Why so much sugar?!?

I'm not anti-sugar, but really, why is it that American food is so super sweetened?!?

Today I bought a smoothie at the grocery store (having just finished a workout and needing something to hold me over for teaching). I usually make my own smoothies, but this morning I got out of the door and sort-of forgot to eat a substantial breakfast -- and I don't go too far on just a cup of coffee w/ biscotti.

Anyway, I bought this smoothie, a.k.a. "dairy beverage", and it was TERRIBLY sweet. Turns out to not only to contain HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) but a long list of other ingredients like sucralose and other artificial ingredients I was not familiar with, and I could not get it down. Not wanting to waste food, I later tried to "thin" it down with some OJ and plain (unsweetened) yoghurt -- what a waste -- I still could not drink the stuff. YUCK! I finally tossed it.

Been another busy day today, and for dinner Liesl made us a quick pizza using a commercial pizza sauce (the one that comes in the Bobboli pizza crust package) -- yikes, again, way too sweet!

I keep on cutting sugar out of American recipes -- last week I made zuccini muffins in an attempt to make a dent in our zuccini stash -- I ended up cutting the recipe's sugar by half! The kids never complained: it was still plenty sweet...

So if you're wondering why I don't blog much anymore -- I'm too busy gardening, working and cooking from scratch...

PCT Update: Washington at last!

The gals have crossed the mighty Columbia River and thus stepped over the Oregon-Washington stateline. They're down to their last state on the 2600+mile through-hike.

Washington is not exactly a small state by any stretch, BUT they'll be in CANADA within the month! Hard to believe that they started at the US-Mexico border this spring!?!?

For you Germans out there, what she's got left is the equivalent of hiking from the Southern border of Germany to Denmark!

Falleri, Fallera...

Where did August go?

It's the 1st of September, and fall is definitely in the air !!!
Leaves are starting to turn color, and we're hearing Sandhill cranes -- way up high in V-formation, heading South!
This past month has just flown by: first 2 weeks of August we spend visiting hubby's folks in South Dakota, with a short stop in Colorado. Upon our return to RAINY Alaska (records have been set -- longest consecutive period of rain) -- we dove back into school/work and music. The kids participated in a 2-week marathon Chamber Music Festival, which culminated in 4 concerts last week, which were wonderful!
But, we're exhausted!

Someday, hopefully before the snow falls, I plan to post pictures -- I took alot, but now I've got to find the time to "wade" thru them...

Over Labor Day we're hoping to go camping nearby (weather permitting), with Wolfman recovering from the removal of 3 wisdom teeth -- that takes place tomorrow!

WISH HIM LUCK!

The Clouds will continue... until Morale improves!

It's been a very cloudy, cool and rainy July.
Even the hardiest Alaskans are complaining -- the lack of sunshine is getting everybody down.

I'd have to check with the resident climatologist (he's asleep right now), but I doubt this summer has set any records for nastiness -- it's just a cooler summer than we'd like.
But just think of the advantages a summer like this offers:



1) No sunburn, no cancer

2) Less people on the trails

3) Best lighting for photographing flowers and landscapes


Time to stop complaining, and get outside!
The word "outside" has 2 meanings in these parts -- when written lower-case, we mean "outdoors", when written upper-case, it means "out of state", a.k.a. taking an airplane to the lower 48 (which is what we're just about to do!)

Like the saying goes: "The warmest winter I've known was a summer spent in Alaska!"

PCT update: Northern California

The PCT hikers are now in Chester, Northern California. The longest state is soon through-hiked (that's PCT-talk), and there's only 2 more to go: OR and WA... The goal is to get to Canada before snowfall (but then again, their team name is "Djibouti or Bust")...

I'm happy to report that my daughter's foot is all better. I've been receiving packages of stuff she no longer needs now that they're past the high Sierra, The other day I received an ice axe in the mail, just wrapped in newspaper and packaging tape -- truly the strangest item I ever received in the US mail!

Meanwhile, our family is packing for our own adventure: vacation in South Dakota, where hubby's family lives. No ice axes needed for the Black Hills, however!

Kitchen chores -- as done by house elves

In our household, kitchen chores get done by house elves, even though our last name is not Malfoy! For those few of you who may not know what house elves are: they're servants (more like slaves) in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Dobby (pictured), is a house elf. Beloved by many a Harry Potter fan, with his big eyes, big ears, and heart of gold, he saves Harry Potter's life numerous times, ultimately dying for him in the last book (sob!)

But back to kitchen chores, like parents all over the world, we've struggled to find a good arrangement for our young brood to help with the daily kitchen chores. Somebody's got to do the dishes, and besides, it builds character! The obvious one was for the kids to take turns: today it's your turn, tomorrow your sister, etc... And they, in turn, started referring to their assigned day as "house elf" day, reflecting the fact that in their own minds, having been assigned to wash dishes was just shy of slavery!

But there was always squabbling, and they begged us to revise the system. For one thing, each child seemed to feel very "put out" when the other did not have to do any chores on that particular day (nothing is worse than having to do chores while your sibling is watching!). SO, they kept on wanting to change the system, and after a while we reluctantly agreed, ok, why don't you come up with your own system!

Here is what they came up with -- yes, it's complicated, but they seem satisfied, and it works!
1st day (Monday): The "Clean" house elf empties the dishwasher and sets the table -- in other words, takes care of the clean dishes and helps with dinner prep. The "Dirty" house elf clears the table, helps put food away, and loads the dishwasher (not their favorite job!!!).
Next day: reverse

Simple enough, but how about the trash? To a parent that sounds like a clear-cut job for the "dirty" house elf -- but even that got more finely sub-divided: there's the actual carrying of the trash to the garage ("dirty" job"), putting in the new liner, and doing the recycling ("clean").

I admit that we parents did some eye-rolling at all the negotiating that takes place, but I now realize a couple of important things:
#1 they're doing it, with less reluctance than when we assigned their tasks point-blank.
#2 they like each other's company -- and they're often found negotiating finer points among themselves, like "If you can put that pan away and refill the ice cube tray, then I'll scrub the pancake mess off the counter, and then we can make cookies together after dinner..."
#3 there's power in self-determination- even among mere house elves!

PCT update: Putting up feet in Tahoe

The gals are resting at Lake Tahoe, having hiked over 1000 miles -- mindboggling, isn't it? My daughter hurt her foot and is needing to let it rest and heal for a spell. She writes:

Crunched foot joint has taken me off the trail for a few miles and a few days. I want to be sad that I won't be "true to the through" but I'd rather sacrifice these 50 miles and my hike's purity than my chances of finishing the next 1600 miles of the hike. I simply redefine 'success' for this endeavor from "Hiking the PCT" to "Hiking a vast majority of the PCT without doing anything too stupid."

I'm glad that she chose rest -- and I wish I could be in Tahoe to spend some time with her! Instead, my good friend Patti gets to spoil her instead of me...