Food Bank Crisis

Stock Photo Above=Lets make our food bank shelves look like that!!

Recently the local food bank has had major food shortages. For residents of Kodiak, its time to amp up donations to the food bank.

I learned of the recent shortages from my friend, Winona, who has been volunteering there. She learned how at times there are 90 families on the list for boxes of food and at times they have to prioritize on the list who can get a box every week. I normally don't do "call to arms" blog posts, but felt this was a critical one.

I learned also that the food bank delivers boxes to the several remote villages-and they have to pack canned fruit and other non-perishables in those boxes as opposed to having any fresh produce. There is such a large geographic area of need that the food bank supplies. They also donate food to senior center as well.

If you live in Kodiak, consider dropping off cans (or cases) of soups, canned fruits, tuna fish, canned chicken, etc. to the food bank. It is located on the Baptist Mission Property....3rd building on the left. Lets all pitch in to an important organization and make sure no one goes hungry here in Kodiak.

Here are some donation suggestions...
Stews, soups, tuna, ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, beefaroni, peanut butter, etc.
Grains: Cereal, rice, pasta, dried beans
Fruits: Fruit/fruit cups, dried fruit (raisins, plums, cranberries),
applesauce, 100% juice and juice boxes
Canned Vegetables Kid-friendly items: Fat-free, sugar free pudding cups, granola
bars, popcorn, graham and/or animal crackers
Baby Products: Diapers, wipes, formula, infant cereal
Hygiene Items: Feminine products, hand sanitizer, toothbrushes, soap, shaving items, etc.
Paper Products: Toilet tissue, paper towels, etc.

And a Huge Thanks to Alex and the Bapstist Mission Food Bank for providing this vital service to the community.

Zoya

More Kids On Snow Pics

Since I took these pictures we got a whole bunch more snow and then it rained. But now it is 15 degrees outside again and it is supposed to stay cold. All of our powder has turned into a 'solid base'. Hopefully we'll get a little dusting on top and the kids will be back on snow skiing. No matter what the sledding will be GREAT! Or, at least, VERY, VERY fast anyway.
Pictures are of the kids skiing here around the house and at Ft. Abercrombie.
Patrick

The Weight of Snow

Yesterday I discovered there is something about being immersed in cold, blustery nature which helps soften a down mood.

Patrick and I skiied with long time friends, Adelia and Philip, through Swampy Acres; exploring. There were side trails taken, slopes descended and ascended and many branches pushed aside.

Patrick and Philip did most of the trail-breaking through many inches of snow. Snow weighted tree branches down as the noon- sun shone through the tress.

To break trail our skis sank way down and we had to lift it back up with with the weight of snow on it. The going was slow, but powerful. I broke trail for only a few minutes at the end and was in better appreciation of what work it took for Patrick and Philip up ahead.

Adelia, a lifelong Kodiak friend, and myself skiied along in conversation as well as in quiet, listening to the guys talk ahead and to the wind through the forest.

Today my muscles remind me how much work it was to trek through the woods and across Lake Genevieve. And my spirit reminds me how good skiing is for my soul.

Zoya

Pictures:
All taken by Philip Tschersich.
Top:
-Zoya, Patrick and Adelia heading back along Lake Genevieve.
-Adelia (right) and myself.
-Patrick forging the way.
-Adelia and I myself go across a small hillside.
-Patrick, myself and Adelia almost to the finish...
-Wind Gust on Lake Genevieve with Barometer behind us.

Almost Full

I took a bunch of photos of the moon last night as it was rising up out of the ocean. I don't think I quite captured the vivid yellow color. Next time I'll shorten the exposure time. The first picture comes the closest to capturing the true color, but at the time it seemed too dark. I'm also bummed that the moon seems slightly out of focus. After taking the photos the hardest part was deciding which photo I liked the best. I picked these three, but Zoya liked other ones.

Anyway, last night the moon was not quite full. Tonight's the night to celebrate the full moon. Hopefully, it will not be obscured by clouds and I can try and capture its picture again. Patrick

Family Ski Outing~ Ski poles as Weapons

Yesterday morning Patrick and I went to Lake Gertrude for a great ski on lots of fresh snow (see bottom photos). In the afternoon we took the kids out to try out the trail we carved out (see top photos).

