One For The Blog

"Some days you're the spray, some days you're the bear."
~Ancient Alaskan Proverb

Have you ever lurched 3 feet off your bed as you are falling asleep, you know that feeling of falling or leaping, maybe somewhere in between. Well, I did just that this morning and at a most inopportune time it seems. Don't get me wrong, I'm safe here in Quin but for my own peace of mind and paranoia I keep my bear spray within arms reach while I'm sleeping. Along with my dog... anyway a few nights ago I took the safety feature off my bear spray can, don't ask me why. And thus, this particular episode begins.

So a little before 5 am this morning I do one of those leap/lurch/jump moves in my sleep, vaguely I remember whacking something hard with my arm, sending whatever the object was across the room with a slam but the noise proved not to be enough to disrupt my peacefully slumbers... at that point. Ani's sneezing, however, no wait it was more like gagging, his threats of throwing up were enough to slightly rouse me. I drowsily peered down at him shining the cell phone in his direction to see if I'd be on clean up duty. I didn't see anything but he was heaving, wait no he's hacking, it's more of a...cough, cough, cough, cough, gag and now I join him. I try to suck in air but its choked off and followed immediately by more coughing, snorting and gagging. Now my eyes are watering I'm waking up quicker than I want, to find that I can't inhale without coughing out the attempt. Ani and I are a sight to behold. Now fully awake, confused and choking, I leap out of my warm bed and grab at the door! We both make a break for it, barreling into the hallway gasping for breathable oxygen. And we find it, only until the peppered air dissipates throughout the rest of the house. So for the next 1/2 hour I'm forced to use a fleece blanket to filter the spicy air. Yes, I have successfully maced myself and my dog out of bed with bear spray this fine Alaskan pre-dawn morning. Didn't we prophesy this back in June when the can was first holstered to my hip, up and down those river banks of the Kenai.

To be certain my hypothesis was accurate, I went back to the scene of the spray to investigate. The can, just as I had suspected, was laying upside down on the other side of the room. Yup, the oil was on the nozzle, proof was in the pudding so to speak, when I backhanded the can in my jumping/lurching- fit of sleep it had, in fact, fired. Releasing a poof of capsaicin, the active ingredient, into our otherwise fresh Alaskan air. This Counter Assault Bear Deterrent is 'tough enough to stop grizzlies from attacking humans' and to stop humans from sleeping in. A little ego check from God just in case I was getting a bit too sure of myself. Go ahead, have good laugh at my expense, we did.

"I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you." Romans 12:3

The Breakfast Club

"One can't complain. I have my friends. Someone spoke to me only yesterday." ~Eyeore

The Regulars: At 9 am this morning when Ani and I were just barely bumbling out of bed and fumbling around with our Bunn Coffee Pot mi amiga Amanda sent, there was a rap, rap, rap, on our door. Hair looking less than unkempt and in my royal robe I opened it to 5 smiling faces. "Can we ski?" they chanted almost as if they had rehearsed it. The skis, you remember were in my house because we had all skied home from school Friday afternoon. So we got everyone suited up and off they whooshed across the street and onto the tundra. A few stragglers flailed around in the road having slipped on the icy crossing but they pressed on. Within about 45 minutes my house became the warming shack, in they marched having skied their little hearts out. "Can we visit?" they asked looking up with rosy cheeks and runny noses. Come on in. Out came the dress up clothes, markers all over the floor, the kitchen was converted into a restaurant store, the continuous game of hide and seek resumed and the house came alive. I'm so thankful for these kiddos, they are so full of joy and it is contagious. They keep me in line. Remembering what is important and what is not. I even got some help doing the dishes as you can see!

My helpers. The cleaning fairies.

Hair Styling for Ticas (Costa Rican costume) Hide and Seek

One day earlier this fall, maybe closer to my first week or so in Quin, while we were traipsing though town and chattering about everything, Jim and Steph pointed out one of the first missionary houses built in the village. Then Jim said, " You know what happened to the first missionary to Quin don't you..."

