What a busy summer!

I can't believe how incredibly busy this summer has been. After getting back from Utah on May 31, Mike and I dove right back into cabin work and garden building. I constructed three large garden boxes and hauled three loads of dirt (long-bed pickups hold A LOT of dirt!) in order to fill those boxes. I was a little late in getting things planted, but to date, I have one tomato (lots of blossoms), several green peppers, lots of potatoes, one little cauliflower, and a lot of strawberries growing. We'll see how things survive this coming week without me there to water. I'm trusting Mike, Meghan, and Cory to take care of things while I'm gone.

Cory and Mom Berezay landed in Alaska on July 1. Mom B stayed for two weeks. Cory is still here. Mike's Uncle Larry and Aunt Debbie came down from Fairbanks to help us put our power into the cabin. We have lights! We are actually living in the cabin! Next step is to get the plumbing all done. We've had a slower July, though, than we would have liked, but between lots of company and the beginning of the real fish runs, we haven't had a lot of time to work. Currently, Mike and Cory are working on the insulation. We have an outhouse thanks to Meghan, Cory, and Mike. I've been trying to keep food on the table and laundry done (it's expensive to go to the laundromat!) and help wherever my hands can help out.

Mom and Dad Grant arrived in Alaska the same day that Mom B headed home. It was fun visiting with everyone. Mom and I went for a fun-filled trip to Seward. We all went for a terrific ride out in the Caribou Hills with my brother Bob. And, of course, more fishing. Bob's wife Diana outfished us all with her huge king salmon. Cory was so jealous! Meghan and I learned what it was like to dipnet when Bob took us out last week. Meghan and I brought in 26 sockeye (reds) salmon. I've been smoking a lot of salmon -- it is so yummy! I'll try to get pictures of our summer posted soon. Our internet connection at home is pretty slow, so maybe while I'm in Utah I can get something together on here.

Now, I'm on my way to see my beautiful grandchildren. When I last was in Utah, Lucas had just come out of his second surgery, so I didn't get the chance to snuggle him like I desperately wanted to do. Mike promised me that I could go back before school started. So, now I'm in the Seattle airport waiting for my connecting flight. I get to snuggle Jonathan today and then cuddle Lucas in the evening. What a great life! Lucas has been home for about a month. He has continually improved. He now takes a bottle and is off of his specialized formula. His supplemental oxygen has been reduced to just nights. Grant and Kris asked if I wanted to babysit next weekend when they take time off to celebrate their first anniversary. They didn't have to twist my arm. Kris even warned me that it would require waking up every three hours to feed Luke, but not even the lack of sleep would keep me from this task. I hope that this week I can get a picture of all four grandkids together. Nicole has talked about going to Salt Lake as well so that she can meet Lucas. We'll see what happens.

A few weeks ago, I ran across a scrap of paper that had some of my feelings about Alaska on it. I've struggled for years with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). But, this past winter, I was surprised to find that my blahs were much lower than I've had in years. One day as I was driving home from town, it hit me that I was truly content with my life. I jotted down the following thoughts on January 31. When I was sharing my July with my mother and mother-in-law, some of these thoughts and emotions came out in our discussions. I wanted to post this here as well.

COMING HOME

No sadness so far this winter,

Looking for space – to find out who I am
Alaska – freedom – at peace
No longer searching, seeking
If there’s an answer, it’s just that it’s just that way!

What makes this so perfect?
I miss my family terribly,
But for the first time in my life –
I truly feel at home.

Looking to know and understand –
It’s a sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I’ve almost been here
No longings or yearnings to be somewhere else.

I feel as if this has always been waiting –
This place, and
This man!

I watch the eagles fly past my window, hear their chortling.
Surrounded by mysteries of unknown flora,
Learning to adapt to nature’s challenges.
Longings and distant rhythms are finally silenced.

I’m always searching for the words to convey the swelling in my breast –
the reaching into my depths to express my joys –
my hunger for something unknown but so familiar.
Where is the word?
What is it?
How can I ever find it?

Mystic rhythms captured my heart, carried it away…
Brought it here…
Home!

Who would have thought completeness could occur
So far from the expectations of those who know me best?

