Fishing With Teachers or The Post in Which I Use the Word Fillet As Often As Possible

Steve and I have lived in Alaska for going on seven years, and we went fishing for the first time today. This was a massive act of love on Steve's part because he doesn't even like fish.





Last night a few of the teachers put a net in the water. The net is attached to the white buoys you can see in the pictures above.





We pulled the net to shore looking for fish.






Okay, so the use of the word "we" was a little generous. Steve was the only Alston that did any of the actual pulling of the net.






The fish get tangled as they try to swim through the net.




Steve was a pro at untangling the fish.





The lineup. Notice the sanitary conditions. :)





Me with the future fillet.








Steve humored me and posed for a fish picture too.






The beginning of the fillet. A nice slice below the head.





Hard at work in the filleting process.





The other filleting stations.





This is what was left after I was done filleting. The leftovers were donated to one of the local dogsled teams.





The fillets were reserved for human consumption. I took a couple and cooked them in a bit of hot vegetable oil. After a couple of minutes, I put them in the oven.

Note to readers: the pictured fillet was not filleted by me. It was filleted by another teacher earlier in the day.





While the fillet baked, I gathered some of this beautiful lemon zest.





I added the zest to some butter, shallots, and lemon juice, inspired by this.






The finished fillet with the sauce. It was delicious. Even Steve agreed. Maybe there's something to this fishing thing after all...

Adventures in Feeding a Baby

It was time for this little lady to eat something besides formula.





We started off introducing the spoon.





Immediate success. Spoon to mouth. Check.





Then we added a little rice cereal.





Bland, yet satisfying.





We ended with a slightly messy but reasonably happy baby.





I got a little excited about the prospect of feeding Kaitlyn, so I started to prepare for the days beyond rice cereal.





Hello, food processor.





Hello, cute baby in a walker while Mommy works in the kitchen.





Am I a bad mom if I didn't take the time to smooth the baby food in the ice cube trays?





Note to Readers: Broccoli does not make good baby food.







After a few more days of rice cereal practice we made the above progress. Notice how she is opening her mouth for the spoon. Notice also how her tongue is on the side of the high chair tray. :)




This little girl is well on her way to entering the world of solid food.

***Apologies to readers if this post is suspiciously like a mommy blog. Commentary on life in rural Alaska will resume shortly.

Introducing Kaitlyn Emily

Just a little over a month ago, Steve and I were given the opportunity of a lifetime: adoption.

We got the call that our baby was being born on Monday, March 21, but bad weather in Brevig Mission kept me in town until the next morning (it was an agonizing night of waiting).




While I was traveling, this little lady was born.




I got to the hospital in Anchorage about six hours later, and she looked more like this.

As the adoptive mother, I got to stay in the hospital with Kaitlyn. We had matching identification bracelets. I slept in a bed next to her bassinet. I got to wake up to feed and change her. I loved it.





I had to buy a carseat so that I could take her home from the hospital.

Note to readers: please don't judge me because I let my daughter go home from the hospital wearing hospital-issue clothes. Thank you.





The scariest part of the trip was the flight from Nome to Brevig Mission. I was wearing Kaitlyn in a baby carrier under my jacket. I was terrified that I was going going to smother her. I was also afraid to check on her because I didn't want her to get sick from the cold. I spent most of the flight praying like crazy and straining to hear her breathe.

Needless to stay, we made it home safely.






Daddy came home for lunch to meet his little baby.





It was love at first sight.





We aren't the only ones who love Kaitlyn. Her birthmother is from Brevig Mission, so there is a host of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that adore her. People have been bringing over clothes and gifts (including the hat in the above picture) since we got home. It's amazing.





To prove we are first-time parents, Steve and I do things like take take pictures of the first time we changed her clothes...

And taking nearly identical photos of Kaitlyn sleeping and sending them to the grandparents.





We also think that every little thing she does is cute enough to warrant preserving for posterity.





Even her crying is cute...





But we certainly prefer moments like these.





We are tired. We are thrilled. We are grateful. We are happy.

Look for more Kaitlyn posts in the near future.

