Tag Archives: Off grid

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Catching up-Again!

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It’s been awhile since I have posted and I apologize but truly I have been busy!

Spent a week in North Pole with my dear sissy which was a lot of fun but odd for me to be away from  my kids for so long. I can say having the freedom to not “Mom” reminded me of how much I cherish my family. Sissy and I did have fun being two  girls with no one to answer to. If we wanted hot fudge sundaes we ate them!  I did get to go see Santa’s village, hug a moose and get groped by a polar bear!The return trip was eventful. Murphy’s Law says if your in a no cell service area you will need cell service and I did! I broke down in a construction area and sat by the side of the road almost 6 hours until the tow truck arrived. It was not boring though by any means! The construction workers were so thoughtful and kept the coffee flowing and treats abounded. I finally had to tell them to stop or I would need a second tow truck to haul me out of there. My sissy is a magician with a phone. She managed to find someone in the town I was towed to who could get to the dodge dealership before they closed for the weekend, get my part AND had a garage and tools available so I could fix my truck. 20 minutes after the tow truck dropped me off I had the injector line changed and was scrubbing the diesel off my hands. I paid the guys for the part and the use of the garage and tools and was once again happily on my way.

Upon arriving home I was greeted by all of my 2 and 4 legged kids with much gusto. 10 minutes home and my dear goat who must of been crossing her legs for a week began to beller. She then presented me with twin buckling kids. Timing is everything! 2 days later another girl gave me twin doelings. 6 more girls-or maybe it’s 7? To go and kidding season will be done.

Did I mention that the night before my 12 hour drive I butchered half a moose? Several days prior friends of ours recieved a call from the troopers that there was an injured moose dispatched near them, they asked for dear hubbies help in retrieving it and offered to share. Hubby came home with the back end of a very large cow. I skinned and washed it then seared it to kill any bacteria on it and hubby and I hung it up. After wrapping in burlap and wetting it down (evaporation cools very quickly) we hung it to age. The weather was warm but we had a few rain showers that came through and then the wind would blow and it kept the meat at 40 degrees even though it was 60 outside. Close to 200 pounds of meat to feed the family and the steaks are so awesome. I worried that I had rushed the butchering but the meat is very tender so no worries. Busy busy busy summer! Planting the greenhouses is keeping me really busy. With not having soil available I must create my own. Plenty of sand, clay, moss and fertilizer from the critters all hauled to the planter boxes, mixed together and ta da! Soil! It sounds easy until you haul it all by hand-over a ton so far and still more to do but the rewards will be great when we are eating fresh salads, tomatoes and various pickles produced by our own hands.

Well I think we are caught up now so I’ll wish you a blessed day and get mine started. As is my norm I’ll leave you with random pics of life in the Alaska Bush-God Bless you all!

train going by while i waited on side of road for tow truck
tractor boat launch at Anchor Point Beach
modeling new coat from auntie
​​What does a turkey chick look like when it’s hatching?

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Spring-Forward

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It’s that time of year again. Oh how I love the crisp cool mornings while the stars are still out blanketing the night sky with the shimmering lights and the darkness envelops you like a swaddling cloth. Seeing and feeling this makes you realize just how minute you are in this vast universe. As I make my way inside with fingers and nose tingling from the cold the scent of freshly ground coffee fills the air. We may have lost an hour of daylight in the mornings but that’s alright with me as it gives me an hour to relish in all I have been blessed with. 

We have been quite busy on Two Moose Farm. New life sprouting, new births and the moose have returned and with that we have had fence repairs and new fencing to do. It seems the momma moose who has come around for the last 2 years has made her return. She will hang around most of the summer in the woods by the house, sneaking in at night to see what kind of treats she can find. I just wish she wouldn’t kick the fence down and would leave the items I have nailed high on the north wall of the cabin in their place. 

