Holy Cow!  Didn't realize that it has been almost a month since we last posted anything.  We have been really busy dealing with sick/injured missionaries, the mission finances, iPads, etc., and haven't had a chance to do much else, including write on the blog.

We did have the chance to go with all the other senior missionaries and the mission presidency and their wives to the local college's girls gymnastics match.  It was the University of Alaska - Anchorage Seawolves vs. the BYU Cougars.  One of our senior couples is assigned to CES and teaches Institute at the college.  One of their students was participating as a member of the Seawolves team, so we went to support her specifically and the BYU team in general.  We had a great time and saw some pretty awesome gymnasts.  One of the BYU girls was the daughter of former Olympic gymnast Peter Vidmar.  Some of you older folks may remember that name.  He was a gold medalist in the 1984 Summer Olympics.  And, he is now serving as mission president of the Australia Melbourne Mission!

One of the BYU girls on the uneven bars.  Not sure who it is.  

Looks like Emily Vidmar, but it also looks like two or three of the others, too.

After the match, having seen the phalanx of black and white badges in the audience (there were 12 of us sitting in a group), several members of the team came over and thanked us for coming and supporting them.

Oh... in case you were wondering, BYU won the match.


If you look back through the posts, you will see that winter arrived in November and we were pretty excited about all the snow and ice.  Well, that has been about it.  It has been cold enough that some of the snow and most of the ice has remained, but nothing new has been added.  This winter has been milder than last year and the year before.  Since we only have to hike back and forth to the office from the parking lot, and we have a 4x4 vehicle to get back and forth, we have really been disappointed.

As we have reported earlier, though, the Alaskans can still find ways to enjoy what winter they've got.  Here are a couple of shots of a small lake here in town where they have groomed the ice into a couple of areas to play hockey and a speed-skating loop.  They even have lights permanently installed to make it so you can skate at night.

Gotta start your hockey training young!

But last night while we were sleeping we got about an inch of snow.  It was very pretty and pristine out there on the way to church this morning.  Then it rained/freezing rain/sleeted all day and the snow was pretty well gone off the roads.  This afternoon, however, it looked like we might finally get the Alaskan winter we have been hoping for.  The snow really came down for a little while, with the wind blowing like crazy.

The wind was really swirling the snow around all these apartment buildings and all the windows on the south side of our apartment were covered in snow for awhile.

This is looking out the living room window after the worst (best) of it was over.  Of course I didn't think to take any pictures/videos during the best part. 

This is looking out the back bedroom window (north side)

The bad news is that it has been 30-35 degrees all day and the roads are almost clear again.

Oh well.... 

WOW!! What a ride!  This morning at 1:30 AM we were jolted from a sound sleep by an earthquake the like of which we have never before felt!  

We have experienced a couple of quakes in Washington - they were interesting but infrequent (as evidenced by the fact that we have lived in Washington for 44 years and have only felt a couple, in spite of the fact that we lived about 50 miles from Mt. St. Helen's while it was doing its best to move things around.)

Since coming to Alaska, we have felt several, but they were generally very mild, just enough to catch your attention and disrupt the conversation.  I think the biggest we have felt was 4-point-something and it was far enough away so as not to be alarming.

Last night we were alarmed!  It started rough enough to wake us but wasn't really bad.  However, it kept going and building in the process, and then really hit.  I don't know how long it lasted, but it was much longer than usual. (A few seconds feels like several minutes.)  The building we live in was really shaking and moving around.  I'm sure that being on the second floor doesn't help.  Fortunately for us, we only had a couple of pictures fall of the shelves, Linda's bottle of Arctic Sea sand fell off the bookcase and spilled, the bedroom doors all closed part way, the dresser drawers all slid open and several things fell inside closets and cabinets.  Because it was in the dark, with no reference point to fix on, and the fact that it went on so long, I was getting close to losing my dinner before it finally ended.

Afterward we jumped up, checked out the apartment and texted the sister missionaries below us to make sure that they were okay.  As we were checking out the apartment, a couple of minutes after the quake ended, we were greeted by this --

It must have really been swinging during the quake!

No, this is not bad housekeeping.  We were greeted with this when we turned the light on. 

