New Baby at the Barnhart Home!

DID I JUST GIVE YOU A HEART ATTACK??? Hee-hee. We do have a new baby, but she's of the four-legged variety. Lorelei "Ulrika von Himmelstor" Barnhart (her registered name) is our new 8-week-old short-haired miniature dachshund. I traveled to Himmelstadt (two hour drive) to pick her up on Saturday. My friend Molly went with me. Lorelei is named for the famous ghostly naked siren of the Rhine River. You can google that if you want to know more! So, we're out of diapers at our house, but now into puddles and pee-mats! Fun. This weekend we're taking a family vacation to Garmisch, a famous ski-resort in the south of Germany. I will post new photos next week! It's been kind of springtimeish here. Some rain, some shine. I love it. NO SNOW! We STILL do not have our household goods, which is making me crazy(er). So, since it doesn't feel like home in our house, I don't like to hang out here much. Noah and I do a lot of exploring, and have found some fun, interesting places. We shop alot in German stores, which Noah just loves...
Thank goodness I found a wonderful babysitter, Raechelle Garcia, who Noah really does love to go stay with on occasion! I am totally missing my quilting and jewelry making supplies. One can only shop so much! (Yes, I've heard that's true...) I miss my family and friends SO MUCH. Feel free to email, call or even write me a letter. Seriously, I need it. Well, that's all for now.

Love to you all!
Andrea

Guten tag!

Don't know if anyone actually follows my blog (besides you, MaryBeth!), but I'm getting better at posting, finally. Sure is good to be part of the World Wide Web again! Nothing too interesting to report, except our Nissan Armada finally got here from Alaska (with a broken windshield, which they are replacing), so now we're the biggest vehicle on the road. Kind of uncomfortable on these little roads, but at least we can all fit in it together. Vince bought passes to the local pool, which the kids love. It snowed the other day (see photo), but melted by the next day, thank goodness!!! The kids enjoyed making a snowman (ok, I think Vince enjoyed it, too) with their best neighbor friends. My new livingroom furniture will be delivered tomorrow--can't wait! Wish our household goods would come...

Auf wiedersehen,
Andrea

MONUMENTAL DAY

WE FINALLY HAVE INTERNET!!! Now, I know that's not such exciting news to most of you, but I feel like I have been disconnected for almost two months now, and have now been reunited with all of my family and friends. Everything happens so slowly here, it's sometimes very frustrating. I guess I'm a spoiled American. Oh, well! We took the train to Koln (Colonge) on Sunday with our friends the Busbys, and had a great day at the Dom Koln (huge, ancient cathedral) and the Lindt Chocolate Museum. It was a three hour train ride each way, since we were on the Happy Weekender Pass (family of 5 for 39 Euro, or about that), plus a wrong/missed train on the way home, so a very long day. The cathedral was amazing! Vince, Sarah and the eight kids climbed to the top, while Brady (bad back) and I (bad knee) wandered the inside. Then we walked along the river to the Chocolate Museum. I won't tell you how much I spent in the gift shop. Anyway, a great time was had by all. This weekend we are going to Rothenburg, an old walled city. More to come...

HERE I AM!!!!!!!