As I mentioned we had fence repairs to do and as the ice is still with us I needed to finish fencing an area but couldn’t drive posts so we made a couple of temporary panels. Now the yard is almost goat proof as long as the moose leave it alone. 

    
    
   
Dear hubby spent the last couple days doing some welding on a friends equipment and that was a nice change for him. He’s anxious to get on the water but since halibut season has been delayed he will find other things to occupy his time. 

Our little piggies are growing and venturing out now. I missed the opportunity to get pics of them in a water puddle but I’m sure it won’t be the last time as much like human children they find water puddles too fun to ignore. 

   
Today I have planned to start building another greenhouse. Dear hubby has the lumber cut and stacked already and with his help we should have a good start on it today.

With the day’s growing longer and the abundant sunshine it is getting increasingly difficult to keep the kids focused on school work. I believe it may be time for hands on learning. Building projects require the use of math skills right? Then of course growing plants will involve science and let us not forget the earthquakes and volcanoes venting. We are going to have to move our classroom outdoors for sure.

Well the sun is peeking through the trees and the roosters (11 of them that need to go to freezer camp) are crowing a concert and telling me it’s time to begin my day. As usual I will leave you with a few pics of my world. God Bless and don’t forget to enjoy this day. 

    
    
 

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One little, two little, nine little piggies

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Finally! Charlotte blessed us with 10 piglets in the wee hours Sunday morning. It will be her last litter as it was a difficult labor and we nearly lost her. She started acting aggressive last week and I knew the time was coming close-it almost didn’t happen at all I was so mad at her. Two of our baby goats decided jumping into her pen was a good idea, only one jumped out. It was frustrating for sure but it’s part of farm life-losing an animal that way is never easy though. Saturday she really got nasty and would literally rip boards off of the pen if I left her. Dear hubby fixed the pen up and I finally calmed her down enough I could finish chores but every half hour, all night long, she would start her fit throwing and I would have to climb in the pen and give her a belly rub. Finally at 1:30 she went to sleep so I grabbed a quick nap and hubby checked on her at 3:30 and let me know she was at it again. This time I calmed her down and she began having babies. It was a difficult labor and at one point she rolled over and I missed one of the piglets. These things happen but it still makes a person feel helpless when you can’t save them all. We have one little runt but it’s an aggressive little thing. We brought it and one other inside while she was finishing labor as they were chilling down and weak but within two hours they were both lively and ready for lunch.  

 
   
    
 
The weather is still fickled with changing from one extreme to another but we are enjoying some warm sunny days. The girls wanted the hammock put up so dad helped them and it’s getting some use for sure-as a giant swing. 

   
Our remaining baby goat I call Rudy (the kids change the name daily) has been full of mischief. He wanders out to graze with his momma and forgets to follow her so he’s been spending time inside the cabin getting into mischief. 

 
Dear Hubby’s fishing got postponed due to the captains girlfriend having a medical issue so we’ve been spending the time getting pens rebuilt and working on preventing flooding. It’s nice having him here but it doesn’t help the finances.  Oh well will just have to find more Barters to fill in the needs.

It’s springtime for sure as the wolves are howling and the young males are out looking for territory of their own and females. They have such a mournful cry it almost makes you sad to hear it. 

Our days are getting longer and the sunsets have been amazing. I wonder if I will ever tire of this view. 

   
Well it’s getting late and I need to make a final pen check so I’ll leave you with a few more pictures and pray your lives are blessed with peace. 

    
    
   

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The first two years

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It’s hard to imagine that we have only been here two years. It feels like forever, with our roots sunk here firmly and our hearts finding a home. Time flies by sometimes seems to stand still.

In the beginning there was nothing but trees, miss, cranberries and willows. From that we have built our home. A few sheets of OSB being the exception all the other lumber was milked right here from our own trees.

   
 
The day I turned and seen this view was the day I found my place. I will never tire of this view.

   
    
   
Everyone including the kids worked tirelessly to get the cabin built. Long days for sure but so rewarding! 

