All About Fat Globules

St. Mary's recently had their annual science fair which all students in the school participate in. 

Admittedly, when the first round of instructions for the science fair came home, my initial thought was "really? 2nd grade is so young". But then I quickly learned that  Grades 2-3 can do demonstrations and the older students do experiments. 

At home,  we had recently made butter from whipping cream,  so Nora decided to do a demonstration on how to make butter and show the difference in quality of butter between light whipping cream and goat milk. Stuey's horsebackriding teacher has goats and goat milk, so Nora got the milk from her (she very much enjoyed petting the goats!)

At the last step of the project, Nora laid out her board, and I helped her tape everything on in the right place. She was quite pleased with how it all turned out and wanted us to transport it very carefully to school for the big presentation day.  Her demonstration took 3rd place in the demonstration category and she was so excited that she was telling random strangers this in the grocery store! Gotta love the science fair enthusiasm, at least! 

It was interesting looking at the final projects, because you could tell which students had parents who helped some, who had parents who maybe helped too much as well as who had parents who most likely didn't help at all (or very little). Next year I'd love to help some of the students who didn't have any home help with their projects so they can really have fun with it and get a lot out of the process. 

Even at the second grade level, it was neat to see the scientific discovery wheels thinking. 

And Nora learned what the word "fat globule" means! 

Zoya

The cute source of the goat milk at the Fairgrounds. 

Putting a marble in the jar to facilitate the butter making process. 

After 1 hour of shaking the Nalgene bottle, the goat milk was put into the blender to get the final product. 

Cow milk butter on left, goat milk on right. 

Buttermilk by-product on far right. Yummy for pancakes the next day!

3rd place in the demonstration category. The final product presentation board ready for the big day!

Patrick vs. The Apollo

As we walked by the somewhat ominous ride at the Fur Rondy Carnival in Anchorage, Nora asked, "Can I go on that one? Can daddy go with me?" 

Initially Patrick replied, "no, I can't do that" and then several minutes later, he was agreeing to go on it with Nora. Next thing I knew, Nora and Patrick were buckled in, caged up and moving into the air around and around-upside down. 

The few moments I saw Patrick, he had his hands in a prayer position and his eyes were closed.

(He told me later that he was praying he would not get sick and that it would stop soon). 

Nora and Patrick got off quite queasy and neither of them felt 100% for a while afterwards. Nora's exact quote later that evening when talking about the Apollo ride, "That ride should be executed". 

Bless Nora's little adventurer spirit to give it a try! And Bless Patrick's heart for giving it a go right along with Nora. 

Zoya

The Apollo. Patrick and Nora upside down, at the top of the ride.  Wow. 

Lars and Stuey with the Gravitron behind them. Stuey did it 2x in a row. 

Group family picture at the Arctic Roadrunner. Favorite weekend lunch spot. 

At the carnival 

Double Reflections

Lately Stuey and Nora have been having a lot of fun playing with the 'reflection' special setting on their cameras.  Their favorite effect is split a person in half and create a whole person/dog with 3 eyes etc.  In this way, they come up with some bizarre and often very funny images.

So on Monday when I was walking Tank in Abercrombie I saw that Lake Gertrude was flat calm and that the trees were reflected on the surface.  It struck me that this is 'effect' the special 'reflection' setting was designed to achieve - not the bizarre images the kids have been coming up with.  I also thought, 'what will it look like if I play with reflections on the 'reflection' setting?'

I came up with some pretty weird double reflections - that's what.  Patrick

Anchorwage

Last weekend we made our annual trip to Anchorage for the Tour of Anchorage ski race. I really, really enjoyed not doing the ski race and just chillin' with friends and family. I felt so relaxed. So relaxed. 

This year, I realized how much of an annual tradition the Tour has become for our family. For several months, I was planning on not going along with Patrick….especially since I wasn't doing the race. And then I started thinking about all the wonderful memories from years past and how much fun the kids have seeing friends and family. And I decided I didn't want to miss it. And I'm so glad we all went over to cheer Patrick on in his race!

A few old  and new traditions….

Post race hot tub at Julie and Rays…cold air, warm water and wonderful company of friends. 

Dinner at Marx brothers on Friday night! good times planning future adventures (Afognak! and Montana!) over dinner in the warm, cozy Marx Brothers restaurant. 

Cheering on  Iditarod teams. We watched 2 teams pass by in the woods near  the Alaska Native Medical Center. Nora and I "high-fived" one of the mushers! :) The dogs are SO happy!

The kids all have such a fun time playing together. happy kids=happy parents!

Skiing in the backyard…the kids had little races making loops around the course! 

Tradition of enjoying pizza together in the evening after the race. Julie makes amazing pizzas from Mooses' Tooth crust. With Brian D., Ray and Julie.  

Fur Rendezvous Carnival. A fun bonus for Nora and Stuey this year! Fun times in the sunny, 35 degree weather!

Zoya

PS I called the post Anchorwage b/c Stuey for a while called Anchorage, "Anchorwage" because his "r" difficulties! 