The Story of St. Juvenaly
Told by Father Oleska

In summary, this is what we know about the Priest-monk Juvenaly of Valaam. Born Jacob Korchinsky, the future martyr was a military officer who resigned his commission and entered monastic life less than three years before being recruited for the Alaskan mission. Young and energetic, he announced that he intended to visit the villages along the Pacific coast of Alaska and then cross the mountains and travel along the Bering Sea coast northward toward Chukotka, to establish a link with the Russian settlements that were rumored to have been established on the "nose" of Alaska that points directly toward Siberia. We know where he was heading when he left Kodiak in 1797, never to be seen again.

The oral tradition of the Yup'ik Eskimo and the Tanaina Indians, as well as the diaries and reports of St. Jacob Netsvetov, and three other Orthodox missionaries who visited the site in the 19th century, concur that Father Juvenaly was killed by an Eskimo hunting party near the village of Quinhagak.

Approaching the beach in a little boat, Juvenaly attempted to preach to the men who were ordered by their leader, a shaman, to dissuade him. They made hostile gestures and eventually aimed their spears and arrows at him, trying to scare him off. But the boat continued it approach, until the shaman gave the order to kill him. The guide and assistant tried then to escape, jumping overboard and swimming to the opposite riverbank, but the hunters got into their kayaks and killed him as well. According to the Yup'ik version, the shaman then removed the priest's brass Pectoral cross and tried to work some magic, but failed. Each time he attempted the rite, he felt himself levitated and became afraid. Removing the cross he tossed it aside, saying that there was some sort of mysterious power in this object that he did not understand and with which he chose not to deal.

Trying to confirm this version of events, I've asked people from Quinhagak if they've ever heard about a priest being killed near their village a long time ago. They have. One of them repeated this story to me with an interesting detail. Just before the priest, standing in the bow of the boat, was killed, it looked to the men on shore like he was chasing away flies. Indeed! The hieromonk was either blessing his murderers or praying, making the sign of the cross, a gesture the Yup'ik hunters had never before seen.

Why were the armed Eskimo hunters so fearful of an unarmed stranger and his guide? We cannot know with certainty, but there is a reasonable solution, linked to the hieromonk's pectoral cross. Apparently for thousands of years, Alaskan shamans had been carving ivory chains, in imitation of Siberian shamans who traditionally wore metal ones. St. Juvenaly was mistaken for an intruding, alien shaman. The only ways to protect ones self from such a dangerous foreigner were either to chase them off or kill them. St. Juvenaly was the victim of the first tragic inter-cultural misunderstanding in Alaskan history.

What principle can we learn from the tragic death of St. Juvenaly of Quinhagak? The work of
evangelization is necessarily risky, dangerous and may require self-sacrifice, if not to the extent of martyrdom as the shedding of blood, then a less violent but no less Total self-offering. To `commend ourselves, each other and all our life to Christ our God,' as the services of the Church constantly encourage us to do, can, of course, be done in one final, glorious moment, as in the death of St. Juvenaly, but it is today highly improbable. We must offer ourselves less dramatically, day-by-day, one hour at a time, one minute at a time. We are witnesses, martyrs, either way. There can be no mission, no evangelization, without self-offering, self-sacrifice, and we should not expect glory, fame or any earthly reward for the effort. We will misunderstand and be misunderstood, but we must persevere in love, and if necessary, self-sacrifice.

And today we (many women from Quin and teachers) are able to be part of an amazing women's bible study going on at Steph's Monday nights. We are studying the book of Esther with bible teacher Beth Moore through a DVD series. Thanks to Jim and Steph's mom gifting it to our group. In the village of Quinhagak we also have the blessing of being part of a very active loving Moravian church family. Reading the story of St. Juvenaly reminds me to be thankful for those with the Lord who came long before us and made a way. It is good to remember what God has done, is doing and will do.