    
    
 I’m Simply amazed at how the kids have grown

   
   
Look at them now! 

    
   

I often wonder if I will ever get a picture of Cami without a hat on! 

We have come a long way in the last couple of years and I look forward to many more. 

   
Not complete by any means but it’s home. 

God Bless all and thank you for letting me share our world. Time to go see if there’s any new additions! See you soon.

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What’s season is it again?

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Our seasons are so confused-rain all winter then bam!three feet of snow. Well guess what-it’s raining again! Almost all the snow is gone and with the temps hovering around 40 it won’t be long. Of course there’s some minor flooding but that is to be expected. The kids had fun in the snow and now are ready for it to be done. Isn’t the changing weather amazing though? It’s like the picture changes every day. Winter brings ice and dreary short days but also bring us snowstorms to change it to a portrait in white. Spring brings rain but longer days and new growth and life, the green haze is beginning to show itself in the trees and on the ground where the snow has melted. Yes, I do love the changing seasons even if they are a bit fickled. 

    
 Finally got the snow cleared away from the smoker and got the salmon finished smoking. 12 pints of smoked salmon (my kids call it fish candy) slightly sweet, a hint of salt and the mellow smoke of birch made it a hit with all. After all of the years I have canned my family still insists on opening the first jar of anything the minute it is cooled. Strange but hey if it makes them happy. More smoking to be done later this week as dear hubby’s friend Norm called and has more fish for us, I do love that we have friends who support and encourage my smoking habit but that doesn’t mean the little goat wether is safe. Smoked goat just sounds yummy! For you vegetarian followers I apologize but I am a meat lover. 

 Spring fever has come-I’ve been cleaning and making new curtains, basically doing anything I can to take my mind off of gardening. I did get 3 sweet potatoes going in water to grow my own slips. I have never grown any sweet potatoes but reading up it is said for best results start with slips. Slips are the little shoots that grow from them. I’m going to give it a try though as we all love sweet potatoes baked with butter it’s almost as good as regular potatoes. 

 My kids seriously need to quit growing. Stretching to try to get the yeast from the top shelf Cati (11 years old) reaches over me, says let me help mom and gets it down. She is now 5’6″ tall. Caleb is the same height at 12 years old but he is about to shoot up again. He is eating us out of house and home. Cami is still the smallest of my twin girls but what she lacks in size she makes up for in attitude.  

 Always something that needs to be done and hoping the rain stops soon-fishing season is coming up quick! I’ll leave you with a few pics as is my norm and pray your blessed beyond measure. 

    
 

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Snowmaggedon 2016

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Sunday Febuary 21, 2016.  What a faux pas the weatherman made on that date. 3-6 inches with possibilities of heavier snow in areas. What a difference a dash makes! Yes we did recieve 36 inches and no that is not a typo it was 3 feet of snow and yes I’m loving it! This fast moving storm brought back memories of a time many years ago when we lived in the lower and 3 foot storms were the norm. Before anyone ever heard the words “global warming” before El Niño and La Niña would roll off people’s tongues as easily as saying good morning. Back in the days when a snow storm was romantic and dear hubby would be snowed in at home. Yes much like this little taste of winter we had yesterday-fond memories were made then and now. I do feel bad for all the folks out there that must travel in the snow but for us it’s an answered prayer. We were missing winter, as strange as that sounds to many we do love snow. Hubby of course grumbles and carries on but as he was out shoveling and scooping he had a grin on his face that meant someone was getting pelted with a snow ball. The kids and critters literally “swam” in the snow. It is a nice change from the ice we have grown accustomed to and as is our tradition no snowstorm is complete without snow ice cream!

