Arctic Expedition

gathering supplies



mapping our route




leaving for the Arctic
3:00pm, January 27, 2011
Miranda and Noah had already trekked across field, through woods and over water with their supplies and a bale of straw.



thanks to the Burke family for the tip of putting straw under the tent and tying the tent to logs rather than using stakes.



preparing tin foil dinners


our storage area


Friday morning...we stayed out ALL night!

Many thanks to our home base director. She provided support to our expedition. Including delivering extra supplies, visiting and reading us a chapter from an Arthur Ransome book. Winter Holiday tells the story of another Arctic adventure.

Since our travels took us to the Arctic we read about the wildlife that lives there. Here are links to read about the Arctic Fox and Polar Bear. Our favorite picture from the Arctic is of the USS Honolulu with three polar bears approaching the starboard bow...




This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

Knightly

Winter Visits from the Neighbor Children and Dogs

Flying Hook

poncho



slippers for my mom


sweater for a birthday girl
this pattern is available for free from Lion Brand
pattern number 70455AD





hats ... and not even all of them

Banana Pancakes

This recipe is from my friend April. It makes delicious pancakes or waffles.

2 ripe bananas
1 cup gluten free flour mix or buckwheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (more if using buckwheat flour)
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup rice milk ( more with buckwheat flour)
1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add in the milk and maple syrup. Stir until smooth then set aside for one hour.

Prepare as pancakes or waffles.

Gavin

My nephew....Gavin Lee born December 16, 2010

Amtrak

Reasons I like traveling by train:

~See the countryside and little towns along the tracks
~converse with people
~Usually the conductors are courteous and helpful
~Motion of the train
~Train security has not been commandeered by the TSA
~Water bottles, food and any size bottle of toiletries are allowed
~My large suitcase and two smaller bags traveled at no additional fee



Reasons I dislike traveling by train:

~The quaint days of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney traveling to Pine Tree, Vermont no longer exist
~When business class is sold out you are just one of the masses being herded onto a train
~Train stations are far from clean
~Trains are only slightly less far from clean
~Amtrak is government funded
~Long layovers are common


My recent train trip took me from Battle Creek to Indianapolis with a layover in Chicago. Hopefully my next trip will be to St. Louis, Missouri. Unfortunately, there is not a train station anywhere near Gillette, Wyoming.

2011 Reading

"I do not consider my accomplishment in catching a wild wolf bare-handed any great act of heroism. All big-game hunters must and do possess confidence; but I credit my success in mastering wild "loafers" largely to my determination to win. When I tackled the first wolf with my bare hands, I just decided that I was going to get the wolf, and I did."

"Catch 'em Alive Jack"
The Life and Adventures of an American Pioneer
by John R. Abernathy

Thoughts on Education

"It is capable of exact demonstration that if every party in the State has the right of excluding from the public schools whatever he does not believe to be true, then he that believes most must give way to him that believes least, and then he that believes least must give way to him that believes absolutely nothing, no matter how small a minority the atheists or agnostics may be. It is self-evident that on this scheme, if it is consistently and persistently carried out in all parts of the country, the United States system of national popular education will be the most efficient and wide instrument for the propagation of atheism the world has ever seen." A.A. Hodge, 1890

A New Baby

Thanks to my friends Frank and April for letting me be present at the home birth of their daughter. Daphne was born yesterday at 10:31am.

"Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility."

~Kate Douglas Wiggin

Visiting Friends