Buskin Ski

Today the stars were aligned for Patrick and I to go skiing together-no kids! Our friends Rose and Dr. Wolf watched the kiddos and we took a beautiful cross country ski in the trails in the buskin lake area.

It was a VERY windy day, but where we were skiing was protected so we weren't as impacted by the wind. The conditions were good and Patrick said I've come a long way with my skiing abilities. He said, "Zoya, if I took you on this ski when we first started dating, you would NOT have been happy!". I agreed.

There were moments of "bush-whack" skiing....climbing over and under things. I rather liked the challenge today, however!
Zoya

New Years Resolution & Survey

I'm a big New Years Resolution fan. For as long as I can remember, I always have some goal I work towards during the first few weeks of a new year. Thats right-its usually just the first few weeks. Until last year.

Last year I vowed to keep the kitchen free of pile ups of paper. What usually happened was I would dump mail, packages, etc on the counter and it would stay there indefinitely. It was so unsightly and unorganized. I resolved to keep the counters clear of my clutter and to file them away into my organized containers. Patrick was very skeptical when I announced my resolution plans 1 year ago.

"Ummm....hmmmm. We'll see about that one. I don't think you can do it." I vividly remember him telling me.

That made me resolve to accomplish it even stronger. And I did it! One year later, I organize my papers into my neat bins and the counter doesn't get covered with papers! Yeah!

This year I thought it would be a fun twist to see what other people think I should make my New Years Resolution be. I see getting Nick Sandin a date is in the lead. Oh boy. Zoya

Cross Country Skiing and "Happy" Visit to Dentist

SKIING ON LAKES
Patrick is about to levitate off the ground with excitement about the snow this morning. Time for an entry about the fabulous cross country ski conditions we have.

Yesterday Patrick, Mary Jane and I went cross country skiing on Lake Gertrude in Fort Abercrombie. We did it in two shifts-Patrick went skiing then came home and watched the kids while Mary Jane and I went right before dark. Works out perfectly. Mary Jane's two friends, Micah and Dave came along as well! The conditions were fabulous-crisp gorgeous snow and beautiful evening light. Lake skiing is so simple- easy to get to...no hills to contend with, easy to do sprints and the scenery changes as you move around the lake-changing directions helps too!

More snow in the forecast today-yeah!!!

HAPPY VISIT
Nora's visit to the dentist yesterday went fairly well. I sat in the chair while Nora sat on my lap. The only problem was that I think I had a chococlate/sugar hangover- when she brought the chair back up to the sitting position from the recline position, I felt lightheaded and the room felt like it was spinning. It quickly passed but made me realize I needed to drink more water and cut back on my holiday sugar intake!!

Nora cried when we had to leave, as she liked the waiting room. There was little tooth chairs for the kids to sit on and a bunch of fun new toys.

Zoya

Photo: Lake skiing-Gregg and Patrick in 2002 on Island Lake.

Nora's First Ice

Yesterday we went ice skating on the small ponds in Ft. Abercrombie park. The ice was so thick and clear-you could see several inches of bubbles down.

We decided to make Nora's first ice skating trip a "Happy Visit".
(Note: Today is Nora's first dentist "happy visit". The hygenist said that they do several happy visits with toddlers to get them used to sitting in the chair, the people, etc...Patrick and I decided to try to make ice skating a 'happy visit' where we leave happy-not too many bumps and bruises from falling!)

And it was quite happy, until she had to leave. Nora LOVED going around the ice with Patrick holding her. Stuey and I sat and watched as Nora's feet danced around the ice. She smiled and squealed loving every minute of it.

Then it was time to go. Patrick's back was hurting from leaning over and helping her around and Stuey was starting to give preliminary cry noises. At the suggestion of leaving, Nora started to cry and didn't stop for several minutes until she was strapped into the stroller and on our way out of the park. Then I think she gave up.

Yesterday afternoon after we returned, Nora pretended to ice skate in the living room. She walked around in little circles, keeping her feet on the ground. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Daddy." I said, "are you ice skating with daddy?" and she said, "Yeah!!!". She did that for several minutes. She can't wait to go back. Zoya

(And yes-Ella-that is a big plastic binky in her mouth...) :)

Walk Like Daddy-Blog's first video

When Patrick returned from his (attempted) goat hunt several weekends ago, he had a characteristic limp. This was after he fell and landed on what he and John called "Baby Matterhorn". Nora adopted his walk-without our prompting. This video captures it.
(And yes, Ella-that is the binky in her mouth.)
Zoya

Mission: Cookies for Cliffside

Every year, except last year, I make plates of cookies for the neighbors and deliver them with holiday wishes.
Over the weekend I went to a holiday cookie exchange which was a perfect chance to get a wide assortment of holiday cookies without doing a whole lot of work! I made some fudge, and white chocolate blondie bars (choc full of choc chips!). Yum, Yum. Found some new recipes that are keepers.

