Bento My Life

Indoor Gardening Experiment

2009-10-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

This past summer we planted all our tomatoes in pots and grew them on our deck. Summer in Alaska is never warm enough for tomatoes to thrive; they just kinda held on, but didn't grow very fast. Toward the end of August we had lots of small green tomatoes, so we decided to move the plants inside to see if we could keep them growing. Whenever we've moved plants inside in the past, aphids typically overrun everything, killing the plant as well as any fun that indoor gardening may provide. This year we have all been tending the plants closely, shaking the plants to get the aphids to fall off, and squishing the buggers still obstinately hanging onto the plants. So now...Success!

Here is Rick and Sunny with our "Enchanted Tomato Forest" in front of our living room window.

We also have here African basil, banana peppers, and a volunteer sunflower.

TaDa! We now have lots of fairly large, red, ripe tomatoes that are sweeter than tomatoes grown anywhere else. Extra summer sunlight hours adds extra sugars to the plants. We'll have a decent crop from this time around, and we have new flowers growing at the tops of the plants that we can get a new crop from if we can keep the plants alive.

Here are more gardening experiments with Aerogardens, a hydroponic system that comes with grow bulbs, seed kits, and nutrient tablets. Once they're set up you just keep adding water and nutrient tablets when the little lights come on telling you to do so. We bought this one for a reasonable price at Costco. Even so, I would consider it a fun hobby that happens to provide you with beautiful plants, healthy food, and pleasing light (a real plus when stuck living at this wretched parallel!), rather than an economical way to produce food. Replacement bulbs, seed kits, and nutrient tablets are pretty expensive.

Here's the Aerogarden planted with an herb kit containing basil, chives, dill, oregano, mint, and thyme.

And here's our second Aerogarden that Rick won in a promotional drawing! This model costs about $220 full retail, so we really got lucky. The lights raise high enough to accommodate full size tomatoes, and it came with the heirloom tomato kit. Here they are after about 3 weeks. A potted sage plant is behind the garden growing in the spillover light.

We've found that people can be really obsessed with their aerogardens, and a good site to view is at www.aerogardengrowers.com.

Good times!

Michelle

Fungus Fun

2009-09-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been interested in mushrooms. May as well be, they grow like crazy here in August and September. Gemma and I have attended mushroom lectures, gone on mushroom walks, and collected various mushrooms for guidebook identification. At first she was unimpressed, but she's actually quite good at identifying different types of mushrooms.

This is called fly agaric or amanita muscaria, and they are poisonous. They grow huge here in Alaska, so I included my fairly large water bottle for scale. These are the classic red-capped, white-spotted mushroom that you see in fairy tale books...

...like this :) Here are Gem and Rick at the Girdwood Fungus Fair ;)

And speaking of huge, here's a grand champion vegetable at the Alaska State Fair. It's a puffball mushroom, and those are typically-

sized fair ribbons!

Here are some normal sized puffballs that I found growing in the park behind our house.

They're edible, so I fried them up. They tasted pretty much like sauteed nothing. Just...no flavor so we ended up throwing them away. It was a fun experiment anyhow!

Run For Your Life!

2009-08-22T14:27:00.003-07:00

For the first time, all three of us participated in a running event, the Anchorage Big Wild Life Runs held on August 16 this year. Gemma and Rick did the 2K Kids fun run, and I did the 5k.

Rick and Gemma got to run with a T-Rex. Who do you think had the most fun? ;)

Orca Bay Adventures

2009-08-13T09:27:00.001-07:00

Mom's August 2009 visit took us to Cordova, a tiny fishing town whose motto is "No Road." As you probably guessed, you can't get there by road, only by plane or boat. We took the ferry from Whittier, where Gemma fed this cute reindeer.

Cordova is located in Orca Bay, a beautiful, quiet spot great for fishing, hiking, kayaking, and in the winter, heli-skiing. We stayed at Orca Adventure Lodge, a converted fish cannery that now provides lodging, excellent gourmet meals, equipment, guides, and very friendly people :) Our room is in the picture below, facing the stream and waterfall.

Local wildlife:

Mom in downtown Cordova.

50 miles upstream from the mouth of the Copper River (home of the world-famous salmon) is Childs Glacier. It frequently and spectacularly calves into the Copper River, providing outstanding entertainment even in cold, wet, rainy, typical Alaska weather. Interestingly, you can watch seals chase fish this far up the river. I guess this is how the freshwater seals of Russia's Lake Baikal got their start!