HELLO! I'm sure it was commonly believed that the Barnhart Family fell off the edge of the Earth when they moved to Germany. Believe me, sometimes it has felt like it! But I'm here to tell you that we're alive and well, and very happy to be here. We lived in the American Arms Hotel in Wiesbaden for about three weeks, which wasn't terribly fun, and sometime I'll tell you about Noah trying to burn the hotel down. LOL Anyway, we are now living in Gross-Gerau, a lovely little town further out in the country (about 30 minutes from schools, Church, Vince's work). We are renting a four-story home in a little circle, and our boys are THRILLED to have their own rooms! Sophia has her own, too, but Noah and Ephraim share one. I HAVE MY OWN STUDIO ROOM!!! It's got a little balcony, too. Can't wait for my quilting and jewelry stuff to get here... We have four full bathrooms and two powder-rooms! Lots of stairs, but not as steep as in our Alaska home. We won't be getting our household goods for several more weeks, so we have some ugly (and uncomfortable!) borrowed Army furniture. I have shopped endlessly for new livingroom furniture, and was getting totally frustrated. IKEA (ee-kay-ah) has lots of options, and I've been to other huge stores, but anything leather or good quality takes months to order! We eventually went to Landstul to a wonderful shop called European Country Living, and bought some leather furniture (that they have in stock, and it's actually made in California!) and an antique German wedding chest (cir. 1890's) for a coffee table. It's being delivered on the 20th. Our car should be here the same time. Our internet and phone is still not connected, so I'm using our wonderful neighbors connection in their house. Stephanie and Rich Tanner and their kids Herb (8), Mary (6) and Sally (4) live about ten steps away from us. Ephraim, Sophia and Noah now have best friends. Mary and Sophia are in the same kindergarten class! When we registered Ephraim for school at Heinerberg Elementary, they told us to enroll Sophia, even though she missed the deadline (by one day) in Alaska. She loves it! Noah is not in a German kindergarten yet, but hopefully we can get him into Sally's. There is a lovely park, a great Korean restaurant, and the preschool within walking distance of our house. The kids walk about a quarter of a mile to the schoolbus stop. There was snow a few days after we arrived in Germany, but now it's gone, and everything is so lovely, even when it's rainy and cold. Since we live so far from the commissary, we shop in the German grocery stores a lot, especially Real and Rewe. They are so interesting! About three aisles of pork products, three aisles of chocolate (and some other candy), and a couple of aisles of cheese! Man, I can't believe everyone doesn't weigh 500 lbs! Also, there are bakeries EVERYWHERE, even inside just about every non-grocery store. Crazy. But it's been fun trying lots of different things. I think we all need more fiber in our diets now, though! People have been very generous and kind, and so helpful. I end up feeling foolish often, when I can't understand the language, so it's keeping me humble. LOL With our American discount at the ESSO stations, we pay about $2 a gallon for gas, much cheaper than in Alaska. Vince bought two old BMW's for us to drive, and we have gotten to be great friends with the owner of the Beamer Zone and his family. Ray is from India, and Nora from Hungary. They have a son Rayhaun (11) and a daughter Sophia (3). We went out for dinner together once, and at their house another time. They speak English well, and are so fun! When we met our bishop the first time, he gave me a roster for our new Ward, and guess who was on it??? Our wonderful friends from Arizona, Sarah and Brady Busby!!! Their girls Ashley and Emma are so darling, and Sarah has been a blast to hang out with! Brady got home from Afghanistan a couple of days ago, and we are all going to Koln (Colonge) this weekend. There is a huge chocolate factory there, and the best Cathedral in Germany, supposedly. We will take the train and stay overnight. Vince has been away this week for meetings in Garmisch. It's a lovely resort town about six hours south. He has made reservations for us all to go there in March. Sabra (one of my beautiful sisters) has been there a few times and loved it. Vince's birthday was this week, and he's now 42, unbelievably. Still looks about 25. Anyway, though we've had some challenges, all is well with us. We love it here, even (especially, I believe) the teenage boys!!! For that I am most grateful. Life is good. I miss you all terribly, and can't wait to hear from you! E-mail me at andreafbarnhart@gmail.com ANDREA

FINALLY!

