Wednesday and Thursday will be nonstop (almost) outdoor adventures - hiking, fishing, and photography at Afognak Island.

I’m looking forward to seeing the wildlife. We’re going to a extreme wilderness area - only accessible via boat or floatplane. The photographic opportunities should be unique and plentiful.

Late in the day of August 31st we will fly back to Kodiak Island (via float plane) and from there back to Anchorage for the night. We want to get a good night’s sleep because there is much to do on Friday.

First thing this morning we’ll go to the bureau of vital statistics in Anchorage and get our marriage license. We had to fax the application a week ago to take care of the waiting period. So today we’ll pay the fee, get our signatures notarized and get the license. We’ll then pack it away in a safe place and head to the airport.

At the airport we’ll catch a flight to Kodiak Island, and when we land there we’ll catch another flight - this time a float plane - to Afognak Island. Of course that second flight will depend on the weather. If it’s stormy or too foggy, we won’t be able to go to Afognak Island, and our plans will change considerably. At Afognak, we’ll be staying at a lodge where we’ll fish and work on some photography until Thursday evening. The owners of the lodge told us that EVERY visitor to the lodge so far has gotten their limit in fishing. Sure. Salmon, halibut, trout - don’t know what else. I’d like to get some great fish and have it shipped home. They’re set up to handle all that. I realize that after all the costs, it’ll be some of the most expensive fish we could have. But, nevertheless, it would taste so great.

RT and I have been eating a lot of fish lately - lots of salmon and Tilapia and Tuna. Less carbohydrates. So a trip to Alaska fit right in with our culinary tastes.

Today we leave for our trip to Alaska.  We’ll fly to Chicago, have a layover for about an hour, and then fly to Anchorage.  There’s a four hour time difference.  So, although it’ll be around 7:00 p.m. when we land - it’ll be 11:00 our current time.  However, it will still be daylight there, and we’ll be psyched and will probably do a little exploring before settling down at the hotel for the night.  One of the places I wanted to be sure and visit is HUMPY’S in downtown Anchorage for halibut fish and chips - absolutely the best fish and chips I’ve ever had.

 

One thing I like about Alaska is the length of daylight in the summer.  When we were there in July last year, it never got truly dark.  It was daylight until around 1:00 a.m. when it got kinda twilight-y until it was day again.  It messes with your internal clock.  We never could get to bed at a decent hour because it still seemed like the middle of the day at 11:00 or midnight.

Okay.  I admit it.  I’m obsessive-compulsive at times.  Well, most of the time.  I just finished writing posts for the days that I’ll be gone to Alaska.  And my wonderful sister, Beth (Blue Star Chronicles) will post them for me each day.  I will be back in person on September 6th or 7th - depending on when I get around to logging on again after getting home.

That’s right. Today’s my birthday. Since I was born in 1949, that makes me (Can it be true?!) 57 years old today. Holy maroly! Just doesn’t seem possible. Time truly goes by much too quickly. Since I’ve done a birthday tribute to RT, each of my siblings, my mother, my two children and my two grandchildren on their respective birthdays, I figure I may as well finish up the family and do one for myself. So, without further ado, here’s my photo tribute to myself.

 

As a newborn

 

 

 

My first piano concert (also one of the last).

 

 

 

 

 

With my father and three of my siblings. Notice that this is the photo of me that was used for my blog header.

 

 

 

Appropriately decked out for my birthday a couple years ago.

Okay, that’s enough photos.

So Happy Birthday to me!

How have I celebrated my birthday? I’m not complaining, but ONE of my errands today was to buy underwear for RT. Of course I also had a manicure and pedicure, RT and I ate breakfast with some friends, and tonight we’ll go to a party for our pastor.  So far, so good.

Sorry that I haven’t been posting much lately.  My life is a little hectic, to say the least.

(1)  School started two weeks ago, and I’m busting my booty at school.  Even though I don’t have my own class of students, I’m giving reading assessments to kids in kindergarten through fifth grade, helping organize reading buddies, keeping the leveled book room and professional reading room up to par for the teachers’ use, writing the newsletter, and working on a couple of volunteer programs. Plus, the past week I’ve been getting things ready for my almost two-week absence.

(2) RT and I are leaving on Monday for our 10-day trip to Alaska.  We both have been busy working out all the arrangements for that - flights (a total of TEN flights in all!), lodging, fishing guides, car rentals.  And we had to plan alternate arrangements for some of the flights inside Alaska since the weather is a major factor this time of year. Three days of our time there will be as part of a photography group at Denali.  So we’ve also been busy getting cameras and photos ready for the trip.