During the quake one of the things that came to my mind was that big mirror on the dresser.  It wobbles pretty freely when you walk by.  I'm sure that it was really waving during the quake, but when we turned on the lights it was alright.  Sister Taylor had the presence of mind to worry about the two large pictures on the wall right over our heads, but they stayed in place. (Must have been the skill of the handyman who hung them in the first place!)

Although it was reported as a 6.4 right after the quake, they have finally settled on an official 7.1 this morning!  The epicenter was about 160 miles from Anchorage down the Cook Inlet.  It was right across the Inlet from Homer, which is on the Kenai Peninsula.  We have elders in Homer and several other spots on the peninsula.  We texted the ones in Homer this morning and they said that they were a little shaken, but alright.  All of the missionaries in the mission were contacted first thing and all reported that they are fine.  The mission sent out a group email this morning to all the parents letting them know that everyone made it through alright.

If you check this link - http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/recent/macsub/index.html - you can see that we have a lot of earthquakes in Alaska.  Most of the ones that have happened in the last 16 hours or so have been aftershocks in the Cook Inlet region.  There was a 4.32 at about 3:30 AM, and a 4.7 at about 5:30 AM, both in the same area.  We would normally feel those, at least a little, but we apparently slept right through them.

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But, enough of that.  

This last Wednesday, at 8:00 AM our time, the whole mission attended a world-wide missionary training broadcast at the local stake centers around the mission.  All the missionaries around the world, who could view it during waking hours, were in attendance.  Those on the other side of the earth saw it when they were up. A total of about 75,000!  The training by the brethren was awesome.

We continue to work hard and are busy all hours of the day, everything from late afternoon doctors appointments in Wasilla (getting home at 7 in the evening) to a Relief Society Breakfast for the Bush Branch tomorrow morning at 6:30.  Woohoo!  

We'll write more soon. 

Hello, this is Sister Taylor (for a change).    Being the chief cook in this companionship, I have found that cooking in Alaska can be an interesting experience, not only because we are busy and I am not used to only cooking for two people, but because food can be very expensive here and if you don't shop early enough on Saturday, there isn't any fresh lettuce left in the stores.

This sign is a little deceptive.   It means $4.99 for the small bag, which is 5 lbs of potatoes.

The people in Alaska are EXTREMELY diverse.   Every nation in the world is represented here and the food reflects it.  You can find virtually any food or spice here in Alaska if you are willing to pay for it.

I'm not sure what kind of eggs these are, but thought they were pretty and I understand they are not just dyed eggs.

Of course some foods are free if you are willing to work hard enough for them.   These are blueberries and in the fall they grow wild on the hillsides.   The problem is the bushes are only about 12" tall and you have to crawl around on your knees to pick them.   That is a distinct disadvantage when you get surprised by a bear who is also berry picking.

We have had the adventure of eating some interesting foods since we got here, including reindeer sausage and hot dogs, halibut tacos, halibut pizza, Poor Man's Lobster (which is boiled halibut), taro, coconut shrimp and salmon cooked every way you can think of.   We haven't tried moose or bear yet, but we still have a few months to go, so we shall see.  We missed the "Wild Game Night" that one of the local wards has every year.  No, it's not Twister and Yahtzee, it's where they prepare and eat all manner of fish, bear, caribou, moose, mountain goat and sheep and a few other critters.

These are some recipes that I came across that I thought you might enjoy.    The next time you have an extra seal or caribou laying around that you don't know what to do with, try one of these!  They were all found in the Bering Sea Women’s Group Cookbook.  (P.O Box 1596, Nome, AK  99761-1596)

How to Make Seal Oil (Ukgruk)

In the spring or the fall, remove the fat from underneath the skin of a seal.  Cut the fat into long thin strips and place in a clean bucket.  The blubber has to be clean with no meat attached or blood on it.  Cover the bucket with a clean, thin cloth, and put in a cool, dark place, preferably in a porch or underneath the house.   Stir every day.  When the blubber turns into oil, ladle into clean jars and store in the freezer to enjoy all winter.

The blubber will turn into dungik.  Put in the jars of oil and enjoy eating this with meals.

