Snow?? Tomorrow??

Chance of SNOW tomorrow!!   I am not ready for this at all.  This means Grayson and I can't go outside all that often. I don't want him to get that cold.

Since we can't go outside as often I will have to start being crafty.  My first indide thing to do was to use all my green tomatoes and make a salsa.  It turned out ok.  Gabe and I would like it better if it was spicier!!  We love SPICE!  I didn't use enough jalapenos. I will give you the recipe.

Green Tomato Salsa

3 Large Poblanos
4 Meduim Onions
4 Yellow chilies
51/2 cups green tomatoes
2 cups heaping tomatilloes
3 jalapenos
7 garlic cloves
3 TBSP tomato paste
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup line juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dride oregano
1 tsp cracked pepper
1 TBSP sugar
1 cup chopped cilantro

I chopped the first 7 ingredients into small pieces using my food processor.  I combined all the ingredients except the cilantro in a medium stockpot.  Using medium heat, bring to a boil.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Stir in chopped cilantro.  Ladle into sterile jars and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.  You should here the lids pop.  This means they are sealed and ready to go into the pantry.  This recipe gave me 8 pints.  The leftover I put in a jar in the fridge. 

 Gabe built me a raised bed.  He is very anal about it being level!

I wish you could see how small this corn really was.

Our biggest zucchinis!!!

My poor corn never got much bigger!!

The last day we got pick any veggies because the FROST came a few days later!

Back when it was warm!

I'm still playing catch-up for the month+ I never posted so here we go.  For our anniversary we took a champagne brunch cruise on a small paddle boat called the Tanana Chief.  We had a blast.  Grayson stayed with our good friend so Gabe and I could have an adult date.  I was excited for this date for months!!  The cruise was two hours and traveled down the Chena River here in Fairbanks.  The food was great.  It was about 85+ degrees and the company was wonderful :)

But now fall is gone and I am having a hard time remembering how warm summer really was.  Snow should be here Thursday and I feel like crying :(.  At least when we come to MS and TN for Christmas it will feel like a heat wave.  We had to book our flights early because last year the flights out of Alaska were sold out by October.   Looks like a lot of people do not want to be in Alaska for Christmas.  We had an ok time last year and spent with some good friends but nothing beats family!!

Enjoy this Monday.  It's a great one up here in North Pole!

Weekend

I am so ready for the weekend!!  This is Gabe's first week back to work after being off for THREE WEEKS!!!!  Grayson and I have been spoiled having him around and Gabe's Mom for two weeks.  I finally decided to stop looking for a job and be a stay at home Mom for good.  I got offered a job and started looking at daycare and decided I just couldn't leave Grayson with strangers.  I really could use some family up here!  So I apologize early if my blog starts to take on a baby feel.  I will try not to let it.

Because our camera takes such high quality pictures I have to "dumb" them down before I can post any and its hard for me to sit in front of the computer for that long.  This weekend I can do it because, I have heard this and am very sad, that it might be SNOWING!!!!!  I'm not ready for snow yet, even though I got some cool new snow boots.  It's not even October!!  The first frost was here the first part of this month.  I think next year I am going to visit somewhere warm, make that HOT!!!  Maybe Texas.  Hmmm.  I guess I will have to see what the temp is like then.

This weekend I am going to attempt to make and can green tomato salsa with all my tomatoes that never ripened.  Tomatoes don't grow too well in Alaska unless you have a greenhouse.  Cucumbers and corn don't do so well either.  My squash, carrots, and zucchini did outstanding.  Promise I will post pics sometime soon.

I have to go to the grocery store and figure out how to keep Grayson warm sine it is 36 degrees outside!!!  I can still get away with not wearing a coat.  I may die if I go back South and it is over 90.  We have had a fire every night for the past week!!  Its been in the 20s at night!!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

Fall or Winter

This morning the temp was 36!!  Fall where have you gone???  Winter will soon be here.  Tomorrow morning's low is supposed to be in the 20s!!  I didn't get a real summer and now after only a month of fall, winter is here.  I don't think I am ready for this.  We have started building a fire at night because it is so cold!  Poor Grayson's hands are frozen all the time.  I think it is so cold in the house he needs a hat but Gabe says he is fine.
 
The locals up here called the past two weeks an Indian Summer.  I thought Indian Summers were Hot.  This one has barely been warm.  I shouldn't wear pants and long sleeves during any kind of summer.  I'm ready to move back down South and deal with 90 degree weather and humidity!! 

Most of the trees have lost all their leaves and as I'm looking out my window I'm thinking it looks really cold outside.  I'm trying to paint some plastic pots so I can bring my outside plants in.  I don't really know how they will turn out but I do know I don't want to go outside in this cold!!  I have to get to work. 

Hope y'all have a good week and will post pictures later!!

Denali National Park

For the first two weeks in September Gabe's Mom came to visit!!  We did lots of hiking and visiting some of the touristy spots in Fairbanks and North Pole.  I will blog about those later.  The most exciting thing we did was go to Denali National Park.  It was a cold, wet day.  The clouds were so low we couldn't see Mt. McKinley.  We were sad but all the wildlife we saw made up for that.  It was a great day!!

We took a shuttle bus and could get off wherever we wanted to.  Of course with it raining we didn't get do that.  Grayson didn't need to be in the rain.  Plus, I didn't want to run up on a grizzly bear!!  There is a road that only the park buses and professional photographers get to drive on.  Our bus went to mile 53 and turned around.  There was a gift shop at mile 53!!  Got to make that money!!  Here are some of the pictures of one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Alaska!

Bears!!!!

The colors are just amazing!!!

Can you find the lynx?

That road was steep and two buses had to pass each other on it!!!  i was holding my breath and I refused to look out the window on the side closest to the edge!

The little Dall sheep watching our bus go by!