 
  

  

    
   

  
I have a confession to make. I have a smoking addiction. Yep I can’t seem to quit. Now smoking is something I began years ago but since dear hubby and I created this new smoking contraption I cannot seem to get enough. Even our friends are now feeding my addiction. It started out simple enough with a couple of hams and some bacon slabs, then it grew into whole turkeys and once I ran out of those our friend Norm found some salmon bellies and collars in his freezer to feed my addiction. The young wether goats are beginning to look like a challenge.  I see them now in a different light, what was once a cute little annoying pest has now become a fantasy on my plate-I can’t stop!  Birch wood has become as important as meat now. I will tell you that hickory and maple are over rated in my book. Birch gives a softly sweet smokey flavor without being overbearing. I pity the black bear that enters within my sites-I have a new goal-smoked bear hams. I caution one and all about smoking. It’s an addiction that may cause obesity in families.  

      
 As I sit here sipping my coffee and watching the moonlight dance of the twinkling snow I am thankful for all that we have. A roof over our heads, full bellies, a warm stove and the smell of freshly ground coffee filling the air is just about all a person could ask for. My kids are healthy and happy and must be dreaming of snowball fights with all the giggling they are doing in their sleep.

Today may bring warmer temps and I expect a quick thaw to our winter wonderland but I won’t fret over that. The flooding will probably resume in the coming days and we will deal with it as we did before but for now I’m declaring a snow day. When the kids awake they will get their chores done and will run and play until they are too wet to stay out and I will dry them by the fire as we create memories for them to share with their children someday. A cup of hot chocolate in hand I will hear them tell who built the biggest snowball and who had the coolest snow angel. Snowmaggedon 2016 will be a distant memory in just a few days so we will enjoy it while it lasts.

For now I wish you all a beautiful day and pray you are safe, happy and healthy. Take time to enjoy today for its but a moment in time.

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Mom cape time again!

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There are days when I feel like super woman, well alright maybe not superwoman perhaps super mom. Thank heavens my apron quickly converts to my MOM cape for emergencies like today. While fixing breakfast (yes I’m a redneck so we “fix” breakfast) I hear a goat holler. Now for those of you who have never been around goats they are much like kids. You can just tell when a normal blabber or bleat in this case is not just a “I want attention” but instead is more like a “I’ve got myself in big trouble please come quick”. So back to the goat hollering, I just knew this was a hurry up situation and began following the cries for help. Sure enough Bandit had thought it would be a great idea to steal from the piggy dish by sticking her head through a 4 inch gap in the boards. Well now this may not have been an issue except for a couple crucial things she didn’t account for. First off her horn spread is 6 inches, secondly there are 5 pigs in the pen she chose who haven’t yet tasted goat but are willing to eat everything placed in their dishes including a goat head attached to a much alive goat. The only thing that stopped them was their curiosity at the loud bellering going on. Now mind you I’m still in my pajamas, I pulled on my work boots quickly before running outside but other than that I was not prepared to be in a pig pen full of muck. With a quick swish of the mom cape I got in the pig pen which of course made said piggies curious as to why I was in there fiddling with a goats head and now it was I-not the goat who was bellering. Yep, I was in over my head and needed help so I started hollering for dear hubby, hollering at the pigs to get their snouts out of my ears and hair and hollering because they thought it was the perfect time to jump, splash and play with mom. Once dear hubby got there he was worried about saving me from the pigs but as I quickly explained, well alright screeched-he understood they were just curious and playing not attacking me so back to the black goat who was once again bellering at the top of her lungs to be freed. I grabbed her nose and horns and started twisting when I finally had her lined up to exit I told him to pull and she was free. She was a bit scraped up but no serious injuries and we were both covered head to toe with pig muck. Wiping off as best as I could with the “mom cape” I then washed up a bit in an icy water hole before going in and taking the wonderful pig aroma with me. Of course dear son wakes up just as I’m coming in the door and asks why I smell like a wet goat covered in pig poop-of course I replied “new beauty regime” discussion over! 

