of the oven, and boy, does it smell good! I love baking homemade bread, and found a great and quick recipe. Tony, being the good Italian that he is, tested it and gave me the thumbs up. I will be making this again!

Speaking of Tony - Poor Tony! Poor Tony's knees! He has bruises on his knees, but we have a beautiful floor to show for it. What a job this has been, this whole house building experience. For Tony, it's been about getting it done. He assigns himself task lists and sets goals and gets very frustrated if he doesn't meet them. I think he's done a wonderful job. For me, it's been all about survival! Not so much in a physical sense, but more in my head. I am stronger than I thought, but at the same time not as strong as I would have liked. The thing that has surprised me so much about all this is the affect a lack of permanency has had on me.

Think about it - for most people, you have things, and every thing has it's place. You need your hairbrush? Boom! You go get it because you know where it is. You need a fork to eat with? Same thing, you go get it because you know where it is. When you live like we have, where first you're in a tent, then you're in a shed, then you're in a shell of a house, then that shell finally becomes something of a home, things are constantly moving. It is so unnerving at times! I found myself getting upset over little things, like having to move the bed 2 feet to the left because we needed to fix a wall. It's never that simple, because everything under the bed needs moved, everything around the bed, everything beside the bed. When you finally get it all back, there are inevitably important things, things you can't "live without," that end up "lost" for a time. Believe me, it goes well beyond your search for car keys in the morning.

And so, that brings me to today's blog post - the last room to be floored, the bedroom. Tony has moved the entire bedroom several times - with much duress on my part. Everything that is important to me is part of that room because it was all we had for so long. And my bed is my sanctuary where I can retreat and relax. So when Tony said he wanted to move the bedroom for the 57th time, I got nervous! I'm sure that's why he waited to floor that room last. Remember that bible verse, "Love is patient, Love is kind?" Well, Tony loves me because he has the patience of Job when it comes to me and moving that room around.

So, here they are - bedroom flooring photos. First up, the bedroom - in - the living room!

Can you imagine?? And we did this more times than I can count! UGH!

Tony had framed out the closet, but needed to cut the floor frame

The vapor barrier was then added

And of course, lots of glue and tapping again

But isn't it gorgeous! Tony does such a fine job!

So, here we have the finished product. The living room...

The kitchen/bath area

And the bedroom, back where it belongs!

This week, we finish the mud room!

We have floors!

2010-10-28T15:33:00.009-08:00

Ok, so that first picture really doesn't have anything to do with floors. I just wanted to get your attention. I know this temperature certainly got mine! This was 3 or 4 days ago. The next morning, it actually was -3! No picture though - I was too busy thawing out my car to get to work.

Tony's been working hard again, and I wanted to show you some of our progress. This is our main light in the living room. We plan to have two floor lamps and also some indirect lighting, so it should be nice and bright for doing things like reading and sewing.

Tony also installed the light over the kitchen sink. Combined with the light over the island he already installed, my kitchen is very bright and easy to work in!

We purchased a mirrored medicine cabinet last week. We had to take the first one back because it was broken, so we were finally able to get this one mounted.

I fell in love with this door when I saw it. It's pine and has a lot of character, and is now part of our bathroom decor!

The walls in the living room are now complete. Here is one corner of the room

Here is a look at the nearly finished walls in our bedroom (and the messy bed!). The bottom half, that is white now, will be painted and a chair rail added. I haven't decided what color to paint it. Probably something to go along with the new bedspread I am obligated to now buy. It is a moral imperative!

Here is the closet, sans door, which will probably be a louvered folding door.

This part of the bedroom is one that is hard to describe on here. Our floor plan is very open. The wood stove is basically in the center of the house, with one end of the house being comprised of the living room and bedroom. They are divided by this interesting wall - about 5 feet of the length of the wall is only 4 feet high. The rest of the wall is 8 feet high. We wanted a way to divide the bedroom somewhat from the living room, and yet keep the house open with minimal doors so that it would heat easily. I hope to have better picture once we get further along.

The kitchen looks completely different with the lights and wood treatments. I can't wait to get the tile in and finish painting the cabinets!

Earlier this week, we purchased our flooring. Originally, we were going to go with traditional hardwood floors. After speaking with a flooring installer and consultant, we decided to go with an engineered wood product instead. Because the cold of -50+ in the winter and heat of 90 in the summer can wreak havoc on a traditional wood floor, we hope this engineered wood will hold up better. The consultant said it would. I know where she works if she's wrong!

First, you need to add a layer of vapor barrier cushion.

In order to lay the floor, first a thin bead of glue needs to be added to the seams.

These pieces fit together very tightly, so Tony uses a block of wood to tap it into place on both the side and the end.

Tony, working his way from one end of the house to the other

I think it will look really nice when it's all in!

That's all I really have now. Tony has been working on the floor for 2 solid days now. I think he will be finishing it up tomorrow. It snowed here today, so I hope to have some really nice pictures for you of that sometime this weekend.

See, I was able to get a post out in just a week! That's better than a month! And you said it couldn't be done... :)

Life on Porreca Ridge

2010-10-21T21:17:00.017-08:00

Porreca Ridge - that's what Tony called it today, tongue in cheek. I kind of like it though. We have some neighbors whose last name is "Holland" and they have a sign in front of their drive saying "You're now entering Holland." So do we need a sign??? I'll just leave it to the one above, to welcome people to our cabin! So, what's been going on here on Porreca Ridge?

Tony and I had extensive chats about, before even building our home, was how we were going to live. One of the things we decided was that we would store food. I really like the Mormon principle of storing enough food for a year, so that's our goal. I love the site Food Storage Made Easy. They have tons of great ideas for storing and preparing foods, so we are using that as a start. Another great site that Tony loves is Back Woods Home. They have everything you could want on self-reliant living, which is our goal. You can't just start storing a year's worth of food all at once (at least I can't), so we are doing this as we go. If I need one item, I buy 2 or 3. When something is on sale, load up on it. If it's not on sale, you can probably live without it until it is. That is our mantra.

There was a great sale on canned veggies at the local store, so I really loaded up!

Potatoes grow really well here. A neighbor brought us these. We've been working on them for nearly a month now. They keep very nicely.

I have also continued to can. Here you can see some of the vegetables, fruits, and preserves I have stored so far. If something is on sale and I think I can make something canned out of it, I do! I found an awesome sweet hot pickled vegetable recipe. I love them and so does Tony!

Here you can see the last of the cranberries. I need to do something with them! What to do....

I've started gathering these large 5 gallon buckets. We plan to store things like rice and beans in these. That should help us toward our goal of having a 1 year supply of food on hand.

We had a very small thermometer we used when we were in the shed, but once we settled in the house, we decided to get ol' Mr. Bear. It was in the 40's the day we purchased him. We haven't seen that in a couple of weeks!

Tony has been working hard, between putting up walls and other work inside the house, at getting some of the downed trees on our property closer to the house and in more manageable pieces to burn. Here is my man with his uber pile of wood!

And this pic was taken last week, after our first good snow!

It really was pretty. I really like our property and it looks nice all snow covered.

Tony has started working from home again. Here he is, hard at work, in his "office"

Me, on the other hand - I just enjoy relaxing in my whirlpool tub!

I love it when I can get something I like at a really good price. I have been looking at light fixtures for a while now. Tony said we were ready to purchase them, so off again I went to the lighting department. To my surprise, one style of lights I had on my list was on clearance! I was able to find lighting for the entire house, 7 pieces in all including 2 chandeliers, for around $100!!! One chandelier alone can cost more than that, so I was ecstatic! You can see the style of light in my previous post.

We also purchased this outside light. Isn't it pretty?

To go with our sustainable living theme, we are trying to conserve as much power as possible. Our goal is to use no more than 3kwh a day. We have been closer to 4, but I'm hoping that dies down once we stop using all these power tools to build with. I have a battery operated alarm, a camp coffee pot, no dishwasher or microwave, and a totally propane stove - no LED display. We purchased a washer and dryer, choosing an energy and water efficient washer. Dryers are horrible power guzzlers, so we choose to hang our laundry. We only use the dryer for things that aren't feasible to hang in the house such as sheets. Right now our system of drying is kind of scattered but once we have all the permanent walls up, there will be hooks for retractable lines for drying. I am amazed at how fast our clothes dry inside, especially with the wood stove going.

Because it can get to -60 or lower here, windows can be a huge concern for loss of heat. Someone told me about Warm Windows, an insulating treatment you can use like a blanket for your windows. They can be rolled up during the day to let light in, but rolled down at night to keep the cold air out. I bought some of this the other day at Jo Ann Fabrics. I can sew something to the outside of it so that it goes with the color and style of the house.

Here is an up close look at the insulating layers

It was about 10 degrees and windy the other day. Tony and I had some time, so we decided to take a walk. He had found an easier path a few days before to the back of our property and the hay fields of our neighbor. We started out, but the first thing we noticed blowing in the wind was...our trash! I was kind of excited and asked Tony to look for prints so we could see what it was that had gotten into our trash bags. I, of course, am instructing him to do this from a safe distance! No tracks, nothing. Raven (my daughter Cassie calls them Godzilla birds) LOVE to get into trash, so we suspected that's what got into ours.

Another thing we noticed was a very large hole in our shed. Tony had chased away a large woodpecker earlier. Neither of us realized how big a hole he had made until we got up close. It's a couple of inches in diameter. Here are pics from the outside, and inside, of the hole!

Here's a good look at our driveway. It's 300 feet to the road. I suspect it's going to be interesting getting up and down that hill this winter.

We have two tanks outside our house now. The white one is for propane, which heats our hot water and works our cook stove. Because it gets so cold here, we will need to put straw or something around this tank because propane stops being a gas at -44, and it definitely gets colder than that here.

The second tank is a fuel oil tank. We use our Toyo fuel stove as a back up when we're not here.

Further on our walk, we noticed these footprints. Don't get excited, parents - these are tracks from a large dog. I was excited though. I thought they might be bear tracks! We hope to see some this winter.

We finally made it to our destination about 600 feet behind our home - the hay fields that belong to our neighbor. If you look in the distance behind me, you can see the large round bails out in the fields, and even farther back you can see the mountains. It's really much prettier than this picture shows.

On my birthday, my cell phone died! What a day for it to die. I get my facebook status notes on my phone, and it was popping like popcorn with well wishes when all of the sudden, the track ball on my Blackberry would no longer roll! UGH! How frustrated I was. I could see messages coming in and my phone was useless. We were on our way into Fairbanks anyway, so we stopped off at the local AT&T store in North Pole. I love this building!

