My Happy Birthday

Last night Gregg and Lisa brought a pumpkin pie, gift and roast of lamb to my house to help me celebrate my birthday. I supplied the potatoes and we had a party. Roast leg of lamb with gravy Gregg made from reduced beef hock broth, mashed potatoes with leeks, shallots and garlic mixed in. No stinting on heavy cream or butter either. For the pie we whipped up homemade whipped cream with vanilla extract mixed in - all very yummy.

Zoya and Stu are in Anchorage (Zoya is doing physical therapy training), but Nora was certainly happy to be home for this one (she has been missing her mom - lots of plaintive 'mommy's). Mary Jane joined us too, and she supplied the wine and white port. A good time was had by all. Patrick

More Crust Cruising Views

I could not resist - I just had to had a few more views from my crust cruising forays into Kodiak's backcountry. The top view is of Elbow Mountain from the top of the pass from the Buskin down into Elbow Creek. As you can see it is all downhill to Sheratin Bay. That's the powerline to Terror Lake overhead. The wires carry the power from the hydroelectric dam to Kodiak. The bottom view is of the Buskin River valley on the way home. That's Pyramid on the left and Barometer on the right with Buskin Lake in the distance. Patrick

Nora Word of the Week - Gee'ia

Nora Word of the Week - Gee'ia
Gee'ia in Nora talk, loosely translated, means 'me'. And Nora uses the word a lot. Generally when she uses the word she also points to herself. I'll be looking at ski photos on the computer with Nora in my lap, and she'll go Gee'ia strongly and forcefully a few times pointing at herself. This means she is bored with the ski photos and wants to see photos of herself. Nora loves to look at photos of herself. We'll put a file of family photos on a slideshow loop and every time she sees herself she'll go 'gee'ia' and smile. We worry that she is a little narcissistic, but perhaps she'll end up a model or movie star and support her parents in their old age. Patrick

Food New Years Resolution Progress

We're halfway through March and I've managed to keep up with my New Years Resolution of 2 new recipes a week. I'm loving it! Every new recipe gives me a chance to try out new combinations of flavors.

My favorite new recipes thus far have to do with transforming a package of deer burger into a delicious meal. I get tired with making the standard deer burger patties so I've discovered so many new ways to "kick it up a notch" with deer burger. I know Patrick still likes his tried and true deer burger patties, however... :)

One of my more recent new recipes was an Asian Inspired Salmon Soup and boy was it delicous! A definite keeper of a recipe. In the bottom photo, you can see that Stuart didn't want much to do with the rice noodles in the soup, as they were instantly draped on the dog. The dogs are such troopers with having food thrown, dropped, spilled and draped on them. Its an occupational hazard which I don't think they mind one bit as they clean up after the kids.

Zoya

Christina's Girls Dinner

Christina, her husband Jason and their son Gavin moved to Kodiak last summer and I was first introduced to them by Marias. Christina is so down to earth, fun and easy to talk to. She and Marias are both due with their second babies in the same week! Unbelievable, eh?! (Sidenote: Neither of them know whether they are having a boy or girl. Surprises-wooo-hooo!! I never could go without knowing during my pregnancies, but it sure is fun to have friends who are keeping it a surprise until delivery day.)

Tonight we had a fun girls dinner at The Old Powerhouse for Christina-a non-traditional mommy-blessing-baby-shower. It was so fun to chat and laugh, enjoy a yummy meal, mouth watering desserts and share in the blessings for Christina. We contacted her out of town friends and family (without her knowing) and they sent letters and boxes to share with Christina tonight. She was very surprised. As she opened each card and gift, she told us a little bit about the person-where they're from, how she knows them.... It really brought all those people right there to our table tonight. Their presence was felt.

Photos:
Bronwyn, Christina, myself and Marias outside at The Old Powerhouse this evening.
Christina showing part of the gift from her Aunt Susan-wonderful chocolate goodies to help take care of pregnant sweet tooth cravings!! :)

Crust Cruising Kodiak

One of my favorite times of year - Spring skiing on Kodiak is here! And this year the crust cruising in skate skiis is fantastic. We have a good snowpack (around 6 feet deep at the headwaters of the Buskin) and a go anywhere crust on top and just enough soft snow to give you some control on the downhills. All the alders are buried and you can go anywhere.

