been busy...

Sorry people, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks.  I’ve never waited this long between writings – I’m really sorry. 


Elementary school started on Monday.  The highschool and some of the Jr high classes have not started yet since the boys and Kathyrn are helping Tony with the hay and straw.  I don’t know when they’ll ever be done.  The grain is all harvested – yeah! I think it was announced that yesterday alone the kids baled 500 bales...pretty good I think. Some of it will be sold and some fed to the animals.
  
We’ve been waking up each morning to 13* and 10*.  It is quite cool.  We are happy that the snow has held off till we can get our hay and straw picked up. 


We had a great potato harvest (it was a really cold day!). 
  
Well, I’ve been so buried in my school work or something that I just don’t have anything fun to tell you all.  I will try to dredge up some news soon, and I, for sure, can put together some photos for you.


Rob has been doing good in school. He is with Micah Vanderhart who has a mild case of CP but who is quite ahead of him academically although he is 4 years younger. I think Rob is starting to finally get some of the academics which I have been trying to pour into him for the last 5-6 years. Phonics remains a mystery but he can read at a K Gr. 1 level (Dick & Jane but the books that go beyond the "look look")....he has reached a few milestones.


1. Started swallowing ALL HIS PILLS. Since he takes about 9 a day for different things, including his Prozac. This is quite an achievement. I even bought an expensive cup ($17) for swallowing pills, nothing doin'...until one day he just did it on his own. Some of the OMEGA gel caps are humongous, but he does it all. SO THANKFUL!I was getting really tired of getting after him to do his pills.


2. Starting riding his bike with only 1 training wheel which he mainly uses for the purpose of balancing the bike while he gets on. I think next yr he will loose it.


3. Does a complete flip on the big trampoline outside.


4. Started playing soccer with the other kids, loses interest after a while though since he is not competitive.


5. Has increased his digit spans to about 5 on good days. Sometimes 6.




There are a few things which I don't know when he'll ever get.  Math remains rather a mystery. Hopefully he can learn to do simple + and - plus money and time.


He has a full day. Some of the teachers were reluctant to take him because his voice/behaviour is changing and he's so much older (chrono) than the kids in school, but since he is still not very tall, he fits in. He has Bible, Math, Phonics, Reading, Handwriting and typing with me in the morning. Then after lunch I co-teach him and another boy and we do Social Sciences. This year we are trying a Bob Jones curriculum and will be doing basic Geography (continents and such) and Colonial America which I know Rob will enjoy. We will have to flub some of the writing assignments since he does not write independently yet. I am also trying to teach him how to type and he seems to be able to grasp this. Very slow though. As long as he learns don't mind that...


He also has a Science class, Music, Art and PD.


He has grown quite a bit and now is in a youth 12. .. right now he is at about 85 lbs.which looks OK on him. he is quite active and loves to play outside, even though now it is getting chillier and darker...he doesn't care, he takes one of the headlamps hanging in the cabin and goes outside to play in the dark until everybody else goes home...then he comes home too...I can hear the kids playing outside in the chilly darkness and they will keep on doing it when it snows too!! Only in Alaska I guess....our trusty mercury photo sensitive lam-post outside does offer some glow...so it's not completely pitch dark...he loves to ride his bike and can ride quite fast...he will miss it in the winter when it gets buried in the drifts outside. It takes him a while to realize that he no longer can ride it, he will struggle to get it out from the frozen drift and then he will reluctantly give up...he just loves that mode of transportation and I love that cause it gives him plenty of excercise on our uneven and rocky terrain...


Well, don't know what more to say. Hope everybody is having a good week so far. Pat is still struggling with getting his mom's cabin in shape. First the new pellet stove started to give him probs...these things are all computerized and so sophisticated that I don't know if they're worth the bother...don't tell anyone I said that! Give me an old Alaska oil barrel stove anytime!! Well, so much for progress.


Then his mom's car, the trusty business Taurus, started to give probs, and I don't know if they are all fixed...


Pat is planning a tuning trip to Valdez pretty soon. His mom's car is also a business vehicle and they share expenses so it behooves him to fix it before winter sets in.


Pat Lu is supposed to come back from McCarthy and Brooks tonight, we shall see. He will probably stumble in in the wee hours of the morning. He plans to spend winter with us but being separated from his sweetie who is far away in the UK will be tough on them both. These long distance romances are tough...we'll see how this pans out. Praying that it will. 


After all my husband married a foreigner too ( er ... ahum...that would be ME!!  haha  :)...but it took him 5 years to track me down and make me settle...PatLu's sweetie is a very motivated, focused and mature young woman...studying something in the social and childcare services arena at the Uni of Exeter...actually quite close to where some of my own relatives live...of course, they probably don't think it is close, but everything is quite close over there when one comes from Alaska..