Ocean Bay as an Archaic Tradition

Tomorrow I am off to Fairbanks to attend the annual meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association.  This is my yearly chance to hobnob with other Alaskan archaeo-nerds.  It actually is very much like a high school or college reunion in that we all have something in common - but rather than a particular school we all care about Alaskan Anthropology.  Maybe a better analogy would be a 'Dungeons and Dragons' convention?  But it is funny - I do care about what the other attendees think about my research.  Being able to present cool research is sort of like arriving at the High School reunion with a good looking wife, successful kids, and a respectable job.

I have gone to the conference practically every year since 1996 and I see the same people year after year.  I generally ONLY see these people at this particular conference.  These are my colleagues in Alaskan Archaeology.  It is a strong connection.

This year I am presenting on 2 of the sites we excavated last summer as part of a mitigation project.  The village of Old Harbor is extending its airport runway and the Alutiiq Museum was called in to excavate the archaeological sites slated to be damaged by the project. (click here, here and here for older blog posts on last summer's Old Harbor excavations).  I am only presenting on the older sites that we excavated.

Anyway, here are a few of the powerpoint slides for my upcoming talk at the conference.  I am scheduled to talk Friday morning.  The conference is at the Wedgewood Hotel in Fairbanks, AK - (click here for a  hotlink for particulars).  So if you are in the area, and are interested in the topic - then drop on by.  Patrick

My Tour of Anchorage

Nora had been playing with the camera settings and all our race pictures ended up on the 'reflection setting' 

This year due to low snow they decided to shorten the Tour of Anchorage.  So instead of a 25K, 40K, and 50K race that ends at Kincaid Park, they just had 19K and 26K options that started at Service High School and ended at Alaska Pacific University.  The 25K races became 19K races and the 40K and 50K races became 26K.  Originally I had wanted to do the 40K race on classic gear because I would avoid the very hilly and tough Spencer Loop portion of the 50K race.  In the end both the 40K and 50K had to do the Spencer Loop - so no break there!

Anyway, I think I was the only racer in the 26K race on classic skis.  Everybody but me was on skate skis using the inherently faster freestyle technique.  So in the final results it looks like I did terrible - placing 329th out of 565 male and female racers.  But if you look at my pace per kilometer (26K in 1:39 or 3.8 minutes a kilometer) and compare it to times of the classic technique racers in the 19K race I would have been about 20th out of 200 (at around 1:10 for 19K), and that is in a shorter race that lacked the REALLY tough Spencer Loop.  So I did well, and I found out what it is like to do the Spencer Loop in a race on classic skis, and go mano a mano with the freestyle skate skiiers.

It was an eye-opening experience.  As skate skiers blew by me, I learned just how much faster the freestyle technique is than classic.  I'd work really hard to climb up a slope I'd have just glided up on skate gear.  The weird part was that I ended up racing with people who had pretty bad technique.  They would blow by me on the flats and slight up hills, but they did not know how to efficiently climb up steep hills or negotiate steep downhills.  They would all pass me on the uphill and then I'd slam back into them when they started snow plowing and wiping out all over the place on the downhills.  Normally I am up near the front of the race where no one snow plows on the downhills and everyone flies up the uphills.

As racers with pretty bad technique blew by me I found myself wanting to cheat and skate ski on my classic skis. I'd show them!  But I curbed my ego and stuck to the classic technique the whole race.  And I now appreciate how much work it is to go fast using the classic technique.  My upper body is completely spent.  Patrick

A note on the pictures:  Nora and Stuey have been playing around with the different settings on the cameras, and one of their favorites is the 'reflective' setting.  Zoya forgot to change it for the race finish and it looks like I skiing past a lake or something.  I actually kind of like them, and then there is me and Zoya standing in the lake at the end of the race (Nora is there under water).

Tour of Anchorage Goals

View from the top of my run today on Pyramid

The Tour of Anchorage cross country ski race takes place next Sunday, and I'm all ready to race in it. Despite the warm winter I actually got in a lot of training - more than I did in 2009/2010 when I last did the 40K race.  As I said in an earlier post I am going to do the 40K race on classic skis.

In the past, when I've raced in the 25K classic race my pace was around 3 1/2 minutes per kilometer.  At that pace I'd do 40K in around 2:24.  Except I KNOW I could not go at that pace for a full 40K.  So my goals are a bit more modest - I want to average a kilometer every 4 minutes.  That's 5K every 20 minutes, and would get me across the finish line in 2:40.  Even that is a bit ambitious. So I'll be REALLY happy if I break 2:40, and satisfied if I finish in under 3 hours.

Anyway, today was my last day of training.  From now until the race I'll take it easy and save up some energy.  This afternoon I climbed up Pyramid and went downhill skiing.  It was the first time I've been downhill skiing in 3 weeks.  Patrick

The snow conditions were actually pretty good for downhill skiing

Finding Empty Space

Its been 2 days of incredible winds here in Kodiak...blowing at least 60 mph at times. Weather like this lends itself to fires in the fireplace, reading, movies,  book club and cleaning.

