Home again and other good news

After a long morning of travel and a completely uneventful flight, Seren and I are home and in our own beds. Porter and Stephen were very happy to see us, but since Stephen is working today (in-service before school starts), we weren't able to spend much time together. Good thing there's an entire weekend ahead of us!

Seren's eye looks great. There's no bruising or redness of any kind. She's unhappy about having to use antibiotic drops for the next 5 days, but it's better than getting an infection. When it's all over, she'll be grateful we put in the extra effort to do everything correctly.

....…….……..................................

I didn't mention it before, because I didn't want the news to be overshadowed by Seren's surgery, but while we were in Anchorage, I received a pretty important phone call. Right after we all returned from our cross-country excursion, Porter and I both had our annual doctor visits scheduled. Porter had some blood work done and the results are in...

You may recall that Porter has had a struggle with some food allergies during the last year. At one point, we had removed milk, soy, wheat, eggs, and peanuts from his diet entirely. To make matters worse, he would break out in head-to-toe eczema when exposed to these foods, in addition to the gastro-intestinal problems they caused. We did our best to make sure he was able to eat "real" food that tasted good, despite all of those missing ingredients from his diet.

Well, the call I received was from our family doctor. She said that his allergy screen came back 100% negative! That's right, he can eat ANYTHING he wants again... with one concession: although he is no longer allergic to these foods, he may still have a sensitive stomach when exposed to them. So, we have to watch for signs of discomfort, but aside from that, he is entirely in the clear! We are very happy about this and extremely proud of Porter for doing so well in situations when foods he was not allowed to have were present. In fact, when he was given his first egg this week, he had to be convinced it was okay to eat it!

Thank you all (again) for the love and support while we dealt with this. This last year was a struggle, but we're on the other side now and truly grateful for all of the tips and advice that were sent our way. We wouldn't have been able to find some of the wonderful foods we discovered on this journey or cope with the dramatic change to our dinner table without your help.

Anchorage: Day 1

All four of us woke up at 4am this morning in order to load up the bags I finished packing last night and run to the Sitka airport, where Seren and I would depart on our 6am flight to Anchorage. Since this was both Seren's and my first flight off the island since we moved out here, I'd like to share my observations of this experience

 Inter-Alaskan air travel is a whole lot like taking a Greyhound bus anywhere else in the country. TSA rules aren't relaxed, but they are streamlined in such a way that showing up half an hour before your flight is a normal habit Sitkans have developed. The line moves quickly and amiably. The TSA staff are courteous and professional. Once you are ushered past the screening area and into the gate area, the process moves very quickly. Boarding starts almost immediately and the line shuffles at a rates of about 2 seconds per passenger. What would normally appear to be a long queue is cleared out and loaded onto the plane in less than 20 minutes. Flight staff are competent and friendly. There is no time for confusion to set in or disagreement to take place about space or seating. It's almost exactly as practiced as walking in a straight line back to the classroom after recess. Our flight did, however, take 20 additional minutes to take off, due to a technical error regarding a fuse, but the Captain announced the delay well in advance and did not keep us wondering what was going on, as we continued to receive updates every 5 or so minutes until it was resolved.

The first leg of our flight was 22 minutes or 65 miles, depending on how you like to look at it. Either way, it was only long enough to get into the air before our descent was announced. Our flight stopped briefly at Juneau to pick up and drop off more passengers, which is normal for Northbound flights from Sitka. We did not get off of the plane, but were back in the air less than half an hour after we touched down.

Oh, and the landing! Stephen has described Alaskan landings to me many times, but it's an entirely different matter to experience one first-hand. Because the runways are shorter (and frequently surrounded by water) Alaskan pilots have become deft in using the landing itself as a means of slowing the entire aircraft quickly and efficiently. There is none of that gentle gliding onto the runway you've all become so used to in the lower 48. It's down, and brake, and that's it. The entire plane feels it when the tires hit pavement. A good landing is a fast landing.

The second leg of the flight was significantly longer than the first. Anchorage is more than 600 miles Northwest of Juneau. The Captain explained that we were both flying higher (about 18,000 ft) and faster than normal in an attempt to make up for the delay in Sitka. When the primary means of transportation between cities is the flight you're on, the flight must run on time (or as near to it as is safely and reasonably possible). Near the middle of the flight, the Captain pointed out Mt. Logan in the Yukon, the second largest peak in North America (second to Denali, which is in Alaska). So, I took out the camera and took some snapshots of the beautiful scenery we were flying over.

Mt. Logan, Yukon

Clouds and sky

Seren did very well during the entire flight. She sat next to the window and did not even attempt to sleep. Most of her time was occupied looking out the window or reading a Calvin & Hobbes book she chose to take with her. She actually read about 80% of the 176-page book during this flight, which is quite a bit of dedication for a sleep-deprived 5-year-old on an airplane. She didn't complain. Not once. She was happy, excited, and inquisitive the entire way there.

We landed in Anchorage at about 9:10am and had claimed our baggage and were waiting for our shuttle to the hospital to check in by 9:40am. We had a 50-minute wait for the next shuttle to arrive, so she and I sat outside at the shuttle stop and amused ourselves with flowers and leaves, buildings, and people. A very nice couple vacationing from the United Kingdom struck up a conversation with Seren and she willingly took advantage of the opportunity to share with the foreigners all she knew about Alaska and its wildlife.

