Rubber Chickens and Rhubarb

 "WHO PUT THE RUBBER CHICKEN UNDER MY PILLOW????!!!!"  

This was yelled through the house by Monkey last night as children were starting to get into bed, teeth brushed and all that.  Smarty had already put himself to bed since he was scheduled to work first thing this morning.  There was such a hullabaloo that ensued after this exclamation, Girlie had found the chicken under her blankets and didn't know who had put it there, so she put it in Monkey's bed under her pillow. Who put it in Girlie's bed?  Sergeant swears it wasn't him.  I know it wasn't me, Hubby was chuckling to himself over all the noise and chaos, and Smarty was not responding and in his bed. 

I had my suspicions.

This morning Monkey was up after Smarty was up but before he left for work.  I was sitting and drinking my coffee, making conversation with the two of them and Monkey was recounting the evening noise.  Smarty was grinning.  He was the culprit! 

Later this afternoon he told me he put the chicken under Sergeant's pillow as a surprise for bedtime tonight.  One of the girls has since moved the chicken from Sergeant's bed and out it under Smarty's pillow.  This could be a loud bedtime, and I hope this trend doesn't go on for too many nights!

We pulled the rhubarb from the yard!  The plant was massive, we baked with about 20 cups already since we moved in, just a couple of stalks at a time, but we got another 18 cups from the harvest. 16 of those cups were washed, chopped, and into the freezer but I made a cake from a new recipe with the other 2 cups, and it was DELICIOUS.

It really didn't last very long, and it was super moist, and just.  Yum.

It's been a little tricky with baking, partly for learning the oven and its idiosyncrasies, partly because my cookbooks are in storage in Alberta :(  I have my box of recipe cards but so many of my favourites are scattered throughout a few different cookbooks.  So I have been using the internet and finding "Well, this looks close" recipes.  So far so good, mostly.  It's an opportunity for finding new favourite recipes I guess. And I do like trying new recipes.

Tomorrow is the start of a new school year for these Littles.  All but 1 are starting another school year, the oldest is scheduled to work.  I can't believe Smarty is done high school already.  So many times this week I have been asked by people when they discover how old my children are "Did you have them when you were 12??"  Blessed with good genes and lots of laughter to keep me young I guess :D

 The beginning of a new year at new schools.  Crazy.  I remember starting in brand new schools a few times.  I can't wait to hear how they do, what they think, the chances they'll have to grow and stretch themselves.

Start of Routines

 Well, it's been another week.  The tire is still holding air.  The dogs are both healthy.  The boys are busy with work. I dyed the under side of the girls' hair and we got pedicures in preparation for the start of the school year next week.  

There was a fun little episode that happened this week.  AC, the adorable huntress, started jumping onto the counter by the kitchen window and stare out and up at something.  Then we would hear a scritch scritch in the wall above the window.  There was some fluttering.  

A quick look outside showed there was a vent in that space, so we decided to assign the task of exploring that to the eldest  Little, Smarty.  The next morning, armed with a screwdriver, he took down the panel on the inside wall above the kitchen window.  There was a screen that was thoroughly pecked away, but thankfully no bird or bird nest.  

However, this evening  both cats have decided to hang out in the Littles' bathroom, eck-ecking at the panel to the outside that matches the one in the kitchen.  I guess they hear things we don't!  We'll have to explore the next panel tomorrow, I suppose.

This morning while Hubby and I were sitting in the yard with a few of the animals, there was a cacophony of noise coming from a block or 2 away.  There are A LOT of huskies around (no real surprise there) but they are soooo chatty.  And this morning there was a lot of chatting between huskies that was audible for BLOCKS!  I was very surprised that my hypervigilant black poodle who thinks she's a guard dog didn't join in the song. 

But in the direction of the huskies, and in the direction of the kennels/doggy-daycare that Sergeant works at, there is a sled dog kennel/tour pace.  When we were dropping Sergeant off at work this afternoon we came across a sign that made me smile and want winter to come.

