Updates

What a whirlwind week. :) Beginning of the week was crazy busy. Travis came back from Juneau on Tuesday and had lots of stories to tell. I spent long hours at the school earlier in the week and found myself waking up extra early to work (and to chat with someone :$ ) On Wednesday we had four people from the district office in the school---talk about flying.

Our new boss (the director of special education) was amongst the ones who came out. He showed us a new program that he'd like to start using for paperwork...initially it will be a lot of extra work but in the long run I think it could potentially save hours of work and be more accurate than the program we currently use. He offered a lot of helpful advice and his visit turned out to be less daunting than I anticipated:)

We had our second set of parent/teacher conferences this week, and they went well. We had a good turnout.

My homemade blackberry jam was a hit. :)

The most exciting news of the week is that I have water--after 23 days!! :) The sewer was pumped and Mark came to fix something Friday after school---all I owe him is a bag of cookies :)

One of my co-workers came to me with a prayer request this past week--their baby grand daughter was being medi-vacced to Anchorage, she wasn't breathing and had a 25 min. seizure. She is doing better now, they have her off the respirator and she was given a diagnosis of phenomena and meningitis. Please keep this baby in your prayers. She is still in Anchorage with her parents. The other siblings are home with other relatives right now.

Rocky continues to try and eat EVERYTHING in his sight, he's chewed up my snow boots and chewed on my rain boots, and found the box of prizes I have for my kids. Gotta love him :)

Kat and I were going to head into Bethel this weekend to do some shopping and eat out. Upon second thought and looking out the window at school, we decided that we would rather stay home. I have no regrets as some people are still weathered out of the village. We had snow/rain and high winds.

Have a great week!!

Sunny Sunday

This weekend, like all others has flown by. Yesterday we had a work day at school as it was the end of 1st quarter last week. I'm trudging my way through progress reports and other SpEd paperwork. Seems it's never ending.

Today is the first sunny day we've had in quite awhile. The kids are out and about, not just huddled on my steps or the school steps. Russian Orthodox church is holding a cake walk fundraiser today.

Friday night staff played the high school volleyball team and then we played staff vs. staff. It was an enjoyable evening. Travis is still in Juneau and will be back on Tuesday.

I am still without water. The boardwalks have not yet been replaced meaning the sewer pumping equipment can't make it to my house. It is a good lesson in patience for me :) I am thankful I live so close to the school. :)

Have a wonderful week!

The Stores

We have three small stores in our village, each of them carries something the other one doesn't ...you never know what you may find at the stores. Oh...if we go anywhere on an adventure it usually includes a trip to the store. :) (Sound exciting?)

This is known as the Pavila or Angut Store--cheapest of the three stores

This is known as Book Store (no they don't sell books) or Paul Andrew Trading Post.

This is "The Corp" or Quinarmiut Corporation...This is the biggest of the three stores and the most like the stores at home.

The stores occasionally get things like bread, eggs and produce. You will never find a gallon of milk in the stores, and you usually don't find a pound of hamburger in the freezer.

Brief update

Sorry to those of you who have been checking my blog the last few days only to find the same old entry. :)

Last few days have been hectic. Today was the last day of the quarter--the year is sure flying by. One of my one on one aides was gone for a few days...missed her TONS and gave her a huge hug when she came back :) The one on one aides that I supervise are amazing and when they are not around things just don't function properly. Thanks again Maat and Sylvia for doing an incredible job. We also had a visitor from the district office earlier in the week--they are a great resource and a tremendous help but the day is crazy busy when they come.

I've been working on paperwork...trying to stay caught up and if possible a bit ahead. Travis left today and will be gone about a week; he is attending a writers...something or other in Juneau.--Little sidenote...the radio is getting more and more enjoyable. :) I really enjoy the commentary, and something other than the monotony of my cd's. Travis has a growing selection of music. :) He is now doing school announcements in addition to reading the Principal's Monday news and has staff and students from the school record messages that he plays later.

Weather has been a bit warmer around mid 40's and rainy. Snow is again in the forecast for the next few days.

I still have no water in the house, as my sewer has yet to be pumped. They have to wait until the boardwalks are repaired. Water is still high from all the flooding, and some of the boardwalks (as mentioned) are pretty rickety (or broken).

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately...and find myself wondering how I could hate philosophy so much in college and find myself asking so many philosophical questions only a few years later. :)

Will try to post more pictures of the village tomorrow.

Tundra Adventures

WOW!! What a week.

The first few days we had snow and stranded teachers. Then we had flooding and broken boardwalks. I have no water as the sewer tank was only partially pumped.

On Wenesday night I called and had Nick escort me home from school at 11:30 pm...kinda sad when I only live...50 feet from the school. He walked me home and called the VPSO. On Thursday our dog made enemies with someone..not the first encounter. However after much profanity and kicking the lady walked away. Needless to say she called my boss, and threatened to sue . What's happening these days?

Yesterday a plane crashed into the bank of the river. The nose is pretty beat up and windows on the pilots side are broken. The wing has been propped up to help slow the leaking gas. The pilot was the only passenger and is fortunate that only his face is banged up. It's a wonder he wasn't hurt worse. He was hauling about 1200 pounds of freight. Nick said the pilot tried to land about four times prior to the crash and he thought it was a new pilot.--Will try to post pictures later on.