Yesterday afternoon I dropped the kids off with our friend Rose who watches Stuey several times a month. She has grown kids of her own and enjoys the baby time! Bless her heart- While the kids were away I put the plates of cookies in a bag and bundled up in preparation for delivering them to the neighbors. I was amazed by how many people were at home (their cars were in the driveway) but did not answer their door. This was the case HALF of the time! Quite surprising.

I would only knock loudly once, so I wasn't annoying.
I'd think, "well, they just missed out on a plate of cookies." Do people think that its someone trying to sell something? One guy down the road-a neighbor I"ve never met, opened his door very cautiously (but hey-at least he opened it!!).

I said, "hi! happy Holidays! I"m Zoya from up the road. My husband is Patrick, with the two black labs that he walks."
A smile came over his face and he said, "Oh, yeah!! I know him from the dogs!"
I said, " Here are some cookies for you. Have a great holiday season!"
He said, "Whats your name again?"
I said, "I'm Zoya. Whats your name?"
He said, "I'm Dave.Thanks so much! And Happy Holidays to you too!"

He was so very thankful and it felt great to actually meet someone new who lives on our street. There is something about having small kids that makes me like knowing who our neighbors are. Increases the safety factor of Cliffside road. (especially when I have a daughter who likes taking walks down to Rezanof...ahem, ahem.") As Nora and Stuey get older, it will be fun to continue this tradition with them along-making cookies and spreading holiday cheer to the neighbors!

In the photo Nora talks to Da Dee on the phone while Roxy illicitly enjoys the couch (Zoya grudgingly allowed Patrick to Invite her up). Zoya

Christmas Bird Count - Fun on the Mountain

Yesterday I took part in the Kodiak Christmas Bird Count. This is the yearly event when all the serious birders get together and try and count every bird within a 15 mile radius of town. The count area is portioned out to the best birders and their teams. Some teams go out on boats, others cover particular lakes or parks. I was on Stacy S's team and we had the entire Monashka Bay area to cover. The unstated goal is to identify as many bird species as possible and achieve the highest 'species diversity' of any Christmas Bird Count in Alaska. Kodiak generally wins this honor, but on occasion Juneau has managed to upstage us. Every year at the 'birder' party after the event the results are tallied up and the count organizer gives Juneau a call. It is the highlight of the party.

Every year on the count, Stacy has me climb up the North Sister to find a ptarmigan (a white, partridge-like bird that only lives in the alpine). I also look for Golden Eagles, Pine Grosbeaks, Rosy Finches, Gyre Falcons and other alpine species. But my prime goal is to get the ptarmigan - if I don't see one Juneau may beat us! My personal goal was to take a picture of a bird through my spotting scope and to post it on the blog.

Unfortunetly, on count day the weather did not cooperate. The winds were screaming and it was very cold. As a team we saw very few birds, and there was no way to hold the spotting scope still enough to get a picture (though I did try with the eagles at the dump - I counted 150 in one flock and about 300 total following the baler as it moved the trash around). But I did get my ptarmigan, and it was my adrenalin moment of the day.

I headed up the North Sister at dawn and up on top I was finding old ptarmigan tracks but no live birds. Since the wind was out of the northwest and I was on the northwest side of the mountain, I thought maybe the birds had all taken shelter on the lee side of the mountain. The wind was screaming, blowing snow and debris in big clouds across the snow and ice. At the airport the wind was a sustained 30 mph with gusts to 62. I got near the pass to go over to the other side when suddenly I was blown up the mountain and over to the other in an out-of-control rush. Rocks and ice with cliffs below and I could not stop. It was shrieking - like a was on the inside of a jet engine. I had to take my skiis off and I almost lost them. I had to slide down to a point where I was partially out of the wind and then climb sideways so I was not above the cliffs. Needless to say, but I had a bad 15 minutes there. And on the other side I found the ptarmigan. No one else saw a ptarmigan so it is a good thing I risked life and limb.

