October reminds me of upstate NY...

I lived in upstate NY for 20 years and fall was the most beautiful ever! When I moved to Kansas, it was the one thing I missed the most; there really isn't a fall in Kansas and there isn't a fall here in Togiak, AK either because the tundra doesn't have trees!

A few weeks ago, I went to part of a dedication service to the new Moravian church here in the village. The old church didn't have indoor plumbing and the building had a few other issues. Samaritans Purse came last year and built a new beautiful church - indoor plumbing and all - for the village. This link is one of the best descriptions of Togiak I've ever found. Please tae the 5 minutes to read this and look at the amazing photos. You will be humbled and grateful for all you have.
http://photo.samaritanspurse.org/healing-quiet 

The article mentions so many things (one thing it talks about is how there are 2 parts to the village - the village and the hill... I live on the hill - the school is on the hill too)

Ginger and Chloe have a new chew toy...

We had some bear excitement this week - 2 bears were behind the apartments on the tundra. I didn't see them but sure heard all the commotion over them! Several guys went out with guns to find them. Word around the hill is the bears were shot at but not sure if either were hit. When there are bears or wolves close to the village, they are typically hunted down to be killed. While this may sound horrible, you have to remember the safety of our kids here. We do not want such dangerous animals to become comfortable coming into the village for food or shelter.

I'm finding out that wind storms are part of life here. We had a good SOLID 17 straight hours of wicked and strong winds that just beat against the apartment windows. The wind howls through the stove vent, the bathroom vent and up through the stairway even when the door closed. There is some rain mixed with this, but not too much really; it is just brutal winds. I don't know the force, as sometimes it's hard to get accurate weather details for this area online. What I find amazing is I could barely move out in it and there are kids outside playing!

Those of you that work know how great a Friday can be! This Friday, several of us teachers sat outside the back of the school just before 9am and drank some hot lemon tea, enjoyed the peacefulness of the school before picking up our kids and watched the sunrise - the best way to end the school week!

I went berry picking again - I LOVE that my freezer is getting full of berries so I can make yummy things come cold winter evenings. Berry picking is so relaxing and I feel in touch with the village while I am out there playing in their world of work.

I had a terrible sweet tooth yesterday and didn't have anything at all to fix it! But I did have a few staples that I could throw together for some cookies. My first use of blueberries was some blueberry cookies... they were the cure!

I also had fish for dinner - I try to eat Salmon on the weekends. I have so much in my freezer and want to make good use of it. My favorite way to eat it is as a patty, but I wanted to experiment and see if I could make salmon taste like catfish from back home - the answer, YES! It's all in the coating.

School is wonderful, perfect, fabulous and always a blessing! I cannot say it enough - I love my job, my students and my school! When the weather is rainy (which happens often), I give the kids the choice to go out to the playground or go to the gym for their recess. Sometimes they all want to go out in the rain (it's okay, they have the proper gear!). But this day, everyone wanted to go to the gym. I enjoyed sitting back being a spectator of their play... Watching my students enjoy being in school warms my heart!

Thanks for stopping by... See you next week :)