Today the store had produce :) and more food. The shelves have been pretty bare for awhile and there has been no produce since we've been here. We ran into Nick and Dana at the store, they gave us a ride to the airport to look at the plane and the project the high schoolers have been working on. We were almost home, Kat and I and all the packages riding in the trialer, when the trailer veered left as the four wheeler continued straight. The trailer came unhooked and veered left off the boardwalk. Surprised us a bit and we were stuck amongst packages for a few minutes. Nick felt really bad..nothing he could do. Accidents happen. :) It was a bit of a drop but everything is wet and spongy..again the accident could have been much worse.

The guys who will be installing our new water treatment center have arrived. They are living in the spare house we have in exchange for helping Frank hook up the older housing to the school sewer system.

Tonight may be a good time to just curl up with a good book or watch a movie and drink some hot cappucino. :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Tunt Post Office

Not much news today..these pictures of the post office were taken last week.
I haven't quite figured out how they manage to store all the outgoing or incoming packages sometimes. :) The snow has subsided for now--lower village boardwalks are flooded more than they were yesterday.

October or January? :)

The weather continues to be crazy. This morning we had rain, followed by sunshine. The staff that was stranded made it back around 11 and around 11:30 heavy winds and more snow hit the village. Last night high tide moved in. Some of the lower parts of the village have water that is level with the boardwalks. A few of the boardwalks are uneven as one side of them slid off the stilts due to the high water. People are starting to pull boats in for the winter.

Today some of the troops that were home are leaving. They will be headed for Iraq.


This picture, taken from my porch, shows two things...first it shows precisely how far I live from work and it shows the school parking lot. :)

More Snow

This morning at 5:00 I awoke to the pitter patter of rain, howling wind and a banging on my porch. Rain has drenched much of the area and costal villages are in danger of flooding. The rain has since turned to snow. Might have to break down and dig out the warm coat. We have 6 staff members that are stuck in Bethel right now. It's nearly impossible to try and find a sub for all of them. Planes aren't flying (which is why people are stuck); meaning mail is at a standstill.

Second snowfall 10/9/06 taken near my house. The little shrubs you see are what the kids know as trees.

Kat and I started our cooking class today. We had a small group, it should be fun. Several of the kids are 7th graders..we'll see if they stick it out. :) NYO (Native Youth Olympics) also started today. Kids are enthusiastic about it...hope the intrest doesn't wane as quickly this year. I think robotics maybe started last weekend if not it will be starting in the very near future.

Taken near my house 10/9/06

I left Rocky inside this morning as he bulked about getting his lazy bones off the couch. I came home this afternoon and he dismantled another pair of my fun scissors and started eating my snowboots. I'm afraid he's entirely too spoiled--and not getting attention from as many people this year as last. :)

Yes Rocky loves to chew...today he's chewing on someone's misplaced pants.

Snow

Yes that's right...SNOW!! It seems a little early to be having snow but when I woke up this morning the ground had a nice layer of white on it. It has since vanished due to the rain that followed this afternoon. Planes didn't fly today and several teachers (Travis, Josh and Melissa, Martina) are weathered out--couldn't get home.

The creative memories party went well and was a lot of fun--we had 12 people crammed into this little house. :) We survived without water, only one person asked where they could wash their hands. Kat and I improvised and did a quick version of "the cake"--was not quite as good as usual but still pretty tasty.

This is one of "THE CAKE"s that Kat and I made last year. The first time I made this cake I was experimenting....Kat came home and I told her not to look..I thought it was disastrous--she thought it tasted pretty good though so we continue to make it. :) Experiments can have some pretty good outcomes even when they aren't what you were striving for:)

This weekend I received notice that I'm considered highly qualified to teach in Alaska :) Currently there are no special education tests and since I'm also certified to do elementary I'm highly qualified in elementary self contained. Since I'm elementary highly qualified I'm enabled to do special ed pullouts in all academic areas (reading, writing, math). Government is starting to ask special education teachers to be certified/highly qualified in all areas in which they do pullouts. Hmm..I may rethink finishing up my middle and high school sped endorsement. :) Alaska is clamping down on their regulations (or so we've been told). Next semester I will take two classes to maintain my Alaska teaching license..also need to decide if I'll renew my Iowa license. Not sure yet how long I'll stay in Alaska. :)

Happy Monday!

Kat--I still say pirates are overrated--you're just going to have to deal. ;)

Adventures

Some of the cakes for the cake walk

So...I have another story for you all..hope it makes you smile :)

This morning while getting ready for my day my sewer tank reached its capacity. What does this mean? It means the whole water system in my house turns off until further notice. Now...another little education on Tundra life...I could call and ask them to pump my sewer, they may get to it the same day or it may take them a week, you never really know. If you recall I posted a few days ago that the sewer pumping wagon is broken and sewers won't be pumped until further notice--it might be awhile before I have water in the house. So...I am expecting a house full of company tomorrow, have a sink with dirty dishes, a floor that needs to be scrubbed and no bathroom. Ever entertained people like that?? lol I'll head over to the school a little later with my dishes, not the first time and probably not the last. :)

I also found some game pieces that my little buggers hid when they were at my house the other day--you never know what they might get into and it takes them all of 2 seconds to find something. :)

Pround owner of the cool basketball cake :) For those of you who don't know how a cake walk works..we have numbers on the floor, music is played and people walk around on the numbers when the music stops everyone picks a number to stand on. A number is drawn from a box and if you're standing on that number you get to pick a cake.