In the end Kodiak did pretty well despite the weather. Our preliminary count was 75 species (all time high is in the low 80s), but most importantly it was raining and blowing SE 25 in Juneau (prelim count 70 species). Kodiak is looking good for the state title! Patrick

Ice Soon

Another photo from the Archives- Zoya, Katie Dog, and I at the small pond behind Bells Flats, probably winter of 2000. We used the photo for our Christmas Card one year. Anyway, it looks like we'll have good skating this winter in just a few short days! It is in the 20s now and it is forecast to be clear, cold and windy for the foreseeable future. The lakes ought to freeze up pronto. I can't wait to take Nora and Stu out on the ice in the double stroller. We do have a pair of small ice skates too - is it too early to get Nora out on skates? Patrick

From the Archive - Our House

The other day I looked at these photos of the house from the fall of 1996, and thought, wow, how things have changed. In 1996 I had just moved into my first house after having lived in a small apartment in Madison, WI for 6 years. I treated the new house like an apartment; only it was huge, and a bit bare inside. Because of the big brass chandeliers in the living room everyone jokingly called my house 'The Ponderosa'. I thought I had it pretty good.

'And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?'
Talking Heads

Eleven years later the house is full, and I find that I often forget where I came from - I take life for granted. The house is now a home. Two healthy kids, 2 black labs, and a beautiful wife. Wow, I've done well! Patrick

Funny times at the Saltonstalls

Nora is fully recovered from her concussion. Patrick and I feel like we've had more trips to the ER in the past 2 years than your average parents. I suppose our little Nora is our little risk taker and lives life on the edge a bit more than other two year olds. Thats the only thing we can figure! From walking out the door down to the main highway 6 months ago, to calling 911 to jumping out of her crib---theres no holding her back!

We've been making a serious effort to eat meals at the dining room table recently, as opposed to around our island in our kitchen. Stuey prefers it, as he is right at the big table with us. I think Nora sometimes gets disgusted with Stuart trying to grab her food. She is a good sport, however. Patrick and I were both raised eating meals around the dinner table as a family and we've decided thats something that is important for our family. One big benefit of living in Kodiak is virtually no commute so we're all able to be around the table for dinner even when I teach my evening spinning class or if Patrick has a meeting.

Meal times often bring lots of laughs (see photos), as well as lots of tears (just ask any of our friends-Jeremy, Karen, MJ, Gregg, Lisa....the people to whom we are SO GRATEFUL for still being our friends and sitting at a table with us for a meal!!).

Photos: Meal time with Nora and Stuey (middle and bottom) photo: Audra reading to Stuart this morning.

Zoya

From the Archives - Mountain Biking

In the late 1990s and early part of this millennium I used to do quite a bit of mountain biking in Kodiak's backcountry. In those days I still skiied all winter and did archaeology and fishing in the summer, but I was not quite as into the hunting in the Fall as I am now. Hence, there was more time to go mountain biking.

I find that in life there really there is only so much time for a limited number of hobbies. For instance, I have some friends who want me to play organized hockey - but to do so I'd have to sacrifice skiing. Another reason I do not mountain bike as much these days is that the 4 wheelers really took over the areas where we used to mountain bike. Not much fun getting buzzed by 4 wheelers and dealing with braided, muddy trails.

But back in the day I did do quite a bit of mountain biking. We'd drive out the road system and go on glorious, all day treks into the backcountry. We'd ride to Saltery Cove, or if we were really ambitious we'd go to Saltery and then on to Lake Miam and end up at Pasagshak. Beers at the end of every trip.

In the top photo mountain bike regulars John Mahoney, Adelia Myrick, me and Philip Tschersich pose for the camera on the way to Saltery Cove (Hans Tschersich took the photo). In the middle photo Philip and John enjoy some of Pete Cummiskey's beer at Lake Rosetead (Pasagshak). We'd gone on an epic tour and had just happened to find Pete and beer waiting at the end of it all. Finally in the last photo Gregg Rosenkranz negotiates a downhill straight away on the way to Lake Miam. Patrick

Nora Word of the Week - Booiae

This week's word is booiae. Pronounced boo' ehh, it really does not translate into any particular word in English. The English word with the closest meaning is the noun 'more'. But Nora uses it both as an adverb and noun, really as an exclamation of need. She'll use it to ask for more of a particular type of food, or just to indicate that that she wants something. The word is always used alone, and it is up to us to guess just what she wants. Patrick