Things have been so busy, but I finally decided to just do this. We are in the American Arms Hotel in Wiesbaden, Germany. It is so beautiful here (not exactly at the hotel, but outside of it)! After a week of painful jetlag, we are enjoying getting to see and explore a bit. Vince has had "in-processing" classes and meetings for the last several days. I went with him to the class for obtaining a driver's license here. Vince read the book twice, and I browsed it once. There were 100 questions, or something crazy. You could miss up to 15 and still pass. Vince missed 2. I missed 15. But we both get to drive, so I'm not too sad! He bought two old BMW's this week for us. His is a "compact", kind of a maroon color, and gets about 35 MPG. Mine is red, four doors, and a 325i. Sporty! It goes FAST. They're both 1994, I think. Photos will be coming soon. Anyway, now we're not bound to the shuttle that goes to the different three posts (that form a Garrison) or our feet. We have been doing lots of walking, and I have to admit that it's pretty cold here. Damp and windy, which make it less than pleasant to walk outside. But, I am secure in the knowledge that it won't last until May, like in Fairbanks. I think another couple of weeks, and the weather will improve. People have been so kind and generous to us. We've been given lots of things by people that are leaving here, including two cordless phones, two cell phones, an iron, and lots of transformers and power adaptors. And a vacuum. I've accepted rides twice now, from other Americans. Not something I would consider anywhere else! We are trying to learn a few words, and Vince is excelling, of course. The kids have started school, including Sophia! When we registered Ephraim at Heinerberg Elementary, the registrar told us we could enroll her, even though she didn't go in Alaska. The deadline is later here, and she said that worst-case, she would repeat it next year. But, maybe not! She is loving it, and doing quite well! Her teacher is Ms. Wheeler, which I think is great! (I have Wheeler ancestory.) The three older boys are going to Wiesbaden High School. They only have three days this week, and then all of next week off, since they finished the term in AK. We kicked them out of the hotel last week, and gave them some Euro and told them not to come back for at least three hours. They visited three bakeries, and bought some clothes. So, now it's just Noah and me during the days. I thought that would be lots of fun, but the two times we ventured out together, he kind of melted after walking a while. In fact, he threw such a fit in a downtown shopping area, that all kinds of German women were scolding us, and giving dirty looks. So, yesterday I bought a jogger stroller at the thrift store on post. I thought we were finished with strollers, but aparently not. Guess what??? My good friend, Sarah Busby, is in our ward here! We were so happy to find each other. She was in our ward in AZ, and we love their family, including her Dad, Jack Williams, whom we introduced to her step-mom, Jackie. It's great to have a ready-made good friend here. We've been having lots of fun together, including shopping at IKEA. She has two girls, and her husband is in Afghanistan until February first. We decided on a house in Gross-Gerau, that I actually found on accident (or not) before we moved here. It has plenty of space for us, but it's about 25 minutes away, so not terribly convenient. However, there are Americans across the street that we've met, and they're excited for us to be there. They have kids the same age as our youngest three, and Sophia is actually in the same class as their Mary! Once again, built-in friends. I will send photos as soon as I'm able, but for now I am posting just a few. We saw our first castles on Saturday, and there were LOTS of them! All along the Rhine River. Okay, time to go. Talk to you soon!

Love and miss you all,
Andrea

THE BIG MOVE

Well, it's finally here. I can't believe how long you can drag a move out! It's been painfully slow. We have been staying in a hotel at Ft. Wainwright since last Tuesday. It's new, and very nice. We have two suites. They have kitchenettes, so that's nice. It was such a relief to leave behind the chaos at the house. It took the entire week. The storage people were SLOW! Anyway, now I'm at that stage (too familiar) where I almost kinda hope our crate falls off the boat on it's way to Germany. We have SO much stuff. We fly out tomorrow afternoon at 1:00, and will arrive in DC about 7 the next morning. As if just moving wasn't enough--more than enough--Ephraim and Sophia were sick all day yesterday (bad stomach pains, vomiting, nausea)and I got it last night! Talk about fun in a hotel! We will be glad to finally get going tomorrow, I think. I'm tired and nauseated, so I must go now. Love to you all,
Andrea

The time is drawing nigh...