There, I got my new phone. It's a dumb phone instead of a smart one like the Blackberry, but it just doesn't make sense to have a smart phone when you have no cell signal! I mean, how smart could it be then?

Along with my phone, I also got a new pair of Sorel winter boots rated to -40, a Carhart jacket, a very nice dinner while in town, and these flowers! Isn't my honey the best?

Tony had to make a trip to Anchorage on business. This is about 350 miles, so needless to say he was gone a couple of days. He did pick up some goodies for me though - new tires! And I just had them put on today!

Those of you who follow me on facebook know that Kenton and I had started a fan page for Bristol Palin called "Dance Bristol Dance" while she is on "Dancing with the Stars." We received a thank you from her on her facebook page, which was really sweet. She and her partner Mark Ballas came to Wasilla for a few days, and while there they got to meet many of their supporters. I wasn't able to attend and was really bummed because many of my friends were able to go and meet with Bristol, Mark, Sarah, Todd and the rest of the family. Kenton and the dance studio made up these "Dance Bristol Dance" signs and have been placing them all over the Matsu Valley. Kenton was able to get Mark, Bristol, and Sarah to sign one and he sent it to me via Tony. I love it! Thank you Kenton! You're the best!

Finally, about my job. The more progress was made on the house, the more I needed to get out. I'm a people person and really wanted to get out and do something. I used to be a pastry chef for a bakery in Virginia Beach, and so I approached the local grocery store about working there part time. I have had so many stressful office jobs the last 10 or so years, I was really looking forward to something that would allow me to be creative. The store's 20th anniversary was yesterday, so here is a picture of a cake I made for it, with their logo on it. It is a cache, used in Alaskan days of old, to store food away from animals. That's fireweed growing below, in case you're not from Alaska (or in case my handiwork makes it too hard to tell!)

That's about it folks. That's pretty much how it's been here the last month or so. I hope you've enjoyed a little slice of life on Porreca Ridge!

On to the rest of the house

2010-10-21T20:23:00.011-08:00

The rest of the house is coming along, just like the kitchen and bath. Kitchen and bath work is labor intensive with wiring and plumbing and all. All that is really left to do in the rest of the house is wall treatments, floors, and some trim work. Tony has started putting up the wall treatments. It's a nice plank paneling and I think it's going to look great once it's stained. Check out these pics for more!

The stone hearth that I laid in while my father was here has been curing. Now that it's set, I am applying a wet-look sealant that will bring out the color of each stone

Here it is after the first couple of coats. I am still applying coats and it will be much richer when finished. I'll take another pic later on so you can see!

Tony framed the closet, and you can see we are already using it to store dirty laundry. Man, there is a lot of laundry!

There will be storage over the mud room, as it has an 8 foot ceiling like the bathroom, but the rest of the house has a cathedral ceiling. This will be the storage area, which will be closed in

Tyvek was applied to all the interior walls to hold in the insulation

Next, Tony applied furring strips, just like the ones outside, to mount the paneling as it comes in individual pieces rather than sheets

Here is the start of the living room wall! Nice!

What's been cooking in the kitchen?

2010-10-21T15:06:00.007-08:00

Now, we're off to the kitchen! This room is like Aunt Jemima syrup - taking it's own sweet time! That's my fault really. I want to do the majority of things in the kitchen from painting the cabinets to setting the tile, and I've been busy working on other projects so haven't done that much with it. I have started painting the cabinets, as you will see, but had to move on to something else so they sit, unfinished. My kitchen is pretty functional, though, and that makes me happy. I will be very glad when I can get my own dishes and cookware out of storage. Once Tony finishes the island counter and bar, it will be pretty much done except for the painting and setting of tiles. Here are some pics of progress on the kitchen!

Painting doors for my cabinets

Here are the doors, drying

Painting of the sink base - the blue you see is painter's tape

Doors reattached

I have struggled with the type of light fixtures I wanted. The ones I really like are very expensive. I was just about to settle on something I really didn't like, when I found these - they were on clearance! I love sales, and was so happy that we were able to get 8 fixtures, including 2 chandeliers, for right around $100! What a bargain! Here they are, just waiting to be put into place

Tony mounted one chandelier over the island in the kitchen. Here he is putting it into place

Adding bulbs - I will be so glad when someone figures out a way to save energy and make a bulb that looks better than CF bulbs. They are seriously ugly!

Viola! I have light over my island now!

I'm Back! Let's go to ... the bathroom?!!

2010-10-21T09:29:00.008-08:00

After several emails to our internet provider, bouncing questions off the husband and blogger friends, and a lot of trial and error, I have FINALLY figured out a workaround for my picture upload issue. Some of you may have seen my test posts, but I ended up having to alter my process, yet again, after that. Evidently, the way our internet works is not through a steady stream but through intermittent "resets" with the satellite (at least that is the best way I know how to explain it). It is wreaking havoc on downloads any larger than what seem to be 1MB, which is not much info. I have had to resize every pic I take, downsizing them dramatically in order to make them manageable for our system. Anyway, enough of that, onto the fun!

I have soooo many pictures, I decided to do it by room. You are going to see several posts over the next few hours/days (depending on how cooperative said internet is) with varying themes. Today, it's the bathroom!

Our original plans called for my large whirlpool tub, but after pouring the foundation and having issues with tub placement, we realized filling this thing, and putting a shower curtain around it for Tony's showers, wasn't really feasible. So, we had to raise everything in the bathroom in order to accomodate both the whirlpool tub and shower. This gave a nice, long bathroom, particularly for the size of our house. This makes me smile because I like room to spread out when I'm "being a girl." I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and received the gift of bubbles from my father-in-law and his family! I absolutely LOVE a nice bubblebath, and Bath and Body Works products are not sold here so I was really excited to get them in the mail. So, here are some pics of our bathroom to date!

The bathroom before the upper walls were set. You can see most of it from this angle. It's actually 6 feet wide and 10 feet long! Love it!

Here you can see the upper wall treatment, which is an unfinished beadboard to go with the beadboard on the bottom, which will be painted. There will be a chair rail molding to go along the seam.

I love this faucet, which matches the tub faucet

Tongue in groove, what is on the ceiling in the rest of the house, is also in the ceiling in the bathroom. This is shortly after Tony installed the light fixture there as well

There will be tiles behind and around the tub area. Here are the main 4 inch tiles

This is an accent tile that will run through the main tiles

That's pretty much it for the bathroom! Not a lot has gone on with it in the last couple of weeks, other than the fact that it is quite functional, and makes me smile!

Test 2

2010-10-18T21:00:00.001-08:00

This is test 2

This concludes this test (I HOPE!)

test

2010-10-18T20:51:00.002-08:00

This is a test

Technical difficulties - I'm sorry!

2010-10-17T22:05:00.001-08:00

This is going to be a really short post! I don't know what the issue is, and I'm trying to work it out with Blogger, but I am unable to upload any pics to this site. Therefore, I have not been writing! I guess I should have let everyone know before now, but the back and forth with trying to fix the problem has taken much longer than I thought. I hope to have this worked out soon. Please be patient with me!

I'm getting to it!

2010-09-21T15:36:00.016-08:00

Yes, I know, I'm a slacker - come to Alaska and tell me all about it! I have gotten phone calls/emails/texts/IM's telling me I need to get with it, so here ya go - another building post! Seriously, I think it's great so many people are interested. I have gotten some really neat emails from folks from all over, telling me how they've been watching our progress. I just wish there were more hours in the day, or that I could generate these posts a little faster. They seem to take a large chunk of time I haven't had lately. The pictures are what everyone loves to see, and they upload ever-so-slowly. Oh well, enough complaining, and on to the good stuff!

I came home one day to find that Tony had installed my whirlpool tub. This thing is mack-daddied out, and I couldn't wait to try it! Tony offered to take pics, but I said no! You'll just have to settle for pics of the tub, WITHOUT me in it!

I hate showers - not bathing mind you - just showers. When I decided on getting this tub, I wanted to be able to sit in it and wash my hair. We purchased a regular shower/faucet kit, but Tony set it up so the shower handle will be well within reach when I'm sitting in the tub, rather than standing.

Originally we were going to have a shower/tub combo, like in most homes. But after discussing it, we decided to each have our own "area." Tony never takes baths, I hate showers, so with my whirlpool tub addition and no easy way to make it a shower, we decided to add a small shower to our bathroom. Because the foundation had already been laid, we had to modify things a bit in order to accommodate all the plumbing. Basically, this meant raising both the tub and shower platforms to accommodate the pipes. This is the riser Tony built for the shower stall.

I really like this sink. It will have the same bronze fixtures you saw on the shower.

Here is a view of the bathroom, minues walls, doors, paint, etc - you get the idea!

Here is a picture of the plumbing work going to the washer and dryer. Again, the flexible piping was used. We're trying to keep the copper to a minimum.

The access to the washer/dryer plumbing will actually be in the mudroom.

The washer and dryer will be next to the bathroom, but have it's own separate door and access.

I got a really great deal on the pair and have always wanted a front loader.

After Tony hooked up all the plumbing, I got to take it for a spin, literally!

This past weekend, Mike and Sam came to visit and help out. I was out and by the time I got home, they had nearly finished the decking on the front porch! I am really happy with the way it looks. Tony finished trimming the windows and door yesterday so that I can pain them soon - green, to match the roof.

Next, we move on to the kitchen. I have waffled more than you can know about the kitchen. I knew what I wanted as far as functionality goes; I just wasn't sure about colors and such. My friend Camille has been a great help and I couldn't have gotten this far without her, and her ability to listen to my issues via text and pic sharing on our Blackberries! The cabinets will be a barn red, as I have said before. I finally desided on a mottled beige countertop. We picked it up this past weekend and Tony installed it.

A better look at the coloring.

Tony had installed the base cabinets in order to set the countertops, and today we installed the wall cabinets. I have started removing door and drawer fronts for painting, and will paint the rest in position. I think it's going to look great! Tile will be next!

I even have an island!

We have had hard frosts for over a week now at night. It has been getting down into the 20's. We have a ton of trees on our property we can use as firewood, but our desire to get a roof over our heads kept us from working on chopping wood. We have some we cut, but a lot of it is green and can't be used quite yet. We bought some wood, gathered more from dead trees on the property. This is one of our stacks of logs. We have two others we need to merge with this one. We pretty much just piled it up closest to where we took it down.

Wood stove heat will be our main heat, but we have a Toyo stove as a backup. It runs on fuel oil. We have the fuel oil tank set up and a local company delivered fuel for it yesterday. We ran it as a backup last night, letting the wood stove go cold so as to check it out, and it works great!

