I have never seen a turkey shoot anything. Neither have I ever attended a Turkey Shoot until today. Gabrielle and Elliot tried their skill at shooting since they each completed a gun safety course last fall. They each paid $2.00 for ten bullets rounds. Gabrielle used a gun .22 bolt-action single shot open -sight rifle. Elliot used a .22, but it had a bullet holder thing magazine and  spy-glass thing scope.

I was relived to see that they were shooting paper pictures of turkeys and NOT real live turkeys.  Oh,  the prize for the best of  each group of ten shooters was a frozen turkey. Even if it hadn’t been the plucked- ready -to- thaw- and- roast variety, it would likely been frozen because it was so cold out there.  It was about 20 degrees but there was wind.

Tomorrow, I’m roasting a chicken.

E getting to ready to shoot a "turkey"

G chooses a gun that works for her

One day last week, a little girl in our house was not especially enjoying her lunch that included barley.  I guess that she was dodging the thought of finishing the lunch because she asked me, out of the blue, “Mom, what is ‘condemnation’ ?”

I explained that the word starts with the word ‘condemn’ and is like judging. If a person killed another person, the judge might condemn the killer to life in prison. I guess that was enough to derail thoughts of seeking the meaning of a big word, for the next question was, “Would they give you food in the prison?”

Yes, prisoners are provided with food. “Do they give you clothes?” was her quick reply. Yes, I said, the people in jail get clothes. Next, with a more agitated tone, she asked, “Do they give you mildew?”

I have NO idea where that thought came from!  Maybe I shouldn’t cook barley any time soon unless I have nearby a dictionary and a preacher and a judge and a janitorial custodian and a …

We recently had an opportunity to experience MUKTUK. I even asked how to spell the word so as to sound more knowledgable. The Muktuk looked like half inch cubes of tofu; creamy colored. I expected it to be soft like that, too. Instead, it was rather chewy with a rather firm texture.

This is how it came about:

There was a two man crew here in Nenana to help some folks with wood cutting. We Blairs had the privilege of having the crew as company for a few meals that week.  One day when it had been snowing all day, the crew was driving the pick-up into Nenana after cutting a load of wood. They noticed an incoming plane that looked like it was having trouble. Always willing to lend a helping hand and ready for adventure, this crew went to the airport to see what they could do. They ended up inviting the pilot to stay the night with them and have supper which was scheduled to be with us. The pilot had gear and supplies in case of an emergency, but he was grateful for real shelter and real food. We were happy to have him and to hear his story. He had been diverted by the snow while flying to Fairbanks from Kotzebue.

As a sort of house gift, the pilot brought a jar of pickled Muktuk to share with us all. I like pickles. I thought it was a good idea to try something new. Maybe I should have tried it before the meal was over. All evening, the pickling spices  reminded me that I had eaten a bite of Muktuk. Whale epidermis.

Our children are having a great week while participating in the Tanana Valley State Fair. We are just over half-way done, so the final count of awards cannot be told. We have begun a display at home of the ribbons that the children have been allowed to bring home. There are six blue (first place), one red (second place), one white (third place), one purple (class champion), and one for sixth and one for seventh places in the Pet show.

We have taken whole wheat bread, rolls, peanut butter cookies, tortillas, carob cakes, sourdough muffins, posters, rhubarb, and a notebook about training goldfish.  Two of the children participated in Culinary Capers which is an on the spot cooking project while a panel of three judges look on. One of our two got a class champion for this (not mentioned above). 

The opportunity to be in 4-H has been good for our four children to learn in long-term projects. Entering into the Open class has allowed them more breadth without the depth.

We’ll see how the rest of the week unfolds.

Note: There are NO pictures with this post. This disclaimer is for those who don’t like raw food.
Yesterday we got a moose liver. This was just an average moose
liver, in that it FILLED a Rubbermaid dishpan. Gabrielle removed the outer membrane and Mom sliced it. We could have had liver and onions for at least twenty-five people…even more if some of them didn’t want seconds like my family. We can have liver several more times, so I looked in the cook book for ideas. Liver, Sauteed Liver, Liver cooked in wine, Braised Liver, Liver Creole, Liver Loaf, Liver Luncheon and Breakfast Spread, Liver Dumplings, Liver Patties. We’ll have to think about these choices!
What a big blessing to have this liver and we are blessed by those who worked to make it possible.