"At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."
Matthew 11:25

Happy Friday

"Life here is so elemental. So real. Without the interference of civilization you can really experience things like,...silence. Silence and darkness in its purity. Right now, right outside my window all I can see is a black void. Endless darkness. It's totally exhilarating, and I feel very lucky to be here. Very, very lucky." ~Dr. Fleishman, Northern Exposure

Kids in, out, and under my house...the other day as I neared my house after school I started hearing my name being hollered but couldn't for the life of me find it's caller. Then, movement under my house, 2 of the kiddos had tucked themselves under (remember our houses are on stilts so we don't sink into the tundra) and were awaiting my arrival from school having beat me home. LOL. "Can we visit?" they sang out in unison. How can I saw no? The kids who visit love to dress up in the costumes from Halloween, my scarfs, my chunky shoes and oddly enough my fleece robe has become the symbol of royalty, as the wearer runs down the hall proclaiming "I'm the queen!" Robe flying in the breeze. They write letters to Mike, who they all miss dearly and matter of factly informed me a few weeks ago, is more fun than me. No offense. We have hot chocolate to warm our cheeks, draw pictures, wash dishes (if I'm lucky;), and make Mum's famous canoe on the floor. We have fun.


Exciting events at school this week? Tyrone learned to tie his shoes! This was a pretty big deal and he reported that he would be teaching his sisters later that evening. I've been called a lot of things in my life, but never "Louie" before this week. Thursday afternoon on his daily drop by Wendell trotted in my room, smiled and greeted me with a cheery,"Hi Louie!" Somewhat surprised I replied, "Hi Cindy." Realizing his slight mix up he chuckled, "I don't know why I called you that?" shaking his head, he headed for the door.



Eager young skiing enthusiasts busted out the skis and poles today after school before the cold north wind blew in. Jim was able to get the school several pairs of skis, boots and poles last year. We even have school skijoring equipment so that's the direction we will eventually head this winter! Once we get real comfortable on our skis and round up enough pulling dogs we will be off mushing across the tundra-the Quinhagak Skijoring Team:) Note the 'boot-pack' we designed so the girls could ski their winter boots to the ending point (my abode) without having to come back to the school to pick them up again. It worked pretty slick.




On my dark walk to work this morning the stars are out, the air is cold and if I look straight up (I have to move my parka fake fur hood out of the way first) the big dipper empties itself on Quinhagak. Behind me Orion stands guard, frosty snow crunches with each step and God's Thumbnail moon is anchored just above the silhouetted mountains, I stop and consider taking a picture for you but my camera takes crappy night pictures, I know it won't do this scene justice. So I stop for all of us just before the store and take the whole stunning view in for a few minutes, a couple for you and a couple fore me. Beyond the range, if I strain my eyes I can imagine the first few amber hues of sun trying to creep over. I greet the two others that are out so early as we pass. These quiet walks to work before the world wakes up are comfortable and real. I look forward to them, walking through the changing of Quinhagak's tundra seasons. This morning was like none other. Peaceful, dark, silence...crunch crunch crunch...

Tonight I'm sitting on my couch after our semi-weekly teacher gathering at Marsha's house to do arts and crafts stuff, knitting, beading you name it. Knitting was on my docket this evening while enjoying my last can of Red Bull (they are hard to come by out here). Steph and I hiked back through the escalating winds and piled snowdrifts across the road which were not there when we arrived 2 hours before. So now I'm camped out on the couch, thinking of you all and blogging along as I watch an episode of House my favorite series since Northern Exposure. I DVR it and watch it as often as I can. Last Christmas while visiting my brothers in Arizona, to my delight there was a House marathon on the USA channel. My dear brothers cut me off after the 6th straight episode thinking they were saving my TV starved brain. Ha ha no brothers here... joking I only watch 3 episodes at a time anymore;) Ani is snuggled at my feet occasionally trying to push them off (he's a couch hog), the Christmas lights that the kids helped me put up today are twinkling a rainbow of colors above us and the outside wind continues to howl it's lullably.

Shout out to: My Lac Courte Oreilles Family back home! Quyanaqvaa (Chi Miigwech) you guys, Lora, John, Kayleigh, Ann, Donna, Grampa Mike, all of you! You are such amazing blessings to me. I miss you to the tundra and back!

The Lord's Prayer in Yup'ik
Atanrem Piicautii

Atavut qilagmetellria
Atren Kenciknarili
Angayuqauviin tekilli
Pisqucin nunam qaingani piuli qilagmetun
Neqerkamtenek ernerpak cikirkut
Assilngumtenek-llu augariskut
Wangkutnun assiilngilriit augaritelaucimcetun
Picetaarutmun-llu pivkaqsaunata taugaam assiitellriamek aviuskut
Angayugauvik, piniq-llu, ucurnarquciq-llu elpet pikngavki
Nangyuilngurmek
Amen

"When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face." Lamentations 3:28

Veteran's Day

"All it takes for evil to overcome, is for good men to do nothing." ~Edmund Burke
"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."
- Elmer Davis

And that is it, home of so many brave men and women who serve/served in our armed forces. Thank You So Much, Quyanaqvaa and Chi Miigwech to all our Veteran's out there and beyond. Bless each one for all they've done and sacrificed for the freedom we have.

