The Alaskan Adventure - Volume 18 - End of Another Chapter - Bring On Summer
It's been a while since I've written and as always there is so much that gets packed in to a short amount of time. I wish I could say that 2020 didn't follow me into 2021, but it did. We had finally returned to school in March after a very long 'code red' in our village and I was so excited to see my students and to be back in the classroom with them again. We went back to a 'yellow schedule' and were able to have half days with a morning and afternoon group. It was a lot of fun again and we were even hoping to finish the year on a 'green schedule' and be back to normal, if you could call it that with the whole class together. Then...wham! Out of nowhere we got hit with 21 cases in one week. Nine of which were students and sadly we had to close down the school again, returning to remote learning.
The good news is, tests were given and we returned to a 'yellow schedule' two weeks later. But...as fortune would have it, three days after there was a water main break in the middle of our school parking lot and the water had to be shut off. There was no water at school and for a multitude of houses, which included teacher housing. School closed Wednesday again and after four and a half days, we finally had running water by Sunday afternoon. Last year we were without water for almost a week. Fortunately I planned ahead and filled up three of my large totes with water, and was set for the four days. I can't tell you how many times I instinctively went to turn on the water, forgetting that it was shut off. Creature of habit I guess.
My puppy Yukon continues to grow bigger and develop his personality. I learned a valuable lesson not to put my sweatshirt in his kennel when I was away, as he proceeded to eat the entire middle of the sweatshirt. It used to say 'Wisconsin' in large, bold letters and that is no more. Despite his unusual snacking habits, he is a very good dog. There haven't been any accidents in the house and he is a great companion and very loving. We have been spending many hang-outs on the small front porch that faces the Yukon River. We get a lot of sun there from the afternoon on. I sit in a comfortable chair and Yukon sniffs, explores and rests on the straw-like grass down below. He'll saunter up every once in a while to say hi or see if I have a treat for him. It is always a well-enjoyed break for some fresh air.
When I said bring on the summer, it could not be more genuinely spoken. Obviously you get used to the winters here with the cold and more than usual snow, but Mother Nature decided to let us have it over the course of two months. March and April were unbelievable as I counted seven snowstorms over the course of one and a half months. I had to laugh and laugh as I see posts from friends and family back in the Lower-48, enjoying warm temperature and activities, while I am shoveling the six-foot drifts blocking my back door to get out. Don't get me wrong, I love snow, I really do. But we got a lot of it in a very short amount of time. At one point, I could walk on the natural pile of snow outside my front window and my head would be above the edge of the roof. It was pretty surreal I have to say. One of the winters I will remember forever.
As far as my health goes, I can happily and humbly say that I am in as good of a place as I have been in two years. I love my moose meat and salmon, but I'll be the first to admit that the pandemic took its toll on my eating habits. I didn't miss any of the ten meals I was eating everyday and my body took on the shape of a Beluga Whale. I was a tub-of-goo again and I could really feel the effects it was having on my health and body. Not to mention the four-plus cans of Pepsi I was consuming every day. Soda or pop as we like to call it here, has always been my greatest weakness and nemesis. I think it's the carbonation I am addicted to more so than the sugars or caffeine. I've had countless offers of advice to cut back, but I'm a cold-turkey type of person and have to stop completely. So on March 1st, I flipped the switch and quit again. In addition I decided to revamp my diet, cutting back on a few meals, late night eating and mixed in some intermittent fasting. I'm proud to say I've dropped 35 pounds and feel as good as I've felt in a long, long time. One addition and help are my daily walks to our airport, which are about a 3-mile roundtrip. The gravel road is a nice walk and you always see a familiar face or two driving by on a four-wheeler. And it doesn't hurt either that the views are amazing.
Last summer I decided to make Mountain Village my permanent home and stayed here for the summer. It was honestly one of the best summers of my life, which was evident in some of my previous blogs. Over the holidays I had the chance to visit my two kids and grandkids and had a wonderful time seeing them again. While I would love to repeat my amazing summer adventures on the river and in Mountain, I decided to make a couple stops outside of Mountain this year. I decided to return to Wisconsin in July to spend more time with my kids, grandkids and family, which I am really looking forward to again. However, I wanted to make a return to my love of writing and decided to take a detour prior to Wisconsin. Those of my friends and family who know me well, know that I can be very spontaneous in my decision making. So I decided to rent a tiny apartment in Costa Rica and will be traveling there to visit and write for two months. I am torn by the fact that I was really looking forward to making a regular fish camp down river on the Yukon this summer, but I have been very inspired to work on a couple writing projects and have always wanted to see Costa Rica. And so it is.
Speaking of writing, I just finished a manuscript for a book that I had always wanted to write and I was finally inspired to get it down on paper, or computer, lol. So at the same time I committed to quitting the pop, I set out the goal to write a few chapters every day. And I did! A month and half later I had a finished manuscript and...just (literally), got the news on Sunday night from Page Publishing, a company in Pennsylvania that is going to publish it. They are a very reputable company and I am very excited. It's called Moments and in a nutshell, it is about relationships. It has small, one-page chapters on all the possible moments I could think of, that couples share in a relationship, and the importance of those moments to have a healthy relationship. Each opposing page has two random compliments that a couple might share with one another. It's deep, emotional and I hope will inspire some good conversation for all couples, regardless of age or interest. I just miss writing and film so much and wanted to get back to one of the things I have always loved to do in my free time. I'll be excited to share good news in the months to come.
The days are growing longer here and it's exciting to see the bright early mornings and late, sunny nights again. We are starting to see the morning light about 5:30 am and it stays light to about 12:30 now. Hard for some of my Lower-48 friends and family to understand, but soon it will be light for almost the entire day. It is one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. It's neat to see the village come alive later at night and to be able to visit with everyone again. I know many of my friends and families here in Mountain are just as ready to get on the river and start their summer adventures. The ice just broke on the Yukon River today, which is also a huge event for everyone here in Mountain.
There is always so much to share and I could cover many more topics, but that is the (moose) meat of my life right now. I am excited to see what this summer holds in store for me and when those chapters are written, you will be the second to know. :)
That's all for now. Until next time...stay tuned!