  

Fish Head Soup

When cutting fish to dry (king salmon or silver salmon), split the head in half, remove the gills, and wash thoroughly.   Put 2 or 3 heads in a large pot and cover with water.   Boil 15 to 20 minutes.   Cook with potato and fish eggs.  Ladle into bowls and enjoy with seal oil, salt, and white onion.

How to Make Blackmeat (Paniktaq)

Blackmeat is meat that has been dried from ugruk, or bearded seal.  Blackmeat can also be made from other marine mammals.   Cut the meat into thin strips and hang out to dry.  When dry, put in jars or cans with oil you made from the seal.   You can also put the dried meat in Ziploc bags.   Store in the freezer.

Caribou Soup (Tuttuu)

2 lbs caribou, cut up                                                                    Dash of granulated garlic

1 envelope dry onion soup mix                                                  1 T. worchestershire sauce

4 carrots, sliced                                                                           Salt to taste

1 onion, diced                                                                             ¼ c rice

2 sticks celery, sliced                                                                  ¼ c. elbow macaroni

1 tsp. dried parsley                                                                      4 potatoes, cut up

½ tsp. Italian seasoning                                                               1 can stewed tomatoes

Put caribou meat in soup pot.  Add onion soup mix.  Cover with water and cook on high until it comes to a boil.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Add carrots, onion and celery.  Add seasonings.   Simmer for one hour.  Add rice, macaroni, and potatoes.   Simmer until potatoes are done.  Add stewed tomatoes until heated through.

How to Put Away Sura or Willow Leaves

When the ptarmigan willow begins growing leaves, pick the tender young leaves and gather into bags.  Take home and pour into a big container and clean the leaves.   Let sit overnight.  The next day, mix with seal oil and pack into jars.  Store in the freezer.  Eat with dried fish.

Halibut Pie

1 lb. cubed halibut                                                                           ½ c. Bisquick baking mix

1/3 c. chopped green onion                                                             1 c. milk

1 c. grated medium cheddar cheese                                                2 eggs

1 (8 oz) cubed cream cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Put a layer of tin foil in a 9” x 13” baking pan.  Place cubed halibut on foil and bake until flaky, approximately 20 – 25 minutes.   Drain liquid.   Move halibut to a greased 9” pie plate.   Layer cheese, cream cheese and onions over fish.  Mix last three ingredients and pour over fish and cheese layers.   Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife poked in center comes out clean.

(To double the recipe, use a large 11” x 13” pan.)

Tom Cod Livers with Blackberries (Ding-u-Lick)

Gather the livers from tom cods, wash them, and put in a sauce pan.   Cover with water and boil for 10 minutes.  Drain the water.   Mix until smooth consistency.   Add sugar to taste.   Add blackberries.

(Note:  Ling cod liver could be used, too.)

Salmonberry Pie

3 c. salmonberries                                                                           1 c. vanilla ice cream

½ c. sugar                                                                                        1 c. Cool Whip

1 (6 oz) pkg orange Jello                                                                 3 graham cracker crusts

1 ¾ c. hot water

Dissolve Jello in hot water.   In a separate bowl, blend salmonberries and sugar.   Add the Jello mixture to the berry mixture and stir together.   Add in ice cream and Cool Whip.   Pour into pie crusts.  Chill in refrigerator for half hour.   Store leftovers in the refrigerator.    Makes 3 pies.

(I wish I had this when we lived on Ragland Road and had Salmonberries all over the place!)

Wild Rhubarb (Kusiimaq)

Wild rhubarb grows inside the willows along the riverbank and along roads or wherever willows grow.  They are picked while young, before they get woody.  Peel the skin off the hard ones.   Chop, put in pot, cover with water and boil until soft.   Add sugar to taste and enjoy.

And the Piece de Resistance --

Old Fashioned Agutaq (Eskimo Ice Cream)

1 lb. caribou or moose fat                                                             1 gallon salmonberries

2 T. clear seal oil                                                                           3 c. blackberries

½ c. cold water                                                                              2 c. sugar or to taste

Chop or grate fat.   Put into a frying pan and melt over low heat until liquid.   While hot, strain through a strainer.   Put melted fat into a big bowl or electric mixer bowl.   Cool.   When cooled, whip the fat with seal oil and add water until light and fluffy.  The mixture should be like shortening or whipped cream.  Add sugar and blend.   Move to your biggest bowl.   Add salmonberries with all the juice.   Mix together until well blended.   Add blackberries.   Serve.   Store the rest in the refrigerator.

