It's Been Three Years . . . and We're Back!

I've been regretting that I didn't keep up with this blog posting, and I've especially thought in the last few days that during this coronavirus thing we're going through that it may have been useful. Brian and I have still gotten outside for at least an hour each day, and we've taken short trips, around an hour or less, to do outdoor things.

On about March 11, we went to a movie and a quick dinner before with a visiting friend, but since that time, we've only been together the two of us, one trip to Natural Pantry for replenishing fresh food, and our outdoor recreation, alone. So we've been "Hunkered Down" as Anchorage has termed it rather than "Shelter in Place." And even before that, we were largely doing that anyway since returning from our trip to upstate New York 2/14 and a quick trip for me to Seattle returning 2/16.

Days have been kind of long, probably similar to how it is for a lot of you, but I've worked from home a lot for my Wisdom Course accountabilities - on the phone or Zoom meetings online - and I've been enjoying cooking, writing, and watching things on Hulu or Netflix that I'd never explored. A couple that I've really liked: The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, 10 episodes for Season 1; Fosse & Verdon, 8 episodes, I have one left - it's really good; a documentary on Baseball that I don't think I've finished (PBS); and the new documentary on Hillary Clinton, 4 episodes - loved this - and I have one left to watch! And we've been doing a little of this mid-day too!

What I've been cooking: Moosemeat chili, lots to freeze, banana bread, homemade pasta, very good salmon with a little soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil baked at low temperature, and recently almond cookies. I was talking to my son about cooking stir fry and asked if he remembered the Chinese dinners we used to make when he was a child, always ending with homemade almond cookies that I would keep in the freezer for the occasion. He said he hadn't remembered until I said that but then he could even remember the taste right in that moment! He remembered when we made pasta too years ago and asked me to leave him the pasta maker in my will!

And not to make this too long, I have to show you some of the pictures we've been taking outdoors - the weather has been extraordinary, and yesterday we took our back-country skis along a stream an hour south of here in Portage - on the way to Whittier, where Brian did a little maintenance work on Kakwik, the boat that we share with Carl & Diane. With the social distancing requirements, the boat isn't going in the water yet, and it remains to be seen if it will go in this season for shrimping! The day was gorgeous though, and I appreciate that Brian thinks of these perfect things to do with the snow conditions.

I continue to appreciate living here in Alaska!