The Construction Project of Our Lives.

We're done! With the lodge! This has taken three years of construction, just Taylor and I, and we finished last night. So here are some before and after pictures. First, the horror that was before:
Please note that although it may look maybe ok, there is no insulation or paneling on the walls or ceiling, and the windows are just dirty old screens.
These guests are freezing! The lodge was really cold in the mornings and at night (or, whenever we needed to use it with clients) and eating the meals was awful because it was just so cold and miserable. These guests might be smiling for the picture, but I can tell you that they were not happy (and pretty vocal about it too, ugh).
NOW for the GLORY that is our lodge now! The joy! The rapture! The happiness frosted lightly with giddiness!

Windows! A heater! Insulation covered by wood (because when people come to Alaska they expect a lodge dripping with wood... it's the Alaskan way, in their minds)! A bearskin! Breathtaking!
One last picture to show our happiness. Taylor was a dancing fool with that old nail gun! Isn't building fun?

Those Poor Souls.

I am well aware that I have been remiss in posting posts on this page of posts. Taylor and I are in the middle of HEAVY DUTY construction- we're finishing the inside of the lodge by putting wood onto the ceiling. Which is no small thing as we have to get everything up there by boat. I was lucky enough to get to perch my little bum bum on top of this heaping pile of wood for the ride upriver:

Last year we put glass windows in (among other things) and because of this the local bird population is suffering a higher death rate. It is the Big Black Fly season now, and they hang out inside our lodge, crashing against the glass over and over, thinking who knows what. And the birds nose-dive into the glass thinking they can snatch them away for a tasty treat- but apparently the windows are having the last laugh, because those poor little birds are dying by the dozen (with the flies also biting the dust because of, what I assume, is pure exhaustion). Here is one of those poor souls, lying where I found him:
Also, the greens of our garden are even more outrageous than last week, so if your eyes didn't burn out of your skull from the previous picture, then prepare to go blind from this one:

My Eyes Are Outraged!

We love green houses! We're nuts over houses of green! But I half-promise that this is the last picture of the new greenhouse, only two days old and looking the picture of health:

(The area to the left will be a compost bin. Ooo de la lee!)

And I dare you not to burn your eyes with the intensity of this green. My eyes are outraged daily by the vividness of the plants around here, and by the shocking colors in our garden.

I would really like for a snowshoe hare to hop up to our tent one night, come in, and decide it wants to be my pet. This is possible because many snowshoe hares live around us, as you can see by this map:

I wish I could let you all smell the air here. It is the best smell I have ever smelled in my life, and I have a very sensitive sniffer, so I am well versed in the field of odors. Up by our lodge it is a combination of alder, birch, cottonwood, and spruce, and the combo concert of these trees is so fresh smelling, and so peaceful. It is as if by just smelling the air you think, Yes, this is the way things are supposed to be. Funny what a scent can do to the mind.

Fear Everyone! Eat More Bread!

Taylor is truly suffering for perfection. Not only does he spend every moment crafting his beautiful greenhouse, but he's goring himself with the screw gun! Look at his hand! There's are two holes in it! And a cut on the finger!
Obviously, to the majority of the world's population, a wound this small would be unmentionable- but we are Americans, and it is our duty to announce every little thing that occurs, so that the rest of the American population will live in fear. Therefore, in the name of national security, I am putting the terror alert at Code Orange, because a terrorist obviously switched our harmless Ryobi screw gun for one made with hatred and unpatriotic thoughts, and it purposely hurt an innocent civilian. Be on guard, comrades, for these are dangerous times.

I wish to amaze you all by the amazingness of the bread I am baking. I feel as if I am creating little bits of awesomeness that I can admire as well as eat. Have I mentioned yet that bread is my absolute favorite things humans have invented? Well, it is. And how.

A Bushel of Boasts.

We discovered today that we someone around us has wireless, so we can now sit at our remote lodge and go surfing on the World Wide Web- but we don't have running water, electricity, or a road anywhere nearby. And our nearest neighbor, and apparently the provider of this wireless connection, is over a quarter mile away across the river delta from us. How strange! I'm typing this outside, looking out over the river and the marshes, and hearing someone's cow (what? a cow?) mooing sadly. This is no land for a cow.

Bread is my all time favorite anything. And since I eat so much of it, I decided to start making it. I've dabbled in baking before, but most of my efforts turned out as 'crumble cakes,' as Taylor so aptly named them. But now I'm serious. And the whole wheat bread I've been making is amazing! It's delightful! It's wholesome and completely organic! I am nourished and happy- there is something so therapeutic about kneading bread dough for a long time. Look at the darling little butt on my loaf of bread!