A lesson that should be taught. This is from my Auntie Shelly and I thought it fit for celebration of our Vets.

Back in September, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.
When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.
'Ms.. Cothren, where're our desks?'
She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'
They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'
'No,' she said.
'Maybe it's our behavior.'
She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'
And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.
By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.
Twenty-seven (27) War Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall... By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'


Pamyua We had visit from Stephen from the World famous musical group Pamyua, originally from around here. He spent 2 days at the school telling traditional stories to the students and singing. He was brought up here through funds from an art grant that our district received. What a treat! I saw them in concert in Anchorage 10 years ago and this week there he was visiting with us over coffee in the school office. Small world.

Letters From The Edge:

Take a peek into the life of an itinerant school counselor, Anya said it was fine to share her latest email, I thought she did a great job describing what a day in the life of a bush itinerant might be like:)

The Following is a Weather Report to Set the Stage and Anya's email:
KUSKOKWIM DELTA- INCLUDING...BETHEL...HOOPER BAY...NUNIVAK ISLAND 400 PM AKST TUE NOV 10 2009 ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM TO 9 PM AKST WEDNESDAY... ...STRONG WIND LATE TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT ALONG THE COAST... VETERANS DAY...SNOW SHOWERS. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 1 INCH. HIGHS IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S...TEMPERATURES DROPPING THROUGHOUT THE DAY. WEST WIND 20 TO 35 MPH EXCEPT WEST 30 TO 45 MPH ALONG THE COAST. WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SNOW LIKELY IN THE EVENING...THEN SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. LOWS 15 TO 25. WEST WIND 15 TO 30 MPH EXCEPT WEST 25 TO 40 MPH ALONG THE COAST. THURSDAY...CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. WEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH. .THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW. LOWS 15 TO 20. VARIABLE WIND 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE EAST AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE BETHEL CLIMATE NORMALS FOR TOMORROW NORMAL RECORD YEAR MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE 24 41 1974 MINIMUM TEMPERATURE 13 -11 1975 SUNRISE AND SUNSET NOV 10 2009..........SUNRISE 9:39 AM SUNSET 5:24 PM NOV 11 2009..........SUNRISE 9:42 AM SUNSET 5:21 PM AMOUNT OF DAYLIGHT TODAY (HOUR:MIN)........7 HOURS 45 MINUTES GAIN/LOSS SINCE YESTERDAY (HOUR:MIN:SEC)....-0:05:06 ...GALE WARNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...
Did you get through all that? It is WINDY here! Some background information..... The Bethel airport is like the 2nd or 3rd busiest airport in Alaska. There are 4 commercial/passenger carriers, including Alaska Air who flies in in big jets---737 combos and larger. There are about 8 (maybe more) cargo and charter carriers at the airport also. Alaska Air flights to Bethel were canceled all day Monday and Tuesday morning due to bad weather. The atttitude is, if Alaska Air cancels, then the weather must be bad. Sunday was beautiful, sunny and warm. Sunday night, it started raining. It rained all day on Monday, and the temperatures dropped. Tuesday was about 37 degrees, and the weather could not make up its mind to rain, snow, mix, sleet, or if it should get colder or warmer. I needed to get to Napaskiak to finish some testing with High School kids. I call the airport around 1 to see if anything is moving. The answer is "at this moment, yes. Get down here as soon as possible, though. I pack my mobile office then get a ride to my house to pack my gear. Early on, i was told to plan on being weathered in regardless of where I go. So even for one overnight, i pack for a full week.....sleeping bag, sleeping mat, underwear, socks, food, and busy-work (crafts, books, dvds, something). Catch a cab to the airport. When i walked in, OMG! the place is FULL of people WAITING! I pay for my ticket and wait to board. Usually the wait is at least an hour. Yesterday, the wait was about 10 minutes. Why? the weather cleared and it was time to take advantage of moving aircraft as quickly and safely as possible. Alaska Air had landed, but still had not moved to return to Anchorage. 