Once cleaned up and breakfast finished-homemade cake donuts take awhile-I decided that due to the recent events coupled with the fact I had little sleep because my dear hubby was trying to call in every bear, moose and wolf in his sleep by imitating a logger with a chainsaw-yes he snores that loudly-I was well prepared to take the day off and crawl back in bed. Right! Best laid plans! I then remembered I had the cow tongue chilling that I cooked day before and I needed to peel and grind, a turkey that was in the smoker awaiting it’s cooking to finish,beef bones to simmer ( the tongue and bones were given to me when a friend butchered a cow) and a list 2 arm lengths long of things that needed done like pig food to cook, kids school work and pens to inspect, clean etc. 

by 1 p.m. I had finished with the dishes, splitting wood as I was running low (yes there’s wood in the shed but that’s for rainy days) hubby and kids just returned from cutting straw for all the pens so were all hungry. A quick sandwich of cows tongue made all happy, turkey was in the oven, bones simmering, now it was time to turn my attention to the critter pens while running back and forth to the cabin to keep the fire stoked and watch so the turkey nor the pig food cooking would burn. I do believe I ran just short of a 5k by this time.

4 p.m. Coffee break time! As I sneak in to have a quick cup in the quiet I almost made it to the door when my dog starts whining. Mr. Tom T.Turkey has her cornered and is once again trying to woo her. I save her from the amorous turkey by picking him up as he calls out his love gobbles while she makes a bee line to the cabin. Thinking of her making a bee line reminded me I needed to check my bee hives and in my tired state I almost opened them up without my gear on. There’s buzzing in the boxes so I let them be and hopefully will have a few minutes tomorrow to get them some food to carry them through until the thaw.

Back to my coffee break! By this time I’m on a mission! As I head back to the cabin the twin goat babies are crying for momma who has left them to go graze while they were napping and now we’re up and hungry. Not wanting an eagle or bear to hear the commotion I scoop up one under each arm and drag them back to the cabin and plop them down with Missy the wonder dog who begins giving them a tongue bath which makes them quite happy as she is their second momma, I cut myself a cup of coffee-by this time it was almost that strong from sitting on the stove perking away while I chased critters and my own tail around and realized third sip in that supper needed fixing. 

By 8 p.m. Supper done, another batch of pig food done for morning, dishes washed and it’s time to call it a day. Yep, just another quiet day on Two Moose Farm!

I’ll leave you with a few random pics as is my norm and a a prayer to God to provide for your every need. God Bless All 

    
    
    
 

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Icy adventures-I’ve had a few!

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It’s been crazy ’round here! Running in circles seems to be my latest feat. When dealing with the veterans administration one gets very good at running in circles, double talk and dead ends. The good news is Papa Fred is healing nicely from his surgery and while I wade through the mountains of bureaucracy he is mending and waiting for the VA to approve his next doctor visit. All I can say is thank heavens for the wonderful doctors and nurses at our local hospital for not only providing him with excellent care but also providing me with the materials and information I needed to care for him at home. Without them I would of been flying by the seat of my pants and at this point in time I’m not sure where my seat is!

Our last doctor visit was quite an ordeal. It was 29 degrees out and pouring down rain. It soon warmed up to 32 and while conditions like that are not too worrisome on the trail it’s another story when on a paved road. We were headed to town and I needed to meet friends at their turnoff to give them a wrist brace I had (yep found others as accident prone as I am!) so I attempted to simply pull off the main road-that was my first mistake. In doing so there is really no approach on this road. It is a steep incline and guess who started sliding down sideways? Now this may not seem like a big deal but a 9 degree grade on a narrow road covered with ice and no where to go on the sides but down a steep embankment, well let’s just say it got interesting fast. I did manage to get the pickup headed in somewhat a forward direction and at the bottom of the hill met up with my friends. They must of thought I was insane coming down there but I assure them it was not intentional. Alright averted disaster and needing to get back to the top of the hill I told them to go ahead of me and I would follow in the rough trail their chains left on the ice and pray I made it to the top. I almost did! Almost. 10 more feet-10 little feet and I would of crested but noooooo I didn’t quite make it. Now if you thought going downhill looking out the windshield was exciting, ya should of seen it going backwards! Yep I slide all the way down in reverse, found a spot I could slide into safely and there I sat. Reese and Ann always game for adventure came to the rescue! Long story short version-yes I know a little late for that-but between us we managed to get me in one piece to the top of the hill. Yes, I do realize that we had a lot of help as I was praying the entire time. I am still trying to get the truck seat off of my backside though as I was scared enough to make it a permanent fixture.