I'm not even close to being done with this baking business. Last night I made a yeasted whole wheat pizza crust dough, and stealing the topping ideas from Old Roommate Eli (blue cheese and apple) and our Aunt Laura (vegetarian from our garden), we made the best dinner we've had in ages.
Taylor is building this amazing log greenhouse. He worked for a while at a log home building place, and decided to put those skills to use (also, we are really cheap with our cash, and didn't want to spend any money on lumber). So he's been thinning the trees on our land here, which needed to be done anyways, and he's using the logs for the greenhouse. Quality thinking, really. It's going to be the coolest greenhouse for miles around.
Taylor also went drift boat fishing the other day, and caught like 9 trout. And I have never been fishing, but he assured me that the trout here are way bigger than trout in the lower 48. This picture is him holding a Dolly Varden, which is a fish in the trout family.
By the way, while he was fishing, I was at the lodge baking and cross-stitching and cleaning, because we have decided (we are the deciders, after all) that the traditional American marriage is our goal. Therefore, I will do all the cooking, cleaning, and sewing, and he's going to bring home the bacon, or trout. This is such a more wholesome way of life, wouldn't you agree? I am probably going to start walking around barefoot soon, too, as soon as I get pregnant. Women don't deserve to wear shoes- that is obviously a man's priority.

The Deepest Heart.

All of my funny (to me) posts are not a completely true reflection of how Taylor and I are feeling. My insides still feel muddy and tired most of the time. Even hearing Carol Burnett on NPR talk about her friend that just died set me off for a couple of hours. Laura was just that cool! She was that important! She was part of our deepest hearts, that area where only a couple people in your lifetime can get into, because it is so completely vulnerable.
Two years ago, when Laura gave us our car, her 101-year-old neighbor John came over to see what was going on and talk with Taylor and Laura about proper car maintenance. Notice how, like in any good mechanic's shop, only one person is working while the others stand around and give advice:

From the Vast Archives of Glory.

I found something beautiful today whilst looking through our old pictures. Here is my birthday cake from 2 years ago, when we apparently didn't have any birthday candles or a real cake. Matches, chunks of chocolate, and a maraschino cherry make a fine and tasty treat.
That year the weather got up to a scorching 85 degrees, and in the spirit of summer we went swimming in our mighty Moose River. This is, of course, the year before we discovered the 7 inch long leeches and 3 foot long Arctic Lamprey lurking in the water (read up on lampreys, they are freaky looking things- like bottom feeding eels. My insides squirm with the mere thought of them...). Look at that happy boy wash himself! Look at the murky water! Look at the floating non-bio-degradable shampoo! Ahh... the follies of youth.

A Veritable Cornucopia of Awesomeness.

The many, many hours of daylight combined with Taylor's gift for gardening have made our garden explode! Please note when looking at these pictures that we planted the plant starts only 2 weeks ago. (And then think in your head, "Golly those Great Green Gardens are Good!")
And here are our herbs (you got your basil, your basic oregano, your lemon thyme...) and broccoli (the little guys in the black pot- they were started from seed).
Lest I get too serious and boring, here is a WONDERFUL picture I found yesterday while cutting up a Natural History magazine from the early 80's. If only my child's destiny could be so promising...

Foreign Goodies

Since my thoughts, and therefore my camera, aren't in a funny-thinking state of mind, here are some great pictures from Ecuador, when my brain and my camera were lovingly in sync:

A very popular idea was to top off the ugly old trash cans with the head of a strawberry, or clown, or Donald Duck! Imagine all the fun that can be had! Now everyone will want to throw away their trash because it's such jolly old fun! Sadly, this lady washing her cart thingy didn't notice all the fun being had behind her.

We were watching one of the daily parades one day and I spotted my all-time favorite Ecuatorians, ever. I like every single thing about these three gems. (By the way, the other day I was reading something in the phone book and I saw the word 'jem' used where 'gem' should have been, which made me sigh, 'Ah, Alaska...').
Taylor went CRAAA-zy with his new charongo! Just plain crazy!
We stayed in this amazing hotel. I'm not rating the amazingness based on things like comfortable beds, or lights that work, or constant hot water- no! I'm judging this place as a 10 out of 10 because of the decor. Every room had a different animal painted on the doors- we stayed in the Golden Retriever room, but my favorite was the Horse room. The Lion and Tiger room was cool too. Unfortunately, the door painting theme didn't make it into the room- our room was clearly lacking in any sort of real Golden Retrievers, or even a stuffed one.