We spent a day paddling sea kayaks along the shore near our lodge, and enjoyed many beautiful waterfalls...

wildlife, such as otters, eagles, and shorebirds...

and salmon...Nice catch! And yes, mom paddled--she's good at it!

After a great time in the Cordova area we ferried to the town of Valdez. The marker in the picture below marks Bligh Reef, the place where the infamous Exxon Valdez ran aground.

I don't know if my photo captures it, but the streams in the area were just thick with spawning salmon. Very fun to watch!

We rounded out our trip by camping near the tiny town of McCarthy, and touring the Kennicott mine (pictured below).

Thus ends a great trip to parts of Alaska I had never visited before. Good times!

Michelle

Rafting "Expedition"

2009-08-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, it was a float trip down the creek that runs along our back yard, but I wasn't brave (crazy) enough to do it! This is Alaska after all; not warm enough for shorts, let alone risking dunking in a glacial runoff stream!

Here are the intrepid explorers going downstream...

and the intrepid salmon going the opposite direction.

Booker

2009-08-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Our critter menagerie has recently expanded to include Booker, Gemma's new hamster. As much as we really didn't need another animal in the house, I have to admit, he is adorable. Sunny, in her feline way, thinks he's adorable too!

Pedaling and Paddling Eklutna

2009-07-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

Picturesque Eklutna Lake, just 15ish miles from Anchorage as the crow flies (30ish road miles) is the source of Anchorage's drinking water. This glacier run-off provides the coldest, best-tasting water of any place we've lived. It also provides lots of recreational opportunities.

We rode an awesome trail that runs the length of the lake. The glacier has receded so far back that you must bike about 10 miles before you can see it.

We also paddled kayaks, Gemma's new favorite outdoor activity, and were lucky to spot a bear foraging up the mountain.

Fun paddling

A cool little fireweed-covered island in the middle of rushing glacial outflow

Eklutna Glacier

Nice lunch spot!

Enjoy!

Michelle

Bear With Us

2009-07-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, it was a small, adorable bear, but a thrilling encounter for us just the same! We camped at Exit Glacier campground outside of Seward, and walked to Exit Glacier from the visitor center. This little black bear was foraging around the visitor center and crossed the trail right in front of us (and a couple dozen other thrilled hikers :)

Here's a close up of Exit Glacier; probably the most accessible glacier in Alaska.

This sign we're standing by marks where the edge of the glacier was in 1999, when Rick and I visited Alaska for Rick's research. The distance that this glacier receded in the past decade is impressive. Rangers stated that the weather has been so warm that the glacial outflow is currently at flood stage. Here's a point that I'm totally with Sarah Palin...Drill Baby Drill! Drive Baby Drive! Whatever it takes to promote global warming while I'm stuck in this wretchedly cold climate! (Just kidding, sort of) By-the-way, a danged bug flew in my eye in this photo.

Gemma is typically reluctant to expend any energy on physical activity, so to get her to hike, I went ahead and hid individually wrapped pieces of chocolate along the trail for her to find. I hid them by things I found to be interesting, then Gemma had to tell me why she thought I hid them where I did. This photo shows a tree that had fairly fresh bear scratchings on the branches.

Enjoy!

Michelle

Sea Kayaking Prince William Sound

2009-07-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

While in South Dakota, I spoke with my niece about a kayaking trip she'd done. It inspired me to finally try sea kayaking, something I've wanted to do for years. We took off from Miller's Landing (camping, guides, sea kayaking, fishing charters, water taxi services) in Seward AK. The whole experience was really terrific! We're all excited about doing another sea kayak trip :)

We took a water taxi to this spot in Humpy Cove

After a brief lesson, we set out with our guides across the cove. The water was very calm, so we were able to paddle along the cliff edges. The water was so clear we could count sea stars and spot jelly fish.

We paddled into this secluded spot and beached our kayaks so that we could see...

this beautiful waterfall.

We're already thinking about possibilities for the next sea kayak trip :)

Big July 4th Fun in Little George IA

2009-07-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

A run is my idea of a fun time :) Rick and I, along with niece and nephew ran the George 4th of July 5K celebrating the opening of the new paved trail which loops around George.

Nephew placed third in his age group!

