We spent yesterday at the bunny slope on Elmendorf.
The first two sessions for tubing were full, so we chose a later session. While waiting for the next session, we rented skates for our spawn and his friend-that-is-a-girl. That’s Aidan in the blue, and Russ there throwing the kids around.
This is how the dragon boy spent a lot of his time on the ice.
Today was a half crummy-half pretty good day. Found out that I have to either drop a class (Anthro, easy A) to have the lab portion of a class (a higher biology) that I NEED in order to get to the next level of classes, or drop the biology class entirely because UAA doesn’t allow people to take the lecture portion and lab portions in different semesters. The time that I can go to the lab, it is full (and that’s a different bitchy story). The times that the lab is NOT full, the labs happen to be in the same time slots as two of my other required-to-graduate courses. I’m very upset about this.
On top of THAT bs, turns out that the last day to drop a course for a full tuition refund was.. yesterday.
Juuuust spiffy.
On the pretty-good side of the day, I worked out for over 40 minutes with Iris, which makes working out just fly by. Thank goodness.
Had dinner out with Russ at the sushi place in Eagle River. Service was meh, food was great.
I received a metric buttload of seeds in the mail today.
Behold!
I did NOT realize how much of a Planting n00b I am, either. Every last one of these little packets came with up to a page of instructions for soaking them in water, then setting them in a baggie with a damp paper towel, or into the fridge- sometimes for MONTHS, or to score or abrade them first… holy crap. Glad I ordered them NOW instead of like.. the week I wanted to plant them.
I’m going to have to look up each type of seed individually though, because some pages just had vague instructions about scoring seeds with hard husks- what the crap?! they’re ALL hard! Some of them are reeeeally tiny too, like the ferns.
(and btw.. apparently one can make a good chunk of $$ selling seeds, because for 3$ a packet, I expected a lot more)
Now I’m feeling the need to be elbow-deep in some dark, loamy dirt.
However!
Apparently I am supposed to throw all these seeds into the fridge for a few weeks/months.
/pout
It’s late on a school night. I’ve finished all my readings and homework (colouring book pages for Anthropology?! Really??).
I didn’t sleep in much this morning nor have I had any caffeine today, so I don’t know why I’m wide awake.
Yet here I sit, so not tired.
Anyone know a good way to turn my brain off so I can sleep?
I think about preparation a lot more here, for some reason. Likely because of how remote our house is from town. I know it’s only ten miles or so, but it’s not exactly a straight shot. There’s the snow, for the most present of issues. So far, it hasn’t been too bad- just delaying. Then there’s the earthquakes and a volcano- these aren’t too bad, probably won’t even have any real effect on us.
Mostly though, is the knowledge that Alaska on a whole is one of the places that is dependent on supplies from ‘outside’.
I have two freezers and an extra refrigerator that aren’t in use. I’m afraid to plug them in because I heard that it will bump my already insane (about 200$, which isn’t bad mind you.. except for the 250-300$ gas bill that goes along with it.) electrical bill up. I’m afraid to plug them in and fill them up.. only to have the power go out. Buying a generator that could run two freezers and two refigerators as well as the water pump and heater really isn’t in the budget, though we’re keeping an eye out for a used one.
I daydream though. I daydream about being both financially and provisionally prepared, out here in my little wilderness.
I daydream about where we are going to end up after this, after Russ’s tour here ends, after I’m through med school. Where will we be?
We haven’t come entirely to an agreement.
In my wildest dreams, we’re in an airy (albeit somewhat smaller) version of Meduseld with a conservatory on a rise in the middle of an ocean of trees and high hills, if not mountains. A large freshwater lake is near enough that we’ve got our own dock and boathouse. A boathouse that contains a float plane and a hobby-built schooner. There’s a barn to hold a few horses, maybe some goats and a peacock. There’s beehives and a few acres of vineyard, a smaller bard converted into a meadery and clandestine distillery. There’s a giant greenhouse too, so that I never have to pay jacked-up grocery store prices for fresh fruits and vegetables again. Because I’m a busy doctor, even though I love spending time tending my gardens, there’s a couple of bunkhouse cabins off on the property for people who exchange some work with the animals and gardens for rent and maybe a small stipend. There’s even a nice cabin for when family or friends visit, in case they want more privacy than the house offers. I’d like a hot soaking pool in the conservatory, waterfalling down to a smaller swimming pool. A dedicated steam room would complete that heaven.