Today I skiied across Buskin Lake (about an inch of snow stuck to the ice - perfect), and went up the valley and up the side of a gorge. I made it to the top of the pass (750 feet) over to Sheratin Bay. That is a long way, and I did not dare go further because I was worried about time. I need not have worried - it was mostly downhill going home and I flew. It only took me 35 minutes to get back to the car. Tomorrow I'll scout the route a little further - and before you know it I'll be skiing to Sheratin Bay!

Photos: Top view is looking back towards Barometer with the Upper Buskin river gorge on the left (we often ski on classic skiis up the river and into this gorge). Middle view is looking back at my tracks as I near the top of the pass with Pyramid in the background. Bottom is the view towards the top of the pass with Elbow mountain in the distance. This is where snowmobiles cross over to behind Bell's Flats from the Ski Chalet. Patrick

"Ski, Ski, Ski"

For months now, Nora has talked about skiing with Patrick. When I tell her that Patrick is out skiing, she points to herself and says, "me, me, me..." and then says "up, up, up...down, down, down...". I ask her, "you want to go skiing with daddy?" and she exclaims, "YEAH!".

Today she finally got to go skiing.

We took her out to the golf course-it was a rainy, wishy-washy day, but that didn't matter to us. Nora walked along on her skis, and had a smile on her face the entire time. She took a couple of falls but wasn't phased by it. The poles were SO cute-watching her barely hold on to them.

The whole experience today went much better than we thought.
No tears, 10 minutes or so on the snow...and she progressed forward on the skis. And when we got back into the car, she did her "more" sign and said, "boiee, boiee."
Thats what we call a successful day of skiing with a toddler!

Zoya

More Tour

Zoya and I are eagerly awaiting the 'official Tour of Anchorage photos' to get posted on the web. In the meanwhile - here's an 'official Tour of Anchorage photo' from 10 years ago. Note that I still wear the same skin suit. Pete Alexson, the guy in front of me, still has the same suit too. Hopefully, when this year's photos do go on line I will not look 'over-ripe' in my 12 year-old skin suit.

This year was the first time I'd worn the suit since the last time I raced in the Tour back in 2002. I must admit that this year I did the 25K classic style race instead of my usual 50K skate race because I did not want to fail in the comparison with my old self. What if I had a hopelessly slow time? Would it mean that I was getting old? I'd never raced in the 25K race so it was a clean book. No comparisons possible.

I am happy to report that I am happy with my 25K classic time from this year - perhaps next year I'll dare the comparison with my old self and attempt the 50K skate race once again. Patrick

Zoya Nears the Finish Line

Here is footage Patrick took of me nearing the finish line in the Tour of Anchorage ski race last Sunday!!!

Zoya

Tour of Anchorage Ski Race Weekend!

Woo-hoo! The Tour of Anchorage ski race was a success by all measures. My brother in-law, Todd, Patrick and myself all skiied the 25 K (16 miles) classic cross country ski race and we ALL met our individual goals. SO FUN!!
Todd's goal was to ski the 25 K 1/2 hour faster than he did last year. And he did it! His time was 1:52! He has only been cross country skiing for a couple of years, as he is new to Alaska.
Patrick's goal was to place in the top 10 overall for the 25 K race and he placed 6th over and 1st for his age group! 1 hour 27 minutes. He was thrilled!
My goal was to finish, to have fun and not have knee pain (my knee was hurting a bit the week before the race) and I did it!

This was my second year skiing this race and I had a fun time. I skiied most of it with our friend Ira and his wife. Ira helps coach the junior olympic ski team and was taking it easy this year for the race, as he is recovering from shoulder surgery. So he skiied with his wife, Kara and myself. I got lots of wonderful ski tips from Ira-he'd say, "which muscles are hurting right now?", I'd tell him and he'd give me tips on how to correct my form. I felt fabulous even 3/4 of the way through the race! Amazing how working on your form just the tiniest bit can help prevent overuse of certain muscle groups (for me, it was the triceps which were getting overused....)

