Well this has been a crazy couple of weeks, but it shouldn't surprise me as most weeks are crazy in "The Bush", especially when it is moose season and everyone is trying to get their years supply of meat. Just to give you an example, I thought I would let you see what the last few weeks were like...
I finally had a crying session to Ross because I was so tired of being cold in our house. It has been a colder fall than last fall and houses are already needing to be heated. We found out that we are paying for the fuel to heat our house (which we had not planned on as that was not the case last year) until the wood boiler is started in October. If we had known this we would have sent some fuel down on the barge as it is cheaper that way, but the next barge that would come with fuel will not be till the first of October. Therefore we were trying to make it as long as possible without filling up the fuel tank. Just to give you a perspective on the cost of fuel...($7.83 a gallon plus sales tax) We spent many days with fleece jackets on and cold hands, feet and noses, but the last straw was when I spent the entire day with 4 heavy layers on and I still was not able to warm up. Marina even came downstairs and said "Mommy could you put something on my feet and hands to keep them warm." So we put gloves and warm socks on her. She then said "I know, I have something upstairs that will keep my head warm. This is what she came down in! She had gotten it from her dress up things. So we looked like we were celebrating Christmas in September with her Santa hat!
We finally got our fuel filled and had heat for a day, but the fuel boiler was putting off so many fumes that it was making the entire house smell like exhaust so we decided to shut it off. The landlords son came and worked on it and it is not quite as fumey so we finally have heat with a little bit of exhaust smell that seeps into our house from the garage. I am thankful for the heat and am thankful that our landlord does let us use the wood boiler for most of the winter if we keep it loaded so that we don't have to bother with the fuel boiler most of the time.
I finally finished putting all the food away and unpacking the boxes that we piled in the school room (still have to set up the sewing room upstairs but almost done with all the boxes that arrived with the barge!) We were in a hurry to clean up the house for our guest that would be coming for 5 days!
Waiting for our guest to get out of the airplane. Notice the beautiful rainbow in the background!
The girls were so excited for their Grammy Cakes to visit!
Ross' mom (Grammy Cakes) flew to Unalakleet where Ross' youngest brother and his family live. A friend then flew her over in a smaller plane to Galena as there are not connecting flights between the two towns. We were given the privilege of spending 5 days with her. While she was here we went on some walks through the woods, went cranberry picking, dealt with sewer issues, and put on a surprise birthday party for Ross.
Enjoying Grammy Cakes!
The Balancing Sisters
"Grammy Cakes, I love you!"
The sun was gorgeous filtering through the trees.
Having a blast in the Fall forest
Walking on the dike at the end of the runway
Watching a plane land. In the distance is the remains of the old Air Force base and where Ross taught last year at the Galena Interior Learning Academy. He is teaching in at the city school this year.
As I mentioned before, yes we had sewer issues! :( This is normal in the bush. A lot of people have sewer issues but usually when it is freezing cold outside and pipes freeze up or the sewer truck doesn't work because of the cold weather. Our sewer was however backing up all over the floor when the toilet was flushed and into the bathtub. Nothing was draining and it wasn't because of frozen pipes. Now you can imagine this was quite the nice experience to have for 2 days while having your Mother in-law stay with you. The nice thing is she is not high maintenance and goes with the flow easily. We were thankful our good friends, Martin and Silke, live down the street and we could walk down there to use their restroom facilities. We also had the "privilege" (I say this sarcastically) of using a "honey bucket" for the first time in a house instead of on a boat. If you don't know what that is, then you probably don't live in the bush!