5 passengers crawled into a Cessna 207 (a small plane), all planning on going to Napaskiak. I get to sit in the co-pilot seat. In addition to being interesting, it is also the smoothest ride in the entire plane. Given my 'sensitivity' to motion sickness and previous experience with my 'sensitivity', this is my favorite seat. Despite the ice on the ground, we start moving. I asked the pilot if he had all season radials or studded snow tires on the plane. He chuckled. We take off. Yes, the runway was icy. Yes, the wind was strong. But hey, we were in the air and gently banking the turn towards Napaskiak.....all eleven miles to Napaskiak. Even though some villages are only 5, or 11, or 20, or 28 miles from Bethel (Rachel Aside: Quinhagak is 70+ miles from Bethel), given the swampy nature of the tundra, there are no roads to the villages! The only way to get there, one must fly. So back in the air. Gentle left banking quickly turned into an intense and hard left turn....like.......look out the pilot's window and you can see the ground! Not only can one see the ground, one can see we aren't very far UP OFF the ground! Like....WHAT is happening??????? Is this plane going to...? (hard gulp)......and i immediately get dizzy.....i'm thinking 'holy cr-p, am I going to be sick? is the plane going to stay in the air? what IS going on?' My instincts say to grab hold of something. I look forward and start to reach.....then realized "NO! DON"T GRAB THAT!!!!!!!" (the controls!) so i grab the strap in front of the door and my seat belt. I'm working very hard NOT to panic, thinking "OMG i'm going to......NO. God did NOT send me to Alaska to be pummelled to the ground at great velocity!" Then i realized that the pilot is making a change in plans, and is turning the plane around. By now, we are straight and flying parallel to the runway. The altimeter says we are at 200' and our heads are literally in the clouds. Just beyond the end of the runway, we make another hard bank to the left (just like the first one), and try to align with the runway. The wind blows us to the left of the runway. The pilot is struggling to get the plane under control. (Rachel Aside: He managed) We make the landing and return to the terminal. Our total 'flight time' was MAYBE 10 minutes. As the pilot takes off his headset, he says "In my 40 years of flying, I've learned this kind of weather is not safe." We were the last flight to try to get off the ground yesterday. The flying window for small air craft ended at 4 p.m. Alaska Air was still on the tarmack, waiting. Around 5:30, the early afternoon flight from Bethel to Anchorage was finally airbound for the return to Anchorage. Around 5:30, the courier for this airline asks me where i'm headed. I say "home". they ask where. I tell them my address. They tell me to get in the van. They took me home at no charge! The wind has been gusting all night. Intense wind. Keep me awake wind. So, I realize that no flights will be moving this morning and i will not be going to Napaskiak this week. I dress for the office, and attempt to walk down the driveway. BAH! Walk??????!!!!! More like slide. I walk beyond the corner of the house, and the wind is so strong! This is the first time in my life i have ever experienced the wind blowing me off my feet! The wind was pushing me backwards and there was nothing i could do but 'enjoy' the ride! I tried walking, and immediately rolled to the ground. Once i got up, i called a cab to take me to work. The schools in Bethel (Rachel Aside: Not in Quin we don't have enough roads just strap on your winter cleats and press on!) are closed today due to icy roads. But since i work for the District, I still report to the office! Hugs and Love! Ann

"When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders." 2 Timothy 2:4-6

Jim's Ah, Alaska Creation

"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known."
~Winnie the Pooh
Pooh's Little Instruction Book


Hey everybody Jim's gonna take us on a trip 'up river'! Come on! Don't miss this!

You simply must check out his video that he put together of our beloved Kanektok River!

He has some serious talent here people:)

I promise it will absolutely be worth your while to take a few minutes, let it download and enjoy the ride!

Just push the play button and wait (you may want to pause it for a few minutes to let it get ahead so it doesn't keep stopping to catch up with itself). Make sure your volume is up because the video is set to a great song!

http://jsbarthelman.blogspot.com/2009/11/river-running.html


"Instead, God! God majestic, God himself the place
in a country of broad rivers and streams,
But rivers blocked to invading ships,
off-limits to predatory pirates.
For God makes all the decisions here. God is our king.
God runs this place and he'll keep us safe." Isaiah 33:21-22

"LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!"