Snow on the Mountain

Here on Kodiak it has been glorious weather of late. All rain in town, but all snow up high. In the last 24 hours we had two storms roll through and deposit almost 2 inches of rain in town. Most of the time the precipitation was mixed with snow at the airport and it never got above 37 degrees so that means we probably got two feet of snow on the mountain above 700 feet. And, as you can see by the SAT photo, another storm is on the way. We are supposed to even get snow in town this time. I love it when a storm track sets up like this! Best of all the weather has been just warm enough that the snow will stick to the mountain. Sometimes the storms are 'too cold' and all the snow blows off the mountain, leaving bare rock and ice behind. I have learned to appreciate a cold rain!

The unfortunate part is that I hurt my thigh goat hunting and will not get the chance to enjoy the snow for another few days. But I do have something to look forward to. Of note, I gather Anchorage and the mainland still do not have cross country skiing down low. I read that even in Anchorage you have to climb up to over 1000 feet to find skiing. So for all you locals reading this: appreciate the weather - we got it good! Patrick

ER visit

Today Nora and Stuey woke up at 9:15-I heard crying, raced back to their bedroom to find Nora standing on the ground next to her crib holding her hand up to her head. She was quite distraught.
Stuart was crying hard as well-he slept from 8pm-9:15AM and I think he was unbelievably hungry! So after some soothing and diaper changes, we ate breakfast. However, Nora just wasn't quite her peppy self-especially after 13 hours of sleep!
After breakfast she was laying on the couch a lot and laying on the floor crying. I offered her several things which normally would've interested her (changing the sheets on my bed-she LOVES that-watching a movie) and she just cried harder. Finally she sat on my lap in the recliner chair-very mellow and closed her eyes.

Then she got sick all over me. I thought she had come down with a 24 hour flu bug. When I called Patrick to tell him I wouldn't be going to work today to stay home with Nora, he said, "Zoya, maybe she got a concussion from the fall from the crib?". I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility!

So I put her on the couch, called the nursing hotline and the nurse advised me to keep a VERY CLOSE watch on her for signs of decline-lethargy, throwing up again, more pain in her head, etc...The ER nurse and doc (Karen and Jeremy!) encouraged me to bring her in just to make sure things were ok....she was starting to close her eyes on the couch which made me nervous. The ER visit went quickly and smoothly and Nora got discharged about 30 minutes later. She was on the mend-phew. That was scary.

So her crib days are at an end. Before bed we put the rail all the way down so she can easily climb out. And a big stack of pillows on the floor.
We'll have to take the rail off all together, or perhaps put her mattress on the floor. Patrick and I are in negotiations about what to do. I vote for the mattress on the floor and he wants to keep her in the crib somehow-safely.
We'll come up with a compromise.

Zoya

Annual Goat Hunting With John-My side of the story by Zoya

As Patrick limps around the kitchen with a sore on his leg and talking about the "goats that we were SO CLOSE to" I think it only fair to share my side of the story.

This bow-and-arrow hunt is an annual ordeal with his friend John Barklow.
side note....(Bow hunting, I must admit, is so cool. So primal and as fair as it gets with hunting big animals. When I hear that someone is a bow-and-arrow hunter, my respect for them goes WAY UP, nevertheless.)

You don't have to draw a permit to hunt for goats with bow and arrow and the season runs from November to December 15th. You have to take a class and pass a subsequent test to hunt with bows and arrows. Thank goodness, otherwise there would probably be a lot more goats, deer and bear running around with arrows in their rear end.

So in the winter-usually November, when I think that I'm "in the clear" as far as Patrick being DONE with hunting and home a bit more on the weekends-John calls up. Thats right-the annual Goat bow and arrow hunt.

Over the past several years, I have begun to understand how hard it is to hunt goats, as they have to hike pretty dangerous terrain, get close to the goats (arrow shooting distance!) and pack the meat out often on icy, snowy, conditions-across valleys, etc..etc....Therefore, it takes several attempts (i.e. MANY WEEKEND) to get the goat.

Two years ago, I think they went 7 weekends in a row (ok-maybe I'm exaggerating, but it was at least 5) to get the goat. Everytime they came home I'd hear Patrick say, "Yeah, we saw some, but they all ran away" or "We saw a pack of goats, but there were kids, so we couldn't shoot the mom goats...".