While all this was going on, Grammy Cakes and I planned a surprise party for Ross. We invited everyone expecting the sewer issue would be fixed by the time his party happened. However it did not happen quickly so we moved the party to Martin and Silke's (German missionaries and good friends of ours) house. We spent the day making many lemon things since Ross loves lemon. We were rushing around like crazy to get all the desserts over to Martin and Silke's house and dinner on the table before Ross got home from school. We made it, but without any time to spare. I made Ross lasagna (one of his favorite meals)for dinner. While we were eating dinner, Ross asked if we wanted to go for a drive out the road and target practice. We said sure that sounds good, but can we stop at Martin and Silke's house to use the restroom facilities? Aubrey proceeded to say "But I thought we were going over to their house for dessert." I quickly said "Nooo" and gave her a look to be quiet. Ross told her "shhh", so I thought for sure the surprise was ruined, but his mind quickly forgot as he turned his focus back on shooting guns! After dinner Ross started gathering all his guns and outdoors items. He kept going back for one thing after another. Meanwhile, I knew our friends were waiting for us, so I said "Lets go!" Finally he was ready so we all hopped into our "squishy" truck (this is what the girls call it as it is a Toyota and we all squish into it) with Ross in the back and myself driving. When we pull up to Martin and Silke's house, Ross is not in the back of the pickup and we are wondering where in the world he went to? We go upstairs to see if he is up there and all we find is our friends crouching down behind the stairwell getting ready to shout surprise! I whisper to them that I have no idea where he is. So we start looking out the windows and keeping our eyes out for him, but no Ross. Finally, I decide to check downstairs. I heard some commotion in the bathroom, so I knocked on the door and said sheepishly, "Ross are you in there? What are you doing?" He quickly responded "I'm having issues! I need a plunger!" So I went back upstairs and all eyes turned to me. I said kind of embarrassed like, "Ummm, he's downstairs." Then I tried to get Martin's attention quietly, but to no avail. Finally I got his attention and told him we needed a plunger. He said "Plugging up the toilets in my house too!" So he went in the bathroom and came out with the plunger lifted above his head for everyone to see! Meanwhile the bathroom is flooding and Ross is panicking! So they finally get that cleaned up and Ross still has his mind set on shooting his guns. He thinks Silke is just having a ladies get together and is wondering why we are taking so long to come downstairs. Finally Martin convinces Ross to come upstairs and we all jump up as he gets to the top of the stairs and yell "Happy Birthday!!!" Ross looked a little surprised but mostly embarrassed!
Non of our desserts set up either for some reason, so we had good but runny pies and lemon bars. When we got home Ross got the best Birthday present ever! Just kidding. He finally got a snake long enough to clean out the pipes. Martin and Ross spent the rest of the evening running a snake through the pipes under the house. You know you have a good friend when they are willing to spend the night under the house cleaning out sewer pipes. Thank goodness they fixed the problem and we can again use our water and restroom! And just to save Ross face, Silke said their toilet did the same thing a few days later so it wasn't just Ross. Maybe their pipes need a good cleaning too!
The Birthday Man!
Sorry about all the talk about sewers, but I guess it is a part of life, especially here. The next day after Ross' birthday I picked the girls up off the bus and went to the post office. The post office is just down the road so I walked. We had gotten a lot of boxes which I was not expecting, so I had the girls stay with the large boxes and started walking home to get the car with a bundle of boxes in my arms. Future warning, don't pile the boxes so high you can't see where you are walking! I stepped in a puddle hole in the parking lot and all the mail and myself went flying and crashing to the ground. I quickly picked myself up and gathered my things. My ankle hurt but I was to embarrassed to stick around for long and quickly got out of there and limped home. I got the car and went back to pick up the girls, their friend who was visiting, and the large boxes. When I got home I unloaded everything and put my ankle up to ice it. We didn't have any ice so I iced it with frozen vegetables and hot dogs! When I tried to get back up, I couldn't walk on it. I finally gave in to going to the doctor a week later. We took x-rays and it is just a sprained ankle but she told me to stay off of it for 2 more weeks. 2 MORE WEEKS, I can't do that with all that is going on! Well the crutches lasted about 2 days and I decided I can't stand them. I can't get anything done with them so I am back to walking on it. Hopefully it heals up in time for the Jamboree as they are singing a specific song for us to jitterbug to!
On Wednesday of that week we put Grammy Cakes on the plane back to Unalakleet. :(
Being crazy at the airport!