I desperately needed some down time with my kids. Away from chores, school, nursing care and worries so we had a little adventure yesterday. We took advantage of our ice highway and went on a “saw log” search. You see saw logs aren’t just any old log. We search out dead standing trees that are dry, straight and not too knotty or rotten. It’s really a hit and miss thing because you never know if a perfectly straight beautiful tree will be rotten on the inside but we have learned by hitting them with a heavy stick if it sounds hollow then it probably is. Mission accomplished though as we found enough trees that we can make the lumber needed for a couple more projects including my big greenhouse. Yes it’s going to happen! I’m so excited I may just move in there for the summer!

We also ventured out to the road and made a quick trip to the beach. Amazing how a few minutes of beach time rejuvenates the mind and body. A balmy 35 degrees and sunny but it was a short visit as the tide was quickly coming in. The Eagles as usual were plentiful and I was able to snap some pretty cool photos of them taking flight. I think they look pretty good considering I took them with my phone.  

   
   
    
    
    
    
    
    
 Well that’s about all that is happening right now, still waiting for Dan and Robin to come home from the outside and share their adventures with me-they really need to blog as they have so many exciting adventures! Hint Hint

Have a blessed day all and remember that God is good All the time!

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Long winded post-beware!!!!!

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So much going on these days I will warn you in advance, this will be a long winded post and yes I will be elaborating!

First of all we have new babies!!!! Yay!!!!!! I was beginning to think the goats were taking lessons from our freeloading chickens! I am proud to announce the arrival of our first babies though, a set of twin boys from Bubbles. The names I cannot say as the kids (two legged ones) took charge of that and it seems to change hourly. The birth was uneventful and quite rapid. Bubbles came into the yard and was acting strange so I had Cati put her in the pen, 30 minutes later Caleb announced that we had twins. They are quite cute one has floppy ears and the other kind of looks like a donkey and bellers a lot. Still they are very cute and as the rest of the family ooohs and awwws over their cuteness I’m daydreaming of barbque goat. Cruel and sadistic you say? Well first off I’m not dreaming about those two….yet, but the two little nincompoops who decided that coming into the cabin at 2 a.m to steal the pig food and wake me up on a night I was actually sleeping no less AND they left the door open! Yes goats are opportunists and someone must of not closed the door tightly on a late night potty run, Frankie and Klondike (the gruesome two some) seen an opportunity.  I guess it’s my own fault as I heard a crash as the lid to the pig food hit the floor but I was finally sleeping and chalked it up to someone knocking things over in the dark. Little did I know it was the two goats from hell. Yep, goat is definitely on the menu! 

   

 Papa Fred is experiencing some health issues right now, nothing catastrophic but will be having minor surgery on Thursday. Two weeks ago he started having bladder issues and they put in a Cath now they are replacing that with a permanent one above his pubic bone that can be changed out every month or so. Much easier than traditional Caths and I’m curious as to whether we need a surgeon or a plumber. Hmmmm I will have to ask the urologist if he ever wanted to be a plumber. Okay that was a random thought…even for me!

