primer

We worked on more mud this weekend, and put primer on all the walls we have done.

This is Ryan and Becky putting primer on the kitchen wall. It's amazing how finished the walls look now. We are getting really close to being able to move in. Just gotta get the wood stove in.

A lesson in making do

We spent the weekend at our cabin. Because the cabin is only heated on weekends, we don't store food there, as it would freeze, cans would burst, etc. Every week, before we leave to go to the cabin, I pack what food I think we will need for however long we will be there.

When I am planning meals for the time we are there, simplicity is key. I cook on a Coleman stove, like this one:

and I use cast iron pans. We do dishes in a plastic tub with water heated on the stove. So I plan meals that require a minimum of preparation, can be cooked in a maximum of two pots, and doesn't have to be watched/stirred every two seconds.

Anyway, one of the things I planned on cooking this weekend was chili. Usually, I make chili from scratch, but I saw a mix at the grocery store that looked both easy and halfway decent. I quickly glanced at the back, saw that the instructions called for adding 7 cups of water, bringing to a boil, and simmer for 25 minutes. So, up at the cabin, I am throwing dinner together. I browned some ground beef to go in it, and was reading the back of the package again, and noticed "and whisk in 2 6-oz cans of tomato paste". WHAT???? TOMATO PASTE??? DAMMIT. So, I looked, just to make sure, and nope, I don't have any tomato paste. So, I asked Ryan how many cans of tomato sauce did he pack for the sloppy joes we had eaten the night before? One. Exactly how many I had told him to. DAMMIT.

James had been thinking about going to the store for ice cream. So, I asked him to pick up tomato paste while he was there. So, off he went for the 1o mile drive to the store. Back he came 10 minutes later. He wasn't going to the store. It had warmed up considerably, and had been raining. This turned the hill we live on into a solid sheet of ice covered in a thin layer of water. It turned out that even before starting to head down the hill, he had little to no control of his van. And there was a person in the ditch that also apparently had little to no control of their vehicle. Deciding (in an uncharacteristic moment) that discretion is the better part of valor, he came home, and informed me that I would have to make chili without tomato paste.

Chili without tomato paste? EEEWWW. I fussed over this a few minutes, and then thought about it. We had the ground beef. We had chili mix, and after reading the ingredients, found that it consisted of beans, rice, and spices. So, I made the chili, minus the tomato paste, and we had southwestern style soup. Topped with cheese and eaten with tortilla chips, it was tasty. Maybe not as yummy as chili, but no one complained.

I guess the whole point of this is that sometimes you have to make do. You don't always have everything to make the recipe exactly as called for, and this goes for more than just dinner. It goes for just about anything in life. With the uncertain times we live in, with problems ranging from global warming to recession, we might find ourselves needing to make do with less than what we normally would. And you just have to say, "DAMMIT" and make it work.

it's the economy, stupid

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22664317/

More and more news articles are mentioning the possibility of a recession. Now the experts are saying that there is a 50-50 chance we will begin a recession this year. Each new story about economic data makes the situation look grimmer.

One of the first things that slows down in a recession is construction. It is already happening. Alaska lost 800 construction jobs in the past year:

http://www.labor.state.ak.us/research/trends/jan08empscene.pdf

This is much more immediately concerning to me than the national news. I really don't particularly care if Citibank loses $10 billion. It doesn't affect me. But I care if my husband, who just happens to be a carpenter, loses his job. So far, he is doing ok, because he is lucky enough to work for a company that does insurance work. And this time of year there are lots of frozen pipes to keep him busy. But even his company has not hired anyone new in a while. And there are a couple people leaving soon, and James reports that the company has no immediate plans to replace them. So, while his job is secure for the moment, we are trying to make backup plans. James is looking at other options, such as working on the slope. That would mean he would be gone two weeks at a time, which is hard on everyone. And we are trying to figure out what changes we would need to make to live for a while on one income (most likely mine) if it becomes necessary.

We have lost jobs before. A few years ago, James was laid off right after I found out I was expecting Steven, two weeks before Christmas. And we got by. We even managed to salvage Christmas for our kids. So if it does happen, it is not the end of the world. But it is always better to go into such things prepared.