A few notable moments:
-Earlier on in the ski I asked Patrick, "I'm amazed there aren't more parents with young kids out here." By the end of the trip, I better understood the answer.
-The kids skiied 1/2 way around the perimeter of the lake on the trail Patrick and I carved out from earlier in the day. Their determination surprised us.
-I had a "woo-hoo!!" parenting moment as we started across the lake and the kids didn't need any help from us. And we were all having a fun time. This was a moment I've been excited to have happen since we had the kids...as Patrick and I both love skiing.
-The kids discovered Ski poles make great self-defense tools. During several moments, the kids would turn into a pile of hitting skis and poles on the ground. Patrick and I were at a loss. Sibling love. Nora was pretty aggressive with her skis...We would have to step in break the cat fights up.
-Stuey can't handle being last. Ever. If one of us inched in front of him, he freaks out. He has some very competitive genes at play...Patrick and I disagree as to whose side of the family it comes from.
-At the end of the day, Patrick and I agreed the ski was a success by all measures. A few cat fights, some good distance on the snow....by the end Nora had ditched the poles and was kicking and gliding her way back to the car.

Zoya

Photos:
Nora on the lake.
Stuey and Nora fighting.
Yeah! Kids are able to ski around the lake!
Patrick and I earlier in the day carving out the trail on the lake.

A Local-Vore Meal (Octopus!!) with Local Friends

Last night we had some friends over for dinner for what ended up being a local-vore meal.

Our friend Nick, who is a paleotologist, was home visiting from the East Coast. He is from a local fishing family and fishes every summer so he always has some good seafood in his freezer. This time, he had some octopus in the freezer from last summer that he thawed out and prepared. He cut the large tentacles into small bite size pieces, breaded them in lightly spiced crumbs and fried them up in the deep cast iron skillet. The flavor was so good and they weren't all that tough! (for those of you who haven't ever eaten octopus, it has a reputation for being tough at times...) For those of you who like calamari, the flavor and texture is very similar to calamari.

Nick also prepared a large serving of Angel Wing mushrooms, which were picked last fall from the sides of fallen trees in the forest and they had been frozen as well. This was his first time experimenting with eating them after freezing. Sauteed with some butter and garlic, they were yummy! I think we were all amazed by how well they froze. Patrick and I decided we are going to do lots more Angel Wing-mushroom-hunting next fall and freeze them for winter.

Patrick prepared some roasted potatoes from his garden as well as his deer ceviche recipe with a deer shoulder roast. It was fun to look at the food and appreciate that it was all harvested from Kodiak! And we are enjoying it in January!

Our friends Sven and Balika came over as well. Nick, Balika and I were in the same high school class here in Kodiak. We don't tend to reminisce about high school days as much as one would think. Partly because we were all affiliated with different friend groups and hobbies in high school. But more because the conversation goes more interesting places; to local food, dinosaurs, travel, happiness, careers, etc.

The commonality of high school is one that definitely connects people, however. I feel fortunate to live in my home town for this reason. There is a longer history and understanding of people you went to high school with. Every once in a while I will cringe as someone will say, "Zoya, I remember when you....". Thats when I like to change the conversation....

I think the kids wondered what we were feeding them. They picked at their plates and I noticed Stuey asked for large portions of dried fruit before bedtime. I think he was hungry...

Zoya

Group picture.
Nick preparing the mushrooms and octopus. Deer Ceviche on the counter. Roasted potatoes were still crisping in the oven.

N & S moments

Stuey turns 5 in a month and he is having moments where I look at him and realize he is growing quickly out of his little boy phase, as he asks questions about the world and pushes himself harder with tasks.

Lately he has asked "when we will die?". Not sure how this came about, as we haven't been particularly talking about death. Am thinking at preschool they talk about the death of jesus christ, perhaps? In any case, it is on his mind. I tell him, "in a long, long time". I don't remember Nora ever asking much about death, seems to be more his thing lately.

"BAD YOU"
Sometimes when Stuey gets upset with his he puts on the meanest face he can and says, "Bad You". This happens if I've put one of his toys in time out or taken a sticker off his sticker chart. The other day when visiting his grandma in Homer, she had to take something out of his hand and she promised that once he was nice again she would give it back to him. She left the room and Stuey put on his mean face and he said, "Bad Grandma". I said, "stuey, thats not nice" but was holding back laughter. Sometimes when he says, "Bad You" it's so funny, that it's hard to not laugh.

