welcoming winter

There was a time when I would have been annoyed by an October snowfall. Back in the days of plentiful snow, I would have preferred if the flakes held off until November, at least. But we’ve had such crappy winters here in Southcentral Alaska for the past two years… maybe three? I’ve lost count. It…

snaps from today.

Above, high bush cranberry leaves turning colors, making me want to turn up the collar of my jacket. Below, happy dog with toy found lakeside a couple weeks ago. Some other dog is not-a-happy-dog but it serves him/her right for not fetching his/her lunker from the water. More highbush cranberries: I need to go out…

Book Club No. 1 – The Good Earth

Last winter, family & friends held a monthly craft party. A pARTy, if you will. Then summer came along and we busied ourselves with fishing and gathering and camping and such. Craft parties fell by the wayside. This time around, we decided to do a book club every other month and a craft party for…

Fruit salsa and cinnamon chips

We were having a retirement party at work. It was to be a potluck and the request was for healthy food. I signed up for fruit and went in search of something other than your run-of-the-mill chopped fruit or fruit salad. I found this recipe for Annie’s Fruit Salsa and cinnamon chips. It has 3,008…

a drive up the elliott highway

On our second day in Fairbanks, we decided to take a little roadtrip up the Elliott Highway through the White Mountains National Recreation Area, as far as the gold-mining ‘town’ of Livengood. It was really beautiful up there. Rolling hills. Peeks of the pipeline here and there. We came across the Fred Blixt public use…

FBX (aka Fairbanks)

Our first day in Fairbanks dawned clear and sunny(-ish) at the cabin we rented. Dig those burls on the front porch: The dogs did alot of sniffing around their new home. In this photo, I think Riley looks like the lady of the manor: We made coffee on the front porch. I am in awe…

headed north

A couple of weeks ago we set out on a roadtrip north for a long weekend staying in a public use cabin along the Chena River in Fairbanks. Five ladies, three vehicles, three dogs, and a cabin with plenty of charm but no electricity or water. Here are some photos from our drive up there. Rock…

the “‘I Love Peanut Butter’ Cookbook” post

Like what I did there with the punctuation in that title? Here’s a cookbook I found at the Soldotna Bishop’s Attic thrift store earlier this summer & I’ve had it sitting here and there around the house ever since. Whenever I see it, I snicker. “Taste-tempting recipes for every course on the menu, starring one of America’s…

yard tour

This morning was cool & wet & rainy but that didn’t stop me from taking a tour of my yard, snapping photos here & there. Those are wild rose bushes up there. Their pink roses come out early in the summer. And these are red currants, in hiding: A soggy Siberian larch tree: Dogwood: Plump red…

salmon dumpling gang

Last night, I was invited to Angie & Yiyi’s long-planned pizza dinner and dumpling-making party. Yay me! I was a little late to show up because I had to run home after work, collect the dog because she’d spent the day in the garage snoozing on her own, fill my car with gas, get an…

anchorage ak

Here’s an assortment of photos I’ve shot of downtown Anchorage this summer while roaming the streets. I love this big whale statue. I don’t know if you can see them in this photo but his tail is knocking a bunch of people out of their boats. Old telephone in the pee-soaked alley next to the 4th Avenue…

a night out on the town

Anchorage does this First Friday thing and a bunch of us got together to enjoy half-off appetizers and drinks, stroll through the galleries, and walk around downtown on a ghost tour. Our first stop was Muse Restaurant at the Anchorage museum, looking all sexy & red: Ingrid the ex-exchange student from Norway came back for a visit and…