Currently: July

Currently living/working: We are in the trenches of a very typical Alaskan life: juggling multiple jobs in the long twilight days of latitude 64. Justin guided 16 trips this month! All while squeezing in a press trip and a smattering of cleanings when he could. Meanwhile I guided 14 trips!! And I took on the…

Currently: May

***You may have noticed that my website got hacked for most of May into June. My website guy said there is no rhyme or reason for why I was targeted, but “they” (not a real person) installed a pretty vicious malware virus that kept self-replicating. Then the backups to the server were taking crazy long…

Currently: April

Currently living/working: Neither Justin nor I had any deadlines in April, nor any virtual presentations, nor much cleaning, nor any hours working at the library, so it felt like we didn’t work since we didn’t get paid! But, we were pitching and prepping for future projects, which is a very important piece of the freelance…

Currently: March

Currently living/working: I mentioned last month that winter freelance work has been busier than any other winter—between writing projects, virtual presentations, pet-sitting, cleaning, and my library gig. We are grateful!! But I’m personally trying to slow the roll a bit for April, knowing that summertime means double time productivity. I wholeheartedly believe in off seasons,…

Currently: January

Currently living/working: Petsitting/Writing/Virtual Library Presentations/Cleaning. That’s basically the summary of our work this month—a little of everything, but a lot of staring into the glowing screen.  Current mood: This month, we spent an amazing 8 days in Hawaii (blog posts coming), where we eschewed the to-do list and stayed out of touch with calendars and…

Ted, Our Temporary Cat

I mentioned in my last Currently posts that we have a “temporary cat” (aka, cat sitting at our cabin). We’re more than one month in and are in love with Ted, so I thought I’d do a proper intro since she (yes, Ted is a she) will be with us for a few months!  So…

Currently: December

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Currently living/working: We’ve spent nearly the whole month in Alaska, and it’s been so incredible to settle into winter routines at home after so much fall travel. I’ll be honest, this month has been less about paying work and more of a mix of life tasks, relaxation and play during this holiday…

From Sea Level to 10,000 Feet

I mentioned in previous posts that I’ve been “outside” (AKA, outside Alaska) for most of the fall. It ended up being nearly 7 weeks (Justin was with me for 2.5 weeks)! I started in Nashville for my sister’s 50th birthday celebration, then it was in NJ/CT for family visits (my side), as well as Colorado…

Currently: November

Currently living/working: Wandering in the lower 48, but writing! Justin & I joined forces on holiday gift guides for Backpacker … these are always fun, and we didn’t get to do any last year, so it was exciting to get the assignment for “Under $25,” “Backpacker” and “Car Camping” this year. Justin has also still…

Currently: April

Currently living/working: April was another doozy of a month. It included a pet/housesitting gig in Healy, a funeral, and three trips to Fairbanks. Work-wise, we’ve been busier than all winter (yeah for income!). Our joint gear project is underway for Outside Business Journal and wrapping up mid-May. Justin is rocking quite a few new gear…

Currently: March

    Currently living/working: This was QUITE a full month. It started with getting over Covid, then pet/housesitting for 7 days, then Iditarod volunteering for 7 days, then some kind of stomach bug that we picked up at our Iditarod checkpoint for 5 days, and rounding out with more petsitting. In between—somehow unbelievably—we were able…

Currently: October

Currently living/working in: We are happily in Alaska, where winter is in full swing. Work is busy! And by work, I mean the multiple projects/jobs we are juggling. In fact, I feel like this deserves a list-type snapshot with some of the bigger, more pressing deadlines (actually helps me see the big picture too!) Backpacker…

From Beach to Mountains

Earlier this month, when we landed back in Denver from Baja, Mexico (sea level), we decided Denver’s 5,000 feet of elevation wasn’t enough gain for one day. So we picked up Justin’s sister’s cats and dog and drove to their cabin for a long weekend of pet sitting. We, of all people, know going from…

Saying Goodbye to Fenton Ranch

2 years. It’s the longest we’ve spent in one place since we embarked on our life less ordinary in 2011. So basically an eternity. New Mexico–the 15th state we’ve collectively lived in–unexpectedly stole our hearts. To get even more poetic and cheesy, we were mesmerized by the spell cast by the land of enchantment. Justin…

Currently: December

Happy New Year! Forgive me for being 1 day late with this …  Currently living/working in: Still property caretaking of Fenton Ranch in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico … and now I have my husband here full time too!!! Current mood: Unimaginable joy for being reunited permanently with Justin!!! Currently excited about: 2017! We can all…

RIP Mr. McKinley

If this week were not emotional enough, we have other bad news. Mr. McKinley passed away Saturday night. McKinley, who would have been 11 this June. McKinley, who was part of our Danville story as we adopted him in December 2004, shortly after moving to town. McKinley, who was my best coworker and kept me…

Currently: Catching Up To September

I skipped August, so this will be a catch-up edition! Current mood:  at peace Currently thankful for:  a character-building summer with one of the most beautiful backyards we will probably ever have  photo credit: Erika Eve Plummer – one of our favorite guests from July Currently worried about:  my family’s health (father and Nana, in…