Things We Never Thought We'd Do: Adopt a Village Mutt

I had some very good reasons for not liking dogs:

-my mom's dog nipped at my heels every time I walked into my parents' bedroom

-my sister Mandy always forced herself to gag at the sight of dog food, resulting in me feeding the dog WAY MORE than my fair share (Hey Mandy! I haven't forgotten about this!)

-doggie doo patrol was a regular part of of "being a family" (or so my mom said)





But, on Easter 2010 I was walking from house to house visiting my favorite babies, when I came across this pretty thing. It embarrasses me to to say this, but have you ever seen a more gorgeous puppy?

I thought about her the rest of the day. And when it was nighttime, I went searching for her and brought her home.





She made herself comfortable, and after searching for her real owner and the exchange of some cash, she was ours. We named her Sadie.

(Note to readers: The name Sadie was on our short-list of names for any potential daughters we may have in the future. I insist that using the name for a dog REMOVES the name from the potential baby list. Steve insists otherwise. It's still a point of debate around our house.)





Sadie was willing to take time from her busy schedule to answer a few questions.

View from the North: What did you do all day as a puppy?

Sadie Alston: Steve and Angie tried barricading me in the kitchen. But, in addition to looking absolutely pitiful, I was a little escape artist. They eventually got a generously-sized kennel for me to stay in.






VFN: Wow, being cooped up in a cage doesn't sound very fun.

SA: It wasn't. That's why I whined a lot the first few days.

VFN: Did they leave you in there all the time?

SA: No, they took me on walks.






VFN: In the snow?

SA: I think they liked it.





VFN: How did Steve and Angie adjust to being puppy parents?

SA: They did all right. They were obsessed with keeping me clean. Steve said something about me smelling funny. Unfortunately, Steve didn't know that I'm absolutely terrified of water. That was a fun surprise.






VFN: Did they have all of the equipment necessary to take care of a dog.

SA: Ha! They had nothing! My first toys were pieces of rope tied in knots and soaked in beef bullion.





VFN: That sounds rough.

SA: Angie overcompensated by buying me designer stuff. Steve was absolutely appalled, and Angie has since decided that kind of shopping is unnecessary. It was good while it lasted.



VFN: Who do you like better, Angie or Steve?

SA: Angie is nicer to me, but I like Steve better.





VFN: Did you have any friends in Shishmaref?

SA: There were a few neighbor dogs I ran around with, but I was a little young for permanent attachments. There's nobody I keep in touch with.





VFN: What did you do for the summer?

SA: I was going to stay in Alaska, but Grandma Alston insisted on meeting me. She said I wasn't quite as good as Steve and Angie having a baby but almost. I split my time between both sets of grandparents.

VFN: Don't Angie's parents have two ridiculously spoiled wiener dogs? How did you get along?

SA: Grandma and Grandpa Busch were afraid that I would use the tiny one as a chew toy, but I just ignored her because she yipped at me a lot (man, that was annoying!). The medium-sized one and I were great friends. She even shared her bed with me.




VFN: What about the rest of the family?

SA: They were nice. Uncle Joe was a little weird, but I hear there's one in every family.





VFN: Did you pick up any strange habits while visiting the Busch House?

SA: Grandma Busch helped me discover that I like to eat watermelon rinds. She would save them for me.




VFN: What was your least favorite part of the summer?

SA: Well, there was one extremely invasive surgery. Also, Steve tried to teach me to be unafraid of water.

VFN: I didn't know Steve was a swimming instructor.

SA: He's not. His lessons basically consisted of repeatedly tossing me in the St. Joe River and making me swim to shore.





VFN: How did you like the move to Brevig Mission?

SA: There are a lot more places to walk in Brevig Mission. Angie used to take me on walks every day.




VFN: Used to? What happened?

SA: It got icy. I thought the ice beautifully reflected the sunsets, but Angie has this fear of falling.

VFN: Isn't that fear sort of well-founded?

SA: Definitely, given her history. Although, I personally think she's a little whiny.

VFN: Isn't it also really dark now?

SA: Yeah, Angie promises the walks will start up again once it gets lighter out. I'll believe it when I see it.





VFN would like to apologize for degenerating into the kind of blog that spends an entire post on a dog. It was never VFN's intention to blog about a dog, let alone adopt one. Please consider continuing to read this blog. Thank you.