This is going to be a fun and entertaining winter, I think!  

The Northern Lights have been out; we've seen pictures but haven't had a chance to seen them yet.  I value sleep too much ;)  But it's only a matter of time.  It seems like the more rare occurrence here will be days we don't see them, especially moving into the darker months. When we get pictures you can bet that I'll be posting them <3

This is the last week of summer for the Littles.  The oddest part will be that Smarty isn't starting classes this year, for the first time in 14 years.  In a week he is officially old enough to vote!  When did this happen??

But the younger three are looking forward to meeting some people their age here, starting routines, and figuring out what our time here is going to look like.  I'm working on bi-weekly meal plans to keep things moving along, and keep things homey.  We all do what we can. 

A Little Adventure

When we woke up this morning there was a light layer of ash outside.  Yesterday was a little windy, a little smokey, and the sky all day has been orange and brown.  I have discovered I am part honey-bee; it has made me sleepy and tired.  This weekend has been pretty relaxed and quiet aside from an exciting morning today; we loaded up into the van to drive up Ingraham Trail to see about new places to put a hook in the water.  We just drove, and drove, and drove farther than we have yet.  When we got to where it looked like an ice road is built up towards Tibbitt Lake, after the highway is gravel for a while (we did not go all the way up to Tibbitt Lake Loop), we got out to take a look and explore a little bit.  That exploration did not last long.  Hubby walked around the vehicle as we all left and he heard a hiss.  Yup.  We had a leak.

So, we all got back into the van and drove back to where there was pavement again so we could change the tire.  Keep in mind, we have had this vehicle for a while, and have had 2 others just like it in the past.  When we got out to change the tire we found the jack exactly where we knew we would find it.  We did not find the spare tire where we thought we would find it.  We found an air pump that could plug into the van but no spare tire.  Anywhere.  And there was no owner's manual that came with the vehicle.  And no cell reception anywhere.  

So we pumped the tire up and drove farther down the road until we could get signal enough to call someone, or download the manual, or google where the danged spare tire was in the year our van was made.   When we were about half hour from home we got into a reception zone and with the help of the boys we were able to figure out 1) how to use the sealant that was attached to the air pressure pump. 2) How to get to the spare tire (in the spot that makes soooo little sense! Why mess with the placement of the spare??) .  But it was an adventure, we learned some things, and the tire is still currently holding air!  Miracle of miracles ;)

The rest of the afternoon has been slow, this smoke just zapping my energy.

It has been an interesting week, though!  Both boys started work (Sergeant part-time at a kennel, Smarty at the Humane Society) and they've been enjoying a different kind of busy.  One of the puppies got sick (vet tech said likely kennel cough so that's what we treated her for).  There is a head cold that's making its rounds through the house with varying symptoms for each person.  

There are preparations for construction about half a block away from the house.  I say preparations because they cant just build, they have to blast into the rock, move the rock, then level things enough to keep a house level.

So every once in a while, not every day but some days more than once, we'll hear a horn go off a few times followed by maybe half a minute of silence, then a boom and rumble, then a single horn blast giving the all clear.  Our house gets quite dusty and it explains some of how the house has settled.  And It makes me feel like I'm part of a classic movie. 

Though it isn't as bad as that ;)

We've done some walking/hiking/exploring.  Aside from seeing all the signs reminding people to not drink the water or eat the berries in certain parts of the parks (contamination from a nearby now-closed mine) and signs reminding people to be aware of bears, they've been very pleasant!  We found an Interesting Rock collection that the kids contributed to. 

And so many places that we've fished at (though we've mostly caught nothing) have been so peaceful and serene.

On our drive this morning we saw a black bear in the ditch beside the road too.  So in the vehicle and when we're hiking, we carry bear spray and a bear bell on top of the first aid kit.  Just to be safe,

Only 2 weeks until the three younger Littles start school.  It's hard to believe the summer break is nearly over, but I think the routine is going to be good.  It'll be a social outlet for everyone.