Good Grief! (what the heck does that mean, anyway???) Time is flying by so fast that my hair is perpetually having a bad day from the breeze! The Thanksgiving guests have all gone home, after a very fun, happy time. It was so good to have our loved ones from various places in Alaska with us for the holiday. I did NOT over-eat, in spite of Judy's Mud Pie and Key Lime Pie. The boys had a party on Saturday night, and once they started playing Rock Band, I took Judy, Jan and Ed--with Vince's blessing, of course--and went to Barnes & Noble. I love that place: hot beverages, comfy chairs by a roaring fire, and thousands of books. My idea of Heaven on Earth! Today is the first "No Company" day, and I woke up with a muscle spasm in my neck/shoulder so bad that I couldn't even drive Noah and Sophia to preschool. You know it must be bad if I passed up a NO KIDS day! So, not much accomplished today, again. Dang-it! I did do a couple of things, I guess. My dining table (HUGE table) is becoming covered with stuff for my Give-Away (kind of like a Pow Wow or Potlatch). I need to call and email everyone and let them know to come before Monday and carry away what they want. There are lots of pots and pans and kitchen implements. There will be books, linens, and home decor stuff, too. We packed up a two large rubbermaid containers of movies (VCR tapes) and books, and the Odhners checked them as luggage to take to their tiny library in Moose Pass. That was gratifying. Judy helped me go through some of the kitchen, too, so the weekend wasn't unproductive! Tomorrow I take the Armada to be detailed (hooray!!!), the three little kids to the dentist, and Ephraim to see his birth mom and half sister. Thursday the kids have preschool, I will take the Armada to the place to be shipped to Germany, and the moving company comes at 3:00 to do a walk-through, and at 3:30 the storage company comes to do an inventory of their own. Friday, I am making all the kids (and myself) pack duffel bags with everything needed for the next three months or so! Last night I packed all the Christmas presents in a big, red, hard-sided suitcase. I sure hope it doesn't get lost!!! Saturday I have my very last afternoon with my Threads in Motion quilting group, and I'm sure to bawl like a baby. Next week the packers/movers will be here packing/moving on Monday through Wednesday, and the storage people on Friday and Saturday. I imagine we'll be staying in a hotel or something until we leave on the 17th. Whew! Can't wait for that plane ride! Auf weidersehen, Andrea

THE COUNTDOWN...

Hello, Dear Ones! We have 22 days until we leave Alaska. I can't believe it. It has been so stressful waiting for all the plans to fall in place, but as of today we have passports back, travel booked (although now we're going on the 17th instead of the 20th like we had planned), and official orders will be in tomorrow. I've made a connection (accidentally--or not) with a possible home for us to rent in Germany, which could bring a lot of peace. We sold Vince's truck, my cute little red car, the 4-wheeler and it's trailer, and the snowmachine. Have a lead on the piano, and hired someone to manage our property as a rental. I've tried to go through stuff and get rid of things and decide what to put in storage, but I keep getting sidetracked! Maybe I need some of Ephraim's adhd meds??? I guess it will all happen whether we're ready or not, but I had hoped to make it more organized so that it will be easier to unpack on the other end. Oh, well. I've also had to take care of lots of appointments, and get all of our Christmas gifts ready to mail or pack to take with us. We will fly into DC, spend two days with Heather (my sister) and her family, and then have Christmas in Pennsylvania with Vince's folks. We will fly from DC to Frankfort on the 27th. We have a whole houseful of company for Thanksgiving (they all bought their plan tickets before we found out we were moving!), and so much to do, but...I WILL SURVIVE! Maybe I need to listen to that song. There will be 17 of us here on Thanksgiving Day. One guest arrived today and flies out on Sunday, and four of them fly in Thursday morning and leave Monday. I'm putting them all to work! At least maybe someone will watch Sophia and Noah so they don't do much more destruction. I'm posting a photo of a SMALL portion of Noah's latest handiwork. No, it's not as bad as it looks. It's much worse. I'm getting so busy with all of the kids and the move details that I'm hardly allowing myself to grieve. I am so sad to leave Fairbanks and our beautiful home and all of our wonderful friends! The MEDDAC Support Group gave me a lovely farewell party last week. This has been a great group, and I've gotten quite close to a few of them. I have gotten lots of emails this week from the ladies in my quilting group, Threads in Motion. There are about 10 of us, and we meet at someones house once a month and have weekend retreats three times a year. They are all phenomenal women, and very talented artists. I kind of lucked into this group through my friend! One lady sells her wall quilts for as much as $10,000! They are all considerably older than me, lots more experienced, and wonderful teachers. I've learned much from every one of them. I will miss them dearly. It will be so interesting to go from our little old Fairbanks to a busy metropolitan area. I'm looking forward to better weather and lots of good shopping! Our family has been working on some German words and phrases. Ben and Ammon are in German this year. Ben has an amazing knack for it, and a great accent! I am going to enroll in a class when we get there. I'm sad, apprehensive, and excited...all at the same time. Hope I don't spontaneously combust! I don't know how many posts I'll be able to write for a while, so I'm going to wish you all the merriest Christmas, and a New Year full of bounty. I love and miss you all so much! You have a standing invitation to visit us in Germany, which I hope more of you will take advantage of than you have while we've been in Alaska!