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Of course, one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of food in Alaska is whale blubber.   The Natives call it "muktak" and thankfully we have not had the opportunity to try that either.  

This is a dumpster in Barrow and it kind of speaks for itself.

This is President Robinson and the two Elders from Barrow, Elder Perkins and Elder Fatani.   President is about to eat the Muktak these Elders were generous enough to bring him.   (One more reason, Doug doesn't want to ever be a Mission President.)    The white part is the blubber and the black part is whale skin. 

As Sister Robinson said, "You don't mean to make a face when you eat it, it just automatically happens."  

Bon appetit!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We hope that all have had a very Merry Christmas and you are all set for a productive and happy New Year.  We have had a wonderful Christmas season here in Alaska.

One of the things that has made Christmas so good for us, even though we're far from home, has been the thoughtfulness of our Bishop and his family.  As we mentioned in the last post, they sent us a 12 Days of Christmas that included a little gift for each of the 12 days.  You saw the first one (the Santa's hat) and each one was geared to the number of days.  They were all quite clever and, since our bishop is a dentist, a number of them were oral hygiene-related - toothpaste, toothbrushes and dental floss.  The best one of the group, though, was the 5th Day of Christmas - Five Marvelous Minnionaries!  Each was an individual, four were elders and one was a sister.  Here are a couple of pictures - the sister minnionary and the outfit for one of the elders --

We took them to the office and everyone went nuts over them, both the senior couples and the young missionaries.  Again, thank you Ponds for the all the effort and thoughtfulness you put into things.

Another of the things that made our holiday nice (and hectic!) was dealing with the DELUGE of mail, mostly packages, that came to the mission office.  We had truckloads of boxes delivered almost every day for the last couple of weeks.  Then it was our job to sort it all out, forward stuff to the outer areas and get the local stuff all handed out.  There were days when 5-6 people were all working together on the mail.  It was fun to play Santa Claus!

We received all manner of boxes, packages and letters, but the most interesting package we received was this one --

Yep.  As you can see, it came just like this.  We don't know how they got the stamps to stay on and the potato was in amazingly good condition (much better than a couple of "fragile" boxes we got).  No, it wasn't sent from Idaho.  It came from Wisconsin.  If there was a particular story behind it, the receiving elder wasn't sharing.

On Christmas Eve we (the senior missionaries) were invited to the Mission Home for dinner.  The dinner was excellent.  We had deep-fried shrimp and beef ribs (with all the other goodies).  Then we played a game of Farkle, watched a couple of church videos on Christmas and then read the Christmas story from Luke 2.  It was a very enjoyable evening.

Sorry the light wasn't the best, but here we are.  And, just because I know one of you yahoos will bring it up,
those are sparkling cider bottles on the table.

On Christmas Day, we got up late (no kids - no 4 AM!) opened our gifts and went to one of the other missionary couple's apartments for brunch.  It was the first time in 43 years that we have opened gifts on our own.  Kind of interesting, but enjoyable none the less.

And before we leave Christmas, thanks to all who sent cards, letters or gifts, it was wonderful to be remembered by loved ones.

The other thing that occurred this last week, although some of you in the Lower 48 probably missed its passing, was the Winter Solstice!  The days are now getting longer as we speak!  Hurray!  More daylight!  We've talked about this a little bit before, but here's an extra picture to give you the flavor of the season in the north.

This photo was taken on Dec 21st, the Winter Solstice, at about 12:30 PM.  The camera darkened the picture a little because of the direct exposure to the sun, but it really wasn't much lighter than this.  That is as high in the sky as the sun gets in Anchorage on the 21st.

Just to get a little more of the light today, we went out for a drive this afternoon.  It was pretty grey, windy and cold.  These photos were taken on the Turnagain Arm, just south of Anchorage.