Saying goodbye. :(
Aunt Angela, cousin Rogan, and Angela's brother were able to fly over with our fantastic pilot friend, Tim, to pick up Grammy Cakes. We were thankful we got to see them, even if it was to say "Hi" and "Bye" quickly!
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful and then Ross went hunting and camping on the weekend. He didn't get a moose, but one of the three guys he was with did. People are very generous here and basically divide up the meat with whoever is in the hunting party. So the meat was divided between the four guys. This past week Ross spent most of his nights cutting up meat until 1:00 at night with the other guys or at the school trying to get his grades done. I wasn't much help with my ankle and having to get the girls to bed in time for school, so I stayed home. Ross left for this weekend (the last weekend of moose season) exhausted. I am at home alone once again, anxiously waiting. I pray he will get a moose so we can supply ourselves and others with the year supply of meat we all need. People don't buy much meat here. Chicken is about $30 for a small bag here. I haven't even looked at beef. They mostly eat moose as beef and chicken are so expensive at the store.
We have a student who we dearly love staying with us right now for 10 days. We pray that staying with us would be a positive experience. Ross took him out hunting with him, so hopefully he is helping Ross carry out a big moose right now!
Sorry my post is sooo long. I guess that is what happens when life is so eventful and I haven't kept up on posting about the events. I think I can speak for most people in Galena (especially the wives) in saying we are looking forward to things slowing down a bit in October. It seems there is always something going on in Galena, but at least our husbands will be home more often and the harvest will have been gathered. I am reminded of my Mom's favorite verses from the bible as I go through this busy season of my life.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 with my added thoughts in parentheses
There is a time for everything
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot (thanks for the vegetables mom),
a time to kill (moose :))and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep (over sewers and cold houses)and a time to laugh (thanks for the laughs Birthday Boy!),
a time to mourn (when one of our favorite students gets in trouble) and a time to dance (Jamboree, here we come!),
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace (Ross is getting a big hug when he comes home!) and a time to refrain,
a time to search (for moose) and a time to give up (when hunting season is over),
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend (put that new sewing machine to use),
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love (pray for our students to feel loved) and a time to hate,
a time for war a time for peace.
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Well I didn't get this posted last night so here is and update. Ross got back this morning with a 53" moose. Praise the Lord! We have meat! I will write a post with pictures of his hunt soon.
I finally had a crying session to Ross because I was so tired of being cold in our house. It has been a colder fall than last fall and houses are already needing to be heated. We found out that we are paying for the fuel to heat our house (which we had not planned on as that was not the case last year) until the wood boiler is started in October. If we had known this we would have sent some fuel down on the barge as it is cheaper that way, but the next barge that would come with fuel will not be till the first of October. Therefore we were trying to make it as long as possible without filling up the fuel tank. Just to give you a perspective on the cost of fuel...($7.83 a gallon plus sales tax) We spent many days with fleece jackets on and cold hands, feet and noses, but the last straw was when I spent the entire day with 4 heavy layers on and I still was not able to warm up. Marina even came downstairs and said "Mommy could you put something on my feet and hands to keep them warm." So we put gloves and warm socks on her. She then said "I know, I have something upstairs that will keep my head warm. This is what she came down in! She had gotten it from her dress up things. So we looked like we were celebrating Christmas in September with her Santa hat!
We finally got our fuel filled and had heat for a day, but the fuel boiler was putting off so many fumes that it was making the entire house smell like exhaust so we decided to shut it off. The landlords son came and worked on it and it is not quite as fumey so we finally have heat with a little bit of exhaust smell that seeps into our house from the garage. I am thankful for the heat and am thankful that our landlord does let us use the wood boiler for most of the winter if we keep it loaded so that we don't have to bother with the fuel boiler most of the time.
I finally finished putting all the food away and unpacking the boxes that we piled in the school room (still have to set up the sewing room upstairs but almost done with all the boxes that arrived with the barge!) We were in a hurry to clean up the house for our guest that would be coming for 5 days!