"You can't stay in your corner of the forest (even if you sticky tack it up yourself- Rachel aside), waiting for others to come to you; you have to go to them sometimes."
~Winnie the Pooh
Piglet, Pooh's Little Instruction Book

WWF's Got Nothing On Quinhagak WrestlingOur Quinhagak Wrestlers took first in our tournament this weekend. We had 3 other schools brave the weather, fly in and camp out at the school. Of course in Quin we don't skimp and it was nearly 5 star accommodations for the lucky visiting teams. Everyone pitched in and cooked up some great eating. There was a phenomenal fan turn out! The whole village lined the mats to cheer on our local heroes. There was definitely an excitement in the air, it has been 20 some years since Quinhagak hosted a wrestling tournament. Friday night the matches went on until 10pm. They resumed Saturday morning at 9:30 until 1 pm. Every wrestler was able to have at least 3 matches. I'm a wrestling fan now. Absolutely. We have some incredible athletes, several of whom will make the long trek to Anchorage this week to participate in a tournament there. A big deal for our kiddos here. Keep them in your prayers please!

Across the Winter Tundra


Saturday after the tournament ended, Ani and I seized the sun shiny freezing weather and hit the snowmobile trails with our skijoring attire. We weren't alone as you can see some of the kids pulling each other around on snow go. We covered about 4 miles total!











Joring on What's Left of Our Bering Sea Beach

We jored down to the beach as far as we could anyway. The tide has continued to push the massive ice flows further up on the sand. The disintegrating beach made our joring attempt short lived but an adventure nonetheless. What a gorgeous view, eh? Ani was enjoying it too.



A Happy Birthday Party Quinhagak Style!
Pauline invited Steph, Jim and me over for her granddaughter's birthday celebration. Steph and Jim were out buzzing around on their well deserved fancy new snow go so they missed out:) But I joined in the on the fiesta. Here in Quin birthdays are a big deal. Everyone is invited to come feast at the family of the birthday-ee! Pauline and her daughter spent hours preparing a meal fit for royalty complete with salted salmon and herring eggs on sea weed, two firsts for me. Very tasty. They even had a fancy basketball cake shipped in from Swanson's (one of the grocery stores in Bethel). What a fun time and treat!
Tea for Three or Hot Chocolate Rather
This was our little tea party. We had to sing happy birthday and blow out the candles several times. Once for my friend back home, Annika, who called part way through our teatime;) These kids make me smile.

Note the tree growing in the corner of my house with the leaves blowing across the room. That was a gift from my mom, gram and aunt helping ease the pain of my treeless fall in Quin. Put it together one day. So proud was I of the forest that had sprouted in my kitchen. Then somewhere between deciding to call my neighbor Sherry to ponder this creation with me and take some pictures to share with you all... it dawned on me, Egad! I AM my mother. I flashed back to my childhood on the farm with my dear ole mum who's idea of interior decorating was to take my unsuspecting friends out on a 'nature hike/bog walk' to the swampy muck just past our horse pasture where they would select, collect and categorize (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species..okay it wasn't that extreme but I had to memorize that in 7th grade and I've finally found a time to use it, just now) any number of plants, trees, shrubs whatever was available. My mum would then proceed to hang these nature treasures around in our house, she brought the outdoors in. I was always embarrassed more often than not would silently boycott the excursions, meeting up with my hostage taken friends upon their return. Surprisingly those friends now recall their travels with my mum with affection and chuckles. There is what seems to be an elite "Bog Walkers of the Skime Farm" club alive and well out there in the world. A moment of slight panic followed. Then laughing and smiling I admired the momish creation sticky tacked to my wall and decided it could be much worse, but for the grace of God. She's my hero. Mostly... even if she did just ask me tonight if she could shorten all my jeans so she can wear them. That means she has claimed them. Evidently she's gone through my closet. O-well. Here's to all the Moms out there!


Miss Domestication- n. a poser, appearing to be what one is not in the area of domestics, an unintentional misrepresentation of knowing what one is doing in the kitchen.
ex. There was a grave miss domestication when the speech pathologist asked her for her recipe. She truly had no idea why the cookies turned out so well.