~ 31 January 2009
Ninilchik, Alaska

Cabin Update

Mike, Meghan, and I have been working diligently at the cabin. Tonight we were able to get the beams up for the loft. Here are pictures from the past several days of work.

Our Little Cabin in the Woods

We're on our way! Last Monday, April 20, Mike and I went over to the property to check out the melting and to unload some supplies. To our surprise, our well had been drilled. That was the beginning. A couple of weeks before, a neighbor had been over with his bull dozer and "pioneered" a road into our building site. He came back later to clear brush and dig a trench for the electric company. Mike laid the electric wires and is now learning how to put the meter box together so that Homer Electric can come out and get the power from the pole to our meter box.

The weather has been cooperative. Mike spent a little time each night last week at the property. I went out a couple of nights to help. I have learned what it means to put something on the 16s and what the little red numbers on a measuring tape are for. I've learned that hurricane straps aren't long straps that you put around things to hold them down when hurricanes hit, but are actually metal pieces that are hammered into place that hold the frame onto the base of something. I've learned that Mike actually has a stubborn streak and that it's ok to compromise on the size of windows (I'll win on the big house, though, never fear!).

My brother Bob came over on Saturday to help us out. He got pretty excited over the nail gun and put together our steps to the cabin. We like them so much that we may just leave them there permanently. Today Bob had put up the back wall by the time Mike arrived from work. Together, they were able to finish the framing of the main floor. Tomorrow will see them starting on the loft. Things are really coming along. Mike promised me that once it all started, it would go quickly. He's right.

The greatest part of all of this is getting to be outside. The days are very long now -- nearly 16 hours of daylight. Even now as I'm writing this, it is 9:30 and the sunset is still not for another 20 minutes and even when it does set, there is still light for nearly an hour afterward. The geese are back and nesting. Songbirds are singing and chasing the eagles when the eagles get too close to the nests. Clammers have hit the beaches for the first big clamming tide of the season. Trees are breaking out with little fuzzy blossoms. And the snow is nearly gone. Meghan is moving back to the Peninsula on Saturday. School will be out in just over three weeks. The dogs love being outside too. Life is good.

Can You Hear the Drums Beating?

In the shadows of a distant land lived a white woman who was on a mission to teach correct grammatical principles to the indigenous peoples. Little did she know that the mystic mountain which loomed at the end of the trail of her nearest relative would stir the locals into a fevered pitch of excitement. The distant drumming throbs into the night as darkness comes later and later into the evening. If she looks closely, she can just make out the skiffs of the head hunters skimming across the open water. She wonders how long it will be before the cauldron fires are lit.

Sunrise or Moonset?

As I arrived in my classroom yesterday morning, I glanced out my window to see this incredible full moon. Mike and I have been watching the moon slowly gain its fullness over the past several days. We've been awed to see how bright and huge it is, especially in the mornings just before it sets. It's difficult to see the glow that the moon casts on the water behind the tree, and I know that the picture truly doesn't do the scene justice. I was just trying to capture it as quickly as I could from my open classroom window. Again, I'm constantly amazed at the things I've seen since I've been here in Alaska. I'm thankful that I can experience this place. I look out across the inlet every day and can honestly say that I have never seen the same view. There's always something different to catch my attention whether it's ice fog, otters, the incoming or outgoing tide, huge ice chunks in the subzero temperatures, bald eagles cruising across my line of sight, barges hauling oil, an enormous winter moon, or the grumbling Mt. Redoubt. It's all good!

Volcano Alert

Since last Saturday after our earthquake, the big topic of conversation wherever you go is speculation on when Redoubt will erupt. Redoubt was placed on yellow status last fall, then was moved to orange status this past week which means 24-hour watch. Mike and I have been making sure that we have the things that we need to be prepared to time spent at home in case it erupts. School was canceled on the southern peninsula a couple of years ago when Augustine erupted, and the kids at school are hoping for a repeat this year. The volcano observatory reports higher than usual seismic activity. This has been an interesting thing to watch. A lot of the elementary kids at school have been pretty concerned, but for those of us in the high school, we're all hoping that it will erupt so that we can watch it from my classroom window. This picture was taken from my classroom window -- I do have a pretty awesome view for watching the show!