There were many favorite aspects of the race this year including the food breaks, spectators, weather and jets flying over head. The rest areas were full of wonderful oreos, chips ahoy cookies, peanut m&ms and warm gatorade style drinks. There were 4 rest areas and we took our time at each one---I had my fair share of M&Ms-boy did those hit the spot! The people helping at the rest areas were so efficient and positive. There were many random spectators on the trail ringing cow bells, cheering, yelling "good job!", clapping-it all gives a nice boost right when you need it! I was very appreciative and found myself responding, "thank you!!! Thank you for being here!!!"
The weather was in the high 20's with bright sun. Just GORGEOUS. Towards the end of the race, the trail goes right along the end of the runway in Anchorage. There were huge jets taking off and landing which was somehow empowering. Just thinking about my little body scurrying along on skis with the roar of big jets flying overhead got me moving faster. I have always loved watching planes landing and taking off, so it made the last few brutal hills more do-able.

After the race we went to Mooses Tooth Pub with our friends Julie and Ray and their son Lars. Ray also did the Tour of Anchorage race. And Julie is due with her second baby in 1 month! (see photo).

We stayed with Patrick's cousin (and therefore my cousin!) Will and Beth in their home looking over Potters Marsh and Turnagain Arm. Stuart kept making a beeline for the stairs-a novelty-as we don't have stairs at our house here in Kodiak! Stuart had several good hours of climbing up and down the stairs.... We sure enjoyed getting time in with our extended Alaska family.

The flight back was, uh, brutal. Patrick joked that the plane almost had to land in the Barren islands (islands to the North of Kodiak) to drop Nora off midway. Nora was a MESS this evening. She was very tired and ready for bed. The last 1/2 hour of the flight she cried, kicked, screamed. Patrick was a saint. He just restrained her, tried to keep her somewhat safe with the turbulence. She was quite a mess. After the plane landed a guy in front of us jokingly said, "Yeah, if adults acted like she did on a flight, they'd be taken off the plane in handcuffs!" then he continued to say how as long as the parents keep it together, kids breaking down on planes is fine. He thought Patrick did a fantastic job keeping it together even with Nora's full blown "explosive decompression".

Upon arriving home, we had two cars out at the airport. I took off towards home with the kids and Patrick went to get into his car. He proceeded to slip underneath his car as he was putting the key in the door. He landed in a puddle under his car. To make matters worse, his truck wouldn't start. So when I got home I saw a cab pull into the driveway with a less-than-pleased-about-his-chevy-Patrick.

What a fun weekend it was and now the kids sleep VERY soundly in their beds!

Zoya

Photos:

Myself and Patrick after the Tour of Anchorage ski race.
Group lunch photo at Mooses Tooth: Julie, Lars, Ray, Zoya, Stuey, Nora and Patrick
Group photo from dinner at Will and Beth's house: Bonnie, Mike, Cathy, Will, Beth, Nora, Patrick, Todd and Kellen.

Stuey Word of the Week

Stuart is beginning to talk.
His first 3 words are Up, Mamma and Happy. Happy comes out in two parts-Haaa-peee.
I'm lovin' it.

Nora is communicating more and more with Stuart as well. She looks at him very intently, for instance, when he is finishing his breakfast and she'll do the signs for more and 'all done'. She'll do the signs a few times for Stuey to try to determine what it is that he wants. He loves the (positive) attention from her and just smiles.

Zoya

Photo: Patrick took Nora for a walk the other day and snapped this photo from outside the living room window. Stuart was just waking up from a nap in my arms.

Things I've Learned in 24 hours

I've learned many things in the past day from friends and acquaintenances including....

-There are no easy answers for hard times like these.
-These years are called "terrible 2's" for a reason.
-Nora won't suddenly "outgrow" her stubbornness overnight. It will always be a part of who she is and over time it will be a good trait.
-Since Noras tantrums do tend to revolve around food, to better manage mealtimes and her involvement with meal preparation. Nora enjoys being industrious (don't all kids?) and would thrive on having an even more active role during meal times.
-My friends are wonderful listeners and have lots of great advice. I welcome it all.
-It feels good to just vent.
-Patrick is a wonderful friend, husband and father.

Zoya

Happiest Toddler on the Block Book

I recently heard about the book Happiest Toddler on the Block...

A mother blog had a synopsis of it-sounds just up my alley.
From: http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/entertainment/boston_mommy/

Item #4: Toddler Beasts

Ever think that your toddler behaves a bit like a primitive beast? If you did, surely in these parentally correct times, you wouldn’t publicly admit it, but you might, in the safe confines of your home share your observations with a close friend or relative.

