WILL IT EVER GET DARK?

I woke up at 4:00am this morning and it

was bright light outside. Like, total daylight.

It can really mess with your mind! It seems

like time to get up, but unless you want to

be tired the rest of the day you have to

make your mind rest again and get back

to sleep. Some people put up dark

curtains, but that would make total

sense now, wouldn't it.

My husband just went ahead and got up.

He got a new iPhone, so 4:00 am is as

good a time as any to figure it out, right?

Some friends of my husband were heading

out to bear hunt for a week and called to

ask if he would take their gear out to the

remote cabin for them.

We have a drop bow boat that goes right up

to shore, so they took their boat and he

followed them with all the gear. They

anchored their boat in the bay and he was

able to go right to the shore with their

heavier stuff, which helps a lot.

Before he did that he went out early in the

morning and set a skate, then went back

and pulled it up after he dropped them off.

A skate is a long line that you lay along the

bottom of the ocean with 15-30 baited hooks

on it. The bottom fish smell the bait and grab

the hooks. This is a way to catch some

really big fish if you manage to pick the

right spots.

He must have picked the right spot because

there was treasure on the line when they

pulled it up:

These may be uber-ugly, but boy do they

taste good! They are Ling Cod and their

mouths are massive with very sharp teeth.

It is common to pull a full sized King Salmon

into the boat with one of these buggers

attached onto it.

We had fish and chips last night and I have to

say they are right up there with halibut as

far as taste--yum!

Ta da! The other skate he set had this nice

halibut on it. My husband realized that

the best way to deal with these guys onboard

is to hogtie them head to tail with rope into

a U shape. Just stunning them and sticking

them into a cooler is asking for disaster.

The reason being that they will act like they

are dead and then will come back to life when

you least expect it. Just picture a fish this

size onboard with you, flipping and swinging

that body around like a sheet of plywood!

People have had their legs broken, been

knocked overboard, and lost their gear

because of these buggers suddenly coming

back to life. No, tie them up like a sausage

and stick them in the back of the boat!

Sunday was my daughter's school picnic.

There are 6 students in the school, so their

families were invited and some members

of the church came along too. It was a

nice day, a little cool, so the fire felt really

good. If you click the picture you can see

the Alaska ferry arriving in the background.

Little boys and sticks...

Did any of you watch the Royal Wedding?

Remember the priest that married them?

After we ate the teacher sent the kids out on a

scavenger hunt. They picked a partner...

...and off they go! First prize was $10.00 to split. Now

that's worth running for.

Look at them out there searching for stuff...

The loot...

Kinda cool...seaweed stretched across the rocks and dried:

After the scavenger hunt the kids were given soakers

to, well, soak each other!

It was a fun day, nice and relaxing.

The latest in my older daughter's footwear.

?

WEDDING CAKE COMPETITION

This weekend was the Seafood Festival 2011

here in town. It is a huge celebration of the

biggest industry in southeast Alaska--

seafood!

There were 2 very well known chefs that

attended and prepared a 5 course gourmet

meal. The dinner was sold out and they

held a cake competition during the dinner.

Our theme was Ocean Dreams and the

cakes needed to be at least 2 tiers and

serve 40 people minimum.

The cakes were served as the dessert

course for everyone and the winner received

a $75.00 gift certificate to a store in town,

plus recognition and pictures in the paper.

Here is my cake that came in 2nd place:

I made the glass ball and bubbles out of

gelatin, as well as the seaweed. The sand

was sugar and the grass is buttercream. The

cake was 100% edible.

The winning cake:

It was fun, but lots and lots and lots of time!

The rest of the weekend was really busy with

fishing and a picnic that I will post about

tomorrow when I have a bit more time.

FOOD MATTERS

THE FLYING CAKE

You know that feeling of relief you get when

a looming project that has weighed heavily

on your mind is finally complete?

Well I feel that relief right this very moment.

The cake is gone, on it's way and out of my hands.

I haven't heard yet if it got there safe and sound,

but you can be sure if it hadn't I would have

definitely heard by now. The bride called me

already first thing early this morning and she

called me twice yesterday. Poor thing! It

must be torture not to be able to even see

what your cake looks like and to envision

it being moved around and loaded on the

plane by strangers, hoping that everyone

is being careful with it.

My husband came to my rescue yesterday and

built me a box out of thin plywood to enclose

the cake for transport.

