ALASKA 2012 - DAY 1

We left home this morning a bit before 7.   The sun was just peaking over the homes along the highway leading out of town.

We were excited to get on the road, but sad to leave this little one, our great granddaughter Abby who just entered out lives two days ago.  But she is in good hands.  Her mommy and daddy are doing an awesome job already, and the grandma, our daughter Kari, will just have to do the spoiling until we return.  Abby was baptized this morning at the hospital.  She is a new child of God!  Praise the Lord!  Happy second birth, Abby!

We drove past many fields of Minnesota corn.  A lot of it looks like it's ready to pick....quite early!  It's been a weird year.

And of course, we have lots of bean fields.   The air was a bit hazy this morning, and actually it remained so most of the way to Rapid City.

Western Minnesota also has fields that look like this.

But South Dakota has fields that look like this!  Love those sunflowers!

Stopped to use the bathrooms.  We actually picked a good door to go in, and walked straight down a little hall, did our thing, and walked back out.  Junk city!

We had a few rain drops as we neared Rapid City, but the clouds were beautiful.  The temperature was 102, which is a bit warm for me.

Tomorrow we head across Wyoming and into Montana.  We had a good day.....all 524 miles and 47 mpg!

THIS DAY - AUGUST 22, 2012

This day began the same as most other days, with a pink sky off to the east.  The birds were singing, the grass was covered with dew.  I ran into cobwebs as I walked out into the yard.  A pretty regular dayl

And then this happened!

Abigail Lynne was born.  All 8 pounds 6 ounces and 22 inches of her.  She is beautiful!  She is my first great grandchild, my daughter's first grandchild, and my granddaughter's first child.  Princess Abby is here!

Look at that hair in back.  Her hair on top and in front is short, but this hair in back is thick and long!

Mommy and baby are doing well.  Kjirsten looks great for only a couple of hours out of surgery!

And here we are.  4 generations!  The white haired fat great grandma, my daughter Kari, the grandma, Kjirsten, the new mommy, and the Princess Abby.

Mommy and daddy are going to do a wonderful job of raising her.

And here is great grandpa.  He didn't get to hold our babies when they were only a couple of hours old.  That wasn't allowed back in the olden days.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly host, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  Amen.

TECHNOLOGY BAG

I wanted a new bag for my gadgets.  I like everything together, in one bag, all in one place.  Organized.  So I dug in my closet stash of fabric, and low and behold, I found a piece of double sided quilted fabric that I had purchased about 10 years ago on a clearance sale at JoAnn's.  I knew I'd have a use for it one day.  So I started out by making a huge bag.

The fabric is bright purple, red and orange, with the orange flower design on the inside.  I made it extra big with strong long over the shoulders straps.

I filled the inside with pockets, book sized and magazine/ notebook sized pockets.

Then I made five zippered bags for my stuff.

The biggest multi-print bag in back is for my 17 inch laptop.  The orange on on the left is for the Nook and charger, the orange one on the right for the old camera and battery charger, and the smallest orange one for the phone chargers.  The long narrow multi-print bag in front is to carry my Wusthof chef and paring knives.  I know, they aren't technology, but I need them along because we are cooking all of our meals along the way, and I can't do much without them!

Everything fits inside with plenty of room left over for books and magazines and whatever else I need to keep corralled. 

I know.  It's really cute, isn't it.

PERFECT SUMMER AFTERNOON

Daughter Kari invited us to their home for a cook-out this noon.  She said their adult kids were going to be there, including their oldest, our granddaughter who will make us great on Wednesday.  She is miserable,

but I don't think she looks like she is ready to deliver a baby!

Kjirsten and her sister Katie are our two oldest granddaughters.  Love them dearly!

Their brother, Aaron, and his sweetie Callie, were also there.  Such nice kids!

Miss Anna has on her high heeled boots....she is 10.