Well now a University of California pediatrics professor has released you from your guilt because he has told a national newspaper that your assessment was right on the money.

“In his latest book, ‘The Happiest Toddler on the Block,’ Dr. [Harvey] Karp tries to teach parents the skills to communicate with and soothe tantrum-prone children,” the New York Times said. “In doing so, however, he redefines what being a toddler means. In his view, toddlers are not just small people. In fact, for all practical purposes, they’re not even small Homo sapiens.

“Dr. Karp notes that in terms of brain development, a toddler is primitive, an emotion-driven, instinctive creature that has yet to develop the thinking skills that define modern humans,” the paper continued. “Logic and persuasion, common tools of modern parenting, ‘are meaningless to a Neanderthal,’ Dr. Karp says.”

Yup, you read that correctly. He said Neanderthal.

Zoya

Tantrum Times

Arghh...the first 12 hours of Patrick gone aren't going so hot.

This isn't the first time he has been gone for several days at a time-there was several stretches in the fall that he was gone and I seem to remember it going smoothly...not sure why this time is more difficulty.

Probably because Nora has become even MORE of a daddy's girl in the 4 month period since then.

Patrick left this morning before she woke up and she immediately was crying out, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy..." over and over and over again. (side note: when I was gone to Hawaii, Patrick said she cried out for me 1 time in the 5 days I was gone...)
We waved at an airplane going by (I pretended it was Patrick's plane-even though it was headed towards town, not away from it. It dawned on me that she doesn't yet know the difference! Phew!). That helped a tiny bit, but not really. She sat on the couch in the kitchen, fixated on the sky above for about 1/2 an hour and I had to peel her away to go to daycare.

When I picked her up after work, she broke out into more "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" and crying chorus. Poor girl! She really misses him. I try to explain that we'll get on an airplane in a few days to see him, but does she really get it? Not sure.

This evening was temper tantrum after temper tantrum. I heard an announcement about a parenting class being taught on the radio earlier today. So I put a call into the radio station to get more specifics on that. Not sure if it is for parents of toddlers or older kids. I'm up for all the advice and help I can get. My friends are helpful and supportive, but the intensity of Noras tantrums blows many 2 year olds tantrums out of the water. Even the infant learning experts said that Nora's tantrums are of an unusual duration and intenstiy for a two year old. Extreme stubborness in action, I must say.

Some parents appear to have all the answers for their kids-not Patrick and I. He and I talk about that regularly. How this is such a learning process for him and I. He continues to be amazingly patient-more so than I. Its not that I lose it, but I have less tolerance for Nora standing there crying (rather-screaming on the top of her lungs) for 15-20 minutes at a time. Tonight when I was trying to eat my dinner and she was standing there screeching because I wouldn't give her the WHOLE bag of tortillas, I had it. I put her in the time out room for several minutes so I could eat my dinner in peace. There is nothing more annoying to me than trying to savor food in the company of a screaming toddler. Its my pet peeve. It is rude and irks me.

I know she is only 2. I know she isn't a "mini-adult". She is a two year old-irrational, unpredictable, tempermental, etc..
Sigh. I love her so much and want to help her find her groove easier. Hopefully in 2 months this phase will have passed and her tantrums will be less extreme and I will look back and be thrilled to be on to a different challege. Thats how parenting goes...goes from teething, not sleeping, to tantrums, then talking back probably....I can't even imagine what other adventures lay ahead.

Tonight Nora and I shared a wonderful 20 minutes of reading books together before bed. She crawled up in my lap repeatedly with various books, tucked her feet under my legs to warm them up, nestled her head into my body and listened intently to the book, pointing out her favorite parts, squealing occasionally. Those moments rock. Those are the parenting HIGH moments. Just happens that today the parenting Lows outweighed the duration of the highs. But perhaps I can relish in the sweetness of those high moments and let the low ones take a back seat.
As I always say, never a dull moment around here.

Zoya

February Snow Day

This afternoon Mother Nature presented us with a wonderful treat-sunny weather, cool crisp conditions for a ski up Pyramid. I haven't been downhill skiing in almost a year and I don't believe I"ve ever gone skiing this early in the winter. Usually I only ski in April, May and June in Kodiak-when the snow is easier...we call the term "corn snow".