Andrea

We're all together again, we're here, we're here!

Guten Tag! I know how to count to ten, too! And a few other words and phrases. We are all trying to learn enough German to get around for a day or two. I can ask for important things, like "WC" (pronounced VEET-zee).

Well, after Gid was gone for about 10 days, Vince went and dragged him home. We tried to wait until he realized that he couldn't live on his own, but he found a family to enable him (feed him three meals a day, give him a place to sleep, take him anywhere he wanted to go, etc.). He was very unhappy to come home, and cried himself to sleep. The next day Vince and I had a counseling session, and learned an exciting technique that we tried with great success that evening. If you want to know what it was, you'll have to call me. In summary: By 9:00 p.m. every member of our family was sitting at the table eating a beautiful (and expensive!) chocolate fudge cake and laughing. What a gift.

Since my family is all together now, the stress of the move doesn't seem as great as it did before. Vince and I are enjoying each other more. I feel better and have more energy than I did (until about 3:00 p.m., when the sun sets!). Of course, we don't eat chocolate fudge cake every day, nor do we always laugh at the dinner table. But we are together, and hopefully that is the way we will leave Fairbanks. :)

Auf weidersehen,

Andrea (Frau Barnhart)

p.s. Ammon had his first date! He and his friend, Sterling, had a double date.

Didn't We Just Do This?

Gadfrey, Hannah (thanks, Mom)! I can't believe it's time to MOVE again!!! Vince keeps asking me where I want to retire. Really, now, how can I even comprehend such a thing? Sheesh! We'll be moving to Wiesbaden in eight weeks from Saturday. We got our passport photos and flu shots last week. Vince sold the 4-wheeler and it's trailer. I found a home for our last remaining pet, Glacier. She is the sweetest little cat, and I hate to leave her. I need to get busy and decide what to take, what to store, and what to part with. I can't seem to get it in gear for that, though. I finished my Christmas shopping for the kids! Did it all on the internet, of course! Can't think what to give Vince. Ideas? Gideon left home again Monday night. I lost my temper with him, and he took off. At least we know where he is this time. It's probably good for us both to have a break for a few days. Last night was our "Not a Halloween Party" at the church. Ephraim's birth mom, Beth, came. She also brought her mom, Barbara, her sister Barbie, her daughter Katelynn, and three of Eph's little cousins. It was really fun! We've enjoyed getting to know them better, and letting them play a part in our lives. Everyone had a great time. Today it's sunny, which means it's colder. Like -15 degrees F. Oh, well. Soon I'll be out of the Land of Eternal Winter. I can't wait for four seasons in Germany! We're planning to travel all over Europe, like Sabra and Cliff did. If I can just make it through the next eight weeks...

Just another day in paradise...

Well, the party was a BLAST. We survived the teenage runaway (sort of ). And....drumroll, please...we're moving to GERMANY! In December!!! Help, please! Any volunteers to come up here and help me get ready to move? Take a number. More to come...

Sweet Sixteen?

A Series of Unfortunate Events...

