CJ & Autumn Miller

We were blessed to be in Iowa to celebrate with some of our very favorite people!
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    Our second annual Thanksgiving football game was announced in church with a warning to participate only if you thought you could take CJ down in a full contact match. After church CJ got abused by all the adolescent boys.

    At 10:30am Thanksgiving Day the majority of young adults in town bundled up & met at Sigg field. Competition was stiff at -2 degrees & 12" of snow. I maintained my position as game photographer & CJ's team had a huge comeback to win the game. We will proudly display the hand carved Turkey Bowl trophy in our living room until next Thanksgiving's challenge.

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I've learned things living in a rural Alaskan village, things I wouldn't have in Alabama, Texas or even Virginia. Below is a list reflecting my learning curve:

1. Canned evaporated milk can be easily substituted for half & half in your morning coffee.

2. Bears will walk into your house if your door doesn't shut properly & help themselves to your food.

3. Hands stay much warmer in mittens than gloves.

4. A layer of snow covering an already frozen bay is unsafe as it freezes over again & may not be smart to walk on.

5. Water in a Nalgene will freeze on a walk at 4 degrees.

6. The homemade ice cream process must be started two days in advance of a dinner party.

7. You should consider the weather conditions prior to an activity in which you are likely to injure yourself. There may be no mediflights to town available.

8. It is close to impossible to find fire insurance for a house in a town with no fire department.

9. Snow pants, waterproof pants & rain boots are necessities.

10. Of all the possessions we sold in our garage sale I only miss the food dehydrator & the antique Christmas mugs.

11. With no restaurants, you save a bundle of money, but your table manners go to pot.

12. Upgrading to a fat tire bike is like driving a Cadillac.

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Happy Halloween!

Wild Alaskan salmon swim up Lake Clark practically into our backyard - What a treat! After one full year of Alaska residency we fall into the subsistence fishing rules & we were eligible for a free subsistence salmon fishing permit. In layman terms, this means free all you can eat salmon! We canned salmon with the Walsh's this year & Amanda helped orient me to the pressure cooker process. Luke & Eliza delivered nine large salmon straight from the gill net to our door last Friday, so CJ & I had a Friday night date filleting them for the freezer. Salmon is such an interesting culture here. Everyone has been busy with fish preparation for the winter. Some neighbors can, some freeze, some dehydrate, some smoke, some smoke then can, some smoke for 10 days making jerky, or a combination of all. I have enjoyed learning the salmon preservation culture this year & am excited to build on it in the years to come.

CJ & I were honeymooning on Vancouver Island, BC Canada. We backpacked the Juan de Fuca trail along the coast. I still love that guy. Happy anniversary CJ!