KEEPING UP WITH BRY

... so the day we arrived in Sitka the sun was shining ...

it was 2pm and about 70 degrees

almost unheard of for Sitka!

... although they've had a great summer ...

and as we walked around town, most locals

were sporting suntans

so Bryan and I thought

"who knows how long the rainclouds will stay away?"

and we donned our sneakers to go for a hike

not just any hike

Mt. Verstovia

this is where bryan chose to do his

EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT

and completed it just 1 week before we moved

his project was to make and place

elevation and distance markers

at 3 points along the trail

the project took him over 6 months

the FOREST SERVICE required that he use

already fallen cedar logs

for the markers

and that they be place alongside the trail, partially buried

so they don't detract from the natural beauty

the logs were

DANG HEAVY

so bryan enlisted the help of another government agency:

the US COAST GUARD

and their mighty helicopters

to fly the log markers to the peak and drop them off

cuz anyone who hikes to the top of Verstovia

knows that it's enough just to hike it -

carrying a couple hundred pounds of log would be

WAY TOO MUCH work

coordinating 2 government agencies is the reason his project took so long to complete

Bryan is an avid hiker

he comes by it honestly

Bryan, his Dad & his brother were made for the outdoors

so the #1 DESIRE of Bryan

was to head back up the mountain and check on his markers

just like childbirth, it sounded like a good idea before we started

and was fulfilling after the long soak in the tub that night

but honestly:

IT WAS GRUELING

for me

a PIECE OF CAKE

for Bryan

(note my red face and frizzy, wavy hair ... this was HARD WORK, I tell you!)

Bry's cousin, Joshua, joined us.

He took up the rear

(to make sure I didn't topple backwards just to get out hiking, I'm sure!)

Besides the unmatchable

fragrant, CLEAN air;

the sounds of eagles, squirrels, and ravens;

and the

UNMATCHED BEAUTY of the place,

hearing Bryan ahead of me on the trail

as he'd come upon one of his markers

only to find it had weathered well the past 2 years

with his WHOOPING cheer

well, that was priceless

I'd hike a million miles

up a million mountains

to experience that over and over again with Bry.

SALMONBERRIES 101

First: Find a salmonberry patch

any day will do

but if you're lucky enough to see the sun

it sure makes for more enjoyable picking!

Second: Enlist Pickers

any pickers will do

but preferably someone who doesn't have an empty, growling tummy

and someone with courage to reach

where even bears won't go

Third: Pick

singing while picking is encouraged

the purpose is two-fold:

it keeps bears and other mammals (including other pickers) away

AND

it keeps your mouth busy

so the temptation to eat every-other-berry is diminished

Fourth: Admire Your Harvest

there's nothing more fulfilling

than gazing at the bubbles of summer color

caught in each salmonberry

Fifth: Consume

while some may argue

about the best way to consume your salmonberries

...jelly...

...pie...

...cobbler...

...over ice cream...

for me, the next best thing to eating a fresh berry right off the bush

is preparing a bowful with a light covering of cream

Now that you understand

the fundamentals of

salmonberries ...

ENJOY!

MY BIG CATCH

Reading about Rick Hart's fishing experience

reminded me of my own summer fishing adventure

It was the summer of 2002 (i think)

and I was invited by some of the nicest men in Sitka

to join them for subsistence halibut fishing ...

Glenn Wilber, Jim Womack and Glen Strickland

3 true fishermen!

It took me 3 full days to get my sea legs

On the way out I helped bait the hooks

(salmon heads & tails)

and chewed peppermint gum like crazy

to try to combat the sea-sickness

It was a cold summer

and stormy

We got to the location

(I think every fisherman has his own secret places)

... but with my sense of direction, all location secrets are safe with me ...

Then dropped the line, hooking these gargantuan hooks to the line as we dropped it.

That was the easy day :)

A couple or a few days later we headed back to the location

to bring the line up with HOPEFULLY a lot of halibut.

My job was to take the uneaten bait off the hooks

and pile the hooks in an organized manner

... sounds easy, but these guys move so fast that it's quite the job! ...

The excitement came as we'd pull up halibut - and sometimes other fish -

... sometimes my job would change & I'd get to be the one coiling the line

the line was hooked to a hydrolic thingy, but it still took a lot of muscle

from the grizzled fishermen

When we were all done pulling it up, the process would start all over again

bait the hooks, and drop the line ... come back a few days later and harvest

Each harvest that summer boasted some amount of success

By the end of a few trips, I felt rather grizzled myself!

We stocked our freezer and canned a bunch more - it was a great summer!

The biggest fish we caught weighed about 300 lbs

i think it took 2 or 3 bullets before the guys could even pull it into the boat

then they tied it (like others) mouth to tail to keep it from flopping around

later in the summer, after proving myself with the bait (hehehe - not much to prove there!)

I was handed a fillet knife on the way back

I straddled the gigantic halibut (probably 100+ lbs) that had already been

bled and put into the tank, then pulled out to be filleted

and followed the instructions, inserting the knife then cutting down the center

Almost immediately the tail flipped up and nearly slapped me in the rear!

I jumped, screamed and threw the knife

accusingly I yelled at these men:

"I thought you said it was dead!"

I don't know who caught the knife, but they were all so busy laughing that I finally saw the humor in it.

Because of their persistent coaxing I finished the task, cutting away some pretty fine, very THICK fillets.