We went up the backside of Pyramid Mountain which was a treat for me because I've never been up the back side. At the parking lot we met up with Philip and Adelia (by chance!!) so we all went up together. The backside of Pyramid has entirely different views and a whole different feel than the front side of Pyramid. I rather enjoyed it-and we trekked up the mountain all the while catching up a bit with Philip and Adelia. They were going up to snowboard.

The snow had a thick, deep feel to it, which took some serious strength in the legs and control of the skis. Patrick was very positive and encouraging that I would do fine-and I did...aside from one little fall....it was quite funny actually!!!

(Patrick leaves early tomorrow morning for Anchorage for a conference-we'll meet him over there on Saturday and on Sunday we'll do the 25 K classic ski Tour of Anchorage ski race together. Skiing today was a nice chance for he and I to have a moment away together before he heads off tomorrow morning!)

Zoya

Photos:
-Patrick and I enjoying the day together
-Patrick and I caught enjoying fritos together on the mountain. YUM YUM YUM! Good source of fat just when you need it!
-Me skiing down
-Me hiking along the edge of a small canyon. Slow and steady. :)
-Philip and Adelia getting ready to head further up to have a day of snowboarding!

No ski lifts in Kodiak! We put skins (like fake fur which grips the snow) on our skis and hike up the mountain. :) The going up part is actually just as fun as going down, believe it or not!

Marias' Mother Blessing Shower

Today was Marias' Mother Blessing shower, held here at the house with 14 ladies-(3 of whom are pregnant and due in the same week in April! Wow!! Katie St. John, Marias and Christina Ball. What was going on in July?? Rainy weather perhaps... :)

The shower began with food and chatting in the kitchen then moved to the living room to help share stories and inspiration for Marias as she prepares for the birth of her baby. Many thoughtful sentiments were said as people joined in the ceremony of giving Marias a bead and explaining why they chose that bead for her. Many of the beads had to do with Kodiak, the ocean, nature, womanhood. The beads were strung into a necklace for Marias to remember and rejoice in the strength and love of her fellow female friends in Kodiak.

Marias' in-laws in Hawaii sent a wonderful assortment of beautiful beads with a note that said,
"...we had such a hard time picking out just 1 bead for your necklace. Every bead that we fell in love with seemed to scream out, "Pick, me! Pick, Me! I want to be on a birth necklace!!".
Isn't that fun?!
It was so nice to have the presence of her mother, sister and husbands family present with us today, even though they are in Montana and Hawaii.

I first met Marias at the pool when I took Nora swimming for aquatots. I think Nora was only 4 or 5 months old at the time and Marias and I hit it off instantly. We had many of the same parenting philosophys (regarding breastfeeding, co-sleeping) as well as the fact that we really enjoyed talking. I always find myself laughing with Marias and she can always put a positive twist on things. Our first kids are the same age within a few weeks and the first year was filled with phone calls back and forth about sleepless nights, teething difficulties, temper tantrums and all the other turmoils which fill the minds (and days) of first time parents.


Laughter and tears flowed, sometimes both at the same time, as we also did a candle ceremony. Each person lit a candle and talked about their blessings for Marias' birth and any other birth stories people wanted to share. Everyone took their candle home and after Marias has her baby, we will all light the candles at our own homes to celebrate the hours following the birth of Marias' baby.

Marias is leaving town this May with her family to New Mexico. Her husband is in the Coast Guard and they are being transferred. We know that she will be forever in our hearts and we will await her return to Kodiak someday. What an amazing person she is and what a beautiful family she has.

Zoya

Photos:
-Libby Eufemio and Marias
-Katie St. John telling us the small beads she gave Marias are a reminder of all the women all over the world who will be having a baby at the same time as her (10,000!!!). SO COOL!
-Marias holding up her birthing necklace with all the unique, memorable beads on it.
-Teresa Langford after she has lit her candle.
-Christina Ball laughing as she celebrates the moment of lighting her candle.

Gregg Rips a Turn

Just a quick note and photo showing the skiing today up on Pyramid. I think Zoya will be posting shortly about the baby shower she hosted, and the post will be pushed down to second fiddle anyway. So stay tuned for the baby shower photos! To sum up my day on the mountain - the snow was great, but the light was bad.

