Lots to be Grateful For!

We had an Alaskan Thanksgiving this year at Sheep Mountain Lodge about 2 hours north of Anchorage. It has remained very, very cold, and it was never above zero in the Wednesday - Friday that we stayed at Sheep Mountain - still, as you can see in the pictures, we had fun skiing and snowshoeing and going in the wood-fired sauna.

Our landlords, Mary and Lance Mearig rented the cabin next to us with Lance's brother and sister-in-law, and we fixed Thanksgiving dinner together in one of our cabins.  We took a jigsaw puzzle, we read, watched a movie on Jessica's computer, and had a great time -- maybe the best Thanksgiving dinner we've ever had -- food tastes pretty good after skiing in below zero temperatures!
Jessica was with us for a week and left late Saturday night to go back to LA.

Dinner - we should have taken pictures - turkey, dressing, gravy, roasted vegetables (potatoes, brussel sprouts, beets, onions, broccoli, carrots), yams and squash casserole, broccoli salad, homemade rolls.
Then we had to roll out of the cabins for an after dinner snowshoe before dessert -- dark and crisply cold but invigorating!  Then on to pumpkin cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust and an apple pear crisp.  A valiant attempt to finish the puzzle Thursday night and Friday morning, but it was more important to ski again before we left, and the puzzle went back in the box!

Jessica hasn't been on skis since she was 15 or 16, so she did well.  The scenery is drop dead gorgeous, as you can see for yourselves.  They have about 18 km of groomed trails, though with the cold, it was better for classical skis and not good for skate skiing.  We came back on Friday and went out for a ski again here in Anchorage on the Chester Creek trail late afternoon -- looking for moose for Jessica, but we didn't see even one in the week that she was here (well, Brian saw several, but he did a couple of extra skis at the beginning of the week when it was 5 degrees and the rest of us were resisting!)  Then on to Crush, one of our favorite places to go for wine and little dishes to share.

Saturday was a big craft fair at the Anchorage Museum, a tradition for them and becoming one for us!  Jessica and Judy went for the afternoon, then dinner with friends, and on to the airport for Jessica's flight out at 12:30 am.  She had a red-eye and arrived back in LA at 6:30 am. on Sunday.  All in all a great weekend, with lots to be thankful for.  We were able to talk to the rest of our children - Colin and his fiancee April, Scott, Alex, and Colleen by phone - not the same as being there but we're grateful still!

Town Square in Anchorage - decorated now for the holidays!

Cold, cold, cold here!

There's been a north wind blowing!  We skied over the weekend and also took a walk Sunday morning to our favorite bakery for coffee and a scone - just a couple of blocks.  And . . . the Anchorage Symphony in the afternoon for a little Bach, Tchaikovsky (Sleeping Beauty), and then a really great second half with Step Afrika, a unique dancing phenomenon set to music that premiered here with the composer as conductor.  We're able to walk to the Performing Arts Center from our house, so that's easy and fun (even bundled up from the cold.)  We've had more snow since the picture below, so the piles and the cold seem more like January than November, even here!

All of this week, it's been so cold and windy that we've been pretty wimpy -- haven't gone out to ski at all!  Brian's been busy with a few home remodeling jobs, I've been busy at work into the evening every day (including tonight - guest teaching a public administration class!), and the big challenge this week has been to make dinner by the time we get home (and also keep warm!).  It was supposed to be below zero last night, and it may be a high of single digits today.  We haven't even seen any moose around this week!  They must be hunkered down someplace to keep warm themselves!

Jessica is coming to visit tomorrow night and staying through Thanksgiving.  We're going to Sheep Mountain Lodge for a couple of nights over Thanksgiving with the couple that we rent our apt. from and his brother and his wife.  We each have a cabin and will fix Thanksgiving dinner there.  http://www.sheepmountain.com/.  It is about a 2 hour drive from here.  Hopefully getting Jessica some rental skis and snowshoes to take with us.  Also hoping to see the Dall sheep that they are famous for.  They usually come down lower from the mountains when the snow comes.