I really don't mind, as with goat hunting I expect them to be gone ALL day and I am prepared for Patrick to come home empty handed, most likely-as it usually takes many attempts. So when he does come back saying, "we got one!" I tend to be more excited than with deer. Deer tend to be a dime a dozen during hunting season around here.

When he came home tonight, he hobbled into the door and I promptly pumped his system full of arnica, alleve and tylenol. Between those remedies, a dinner of noodles and a glass of wine for him he'll be on his way to healing. Good thing he is married to a physical therapist!

Zoya

Last Goat Hunt of the Year

It's official - no more hunting this year for me. Goat season does not end until next weekend but I'll be helping with the Christmas Bird Count. Today I helped John Barklow attempt to get a goat with a bow. And as always we came darn close but no cigar. We got within 50 yards of goats a couple of times and each time they spooked. We also found a big billy up on a cliff - but too much exposure for us to attempt.

The low point of the day was when I slipped and fell on a 'baby Matterhorn' (pointed rock) that severely bruised my hip. It'll be interesting to see just how well I can walk tomorrow. John bruised his butt badly in his fall last weekend and I ought to have a good bruise color by midweek. We speculated that it might be worth photographing our two bruised butts. If the bruises look purple enough we could be two baboons in heat (Baboons have purple butts when they are in heat).

The bottom photo depicts Pyramid mountain at dawn on our way up the mountain. In the middle photo John shows off his goat camo with Pyramid behind. Finally in the top photo - John poses with the goats (look closely at the hillside behind John). They had just seen and us and we were on their way to the cliffs. All of those goats are in rifle range. Most of the goats were nannies with kids - we only saw one big billy in the whole bunch. Patrick

Snow Report

All week I have been cross country skiing at the golf course, and yesterday I skiied down to the parking lot at Pyramid for the first time this year. But last night we got an 'Hawaii 'n' Punch' of warm air - it got up to 43 degrees. Today I could only ski down to 900 feet and most of the snow at the golf course is gone. Still it is getting deep up on the mountains. Soon the skiing will be good. Pretty nice visuals today. Patrick

Santa Hats

Nora rather enjoyed wearing the Santa hats last night as we got the house decorated for the holidays! Zoya

O Christmas Tree!

We had a tree up all last week, which Patrick cut down from the cliff in front of our house. It was very green and beautiful, but undecorated.

Last night, I had a festive feeling moment-kids were playing independently, Patrick was reading in the living room and I decided it was high time to pull the lights and ornaments out of the attic. As soon as I put a Santa hat on, and put one on Nora, she seemed to get into the spirit!

When the string of tree lights came out of the box, she started getting really excited. Patrick helped put the lights on the tree and Nora stood there clapping her hands saying "Yeah!!" "yeah!!". Her enthusiasm for the whole process was very contagious! One by one ornaments went on and Nora watched, just fascinated! Yes-later on in the evening, some of the oranments did not survive-as she took them off and gave them to Stuart. It'll be a learning process about LOOKING at the tree instead of TOUCHING. :)

With our tree and holiday lights up, I am fully in holiday mode. Tomorrow I'll see the local Nutcracker production which I'm very excited about. What a treat to see our local dancing talent! The dance schools put the Nutcracker on every 2 or 3 years, I believe-can't wait!

Zoya

Nora Word of the Week

Ahhh...I was able to post a photo. Thank heavens. Patrick and I didn't realize how dependent we are on the photo posting capabilities of blogger. Much better.

Nora word of the Week: (long overdue, we know...thank you for the gentle reminders, Peter!)

Aaa-peee, which translates to HAPPY.
Today Nora all of a sudden started saying Happy in the kitchen. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to try to get her to repeat it over and over again by saying, Happy Baby, Happy Mommy, Happy Doggie. As she practiced her new word with Patrick he took the opportunity to teach her sad by pretending to cry. She laughed at this.

Oh it feels so nice when she learns a word. Speech therapy is planning to go on hold while we try some other therapies. I was initially concerned when I heard about speech cutting back but Patrick took the news differently. He said to Nora, "You got'em stumped Nora! You've got us all trying to figure you out!". He was much more lighthearted about the lack of progress. We just remind ourselves that she knows exactly what is going on and is learning and developing just right-aside from the speech.

I incorporate so much of the speech activities into our daily life-sometimes out in public I think adults must think I'm talking down to Nora, where really I'm enunciating and trying to help her hear and say the sounds in words correctly. I know she is trying so hard and I give her lots of good kudos for any attempt.

Zoya