Currently living/working: We’ve started the summer chapter, where Justin & I will likely work for the next 130 days straight. You know Green Day’s song, “Wake Me Up When September Ends?” That’s when we can take a breath. More specifically and beyond any ongoing writing projects we juggle, Justin is guiding for Traverse Alaska, essentially full time. As a reminder, he started that job last summer, continued through the winter sporadically, and apparently was born to be a guide. He loves it. I’m still cleaning 4 airbnbs for other people, but also managing our own yurt airbnb (woohoo!!). But I’m actually guiding a little bit for Traverse this summer! I’ve hung with the Traverse framily so much that I already felt like part of the team, and frankly, I was a little jealous that Justin was getting to hike so much last summer. My first solo trip with 4 people is on June 10!
Current mood: Stoked to be in summer mode. I was a little slow to start—just like the snow was slow to melt—but it’s on like Donkey Kong and I’m here for it.
Currently amazed by: Our weather did whiplash this month, but we can finally say we survived the winter that didn’t want to end. Denali National Park broke snow records, and ended up with a total of 176 inches for the season. In comparison, we received 104 inches in the 2019-20 winter and 86 inches last winter (2020-21).
Currently worried about: With that being said, it’s been warm in Alaska for the last 2 weeks, which puts our landscape on broil and prime for wildfires … how can it be so wet one minute, and so dry the next? My prediction is it’s going to be a very hot and dry summer in Alaska, and we are at least trying to clean up our yard from all the winter storm carnage that can act as fuel in the worst case scenario.
Currently thankful for: Justin was invited on a press trip in Utah hosted by Backcountry, Rygr and High West Distillery, and he had a +1, so naturally invited me … I politely declined! Then he saw some fine print saying his +1 could be a parent! So he invited his mom! What a wonderful getaway for the two of them. And his mom was so so grateful for the delicious grub, swag and drinks.
Currently proud of: Putting the final touches on the yurt and hosting our first Airbnb guest felt like an AH-mazing relief! Did we come by the finished product easily? Heck no. Details, like the infamous outhouse and the water system (which I’ve yet to detail), created a bit of a nightmare. And we worked so so hard to get everything right, and be ready on time, which had us super strung out. Did Justin have to do endless research, make countless calls, and search for parts for the water system near and far? Did it work, then need tweaking and surprise us with unanticipated hurdles? Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes. So it felt incredibly gratifying to get that first review from the guests, which was GLOWING. We really anticipated feedback for something we forgot or something that didn’t work (since we didn’t have time to test all systems). I’m sure that will come, but not yet!
Currently regretting: If you read my last blog post, you’d know that I sure wish that darn yurt outhouse in place BEFORE THE SNOW LAST FALL. It would have saved us a lot of unnecessary stress and hassle.
Current guilty pleasure: Justin got a metal detector for his birthday way back in October, and he couldn’t wait until the spring to go out with my Uncle Fred, who has been detecting for at least 10+ years! They finally got out together this month and Justin found a whopping $1.62. But as they both say, it’s more about the hunt than anything.
Currently not excited for: What the heck is up with iCloud? Ever since I did an update on my laptop, most of my pictures live on the Cloud, which is the biggest pain in the butt because I often work OFFLINE. I can’t just click on the thumbnail picture to see it and organize it or plan for picture placement with the blogs, etc … I need to be online to see even the thumbnail. Grrrrrrr. I do not do well with technological changes.
Currently excited for: In our world, we have a winter version of living, and a summer version. Summer at our cabin means washing dishes and showering is a bit easier because we can drain our water outside instead of using the bucket system. Showering in a bucket forces us to be judicious with the agua so not to overflow the bucket. It goes a little something like this: turn water on, wet hair & body, turn water off, lather up, turn water on to rinse. And it also means carrying said heavy bucket of water outside to dump the water. I promise showering in a bucket is not as bad as it sounds, as I am grateful to at least have on-demand water year-round! But still, summer showers are glorious and so much easier.
Currently reading: I picked up Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May because a friend told me she read it 3 times and loved it! I don’t often read these introspective, self-help books, but I find myself in a very reflective period in my life. I think what this book did for me was affirm that I am not alone in the feeling that sometimes it is in your best interest to slow down and assess how you feel, and for that, it resonated with me. As a bonus, the author is an excellent writer, and I appreciated the almost-lyrical prose.
As I’ve said before, there are heaps of published authors in my area, and it’s my goal to meet and read all their books! This month I read Running with Champions: A Midlife Journey on the Iditarod Trail is by Lisa Frederic, who I haven’t met yet. During her mid-life, she all of the sudden fell in love with dog mushing, and gave to the Iditarod race a whirl under the direction of Jeff King. I do love all these Iditarod books now that I’ve seen the race in action while volunteering, so for that, I really enjoyed it.
Brene Brown has quite the following, so I needed to jump on the bandwagon and read Braving the Wilderness. This reminded me of Glennon Doyle, but I liked Doyle’s style of writing better because her coherent storytelling weaved seamlessly with good insight. But still, Brown’s book was a quick read that got me thinking. Interesting, so much of what she wrote in 2017 was so applicable for the polarized society that exists in 2022. I really appreciated what she said about “moving in closer to people,” and not just agreeing to disagree. I do need to be more curious.
Currently watching on Netflix/Hulu/HBO Max/Starz/AMC: We’re halfway through the 6th (and final) season of Better Call Saul, and now the rest of the episodes won’t come out until July 11! And we finished Ozark Season 4, although I’m not sure if that’s the end of it, or there will be more. We took a break from season 6 of Outlander mainly because it’s summer! Less time for streaming!
I can honestly say I’ve never seen Justin wear pink (fly fishing photo) but looks good on him. Enjoy thawing out and congrats on your first excellent review of the yurt.
Yep, it’s that manic time of the year! Can’t wait to see your yurt sometime.
Wow, what a fun trip for Justin and his mom!
So glad the yurt all came into place. I can’t wait to get back to Alaska and we will definitely stay at your yurt and give some good reviews (If it isn’t booked all summer!)
I’ve been on a reading slump lately but I have seen that Wintering book and now I will definitely add it to my to-read list!