May is planning and plotting her trip to Ireland with Rachel Trotter. Hopefully they can do all that is planned and plotted. Right now we are trying to find good prices on tickets....


Well, I am just chattering on because I am hoping that Patlu will make his appearance if I stay up long enough. HAHA...


But this is really good night...


Gri.

first snow.....school starting !!

Hello,

First snow covering the tops of our mountains....seems to soon, this looks like it will stay. Rob has been asking for his snopants and packs...too much mud still...

Big Pat has finished winterizing the cabin. Actually did more than I thot. he sanded the living room logs...biiiig mess...loooots of dust all over my cd collection and desktop....but we got it all blown out and cleaned up. Yesterday he varnished the now white logs...giving them a nice honey color. Looks nice. They had not been touched since the cabin was built almost 40 yrs. ago...way before my time.
I painted all the insides of all the windows with some oil based paint and it is looking pretty nice. The girls helped me clean off all the last winter crust and crud....May went outside and climbed onto the roof and even cleaned the high windows...scary but she was careful and it does look nice. Gives one a sense of accomplishment before real winter sets in.

The great clothes exchange! Summer for winter....Rob and girls are all set, Dad is still dragging his feet about bringing his winter chest in and making the exchange...

Seems strange to start school this Monday. Although the rest of the nation has been in school since August we wait until haying and taters are done. Grade school will start next week but High School won't start for another week since the last of the hay still has to be cut and put away or baled.

Rob will hv a full day. Morning academics with me (Math, Reading, HW, some neurodevelopmental therapy) in the pm he will share with another special needs boy. Micah has a mild case of CP but is able to keep up with his grade. His impairment is mainly physical on his right side. He is ahead of Rob in academics but since he has a motor impairment we will try to keep the boys together. I will do Bible (Acts) and his mother will do Social Studies in the pm. Then I go off to my HS Spanish class and Rob will do Science, Music and Art.

I am truly hoping that this year he will launch out into independent reading more as well as handwriting. A special needs coach will come out to the farm periodically and help me in this area. I am also trying to teach him how to type. God willing all these goals will be a reality. Rob does learn, he just does it quite a bit slower and on his own clock. Give me patience Lord!!

May is getting ready for her big adventure to Ireland. making contacts with my cousins and with Pat's lady friend who lives with her family in Devon...she attends uni at Exeter and has been coming to Alaska on her vacations. A lovely girl who seems to really take to Alaska bush life...praying that God open a door for them...

Pat called on the satellite phone yesterday and said he wld be back next week. He sounded tired and ready to come home and probably missing Beth since she had spend some time at the hunt camp before going back to the UK.

The Chartiers made an impromptu visit to the farm to see their daughter Bethany who is staying here for the school year. Nobody knew they were coming...total surprise! Kenny had just returned from Iraq where he is a civilian worker under contract with the military to keep their generators running. We probably wont' be seeing him again for another year. Bethany was pretty happy to have her parents here. Now they all left to see their extended family in Anchorage.

No more for now, have a good week end.

gri

Goodmorning. Last night was overcast so we didn’t have a frost! It is 43° as I sit here now and type. The night before last, the temps reached into the 20’s and stayed there for hours and hours like it had the night before. Our squash is “toast” and probably our peas are too.

We have a man from Orlando visiting us for a month. His name is David Sciabbarrasi. I don’t know much about him.

Jim and Bonnie have gone home. We sure enjoyed Bonnie cutting everyone’s hair.

Jennifer and Jarred have announced that they will be having another baby next April.

Nerbonnes, after a delay getting home due to smoke (which is now NO longer a problem in the state), finally got home from their Ava, MO youth camp. They stopped by Dallas to see my brother, Matthew, for a few days on their way home.

Jon and Joey and May have been doing some EMT runs to Chicken, AK and other places in the last couple of days. They’ve been doing some all nighters - hope they’re getting enough pay to make it worth it. Well...updatre...they came in next morning at 5 am. May slept all day...the guys had to go work. I don't know if this kind of stuff is gonna be worth it for them though...seems like Tok is taking advantage of us somehow...giving us the job they don't want and not paying much in the bargain...we'll see what happens. Jon and May waited on the trail in the woods at a place called CHICKEN...for other EMT's to bring the vic out of the woods. The vic was a guy fo 310 lbs. who had rolled his 4 wheeler onto his ankle and broke it pretty bad...he and his buddies stayed in the woods all night, called the EMS via their satellite phone...godd thing they had one! May got some EMS hours in which she badly needs. The only way she can get some more exp. is doing things like this...she feels like the EMS folks rushed her into an EMT 3 certification and feels that she is not qualified...well, she's young and will get the experience some way I now.

