Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Cabin Projects

Kellie was busy making and putting up bug boards, it made a huge difference. We were able to take down the bug net over our bed and didn't hear any complaints from Blake,Red or Russell down below, so it was a success. We got the water catchment up and running and were able to collect about 10-15 gallons. Now I really want it to rain,better be careful what I ask for. The hose and platform were found at the exchange as well as an electric fisherman knife for Joe,maybe a wedding gift. Another bench was added and few fosters cans became lanterns.





Another Moose

Clamming, second attempt


Kellie,Russell and I made our second attempt at clamming on Monday. We got our limit of 120 clams in about 45 minutes, too bad Russell can't get a fishing license. All of Kellie's clam research definitely payed off. It took us about 3 times as long to process as it did to catch them but well worth it. I made 6 quarts of chowder for the freezer and had lots of clams left over for another batch. Now we have soup to heat and eat at the cabin.





Salmon Fishing, Finally!


Kellie and I fished the Kasilof and caught 1 small king. I held onto it long enough for a pic before letting it go. Blake and I dipped the mouth of the Kasilof and ended up with 15 reds.






Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Spruce Tip Salmon




some red salmon
some spruce tips
some mayo
some lemon juice
some agave
some Johnny's

marinate for a while or not

bake 30 minutes at 400

seriously good





Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Shingles,Paint,Door,Deck,Kitchen,Beer Cooler and Moose

We got a lot done this last trip. Blake and Joe came down, Red too, and knocked out the shingle job. They did an awesome job, what they did in a few hours would have taken us many days. Blake wanted to be the weather vane and Joe was playing peek-a-boo, I had to lure them off the roof with beer. We did some fishing but no reds yet. Kellie and I mixed up a few jugs of paint I had laying around and ended up with a beautiful grey, like a battle ship. We gave it a paint job and finished with some siding strips. I built a door out of some scrap, suck in your gut if it's over 22.5 inches and lower your head if your over 6 feet. We put on a deck and a few steps, also added a few big rocks for dad. I put together a kitchen with some scrap wood a few windows and a tarp roof, it works out pretty well. I've improved the beer cooler but it keeps going empty, I might be part of the problem. The temp keeps right around 40 degrees. We've seen moose near our property and some sign at our place but haven't had a confirmed visitor until this morning. I was packing the truck and Russell starting growling, I thought bear because that's your first thought in Alaska, but it ended up being a cow moose. She checked out our compost, potatoes, rhubarb and kept going but in no hurry. Kellie spotted some mustache material on the way out; I had to give it a try.










Wednesday, June 16, 2010

2 Windows and a Sheet of Plywood

Doesn't look like much, but we made a bit of progress. We're picking away at it and learning from our mistakes. The rumor is that the fish are in which could slow down construction for awhile. We finally went clamming and did OK. I thought I knew what I was doing,I don't know why. Kellie watched some people and really figured out how to do it. We didn't take any pics because it was a freaking sandy mess. Here's a link on how we cleaned them and it worked really good. We made clam chowder and and sautéed clams with garlic and noodles. We'll definitely do it again.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Roof and Loft


We added a loft and learned the do's and don't of roof construction. We're keeping the Alaska spirit alive by tarping the roof, it's only temporary but man it was easy. Maybe we don't need shingles.











Saturday, June 5, 2010

Thursday, June 3, 2010

More Progress

Joe and Carli stopped in which worked out really well. We were able to finish the decking and get all four walls up. We only had enough plywood to cover 3 walls but I was able to put on a half wall with a swinging door and a latch for our visitors. We pulled out the stove and demoed the basement,all we need is some fill to get rid of it for good. We also planted some rhubarb and potatoes. Kellie was there but she wouldn't let us take any pictures of her, maybe she's shy.