Canoeing

I've really enjoyed having the lake in our "backyard." If it's not raining, I canoe every evening. It's a short walk- 5 minutes- and we store the canoe on the shore. It's perfect. I usually just canoe with Charlie, but occasionally Silvio comes with us. We only use one paddle, so I've become the gondolier extraordinaire! I'm quite impressed with my canoeing skills- backing up, stopping, not being blown into the side on windy days.

I love the days when I'm alone (no offense Silv). The quiet and stillness give me time to be thankful for all the great things in my life. I look over and see my amazing dog running and smiling; I look down and the water is crystal clear; I look up and the sky goes on forever; I look inside and know I've come so far. Those are really great moments. I'll miss my lake this winter.

An evening with friends

Last night we went to Knik River Lodge to have dinner with Peter, Evelyne, and Storm. We haven't seem them much this summer because they're busy running their lodge. They have a really special place- beautiful view ( look behind the first photo of Peter and Eef), beautiful cabins, and the best food we've eaten all summer. The veggies tasted fresh from the garden. The wine was amazing.

This year they converted their rustic, Yukon-tent-style restaurant to a yurt. It really matches the surrounding. We ate outside beacause they had a large group inside. Storm, little guy in photos, is growing and absolutely darling. He's quite the little boy- running, trying to pick up heavy rocks, and not phased by a fall or dirt. :) I had a great time playing with him- gotta love that baby belly laugh.

I really enjoyed spending time at their place and sharing in their success. They work really hard everyday- working for their dream. It's nice to see things working so well. Silvio said it was the best meat (Beef Wellington) he's eaten in America- huge compliment from my carnivore.

Progress...

We've been the busy the last few days! As you can see our mascot, Charlie, is wiped out. Lots of time on the job site, in the rain, will do that to you. :)

Silvio is filling the blocks with concrete. He walked the house and garage 4 times. It was very stressful; often the blocks will blow out and then you have a mess.

Silvio worked until 1am the night before finishing the blocks and bracing. He has worked sooo hard on this house. I'm really proud of him and his hard work. It's pretty cool to see a hillside covered with trees one day and then a few weeks later.....this.

I love the picture of our garage. I can't wait to park my car in my slot.

This picture shows the beginning of block stacking. What a process!

Dream house is under way...

We now have a driveway (notice Charlie modeling the new driveway) and a well. Water flows abundant- 60 gallons a minute and it's clean and tasty! We're lucky. The guys drilled 114 feet so we have lots of good water. Silvio has been working hard (by himself) to get the water pipes in and the land leveled for the footing. I'm hoping the photo above shows him putting in the pipe that will hook to my new washing machine because the laundry mat is getting old. :) I can't believe how fast he's gotten things done- again, alone. I'm really impressed and proud of him. Today they poured the footing and I can see the outline of our house. Really exciting! Thanks Silv?

Forest Fair- Girdwood, 2009

The Forest Fair is back! What a great event. Evelyne, Storm, and I spent the day walking the path between the trees admiring the crafts of local people. The fair was packed with beautiful art, pottery, and clever crafts. Many times Eef and I wished we had not only thought of the idea but had the time to make it. :) We ate the most amazing garlic, cheese bread lunch. This year we had great weather and no arrests to make. :) I'm already looking forward to the fair next year.

Visit to SLC

I recently spent almost two weeks in Salt Lake City, Utah. I haven't been "home" in three years so the visit was long overdue. I loved seeing my nieces and nephews. They've grown so much; I felt sad that I am so far away. They are great kids- cute, funny, and smart. I also met David, my newest nephew. He's absolutely darling. I caught up with a few friends- Sandy, Barbara, and Angie. It's good to know my friends are still my friends. I've missed them.

My mom and I spent most of our time playing cards, laughing, and running around. We went to the Art's Festival and bought some really interesting art. We watched movies and ate our favorite, movie theater popcorn. :) My mom has lost her winning touch when it comes to cards though. I tried to go easy on her, but...

Other highlights: Ikea, cooking with Patty (Julia Childs should be scared), becoming a regular at the local post office through my 19 box shipments, and Apollo Burger (there's never enough fry sauce).

I had a great visit. I miss everyone terribly.

We love living in Big Lake. Silvio built a canoe holder for his 4-wheeler. There is a good sized lake practically in our backyard. We took the canoe down, with Charlie and paddled around the lake. We didn't think Charlie would swim because even though he's a water dog, he hates to get his back wet. But, alas, he swam. We paddled around the edge of the lake so he could be with us and suddenly he just jumped in and began swimming around. I was very excited. We managed to pretend the mosquitoes weren't swarming us so we could enjoy the blue sky, quiet, and time together.