Today, along with handing cabinets, it was wall construction time. The wall in front of the bathroom/laundry alcove/mudroom needed to go up. There are three doors in this area. First, Tony makes his cuts outside on the deck.

Next, he constructs the wall on the living room floor (the only place there is room!)

A view of two of the doorways

Tony setting the wall in place

I helped with the setting of the cabinets today, but Tony worked on the walls while I worked on this. One of the other things I've been doing a lot of is canning. We were given a bunch of veggies, which I made into several jars of pickled vegetables. I'm going to make another batch, spicy this time, with jalapenos in it.

Peaches were on sale for a ridiculously low price so while I was in the mood, I canned some peaches as well - some with cranberries and cinnamon, and some just plain peaches.

Well, that's about all I can manage now. I'll try to be better - promise!

Bristol Palin has a fan page on facebook!

2010-09-14T21:46:00.006-08:00

Bristol has a fan page on facebook. For those interested in following her on "Dancing with the Stars," click here, or click on the image on my right sidebar to become a fan! Please tell your friends to become a fan too. Let's show Bristol how excited we are for her!

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas - First footage of their practice together!!

2010-09-14T11:41:00.004-08:00

This is great footage! Short, but gives you a glimpse into what it's like to practice for Dancing With The Stars! You can tell this is new for Bristol, and the comfort level is not quite there yet, but she also seems to do a really nice job with her footwork when they are practicing dancing together! Check it out!

Sept. 11 events in Alaska: Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Joe Miller

2010-09-12T16:12:00.020-08:00

Yesterday was an eventful day throughout the United States, because on this day 9 years ago, America and it's people were changed forever. "Time heals all wounds" is the saying, but the wounds are still fresh for many of us, especially for those who lost loved ones on that fateful day. Alaskans, like the rest of America, spent the day honoring and remembering those sacrifices and reflecting on what it means to be an American in the Great State of Alaska.

The early part of this day found me wishing I was somewhere else. My email, facebook and Blackberry were buzzing with the two planned events of the day all of my friends were attending without me - the "Standing Strong For America" rally put on by the Conservative Patriots Group, the most active Tea Party group in the state of Alaska, and the Glen Beck event to be held in Anchorage later that evening. I spent the morning texting and calling friends while on a road trip to Fairbanks. I was over 400 miles away and would not be able to attend either event. Everyone was excited and as the morning wore into the afternoon, I found myself feeling more disconnected from everything that was going on. Then, I had a reality check.

In a parking lot in Fairbanks was a car, a PT Cruiser, with murals painted on all sides and the back. It was a private vehicle honoring Marines and on one side was the picture of a Marine saluting at a funeral. It hit me at that moment, on this day, that my desire to attend these events and be with friends had overshadowed the importance of the day itself. This is a day to hold sacred, to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and to never forget. I will never forget and let us pray this nation will always remember. In that spirit, and in remembrance, I'd like to share these images and thoughts, with the help of Julie Gillette. Julie is the current president of the Valley Republican Women's Club, the club I was president of until late June of this year when I relocated. Julie has done a wonderful job as club president. She is a true patriot, a female veteran like myself, a mother and wife, and I am grateful for her help with this post and most of all, her friendship.

The "Standing Strong For America" Rally in Wasilla, Alaska

This rally was held at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Complex in Wasilla, Alaska. Sponsored by the Conservative Patriots Group (CPG), it was billed as a non-partisan event to remember and honor the significance of the day. Several groups were invited and attended the event. According to Julie, Alaska Senate Candidate Scott McAdams was invited but did not return calls to CPG and was not in attendance. The Valley Republican Women's Club (VRWC) was in attendance, however, and had a table with information which was manned by several board members to include Carol Doner, Julie Gillette, Carol Ryan, and Jill Frost (pictured below).

Various media outlets speculated there were about 300 in attendance, but according to Julie Gillette, the actual number was around 450. "There were 400 chairs set up and they were full and there were a few people standing in the back as well as the volunteers," said Julie. I'm not surprised considering the fact that conservative event attendance numbers are often downplayed by the mainstream media. Here is a photo from the Anchorage Daily News confirming Julie's standing room only account:

The event began with a singing of the National Anthem by Adele Morgan, a very talented local artist (seen here with Julie's husband Glen).

Dick Stoffel led the Pledge of Allegience and then CPG President Jen Bettine kicked things off. Glen Beigel spoke briefly and then Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright spoke of his military service and reminded everyone never to forget the events of this day in history. Joe Miller then took the stage. According to the Anchorage Daily News report (ADN), "Miller said the nation was attacked on Sept. 11 'because we're American.' He said the U.S. is a threat to its enemies because of its 'exceptionalism,' its freedoms and constitutional restraint of government.

'We as a nation have been activated. We've been activated through 9/11. We're now activated in a political sense,' Miller said. 'We see a movement across the United States right now that is moving this country in a direction that restores foundations, that restores constitutional principles and makes us proud to be Americans again.'"

Sarah Palin was then introduced as a surprise speaker, to the crowd's delight. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for not just welcoming me in my hometown but for being who you are, true patriots holding on to time-tested truths. Knowing some basic principles that again the rest of America I think can learn from so many Alaskans who believe this -- those time-tested truths that are based on the government that governs least governs best," Palin said (according to the ADN report

The mood of those in attendance was described by Julie:

"There were definitely a few tears through the slide show and silence as people relived the day of the attacked. The bagpipes and the timing of playing them at the end of the slide show left many with wet eyes. I was hanging in there until he started playing. Adele Morgan’s beautiful rendition of the National Anthem was amazing. It also created some watery eyes. Mood was mostly positive and upbeat, especially when Joe Miller and Sarah Palin spoke."

The event lasted about 2 hours and then Julie described a special moment for herself and her husband Glenn:

"I had Glenn take a picture of us at the table before it got really busy. We were not initially going to try to get pictures with Sarah because she was swarmed with people. After the crowd died down, someone motioned to Carol Ryan that we should run over and get pictures before she left. Glenn has taken several pictures of me or our group with Sarah over the past 10 years. He finally got one for himself. We’re so glad to have had the opportunity because she was not able to stick around for the Glenn Beck Meet & Greet, she had a plane to catch."

I agree with Julie in that the CPG did an amazing job putting on this event. Here is the picture with the group, and with Julie's husband Glenn. Also included is an ADN photo of Joe Miller Speaking to Glenn.

(Courtesy ADN)

Finally, video courtesy of the Alaska Dispatch:

Glenn Beck comes to Anchorage

Alaska conservatives and Glenn Beck supporters were anxious to see Beck in Anchorage. The doors to the Dena'ina Center were opened and thousands of people who were standing in a line that wrapped around the building, started to file in. Julie said she saw many people she knew, but also many new faces in the crowd of attendees. Kristan Cole, who tweeted earlier that she had been invited to sit with the family, was up front, along with Sarah's mother Sally Heath and other family members. Chuck Heath was not present, however. According to Sally, he was moose hunting! (it is the season here in Alaska).

There were also a few protesters. "They hid behind masks and some blamed George Bush for 9/11. As a retired Air Force member, that loses me everytime," said Julie. "There was a lady with a sign saying not to vote for Joe Miller but she was peaceful and we told her what makes this country great is she has the right to hold that sign." She also described the reactions of those waiting in line to get in to these protesters. "The people around me either ignored them or laughed but it was that laughter followed by the sentiment that we knew these guys would get more press than the actual event. There was a reporter in the room that we heard say to another reporter, 'Look at all these fanatics!'"

First Sarah introduced Glenn, they spoke together, and then Glenn spoke. The mood during the presentation was generally upbeat and acknowledging. "(There was)Cheering, heads nodding in agreement. Eagerness for information, quiet, you could hear a pin drop when he spoke of serious issues and applause to take the roof off when he spoke of smaller government and us taking care of our neighbors so the government doesn’t have to," said Julie.

Near the beginning of the event, as can be seen in one of the clips below, there was a heckler. It has been widely reported that conservative radio talk show host, and former Republican candidate for Lt. Governor, Eddie Burke assisted in "removing" this disruptive attendee. I spoke with Eddie earlier this evening and he gave me his version of the event:

"I was sitting in the front row one seat from the aisle, in front of the stage and Sarah as she was speaking. There were a lot of people coming forward and snapping pictures and then going back to their seats, so at first I didn't really pay much attention to this woman. She appeared to be in her 30's. I'm not sure exactly where she came from, but she stood there and then yelled out "You're a hippocrit!" directly to Sarah. Everyone started booing her. I was within arm's reach of her and the booing was so loud I couldn't hear what else she said, but she was still talking. I stood up and moved toward her, and to use one of Sarah's lines from one of her speeches, I said 'Quit making things up!' At that point, Sarah pointed to me and said 'Thanks Eddie. Eddie Burke, folks.' Security came and they escorted her out. I got a kick out of Sarah's comment about us all knowing each other here, and then Beck made the reply about it being like a high school gymnasium. Afterward, many people came up to me and shook my hand. Many of them asked me when I would be back on the radio and told me that they missed my show. Even more folks commented that they voted for me in the recent election. It was, I have to say, pretty humbling."

Joe Miller was also in the crowd and up front with Sarah and family. Per Julie, "Many times the crowd yelled out 'Joe Miller will get us back on the right path.' Sarah mentioned he was there and there was huge applause for Joe. She promoted him, but the crowd also yelled his name when discussing solutions to America’s problems."

I asked Julie what Glenn Beck's main message was:

"Faith – find a religion and be grounded with the Creator. Hope – we can turn things around but each one of us has the duty and responsibility to make that happen and it is hard work. Don’t sit on the couch channel surfing. Get out there and serve. That brought is to Charity, tithe, join a church and tithe. Serve your neighbors. We are the largest contributors as a Country, we give more than all other countries combined. Give so the people are not owned by the government. And, did I mention he really doesn’t like Woodrow Wilson?"

Here are a few of Julie's photos from the Glenn Beck event:

A packed house, again despite media reports

Gayle Ann, Julie, and Eddie Burke

Julie, Sally Heath, and Gayle Ann

Glenn and Sarah

Glenn during his presentation

There was a meet and greet with Glenn Beck afterward. Julie and Eddie both described their experience. Per Julie,

"Each person got about 30 seconds with him and there were about 250 people. He was so exhausted. I was in the last group. Poor guy had flown all this distance, spoke all night brilliantly, then had to sign his name 250 times. He made sure he personally shook everyone’s hand. I was given two challenges, one to get a picture of him wearing a club shirt. Well, 30 seconds did not allow that so I decided instead to just give him the shirt for an autograph to be used for fundraising. So,the consolation prize was to have him in a picture with the shirt. The other challenge was to get a picture between my 2 favorite Glenns. That was a no brainer! I did tell him I was president (of the club) and that Sarah and her family were inspiring and that I appreciate him including her tonight."

