Goodbye, Sweet Love ...

My DH, Homer Kizer, died yesterday. He asked me to lay hands on him and pray and then he was gone. We shared almost 22 years, full of bliss and interesting times--and he loved me--I could not have asked for more. When we first married, he wanted to bring me to Alaska--it took 22 years to get here, and Adak is not Dutch Harbor [where he said he first truly felt as if he were home], but he will be laid to rest in Alaska, and that is what he would have wanted.

This is a picture of him carving at Metro Beach, Lac Ste. Claire, Michigan--he loved being a hewer of wood. You can see some of his past work here.

Goodbye, Sweet Love.

Sea and sky on Adak ...

My island from Summer’s beginning into Fall. Roll over the pictures to see where the view is and at what time of year–beautiful Adak.

October 16, 2016

One of our first visitors ...

One of our fist visitors and evidently a rare sight--two lovely cranes in the street, yard, and they even ventured into the open garage.

Through the coming months ...

Our little house had lain empty since its last occupants had removed to Diego Garcia–the lady of the house having left me a beautifully doodled note to that effect affixed to the door of the dishwasher. She had been a meticulous housekeeper–other than a few rodent droppings and a crumpled chip bag--the house was spotless.

Here is a picture of the dining room-living room -L- as I found it.

I was blessed to find some used furniture in my favorite style for the dining room–notice some treasured pieces of Royal Doulton Arcadia behind the glass doors

and some Traditional, almost Lawson-style seating for the living room. Little personalization has yet occurred, as most of my household goods are still in storage or in transit. The pink and gold tin candy box on the coffee table has been with me in my travels since I was five.

Stay tuned as I feather my nest throughout the winter ...

Recipes

Poultry
Chicken Galantine

I Catch The Plane Tomorrow ...

2,899.05 car miles later, I sit in a motel waiting to enplane tomorrow for the island. Alaskan scenery is beautiful, and being able to virtually read at 11 pm with no light under the «midnight sun» is an amazing experience. We encountered stone sheep, black bear, moose and wood bison, one loon and one magpie [the lack of magpies was once a demarcation for me of having left the Mountain West behind when travelling to East Texas for college].

A new home, a new [is]land and a new life await ...

Pickup is now in the driveway ...

Even though the barge was facing delays due to weather, the pickup has made it to the island and is now in the driveway!

Barge Is In Dutch ...

Great news! The barge is holing up in Dutch Harbor at the moment, trying to stay out of the storm's way (incoming). They will probably be a little bit delayed - around the 13th or 14th. At least the pickup is still attached!

The Move Has Begun ...

Today our pickup with a cabful of pots and pans and sewing machines and tools and a bed loaded with a Baker's Choice stove and five-gallon buckets of foodstuffs was loaded on a barge headed for the island. It should arrive by April 10th.

This post links to Homestead Blog Hop 74

Stocking a New Pantry

When it takes $1.00 a pound, plus fragility insurance, to ship hundreds of filled glass preserving jars, I will be purchasing a lot of dehydrated foods to ship in their place.

Gardening in a Marine Climate

Although my seaside cottage lies in the same hardiness zone [8a] as Brussels, Belgium, the subpolar oceanic climate will surely prove a challenge.

A New Beginning ...

From a tiny 1-bedroom farmhouse with creaky stairs and an established herb garden, potager and mini-orchard

to a 4-bedroom ranch-style home with only a matted lawn and no trees in sight.

Join me as I begin again ...

Go West Young Man!

Adak is the farthest West you can live in America [and not have top-secret clearance].