That would be me. I need you to seriously understand my lack of kitchen sense, maybe God brought me up here to teach me to cook or just to get a few laughs. What came over me, only the Lord knows, but this weekend I think I made salmonberry/blueberry jelly from the berries we picked earlier this fall!! (It's still too early to tell but I'll keep yas posted, cross your fingers;). Thanks to Amy Lou my wonderful friend who sent jelly jars and pectin (I didn't even know that word until two months ago:) to make the sugar filled treat. So here's the proof, my current knitting project and salmon-blueberry jelly. Come visit and I'll let ya try some....real tempting right???? Whipped up some caribou stew today too, lol. Fannie, Emma and family gave it the okay so apparently it turned out. Anyway I consider this stuff nothing short of miraculous so just had to share;) Lots of Miss Domestication going on here;)

Shout Out To: Larry, my neighbor in the village back in Hayward, "Follow your doctor's orders!" And to everyone in Quin (Justin, Milt and company) who made the Wrestling Tournament a smashing success!

"Then he said, "Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all." Mark 16:15

Mush! Pronounced (Moo-sh) in Yup'ik

“Their tails are high and tongues awag-the twin banners of sled dog contentment.”
-Clara Germani

I found this information off www.helium.com in an article by Barb Taliaferro
Mushing vocabulary can be broken into 3 basic categories: Commands, Equipment and Dogs.

That's Sherry and Addy in the sled being manned by Principal Eric, who also built the sled. Steph, Einer and I are zooming along side on the snow go getting some great pics. Einer fell asleep about 3 minutes into the endeavor. Only a child born in Alaska.

Commands

Sled dogs are not guided by reins or other physical means, but rather by the driver's voice commands. To accomplish this the mushers have developed a vocabulary of short words that can easily be easily heard and understood by the dogs even in poor weather conditions.

Gee - right turn
Haw - left turn
Come - tells the dog to do the command that follows, such as Come Gee, meaning to turn right
Line Out - tells the lead dog to straighten out the line of dogs
Mush or Hike - tells the dogs to get started
Whoa or Halt - tells the dogs to stop

Equipment

Dog sled racing has a great deal of specialized equipment that the average person may not know. They have also developed some new terms for more common items.

Runners - the part of the sled that actually makes contact with the snow, they run under the sled and extend back far enough for the drivers to stand on them

Snow Hook - a heavy piece of metal attached to the sled, it is used to anchor the sled during short pauses

Snub Line - rope or chain attached to the sled, used to tie the sled to a tree or stake for long stops

Tug Line - used to attach the dogs harness to the main tow line

Toggles - small pieces of ivory or wood used to attach the tug line to the tow line

Dogs

Mushing obviously could not exist without the dogs that pull the sleds. Dog sled drivers have many different terms to describe their dogs as each dog in the line must have different skills and strengths.

Leader (s)- the first dog in the line he sets the pace and guides all the dogs behind him, a driver will look for a dog that is strong, fast and smart to fill this position. For Eric and Sherry's team that would be Seeker and Quin they are both 7 years old. They are brother and sister.

Swingers - the dogs directly behind the leader, their job is to help swing the other dogs and sled in the desired direction, these dogs must be quick to follow direction and strong. Yesterday that was Chinook- 4yrs old one of Seeker's pups and CT 2 years old (Ani's brother).

Wheelers - the dogs located directly in front of the sled, their job is to help pull the sled out of a snow bank or negotiate around obstacles, they must be very strong. Arolik and Ozone both 4 years old and also litter mates-2 more of Seeker's pups, were wheeling today.

Teamers - any dog in the team that does not have a specific job other than to help pull the sled, drivers look for a willingness to follow the lead of other dogs and stamina in these animals. Today Lefse 4 Years old Seeker's Daugher and Comet 2 years old-one of Martin Buser's pups (Iditarod Champion Musher) were teaming.

Below is Steph and I layered up, ready to head out on snow go, as the pit crew, for the first official Pederson Family Mush Day. Today was Addy's first dog sled ride. It's in her blood:)

"Good people are good to their animals.." Proverbs 12:10