For Eddie, it was also a brief encounter. "I'm a member of AA and so is he (Beck)... He said. "It saved my life." I responded, "Mine too."

Julie said for her, it was the best day ever. "I was surrounded by American patriots. It gives me hope for a bright future. I met and got pictures with my 2 favorite rock stars, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. Our Founding Fathers live in the people I was privileged to participate with today. It was an honor to be part of the CPG event and an honor to shake the hand of a man that is willing to take a stand."

Although I was not there, I am grateful for the friendships events like these have brought me, and they help me remember what being an American is all about. Faith, Family, Freedom. What more does one need?

Below are a couple of videos that have already been widely circulated on the internet. They are from Nina Stone, a facebook friend of mine who was gracious enough to allow me to use these, even before they went viral. Nina is a talented writer, and I know there are many of you out there who are interested in all things Alaskan. Here is a link to her latest Alaskan novel, On The Wings Of Love. Please check it out!

Video of Sarah's introduction of Glenn Beck

Video of Sarah and Glenn, including the moment with that wonderful heckler

Sarah Palin at the "Standing Strong for America" Rally

2010-09-11T20:14:00.004-08:00

I was not able to attend the Conservative Patriots Group event that was held today in Wasilla, Alaska. It was a 9/11 Rememberance Rally titled "Standing Strong for America." The keynote/special guest speaker was Alaska Senate Candidate Joe Miller. Sarah Palin also attended the event and spoke. Here is a short video clip from the Alaska Dispatch:

I will have more on the CPG event and the Glenn Beck event soon!

The Forgotten Man

2010-09-09T16:57:00.004-08:00

Seth Adam Smith has put some amazing videos together that I have used in the past, but his most recent work has to be one of the most moving things I've ever seen. Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck have both made reference to it, and it has gone viral on the internet. If you've seen this clip, please follow the link to the story behind this work. If you haven't already viewed it, prepared to be moved.

"The Forgotten Man – Jon McNaughton

Against the background of a darkening sky, all of the past Presidents of the United States gather before the White House, as if to commemorate some great event. In the left hand corner of the painting sits a man. That man, with his head bowed appears distraught and hopeless as he contemplates his future. Some of the past Presidents try to console him while looking in the direction of the modern Presidents as if to say, “What have you done?” Many of these modern Presidents, seemingly oblivious to anything other than themselves, appear to be congratulating each other on their great accomplishments. In front of the man, paper trash is blowing in the wind. Crumpled dollar bills, legislative documents, and, like a whisper—the U.S.Constitution beneath the foot of Barack Obama.

"The Forgotten Man" by artist Jon McNaughton

A political storm has been brewing for the past few years and I believe that this painting is the first clear lightning bolt.

Why is Obama Stepping on the Constitution?

Is such an image unwarranted? As Jon clearly states, the painting of Barack Obama stepping on the Constitution is representative of not only Obama’s actions, but of the actions of past Presidents. Nevertheless, Jon has taken great pains to list out several reasons why and how Obama has violated the Constitution.

Some people will reject this painting, claiming that a President would never blatantly disregard the Constitution in such a way. You’re right. No President would ever want something like that on his record. So when it comes down to it, it’s really death by a thousand cuts..."

Please, follow this link and read Seth's entire post. For those who might not understand why so many people are upset, and why the tea party is so popular, this post articulates very well what many of us are thinking and feeling about our current administration.

Lisa Murkowski needs to respect the process

2010-09-08T20:40:00.003-08:00

A lot has been said and written about the Republican US Senate race in Alaska. The two candidates, incumbent Lisa Murkowski and conservative newcomer Joe Miller, ran spirited campaigns. On election night, Alaskans chose Joe Miller. It was a close race, but a few days later, Lisa Murkowski conceded. Unfortunately, Murkowski is still trying to figure out a way to stay "in the game." As voters in this great state, we go to the polls to vote for those we wish to represent us. Murkowski claims she has had an "outpouring of support" SINCE the election. I say this - where was that support on election day? If voters really wanted her in office, they would have marked the little box next to her name on election day.

I received an email this evening from Debbie Joslin. She is Republican National Committeewoman for the State of Alaska, and President of the Eagle Forum Alaska. She is also my neighbor here in Delta Junction, Alaska. In this email, Debbie articulates very well how many Republican voters feel. We, as voters, followed the process and cast our votes. Murkowski now needs to follow the process and honor the will of the people. Please read Debbie's email below:

"Report to Alaska Republicans, September 8, 2010

Dear Friends:

The rules of the Alaska Republican Party require that all statewide officers refrain from publicly endorsing candidates pre-primary. We are past the primary now and find ourselves with a full slate of Republicans to work with for victory in November.

My own House race here in District 12 is very close, with the apparent winner, Eric Feige, only 7 votes ahead of Don Haase. Pete Fellman is in third place; 9 votes under Haase. There may be a recount in that race. However, whatever the outcome, the winner is the Republican nominee and will be supported by our party and our party officers. Those who lost in this race will concede and support the winner.

This may not be the case in the U.S. Senate race where incumbent Lisa Murkowski is telling the press she is still in the race she lost on August 24. There is talk that Senator Murkowski may run as a write in candidate to oppose the winner of the primary, Joe Miller. Contested primaries are ALWAYS contentious on some level or another. Candidates are emotionally, financially, politically vested in their campaigns. Emotions run high and egos higher still. Our respect for the rule of law and the will of the voters requires us to bow out gracefully once we have lost a race. I will expect that from Don Haase and Pete Fellman, should Eric Feige survive a recount. I certainly expect that from Lisa Murkowski. If she had bested Joe Miller in the primary, she would rightfully expect him to concede and endorse her. Conceding gracefully and endorsing your opponent is the way civilized countries do things. There is a clear process for becoming the nominee of our party. Senator Murkowski lost in that process and she should honor the decision of the voters. The primary voter turnout is always lower than in the general election. That does not negate the value of a win by your opponent. Senator Murkowski won six years ago in the primary and her opponent endorsed her. I urge Lisa Murkowski to understand that the rules DO apply to her and to bow out gracefully. If she runs a write in campaign, she becomes the Charlie Crist of the north and she risks handing the seat to the Democrats. She also hurts all of our candidates for the state legislature if she continues on this path.

I wholeheartedly endorse Joe Miller for U.S. Senate and I urge all Republicans and independents to rally behind our candidate and support him every way they can. Joe Miller is the people’s choice and he is the party’s choice. Please go to www.joemiller.us and donate to Joe’s campaign and sign up to help Joe win in November."

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas - Performers and Advocates

2010-09-08T15:38:00.008-08:00

(photo courtesy of markballas.com and Dancing with the Stars)

As many of you are aware, Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, will be on this season's "Dancing With The Stars." I've been following this since it's announcement through online sources and friends. As you may also know, Bristol is the spokesperson for the Candies Foundation and speaks on Teen Pregnancy. Here is her latest PSA:

Her partner, professional dancer Mark Ballas, has been on the show for several seasons and was paired with Kristi Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson, both of whom won. Any of you who know me know I am a figure skating and gymnastic junkie, so I did have a chance to see Mark "in action" and am looking forward to what he and Bristol can accomplish together. What I wasn't aware of is how talented this young man is. He sings, he dances, he's a musician - a very well rounded performer. But what about the man?

Because so much negative press surrounds everything the Palins do, I was a little apprehensive, wondering what the person was like that Bristol would be paired with. I found a link to his facebook page and website and have been following it. That leads me to the reason for the title of this post.

This young man has a story to tell. The story is about his uncle who committed suicide one night while his family was watching Mark perform. He talks about his love for his uncle, his uncle's love for his daughter, and the guilt the whole family felt upon his passing. Mark's mother, after encouragement from Mark himself, decided to hold a fundraiser on her birthday to raise money and awareness for the cause of suicide prevention.

Please follow this link to read the entire story. In it you will find information about AFSP (the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention), how to recognize when someone is depressed, and how you can help.

Mark Ballas and Bristol Palin have their advocacy efforts in common. I know Bristol is a smart, sweet, funny girl and a wonderful mother. I'm glad Mark is her partner and I wish both of them the best in their dancing and personal endeavors.

We have internet at the house now

2010-09-06T17:59:00.020-08:00

Yes, it is true - we have internet! I can now post all our comings and going, from the house. Now, I know I've been away for a bit. My father flew in from Ohio a couple of weeks ago and we had a really great time. I was really busy with his visit, and I'll post more about that separately, but for now I wanted to tell you what's been going on with our building project.

The week before my father came, we started doing work on the inside of the house. Mike came and helped us again. I went to town and he and Tony worked on insulation. Our rafters are 12 inches thick so that is the thickness of the insulation.

A couple of days after my father arrived, he and I drove to Wasilla for a week to see Nick and Josh, leaving Tony to his own devices! He got quite a bit done while I was gone! (maybe I should leave more often???)

The outside has 6 inches of foam layered. The foam boards are 2 inches thick, and so the first foam board goes in with a nail and large washer. The second and third layers go on with screws and larger washers. A firring strip (thin wood plank) is add so that the final siding can be attached to this and not the foam. Here you can see the layers of foam board, the screws and washers, and the firring strips.

Finally, he added the siding which is T1-11 with no treatment on it. We will be staining/painting this so that it will look like wood siding.

We went with Hughesnet Satellite internet, which is really the only option here. The guy from Hughesnet came while I was gone and he and Tony hooked up the dish on the side of the house

Tony started the wall that will divide the bedroom and mudroom/entryway.

He also started the half wall that will divide the bedroom and living room.

He also started working on the vaulted areas of the ceiling, which are tongue-in-groove knotty pine.

After dad and I returned, we started working on getting the wood heat stove working. Fall is here and it's pretty chilly at night! First, we had to build a base for the wood stove to sit on. Dad enjoyed this I think, because he used to work in the concrete business

After the mortar had a day to set, we placed the wood stove on it. Then, Tony cut a hole in the roof for the chimney stack

Next, he attached the insulated stack piping inside through the ceiling

In the meantime, dad and I worked on putting the stack together so Tony could fish it through the hole and attach everything

Finally, Tony and dad attached the piping inside and now the stove was ready for it's first burn!