Last night, Bro Jon Dufendach was out to share about the water treatment plants he has designed. He also talked about his trips to Columbia and Haiti and Mexico and his upcoming trip to India. Very interesting and edifying talk.

I need to get moving this am – have a good day!

nice fall day...tater harvest...

Hi folks,
Today is overcast and gray, but still it is pretty in a fallish way.  It is 36° out.  We are supposed to meet at 10 am to go ATR to pick up potatoes.  I heard that the potatoes are very nice this year (last year, they were all pretty small due to an early frost).
We’ve gotten all that moose meat cut up and packaged away in the freezer.  Soon, we will have to put away some cows and pigs.

We still have a week of getting ready for school and of putting up all our winter foods.  There are several unfinished things yet to do before we will be happy to see the snow falling.


Sarah took school pictures last Sunday when it was a nice day.  I have to say, the fall leaves made for some beautiful photos (nice looking kids too). 

I better get to the tabernacle to “meet” for the potatoe picking day. I will be posting some tater pics on FB and making some more comments later on. Have a great day

moose and more moose

Hi guys,

Sorry that I’ve been distracted and such.  My house has been slightly wild with extra kids in and out.   Seth Jepsen shot a moose late tonight. So I think that brings it to 6 so far. Weather has been stupendous...and still holding...I'll take another month of this wouldn't u? haha!

All three Williams guys (Tony, Chris, Cody)  shot a moose each.  The Lawrences and their visiting  relatives gave us half of one of the two moose that they shot. 

Some misinformation in my last email – I said that Tony and Chris Toby each shot a caribou.  Well, it was Tony and Cody that each got a caribou.  It was Cody’s first ever caribou!  

Tommy Geyer from May and Pat's crew finally got a moose too, so that is 2 for that crew - 1 was May's - and we cut them both up last night. We are really keeping up with the meat processing which is great, not so overwhelming.

Today I had 10 boys and one little girl who likes Rob (she is 3) ranging in ages from 14 to 8...very busy in the cabin. Hubby brewed coffee for the adults and my girls and self and their cousin Kels took care of the brood. Julie the little girl was kinda overwhelmed with the male presence in the small cabin, but she managed to keep herself busy and entertained...sweet little thing...she's the one who likes to keep me abreast of Rob's whereabouts , cute!

Tomorrow my whole family is trouping into Fairbanks for school shopping and therapy sessions for Rob...shld be a busy day. Oh, Flo's car is in for repairs so we are taking 2 cars just in case hers takes more than a day for repairing...

no more for now...keep well and live healthy...

Have a nice week

gri

MY HUNTERS ARE BAAACK...!

Hello Folks,

Picked up my gang from the highway at milepost 1361. Called Dot Lake because the lake is like a "dot" on the map...anyhoo...my weary hunters were waiting for me to turn up in the silver van...after 10 hours of trekking down from the mountain they looked like it! They made it safe and sound and they even got a moose, so I am GLAD AND THANKFUL....fortunately this time they were able to have the pack horses take their heavy packs up and down...so they travelled light.

Now Pat and May are taking it easy for a day or two. Easy to do in the lovely absolutely awesome, incredible fall weather...right now May is sitting on our porch (after doing her grammas' and others, water hauling) just sitting and relaxing...nice to see her doing that...she's always on the go. Dad is inside messin' about putting things in order...he thinks I got into his stuff and moved things around... :)

This week is gonna be busy for us Buongiornes. Sunday, I cooked community supper for 11 tables (about 100 folks give or take) with my team...the Mongolian caju beef thing...great but lots of work when cooking for so many......I am getting too old for this...today am taking it easy myself...and Rob is loving that he has no schoolwork!!!

Busy 'cause tomorrow I'm taking my aged relative Flo to get her fingerprints (no she is not a criminal) she does some respite care for me and the Feds want her fingerprints, as if they don't hv them already since she is an AirForce vet...but go figure...must comply. That's Tuesday. Wednesday is Rob's 12th. birthday so have the cabin full of little male bodies (ages 8 to 14)...Thursday we go into big city of Fairbanks to get some therapy for Rob and to take Flo's car in for repair. Pat needs me to drive back so we are really taking 2 cars. The girls want to come too, for school shopping so we hv a full vehicle. Probably also shopping for monthly goods at Sams and Wally's...

Friday shld be quiet. haha, right...!