As you know we butchered my boar hog a couple weeks ago. I tried to get video, charged the camera and everything but Murphy’s law kicked in “If it can go wrong it will” and the video didn’t come out and by the time I realized there was a problem the battery was dead. I have been busy making sausages-lots of sausage! Boudin which is a favorite of my kids, it’s a Cajun sausage made with ground pork, liver, veggies and rice then spiced up and put in casings. I also made breakfast sausage, spicy links and sweet Italian sausage.  

 That was a huge hog! While I was busy butchering hubby took the old subway oven we were given and made a smoker for me. I just finished up smokin 150 pounds of pork. The hams were so big I cut them into 3 pieces. One piece weighed 31 pounds! Dear hubby did get upset I forgot to save back side pork but after he tasted the bacon he got over that quick!    

      
  The weather is still spring like and I expect that old man winter slept through and forgot us again. It’s just cold enough to be icy but it feels like we will be melting off early again this year. That’s okay I’m ready for a change! It’s been an easy winter temp wise but Lordy I’m tired of the rain and ice

  
Many plans for big events have had to be put off because of the medical issues with Papa Fred and the weather…oh I hate keeping secrets but hopefully soon we get back on track and I can share the news! I really am horrible at this secret keeping stuff-note: don’t Ever tell me a good secret-like a surprise gift for someone or a pending birth-I’m the worlds worst at keeping those kind of secrets! I get so excited they have a tendency to just pop out of my mouth! 

We celebrated Papa Freds 73 birthday yesterday and like the ground hog he didn’t see his shadow so spring must be on its way! I made his favorite meal of smoked pork chops and yes they were from our pig and tasted wonderful with the birch smoke.  

 He also had a jalapeño bacon cheesecake. This is the second time I have made this and finally as I was creating I wrote down the ingredients.  

    

 

   
 
Crust 1-1/2 c walnuts finely chopped1/4 c sugar

1/4 c melted butter

1/4 c flour
Filling 3- 8 oz packages cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla flavoring
Topping 4 strips bacon cooked then crumbled

Prepare crust by mixing the ingredients then oil sides of  8 or 9 inch spring form pan put the crust in and roll pan to lightly coat sides before  pressing into pan (the bottom of a canning jar works great for this!) bake 10 minutes at 350

To prepare filling soften cream cheese and mix in sugar then eggs 1 at a time until well blended ( it will have lumps but that’s okay, add vanilla and stir well. Pour into crust then sprinkle edges with bacon crumbles and put jelly in a ring on top (you can also just spoon dollups of jelly over the top.

Bake at 350 about an hour. It’s done when the center is no longer jiggly if you shake the pan. This recipe can be doubled and put in a 9×13 inch cake pan too. The men love it and it’s a favorite of my kids too!

Well now the roosters are crowing and it’s time for another pot of coffee so I will leave you all for now. May your day be blessed with sunny skies and happy thoughts. 

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Shake, Rattle and Roll

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What a week! Not sure where to begin so let’s start with the earthquakes. Yes plural, as in multiple. Literally every few minutes but thankfully we only felt one-a 7.1 on the Richter scale.  