But a little cold, snow, wind and ice doesn't slow down the Alaskans.  A little closer to town is Potter Marsh, where we do a lot of our bird watching in warmer seasons.  Everything was frozen over and you could see tracks everywhere of bicycles, skies, etc.  At the south end of the marsh, we saw these families out enjoying the winter.

We hope all is well with you and yours.  Thanks again for your thoughts during this Christmas season and Happy New Year to you all.

Hi everybody! 

Over the last couple of weeks we've had a little bit of fun in our off-hours.  Last week, to honor the Dunns, who went home day before yesterday, we took them to a hockey game, something none of us had ever done before - the Alaska Aces vs. the Colorado Eagles.  The Eagles won in sudden death overtime, 3 to 2.  We went on a Wednesday so the crowd wasn't the biggest, but the noise was incredible.  I'd hate to go to a playoff game or something like that.  You'd have to turn your hearing aids off or your head would explode.  Anyway, we learned a lot about hockey and had a great time.

From the left - Sis. Dunn (Elder Dunn was taking the photo) Sis. Taylor, Elder Taylor, Sis. Weston, Elder Weston

Not many pictures, this game is too fast and all we had were our phones.

Getting ready for a face-off

Face-off!

These Alaskans are serious about their hockey!  All of the adults in this family are wearing Aces jerseys and they brought their two little children along.  Planned ahead, though.  Both of them had earmuffs to wear to protect their ears.  And they seemed to really enjoy the game!

Here's the job I want.  No, not the guy standing there with the goal net, the Zamboni driver!

On our last post we put up some pics about the snow and ice.  During the last couple of weeks we've had more of both.  It really makes things pretty around here, along with a little dangerous on the highway.  We went to Palmer yesterday for lunch, a Festival of Nativities at the local chapel and a couple of bazaars/craft shows and saw an 18-car pileup on the freeway.  Anyway, here are a couple of photos of the weather.

It is really amazing how the moisture in the air just freezes to the branches of the trees and when you breathe out your breath turns to glitter in the air.

Snow on the mountains, frost on the trees.

One of the elements of life around here is the number of hours of daylight.  In a post after our Halloween-time trip to Barrow, we mentioned that the sunrise in Barrow was at about 11:00 AM and the sunset was about 5:00 PM.  Today, in Anchorage, the sun came up at 10:07 and went down at 3:41 - 5 hours and 34 minutes of daylight.  In Fairbanks it rose at 10:48 and set at 2:41 - 4 hours and 53 minutes of daylight.  In Barrow... none.  They have entered what they refer to up there as "the dark time."  The sun set a couple of weeks ago and won't rise again until spring.

On the way to the office in the morning.  No, we don't go in that early - this was a couple of weeks ago at 8:30 AM.
That extra light in the center is the moon.

This is looking out the window of our apartment at 5:20 PM this afternoon.

We saw this the other morning on the way in to the office. (this was taken a little later)  None of us in the office had ever seen anything like it.  Pretty amazing when you realize that there is a total of about 390 years of experience in the office.

For Thanksgiving this year we had planned on going to the Institute building with the other senior missionary couples.  Instead we ended up being invited to dinner at the Mission Home with President and Sister Robinson.  It was a very nice day.

 

We are just about ready for Christmas.  On Black Friday we put up our tree, a small artificial tree given to us by the Poulsons when they went home.  It is all decorated and lit and we have added a couple of extra things to it.  Candice sent us some ornaments made from real painted eggs. We also received a package from our Bishop's family that contained a gift for each of the 12 days of Christmas.  We just opened our first one today.  Sister Taylor also bought a small Alaskan Nativity scene when we were in North Pole last summer.  It is quite cute with an igloo for the stable, a dog sled for the manger, eskimos for the wise men with a moose, polar bear, Dall sheep and wolf for the animals.

A Spirit Mask ornament.  The face is carved wood.  The "hood" around it is made of Caribou/Reindeer hair.

One of the painted eggs.  Real eggshells!

This is our present for the first day of Christmas - Santa's Hat!  Our thanks to the Ponds!

