Teaching In Alaska

After a misleading week of toasty 15 – 20 degree weather we were struck with a cold front that dropped the temperature from 11 above to 20 below zero within the school day.  I made the 5 minute walk to school today and reached the school with frosty eyelashes and a partially frozen nalgene of water.

-18 F, -33 with windchill

This past weekend I became the owner of a Yamaha 4-wheeler, paid in full: my first vehicle purchase ever.  I bought it from Dan Eide, our principal and family friend.  He gave me a tutorial on how to change the oil last Saturday laying on my back on the ice when it was much warmer than it is today.  The machine is too cold to start at the moment, but come next fall I plan to be all over the place camping and fishing and berry picking.  Watch out.

This is Bernelle and Kameon perched up on top.

I have a few pictures from the past three months to catch up on.  Christmas in Cook was a blast.  We played outside on the lake, stomped through the snow, ate tasty Christmas treats at big family celebrations, and rested up for the new year.  Mom and Dad were greatly missed, but we kept them involved by checking in and I was lucky enough to meet up with them on my return trip through Anchorage.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures to share.

This was on a few hour hike after a pretty nice snow fall.  The walk was only a couple of miles and on a perfect day.  We drank hot tea before heading back up the trail toward the car and home.

Outdoor adventures since returning to Saint Michael after Christmas have been minimal, but I did set up a walk to Whale Island at the end of January with some of the kids.  I couldn’t let a winter pass without visiting the island.  Last year my companions were Master Son and Trevor.  This year my company was much younger, but just as delightful.   Here they are:

I brought with us a thermos of hot water, a few cups to share among 7, a zip lock bag of trail mix, and two twix bars to break up into pieces.  We snacked on our treats in a stomped down pile of snow at the top of Whale Island surrounded by willows.  The rumble of an airplane broke the silence above and Gavin said, “We’re making the sky jealous; it’s stomach is grumbling.”

The following are some pictures that capture moments of pride and excitement in my easily pleased life.

Basil and parsley fresh from the garden.

My first crock pot chicken noodle experience... Success!

The last food meal picture is a dinner date I had with Charlee.  She admits now to being skeptical but the experimentation turned into a fantastic classy and fresh gourmet supper.  Charisa, a good friend from Tacoma, introduced the idea.  We stir-fried chicken on the stove with sliced chunks of carrot, steamed some rice, and pealed off leafs of lettuce.  The lettuce was used to roll up the chicken and carrots with the rice along with some homemade peanut sauce.  Hm-mm, good!  And Charlee made a salad with avocado, tomatoes and cucumber.  Try it!

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