Brian's waiting for the scores on his residential contractor's test - thought he'd get them yesterday so maybe today!  This will enable him to get a contractor's license rather than the handyman's business license that he has now, if he wants to.  And . . .  we may have our house taken care of again on a lease to purchase agreement - will find out tomorrow for sure!  Enjoy winter, whatever it is where you are!

Snuggled in -- It's COLD here already!

When I got out of work and got in my car yesterday to drive home, I looked and it was 8 degrees!  And it was supposed to get to 0 or below last night!  This is earlier than last year - the early snow too.  The moon was full and a very clear night so gorgeous but cold!  We were inside sipping wine and having a halibut stir fry.  Not as exciting as the outside pictures, I know, but quite satisfying and very colorful!

Recipe:

Stir fry chunks of halibut in a little oil with red chiles first (or add chili oil).  Remove and stir fry julienned red pepper and snow peas leaving tender-crisp.  Add sauce that you make with 2 cups of chicken broth, 1/4 c. soy sauce, a little brown sugar, 1/4 c. of lime juice, and then thicken with cornstarch mixed with a little water after it boils 5-10 minutes.  Combine halibut, vegetables, sauce and chopped fresh cilantro and serve over rice noodles.

From:  Marine Cuisine: Recipes from Alaska's fishing families, Alaska Marine Conservation Council (www.akmarine.org)

I love halibut, and it was very expensive this year -- and we weren't here all summer to fish for any!  Consequently we have no halibut in our freezer, and it will be a very special and occasional treat all winter! I bought this at a farmer's market before they closed for the year as "shredded" halibut, which was much more reasonable in price -- good for enchiladas or tacos and a stir fry like this!

Daylight is shrinking here!  I've got to more than double my vitamin D intake, as it is much lower than when I came here a year ago -- and I have Brian taking it now too -- important no matter where we live!

Skiing's Begun!

I was wrong!  We did get to ski this weekend and today, November 6, is one day earlier than last year -- plus we had plenty of snow right here and didn't have to drive to Hatcher's Pass!  We had about 4 inches of snow overnight and already had some on the ground, so it isn't PLENTY of snow but it was ENOUGH snow to have a pretty good ski from Earthquake Park.  Where we more usually ski, there are several tunnels under the roads -- the municipality shovels snow into the tunnels for skiers when they groom the trails, but that hasn't started yet, so we drove 10 minutes or so to get farther out on the trail with Mary and Lance, the couple that we rent our apartment from.  Mary took these pictures of us with Cook Inlet in the background.

Judy was in a "Wisdom Weekend" for the first part of the day.  The Wisdom Course is a course offered by Landmark Education, and since she hasn't been able to lead seminars up here (there aren't any), she's training to lead the Wisdom Course on the web, as that's the only online course offered at the present time.  The Wisdom Course is all about building community and enhancing capacity to live a life of your own creation -- and it's fun!

Stay tuned for more snowy pictures -- let the skiing commence, seriously!

Catching up with news

We've been short on Alaskan outdoor adventures in the last few weeks, but not sure on adventures!  Judy spent 5 days in Southern California at a writing conference (Ojai), and Brian has been taking classes on home remodeling and contracting -- just finishing a 3 day course now that could lead to his contractor's license in Alaska.  He has just now started his own home remodeling business. The trip to California included seeing Judy's daughter Jessica and her sister Christine, so that was a good visit!

We have snow in Anchorage -- we'll get some pictures today and add them.  Judy came back from California in a blizzard Monday night, but it quickly calmed down.  We could have been skiing already, but work and courses have kept us too busy -- maybe this week.  We started on Nov 7 last year, so we don't want to get too far behind!

Visit Judy's work website and see what she's been doing: www.uaa.alaska.edu/engage.  This weekend is the 4th weekend of the Wisdom Course, which Judy's in training to lead, so another busy weekend plus Brian's last contracting training day.  Hopefully they'll be time for a walk later.  Our house in NY hasn't sold yet, and we've just put it up for rent as well as a lease purchase option, so please be our ambassadors and spread the word!  We won't be back East at Christmas this year, as Judy's son Colin is getting married Feb. 6, and we'll be back for that.