I put the cake on white foam core and we then

adhered that down to a piece of plywood that

was cut to fit it. This gave a very sturdy base

so the cake wouldn't be bent or tweaked as

it was being moved. Other than tipping it,

I think tweaking the base is the worst thing

for a tiered cake because it causes the layers

to shift which can crack the icing and move the

decorations out of place.

I clearly marked on the box on all 4 sides

so anybody glancing at it would have a good

understanding about keeping everything

upright. I have no idea how many people

will have their hands on this thing at the

other end, so better to be safe than sorry.

Then my husband had the brilliant idea to

print a picture and tape it to the top of the

box so that anyone touching the box would

understand what is inside and know exactly

how fragile it is. Plus I put the ribbon for

the outside of the cake base in an envelope

for the bride to attach once the cake was

set up. I usually do that before delivering

the cake, but in this case it would have

had big holes in it from the screws in

the box.

The bride also ordered matching cupcakes, so

those went along in separate boxes...

...along with the decorated fish cookies on a

sealed platter for the groom:

Here is the official cake portrait right before being

sealed into the box:

All of the flowers were handmade and edible:

The flight was scheduled for a 10:30 departure, so after

an urgent phone call from me at 9:45 my husband came

home from the job site and quickly screwed the box to

the cake base:

and carried the heavy thing out to the car for me.

If you have never picked up a cake like this it

would probably surprise you how heavy all

of that butter and sugar can be!

Here we are at Harris Air with the goodies stacked

on a cart waiting to be loaded onto the plane:

The plane had just returned from a morning trip and

was still open on the runway:

A friend of ours was over at the airport, so he let us in

the secure area to check out the plane before they

reloaded it:

This is the front compartment where they told me

the cake would be sitting, but I don't think it was

going to fit. They had only 2 passengers scheduled

to fly, so they may have just put it in a regular seat,

I don't know, we didn't stick around to see.

Look at this beautiful plane! These planes don't look

this big when they fly by our window. They are very

busy now taking tourists all over the place for fishing,

hunting and flightseeing trips.

Another plane inside the hangar...

Fed Ex was coming in as we were standing there...

Coming back home over the bridge I saw there is a

cruise ship in town and we saw another one coming

on the horizon. The weather is very pretty and warm,

which always makes for a more pleasant visit.

Coming back by another harbor on the way home. I feel

very fortunate not to have to drive by concrete high

rises and strip malls to get home...

O.K., time to put my feet up for a couple

of minutes and take a refreshment break.

One more cake today and then I am finished!

FROM MY MOM

Click the picture to enlarge it

and read.

FRIDAY ALREADY?

We woke up to another gorgeous day! The temperature

fools you though because it looks warm but overnight

the neighbor's roof developed a bit of frost. It warms

up beautifully during the day and the part time

people are really pouring into town now.

It's funny because one of the ways you can tell

them apart is A) they are naturally tanned and

B) they are always in the grocery store lines

asking for something that isn't available.

Case in point: A tanned man in creased slacks

was holding up the entire line at the store by

insisting that there HAD to be at least one

piece of blah-blah-blah cheese in this

building. I say blah-blah-blah because

I have no idea what he was asking about.

It's not like we don't have cheese, we have a

lot of cheese. In fact, the deli case has some

pretty weird sounding cheese in it that did

not come from this country.

Plus I saw a man in the store last night

with a pomeranian under his arm.

Now that is one of my pet peeves, sorry.

I go into the grocery store for food and

the last thing I want are your dog's

cooties floating around my food. Blech.

Can't they sit in the car and wait for

you like all of the other canines?

Oh, and another tell-tale sign that you

are a visitor. Camo. Believe it or not,

head to toe camouflage is not what

people wear here everyday.

I saw a woman yesterday that had the

entire outfit, from her safari hat

to her hunting boots, all completely

covered in camo. And the reflector

sunglasses added the perfect touch.

I don't know if she was hiding from

someone or if she thought there was

going to be a grizzly walking downtown,

but she definitely caught my attention.

This morning:

Our older daughter worked all day and then went out

and split all the wood my brother gave us from the trees

in his yard. Our younger daughter went to school all

day and then went and worked with my husband at

his job site. I love ambitious kids, don't you?

Speaking of the job site, my husband was replacing windows

on a very old house. He pulled one of the original windows

out and there was a paper rolled up underneath it as

a shim. He unrolled it and it is an original newspaper

from Seattle in 1938. Look at the headline:

We are unrolling it slowly so it doesn't fall apart!