One of the things I wanted to do was make a stone hearth, so this is what we worked on next. First, we set stones to fill in the large gaps and covered them with more mortar.

After that had set a bit, we added more mortar and then I placed all the stones in. I spent a couple of days picking the stones I wanted from a large pile we had. I am really pleased with the way it turned out and once I put the wet-look sealant on it, it is going to look fabulous!

Also while I was gone, Tony went to Fairbanks and picked up a few things, including my kitchen cabinets. They are unfinished and I am going to paint them a barn red, which I think will look great with the pine walls and white sink and appliances.

The color my cabinets will be. It's a bit brighter on here because of the flash

Here is what one of the doors I started painting looks like. Again, the color appears brighter because of the flash.

Another thing we picked up was the on demand hot water heater. Tony started installing it over the holiday weekend, only to find that we are in need of one fitting, so it will have to wait until this week sometime to be finished. I am so looking forward to hot water.

We also picked up the washer and dryer. I was soooo happy. I found a matching set, stackable, front loading washer and dryer for $878 for both pieces! Talk about a deal! Alas, they are still in the box waiting on water in and sewage out, but I'll be able to wash from home soon.

I guess that's about it for now. Quite a lot, I'd say! It's starting to look like a home and I am having fun choosing where things go, and what color they will be. Anything but brown! (Tony's favorite decorating color!)

Support Hannah in the JDRF Diabetes Walk for a Cure!

2010-09-05T16:02:00.004-08:00

My cousin Keith sent this out. His daughter has type I diabetes. He posted this on his facebook page as one of his favorite quotes:

"I guess I'll just have to focus on the positive and not the unpositive." - Hannah Pagett
(After she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and it was explained to her, she
cried for a while, wiped her eyes and said that out of the blue. Toughest kid on the face of the earth!)

Hannah needs your help! She is hoping to raise $500 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Even if you can only donate $5, please consider helping Hannah reach her goal! Follow this link to donate! Tell them Tracey sent you! Here is more info from her donation page:

Hello! This year, I'll be taking part in JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes, along with one-half million other walkers across the country, as we try to reach our goal of raising $90 million.

Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, is a devastating disease that affects millions of people, a large and growing percentage of them children.

There is some good news, though. JDRF is our best hope for finding a cure. It funds more type 1 diabetes research than any other charity worldwide and it's making progress along many promising paths toward better treatments and a cure.

Now, more than ever, you can make a crucial difference. Won't you please give to JDRF as generously as possible? Together, we can make the cure a reality!

Motherhood - The true form of feminism

2010-09-04T15:08:00.004-08:00

I've never completely understood modern feminism. I remember growing up in the 60's and the notion of feminism taught to me involved becoming independent and doing your own thing, separate from a man. So many women have been sold a bad rap, a bad bill of goods, believing that their only way of achieving "success" is to be independent of men.

What is success anyway? Maybe the twisted feministic logic of today is wrapped up in that very question. Remember that old saying, "he who dies with the most toys, wins?" If a woman defines success as only monetary, or status, then one could see how feminism and punching through that glass ceiling somehow came to be. I believe women can achieve monetary success and status among men and women and still be a mother, but to what level? Something has got to give. Often, men who are seen as being successful leave the family, including the wife, in their wake. Greed and a desire to "die with the most toys" destroys many families, whether it be the man or the woman who is "successful."

What I have realized since becoming a mother is that there is no greater fulfilling journey in life than raising decent human beings. Success, by my definition, does not involve a lot of money or status. It involves the creation of life and seeing this young life grow into a great person, spiritually and morally.

I liked the movie "The Color Purple." To me it showed how strong a woman can be and how she can endure anything. To me, it was not about the travesties of motherhood. If that was the author's intent, she missed her mark with me. Maybe I just don't "get it," but then again, I would never define myself as a modern feminist.

Here is a wonderful article that really struck a chord with me. It was written by the daughter of the author of "The Color Purple" and in it she describes her mother's twisted logic and how she overcame her mother's feminist teachings to become truly successful, as a mother.

How my mother's fanatical views tore us apart

By Rebecca Walker

She's revered as a trail-blazing feminist and author Alice Walker touched the lives of a generation of women. A champion of women's rights, she has always argued that motherhood is a form of servitude. But one woman didn't buy in to Alice's beliefs - her daughter, Rebecca, 38.

Here the writer describes what it was like to grow up as the daughter of a cultural icon, and why she feels so blessed to be the sort of woman 64-year-old Alice despises - a mother.

The other day I was vacuuming when my son came bounding into the room. 'Mummy, Mummy, let me help,' he cried. His little hands were grabbing me around the knees and his huge brown eyes were looking up at me. I was overwhelmed by a huge surge of happiness.

I love the way his head nestles in the crook of my neck. I love the way his face falls into a mask of eager concentration when I help him learn the alphabet. But most of all, I simply love hearing his little voice calling: 'Mummy, Mummy.'

It reminds me of just how blessed I am. The truth is that I very nearly missed out on becoming a mother - thanks to being brought up by a rabid feminist who thought motherhood was about the worst thing that could happen to a woman.

You see, my mum taught me that children enslave women. I grew up believing that children are millstones around your neck, and the idea that motherhood can make you blissfully happy is a complete fairytale.

To read the entire article, please follow this link.

We did it! Joe Miller is the Republican Candidate in the 2010 general election in Alaska!

2010-08-31T18:39:00.003-08:00

I was doing a Palin Promotions Blogtalk Radio Interview when it was announced that current Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski would be holding a press conference. Senator Murkowski has conceded, and Joe Miller will go on to the general election for Alaska Senator! I am so pleased and want to thank all of you who had a part in helping this worthy campaign. But, the work's not over yet! Go to Joe Miller's website to find out how you can help!

Here are a couple of links to stories posted on Joe's facebook page:

Murkowski Concedes Senate Race in Alaska

Murkowski concession ends well-funded re-election campaign

It's all happening so fast now!

2010-08-19T14:19:00.008-08:00

For a while there, I was musing about how long things were taking. Now I have to review my previous posts just so that I know what to write about! It seems like so much is happening so fast, and yet I feel that winter is fast approaching. Fall has always been my favorite season but in Alaska, it is way too short. It seems that no sooner have the leaves started to turn, than they have all fallen and snow is fast on its heels. Tuesday as we were driving home from Fairbanks, I saw the first hints of autumn. Some of the leaves on the trees lining our neighbors fields were turning. Two days later, many more are starting to turn. As I drove in, I saw the tell-tale "V" formation of geese headed toward the Canadian border and warmer climates. We have had winds the last couple of days that have blown in colder weather as well. We have come a long way, but there is still much to do, and it's getting cold at night! Last night was a 9 layer night (3 layers of clothing and 6 layers of blankets). Now, of course, I'm only talking about myself. Tony is still at 2 layers (2 thin blankets). That man actually produces heat. He jokes that we're a good match because he produces all the heat and I manage to suck it all out of him just by touching him!

Anyway, back to building. We managed to get the septic in. We had some really strong winds blow through and of course, they were on the days we needed to dig out the hole for the septic tank and field. Ever try to place an 800 lb septic tank in a 15 foot hole, in high winds, in sandy soil that constantly caves in? The tank was swinging wildly so I didn't get a whole lot of pics of this operation. It involved Tony digging the hole for the tank, placing large straps under it, hoisting it up with the backhoe and placing it at exactly the right place in a hole he couldn't see in. The fun part was when the thing was swinging in the breeze and broke loose. It took quite a while to get it hooked up again. Another attempt and we nearly lost it again. Because it was swinging, it would hit the sides of the hole and the straps would come loose. Finally, Tony looked at me and said, "I need your help."

"OooooK, what do I have to do?" I say as he stands there with his arm over my shoulder giving me that "you're my buddy, right?" look. He said I had two choices - go down in the hole and guide the tank into position, or operate the backhoe while he was in the hole. Man, what choices. He was serious - I could have done either. So, do I wanna be in the hole when that strap comes loose and plants me under that tank, or do I wanna be at the controls when the same thing happens to Tony???? I said I didn't care, so he put me at the controls of the backhoe. Fortunately, all turned out well. I was able to operate the backhoe without much difficulty, positioning the tank into place as Tony guided it left and right. I felt a sense of accomplishment when we were done, but I NEVER want to do that again!

After the tank placement came more fun. This time, I got to go down in the hole as he dug the lines for the septic field. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but consider that it's very sandy, the wind is blowing so hard I felt like I was in a sandstorm and couldn't see anything, and Tony is at the controls of the backhoe and can't hear or see me because of all the wind and sand. I have never been so dirty! I had sand everywhere on my body. It permeated my clothing and I had to wash my hair twice and still didn't get it all out. Check - another thing accomplished.

Now that the septic was done, Tony moved on to other things. We purchased lines and a regulator so that we could hook my cook stove to a propane bottle from the grill, and now I am able to cook on my stove! What a blessing! I can bake too! Then, Tony moved on to plumbing. He is installing flex line so we don't have to mess with copper pipes. My sink came in and I made a temporary base for it as Tony ran the water lines. He installed a pressure tank and filter system and started running lines to the toilet, which he made a temporary base for and installed. Mike came from Fairbanks last night and when I left this morning, they were hard at work running plumbing lines and finishing that up. They are also going to start on insulating. Tony hadn't decided before I left if he was doing the inside or outside insulation, so I guess it will be a surprise when I get there.

Tony in "the hole"

Strapping up and moving the tank

The first attempt at positioning the tank

That pink spot in the center of the pic is me, in "the hole"

The "Deltabilly" truck, back from another run to Fairbanks with my cook stove, sink, and plumbing supplies, as well as food.

Me and my apron front sink. I have wanted one of these things for soooooo long. It is going to be gorgeous in my country kitchen

My new apron front sink in it's temporary home, until we get the cabinets

My propane stove cooking it's first meal - fried pork chops and fried potatoes and onions. I felt "southern" last night

The potty in it's temporary home

The pressure tank and filtration system

Mike, sleeping - he is a college student after all! Seriously though, he has been a big help and I'm always glad when he comes

My dad will be flying in Saturday from Ohio for a two week stay. We will be traveling to Wasilla to visit the boys and I get to see some of my friends that I dearly miss. Tony will stay and when we get back, dad is going to help me put in the stone hearth for the wood stove and paint my kitchen cabinets. They will be gorgeous! Watch for some pics about those events soon.

The other night we had an absolutely amazing sunset. I will leave you with a few of those images - until next time!