Brother Adam hung out with us for most of the afternoon, too.  The other brother, Ben, successfully avoided grandma's camera for this day, but watch out buddy.....I'll get you yet!

Cousin Jacob came by after work, and his brother,

Caleb was also there.  They will both be back at college classes soon.

Son-in-law, Mike, grilled the most awesome kabobs.  They were perfect today.....thank you, Mike!

It must have been hard work because he fell asleep while we were visiting on the patio!

I snapped this on the way back home.  I thought it was a perfect Minnesota summer picture.  And with temperatures in the 70's, it was a perfect Minnesota summer afternoon with 8 of our 15 grandkids.  Now I miss the rest of them even more.  Love you all!

READY FOR ALASKA

Well, the tomatoes are ready for their almost 5,000 drive to Alaska.  Just hope they don't take them away from us at the border!

Ready for the boiling water to loosen their skins.

Naked tomatoes!

In the jars and processed.

And then I sat out here for awhile.

PILLOWS

Six years ago today, we were returning from our first trip after our retirement.  We had invited two grandsons to go to Alaska with us, and from June to August we enjoyed the antics of an 11 and a 13 year old.  They fished, climbed rocks, fished, road the 4 wheeler, explored the forest, and oh, yes, they fished.  On the way home, on August 14, 2006, they had had enough of riding in the back seat of our big Ford pick-up.  They began complaining about their sore butts.  They carried on like you would not believe.  Finally, to silence their complaints, I told them I would buy them each a pillow to sit on if we found a Wal-Mart.  At that moment, the great Wal-Mart search began, and wouldn't you know, they soon found one.  So I had to keep my promise.  As we walked down the aisles in the store, I pointed out a nice big furry pillow.  Nope.  I showed them a solid colored soft pillow.  Nope.  I even showed them a manly striped pillow.  Nope.  And then they spied what they wanted!

The 11 year old, Adam, picked a purple pillow that says Drama Queen.  The 13 year old, Caleb, chose a pink number that says Princess. 

Okay boys, as now 17 and 19 year old young men, do you still sleep with those pillows?

S O O N!

Yes, soon.  Very soon.  Maybe in less than two weeks.  Soon we will be headed to Alaska.  This is why we are going:

To see Chris, Amy and granddog, Stella, who as you see, is in charge.

I hope Chris and Ernie can get in some salmon fishing.....

and some halibut fishing.....

and some smoked salmon eating......

and some listening to these guys play.  Kirby, Kari, Chris and Jeff have a group called Billy Goat and they often have gigs around the little village, be it at the bar, a beach cookout, or at a baby shower. 

Do you blame us for getting excited?  We have so much fun in Seldovia with Chris and Amy and their friends.  And I plan to share.  Here and on Facebook.  After all I bought a new camera.

FIFTY!

Yes, fifty.  FIFTY!  This morning it was fifty degrees.  I love fifty degrees.  Fifty degrees is about the perfect temperature.  Fifty is right in the middle of zero which is too cold, and one hundred which is too hot.  Fifty is perfect.

And fifty (well, it will warm up but I like the sound of fifty) degrees will make processing these babies a little cooler.  I have been freezing things because I have no place to store canned produce.  Our house is built on a cement slab, it's a patio home, with no basement.  I have a small kitchen, no pantry.  So finding storage for canned goods would be rough, hence the freezing instead of canning.  But son in Alaska wants some tomatoes, and frozen tomatoes would not be frozen anymore after ten days on the road, so I am going to can some to bring up to Chris and Amy.  The exciting thing is that he is going to trade me canned tomatoes for canned smoked salmon.  Now who do you think is the winner here?

I have been busy recently.  The photo below was taken last week, and I've processed food every day since, so believe me, it's fuller!  Winter should be filled with good soups, stews, and sauces made from the goodies found inside this freezer.

I have begun gathering things for our long road trip.  The food box is filling up with necessities:  gluten free oatmeal, rice, almonds, coffee beans, french press, cast iron skillet, etc.  We plan to cook our meals instead of eating out, so we are taking most things along and will supplement by purchasing fresh fruits and veggies and meat along the road.  