I am so glad to see the end of this week!!! As many of you are aware, we had one of our sons run away. Gideon took off after Seminary on Tuesday morning, after being confronted by us the night before about some pretty serious issues. I think we (I ) went through every negative emotion imaginable in the space of four days: fear, anger, anxiety, rage, depression, insomnia (yes, I think that is an emotion!), grief, more fear and anxiety, etc. We met with a counselor (well, mostly me, but also Ammon, Ben and Vince) for three hours on Wednesday. Talk about exhausting. Gideon called us every night, but refused to tell us where he was or who he was with. We filed a report with the State Troopers. Once he found out about that, Gideon was on the run. Or so he thought. We mostly knew pretty much where he was and with whom. My sister Nadia has been here from Phoenix for two weeks. She called almost all of the kids in his cell phone and told them he had run away and to please let us know if they saw him or knew where he was. Amazingly, we got several return calls! Vince and I had lenghthy talks, read books, talked to people who had experiences like this. It was insane. Gideon had turned 16 on Sunday, and Ammon turned 16 on Thursday. Bless his heart, Ammon assumed we would cancel the huge birthday party that we had planned for Friday night. After telling him "No way, it's on!", I threw myself into preparations. We had a great time!!! Gideon, who had been telling us for hours that he was on his way home, showed up about half an hour after the party started. Coward. Oh, did I mention that one of my emotions was just plain pissed off??? Anyway, it was the party of the year!!! We had a Rock Band theme, as that's what they got for their birthdays. There were about thirty teenagers in our home. We had loads of nasty, greasy, indigestable junk food. And Jones sodas. It was so much fun! Ammon just grinned and blushed (he got a few "Sweet 16" kisses) the whole time. We had really cool fake tattoos, hair stuff and makeup, and Auntie Nadia did a great job turning relatively sweet looking kids into hard-core rockers. We all hung out with them the whole time. We had a rule that if anyone left the house or deck, they would have to go home. They were all great. Ammon said that it was the most fun he had ever had! Gideon said it was "all right...". Figures. Anyway, Ammon made it all worthwhile. So, what now? I guess Ammon is old enough to date! Gideon will be having several dates with a therapist. :) AIN'T PARENTING GRAND???

TGIF!!!

What a week!!! I'm so tired I can't even go on a date with my husband tonight. That's pretty dang tired. Ephraim has been a bit "off his feed" (actually, off his meds), and has about worn me into the ground. I kept him home today, and took him (and, unfortunately, Sophia and Noah) to the doctor. She significantly increased his Concerta, and I hope all will be well with my world soon. After the doctor, I had to take the little Banshees with me to the Commissary to buy three cases of water for Gideon to sell at the Lathrop homecoming game tonight. He's the sophomore class vice president. Those three cases of water (I'll blame it on them) about caused me to have a nervous breakdown. Our favorite checker, Ester, sensed my fragile state, and she marched the three beasts over to a bench and sat them down. They love her. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed. Maybe I need to join an ADHD support group???

On the bright side, yesterday I got to see SARAH PALIN!!! Vince and I went to the Deployment Ceremony for the 1/25th Stryker Brigade, and were about six or seven rows behind her, and a row in front of Todd, Willow and Piper! They were trying to play it low key, but the press was out IN FORCE. Piper was not happy to be there, I will tell you that! Sarah gave a wonderful speech, with absolutely no mention of her current political situation. Her son, Track, is deploying with the Brigade. The morning was gray and rainy, which didn't bode well for an outdoor ceremony, but right before it started, the sun burst out in all her glory, and for a couple of hours the weather was glorious. Maybe it was a sign...

Vince was kind of offered a job this week. It's as a Division Surgeon, which is what he really wants to do. And it's in Wiesbaden, Germany, which is where we really want to go. However, they are hoping he can start in February. Aaauuuugggggghhhhhh! I freaked out for about a day. Then a couple of things happened, and I felt peaceful about it. We'll see what happens. Anybody that wants anything in my house can come and get it now, or it will probably go to the dump! I am going to PURGE. We have way too much stuff. Granted, some of it is very nice stuff, but way too much of it. So, let me know if there is something you've been looking for.

Love to you all!

Andrea

Mind Your P's...

Three words: PALIN, PALMER, PRESCHOOL.

