Well, summer's about over and the new year will be beginning before we know it. We enjoyed our time in the lower forty-eight, mooching off of our parents and interacting with some of the oldest and newest members of our families. And while we enjoyed the freedoms that grocery stores, cars, and restaurants bring, we sure are glad to be home. The go-go-go and gas-gas-gas crap got old, especially as we watched the checking account dwindle.
We started to feel the pressures of traveling 3,000 miles from home without the cushion we've kept as back up, just in case an emergency appeared in the midst of our well-planned out trip. And as we've been told since the day we got here, TIA, translated, "This Is Alaska," further translated, "Murphy's Law," AKA, "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." We didn't have too many issues on the way back, but we sure didn't like to hear that our flight with Denaina was pushed back from a 9AM check-in, to a 3:30PM check-in. Boy were we glad we had a 24-hour rental, as it just gave us more time to sleep in and kick around the wonderful city of Anchorage without costing us an arm and a leg. We realized that no matter how much time one has in that city to get things packed up, hauled and mailed, there is never enough of it. There's always one more thing one can buy, and one more thing one forgets in hind-sight when living in the bush. But the bright side is, it forces one to be creative, then, too!
Huxley's enjoyed being back, but the bugs have been eating him alive. He misses Daisy, but he's getting by. It'd be nice if his dog food would get here, though. It's costing us an arm and a leg, making beefy oatmeal, mixed with some sort of soup we have in the cupboard. Last night, he had sirloin and oatmeal, mixed with leftover squash soup. Minus the oatmeal, that's what we had for dinner! Hopefully he'll be ready to eat dry food once it gets here! Unfortunately, I feel we are training his taste buds to expect something more elaborately prepared than Purina small bites.
Anyway, life's good and we're happy getting back into the slower-paced lifestyle that bush-Alaska brings to the table. Brandon's excited that he'll be getting his snow-machine out here in the next couple of weeks by way of the barge system on the Nushagak. And I'm hoping to master the hill to the P-store within the next few short weeks, so I'm not so intimidated by the walk back up the hill when I walk down for groceries. Everyone's feeling pretty well, compared to Brandon's 30-day cold he had at the beginning of last year's journey. The time change and sunlight has posed the same challenges as last year, but we've responded better by hitting the hay early. The mornings have been good to us, but have started around 6-6:30 since we landed, leaving me ready for a nap by lunch time, but I'm happy with the productivity that comes with waking up so early.
Keep in touch as the year progresses. We understand everyone wants more pictures, and we'll do our best to satisfy those requests, but you'll have to be patient. We're still stuck with the same gem of a camera, that doesn't really do anything justice out here. We're in the market for something a little more reliable, so if you have any recommendations, don't be shy to share them with us! Until next time, take care and keep us in your prayers. We'll take any and all of them that we can get as this new year will bring with it new joys and challenges.
Love and miss you all already,
Brie
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