Bear Cove for the weekend

Headed to the cabin with some new friends, we met Kim in the coffee shop and met 5 new great people. These very brave people hopped on a boat and came over to the cabin, not knowing what to expect. We enjoyed wonderful food (clam scrambled eggs) , lots of kayaking and rowing and my favorite, enjoying what washes up on the beach. I, with my love of carrots have cultivated an eagle eye and found an otter skull and entire otter skeleton, I think Kerry will enjoy those pics best. The best flotsam seemed to be a really big buoy that we played soccer with and the dogs went crazy on. Kim's dog took to chewing the barnacles off, yikes. Now to relax in the rain and recover from the early mornings, late nights and sun burn, ah life is hard, that is what I like to say.

Things I found in the ocean this weekend:
Bucket lid - used as a Frisbee
Buoy- used as soccer ball
Otter skull and body
Fire extinguisher- empty


If you think about it too long the ocean will really get to you. Kachamak bay is basically crab-less, otters are dying daily, so much trash washing up, less clams every year, not to mention dad is dragging entire garage sales directly into the cabin, next I will find a tricycle in there, when I ask why we need it in a place where you have to really walk carefully he will say, "Don't touch that, we need that." Those are the words he used when asked what he does with the beige high heels and calendar from 96.

Tomato house

Last weekend I hit up the farmers markets and picked up some really cool coleaus. While driving home I saw Seth in a plastic box on the lawn, you couldn't begin to guess what he is up to sometimes. After an awesome 2 hour whiffle ball game we biked home from Becky and Erin's house and saw the grocery boat pulling in, too cool, the picture is taken about 11:30 pm, also cool, we are gaining 5/6 minutes a day. Today was the last day of school and tonight is Ashley's soccer game, big things happening, big things. Headed out to the cabin for the long weekend with 6 friends so more pictures to come.................

Leaf buds the size of a squirrels ear

Warm wind, blue skies and lots of people out. Seemed like too many without shirts on to me. I met Seth on the bike trail, he had just flown in from Kodiak and went on a run, I met him half way, he had to turn around early because of 3 bears on the trail. Now it officially summer! And as if to reinforce it all I came home today and the door was wide open (almost as if we had been broken into again) but with all the signs of Seth and no Seth. After a little deep thought I found him on the roof, now we can settle in to blue skies, lazy summer days and vacation! Only a few more days of school and Bonnie is home free until August what 10th? Don't know the exact date, try not to think of it, Ashley will call and let me know anyhow. Until than it is free and easy, the kids seems to be in relative control, as if they don't know the end if coming yet, they will smell it soon.

Neighborhood pizza

Pizza for dinner! Bran muffins for the morning and cookies for all the time. We walked to Ski and Benny's the worst pizza you will taste just down the street. It is really terrible pizza, makes you think, "huh, didn't know it was possible to make a pizza entirely with canned vegetables, meat too." Seth likes to describe the air as thick. We walk to buy their dough only. They dependably remember us and never charge the same price. Today no one really spoke English but they were all really nice. We confused the hell out of them. The lady couldn't understand Seth's order of 2 doughs and the delivery driver accused us of being Bulgarian exchange students.

The perfect cookies

While I will never top Erin's cookies I have to fill the hole that living without her for a few months created. Seth and I easily became accustomed to her beautiful cookies, brownies, breads or Bob's desserts. Now we are flying solo and so I search the recipes looking for a substitute. Ask Ashley, I don't think putting the ingredients in a certain order seems important so everything goes into the mixer in the order I can fish it out of the pantry. Time to admit I was wrong, it totally matters, who would've thought all those recipe books spent cents on ink for explanations on mixing dry ingredients and wet separately. huh. Call me wrong, don't do it often, but this would be an appropriate time.

Prep and Cook Time: about 40 minutes. Notes: If you are of the school that thinks chocolate chip cookies should be soft and chewy, you'll love this recipe. Store these cookies airtight for up to 2 days.

Yield
Makes about 28 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Summer Reading

Melissa, you have inspired a list:

Bangkok Tattoo- John Burdett

The Historian- Elizabeth Kostova

The Dead Father -Donald Bartholme

Anna Karenina- I'll take another stab at it for Jolene's sake, she loved, loved it

Cloud Atlas- David Mitchel

DAVID KIPEN, book critic for the San Francisco Chronicle

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Random House Trade Paperbacks)
For as long as I've been reviewing books professionally, I don't believe I have ever loved a new book the way that I love Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Cloud Atlas is actually structured like six short novels nested inside of each other to form a chevron. You read half of each, then the only undivided one, and then Mitchell returns to each of his five cliffhangers in reverse order -- exactly as if you were reading, not six books in one, but six books chevroned inside each other.

Behind all the brilliant structural cantilevering is a writer blessed with a ventriloquist's perfect ear, a prodigiously sneaky gift for black comedy, a full-throated disgust at the hash mankind is making of the world, and the one thing you never find in the same package as all those other virtues: plot. David Mitchell can plot like a house afire, which coincidentally may be just what he sees when he looks at the planet -- a house afire.

As a more personal note:
Bonnie is reading "Middle sex" and really liking it, enjoy discovering Detroit in it's heyday
Seth is reading "I know why the caged bird sings" and didn't know the name of it, should've bet him money, "just little kids hanging out," he says. I can't let him read it out loud, I know they don't stay little innocent kids long enough.

Feeling Appreciated

Monday- a pirate brought a gold coin to class
Tuesday- a crown very specially decorated
Wednesday- a tulip
Breakfast on Thursday- chocolate covered strawberries
Lunch on Friday- Moose's Tooth Pizza, caesar salad, brownie sundays
Friday night- discount at Skinny Raven, new shoes for Seth
Good Week, Educator Appreciation week a success

1915 in Government Hill

Recently I came across pictures of our neighborhood in 1915- 1918. Our neighbor has been restoring his house by these photos down to the light fixtures, he opted for no doorbell due to lack of evidence of one in the 1915 picture. It is cool to be living in such history, not so cool now that we re-insulated though, now it is toasty. I like the entire idea of the victory garden than and now, the potato fields in these pictures is probably way more than a victory garden, in Alaska at that time it was a "don't get scurvy garden." Seth and I have played with the idea of making the whole front yard a garden but with the idea of moving always lurking on the horizon we just hid veggies in the flower beds. The picture of the sod hut is the first residence in Government hill, while I bet that guy smelled bad his "house" was awesome.

If any of you readers chance this posting and need a cat from June 28- August 6th just speak up, she is really just lovely, really smart, high I.Q I imagine, testing is yet inconclusive.