Nephew, AKA Smoothiemeister, made post-race smoothies. Mine was made with mulberries hand picked by nephew! Good times!

Strawberry Fields Forever

2009-07-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Big strawberry fun at Getting's Gardens, Sanborn Iowa

Got carried away (literally, by the StrawBerry Express) and picked 3 big baskets full ;)

Still Traveling

2009-06-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

From Japan to South Dakota, with a little stop in Anchorage in between...

Uncle/Niece competition.

"Redneck Ingenuity" was voted unanimously as the title of this picture; how to remove a gamepiece stuck in a tree by tying two sticks together and standing on a chair on top of a picnic table. It works!

Happy Birthday One-Year-Old!

Random Pictures from Japan

2009-06-17T11:45:00.001-07:00

Monkeys all around, and Kyoto in the background.

"Caged" humans feed wild monkeys little treats.

An awesome old-school slide, the kind that shoots you off the end like a rocket and makes you run just to keep from splatting on your stomach.

A torii (gate) typically is at the entrances for grounds of shrines and temples. This temple grounds has an entire hike of over 4km lined with torii.

Shrines often have wells of refreshingly cool water. You dip cups on long bamboo handles into it, then splash it on your hands and face.

Ice Cream as Entertainment

2009-06-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at posting a video, so I hope it works :)

Michelle

Kleptomaniac Lobster

2009-06-16T03:16:00.000-07:00

No, that's not the name of some obscure Japanese rock band; that was the menu item that I ordered during our last dinner adventure in Kyoto ;) More on that in a sec...

This narrow street is called Pontocho, and is considered by many to be one of the most charming, fascinating streets in all of Asia. This street is able to exist because Kyoto was spared WWII bombings that other cities received, and so this tiny street much to narrow for cars wasn't demolished, but has been preserved in it's original size. This is where we went hunting for an interesting restaurant.

This photograph shows what the restaurants lining Pontocho look like from the back. We're standing on a bridge spanning a very shallow river and can see straight into the lit restaurants and bars. The area on the opposite side of the river is a region called Gion. Both Pontocho and Gion are featured in the book Memoirs of a Geisha as the areas where geishas live and work. Kyoto is now the only place left in Japan with geishas, and they still work in these two areas. We did see some, (beautiful!) but weren't quick enough with a camera to get any shots.

We didn't know what we were in for when we chose this restaurant, but it ended up being pretty traditional: we had to remove our shoes at the door, sat on low cushions instead of chairs, and cooked our own food at a massive dining table designed to seat 12 with a grilling pit and exhaust fans in the middle. In this picture my sake is in the foreground ;)

We cooked our own food above red-hot ceramic "coals." I thought I should keep an eye on my Kleptomaniac Lobster (yes, that's exactly how it was listed on the menu). Our friend (and Rick's research partner) Mike, a professor at University of Pittsburgh, is seated next to me. He had the boring Bamboo Steamed Chicken.

For some reason, Gemma couldn't resist trying to bite the eyes off of the lobster shell, I'm still kinda surprised the rowdy Americans weren't asked to leave =:o

I'll leave you with a more serene image of Kyoto--a couple in traditional dress walking hand in hand. Though you can see traditionally dressed people in Tokyo and Osaka, I found it to be much more common in Kyoto. One reason is that the city randomly hands out free rides on public transportation to anyone traditionally dressed as an incentive. Kimono can typically cost $5000 at the low end, so this is quite an investment in beauty and tradition.

Lizards and Bullfrogs and Monkeys, Oh My!

2009-06-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

It doesn't say so in the travel books, but it's obvious that the highlight of touring any centuries-old Shinto Shrine or Buddhist Temple is the possibility of capturing a critter. Here's Gemma with a gecko that she caught at a shrine that is well known in Japan for it's spectacular flower gardens...

such as this river of hydrangeas tumbling down the mountain side.

Hiking through this bamboo forest was a real treat. It looked like the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon! Of course, Gemma preferred the giant bullfrogs living in a pond in this forest. The first time I heard one, I truly thought it was a cow mooing. Rick pointed out that may be where the name bullfrog comes from. Cool! I hadn't thought of that :)

Monkeys live in the mountains around Kyoto, and we hiked up to a park where we got to hand feed the monkeys little treats like apple chunks and chestnuts. They were adorable! Gemma commented, "We should do this more often!" Yeah, I agree.