The great grand is scheduled for the 22nd.  Can't wait.  The only problem is that it's going to be very difficult to meet her and then leave her when we take off.  Thank goodness daughter Kari, the grandmother, bought a new camera, and I can expect pictures daily until we return and I can take my own.

And now I am going to take my coffee out to the patio and enjoy the current 54 degrees.

SUNDAY DRIVE and MINNESOTA HISTORY

Yesterday was the first time since sometime in June that the high temperature for the day was in the 70's.  It has been 80, 90, and even 100 degrees for so long that I had forgotten how lovely summer in Minnesota can really be.  We decided to go for a little drive.  We drove the road known locally as The River Road, over to Ft. Ridgely State Park.  We drove past corn fields, soybean fields, and hay fields.

Fort Ridgely played an important part in the U.S.-Dakota War of August of 1862.  This war was the result of disastrous U.S. government Indian policies.  Years of broken treaty promises to the Dakota, combined with an exploding settler population, created conditions ripe for conflict...........In August of 1862, when the Dakota were facing starvation after late annuity payments and the refusal by government agents and traders to release provisions, four young Dakota men killed five settlers near Acton.  In the days that followed, tribal factions attacked the Lower Sioux Agency, Fort Ridgely and white settlements in south central and southwestern Minnesota.  The fighting lasted six weeks.  Between 400 and 600 white civilians and soldiers and an unknown number of Dakota were killed....... On December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota men were hanged in Mankato in the largest mass execution in U.S. History.  More than 300 had initially been condemned to death, but President Lincoln commuted 264 to prison terms.     Following this fighting that lasted 6 weeks, many Dakota fled west or into Canada, about 1,600 women and children were held in an internment camp over the winter under horrible conditions where 300 died, and the survivors were moved to reservations in the Dakota Territory and Nebraska.  The majority of the Dakota still live outside of Minnesota.  This war also caused 20,000 settlers to flee their Minnesota homes.  Minnesota had changed forever.   (Italics indicate the text was  taken directly from a pamphlet by the Minnesota Historical Society entitled The US-Dakota War of 1862.)

Ruins of some of the barracks at Ft. Ridgley.

This August is 150 years since this very sad time in Minnesota history.  The State Parks in the area, and the other communities that were directly involved, as well as the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul,  are offering programs aimed at educating visitors about the broken treaties and promises that led to this horrible 6 week war that has had lasting results in Minnesota.  For further information you can visit www.usdakotawar.org.

On a more pleasant note, this park is one of the campgrounds our family used to frequent when our kids were all little, probably because my brother was the park manager there.  Our kids, and their cousins, spent many happy hours playing in this creek that flows through the campground. 

It was fun to walk through the campground and remember those happy days. 

And as we crossed the creek on the bridge, we heard a song coming from the branches above us.  This pretty cardinal sang for us for quite awhile.  He was happy!

PLAYING WITH MY NEW TOY

I have been having a really good time playing with my new toy.  Because of our upcoming trip to Alaska... no, that's a lie.  Because of our upcoming first great grandchild, I felt the need for a new camera.  I have loved my Panasonic Lumix, and we have seen many wonderful sights together, but I wanted something a little better.  One with lens options.  So, here it is.  My new toy.

It is small and compact, yet offers two different lens options.  So far about all I've done is sit on the patio and shoot pictures of my flowers and garden, but I like it.  In fact, I think I'm falling in love with it.

I've been shooting lots of flowers.

Lots of purple flowers.

Or lavender.

Or purple.

Did I say purple?

I am getting comfortable with the different feel of this camera, and have almost figured out how it works.  So now I need to try some pictures of people.  I think I'll call my daughter, who is the grandmother of the soon to arrive baby, and who incidentally bought a new camera yesterday, to see if she wants to go out and play with our new toys!