The beginning of the wedding order that is going by

plane out to a village; fish cookies for the groom:

Back down to the kitchen--Happy Friday!

HERE THEY COME...

First cruise ship of the year came this morning:

The good part is this means the stores in town will start

being open more hours now. The one and only craft-type

store we have has been closed all winter on Sunday and

Monday, so when I need ribbon and things it can get

frustrating that they are closed so much.

Well the weather is just as weird here as everywhere

else. One day it is warm and sunny, the next it drops

back down to 40 degrees. Yesterday it was warm

enough to stick my little dog out on the deck in

the sun and next thing I know he is crying out

there because he is getting hit by hail!

I have a very busy end of the week coming up

with a bit of a nerve-wracking twist to it. I am

making a 3 tiered wedding cake for one of

the outlying villages and I will be sending it

on a float plane to the wedding. Yes, I know,

it's madness. She also ordered 40 decorated

fish cookies for the groom and cupcakes.

She said it started off with them just going

to the justice of the peace to get married and

the word got out and now the entire town

is invited. Funny how that happens LOL

I have a plan in place to make the cake sturdy

enough to travel on the plane, I am just

hoping the weather is good so there isn't a

lot of bouncing around. The very last thing I

will do is pound a wooden dowel down through

the middle of the whole cake and that will

go down into the cake board and hold the

layers in place.

I'll be sure to post pictures of the process.

Now off to the kitchen for the day...

THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Boy, what a controversy, huh? Some people say it is

absolutely authentic and we should just drop it already,

others are saying there are problems with it and it

should be investigated.

I listened to this man today and what I found interesting

about him is that he actually voted for Obama and is

not interested in calling him a liar. BUT, he is a graphics

expert and his background compels him to investigate

the issues that keep cropping up with the authenticity

of the document that was presented.

What do we, as the American public, do about this

problem? Why are these issues not being addressed

by the White House?

I realize there are bigger problems at the moment,

but in the end, if our Commander in Chief is not

lawfully sitting in the White House, where does

that leave us?

Even if you are a huge Obama fan and think he's

the greatest thing since sliced bread, doesn't it at

least make you wonder why someone would do

this if the original birth certificate is all good?

Are you able to sit there and defend something

that the evidence reveals to be false?

Oh, and just as an afterthought...does anybody else

think it's just a little bit of a poke at the American

people that the person signing the certificate

at the very bottom was named U.K. Lelee.

Say it fast--Ukelele--like the Hawaiian

instrument?

Come on---Seriously?

Although, I did hear about a Pastor Sin

once and also a Dr. Sick....and then there

was the book The Yellow River by I.P. Freely

and of course the famous Under the Bleachers

by Seymour Butts.

LOL

Watch for yourself and decide:

Very Interesting Reading

If you are at all interested in the current predicament our government

is in as far as the deficit, I have provided a link to an excellent PDF book

that is free to read.

It explains in plain, everyday language where some of the problems have

stemmed from that have gotten the United States to the point where we

are trillions of dollars in debt with no end in sight.

I read this from start to finish and when I have some extra time I plan to

go back and re-read it slowly and make sure I fully understand it all.

Alpha Strategy

Catching up post...

The scuzzies are at it again! They had themselves a

bit of a tea party with real cucumber sandwiches

and tiny little tea cups.

Notice the little fingers daintily raised:

We have had some spring weather, with days of real

warmth followed by days of damp cold and then back

to the warmth again. In other words, who knows

what we are going to get(at least it's not tornadoes!)

The bakery has been very busy with lots of cakes and

other baked goods. It seems like there is always a

reason to order a cake--I can't get over how many

baby shower cakes I do! I have 4 more already on

my schedule and more waiting in the wings to

decide on themes, colors, etc.

The town is really starting to get busy now with

all the lodge owners returning to open things

up for their coming clients. Plus the seasonal

people are trickling back in; our next door

neighbor will be here the 3rd week in

May for his 3 month stint. The grocery

store is where you really see the difference--

the yachts come back and all of their

help is in the store buying up supplies.

They fill 2 or 3 carts at a time with

food and have to box it up to take out

to the harbors. It is not uncommon to

stand in line behind them and hear the

totals of $1500 and more just for

groceries. They don't blink and eye, they

just smile and pay. Gulp! I guess if you

are going to choke on the cost of food

for a yacht, then you probably can't

afford to have a yacht.

I wouldn't be a very good yacht owner.

