Alaska: Part Two "A Lot of Bull (Moose)"

Moose and Caribou are an important part of Alaska. Most men hunt and/or fish, in Alaska. My dad liked to talk about all the money we saved, eating from the land. He didn't mention the cost of his airplane, 4-wheelers, guns, hunting licenses, etc. I think our Moose-Burgers must have cost dad about $250 each. But the taste made up for it. NOT!! If I never eat another Caribou "Steak" or Bear "Stew" or Dall Sheep "Meatloaf" I will die happy. So far, so good.


Moose weigh between 850-1200 lbs. and a collision with one can kill everyone in the car. Please be careful people, if you drive in Alaska! Moose are very dangerous animals! Dad, were any of those burgers made from ROAD-KILL?

If you've been to my home, you may wonder where the inspiration for my landscaping comes from. We have many gorgeous rocks and hardy weeds, just like these Alaskan specimens. This landscaping design photo was taken near Lake Eklutna, my old Girl's Camp stomping grounds. We had to pull handcarts for 8 miles, back in 1986, with all our gear, over this terrain. Let's take a closer look at the lovely green plants:

It's "Moose Grass", according to my friend Emily. I am still trying to find the scientific name. When she and I hiked around, remembering our good times at girl's camp, I saw this plant and squealed, "I remember this!" Probably because I pulled that handcart, while looking at the ground for 8 miles.

Moving onto Parade Time in Alaska at the Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival. Look at all the beautiful, creative Moose (not Meese) that will be auctioned off for charity. Do you recognize Mickey Moose?

And this Moose is a Can-Can Fishnet Stocking Wearing, "When I am Old, I Will Wear Purple," Red Hat Society Woman. Only in Alaska will you find such a tastefully painted sculpture. We Alaskans are an artistic breed.

Artistic in more ways than one! Look at this lovely use of old snowshoes. And the Caribou Antlers serve as a functional piece of beauty. My goodness, if you run out of nails to hang baskets on every available inch of wall, you can use antlers! Alaskans are true creative geniuses!

Basque Leek Soup

Apparently, there were 5,000 entries, and I didn't win!

I just entered http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ kitchen mixer givaway. I think I recieved one of those for my wedding, but returned it! I've been entering all sorts of contests for giftcards and scrapbook supplies. . .mostly on Pioneer Woman and Becky Higgins/Lisa Bearnson's blogs. I would just really like some free stuff, what can I say? For the mixer you had to enter a favorite recipe, and since Lasagna is so boring, I had to go to my second best receipe, both stolen from Suzanne, my mom-in-law. Here is entry #406:

I'm married to a Basque guy, and this is his mom's recipe, from France. He says I make it better than she does, now! I purree it, so I can chop everything roughly and get it done quickly. My kids like it that way anyway, so they don't see the veggies. It's a beautiful, light orange, creamy soup, perfect for a cold day.

Basque Leek Soup

(Serves 8-10)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 leek (I cut off the top, but mother-in-law leaves it on!)

2 celery stalks

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth

5 peeled carrots

6 peeled potatoes

Sautee onion & garlic in olive oil, add to broth in stock pot.

Roughly chop (because you'll purree later) leek, celery, carrots & potatoes.

Bring to a boil, cover and boil for about 30 min. (You can accidentally forget and boil for a few hours, since you'll purree, it doesn't matter)

Blend (in your blender) and liberally sprinkle the pepper!

ENJOY with a crusty french baquette.

Underoos vs. Cabbage Patch Dolls

I've talked about a bikini in a few posts and I figured I'd better quit teasing you all and let you see the real deal. This lovely photo was taken in 1982, when I was in 2nd grade, during the Underoos craze. I never got the Strawberry Shortcakes or Cabbage Patch Dolls that I wanted so badly, but I did get this cute little Supergirl number. Sadly, I wore that bra until Junior High.

My sister, Briana (3), is the cute curly-headed Wonderwoman and my brother, Jonathan (5), is Superman.

Twelve Apostles Music Video

This is a fun video that was aired on MTV on Feb. 32nd. Great for FHE!! Click on the HUGE link below to watch the video. (can someone please teach me how to add links that don't take up a whole page?)

http://by113w.bay113.mail.live.com/mail/ReadMessageLight.aspx?Action=ScanAttachment&AllowUnsafeContentOverride=False&AttachmentIndex=0&AttachmentDepth=0.0&FolderID=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&InboxSortAscending=False&InboxSortBy=Date&IsMessageSafe=True&MessageCodePage=20127&ReadMessageId=a658d345-670c-4e3d-b74e-3a5605351192&n=1049192927

My TREK Kids!

Damian and I are "Pa & Ma" to nine teenagers, for a 4 day Pioneer Trek Re-enactment that we'll be going on in July. Today we had the kids over for breakfast and tent practice. We also picked our "family" name. The kids are really full of energy and a lot of fun. I can't wait!