It's been like an early Christmas for me around here unpacking the "Totes of My Life" one more time. Now I know why I've been hauling them around & and paying storage fees.
My set of five fish cups that I just love! Unbreakable Sterling China Made in the good ol' U.S. of A. East Liverpool, Ohio to be exact. I found them at a garage sale in Fairbanks about 20 years ago.
My teapot I got at Sagaya's back when it was a little store in Spenard about that same time. Its not even broke in yet.
Care for a spot of tea?
Musher's lingo for giddy-up and go is "Hike!" Not "Mush!" like I always thought. Snapped this picture out my rolled down window driving down KGB. One shot and I got it. All this snow makes for happy sled dogs. Not so happy people. One guy at the bar last night rolled his truck. Got a ride with somebody else and they rolled. He was back at the bar today alive to tell about it. His truck was still in the ditch when I drove by. Maybe he should take up mushing. Or hiking.
Weather permitted bbqing New York Steaks my first night! 
Not only did I learn how to make pizzas I learned how to make the pizza boxes!Landed myself a cooking job at the Knik Bar & Grill in the Knik (pronounced Ka-Nik) Historic District today. Located at Mile 13.5 of the scenic Knik-Goose Bay Road. A popular route to interior Alaska before Anchorage was even on the map. Dog-mushing is the word out there & the first 15 miles of Knik Road are now designated as the Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Trail in memory of the Father of the Iditarod Sled Dog race.
Went on quite a few interviews around the valley and was actually picked to be hired for a couple (one was cooking at an old folks home & another was cooking in a bagel shop) but held out for this job. It was a bold move in this economy I know. But, with the money I saved all summer I could afford to be a bit choosy.
This is the back door to the nice commercial kitchen. Friday night is steak night and I will be grilling on that grill outside. (Weather Permitting!)
 |
| Photo by Erin Kirkland |
Time has been going by fast getting ready for winter. No snow in the valley yet but today it was raining & blowing hard. When it partly cleared this rainbow showed up on Wasilla Lake.
 |
| Pass the Sausage! |
 |
| Try eating one color at a time. New diet! |
 |
| Talk about Blue Cheese |
 |
| Ice Cream WINNER!!! |
Looks like a 1976 Ford Torino hood to me. One of a kind!
Beautiful drive off the Kenai Friday. All the fall colors with the torquoise Kenai river passing by. I was too much in a hurry to stop and take any pics. Lots of time to reflect on the wonderful summer I had fishing, meeting people from all over and basically loving my life in Alaska.
The mouth of the Kenai River
Stopped by Snug Harbor Seafoods today to pick up my smoked silver salmon and got carried away snapping pictures of the Ray Troll T-shirts. Every one of them is fantastic!
Very good point.
Kind of out there.
My favorite.
Had a great time on my roadtrip week vacation. The weather was sunny most of the time with the fall colors changing fast. Lots of campfires, roasted hotdogs and s'mores.
Came back with exciting news and solid plans for the winter. I changed my mind about the Hawaiian Islands and opted for joining my sister's Home For Life program and building a model gertee. Hired a carpenter, rented an awesome space in an RV park with water, sewer & electric hookups so this will be a modern gertee ( a cross between a yurt & a teepee).
So back to work tomorrow to finish out the season and look forward to winter near family in my own warm & cosy humble abode.
And my little red cooler came back empty. Ready to be filled up again!
After 88 days in a row cooking breakfast & making lunches and all the other things a lodge momma does I HAVE A WEEK OFF!!!
A week to go to the valley to visit family & friends!
The job isn't over til the end of the month tho. The last guests left this morning and a group is coming in the 18th so I need to get a jump on that. Plus we are already improving for next year. And I want to wrap the lodge up since I will be the one unwrapping.
I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Then taking a leisurely road trip off the Kenai with frozen halibut, sockeye and cohos on board.
Come along for the ride!
Just say NO to bread on drugs!
All summer long I've been making the fisherman's sack lunch sandwiches with Dave's killer Bread. It costs a little more than 6 bucks a loaf but well worth the price when everyone raved about my killer sandwiches. You can't go wrong with killer sandwich bread to begin with.
His story makes for good table talk, too. Above is a picture I took right off the back of the loaf. There is website you can learn more about Dave's killer Bread and order it on-line if you are not lucky enough to have it for sale in a store near you.
In 1967 Every Mother's Son song Come On Down To My Boat Baby made it to #6 on the Top Forty chart.
Hung out with a few Common Mergansers, G-U-11s and the American Bald Eagle on the Kenai River this afternoon fishing for silvers. Two days in row I caught fish!
7am check-in at the float plane dock as it was just getting light. This was a trip our guests enjoyed all summer. So today we all went on the trip with Alaska West Air.
Jimmy Jack, his wife Rosie, Jacob behind me, Catdaddy and Big Jim. The plane is a 1958 Otter.
Bears like to fish, too. We gave this guy lots of space!
On the way back from being dropped off for the day to fish for silvers our pilot flew us over the glacier.