Ross' mom (Grammy Cakes) flew to Unalakleet where Ross' youngest brother and his family live. A friend then flew her over in a smaller plane to Galena as there are not connecting flights between the two towns. We were given the privilege of spending 5 days with her. While she was here we went on some walks through the woods, went cranberry picking, dealt with sewer issues, and put on a surprise birthday party for Ross.
As I mentioned before, yes we had sewer issues! :( This is normal in the bush. A lot of people have sewer issues but usually when it is freezing cold outside and pipes freeze up or the sewer truck doesn't work because of the cold weather. Our sewer was however backing up all over the floor when the toilet was flushed and into the bathtub. Nothing was draining and it wasn't because of frozen pipes. Now you can imagine this was quite the nice experience to have for 2 days while having your Mother in-law stay with you. The nice thing is she is not high maintenance and goes with the flow easily. We were thankful our good friends, Martin and Silke, live down the street and we could walk down there to use their restroom facilities. We also had the "privilege" (I say this sarcastically) of using a "honey bucket" for the first time in a house instead of on a boat. If you don't know what that is, then you probably don't live in the bush!
While all this was going on, Grammy Cakes and I planned a surprise party for Ross. We invited everyone expecting the sewer issue would be fixed by the time his party happened. However it did not happen quickly so we moved the party to Martin and Silke's (German missionaries and good friends of ours) house. We spent the day making many lemon things since Ross loves lemon. We were rushing around like crazy to get all the desserts over to Martin and Silke's house and dinner on the table before Ross got home from school. We made it, but without any time to spare. I made Ross lasagna (one of his favorite meals)for dinner. While we were eating dinner, Ross asked if we wanted to go for a drive out the road and target practice. We said sure that sounds good, but can we stop at Martin and Silke's house to use the restroom facilities? Aubrey proceeded to say "But I thought we were going over to their house for dessert." I quickly said "Nooo" and gave her a look to be quiet. Ross told her "shhh", so I thought for sure the surprise was ruined, but his mind quickly forgot as he turned his focus back on shooting guns! After dinner Ross started gathering all his guns and outdoors items. He kept going back for one thing after another. Meanwhile, I knew our friends were waiting for us, so I said "Lets go!" Finally he was ready so we all hopped into our "squishy" truck (this is what the girls call it as it is a Toyota and we all squish into it) with Ross in the back and myself driving. When we pull up to Martin and Silke's house, Ross is not in the back of the pickup and we are wondering where in the world he went to? We go upstairs to see if he is up there and all we find is our friends crouching down behind the stairwell getting ready to shout surprise! I whisper to them that I have no idea where he is. So we start looking out the windows and keeping our eyes out for him, but no Ross. Finally, I decide to check downstairs. I heard some commotion in the bathroom, so I knocked on the door and said sheepishly, "Ross are you in there? What are you doing?" He quickly responded "I'm having issues! I need a plunger!" So I went back upstairs and all eyes turned to me. I said kind of embarrassed like, "Ummm, he's downstairs." Then I tried to get Martin's attention quietly, but to no avail. Finally I got his attention and told him we needed a plunger. He said "Plugging up the toilets in my house too!" So he went in the bathroom and came out with the plunger lifted above his head for everyone to see! Meanwhile the bathroom is flooding and Ross is panicking! So they finally get that cleaned up and Ross still has his mind set on shooting his guns. He thinks Silke is just having a ladies get together and is wondering why we are taking so long to come downstairs. Finally Martin convinces Ross to come upstairs and we all jump up as he gets to the top of the stairs and yell "Happy Birthday!!!" Ross looked a little surprised but mostly embarrassed!
