This many days to go

… and that’s when the bear ate my tent.

Spring break!  Not really a break! Between the 1-5°F temps and some papers I have that are waaaaaay overdue and the spawn’s state hockey tournament starting Thursday in Fairbanks… it’s neither springly nor break-like.

But! In roughly 2 months I’ll be headed south (Wyoming) for a wilderness emergency medicine course for about a month (May 16-June10). I’ll have to leave here around the 9th to get there in time and I’ll probably be heading to WI after the course since it makes no sense to drive the 7~ish days back to AK just to turn around and drive the 7~ish days back to WI for our vacation at the lake.

Since I’m going to be on the road so much, and I’m cheap.. I’ve been wondering if it would be worth it for Russ to build me something like this:

from Compact Camping Concepts

or this:

from Three Feathers MFG

 

 

Or should I just get a heavy-duty storage box for my gear and ground-tent camp it? I’m going to be taking the truck

 

since I plan on loading it with stuff I can get super cheap in the L48 v here.

Why? Because it would cost me 650$ for a RT plane ticket to Wyoming, plus a way to get out to the remote site in the Tetons from the airport (nearest big airport is in Salt Lake City, next closest is in Caspar), then a way back to the airport in June. Fuel from here to there costs the same.

62 days to get a LOT of stuff done, since I’ll effectively be gone for the whole summer.

 

NO, I’m not a Libra AT ALL. Nooooo

May 16 – June 10: Med course (Fly? Drive?)

June 26 – July 10: Fam. Reunion/Cabin by the lake vacation

Ok.. no real probs there, just have to decide whether to fly or drive.

The real problem is whether or not I go to Scandanavia, because if I do then Russwill be heading back to Alaska with the spawn and the dog in the truck with whomever decides to ride up with him. If I don’t go to Scandanavia.. no problem.

I’m leaning on not going, even though it would be covered by my education grants. Russ will be at work all day, and Aidan-the-Dragon would be home alone if we don’t find a good day-camp. Also, we have family that want to visit and between the time we’d get back from WI until Aidan starts school would be the perfect time for visitors (hint hint).

 

62 days … so much to do.

Don’t you hate it when time travelers from the future want a photo with you but then refuse to say why they’re laughing?

I’m about to tell UAA to kiss my fat ass. Then I’ll sit on that ass and grump about how they screwed me and now I can’t finish my degrees and go to Med School and it’s all their fault for not giving me my grants and financial aid. That’ll show ‘em. Yup- still no word on whether or not I’m going to be able to pay for my classes.

It’s been dry and cold up here since the near-Spring-like temps two weeks ago (it was in the 40ºFs!!! and sunny!!). It’s still pretty sunny, though. But this is what our world looks like right now:

Actually, that was taken last Saturday- there’s even less snow now, but it’s -6ºF.

Nature is waiting for me to start getting all itchy and twitchy to plant stuff and clean my house out. Then, that bitch is going to dump a meter of snow on me so I can’t leave the house just when I really need to go in to town for something. Like take the spawn to school. I’m already starting to feel the urge.

This spring I’m going to do something totally different, since I can’t really count on Russ’s help without nagging him and using a cattle prod. I’m going to put an ad in Craigslist for some strong guys to come help me dig and carry rocks and other heavy, manly-like chores. I figure, one good weekend with 3-4 guys and my yard may actually look pretty decent.

What? You want me to list out the things I’ll have them do while I stand in the kitchen watching husky menfolks lift and carry? (I do have a crown, and I will wear it!)

¤ Clear the run-off trench from up by the house all the way down to the culvert at the bottom of the driveway.

¤ Pull and clear all the fallen branches and baby trees

¤ Dig out all the nasty thorn bushes (rose hips and what seems to be some kind of non-fruiting blackberry)

¤ Clear ground for my garden and greenhouse and woodshed (I haven’t decided where I’m putting those yet, though).

That’s all that’s on my list so far. Well.. THAT list. I have like… 20 To-Do Lists.

I may also hire someone to teach me how  to freakin’ use this WordPress crap and CSS, because I’m tired of this page looking this blah.

I’ve been getting the urge to get back into the SCA lately. It’s probably because after over a year of being here, we still have no friends.

I still have Christmas gifts to mail out.

I have tons of cloth that I mean to turn into these neato storage bucket-things.

I have house projects to work on:

I have a loveseat to re-upholster. I’m thinking something like this-

 

The entryway desperately needs to have something done with it, as currently it is two walls of outerwear hanging over a sea of boots and shoes, with hockey gear and fishing gear and camping gear stuffed into the little area behind the door. So maybe something like this?

There’s still Aidan-the-Dragon’s loft bed and room to finish. All his stuff is taking up the entire dining area.

I have no desk. Right now I’m working off a small folding table in the livingroom. Highly messes with my feng shui, nevermind that I have no room to work.

We also still have no dining set. It’s hard to put a table in the dining area because the floor is so sloped. I’d actually like to do something like this in our kitchen window-opening thing that looks out into the dining area from the kitchen.

Then there’s hockey and scouts and snowshoeing and camping and snowboarding and sledding and trying to train the damn dog and my coursework and cleaning and organizing and making menus and making emergency kits and BOBs and… and.. and…

I may or may not have done things like this.