 The red point is epicenter the blue dot is us. We sustained only minor damage but others weren’t so fortunate. Many have lost their homes so please say a prayer for them and while your at it thank God for his infinite wisdom, love and grace for I discovered through the big quake how truly blessed we are. Let me explain. When we made the big move to Alaska months, years actually we searched the Internet, combing through locations and even put in offers (full asking price on a couple of places) and we’re always rejected. Friends spent many hours touring properties for us, taking pictures and inspecting the sites only to have the offers rejected. Now seriously who puts their property up for sale for 5 years and rejects a full asking price offer? Well it happened to us-twice! Not deterred I knew God had a plan. One evening this property popped up on my computer, mind you my settings blocked pop ups. Closing out of it for fear it was a virus (not a website I had ever visited) it kept popping back up every time I turned on the computer! Finally I said “alright God I think you want me to take a look at this place. Yes sometimes I need hit over the head before “I get it”.  I finally tracked down the real estate agent, left multiple messages and emails then finally a response. Now mind you I have never had a real estate agent come across as rude until this lady. She told me stop wasting her time that I didn’t want the property and then I got mad! I decided okay I don’t want it so continued looking elsewhere. Once again with the pop ups. Seriously! I was at my wits end when something strange happened, as if this entire thing wasn’t strange enough! The owners name popped up on my computer screen. Weird! Just plain weird but I took the cue and contacted him. Long story short he had never seen the property. I said I was interested he told me “go to Alaska, go have a look and if you want the property call me back”. Super nice retired farmer who listed the property years ago and forgot about it. So long story short we continued looking at properties all over the state but in my heart I knew that here was where I was supposed to be. Fast forward…we got to Alaska and it took weeks-yes I said weeks to get to the property and locate it. Mind you no real trails, no markers and no neighbors to ask we flew by faith and a GPS to finally locate it. What happened next was surreal. Still letting my head over run my heart I saw only the difficulties but then It happened. I had a dream, I was looking at a painting. The next day we went back out to the property and as I crawled off the four wheeler I turned to see the painting in my dream! Mount Illiamna looked as if it were an oil painting and it was the most comforting feeling I had ever felt. I knew I was home. Alright so that was a long winded explanation of how we got here now here’s the blessing in all of this. We are in a wet area. Our cabin is built on logs sitting on muskeg. Muskeg is simply put lots of moss that grows very deep. Peat moss-a giant sponge. So while the rocking and rolling of a 7.1 earthquake was going on we felt a shake, then things rattled and a bit of rolling like being on a wave but other than a ding on my coffee grinder we were left with zero damage. I was actually shocked to find out it was that large an earthquake as it felt smaller than the one we experienced when we first got here and still in town. That was a 4.9 and it shook! I fully realize how blessed we are and am thankful once again for the blessings we have.

Anyone who knows me knows cooking is my thing. I love to cook and jump at the chance to cook at any event. An earthquake is an event, right?  Here’s my earthquake breakfast crepes-serves 4

Ingredients-filling

1/2 lb.bacon fried crisp 

4 c. Shredded potatoes (frozen or par boil 4 med potatoes ahead of time and let cool before shredding.

1 med onion diced

1 cup shredded cheddar

4 eggs scrambled

Salsa to taste

Crepes 1/2c flour, 1/2tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp oil, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk (approx)

Cut 1/2 pound bacon cut while semi frozen in 1/2 pieces then browned, remove from pan and add 4 cups shredded potatoes to the pan and 1 small diced onion. Cook it on high heat turning to brown evenly. While that is cooking mix up 1/2 c flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2tsp oil, 2 eggs and enough milk to make a runny batter-really thin batter. In a small skillet coat with oil and get super hot, pour a few tablespoons batter in pan and turn to coat the entire bottom. Cook on high 1 minute remove from pan repeating and oiling pan each time-even non stick pans. After crepes are done scramble the 4 eggs and set aside. Now just assemble them-cheese, eggs then hash browns, roll up top with salsa.  

  
Still no winter but perfect weather for meat processing so the hog has been butchered and all the meat now cut and wrapped. I ground sausage yesterday and made breakfast sausage that my dear hubby says is awesome but once again forgot to measure the spices so I could share the recipe. I am so used to just adding until it looks right. I’m waiting for my sausage casings to arrive then will finish by making boudin (pronounced boo-dan) a Cajun sausage we all live. That recipe I can share as I wrote it down and made notes after tweaking it to get it just right. I’ll include it in the post when I make and take pics.

Today turkey culling will be happening. I finally have decided on who will stay and who gets to go to freezer camp. After they are done my butchering should be done for awhile. 

Yep it’s been a crazy few days but all are well here and I pray you are too. Please keep those less fortunate in your thoughts and prayers. Have a blessed day and I’ll leave you with a few random pics 

    

my friend Kimberly and my daughter Cati