We now have 1001 photos of this particularly cute monkey baby, courtesy of Gemma.

Grandpa Clarence now has a "shrine" of sorts in the hills of western Kyoto. Gemma collected flowers, bamboo, and grasses during a hike through the grounds of a Shinto Shrine, assembled them artistically at the base of a tree, and wrote "Grandpa" in little stones. Monkeys occasionally visit the area, so Dad would like that :)

A Crabby Day (that's a good thing)

2009-06-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

Since arriving in Kyoto, Gemma has been very excited to repeat her favorite activity from her previous visit to Kyoto as a Kindergartner--capturing tiny crabs that live in the rocky streams of a certain temple grounds. We struck out on our quest on our first day here. I think it was too sunny and warm for them to want to be outside (good weather for me, bad for crabs). So we tried again yesterday and SUCCESS! A happy nine-year-old :)

Really though, you cannot fail in Kyoto. This is just a random shrine on a quiet street corner. Simply wandering around is outstanding entertainment in this city.

Gemma and I capped off our day with a fun, fabulous, adventurous meal at a restaurant serving traditional Japanese dishes, Kyoto style--many small bites of various foods served in beautiful, interesting containers. No one working at the restaurant spoke English, so Gem and I ordered by pointing to a sample in the front window. Gemma picked the meal you see above. Really, the only things we could identify with any certainty were the cucumbers, tempura, Japanese omelet, four little sashimi bites, and the sticky rice in the little pot. The rest was a mystery! Gemma tried at least a bite of everything!

We're loving Japan!

Michelle

2009-06-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Hello from Japan!

We had so much trouble with "red tape" that this was nearly the trip that never was, but here we are in beautiful Kyoto after spending a couple of awesome days in Osaka.

Below are two pictures from our trip to a samurai castle (now a museum) in Osaka. One picture shows Gemma playing dress-up with the locals, and the other shows a garden area of the castle.

Gemma has now learned to eat using chopsticks, and is an excellent navigator on the subway. One of our favoring activities here is spotting "Engrish," that Asian way of expressing things in English that ranges from not quite right to downright unintelligible, but always comical. So far, she has found the best example on a large sign outside an electronics/tool store in Osaka that advertised "High Prices!" Who knows, maybe someone would find that a compelling reason to shop there! We'll keep looking...

Michelle

Minimalist Travel Experiment Number 1

2009-06-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

I call myself a minimalist, so let's see if I can actually walk the walk!

The question is: Can I pack for 10 days in Japan using only a small carry-on, without sacrificing necessities, and without making life so inconvenient as to diminish the quality of the trip? Let's find out;)

The bag on the left is a typical carry-on bag.

The bag on the right is my new "micro-carry-on."

Opened to show the clothing compartment.

This is the exploded view showing everything I packed,

including my laptop, snacks, even and umbrella!

The "cheat" is that I'm taking along the other carry-on shown above empty, so I can come back with some things I want from Japan.

Hopefully I'll be able to post from Japan :)

Michelle

2009-06-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

The link below takes you to a gorgeous volcano photo. The caption says it's Redoubt, but to me it looks like Augustine (the Volcano near Homer that erupted a couple of years ago).

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/image.php?id=18795

Enjoy!

Michelle

2009-05-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah, my thoughts exactly...

Another experimental post just to see what will work ;)

Triathlon

2009-05-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

As if I wasn't busy enough the last few weeks of school (many of us were working until 9:00PM and on weekends to get our paperwork done) I participated in my first triathlon on May 17. The Gold Nugget Triathlon is the country's oldest all women's triathlon, and it's right here in Anchorage. Fortunately, at 50-60 degrees, it was as warm as May gets here, so I didn't freeze too badly. We swam in a high school pool, ran outside and hopped on our bikes (Brrrrrr!), then finished up with a run. Here's a picture at the finish.

Still Experimenting

2009-05-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm still experimenting with this new blog. I've displayed a few pictures, and so far that's worked OK. I'll keep messing with it and try to refine it to be something you'll enjoy :)

Here's a picture of our kind of Christmas Eve snow--bubble foam in Disneyland ;)

Michelle

Very First Blog Post

2009-05-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

I finally got a blog set up, with the main point being keeping in touch with those outside Alaska, i.e. pretty much everyone we know ;)

OK, let's see what this technology can do for me!

Michelle