Yeah for Sarah Palin! We heard the good word on our way to Palmer for the Alaska State Fair last weekend. She is wonderful, as I hope you all will find out. She's a sharp woman, and not intimidated by anything. She has done so much for Alaska and Alaskans! We do love her. The fair in Palmer was a blast. We pulled our trailer the seven hours last Friday. Saturday morning we met our friends from Moose Pass, and spent twelve hours together at the fair. Even with my magical Keens, my feet were killing me by day's end. :o We thoroughly enjoyed the food (Seafood Alaska and Denali Cream Puffs are always our favorite), music (Jewel's dad, Atz Kilcher, has a band that is great bluegrass), petting farm, giant cabbage and pumpkin, art, quilts (also art), rides and games. What a day! It was a beautiful, clear 65 degrees, and the MatSu Valley, which is surrounded by majestic mountain ranges, was breathtaking. We fished Sunday at Mirror Lake. On the way home on Monday, Denali was out in all her glory (she's most often shrouded by clouds), and the foliage became more yellow and red as we drove North. This is an amazing, vast wilderness. On Tuesday, Sophia and Noah started preschool--HOORAY!!! They love it, and I am FREE at last! For fifteen whole hours a week. I didn't feel sentimental in the least about my babies leaving the nest for their first time. I was too busy enjoying my own company! I will live for Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sophia had her 5th BIRTHDAY on Tuesday, as well. She loved playing "dress up" in Utah with her cousins, so she got Cinderella, Snow White and Tinkerbell costumes. (I had to go to Value Village yesterday to find some boy costumes for Noah, because he kept taking her dresses and high heels.) Enjoy the photos. See ya!

Farmer's Market

I took Sophia and Noah on a "field trip" to the Tanana Valley Farmer's Market today. It was sunny and lovely, about 65 degrees. For lunch we bought cherry tomatoes and raspberries and kettle corn, and ate them at a table in a grove of birch trees. It was wonderful! I have many dear friends at the Market that I've gotten to know over the last ten years. Well, I'm gearing up for a creative spurt! I've organized and cleaned most of my "studio", which is a catwalk across the greatroom below. My jewelry table is lovely and tidy! My sewing table (with two machines) is ready and waiting. Today was the first day of school for Gid, Ammon, Ben and Eph. I did laundry, and even made dinner! Vince is happily astonished. Tomorrow night I am going to a welcome bbq for the new hospital Commander's wife. She looks like she's 14, and she has seven children! I'm taking my famous Alaskan Wild Blueberry Cake, and a fruit salad that is strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and red grapes. Very high in anti-oxidants, 'eh? I just love berry season! Ciao!

Rainy Days and Mondays...

Alaska is beautiful in August. Usually. This year it has rained a LOT. My tomatoes will probably not turn red. However, today the sun us shining (at least this morning) and there is a light breeze, so it is indeed lovely. The birch trees are starting to turn yellow, and the fireweed is blooming closer to the top, which makes me a bit melancholy. The summers here are all too short. It's also getting dark just after 10 p.m., which is a bit startling. I guess I should enjoy all of this, as next year we'll be somewhere else. The boys start school on Wednesday, Ephraim at Weller Elementary, and Gid, Ammon and Ben at Lathrop High School. Sophia and Noah start preschool on September 2nd. What this means for me, besides grocery shopping ALL BY MYSELF, is that I'll be able to get to my sewing machine and jewelry table after a long non-creative period! I do look forward to that. I have several quilts-in-progress that need some attention. I have found a new outlet for my jewelry. There is a new little shop in "downtown" Fairbanks called The Stash. It's all locally made art and crafts. The ladies that run it are very funny--they offer classes like "Yarn n' Yoga" (knitting) and "Intuitive Drawing". Very New Age, I guess. But they only charge 30% comission instead of the 50 % that the other galleries charge, so I'm excited about that! Vince has his nose back to the grindstone (did it ever leave?) and is living at the hospital again (still). He and Ammon went to Anchorage (for a meeting, of course) and took a couple of salmon fishing charters last weekend. So we now have a freezer full of Silver Salmon. If you come to see us, we'll feed you some. Vince picked low bush cranberries for jam (delicious!) yesterday, and went "mushrooming" with my friend Nancy. Now all he has to do is shoot a moose or caribou and he'll think he's set for the winter! (Alas, I still have to live off Fred Meyer and Safeway.) I spent Saturday with my friend, Kelley Kelley (she really married a Kelley!). We went to the Farmer's Market and shopped around town all day. It was refreshing! Well, I guess this is three in a row, so TTFN!

EPHRAIM'S BAPTISM at Pine Valley, 2 AUG 2008