I met Gregg and Lisa at the top of the South Bowl in a complete whiteout. They skinned up from the parking lot while I took the long route up from the switchbacks. Sort of amazing that we arrived at the summit at the same time. I heard Gregg talking to Lisa - clear as a bell (good thing they weren't talking about something personal). I yelled, and they came over and found me. Black figures suddenly materializing in the white. We ripped a few runs in the bad light but terrific snow. The first guy down was at a disadvantage because it was all white. The next two skiiers had the tracks of the first skiier for relief against the white. Amazing what a few tracks does for your depth perception! Patrick

We've been Pasted

In the last two days we got about three feet of heavy new snow on Pyramid. It has gotten REALLY deep. We do not usually have this much snow on the mountain until April. Hopefully it keeps on accumulating and gets UNBELIEVABLY deep. It's getting hard to recognize the landscape features as they get buried beneath a blanket of snow. All the alder bushes have been buried and the gullies have disappeared.

I think as the snow fell the temperature went up and down and periodically froze the wet snow. It is all soft, but when I skinned up I only sank in about 1/2 foot. But if I pushed my ski pole in it went all the way in. When I skiied down I could bounce and sink way into the powder then porpoise back out. Pretty good skiing. But the avalanche risk is high - I even set off a small avalanche in the North Bowl. Patrick

7100 Year-old Alutiiq House

Today I got back the radiocarbon dating results for last summer's Community Archaeology excavation at Salonie Mound (see post titled 'Radiocarbon Dates' in the archives - March 2007 for an explanation of radiocarbon dating) . It turns out the house we excavated is 7100 years old! That is exactly how old I thought it would be - BUT I was really worried that I had interpreted everything wrong and that the house would turn out to be only 4000 years old (or something equally young and disappointing). Last year my '6000 year-old house' turned out to be only 3400 years old, and after talking it up big I'd had to eat crow. So this year I was a little gun shy - believe it or not, several times in the last few weeks I've even woken up in the middle of the night with the dread that I would be wrong (I admit it - I am an archaeo-nerd). So today is a great day - I was right, it is a 7100 year-old house. Vindication! We actually sent in 5 samples to be dated and every date came back within 100 years of what I guessed they would.

The house is exciting because it is far more elaborate than expected. Prior to last summer no one had ever excavated an Alutiiq house much older than about 6300 years. There were not supposed to be older houses - we thought early Alutiiq people lived in simple tents. But last summer we excavated a house that was almost 5 meters across, had walls of stacked sods, lots of large posts to hold up the roof, a storage pit feature, built up sleeping bench, and an inside hearth. People used it a long time too - we found a midden (trash heap) around the outside of the house almost two feet deep (50 cm). And that's after it had settled and decayed. This is not the simple, ephemeral type of structure one would expect to find according to our characterization of the early Alutiiq as 'extremely mobile hunter gatherers'. It turns out they did build substantial structures and obviously lived in certain spots for extended periods of time. This is big news and I can't wait to tell other Alaskan archaeologists about it at next week's Alaska Anthropological Meeting in Anchorage.

The bottom photo is a scan of the final 'schematic map', plan view of the house from my notes. The dark circles represent the post holes that held up the roof. There was a wall of stacked sods around the northern edge of the feature (top of map). The top photo is the profile of the part of the house we did not excavate (left side of map). You can see the black house floor extending into the wall near the bottom of the profile. On the left the black house floor is on top of stacked sods which probably represent the stacked sod sleeping bench while on the right you can see the stacked sod wall that went around the structure (stacked sods are the mixed up white and brown blebs). You can bet I'll be showing these pictures to my fellow archaeologists next week! And I bet you're glad you wont be there! Patrick

Happy Anniversary Gregg & Lisa!

Today is Lisa and Gregg's second anniversary, and just like last year we went for a ski on Pyramid. In the last few days we have gotten a lot of snow and rain in town so we had visions of waist deep powder up high. But it was not to be. During the storm late last night there was an ice storm all the way to the top. 'Upside down snow' (wet snow on top of powder) with a crust of ice on top. So not so good skiing. But we had a fun time skinning up from the switchbacks and skiing back down the road to the car. More of a tour than an actual ski. Still way better than doing it on snowshoes, and it was fun to hang with Lisa and Gregg on their anniversary. Patrick