We are very busy with meat cutting as moose continue to come down from the mountain. Looks like a good year so far...5...I think was the last count. Still  a couple of weeks to go and plenty of time to get more...

May took some nice pics w/the hunting crew....

Now the only one missing is PatLou...having him back wld make it perfect...

OK, no more for now...will talk later

gri

A HUNTING WE WILL GO.....

This past week has been quiet in the cabin, only self, Annie and Rob. Everybody is off hunting...

Took Flo into Delta for some fingerprints and since Annie was cooking had to take Rob in too...while in town he decided to get the 24hr. stomach bug. Was sick most of the day, using a small bucket provided by his mother for the occasion. I will say he was a trooper though, kept telling me "Mom I'm sick"...in a deep John Wayne voice. Poor kid, I think he was trying to be brave, but when we got home, he had a fever of 104, so I put him in a tub of luke warm water to bring that fever down and then wrapped him in a sleeping bag and put him to bed...sipping his Gatorade. He has me spoiled because he hardly is ever sick, the healthiest of all my kids...next day he was up again like nothing happened...but he's snot totally his old self yet.

I took one of his training wheels off of his bike so now he only has one which is 3 in. off the ground. I wanted to see if he cld keep his balance w/o it. Sure enough he took off as if nothing happened. It was quite funny really, 'cause I did it at night when he was in bed, next morning I watched from the kitchen window to see what he wld do when he got ready to leave on his bike...he didn't notice at first, but then when he got on he realized what had happened ..so he got off and with his arms akimbo  said: "Who did this?!"....it was pretty funny 'cause there was nobody around and he kept looking for some prankster to appear...finally he just shrugged, got on and took off...I'm gonna keep it on so that it keeps the bike upright when he parks it, most of the other kids bikes are all strewn around the place. Kids don't seem to think it necessary to park them properly or use the kickstand, Rob won't hv to worry about that, since his bike stays propped out, albeit rather lopsided, but that does not seem to bother him.

The reason the cabin is quiet is 'cause Pat is still in Brookes Range with Mcann, Big Pat and May hv gone hunting out to Hunter's camp below the Fish Lake cabin...so all is quiet...

Big Pat was able to use the ACS phone from Flatop (a higher place where there is a signal) and he calls every evening, when they are out scoping the land for moose and other critters. Everything was pretty quiet for a while. Until last night he finally called with more exciting news. May spotted a small bull ambling into the perimiter of camp. Great excitement! Hunters scrambling to get their firearms, I can just see it! Anyhoo, they all got a shot at the thing, but May tagged it since she spotted it. Her first moose!

Tommy took his two girls so May has some company. And this time she is not sick, so I think they are all enjoying each others conmpany and the lovely fall weather, not cold and blustery or rainy like other times.  They have been gone since last Monday and are supposed to stay until next Monday, maybe Tommy will get another one.

Tony and his boys hv been kept busy for days going up and down the various mountains with the pack horses, trying to keep up with the hunters. I think the horses are getting pretty tired.

Tomorrow, Sunday we are supposed to cut up 2 moose from East Fork. I think there are 5 in all now.

Good hunting y'all...

WET RAINY FALL DAY....

Hi – today was overcast and very rainy. The temperature has stayed right around 40° all day. Fall is definitely here, but I just wish it didn’t have to be so cold.

Tony and the boys have started mowing our second cutting of hay. I went out and got a few pictures of them mowing the field by the pond. I might have to send a couple of pictures since I can’t decide which ones are best.

The loggers have been sending a crew to Delta and a crew to Tok. Jarred and Seth have been working various jobs – I can never figure out exactly what they’re doing since they are juggling several jobs.

Last weekend, Paul and Jenae Basalyga with their four boys arrived at the farm. They were saying hello to Rus and Millie before going on to Mike’s. They will be staying with Mike for a few months. Paul will work for Mike.

On Sunday, the Lupo girls and the little Basalyga boys went riding. Rachel Lupo and Tristan Basalyga were thrown from their horse. Rachel was pretty much fine, but Tristan broke his wrist in two places. They took him to Tok, then on to Fbks. After getting the cast on, they x-rayed the arm and realized that one bone was set right. Clearly, they had to redo the cast.

Mike Fredricks from Whitestone passed away early Monday morning. A memorial service will be held for him on Saturday sometime – I don’t guess I know the details.

Some albums that I’ve posted on facebook are at these links: (MY wedding favorites and Judy & Steve mowing)

We have got 5 moose far. Pat and May got one today out by hunters camp near Fish Lake.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97556&id=674561568&l=1c7017cf64

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97625&id=674561568&l=50bf284b9b

Have a good tomorrow.