Non of our desserts set up either for some reason, so we had good but runny pies and lemon bars. When we got home Ross got the best Birthday present ever! Just kidding. He finally got a snake long enough to clean out the pipes. Martin and Ross spent the rest of the evening running a snake through the pipes under the house. You know you have a good friend when they are willing to spend the night under the house cleaning out sewer pipes. Thank goodness they fixed the problem and we can again use our water and restroom! And just to save Ross face, Silke said their toilet did the same thing a few days later so it wasn't just Ross. Maybe their pipes need a good cleaning too!
Sorry about all the talk about sewers, but I guess it is a part of life, especially here. The next day after Ross' birthday I picked the girls up off the bus and went to the post office. The post office is just down the road so I walked. We had gotten a lot of boxes which I was not expecting, so I had the girls stay with the large boxes and started walking home to get the car with a bundle of boxes in my arms. Future warning, don't pile the boxes so high you can't see where you are walking! I stepped in a puddle hole in the parking lot and all the mail and myself went flying and crashing to the ground. I quickly picked myself up and gathered my things. My ankle hurt but I was to embarrassed to stick around for long and quickly got out of there and limped home. I got the car and went back to pick up the girls, their friend who was visiting, and the large boxes. When I got home I unloaded everything and put my ankle up to ice it. We didn't have any ice so I iced it with frozen vegetables and hot dogs! When I tried to get back up, I couldn't walk on it. I finally gave in to going to the doctor a week later. We took x-rays and it is just a sprained ankle but she told me to stay off of it for 2 more weeks. 2 MORE WEEKS, I can't do that with all that is going on! Well the crutches lasted about 2 days and I decided I can't stand them. I can't get anything done with them so I am back to walking on it. Hopefully it heals up in time for the Jamboree as they are singing a specific song for us to jitterbug to!
On Wednesday of that week we put Grammy Cakes on the plane back to Unalakleet. :(
Aunt Angela, cousin Rogan, and Angela's brother were able to fly over with our fantastic pilot friend, Tim, to pick up Grammy Cakes. We were thankful we got to see them, even if it was to say "Hi" and "Bye" quickly!
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful and then Ross went hunting and camping on the weekend. He didn't get a moose, but one of the three guys he was with did. People are very generous here and basically divide up the meat with whoever is in the hunting party. So the meat was divided between the four guys. This past week Ross spent most of his nights cutting up meat until 1:00 at night with the other guys or at the school trying to get his grades done. I wasn't much help with my ankle and having to get the girls to bed in time for school, so I stayed home. Ross left for this weekend (the last weekend of moose season) exhausted. I am at home alone once again, anxiously waiting. I pray he will get a moose so we can supply ourselves and others with the year supply of meat we all need. People don't buy much meat here. Chicken is about $30 for a small bag here. I haven't even looked at beef. They mostly eat moose as beef and chicken are so expensive at the store.
We have a student who we dearly love staying with us right now for 10 days. We pray that staying with us would be a positive experience. Ross took him out hunting with him, so hopefully he is helping Ross carry out a big moose right now!
Sorry my post is sooo long. I guess that is what happens when life is so eventful and I haven't kept up on posting about the events. I think I can speak for most people in Galena (especially the wives) in saying we are looking forward to things slowing down a bit in October. It seems there is always something going on in Galena, but at least our husbands will be home more often and the harvest will have been gathered. I am reminded of my Mom's favorite verses from the bible as I go through this busy season of my life.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 with my added thoughts in parentheses
There is a time for everything
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot (thanks for the vegetables mom),
a time to kill (moose :))and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep (over sewers and cold houses)and a time to laugh (thanks for the laughs Birthday Boy!),
a time to mourn (when one of our favorite students gets in trouble) and a time to dance (Jamboree, here we come!),
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace (Ross is getting a big hug when he comes home!) and a time to refrain,
a time to search (for moose) and a time to give up (when hunting season is over),
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend (put that new sewing machine to use),
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love (pray for our students to feel loved) and a time to hate,
a time for war a time for peace.
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Well I didn't get this posted last night so here is and update. Ross got back this morning with a 53" moose. Praise the Lord! We have meat! I will write a post with pictures of his hunt soon.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Clik here to view.