It was another trip that summer with these guys

when a HUGE octopus came up on the line and suctioned on to the side of the boat

it took a lot of strong men with gaff hooks

and even another boat's crew

to pull that stubborn octopus off the side of the boat

Our share made for some delicious

KELAGUIN

that night,

but I'll never catch and keep an octopus again

it was too sad

all-in-all these guys provided for me some good practical experience,

a lot of tasty, healthy fish,

and some pretty important life lessons

The Dreaded 14

Only recently my dreams have taken me back to my teenage years.

Without a doubt that is due to

the miracle of technology - how else would I ever

have been reconnected with my past?

We moved to PA when I was almost 14.

What an age!

If I could, I'd make a way for all the people I love

to SKIP

age 14.

But that's not to say there were no redeeming qualities about that year of my life.

After surviving that horrendous age

(wasn't that how old I was when I tried to send Bruce & Michael to their rooms?)

I still had friends

and family ties just got stronger.

So this blog is dedicated to

all 14-year-olds

all who will someday be 14

and all those who remember the dreaded 14

This picture was taken long after my time of being 14

But that would mean that Jenni was 14 at this time :)

She survived too.

OH BOY! SOY!!!!

Now, don't stop reading just because of the title.

Why soy?

* RICH IN PROTEIN, VITAMIN A, VITAMIN B1 & VITAMIN B2

* GREAT SOURCE OF DIETARY FIBER (read lower about 'okara')

* NO CHOLESTEROL

* HIGH IN OMEGA-3

* VERY INEXPENSIVE!

There are a handful of non-sentimental

material possessions that

I CAN'T DO WITHOUT

One of those is my

SOYA POWER Soy Milk Maker

For just pennies, I can make a gallon of soymilk.

and not just any soymilk

ORGANIC soymilk

with no additives, preservatives, artificial sweeteners

Ok ... so it's cheap and it's good for me ... how do I use it?

Our family's favorite use:

GREEN SMOOTHIES

(here's a basic green smoothie recipe)

combine in blender:

2 cups soy milk

2 ripe bananas

1 cup non-fat plain yogurt

blend well

add by the handful:

organic washed spinach leaves ... throw in as much as you think you can handle

start with maybe a cup, then as you get used to the taste, add more

the idea here is to get as much nutrition as possible

(we freeze our spinach and throw in the frozen stuff - it makes for a good consistency)

You can add all kinds of great things to this:

berries

apples

applesauce

parsley

mangoes

the list is endless - experiment and see what you like

Even 2-year-old Jace likes the basic green smoothie

For our smoothies, we

ALWAYS BUY ORGANIC

Go online and search for a good place to buy organic soybeans

I like this place

You can store them for a long time

Using a soymilk maker is

EASY

Pretty much you just soak the beans

toss them in the maker

along with some water

and

hit the switch

....

minutes later

voila!

soy milk

you can do all kinds of cool things to change the flavor

experiment

A great trick that

I LOVE

take the okara (mentioned above)

it's the left-over fiber after making soymilk

and refrigerate it for up to a few days

throw it into your bread recipe,

cake recipe, cookie recipe,

pancakes,

banana bread, etc.

Besides getting a whole bunch of free protein

it makes your

stuff

FLUFF

Remember I said that it costs just pennies to make your soymilk?

using the okara means that it

basically costs

NOTHING

to get extra protein-rich fiber!

If you live near me, come try my soymilk

or a green smoothie

(but you have to stop in early for the smoothie - it's breakfast in our home)

FREEBIES

Birds of a feather flock together.

Until we moved to Alaska, I never shopped at thrift stores or garage sales.

Well, I shouldn't say NEVER, but it was so rare that it didn't count.

In our small town in Alaska (Sitka) garage-sale-ing was the social event of the week

PLUS

shopping opportunities were limited (nice way to say that they were almost non-existent)

so your chance of finding something you need is way better at a garage sale than in one of our few stores.

So I learned to love our local thrift store:

WHITE ELEPHANT

and meeting up with friends and acquaintances every Saturday morning at garage sales

(I still hit the garage sales every Saturday when I visit - best deals in the world!)

Living in Sitka, coupled with my upbringing (my mom & sisters and I ALL LOVE a good deal!) has made me a true bargain-hunter.

Caci marrying into our family proves that birds of a feather flock together.

There's no one more frugal in this world than Caci

She's like a bargain magnet!

At any given time ask her how much her outfit that she's currently wearing cost

and I'll betcha it'll never be over $20 (jewelry & shoes included)

I was thrilled when my sister-in-law, Lizzy, introduced me to

FREE SAMPLES FROM WALMART

I'd love to hear from all of you about great bargains & free samples ...

There's nothing that makes me feel like

I'M WINNING

more than a great bargain!

When Did We Grow Up, Michael?

I ran across this old photo a couple of months ago and stuck it in my scriptures.

This is me at age 17 or 18 and my brother, Michael - he's probably 16 here.

The picture was taken at what we all call "the old old house", right next to Tissue's yard.

Tissue was our golden retriever.

I miss Tissue.

I don't remember the picture being taken. But this is what I remember:

Michael was my very best friend

I loved wearing overalls

nearly every night one of us would go into the other's room to ask a quick question, and the conversation would take off ... several hours later the person whose room it was would be asleep on the bed, the other one would stumble out to their own bed

Michael wrote poetry

he would read it to me and would ask me what I thought of it

Michael LOVED Richard Nixon

Michael was a movie lover - but I think what he loved most about movies was telling the ENTIRE plot to me after watching it

Michael's friends were my friends, and my friends were his. And sometimes we had crushes on each others' friends.

We could talk about anything - and we could talk about nothing.

Most of the time we talked about nothing.

When did we grow up Michael?