Warm & Improving: a tour aboard the USCG Icebreaker Healy

Today we got to go on an unusual outing of sorts.  If you have been following national or state headlines, you might have heard that due to some poor planning and unfortunate happenings, an "emergency" (The emergency is in quotes because there really wasn't one.) fuel delivery was very recently made to our happy little hamlet via a Russian Icebreaker and the Coast Guard's very own vessel the Healy.    But it certainly has been pleasant to have our icy ocean view broken up by the cheery red hulls of these two boats.  The crew of the Healy was awesome enough to host an ongoing open tour to all Nome residents over the last two days.  With the temperatures a balmy 20 today (probably more like -5 with the windchill) we ventured out to check out what an icebreaker is all about.

31: the way I see it.

Even though I spent today recovering from the stomach flu, in a discombobulated construction zone, I tend to think that with these two monkeys to keep me company

31 is going to be a really good year.

No matter how you slice it.

Green at -40

Oh it has been so bitter cold here this last few weeks, and it just seems to keep getting colder.  Nome is now seeing record low temperatures.  All over town people's water is freezing, sewage traps are backing up, folks are keeping to the indoors--even the ravens seem to have lost some of their cold-weather bravado, and the poor chickens.  We have a heater in their coop now, but it is still pretty cold.  The worst is there just isn't a break in sight.  I have been taking some comfort in my little lemon tree though.

It has been growing like crazy this winter.  I started this thing several years ago from seed, and it really struggled for a couple of years.  It is finally coming into its own now.  I'm going to need to make it a bigger pot to live in soon.  And you can always count on an amaryllis to make a bold debut:

 

This one was gifted to my by a lovely lady (and fellow green thumb) in my pottery class.  

To keep busy, miss Sadie and I have been doing all kinds of indoor projects, but her favorite by far this week was painting with blue, green, and yellow:

She was quite proud of the "ta-too(s)" she gave herself.  And I was quite amazed at the washability of these wonderful tempura paints.

Maybe with all this green around we wont catch the winter blues.

lingonberry-apple pie

 

 Crust:

blend in food processor or blender

2 cups of flour

1 cup cold butter cut up

1tsp salt

slowly add until crust just comes together

1/4 cup vanilla vodka.

Did you know that replacing the water with vodka in your pie crust makes it impossibly flaky?

It does... and you should try it sometime.

Filling:

2 cups lingonberries or cranberries

3 sad looking apples from the fruit bowl that everyone keeps passing by

3/4 c. sugar

4T. cornstarch, or your favorite pie thickener

dash of the vanilla vodka that you didn't need for the crust

2 pats of butter.

toss together

Fill bottom pie crust, put the top crust on, poke some holes, cover edges with foil and bake at 425 for 30 minutes

uncover edges, reduce heat to 350 and cook another 30-40 minutes, until juices are bubbling

and the tantalizing aroma sends you to pie heaven. 

Enjoy!

Happy New Year from -30

2012 is here and it's cold outside.  -30 in town at the airport right now, much colder where Loren is out hunting.  Hoping he makes it in safe tonight and not too frostbitten.  Sadie and I have been cooped up by the cold weather, and I am sick with the flu. The cold dry weather is kind of awful, except for the amazing fireworks display that comes from the static electricity when we make the bed. 

It is taking lots of imagination and patience to get through these days, that are short, but somehow so long.

We just need another nice big storm to warm things up again!  

Hope you all have a blessed new year,

Love from the frosty north.