Thanksgiving Break

Last week was only a three-day instructional week because of Thanksgiving break - which was a heaven-sent 4-day weekend. :) Who knew that 4 days could last so long? So much went on, so much time passed very slowly (gracefully, and wonderfully dragging the time), it was fantastic.

Monday was Adrianna's 22nd birthday. She and Dan were in Anchorage for the weekend (Friday to Monday) meeting her mom. They came back just in time for the recital at the school, at which the Unalakleet Community Quartet (Me on 1st violin, Sierra on 2nd violin, Teresa on viola, and Janelle on cello) gave our debut performance (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by J.S. Bach), along with all the high school students (band, orchestra, and choir). It was pretty sweet. I was shaking, literally, out of nervousness. It's been a while since I've performed, but I guess we did alright. There's footage somewhere, but I haven't seen video or picture. (P.S. I got my new music in the mail!!) Afterwards we sang and ate in honor of Adrianna. Happy Birthday, A. :)

On Tuesday evening the seniors presented their work from the senior trip we took at the end of October. They were in groups based on what levels of Life Skills and Career Skills they are in, then presented via power point how they met particular standards. The AEC (the community school board, basically), who funded the trip, parents, and other community members were there to listen. It was a short and overall great way to wrap up the trip. I don't have pictures from that, either...

Wednesday was a tad heavenly, knowing that it was the last day before break. Somehow we all ended up at Jake and Janelle's (that happens sometimes) for dinner, and then I fell asleep in a comfy chair and napped for an hour. I must've been sleepy, because apparently Jake was playing Wii all the while. Anyway. Much of my thoughts were taken by planning for a certain 2 week vacation that will arrive in a short 4 weeks. It will be a good time, I think. But really, I need to focus my attention on all the great things that are going on right now. For example:

Thanksgiving Day:

Dan, Adrianna, and I all joined with Jake, Janelle, and Daniel to make a huge Thanksgiving feast. Dan smelled weird, so he had to sit apart from the group.



This is the meal on the table. You can't even see all of the food we had. Part of that is because Dan just couldn't wait to get his hands on that turkey there. Seriously, let us at least give thanks before we dive in. Jeez.



This is a nice picture of the scrumptious deviled eggs that I made. That's right, I made them, all by myself - my very own recipe that I made up myself. (I divided them evenly among the egg-eaters, just like family tradition calls for.) What's that? I'm a genius in the kitchen? I know. I also made the mashed potatoes, which I at least thought tasted good. And I made steamed carrots, because I love them, but no one really ate, and the corn on the cob was only half gone. But I think that's more because we had a TON of food. Or maybe some people just don't eat vegetables.



This is Adrianna and I and Ojo the puppy looking very cute and very full at our sudo-family holiday. It was enjoyable, and I really am thankful for all the good people here. :)



I am also VERY thankful that my "got seal oil?" hoodie got here!! Austen, one of my students, delivered it to me at Jake and Janelle's on Thursday. :) I was so excited!! Pretty sweet, huh?



Black Friday (no, I did not go shopping):

Friday was a wicked lazy day... I read a lot, cleaned my house, rearranged furniture, put up more pictures and decorations (about time, eh?), and even walked out a bit since it was so nice outside. That's right, heat wave in Unalakleet - it got up into the 30s this weekend! It felt great. I put a lighter coat on, didn't have to wear long-johns, and it wasn't even windy. I felt sad that I did not have skis, but I was just glad to be outside.

Friday we had a book club meeting - we just read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" (Khaled Hosseini - author of "The Kite Runner"), so we talked about that quite a bit. It was a fantastic book, by the way. Kind of depressing, I don't want to read it again, but it's good to have that perspective in there with all the other things I know and want to know.

Friday evening was the community auction. The Sewing Circle is a group of people, all women, I think, who make beautiful homemade things (quilts, beaver hats, *kusbuks, knitted and fur gloves, *mukluks, and other beautiful things) and then auction it off at this grand community event. Some businesses will also donate items to be auctioned off, as well. All of the proceeds go directly back into the community, so they use it to help single mothers, children, elders, that sort of thing. They rake it a lot of dough, as you can imagine, but the things that you get from it are pretty fabulous. I got some fish strips (king salmon) and some homemade blueberry jam (blueberries from the tundra), a pair of portable speakers (very helpful for Saturday's event...), a nice pair of thick knitted gloves, and my favorite item of the evening is my very first beaver hat!!!!
*(A "kusbuk" is a shirt made and worn by natives in this region. "Mukluks" are like booties.)



It's okay, you can make fun of me when I wear it, because I do look a little silly (Kamorin has already promised me that much), but this thing will keep my head nice a toasty during the long cold winter. It's all beaver skin and fur on the outside, and it's lined with fleece on the inside where my head is. For now I'm folding up the ear parts and tying it on top of my head, so I look even cooler, but when it gets wicked cold I'll wear them down. It's pretty great, and I love it, and I fought tooth and nail for it, but I got it. :)

H.B.A. Saturday:

Saturday was not quite as lazy as Friday. I spent a lot of time cleaning and cooking and preparing. I hosted a birthday party in honor of Adrianna, since Monday night wasn't a good day to do a late-night sort of thing. Happy Birthday, Adrianna (H.B.A.)!!!!



Lots of people came, so I had to make sure it was clean, gather refreshments, arrange the party music, etc. etc. etc. I have so many pictures!! It was super fun. :) We had tons of food. The beverage of choice was in the cooler (literally, the punch slash Jungle Juice slash Hairy Buffalo slash newly-named Hairy Muscox - Alaska style - was mixed in the cooler), which sat on top of my washing machine, which is conveniently located in my kitchen slash dining room. Adrianna, Dan, and I helped make our own fruit punch, complete with slices of real fruit mixed in to add the perfect flavor.



In honor of just coming out of college recently, we wanted the theme to be as laid back and informal as possible. This is where the idea of the punch in the cooler on top of the washing machine comes in, as well as the neat cake decorating. There wasn't enough icing to write a whole word, so in honor of BSSD's love for acronyms we just wrote "H.B.A." on her cake in small red letters. They got a little skewed in the cutting process. We also wore college t-shirts, at lots of chip and dip and veggie and dip right out of the bowl, and of course, there were small children. What's a party without cute kids? Jack is the big guy there. He's super sweet, super energetic, and, as it were, he loves playing tag in small apartments with older boys. Sweet. The little one is Carter. He did not play tag.



We had a pretty rockin' good time. Some people left early (party poopers), and then some people stayed a little bit later than most. That's when the real fun happened. Break out the deck of cards, folks, we're playing Kings!



Adrianna, me, and Deb - aren't we adorable? Fun people make fun parties.



We also had little photo shoots in between, so we'll be posting lots of those shots. Pretty much, this is the cutest picture of Deb and I, and it may have to be printed and framed.



Damon and Heidi having a good time...



Dan and Adrianna being excited...



And the picture perfect four...



Now it's back to work. Four more weeks of non-stop school until Christmas break. It's always a learning process, so I'm sure there will be lots of good things happening. :)

Life is grand. Let's not get into it any more than that.