Sep 2
I've been in Anchorage for over 5 years so I guess it was about time. It took me no time at all once the card was issued to find three books to check out, the limit until my address is verified. After I get a permanent card, then I can check out 50 books at a time; oh my!
Now, the real challenge will be making sure I get them back on time to avoid late fees. Based on past history, I'm terrible at that.
Aug 24
Since its the very beginning of fall here in Anchorage and the summer's been rather cold and rainy (meaning there's little left in bloom), we decided to see if our honey was ready for harvest. On Sunday, Zach pulled some frames and I tried to cut the areas of capped honey off. For the most part, all went as we expected (other than we didn't have a lot of honey). You can see the darker comb to the left of where I'm cutting, that's dried out comb the bees built up and some parts are filled with bee pollen, which amazing enough seems stickier than honey. Once we finish the harvesting, I'll post a picture of the honey in a jar. I expect that we'll only get a couple of jars this year. Oh well, at least (a) the bees survived and (b) there was some honey.
Aug 22
This evening Zach and I and two brave friends decided to float the mighty Campbell Creek, which flows behind our house. We floated for a couple of hours, with little mishap (I did lose my hat in the creek, but it was retrieved), to the Peanut Farm, a local watering hole, just in time to have a beer before the thunderstorm came. A delightful time was had by all.
Aug 20
You know, old school playing, like when we were kids. Having someone over and doing something that has no relevance other than its just fun. Yesterday, I had my friend over since our boss gave us the afternoon off due to exceptionally awesome weather (we've had tons of clouds and rain this summer). We decided we should be outside, so we colored these cute monsters whilst lounging on my deck. It was a wonderful break.
Aug 18
While in Juneau last week, I went gold panning for the first time. It takes lots of patience, but you couldn't beat the scenery or the weather.
Aug 18
I'm not a big fan of heights and I like them even less when I have to give control of going up or down to someone or something else, like wheels and pulleys. That being the case, it was a big step for me to ride the Mt. Robert's tram in Juneau last week. I've been to Juneau probably 20 times and never wanted to ride the tram. This time the incentive was that the hike up was so muddy I was afraid I'd be a gonner falling somewhere on the way down, plus after I bought a water bottle (I'd left mine in Anchorage) the ride down for myself and my friend was free.
Aug 7
The Midnight Sun Brewery's spruce tip stout and the witbier mixed with pomegranate syrup. We took home a growler of the witbier & some pirate booty, a California common.
Aug 4
I think I'll stick with the more traditional peanut butter and celery as a snack from now on.
Aug 1
I decided to make a cake yesterday. It called for softened butter, but all we had were sticks of butter straight from the fridge. Without a microwave, I needed a way to soften the butter. I took a gratin dish, filled it half way with hot water from the tap and put the sticks of butter in for about 20 seconds on each side. And viola, softened butter. All the other techniques have yielded melted butter, not softened.
Jul 25
Our friend's birthday was this past weekend and I wanted to do something homemade for a gift. In looking through my sewing books I ran across a grocery tote, but after going to the fabric store and found this mod floral print, I decided to go with a shoulder bag.
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