(3) RT and I are getting married a week from tomorrow (September 2) in Denali - on the Alaskan tundra within view of Mount McKinley, and I’ve been also busting my booty getting things ready for that - picking out rings, re-sizing rings, picking up re-sized rings, deciding I didn’t like the original ring I selected (it didn’t look right with the engagement ring) and taking it back and picking out another one.  Making the arrangements for the marriage license and ceremony has taken quite a bit of work, too.  It’s going to be a very informal wedding - we’ll wear hiking clothes (packing space is at a premium) and we’ll be the only ones there except for the commissioner and maybe a couple witnesses which I think are required by law.  No reception or music or anything else.  So you wouldn’t think it would take much planning.  And I guess it hasn’t taken that much time - just making sure everything is handled to get the out of state marriage license, and we have to write our own vows since we won’t be using a set religious ceremony.

(4) It has been amazing how the story of our engagement and wedding has caught so many people’s interest.  I’ve had lots of people tell me that when they heard about it, it brought tears to their eyes, and I guess our story IS quite unusual.  My mother tells me I should write a book about it.  I don’t think it is THAT unusual, though.  Our story is a testament to “true love conquers all” . . . or something like that.

We’ll be back in town on September 6th - and soon after that maybe I can get back to regular blogging. In the meantime, keep coming back, and leave a few comments.  I don’t want to lose all 7 of my regular readers.

There’s a great post with a resulting great discussion in comments over at Fausta’s Blog on why men’s lives are more difficult.  It makes for some soul-searching and pondering.  Here’s an exerpt:

There are three main trends why being a man in today’s world strikes me as a most difficult position:

1. The Church of Oprah
2. Sex and the City
3. Teen girl media

. . . While the women’s movement might want to believe that men are hirsute women with different plumbing, they are mistaken. No matter how they cut it, one fact remains

Men are not women, and women are not men.

Although I’m not an Oprah fan, I have to admit that I have DVD’s of every season of “Sex and the City.”

Last Thursday I wrote about wanting some no-sugar and low-fat ice cream recipes to make for our church’s ice cream get-together. I found a BUNCH of recipes, and ended up making two of them - with my own variations. They turned out REALLY delicious!

Here’s the first - my favorite:

Peach Ice Cream (no sugar recipe - however it ISN’T low fat)

2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cup whole milk

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

1 1/2 cup Splenda

1 cup cold water

2 tsp unflavored gelatin

4 Tablespoons cornstach

4 cups crushed peaches (or 4 cups crushed strawberries)

Whisk together the evaporated milk, cream, whole milk, nonfat dry milk, and Splenda in a large mixing bowl. Stir well and set aside.

Stir gelatin and cornstarch together in a microwavable bowl. Pour the cold water into the gelatin and cornstarch mixture. Stir well using a small whisk until the mixture is very well blended and there are no visible lumps.

Microwave the gelatin mixture on high about 2 minutes, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, or until a thick clear gel forms. Remove cooked mixture from microwave. Slowly add 1 cup of the ice cream base into the gelatin. Stir well, making sure the gelatin and cornstarch are evenly distributed and there are no visible lumps. Pour back into the remaining ice cream base and mix well.

Pour into an electric ice cream maker and follow the directions for freezing.

Orange Pineapple Sorbet (no fat and no sugar)

1 cup water

1 cup Splenda

4 cups orange juice

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 (20 ounce) cans crushed pineapple (in pineapple juice)

4 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

Stir the Splenda into the water and stir until it is completely dissolved.

In a blender or food processor, puree pineapple with its juice until smooth. Transfer to a metal bowl, and stir in the lemon juice, orange juice and orange zest.

Pour into an ice cream maker and follow the directions for freezing. This is a very refreshing dessert.

Yesterday, our EXTREMELY picky and power-crazed county finally approved our building plans and site and issued our much-sought-after building permit!

That calls for a MAJOR celebration because we have been working toward this moment since last December.  The biggest hurdle has been getting the soil mapping and septic systems approved.  Then on Tuesday they told us that since the house was next to a flood plain, we had to show on the plat the level of the building site.  The building site is on a high ridge which IS next to a flood plain.  However, there would have to be a flood akin to Noah’s in order for it to affect the house.  So the guy who did the soil mapping, wrote on the plat the level of the site. THEN, the folks at the county office told us that the bonus room counted as a bedroom, and that made too many bedrooms to be approved.  RT discovered that if the bonus room didn’t have a door, it wouldn’t be considered a bedroom.  Right then and there in the county office, he marked out the door on the plans and drew an arched doorway going into the bonus room.  Bingo!  One less bedroom - and THAT issue was solved satisfactorily.

The fact that we now have a building permit means that as soon as we get back from Alaska on September 7th, our builder can actually start building our house! 

Allowing 8 months to build the house, we could possibly move in sometime in April - and maybe even earlier.  It’s been a long process, but FINALLY we’re ready to begin the second best part of the process - the BEST part of the process will be when it’s finished and we move in.