Summer in Alaska

Summer in Alaska is very impressive. I'm not sure if it is because of the rough winters or if it is really amazing no matter where you spent your winter.

I'm sharing just a peek of it that is happening in our yard.

Welcome to

the Enchanted Forest!

It has taken almost two summers to clear out a path. The ground has a  very "spongy" feel.

We're walking into the shadows now.

Devil's Club, you don't want to touch.

Serious thorns, they take awhile to get out of your skin.

Lovely ferns.

The trees are so tall. I like to look up, up, up until I see their tops. We have mostly Birch and Spruce trees.

 Back out into the sun!

We love our hill of wild flowers!

Check out the little birds!

The mosquitos were too aggressive on the back trail! We will check that one out another day!

Thank you for joining me,

Paula

In the kitchen : Eggnog Bread with Rum Glaze

This made an excellent gift for friends and neighbors. The recipe was found on Pinterest and led me to Knead to Cook. It came out perfect! She gives very good directions and I plan to look at more of her recipes.

Here's my version....

You'll need 4 mini loaf pans, 2 mixing bowls and measuring utensils.

Preheat your oven to 350.

 

Check out my stove, isn't it cute?

. 

ingredients:

2 eggs 

1 and 1/2 cups of regular eggnog (not low fat) 

2 tsp Spiced Rum 

1 cup white sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 1/2 cup butter @ room temperature

(my room temp was pretty cold, so I microwaved it a little!)

Butter will be clumpy and it's okay!

Pour a glass of eggnog, add some rum. Take a drink while you mix the dry ingredients:

 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour 

1 (3.4 ounces of powdered) package of instant French vanilla pudding mix 

 2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 

I only had regular vanilla pudding mix and the big box, so I used my handy dandy measuring cup to get 3.5 oz. (close enough).

Have a sip!

Stir the dry ingredients into the bowl with the liquid ones. It will be lumpy, and

it's okay!

Divide it between the 4 mini loaf pans.

Finish off your drink while it bakes 25-30 minutes.

They are done when a knife comes out clean.

I rotated my cookie sheet about 5 minutes earlier to ensure even cooking.

Let them cool....

Pour another glass of eggnog and rum.

Okay! at this point I forgot to take any more pictures!

Here's the glaze recipe:

1 C. confectioner's sugar

2 t. eggnog

2 TB spiced rum

1/8 t. nutmeg

Whisk together and pour over your cooled bread. I did add a little more sugar so it was thicker and didn't pour off the bread as much.

I made two batches, I learned it was important to let the bread cool and to measure out the right amount of pudding mix, I used the whole box the first time and it was more gooey, taking longer to bake.

Everyone liked their bread!

Happy Holidays!

Paula

Welcome!

Hi!
I have been toying with the idea of starting a new blog where I could share things that we do at home outside my job. I just might be a bit OCD because it bothers me to mix school and home on a blog titled Educating Children with Disabilities.

I noticed that when I started that blog, I became more organized in my thoughts, how the physical space is arranged, taking pictures of lessons and art projects, documenting progress. I also follow lots of other bloggers who do the same thing, they inspire and share their ideas. I feel I have grown as a teacher since beginning the blog!

I started thinking that maybe if I start a blog about 

• improving health habits: exercising, eating, recipes
• home projects: organizing, renovating and so on

and the variety of things we do, maybe I could grow in these areas also. It's worth a shot...right?

If you are a teacher, I'm sure you know how difficult it is to turn off teacher mode and begin LIFE mode! I have several false starts sitting around my house..a dust covered guitar for example. 

So, Let's get started!

We bought a lovely house this summer in a just right location in Alaska.

Definition of "just right location": Reasonable driving distance to jobs, stores and Grandchildren, some space between us and neighbors and a nearby lake with public access.

We looked at homes on lakes and they were amazing. They were also above our price range OR major fixer uppers (again above our price range). Taxes are another concern when you live on the water here.  Walking distance to a lake is just fine!

We had a wonderful real estate agent to help us, she is a friend and coworker as well. She drove all over the area showing us homes, she researched, made calls and more to make sure we would get our money's worth. It was 11 PM one night when she sent this house to us by text! It had gone on the market just minutes before. We loved it from that first tiny picture on my phone.

We Christmasized as much as possible....

Happy New Year,

Paula