When he gets pouty I tell him, "stuey, I don't want to see anyone smiling or having a good time." Then he puts on an adorable smile and I say, "What? Are you smiling? Are you having a good time?". That seems to help break his bad mood.

NORA
Evenings have been riddled with hard moments for Nora. The hardest time of day is bathtime-she is so tired from school and often just yells at me. Things like, "Mom-I don't want to go to bed. I don't want to take a bath right now!". Frankly, its exhausting to be the recepient of such tired, negative energy. Often I have to take a moment and walk away, and listen to her cries for me. Other times my visceral response is to raise my voice back, which doesn't do any good.

Last night, she apologized for her outburst, which was somewhat of a first. After bath, Patrick was reading to the kids and Nora said, "Sorry mommmy for getting mad". I replied, "thank you, Nora for telling me that. It is hard for me when you yell at me for no reason.". She has always been more challenging for me than Stuey in this regard-having verbal outbursts or crying that I have absolutely no control or understanding of. There is a lot of deep breath taking on my part when this happens. Last night I was talking with a girlfriend who remarked that her daughter (who is 6 months older than Nora) has recently outgrown her outbursts of a similar nature. This was re-assuring to hear.

There are moments where Nora is so mature and thoughtful, considerate of the feelings of others....and I have to give her lots of praises in the positive moments. If there is one thing I"ve learned over the years in my marriage and as a parent, it is to give lots of positives-to help counteract negative feedback. (I learned a few years ago that the ratio should be 10:1 for kids and 7:1 for adults...for every negative criticism, there should be 10 positives sprinkled throughout the day for kids and 7 for adults). The tough part is that when someone is being the most difficult, it is often when they need the most attention or praise, which can be very hard to do at times.

Zoya

Photos: Stuey and Nora in the window of our cabin as the ferry docks in Kodiak (those are the lights of Kodiak outside). Home at last! Dawn on the drive through the mountains while on the way back to Homer from Anchorage. The roads were pretty bad and there were some white knuckle moments - but the light on the mountains and snow on the trees was beautiful. Needless to say, but we did not want to do this drive at night! Another kids in Anchorage ski moment - kid down was a frequent occurence - next is 'pick the kid up again'.

A bear for the New Year

This afternoon Zoya and I went cross country skiing on Lake Genevieve and it was glorious - no wind and plenty of sun. And there were even some fresh bear tracks to enjoy. It looked like he/she was a small bear. Maybe a 3 year-old getting ready to spend their first winter away from momma. The bear walked almost all the way around the lake, and judging by how fresh the tracks are he/she probably finished the circuit of the lake early this morning. I bet the bear is just finishing up with the last of the spawning silver salmon in the nearby streams and will be in bed soon. Patrick

Bribing with M&M's

While in Anchorage, we took Nora to AMH (the local ski store) to get new cross country ski boots and the guy there who helped us was fabulous with Nora. The last pair of boots we got her was without her there (and at REI horror of horrors); a grave mistake we discovered. The boots were way too small. (fortunately her little brother can use them!)

The gentleman at AMH spent around 20 minutes getting Nora's foot size, finding the correct boot, then at the end he helped show HER how to unlace them. I sat and watched in amazement as he insisted she unlace the boots on her own. (That, I really liked.)

I asked him, "So do you have kids? You're so patient and helpful with Nora."

He replied with laughter, "Oh no. I don't have kids. I taught ski school for nearly 10 years and that was great birth control. I would have pockets full of M&M's to get the kids to do what we needed. The parents would come back after the lessons and wonder how it was that I got them to do all the activities so well. I would just smile and send the hyper kids off on their way with their parents at the end of the day. Here, I"m patient with kids because I'm paid to be."
He had a great sense of humor and I could tell that his patience was more than just being paid. He had a true knack in working with the wee ones.

The conversation brought a smile to my face, thinking about him with mobs of whiny kids in ski school....bribing them with M&Ms. He asked if we had Nora enrolled in a "ski program" here in Kodiak and I explained how there aren't even groomed trails here-no ski programs. I like that Nora and Stuey want to go skiing and ask to go skiing without any prompting from us. And when we are out, they work hard to keep up with us.