It's starting to feel like a house

2010-08-14T12:03:00.002-08:00

We have been in the house (shell) for nearly a week now. It's starting to feel more and more like a house! We have accomplished so much in these past few days. Early in the week we picked up the shower stall and toilet with the intention of renting a backhoe and putting in the septic. The state has been working on the roads here and has all the equipment rented. They said it would be 2 weeks before we could get the backhoe, so Tony decided to switch gears and work on power. He went to Fairbanks on Tuesday and rented a Ditch With, then he spent all day Tuesday and into the evening digging a trench over 300 feet long from the house to the transformer/meter pole at the road. He laid the wire and hooked it up, and we now have power! We have one outlet hooked up and two temporary lights, but it's power.

Again, my husband ended up doing most of the work. I was out there with him, on my hands and knees laying the lines in the trench, when I saw our neighbor from across the road walking up our drive hunched over. He has a medical condition and long story short, he needed to get to the doctor quickly. He is an old sourdough Alaskan who lives alone in something just a little bigger than our shed, has no power and no car and no phone. He asked if I could drive him to the clinic. So I loaded him up and off we went to the clinic. Everything turned out okay, but 3 hours had passed and Tony was nearly done by the time I got back. What a job that was! He was exhausted. That day we also had delivered all of our insulation, both inside and out. There is a new building technique we're trying which is recommended by the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks. We will have 6 inches of tranditional fiberglass insulation on the inside, and a plastic vapor barrier and 6 inches of foam insulation on the outside. That, along with wood for the ceiling, was delivered. We had received that load earlier in the day and after that was done, we needed to get it all in the house so it wouldn't get wet. We were definitely ready for bed after that day!

On the trip back to Fairbanks to return the Ditch Witch, we picked up a refrigerator and it is now humming along in the house. I cannot tell you how glad I am about that. Every other day since we got here I have made a 50 mile round trip just to get ice for the coolers to keep the little bit of food we had on hand cold. Now I don't have to make that trip anymore! It's also nice to have a couple of lights in the house. We also stopped at a fireplace store and picked up our wood stove. I really like the design of it - it has big bay windows in front, and a good sized firebox which will make it easier to get the logs in. The firebox in our last stove was smaller and I would always burn myself trying to get the logs in. I'm a klutz so I'll probably still get burned, but this one should be easier to manage.

As I write this, Tony is working on the septic. The backhoe rental place had a cancellation and called us yesterday, so they delivered the backhoe as I was pulling out this morning. Hopefully we will have our septic complete by the end of this weekend!

My indoor kitchen area

The outdoor kitchen area with grill

Tony laying the cable at the house. We had 3 big spools with 330 feet each on them

Some of the lines I laid in the trench

Our truck loaded with sewer pipe, our toilet, and shower stall

Our shower stall. It's small because Tony is the only one who likes to take showers and he doesn't care how big or fancy it is! I LOVE my baths. As we speak, my whirlpool bathtub is on a barge headed for Alaska, along with my kitchen apron front sink. It will be so pretty!

Now I just can't wait until this thing is in place! It's the little things, ya know?

Insulation delivery

Our new frig

The wood stove

The fuse box - it will have more in it soon

Tony hooking it all up

The refrigerator, loaded and powered up. Look - lights!!!!!

The blueberries are pretty much done, and I was able to can a couple of jars (that Tony didn't eat!). Now, I've moved on to the cranberries and rose hips that are growing on the property. They are much easier to pick, and much more abundant. I spent an hour yesterday and was able to get a large bowl full of rose hips and lowbush cranberries, as well as a few crowberries that sneaked in. I wasn't aware I had crowberries until I saw them while picking the cranberries. I don't have many but there are some.

My bounty

Up close - mostly cranberries

Crowberries

A pint of blueberries

Now I have to get going - I have to finish laundry, get some groceries, and I have a radio interview I'm doing on a conservative radio station in the midwest here in a bit! So busy! Later!

Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens killed in plane crash

2010-08-10T11:12:00.002-08:00

No doubt many have heard of this tragic event. Time and lack of internet bandwidth do not allow me to post at length now, so I will just lead you to this article. Please watch my blog in the coming days for a more indepth article. My prayers go out to all those on board and their families.

Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens dies in plane crash

By BECKY BOHRER, Associated Press Writer Becky Bohrer, Associated Press Writer

JUNEAU, Alaska – A plane carrying former Sen. Ted Stevens and eight others crashed in remote southwest Alaska, killing the longtime Republican lawmaker and four other people, authorities said Tuesday.

Ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe was also believed to be aboard, but it was unclear whether he was among the dead.

Stevens' family has been notified that the 86-year-old was among those killed in the crash Monday night, family spokesman Mitch Rose told The Associated Press.

Rescuers arrived on helicopter early Tuesday and were giving medical care to survivors, Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said. He offered no additional details, except that there were potential fatalities.

[see video by following link above)

Alaska officials reported that nine people were aboard the aircraft and that "it appears that there are five fatalities," NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz told The Associated Press in Washington.

Lopatkiewicz said the NTSB is sending a team to the crash site outside Dillingham, located in northern Bristol Bay about 325 miles southwest of Anchorage. The aircraft is a DeHavilland DHC-3T registered to Anchorage-based GCI.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane took off at 2 p.m. Monday from a GCI corporate site on Lake Nerka, heading to the Agulowak Lodge on Lake Aleknagik. He didn't know if that was the final destination or a refueling stop.

The GCI lodge is made of logs and sits on a lake, and photos show a stately main lodge room with a large imposing stone fireplace, a leather sofa and a mounted caribou head on the wall.

Fergus said the plane was flying by visual flight rules, and was not required to file a flight plan.

Stevens and O'Keefe are fishing buddies and the former senator had been planning a fishing trip near Dillingham, friend William Canfield said. The flights at Dillingham are often perilous through the mountains, even in good weather.

Hayes said the Guard was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham around 7 p.m. Monday after a passing aircraft saw the downed plane. But severe weather has hampered search and rescue efforts.

The National Weather Service reported rain and fog, with low clouds and limited visibility early Tuesday. Conditions ranged from visibility of about 10 miles reported at Dillingham shortly before 7 p.m. Monday to 3 miles, with rain and fog later.

At least three crash victims were being airlifted to Anchorage, Guard spokeswoman Kalei Brooks Rupp said. She said volunteers hiked into the crash site Monday night and provided medical aid until rescuers arrived.

Lawmakers, officials in both national parties and residents in Alaska were awaiting news of Stevens' fate.

The moderate Republican was appointed to the Senate in 1968 and served longer than any other Republican in history. He was beloved as a tireless advocate for Alaska's economic interests.

The White House said Obama administration officials were closely watching news out of Alaska.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked Alaskans to join her in prayer for all those aboard the aircraft and their families, as did Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. He called the plane crash tragic.

Begich's father, Nick Begich, who was Alaska's only congressman in 1972, was killed when his plane disappeared over the Gulf of Alaska with then-House Majority Leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana.

Stevens was one of two survivors in a 1978 plane crash at Anchorage International Airport that killed his wife, Ann, and several others. He remarried several years after the crash — he and his second wife, Catherine, have a daughter, Lily.

Over the years, Stevens directed billions of dollars to Alaska.

But one of his projects — infamously known as the "Bridge to Nowhere" — became a symbol of pork-barrel spending in Congress and a target of taxpayer groups who challenged a $450 million appropriation for bridge construction in Ketchikan.

Stevens' standing in Alaska was toppled by corruption allegations and a federal trial in 2008. He was convicted of all seven counts — and narrowly lost his Senate seat to Begich in the election the following week.

But five months after the election, Attorney General Eric Holder sought to dismiss the indictment against Stevens and not proceed with a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct by federal prosecutors.

O'Keefe, 54, was NASA administrator for three tumultuous years. He was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget when President George W. Bush asked him in late 2001 to head NASA and help bring soaring space station costs under control.

But budget-cutting became secondary when the shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry in 2003.

O'Keefe's most controversial action at NASA was when he decided to cancel one last repair mission by astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope. He said the mission was too risky. His successor overturned the decision. The Hubble mission was carried out last year.

O'Keefe left NASA in 2005 to become chancellor of Louisiana State University. He is now the CEO of defense contractor EADS North America and oversees the bid for the hotly contested Air Force refueling jet contract.

The company said O'Keefe was a passenger on the plane. The company said it had no further information about O'Keefe's status.

The contract competition, which pits EADS against rival plane maker Boeing Co., is for a piece of what could eventually be $100 billion worth of work replacing the military's fleet of aging tankers.

___

Associated Press writers Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, and Pauline Jelinek, Matt Apuzzo and Natasha Metzler in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

We're in the house! (or it's shell anyway)

2010-08-08T14:33:00.007-08:00

Bet that got your attention, huh? Well, we did it - we moved into the house yesterday and spent our first night there last night. I had a hard time sleeping (which has become an almost nightly thing). I wake up to go to the bathroom, but the bathroom is outside (don't ask - I promise I won't post any pictures of our "facilities!"). I woke up last night and forgot where I was for a minute. Ever have that happen? It's a little unnerving! Then, it's really dark and you think, do I really have to go? I mean, there are bears out there, right? Maybe I can wait until it gets just a little more light outside. That way, I can see him coming before he eats me! I'm really not as nervous about it as I sound: these are just the things that go through my silly head at 2:00 am.

This morning I woke up, stripped the bed, and dashed off to the local RV park, took a quick shower, then went to church. I'm now at the RV park again, this time doing laundry and blogging. So, let me show you what we've been up to the past few days!

Tony and I were only able to set 2 of the windows ourselves. They are triple paned and 2 of them are 4 feet by 6 feet! Needless to say, those weren't the 2 we set; it was the 3 x 3 window first.

After that, Tony called one of the boys that had helped us pour concrete and had him come down to help with the rest. I just love the view from the ridge. Here is what it looks like from the living area, looking out those large 6 foot windows.

And a close-up view! (Notice the caulking gun - that was my job. It's kinda messy, or maybe I'm just the one that's messy!)

From the outside looking in

Next was the subfloor. Tony and Tony laid down 1 x 1 slats on the concrete floor like rails

Then placed the subfloor over that. This will give a nice cushion to the flooring and not make it as hard and cold as placing the flooring directly on the concrete would be

Finishing up the subfloor

Next, we put the back door in place. The outside doors will swing out for a couple of reasons: 1) It gives us more room inside, and 2) It makes it harder for them to be "pushed" in.

Finally, my gorgeous front door. I can't wait to paint it!