Two happy little boys with a whole lot of cake :)

Friday :)

Here we are..another friday, another week of school already gone. We will soon be ending our ninth week of classes and be ready for round two of parent teacher conferences.

Oh.. a story..every Wednesday afternoon I bring some of my girls over to bake and cook at my house as part of their class schedule. This week everything was crazy..one of my little ones was showing a lot of siezure activity (about 7 in a half hour) and the girls were playing games and little toy instruments that I have. The one on one aides and I turned our back for a minute...and what do you suppose happens. One of my kids is hidden in my bed..all bedding up over the head. I was like "What??" My bed was made...it should have at least slowed the stinker down. Anywho..if you know me..you know I HATE stuff in my bed..no crumbs/dirt anything...needless to say muddy jeans and socks should never be in my bed. :$ I was stunned, and the one on one aides lectured in Yup'ik. I'm glad I have laundry on Wenesday nights :) Kat got a good laugh.

Todays staff meeting was amusing..Travis talked about his radio station..Greg talked about southern comedy that Travis could broadcast on the radio...everyone was pretty laid back. Kat and I had the giggles..Nick asked what was up and we giggled some more...Frank just looked at us wondering what in the world, and Travis just smiled. In the staff meeting we discussed all the wierd stuff happening in schools these days.....What is this world coming to? The shooting in the Amish school in PA, shooting in CO, shooting in WI, and on the North Slope (AK), some guy came in and whacked the electrician (who was repairing the fire alarm) with a meat clever and then went out in the village and stabbed his uncle's dog to death...YIKES!! We practiced lock down procedure today (something new to me) now we know how the whole process will work and know what needs to be tweaked. Our mix-six volleyball team traveled to another village to play their first game this weekend--kids were pretty excited :)

Tonight the girls high school basketball team held a cakewalk as a fundraiser. I scrambled home from school to whip up a cake, and then Kat and I went and walked at 6. Was fun...and as Kat calculated... the half an hour of entertainment cost us about $20. Greg made the evening entertaining...he danced all around the numbers all around the circle--what happened to the Greg we knew?? (not that we're complaining) :)

This weekend we have snow in the forecast..possibility of snow tonight, and possibility of rain/snow through Monday or Tuesday.

Dana has started selling Creative Memories stuff, we will be having a party at my house on Sunday....Should be a lot of fun :)

Will post some pictures from the cake walk later on.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Twins

Well...Kat and I aren't the only twins :) These are my two one on one aides. They are amazing and if you have the opportunity to meet them...give them a pat on the back and thank them for a job well done.

Maat (Martina) and Sylvia

Election Day

Today we voted for school board positions and another region postion. The principal encouraged all of us to get out and vote to set an example for the kids; we will wear our "I Voted" stickers tomorrow when we go to school. :)
Rocky remains one of the stinkiest dogs you've ever seen :P He is also a mischievous dog..this morning he chewed up some papers, books, markers, a box of crayons, a pencil sharpener, a video tape, and some of my fun scissors after I left for work. He's a smart dog...wish I had some kind of puzzle to keep him occupied while I'm at work.

What else is new...today is the first day I haven't had a splitting headache :D in the past week and a half..WHO-HOO!! On Sunday I made two batches of blackberry jam using about half of the berries I received for my birthday. The jam is a beautiful red violet color and has a unique flavor.

Kat and I will start teaching a cooking class next Monday after school--we've opened it up to students in grades 3-12 we'll see how much of a response we get....am kinda nervous, don't know how qualified I am to teach a cooking class :)

Weather was rainy again today with a high near 55..my water tank is full again. I almost had to haul from the school. :) We have also been alerted that sewers will not be pumped until further notice as their wagon for pumping has a broken wheel--makes conserving water more of a necessity. It's also nice that we live right next to the school and can dart over there to use the bathroom or shower if need be.
So...I've seen these things around the village but never knew what they were...I've learned that they are where people dump their honey buckets. Honey buckets are what some people use as their toilet..it is pretty much a 5 gal. pail with a toilet seat on it.


The scenery is beautiful--and the sunrises and sunsets are unexplainable--unlike anything I've ever seen in the lower 48.

The Gas Station

These pictures were taken at the end of April...Nick, Dana and I were going out on the river to go jigging (ice fishing).

The inside of the station sells things like you'd see in a convenience store: candy, pop, jerky etc.


Outside by the pump. The school snow go and sled. Sleds like this are common and are used to transport things like wood for the steam houses, and are taken hunting/fishing etc. I love riding in the back of the sled...Nick and Ryan gave us some good rides last year :)

Happy Birthday Iain!!