On nearby or even adjacent acreage, my wildest dreams include our family, our friends.
I suppose that I’m Monica (from Friends). I want a huge hospitable medievaloid hall with substantial kitchen to welcome as many people as I can. To feed them and comfort them and entertain them in case of Zombie Apocalypse. Or a huge horrible winter storm.
I don’t think that it’s an impossible dream. I think that we can do it on a doctor’s salary if we’re frugal and judicious. If we’re practical and do quite a bit of the work ourselves over several years.
If we get lucky enough to have badass neighbors that will exchange bushels of produce for digging a well, or medical services for some contract engineering. Where I would be happy to exchange check ups and minor urgent care for fresh eggs and milk and butter. Where Russ could putter with making and building to his hearts content. Where Aidan the Dragon could do whatever teenage boys do with access to forest and lakes- I have the feeling that beyond the usual hellraising, he and Russ would keep the freezers full of fish.
What on earth does a house that contains all this LOOK like? Who designs these things? Who can take my disjointed descriptions, and puzzle-piece them together?
There’s the giant kitchen, with a huge pantry. Through the pantry there’s got to be access to a walk-in fridge and freezer, as well as the wine cellar and root cellar- both of those which need to have outside access. The kitchen needs a mudroom entry that has plenty of room for macs and a dogwash. The kitchen also needs an enormous amount of natural light, a breakfast nook in an attached sunroom. Huge sinks for washing up are going to be a necessity- my stock pots are in constant use here and now, so I know they’ll get more use in the future. There’s got to be a brick oven as well as an oversized conventional gas oven and range. Having an outside kitchen would be a great idea too, for when we have barbeques and we want to do a whole pig or something.
(That actually happens more than you’d think, folks, and would happen more often if I had a place for it. Well, I kind of do now, but that’s a project for this spring.)
But see…. I also want one of those huge slab tables to use as both a workplace and for everyone who visits to sit at- because that’s what people DO. They gravitate to the kitchen! It doesn’t make sense to have the huge slab table AND a breakfast nook, though.
Off the kitchen into to the house I’d really like a ‘formal’ dining room, which is really just a bigger room with a table that seats 20+. Don’t even THINK of trying to convince me that it’s frivolous, since my family can field 24 people without even trying.
If the dining room is part of the ‘great hall’, or is separated with sliding walls or something, maybe that’s a better idea.
Having a ‘great hall’ is too practical! As is a ginormous fireplace. I want to be able to waltz and swing with my tall, handsome man. I’d like our guests to be able to do so as well. Long winter nights are just made for that kind of nonsense!
Russ wants a gaming room- a big table for gaming, a pool table, computer bank, area for console gaming. A home theater room too.
We both want a very substantial library, and I drool over the manor-home style ones. You know, the ones with two storys and a rolling ladder, wing-back chairs, hidden booze cabinets, a giant globe and interesting artifacts under glass? That’s the one.
Of course, the library needs to have entries off to Russ’s ManCave and my own study, maybe a small parlour. He wants masculine things in his dark hideaway. I want light and air and a view of the grounds from my desk with a french door entrance, a laboratory concealed behind a bookcase, and a small infirmary.
Upstairs would be the master suite, Aidan’s suite, a couple of visitor suites, maybe a small playroom for visiting children. Entrance to the upper part of the library.
I know.
I know.
We need to find an architect that will design it to be built a little at a time, or to have quite a bit saved up for a downpayment. Land first, house later.
I feel like I’m running out of time though. I feel this urge to be doing now.
ugh ugh ugh.
Another year of classes before I start med school. Four years of that. Another four for residency. Somewhere in the next nine years, we’ll have bought land and be well on our way to that reality.
Right?
Right?
But….. where? I have this very strong feeling that once Russ and I agree on where to drop our roots, everything will fall into place.
Busy Bee
February 4, 2010 by ShannaMonday
Tuesday
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Saturday:
Sunday:
Posted in Things That Add to My Stress Levels, Uni, blah blah blah, long responses to comments | 1 Comment »