Well, I had intended to post more pics, but the internet here is being slow again, so I will have to run. Laundry to fold!

Septic is a messy business

2010-08-04T14:56:00.012-08:00

Interesting title for a post, eh? Well, it goes likes this: Tony and I have been really busy, working on the house. The response to the blog posts has been overwhelming. Thanks so much for your wonderful comments! I would give anything if I could post daily, but once a week seems to be all I can manage, except when we had a bunch of rainy days there a while back.

This past week, we've been busily getting the roof completed. I'm happy with your progress and it's really starting to look like a house. Mike came down again over the weekend. Tony and Mike work well together - it's a guy thing, ya know? Only men can grunt and speak in one word sentences and know exactly what each of them mean! Me, I ask too many questions! Anyway, here are some pics of the roof progress:

The front porch needed to be constructed before we could put the metal roofing on. Once it is complete, it will be completely screened in

Next, we moved to the back of the house and started putting on the black paper and then the metal roofing. I would mark the sheeting for screws and place tacking on the back to attach it to the next sheet, then Tony would take it up the ladder and I would help set it in place from the stepladder below. Here you can see Tony up there on the roof, placing over 1,000 screws bit by bit. You can see my ladder below

Here is a pic of some of the insulating material that goes under the edges of the metal roofing to keep it airtight and keep us warm. My job was to place this as we went down the row

A view of the completed roof on the back of the house

The front was more challenging. Each piece of metal roofing needed to be cut because the long piece coming down to where it meets with the porch, along with the porch itself, had oddball measurements. That took quite a bit of time and a lot of work. Thank goodness Mike was here to help with that.

A view of the front with completed porch, before metal roofing

The view from the front

I left for a little while and came back and Tony and Mike nearly had the front roof done. No pictures, but Tony put me up there (boy, was it hot!) and I helped him complete it, helping to join pieces of the top roof with the porch roof. Here is the finished product!

Now, back to the story that gives this post it's title. We needed to get a septic tank. The only place to get them is in Fairbanks, about 110 miles and 2 hours away. The one we needed was about 800 lbs, 8 feet long and 6 feet wide and about 5 feet high. It's not gonna fit in our pickup truck, needless to say. We reserved a trailer in Fairbanks with the intention of driving in early, getting the trailer, loading the tank and some other goodies on it, then driving back to Delta Junction. When we got to the trailer place, the trailer was all wrong for the job, not to mention the fact we would have had to have purchased a new transmission for a truck because the thing was huge! After several calls, we found a place, but this put us behind schedule. We left Delta Junction at 6:20 in the morning and by the time we got the trailer and the doors we needed for the house, it was almost noon. Tony left me in Fairbanks to shop for windows and other goodies as he dashed back to Delta Junction, dropped off the tank and doors, and made it back to Fairbanks with the trailer to drop it off at 5:00. We ate dinner, then went to Home Depot, picked up our windows and loaded them in the back of the pickup, grocery shopped at Walmart, then headed back to Delta Junction. By the time we got home, it was almost midnight. Needless to say, we are TIRED!! What a day, but we got it done! Yes, septic is a messy busines and we haven't even broken ground yet, but we have the tank!

Six windows loaded in the back of the pickup. I have no idea if they made it in one piece. We just went straight to bed last night without unloading

My front door, very close to it's final resting place. Once we get all the doors and windows in, we'll place the subflooring and then we should be able to move in! It will be a shell, but definitely a step up from the shed!

On our way home last night, I saw 2 fox run across our road near our house. I'm sure this wasn't the same one, but here are some fox tracks on our property

Also, some other little critter was visiting, probably another shrew

I've stayed away from posting about "giant squirrels." That's Tony's code word for bears! We went walking when we first got to the property and found some scat, aka bear poop. I said, "that has got to be from a bear" and Tony, trying to ease the concern he heard in my voice, said, "nah, giant squirrels!" Even Mike has gotten into it. He heard something outside his tent one night (turned out to be a moose) but all I heard them talking about were "giant squirrels." I haven't ventured onto that part of the property again, but wanted to see what other berries we had so gun in hand, Tony and I took a walk the other night. It didn't take us long to find more scat, and it was pretty fresh. Yippee?? I have berries and bears. Welcome to Alaska! Sorry, I neglected to take pictures of the poop. My bad.

I was at the RV park last week and a caravan of 31 Airstream motorhomes pulled into the park. That was an interesting site! I saw one said "Ohio" on the side of it so I went up to the guy - turns out he lives in Columbus, Ohio now but raised his kids in Xenia, Ohio, where I was born. It really is a small world

We went to the Deltana Fair on Saturday. Very small, but very cool. Smokey the Bear was there with the US Forest Service

There was a rodeo and it was mostly girls and women, shooting balloons off barrels while galloping on a horse - really impressive

There were even some guys who tried their hand at ax throwing!

There were small goats (and small children!)

And Yaks!

Well, gotta run. Until next time folks!

Now that I have more time....

2010-07-27T12:57:00.020-08:00

Ok, so here is an "uber-update" laden with lots of pics! The weather today is not so great and all we can really do until the metal roofing arrives tomorrow is put the roofing paper on, so Tony and I are "taking a day" to recoup. He is tired, and I am information deprived, so I'm at the local library catching up on emails, news, etc while Tony rests. He deserves it, believe me.

First, some updated photos on the roofing project

Tony, working hard on the roof. He was up and down that ladder so many times. I can go up and down the ladder all day long, but can't really carry anything or do much once I'm up there. He's the man!

There will be a porch extending from the front that we haven't constructed yet, so that's why the rafters are exposed here. We'll be working on on that in conjunction with putting the metal roofing on

Yesterday, we were working and waiting on a truck to deliver some septic rock for the leech field. We heard and large truck coming up the road, and as we can't see the road from our house, Tony walked down the drive to make sure that was them. I heard the truck and heard a lot of talking so I walked out to see why the truck with rock hadn't come up the drive. It wasn't the rock delivery - it was the guys from GVEA (Golden Valley Electric Authority), AKA the local utility, to install our transformer. Sweet! Here are some pics from that operation:

You really have to wonder if these guys are really brave, or really crazy! I've always wondered that about electrical linemen.

Trucks like this amaze me. These guys drove 2 hours from Fairbanks to install this transformer, so it stands to reason they carry just about everything on these trucks.

Our septic rock did arrive an hour or so after the electrical guys left. Here is a pick of him dumping the load, and of our little rock pile. The guy had to make two trips, the first being heavier than the second. On the first trip, he promptly got stuck in the soft sand in our drive and Tony had to go down to the neighbor's house and ask him if he could bring his D40 that he carved our driveway out with to come pull out the guy. They managed to get him un-stuck and he came back with the second load and made it out okay.

Now, for the lighter side of things. Living out here like this has its ups and downs. The last few days have been very "up" for me. We went into Fairbanks on Saturday to order materials and get food and supplies. While all the transformer and septic rock business was going on, I decided to walk our property again. One of the first thing I saw were these little tracks. They have to be from a shrew, which is like a mouse. I put my hand next to them to give them some scale.

I knew we had low bush cranberries and rosehips on the property, but I was very pleasantly surprised when I found blueberries as well! I couldn't be happier. Wild blueberries are a hot commodity here in the Last Frontier, and I promptly spent the afternoon picking a bunch of them. Now I have the perfect excuse to get that new canner set-up I've been wanting! Here are some of the berries we have:

These little guys are bright orange and very small, about the size of a large pea. I've been told their poisonous though. Anyone know what they are?

These are the lowbush cranberries I mentioned. I hear they make a really nice jelly or jam.

These are rosehips. Most people use them in tea. They're supposed to be high in vitamin C and good for you. I actually found a recipe for rosehip pie I'm looking forward to trying as well.

Me with a just a few of the blueberries I picked. You can see more in a ziplock baggie over my shoulder, and I had put even more away. I am sooooo happy!

God bless whoever invented Bisquik. I love the stuff and you can certainly do a lot with it. I made blueberry muffins in our grill.

One of Tony's favorite jobs (not really LOL) is to get water. Our well was dug pretty early in the project, but we don't have a kitchen sink or faucets yet - just a big hose sticking out of the ground. Every day, Tony takes a couple of large water jugs to the hose and fills them up and we keep them close to the campsite and use that water for everything from cooking to cleaning to bathing.

The longer we are in our present surroundings, the more "bold" I get as far as cooking is concerned. Tony, I believe, has been delighted by this! Here is a sample meal, prepared on our propane grill with cooktop:

Cheese ravioli cooking in the pot

Tomato Basil sauce with mushrooms, beef, and garlic

A happy Italian!

Our grill has a gauge on it that is fairly accurate.

I fire it up and get it good and hot

And presto - cinnamon rolls! - with a little help from the Pillsbury dough boy, of course. I've even made pizza!

I have loved having time to read and do some of the other things I didn't have time to do before. It was a challenge, though, because the inside of the shed is kind of dark and it's hard to hold a flashlight while you're cross-stitching - it just doesn't work! I finally got the idea to get a headlamp while I was at the sporting goods store. Tony laughs but hey, it works!

On Saturday, we went into Fairbanks to the Golden Days Festival. I marched in the parade in support of Joe Miller's campaign. Here are a couple of pics from that:

Supporters lining up on a rainy morning. I purchased a plastic slicker but the sun came out just after we starting marching. It got really hot really quick!

Joe's H1 Hummer - sweet!

Joe was being interviewed by a lot of national press. I know the Washington Post was there. I always get a kick out of taking pictures of the press - I don't know why!

They strykers were there from Ft. Wainwright. Here are some pics of their vehicle and some of our fine men in uniform. If you see a military servicemember, thank them!

Joe's wife Kathleen and I just before the parade started. I really admire Kathleen - they have 8 beautiful kids and a wonderful family

Joe and I just before the parade

I saw these guys walking up the road after the parade and just HAD to get my pic with them - those of you who know me know what a sci-fi geek I am!

Finally, on Sunday we went to the 50th anniversary for Delta Junction. There were about 1000 people there and it was a great day.

The food line was long, but everyone was patient

Burgers and dogs!

There were a lot of people there, and the weather was awesome!

Well, until next time folks!

And now comes the roof!