After a week on the mainland, we took the Kennicott Ferry home on an overnight trip back to Kodiak. The seas were predicted to be 8-10 feet, but it was virtually calm. Thank heavens! We all slept like babies and woke up at 8AM to arriving in Kodiak. The kids went into playing hard with all the toys and I went right into unpack and clean mode. Theres no place like home!

Zoya

The (sometimes) reality of skiing with kids

The light was so good the other evening when we went skiing on Potter's Marsh that I just had to add a few more photos from that trip. We did go again today but the light was not so good.

It is HARD to take the kids cross country skiing. They fall down all the time and need to be picked up and their hands get cold (esp on days like today when it is 5 degrees out). Gear on, gear off - It seems to takes FOREVER for just a few moments actually skiing. But hey, they WANT to go skiing. So it is all worth it. I will put up with whining and cold hands and a sore back from picking them up as long as they want to go skiing. I desperately want my kids to enjoy skiing. And right now they do seem to enjoy skiing. Whoo Hoooo.

Our Anchorage experience has been lots of skiing, IHOP breakfasts and good meals at our cousin's Will and Beth's house (where we have been staying). Everyday, Zoya and I plan out our workouts so that one takes care of kiddos while the other goes skiing or does Powerflex weight training. I have been skiing mostly classic style and doing the Spencer loop as often as I can. This is the part of the Tour of Anchorage race course that always beats me up badly - so I have been trying to learn the loop as well as I can. Yesterday I did it twice!

Patrick and Zoya

Skiing Potters Marsh

Today we took the kids skiing at Potters Marsh-just a 3 minute drive from where we are staying with family. The conditions couldn't were spectacular-sun was setting over Turnagain arm, a train was stalled on the railroad, the air was crisp and cold, and there was a nice trail through the marsh. Just beautiful light - hard to take a bad photo.

We have enjoyed meals at Spenard Roadhouse-the kids love the kids menu which has popcorn on it. Today Stuey enjoyed popcorn as an appetizer AND dessert. Who wouldn't want popcorn before and after dinner?

Patrick and Zoya

Trip to The Mainland

Yesterday we left on the M/V Tustemena for Homer. The trip was overall smooth; Nora didn't get seasick, which she normally does even with dramamine. Stuey reacted quite sensitively to the dramamine- he was sleeping sitting up during dinner. Fortunately he was able to stay awake enough to chow down a grilled cheese and fries!

Evidently the seas were quite large, as the ferry took an alternate route along Shelikof Strait, as opposed to going towards Homer exposed to the gulf of alaska. This took about 2 hours longer, but the kids slept until arrival!

Here in Homer Nora and Stuey had a blast playing with all of their cousins. Ages range from 5-21! Quite the mix of fun silly energy. Patrick, Mike, Bern, Todd and myself all went skiing in the thick snow.

Pictures:
Patrick and myself after skiing.
Todd and Mike on the trail skiing today.
My nephew Kellen with the quilt I made him for his first year at college.
Bonnie graciously and patiently cut Stuey's hair. He was WAY overdue for a haircut! Stuey liked all the paparazzi attention that was involved...
Dining room shot on the ferry.

A Hearty Christmas Day

Yesterday was a cold, crisp day. Patrick and I went skiing by ourselves in shifts on Lake Genevieve in the mid day.
Some Christmas Day fun surprises:
-As I drove to go skiing, I went by two runners going at a good clip alongside the road. They both wore Santa Hats!
-We got an unexpected Christmas phone call from Patricks stepbrother who is visiting Africa. I spoke with him briefly before the connection was lost. We haven't spoken with him for a long time.
-In the morning, I got a text at 7:00 AM from my sister Anne~ her 10 year old daughter, Sonya, opened the quilt that I had made for her. Anne texted that "Sonya loved it and wanted to bring it with her when she goes to college". This was the perfect way to start the day-with thoughts of Sonya enjoying her new quilt.

We enjoyed dinner with a group of friends who all brought dishes to share. There was enough protein to go around; elk roast, prime rib AND turkey. It was an Atkins Holiday.

Today we clean and pack and leave for Homer on the ferry this evening for a 1 week trip to the Mainland. Looking forward to seeing family, friends and a road trip to Anchorage!

Zoya

Photos: Dinner last night...group photo and serving up the meal. Kids table.
My sister Anne (right) and my niece, Sonya , with the quilt I made. Anne sent the photo yesterday after Sonya opened it.