On Saturday, Nora motivated me to do some spring cleaning of a corner which was covered in paper and books. The junk corner of note was  atop a counter in our living room and was becoming quite an eyesore. Stuey kept saying, "Mom, I bet if you clean it off, you'll find money. Maybe $100?"

As I sorted through the odds and ends in the stack, I didn't find $100, but I realized how swamped I really have been the last couple of years. It was so viscerally satisfying to throw old papers away, save old art work from the kids over the years.  Now the counter is now free of anything.

 Empty space- a rare commodity in a house where there is such a big influx and outflux of papers, mail, magazines, etc. An empty counter almost begs to be filled up.

I'm welcoming this empty space into my life. In my house, my mind, my time. To learn, grow, there has to be empty space first. Clear the slate, so to speak.

(And Patrick LOVES this trend of mine! he says, before I met you Zoya, I used to dust the house once a week. And I believe him.)

Zoya

Believing in Pluto & Free time

As I write this, Stuey just poked his head out of his bedroom door and said, "Mom, I believe in the other planet." 

Today he learned about the names of the planets in school and did a most precious art projects with simple drawings of all the planets. He asked why Pluto isn't a planet and I said it was now considered a "dwarf" planet because it doesn't meet the planet qualifications.  He seemed disappointed in this, like Pluto was somehow left out of the party. I'm right with him...I believe in Pluto, too!

Recently, on a less-celestial topic- I've become a big believer in free time.  Thats right...time with no commitments and no certain plans.  

The past few months I've had a chance to slow down and rediscover who I am and what I like to do in my down time. With the help of a fabulous therapist, Deborah D,  Click here, I've learned the power of not overcommitting and really evaluating what brings me joy and how do I want my free time to be spent. Therapist Deborah has her Masters in Counseling and her Masters in Art Therapy which is a heavenly combination. Never before could I have imagined that my art and drawings could be a venue for my personal growth and healing. 

 For years, I thought it was "normal" to really not have much free time. Between being a business owner, physical therapist, mom, wife, friend, etc...I literally ran out of hours in the day at times. Now, I've reclaimed that very important "me" time. 

"Me" time that is good for reading a book for pleasure, sitting on the couch just looking at a fire, making cookies, watching Patrick cook dinner, watching a movie, writing letters, journaling, etc. True soul food activities. 

I've been going to  Deborah D., for over 2 months now and at my most recent session I asked her, "So since I'm feeling great, how do I ensure that I continue feeling this way? What is the magic recipe?" She kindly smiled and explained to me that maintaining good emotional health is like maintaining good physical health. It takes consistent effort and attention...and isn't something to be just taken for granted. This sounded very similar to exercise or having a healthy relationship. If there isn't regular attention to it, systems start failing. 

Looking at mental health from this angle was a first for me. I've always been a fairly upbeat, happy person and now I know how to help keep that positive, upbeat energy to my life. Deborah helped me find my magic recipe... 

Zoya

trekking along

Nora and the setting winter sunshine

A quick ski on the lake today after work. My first time skiing in jeans! 

A Stuey-mommy selfie!

Dog Days of Winter

Skiing has continued on lake Gertrude in Ft. Abercrombie, golf course and upper buskin. 

Stuey loves being speedy guy...charging ahead. His little legs kick and glide so effortlessly. I wonder when or how it suddenly happened, but now I have to work a tad bit to keep up with him as he sprints. 

Nora brings up the back of the back as she walks along and tells herself stories. For her, the time outside is decompression time from the busy-ness of the day. Today Patrick hung in the back with her and even towed her along for fun for part of the way. 

 On the lake this afternoon, there was more skiing on big sheets of ice than snow, but it didn't matter. It was about being outside together. 

Zoya

A random one~On our way home from a friends wedding reception last weekend.... Stuey somehow obtained a pair of beer goggles!

Threats to Archaeological Sites on Kodiak

Tomorrow at noon at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge visitors center downtown I will be giving a talk about the various threats to archaeological sites on Kodiak.  Everything from rising sea levels, puffins, bears, the occasional gardener, cows and much, much more are damaging sites about the archipelago. Hopefully I'll open eyes about the wide variety of sites to be found and what is happening to them.  Here are a few of my slides to whet your appetite.  Patrick

Snow fun

We finally have a taste of winter here in Kodiak.

The past week the temperatures have been in the teens and low 20's. There is enough snow to ski on and today we headed out to the golf course with  kids, sleds and skis.

Nora and Stuey had their friend Estella along and they had a blast sledding on the one large hill at the golf course. I leisurely skied around the course 2x and thought about how nice it is to ski without the pressure of training for a race. I decided I"m definitely not doing the tour of anchorage this year-primarily because of the lack of snow that there has been to train on.

Patrick would push the kids down the hill, or pull them along on his skis which brought the kids more speed on their way down the hill.

The sun was so bright and it felt good to be out in the cool winter air.

Zoya