2010-07-25T13:00:00.004-08:00

It seems like it took a long time, but considering it's just the two of us (and mostly Tony at that), we're cooking right along! I wish I had time to just write and write. I have so many things to talk about, but internet here just takes so long so I will just let the pictures do the talking. We finished the rafters and I don't have a picture of it, but we have the sheeting on one side of the roof. We should have the other side done in a day or two, just in time for the shipment of metal roofing we ordered, which arrives Wednesday. Then come the doors and windows and although far from finished our house will be enclosed and we can move in, concrete floor and all. Hey, it's a step up from the shed! Here are the pics:

The rafters, right after we started on them

All completed

From the side

I'm sorry, that's all I have for now. Just look at how high that was - my husband is a saint, I have to say. There is no way I could get up there and do that! I just hand him stuff! I am the "wood girl" as he puts it. I run the saw and toss stuff up to him. The rest is all Tony!

Endorsement: Joe Miller for US Senate

2010-07-23T11:33:00.004-08:00

Recently I was asked if I would endorse Joe Miller for US Senate in Alaska. Those of you who follow my blog know that my resounding answer was "YES!" Here is my endorsement:

"There are many ways to describe Joe Miller – West Point Graduate, decorated war veteran, Alaskan by choice, attorney, magistrate, father, husband, and conservative. These alone speak volumes about the man who is the right choice for Alaska. Joe’s life experiences and true desire to lead Alaska, and this country, in a positive and conservative direction make him the only choice for US Senate in Alaska. That is why as an informed conservative Alaskan, I am voting for Joe Miller and I strongly encourage you to as well."

You can find my endorsement, along with many other prominent individuals, on the Miller campaign's endorsement page here.

I will be marching with the Miller campaign at the Golden Days Celebration in Fairbanks, Alaska on Saturday, July 24. If you're a Joe Miller supporter and in the area, please join us and march with us in the parade! Please follow this link to the events page for information on when and where to meet. See you there!

Roof is next to go up

2010-07-19T12:19:00.008-08:00

Mike joined us again from Fairbanks this weekend and we spent the better part of Saturday getting the center beam for the trusses up. Now, I've said it before and I'll say it again - I am USELESS when it comes to anything that involves strength. And boy, did this involve muscle. That is why I am so glad Mike was able to come this weekend. If it were up to just Tony and I, we'd still be trying to get that thing up there. My job was to yell really loud if anything started coming down on anyone's head. Hey, I'm mouthy enough so I can do this! Fortunately, those services were not needed and all I needed to do was run back and forth and make sure the braces were level and stuff like that. Mike worked really hard and I want to say "thank you" to him once again. Hats of to ya there bud! Here are the latest pics of our progress:

Tony and Mike closing in the wall studs with OSB

That nail gun comes in handy. I can't imagine the time it would take to pound in all those nails by hand

You can see the side supports that the beam will rest on

The first beam section is up

Tony and Mike constructing another part of the beam. You can see the cross braces I worked when we were erecting the beam

The 10 x 10 center post that will be in the living area that holds up the beam and supports it in the center of the house

Looking toward the living area from inside

Looking at the front of the house

Looking at the living area from outside

Next come the trusses. We are making those by hand. Lots of ladder work involved (UGH) - Pics of that coming soon!

We have walls!

2010-07-17T13:43:00.005-08:00

The sun came out yesterday and in a marathon 12 hour session, Tony and I were able to get 3 walls of the house up. The first one was a dilly, very heavy, but we managed to get it erect and get the other 2 up shortly after that. Mike drove down from Fairbanks last night and as I write this, he and Tony are working on the 4th wall and (hopefully) starting on the roof. I'm hoping they can get to this because I have my doubts about my personal ability to lug heavy stuff up a ladder and get it into to position to form the roof. We may have to ask the boys that did the concrete work with us to come back if Tony and Mike can't get that accomplished today and tomorrow. They are able to do it (I've seen it before with the garage) but we're still having sporadic rain showers and that makes it tough. Here are some pics of the first 3 walls:

Tony constructing the first wall before it was erected

Getting that first wall up was a real job. The thing weighed A LOT and I could barely lift one end of it more than a foot. We had to stand it up, inches at a time, bracing and propping it until we could get it set into place. Whew!

Here is a first look at 3 sides of the house constructed. The front door is on the wall to the far right and faces north. The back of the house faces south and will get the majority of the sun, so it has the most windows.

The south facing wall - see all the windows?

The south facing view from our two 6 foot wide living room windows - sweet!

This is the view out my south facing kitchen window - it's 5 feet wide. I was standing there last night, looking out, doing dishes in my head :)

Another nice little surprise was that my friend Jill stopped by last night on her way from Fairbanks to Dot Lake. It was really great seeing her and catching up a bit on life, kids, and Alaska stuff. I wish we were closer, but we're certainly a lot closer than we were when I lived in Wasilla!

Stand Up For Sarah

2010-07-15T15:58:00.005-08:00

Check out this post by my friend Adrienne Ross at Motivation: Truth concerning the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund, or click on the "Stand Up For Sarah" widget on my sidebar to learn more!

Another reason I'm voting for Joe Miller

2010-07-15T15:05:00.004-08:00

I didn't know much about Joe Miller until he came to speak at the Valley Republican Women's Club meeting earlier this year. Like I've said before, I was very impressed and after looking into his platform and record, I decided he was just the person we needed as our Alaska Senator, not Lisa Murkowski. I soured on Murkowski a long time ago with her flip-flop, back-and-forth, go-with-what-is-most-popular-at-the-time attitude toward governance. Please read Miller's most recent media advisory concerning Murkowski's "change of heart" regarding TARP:

Miller Speaks To Murkowski's Reversal On TARP

Anchorage, Alaska -- Joe Miller, candidate for the United States Senate from Alaska, believes Senator Lisa Murkowski is part of the big-government problem in Washington. Murkowski, in a recent interview with the Anchorage Daily News, said she regrets her vote to bail out the big banks and Wall Street. Following the passage of TARP in the Senate, she said, “I believe this bill puts us on the right track.” She now sees things differently. Just this week she rolled out a new radio ad touting her failed attempt to recall the TARP funds as evidence that she is standing up to the President's big-government, big-spending agenda.

A key component of leadership is being able to see the implications of the choices we make. “We all have 20-20 hindsight,” Miller said. He continued, “The real question comes down to political philosophy. When you act based on the belief that more government is the solution to almost any problem, TARP and most any other program government can conceive follows from that belief.” Miller, who has a master’s degree in economics, stated, “I am a free-market conservative. I believe in limited government, personal liberty, and individual responsibility. It's really that simple. I would not have voted for TARP. It is imperative that we get it right the first time.”

Despite the Senator's new-found “conservatism,” Miller is not ready to buy into the rhetoric. After all, TARP is just the tip of the iceberg.

To read the entire release, please click here and follow the link on my sidebar to learn more about Joe Miller and his campaign.

The concrete slab is in!

2010-07-14T11:05:00.009-08:00

I can't tell you how nervous I was about this particular part of the build, but it is done and looks good. Special thanks to our neighbor Stan. His background in concrete work and help the day of the pour made things go so smoothly. Also Daniel and his brother Tony, a couple of young men from down the road that Stan recommended, worked really hard and provided the backbone and strength I don't have so the job was done in less than 2 hours. Here are some pics!

My dad called this a milk bottle truck. He used to pour concrete and was surprised they had those trucks up here because they're not as common

Workers at the ready

Positioning the chute for the first pour

We did the far corner first - here comes the first batch of "mud"

Pulling up on the wire mesh. This is what gives the concrete it's strength

Moving that mud around is hard work. I'm glad those boys were there to help

My hubby Tony and Daniel "screeing" off some of the conrete with a board to make it level

Stan working the bull float. It's the way the concrete gets it's polished finish

Almost done with the pour, section by section

The finished product!

Last Friday night, there was a classic car show here in Delta Junction. I inherited my dad's love of classic cars, so these are for you dad. Some of them were really nice! Wish you could have been here to see them.

Another amazing week has flown by

2010-07-11T15:59:00.017-08:00

It's been so long since I've been able to blog, I had to read my last post just to see where I left off! Well, let's see ...

One of the first things we were able to get done was the well (see my June 26 post here but we have to connect a line from the well to the tubing that will feed water into the house. We were able to get this accomplished but boy, what a task! Because it gets so cold here (-50F) in winter, we had to dig down at least 10 feet, drill a large hole in the side of the well casing, and attach a device called a pitless adapter. The first part, digging down 10 feet on the side of the casing, was a chore. The ground here is very sandy and Tony had to dig wide and deep to keep the hole from caving in while he was down there drilling and attaching the adapter. We took turns with the backhoe we rented. It was fun!

Tony working on digging without hitting the well casing

My turn!

We placed heat tape, a strip of heated wire, along the water pipe to keep it from freezing. This gets plugged in when it's cold out. We placed insulation on top of the pipe and covered it. This is what it looked like when we were done digging and placing the pitless adapter - that hole is about 12 feet deep!

Next, we dug the trenches for the sewage pipes. They had to be 4 ft deep and then re-buried.

Everything has to be level to within 1/4 of an inch - the ground depth, footers, concrete forms, etc., so that the house is level. Tony puts me on the transit and I call out the readings to him.

Next come the trenches (footers) and concrete forms (wooden boards) that form the sides of the concrete slab

Again because of the cold, we have to put down a 2 inch thick layer of insulation foam so that the cold does not rise up from under the slab into the house. This insulates the house and keeps the heat in the foundation

On top of the insulation goes wire mesh and inside the footers we place rebar to give the concrete it's strength

And tomorrow, the concrete is delivered and we will have a slab! Yippee! Tony found a couple of local teen boys to help him with the concrete pour. It's a good thing, because I am worthless when it comes to anything that requires strength. I helped with concrete pouring before and you really have to be able to move that stuff around and I just can't do it. Tony says my job will be to put in the J bolts which will anchor the stud frame to the concrete. Other than that, I just have to stand around and look pretty. I'll see if I can manage that - it's tough!

Now onto some fun stuff. The shed is shaping up. Tony made a trip to Fairbanks this past week for supplies and picked up our old king-sized mattress. He made a frame for it to rest on, so now we have a nice bed, soft and comfy and we don't have to climb off the floor when we get out of it! I've also taken to get as many things off the floor as possible, hanging them around the shed to make more room to move around.

A picture of Tony in his bib overalls - ain't he cute??

This morning was when we finished the insulation, wire, and rebar. Of course, it was pouring down rain. When I stepped out of the shed wearing this, Tony said he HAD to get a picture. I said "Of Course!!!" and there ya have it! The house has a vapor barrier, and so did I!

The other night, I woke up about midnight and looked out the window to see the most beautiful sky. I just had to take a few pictures of it. I absolutely love our skies here! These were the actual colors as they progressed into a sunset - isn't God amazing that he gives us such beauty?