Tonight we had a special surprise.  The local district decided to do some caroling and stopped by our apartment to sing.  We had them all in for some caramel popcorn and visited with them for a few minutes until it was time for them to head home.  Being able to fellowship with these great young people made a great finish to a great Sabbath Day!

It may only be the middle of November where you are, with balmy temperatures, leaves still on the trees and the occasional Indian Summer day, but in Alaska - IT'S WINTER!  Over the last couple of weeks we have gone through a little cold spell here in Anchorage.  The average high temperature has been about 12 degrees - average low temperature about 0 degrees or a little less.  I don't think Anchorage had negative temperatures at all the last couple of winters and we've already had three or four nights that got down to -1, -2, -6!  We've had snow and ice and have been driving around in 4-wheel drive with studs for about a couple of weeks.  It has warmed up (to freezing!) over the last couple of days and we've gotten another 6-8 inches of snow.  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?  It reminds Sister Taylor and I of our childhood in Colorado and Idaho.  We're really enjoying things, so far at least.

First snowfall.  Looking out of our back bedroom window in the evening.

A little bit of snow on the hills, on the road, no real issues.

Then the cold spell hit.  It was so cold that the moisture condensed on the bare tree limbs.  From a distance it looked like it had snowed overnight.  And then when the wind blew, the frost falling off the trees made it look like it was snowing.

Ice crystals formed from moisture in the air.

Our apartment has dual-pane windows, but they are aluminum.  All the window sills are ruined due to the constant moisture.
It got so cold outside this last week that the moisture froze on the window frame.  It was plenty warm in the apartment, but the window frames were cold enough to form ice on the insides.

On Saturday it warmed up a bit and got really serious about snowing.  These next pictures are from our grocery shopping trip to Fred Meyer.  Hey, it was P-day.  We had to get groceries!

We've been pretty busy lately and haven't had a chance to get out much so Saturday, before we went grocery shopping, we decided to see what Potter Marsh looked like.  Guess what.  No birds, no critters of any kind but Sister Taylor & I.

No problems finding a parking place!

Apparently there had been at least one critter out there.  This is looking down from the boardwalk into the ice.  It must have been just soft enough at some point that the animal's feet sunk in a little, but not all the way.

Living most of our lives in a temperate climate, we had never seen these before we came to Anchorage.  They are small sweeper/plow/snow blowers that the city uses to clean/plow and clear their sidewalks and bike trails.  On our way back from Fred Meyer, we passed seven of the full-size plows and graders working the same street.  These Alaskans are serious about snow removal.

One day on our way into the mission office, we saw a mother moose and her yearling trotting along the sidewalk on Strawberry Rd., the street where the office is located.  As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw another adult female trimming the bushes along the front of the building.  Then when Sister Taylor was out and about later in the day, she saw this bull trimming things along a street just a quarter mile or so from the office.  Four in one day!  We haven't seen any moose since last spring/early summer, but they are coming back out now.

Today we had an interesting experience that a few of you will find interesting.  One of the sisters in Palmer called last night.  It turns out that she has been sick for a couple of weeks.  Sister Taylor was concerned that she might have pneumonia so we met her (& her companion, of course) at the Urgent Care Clinic in Wasilla this morning.  Wasilla is about an hour from here.  That made us miss our church meetings with the Bush Branch so we went to Sacrament Meeting in the Campbell Park Ward.  We were able to say hi to several folks that we got to know in that ward when we first got here.

After the meeting, as we were walking down the hallway, a man reached out and stopped us, saying something about having met us before.  We both thought that he was talking about here in Alaska until he touched my nametag and started talking about his first bishop being named Taylor in Corvallis, OR.  He was talking about Daddy, of course, and he said that I was the spitting image of him.  It was George Jarvi!  As soon as he told us who he was, we both recognized him.  We had a great, if short, visit with him.  He and his wife have recently returned from a mission in South Africa and he is currently serving in the bishopric of the Inlet View Ward.  He has lived in Alaska for eight years and is a chemical engineer.  

As we were talking with him, the the sister missionaries walked up to say hi and he started telling them about having danced with Sister Taylor at the stake dances when we were all young.  I think they got quite a kick out of that.  It may be a small world, but it is really a small world in the church.