But right now, he has a job, and it pays well. And I will keep my fingers crossed.

quiet...

Not a lot going on right now. We are slowly adding sheetrock to our cabin. James got 8 sheets hung yesterday, so now the kitchen and dining area are done. He was the only one that went up there yesterday, and it was a good thing. When he got there, the thermometer in the truck said it was -10 outside. He kept the kerosene heater burning all afternoon and evening, and it only got up to 18 by the time he left. If the kids had been up there they would have been miserable. We really need to get the wood stove in.


Took this picture today of Steven and the new kitty, both of them sound asleep. The kitty finally has a name: Monkey.

... and a happy new year!

We spent the new year's weekend at our cabin, Saturday through Tuesday. For New Year's Eve, we built a fire, set off fireworks, and let the kids do the sparkler thing....




It was a first for us, doing fireworks and sparklers and such in the snow. But it is a typical Alaskan thing. We don't do fireworks on the Fourth of July, because we can't see them, as it is light all night. So we do them when we can. And judging by last night, boy, do we Alaskans do them. It sounded like we were being bombarded, there were so many firecrackers going off in all directions. And we could see lots of other people's in addition to our own. It was a lot of fun, and it was also very satisfying and symbolic to bring in the New Year in our own home.

So, now it's 2008, and along with probably just about everyone, I have been thinking off and on all day about what this year is likely to bring for us. And although there are lots of issues out there that could impact the way we live our lives, for the purposes of this, I will assume (and no one needs to tell me what assuming does ;)) that the big picture stays relatively constant, that we are not, in fact, going to see TEOTWAWKI in 2008. (TEOTWAWKI = The End Of The World As We Know It)

1. We will (hopefully sometime at this end of 2008) move into our cabin. It will still be incomplete when we move in, but saving approximately $1000 a month in rent will mean we can get it finished much more quickly.

2. We will probably live all year with limited electricity, using only what we can run on the generator, charge in the power outlet in the truck, or maybe get some solar. We will probably have to switch to a laptop computer, with satellite internet access.

3. We will hopefully get a well dug, so that we have running water, instead of depending on a truck to fill up our 150 gallon tank every so often. Then we will just keep the tank full for emergencies, such as a broken well pump.

4. We are going to plant an immense garden. I plan on lots of potatoes, carrots, and parsnips for staple crops, as well as the obvious onions, garlic, lettuce, brocolli, etc. We will plant apple trees, raspberry bushes, strawberries (duh), and blueberries. We will try arctic kiwi. We will probably save the walnut trees for next year. I am absolutely vetoing any non-organic fertilizer, and working hard on a compost pile. For moose control we have a .30-06. If shooting into the air doesn't scare them off, we will have fresh meat, in season, of course.

5. Unfortunately, the pounds have crept up on me a little bit recently. They are going to go away, and quickly. I have better things to do than get fat.

6. We will decide at some point this year whether we are going to simply put an addition on the cabin we have built, or build a house, as was the original intent. There are pros and cons on both sides, and lately it seems we have been changing our minds on this subject every few days. We have at least decided that we are going to move into the cabin, get it completely finished, and not start building again until summer of 2009. That will give us time to get settled and decide what we really want, and what we have the energy and money for.

7. I am getting a piano, and I am going to continue to learn to play, as I am finding it very enjoyable, even on a 15 or 20 year old electronic keyboard.

8. I will vote for President. I will not vote for Hillary. Or Mitt. Or Rudy. I don't know yet who I will vote for. Maybe Ron Paul. Maybe I will write in Al Gore (I am regretting not voting for him when I had the chance). We'll see.

So, that's my to-do list for this year. What's yours?

Happy New Year!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas....

We had a great Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we took the kids to see a gingerbread village, that was just huge. It was set up on a table that must have been at least 12 feet square. I don't think I have ever seen so much candy in one place in my entire life. Here is one small section of it:

Christmas morning was the typical glut of presents, followed by the typical glut of food. The highlight of the day was this:

It came walking out from under our Christmas tree with red ribbon around his neck like a collar. It is a very young kitty, and the kids absolutely adore him. I am already tired of breaking up fights over who gets to hold him now. As of yet, he has no name. He just goes by "kitty".