I am way too frugal and the thought of

putting thousands just into the fuel tank

would do me in.

I don't know the exact date of the first large

cruise ship, but I do have customers that

have placed an order with me for a large

anniversary they will be celebrating on

one of the ships. I will be supplying the

cakes and Alaskan themed cookies for

them. I have had those requests before,

but in the past the cruise lines have said

no. They don't allow other food to be

brought on board, especially if it is food

that their chef would supply (like a cake)

When I told the customer that she called

the cruise line and they made an exception.

I have a feeling it had something to do with

the fact that she and her entire family have

the penthouse suites reserved on the ship

and given the state of the economy the ship

may have to consider their bottom line.

My husband has been extremely busy

for what seems like months now putting

in a new restaurant on town. The old

Chinese restaurant was torn out of a

large hotel and this new one will be

fish and chips, burgers and breakfast.

My brothers are doing all of the

sheetrock and painting inside. I will

post pictures of the progress and they

have a target opening date of sometime

in May-June.

Our older daughter is house sitting for

a Coast Guard family that has been relocated

back to the south. They flew down to Alabama

just in time for the tornadoes that did all the

damage. They are O.K., they are down on the

coast, it looks like the damage was much

farther inland.

Our younger daughter is finishing 8th grade

and is looking forward to another week at

youth group camp in Juneau. After that we

are taking a break and heading down south

for some time away.

Jane, if you are reading this maybe we could

get together when I get down there? I'll

bring you some chocolate cookies...

Ob La Di Ob La Da

WHERE OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING

Via: Heritage Foundation

WHITE COLLAR TATOOS

For the person who has everything...

LOL

A WHALE OF A DAY

Well it's that time of the year again--Herring

Season is right around the corner. The planes

are buzzing around the skies all day long on

the lookout for the huge schools of herring

and the wildlife has returned in abundance

to gorge on the millions of fish that will

be spawning here soon.

It was another warm, sunny day so we

delivered a cake before church, went to

church, enjoyed an all-you-can-eat shrimp

Mission's fundraiser after church,

delivered 2 more cakes and then

decided to head out on the water.

We left the dock and it wasn't 3 minutes out

that we had a HUGE Humpback cross right

directly in front of us! No picture--we were

all taken aback by it and slowed the boat

down to a standstill just to watch.

Soon after we saw the local tour boat go by

filled with people that were out whale

watching for the day.

We went a few minutes farther and stopped

the boat and what do you know...

Here comes another pair. These were so close you can

easily see the blow holes on the front.

We turned the boat off and were just watching when

this one decided to dive.

Pretty view with a few seagulls on the rocks. Right now

it seems like Alfred Hitchcok's "The Birds" movie

since there are hundreds of seagulls around town waiting

on the herring fishery. A lot of the larger roofs in town

(like the large hotel) are white from all of the bird

poo being deposited on it.

Somebody got a little too hyped up from all

the whale action and had to be locked in

a body vise-grip until he could calm

himself down. Sheesh.

We went a ways farther to get away from all the whales

and found a shallow channel to anchor up in and fish for

a few herring with a pole. These guys are great bait

for halibut and they love to bite the multiple tiny

hooks on a light fishing pole. My daughter went in

the kayak to paddle around a bit since the water

was so nice and flat.

Here there were 4 herring on the line--2 flew

off into the boat (dogs are inspecting them)

Lots of wildlife all around--eagles, sea lions, ducks...

Lilly just can't stop staring at the fish in the bucket.

Neo just can't stop staring at the fish in the water.

So here is my younger daughter happily paddling

while we all enjoy the silence...

and look what surfaced 50 feet away...

and brought their friends...

these are not zoomed--we were surrounded...

You can't believe the sound of the foooossssshhhhhhh

as they blow one by one in the silence. My daughter

said she could hear them pulling air in after they

blew too since she was down on the water.

It. Was. Amazing.

and Awesome.

and Breathtaking.

and Scary because my daughter

was in the kayak, in the water.

with

the

whales.

We had her hug the shore and we all

watched them, then she was able to get

back in the boat.

Eventually a rain squall came over and

they all went away, so we headed home.

What an amazing sight.

This was a cool shot of Mt. Edegecumbe as we were

going by. And we had another whale come alongside

us as we were headed home too, just kind of keeping

pace with us as we went along.

I thought this was a neat shot of some of the huge

boats that are here waiting for the Herring Fishery.

That should be happening here in the next couple

of days...