Nothing But Busy!

Well, I'm going to start off by saying the past few weeks have been busy, busy, busy! Aaron has started school and also started teaching his kids!

During that time, I have been super busy as well! I was asked to babysit for a family of teachers. As they are both at work, I get to watch their little Eskimo baby! He is super adorable and very smart. From the stories I hear, too smart for his own good! I also started volunteering at the school, doing Zumba with a few of the high school girls while the rest of their class is in the gym. It has been super fun, and I get to exercise at the same time!


We have been out exploring on the ATV every week, going different places and sometimes the same places. We have been along the beach, through the Tundra, and to place here called California. But, it's nothing like the one in the Lower 48, no sandy beaches and warm sunshine each minute of the day!

We have seen an old truck stuck out in the Tundra (which apparently hasn't been moved for over 30 years!).




Some old mining camps, that still has all the equipment to mine just laying around.

 We have even seen a bunch of foxes as we explored!

Additionally, we have been fishing a few times, but haven't caught anything! The word on the street is that fish is much easier to catch when you have a net!

Which, we did help put out, and got a bunch of flounder (which are super creepy looking) and a few salmon.
Here, you can see me filleting my first fish EVER! And yes, I even gutted it as well. Which, those of you who know me, know I absolutely cannot stand the feeling of squishy bloody things!

Oh, and also, apparently seal and walrus season is right around the corner!

Before moving on, I want to tell you about an amazing idea that the school had a few years back. Last year, each teacher family had a village family that they would spend time with, go hunting with, and get to know. This year, they switched it around a little bit, and each quarter, teacher's get a new family to spend time with for that quarter.

Anywho, Aaron plans on going seal and walrus hunting with the father of the family. I plan to help the mother sew some seal skin gloves. A few Mondays back, the whole family came over and spent time with us.
I made homemade Tikka Masala for everyone, and our village family made us a special treat. Here is the picture of it, can anyone guess what it is?

I'll give you until the end of the blog to guess!




We went fishing again, and still didn't get anything. Although along the beach, I found a ton, literally a ton(!), of starfish ranging from babies to adult. Of course, being the animal lover I am, I threw in all of the ones that were on the beach that were still alive. I even got to see a few of them move!! It was fascinating!

Other than babysitting, this gal has been preparing for the tasks that Aaron has thrown at me! Some other things I have been engaging in is using Aaron's white board to add a little spice to his lesson plans. Here is an example of one of them. :)

Going deep now.....

I was walking to the house where I babysit and all of a sudden I smelled that amazing wood burning scent. It reminded me of New York, having a fire, and spending time with friends and family. It was comforting in some ways, but also saddening. It's not like I will be able to have a fire here, but it still won't be quite the same!
Additionally, we were looking for our next vacation spot, but we have realized that we are in a place that is quite costly to depart from! Regardless, that will not stop us from exploring the world and visiting family of course!

I have been seeing a ton of pictures from the NY State Fair while everyone has been attending. This will be the first year that Aaron and I do not go. It reminds me that I need to cherish the time I had in NY and keep those memories as good ones. :)

While it has been a busy few weeks here in the bush, it has been an absolutely amazing start to our Alaskan Journey!
So here are a few of the things we have tried since we arrived...
Muscox - Tastes just like Venison and Beef! Of course there is still a gamey flavor!
Carribou Liver - Now, everyone who knows me well, knows I absolutely do not like liver. Well, it's considered a disrespect to refuse a tasting of something. So of course, I try it. Though it still had a liver taste, it was seasoned very well. You can take it from me, it was decent liver!
Reindeer Fat - Too chewy for me!
Salmon Berries - Yes, these are actually berries, but sometimes they are sweet and sometimes tart!

And now, did anyone guess what the food is from above?

If you guessed Eskimo Ice Cream, you were correct. Now, obviously we are all preconditioned to think of ice cream as a sweet, savory treat, but this ice cream is a little different! So, my village family wanted to make this ice cream for Aaron and I, and I honestly was scared! I looked up a few recipes and the normal ingredients involve fat of some sort, ground fish, some sugar, and berries. I KNOW, it sounds absolutely horrifying, but trust me, it was not! Luckily my village family did not, that's right did not, use fish as an ingredient. First, she grated some reindeer fat and then mixed water and seal oil together, switching between the two, to make a creamy, fluffy mixture. Once that was finished, the sugar and berries were added and set into the refrigerator to cool. Some of the berries were very tart, but my first experience of Eskimo Ice Cream was a success and DID NOT involve ground fish!






Now, on to the puppies.....
Zver is his normal, crazy self! Here is a video of him using our couch as a playground!

And one of him howling at me because he wants me to make him dinner!

Anubis is his fluffy, lovebug self! He hurt his leg on a long walk and has been limping here and there. That doesn't keep him from thinking he can run around everywhere! He is a little grumpy about it though! He has been putting his ear up lately, which makes him look like a handsome stud!







Eve....well, those who know Eve, know that her number one priority is her ball. Here is a picture of her sleeping on the couch with it! It cannot leave her side!



And here is Tink, being her spunky, feisty self!

I'm sure that everyone is wondering, how is the weather?
Well, let's start by sharing these gems!

Since our first day in Alaska, we were not awake for the darkness to arrive. That has officially changed, as the day before Aaron started school, we stayed up until 4 am to get his classroom ready! When we walked outside, we FINALLY got to see the moon! It was well worth the wait.

Here is the run down of how quickly we are losing daylight (about 7 minutes a day). When we first arrived, it would get dark around 2/3 AM, after about two weeks it was 12/2 AM. Now it get's dark by 11PM.

Also, as of late, it has been rainy, windy, and downright CHILLY!
This screenshot is from a week ago!

 I fear that summer is slowly passing us by and it's time to prepare for the the cold that's about to be our village!



We have ventured the village a little bit and found multiple homes with a stock of Huskies! One even has puppies, but they are not big enough quite yet to explore. I will take pictures once they are big!


Well, I will leave you with that for a little while!
Cheers!

*Winter IS Coming*