Oh, and remember the secret thing I was knitting that I didn't post pics of? They are knitted and felted snowmen. I made one for my mother and one for my mother in law. Here they are:

Well, gotta run... going up to the land to see how much mud we can get up in the next three days. I'll keep you posted. And, since I won't be back until late on the evening of the first,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

today is 2 seconds longer than yesterday!

So, yesterday was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. From sunrise to sunset was 5 hours, 25 minutes, and 58 seconds. The sun rose at 10:15 and set at 3:42. And to make it worse, it was very overcast, so there was no sun visible at all. At this point in the year, even when the sun is out, it is very low on the southern horizon all day... if you drive south at all, you have to put the visor down, because it is right in your eyes. And once it sets, it gets dark very quickly.

For those of you that don't live in Alaska, you probably don't pay that much attention to how long or short your day is from sunrise to sunset. I didn't before we moved here. But I do now. It is amazing how much of a difference it makes. I now understand why the bears hibernate all winter. All I want to do most of the time is sleep. I go to work in the dark. My kids walk to school in the dark. When they come home from school, it is getting dark. And when I get home from work, it has been dark for hours.

But it is all getting better. Today is 2 seconds longer than yesterday. Tomorrow will be 15 seconds longer than today. And the day after will be 26 seconds, and then 38 seconds, and then 51 seconds..... and pretty soon it will be light all the time, and it will be glorious.

I didn't plan well enough this year, but I think next year, we will have a solstice party. When you live in Alaska, it is something to celebrate.

the story of stuff

Here is a very interesting video about the lifecycle of the things we buy. It is also a powerful (I think, anyway) argument for why we should try to buy less. Remember the old saying "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"? Enjoy.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/?gclid=CJ_Z69mkqJACFQJaiAodZFmyqQ

beaded cable socks

Got another pair of socks finished:

I posted a pic of these socks in progress back when I first started blogging. (See http://lifeonthelastfrontier.blogspot.com/2007/07/on-needles.html.) I bought the yarn and beads last May, when I was in Utah, at a wonderful little yarn store in Ogden, although I can't remember now what it is called. The yarn is a combination of wool and bamboo, and is very soft. I have heard that yarn with bamboo wears for a long time. We will see. I am really pleased with these socks. They were fun to make, they are pretty, and they feel great on my feet.

Here is a close up of the bead and cable pattern:

its been a long time....

I know, I haven't blogged in ages. I have been working a lot of overtime, am behind on housework, and have no new pictures of cabin construction. So what has happened in my life since the last time I blogged?

I turned 38.

My daughter turned 8, and had a party. Her and her friends played twister:

ate pizza, cake and ice cream, and opened presents:

watched a movie (Meet the Robinsons), and generally had a good time.

While in Utah, I borrowed a keyboard from my best friend, and I am now also diligently trying to teach myself to play it. I very much want a piano, but while in the midst of building a house, we don't have the spare $2,000 it would take to buy one, and not knowing how to play it makes it difficult to justify spending the money on one. So I will learn the basics, and tuck away a little money here and there into my savings account, and then buy one. :) And James will find out when he comes home from work and it is sitting in the living room. Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission, right? Besides, he has fair warning. Ever since the wall between the bathroom and living room went up, I have been telling him the piano will go on that wall.

And I have been working on knitting Christmas presents. I can't put pictures of what I am working on up, because that would give away the surprise for several relatives. But once they have been received by the intended recipients, I will post them.

As I type this, James is up at the cabin working on drywall and mud. It is very warm today, so he is hoping the kerosene heater will heat up the cabin enough to do mud. Normally I would be up there with him, but I am prevented by a huge mound of dirty laundry in my bathroom that needs to be washed. And if I don't work on it all day, and force my children to help me, no laundry will get done this weekend, and no one will have any clean clothes to wear to work or school. Which, in the eyes of my 8 year old, would be a major catastrophe.

So, I better go start a load of laundry.