The latest “hot” news around here is the lightening-started wild fires in the Interior. I nearly took a picture yesterday to show how dark it was in mid-afternoon… Though a picture of dark isn’t really very interesting! Our boys turned on the string of “Christmas” lights that are on the deck rail at the radio station. The street lights were also on.  Bits of ash were falling from the air.  It looked like when the first snow falls before it begins to stick to everything, except that these were brown and a dirty grey color.  There seems to be a lot of Spruce needle ash. As of this writing (11:00 pm)over 79,000 acres have burned. Here is a site to check for updates on the Minto Flats Wildfire:     www.inciweb.org

Thank you for praying for safety for all of the fire safety folks, for the residents, and for the ministry and outreach that KIAM Radio can have at this time.

7 Morel Mushrooms

A very sweet visit has just come to an end as Mom is now on a plane to the “lower 48″.
Laurie’s mom and Laurie’s sister came for a two week visit to Nenana. They had a a peaceful time and we skipped all school lessons to help put together ten jigsaw puzzles that average 1,000 pieces each. Our visitors also experienced their first tries at cross-country skiing with success. They saw the Alaskan Ice Carving in Fairbanks. You can look at the website at  www.icealaska.com.  We had some very pleasant weather and some just to show the variety of March.  The temperatures dipped to -30F  and we had wind chill warnings to -55 F. They will find the mild temps  of home very welcome.

This wasn’t just a visit for fun… we did put people to work preparing a newsletter for mailing.   If you’d like a copy, please just ask.

Brian, Gabrielle, Elliot, and Karl, and three dogs went to town on Tuesday.  Here’s how that happened.  Brian’s braille note-taker device got stuck in the “on” position so he needed to send it to Florida for repair.  As it is his near -constant companion, he needs it to be as quick of an in-out job as possible.  UPS does ship out of Fairbanks…but they don’t come to Nenana to pick up. 

Last time I was in town, Elliot went to a certain national chain store to order new glasses.  While there, we spied an elevator, thought of the pups needing training with elevators, and asked the manager for permission, which was gladly given.

Karl was in need of supplies for a wiring job at the radio station and needed to go to Fairbanks.  Karl drove our truck so I did not go with them.

That’s how Brian had the opportunity to buy roses for me as a huge surprise for Valentine’s Day.  What a Sweetie!

As we age, we develop new ideas, refine some, drop others. I am going out on a limb to admit what many already know about me. I am getting older. Yes, this thought comes with the beginning of a new year because I usually have to think about what year it is before I can remember how old I am. But with the thought of my age,  I am now ready to revise the definition of COLD.

We have been having a cold-snap (notice the lower-case letters) with temperatures like -30 to -40. Well, this morning we have -51 F. This number is more than my age so I am calling it COLD.  Whatever happened to the idea of global warming? We need to remember to keep every bit of skin covered as frost-bite happens more quickly. One can be burned by opening a door with a bare hand.

The puppies have fleece booties that fasten with Velcro type straps. They work great to protect from the cold when going out for regular visits. The problem is the time required for four feet to get dressed for a puppy who’s already eager to go out. We’ve had more puppy puddles since the cold-snap began.

One more reason to want the warmer temperatures!

By the  way, Brian says he getting accustomed to the colder temperatures.

Not me!

Sure, the title is meant to lure you into reading more!
Nenana has increased by eight feet. These eight feet, quickly followed by four more feet, just ran past me here in my dining room. Let me tell you about the latest 4-H project. On Tuesday, November 25, we met two Guide Dogs of the Desert puppies-in-training at the Fairbanks airport.
Gabrielle is now attempting to raise Bo, a puppy that we hope will be trained, when he is grown, to be a guide for the blind. Bo is a black four month old German Shepard.
Elliot is also puppy-raising, but his pup is Cooper, a male, three month old black Lab.
Sponsors of Guide Dogs of the Desert are given the privilege of naming their puppies. We will likely have them until they are just over a year old when they return to CA for their training. We do not receive any financial benefit from this.
One big reason Brian is involved in Christian radio is because of how God used it in Brian’s salvation and spiritual growth. It is a way to ensure that others can also be blessed in this manner. In a similar way, we are really grateful for the work others did on our behalf before Gwen, Brian’s Seeing Eye Dog, was trained for him. We’re trying to help other blind folks to be blessed with moblilty and greater independance.
Check back later for pictures.