Seren hamming it up for the camera, outside Ted Stevens International Airport

Note the "badge" sticker given to her by the TSA agents in Sitka.

We were the only people on the shuttle to the hospital and the driver was listening and laughing with me about Seren's many questions on the way there. The driver was very nice and helped us with our luggage both into and out of the van, even refused to allow me to help him load. More notably, he did his job with a sort of genuine pleasure, the kind I hope I never learn to take for granted from Alaskans.

Inside the hospital, we were quickly directed to the housing department, which has an entire wing to itself. It was explained to us that we would not be staying on the hospital campus, but instead at a Quality Suites in downtown Anchorage. There was only one problem: It was just after 11am and check-in at the hotel wasn't until after 3pm. The good news was that I was given a pair of allowance cards that will be supplied with $25 per day for each of us to use for food at the hospital cafeteria AND the cafeteria has prepped hot food on par with a mall food court (Stephen would compare it to the cafeteria offerings at a major university). So Seren and I spent an hour or so getting food, eating, and calling family members to check in, then we found the playground (which amounts to a couple of slides in a gravel pit) and played for an hour or so, then we went to the gift shop where Seren graciously accepted candy from an on-site artist, then we went outside so she could run in the grass, then we went back to the cafeteria to eat some ice cream before FINALLY finding our place at the shuttle stop to head to the hotel.

Cafeteria lunch

Seren chasing a group of boys at the playground

A seal gut parka on display at the hospital

Mind you, neither of us had slept since 4am and Seren had still been very well-behaved throughout the whole day. She even drew positive remarks from passersby and people she interacted with along the way. I'm very proud of the attitude and stamina she showed on a day like this.

The shuttle to the hotel was full. We ended up in the furthest back row, next to a woman (maybe in her 70s) and her 6-year-old granddaughter. Seren immediately made friends and they laughed and played the whole ride away. The grandmother and I had conversation about our reasons for being at the hospital, the length of our stay, the beauty of Sitka, the weather, family, and on and on. She's a graduate of MEHS and was very pleased to hear that Stephen has a full-time music program going there. She's had 3 daughters graduate from there. She has at least 2 nieces who are going to go there. She expects several of her 15 grandchildren to go there. It's a kind of legacy that we have encountered over and over again with Mt. Edgecumbe students and I'm still surprised every time I hear the stories of lineage and history that pass through that institution's doors. They are staying at the same hotel we are and she was eager to tell me about all the best places to take Seren to walk, play, hang out, and eat. Her granddaughter tried to arrange an impromptu play date for this evening, but I had to decline. We were just too tired from the long day of travel. I could see that the grandmother was eager to see us again, to spend time with us and let the children play together, and I genuinely hope we run into them again before we leave.

It's 10:15pm now. Seren and I laid down for a nap at around 4:30pm and I have only been awake for a few hours. Seren is still sleeping soundly. She needs it. We have an 8:15am pre-op appointment to keep in the morning.

Seren's first post!

i am excited to go to cleveland to see baba! i also want to go to the zoo, the museum, and the library.

i really really really want to go to a hotel. i like hotels because they give us the food that we want and they have nice beds!

i also want to take pictures on the camera! i am excited to go to niagara falls.

Fall is here...

Fall is a four-letter word. In our house, it means there's a whole lot of work to be done before our schedules sort themselves out and we can settle into our respective roles at home and in the community. From here I'll just go down the list, one by one, so you can get an idea of what we're up to this time of year and how we get ourselves prepared for the next 9 months.

JoElle

I've quit my summer job at Mountain Miss/Work & Rugged Gear and I'm settling into a new job, serving and training to tend bar at Bayview Restaurant & Pub. It's true that working at the clothing stores was just a summer job, but the main reason I left was because they weren't able to work around my schedule, since having Stephen back at work means that I am only available nights and weekends. Truth be told, it's not necessary for me to work, however much our bank accounts are helped by me doing so. I just like having a reason to get out of the house and interacting with different people.

Speaking of getting out of the house, I'm also enrolled full time at University of Alaska Southeast, studying to complete my Associate's degree in Health Education. I'm taking 15 credits this semester, including Introduction to Psychology (on-site), American Sign Language I (on-site),  Weight Training for Women (on-site), Intermediate Algebra (distance), and Music Appreciation (distance). It's notable that this is the first time I've taken any live, on-site college courses, so I am experiencing a little bit of a learning curve in getting everything going, but I've started all but one of my courses (my first ASL class meets today) and I'm really enjoying everything so far.

Between work and school, I'm kept pretty busy running around, but they just fill the time when I'm not at home with Porter during the day and taking care of our household.

Stephen

Stephen is back to work after a long and somewhat relaxing summer. He is working on exciting things for the MEHS music program this year. Besides his regular music, rock band, and choir classes, he is also gearing up for Southeast Music Festival, hosted in Sitka this year, and working on a radio club that will take students to our local Public Radio station and teach them to run soundboards and dj, create radio programs, conduct interviews and share stories, and collaborate with their community for content. This, of course, is in addition to the fortnightly College Radio show he co-hosts with our good friend, Cassidy Patnoe.

If that wasn't enough, Stephen has also involved himself pretty heavily in a community playground project that will hopefully erect a family-friendly, ADA-compliant, and endowment-maintained community-built playground in 2013.

Seren

Seren might be the busiest of us all this school year. She has started full-day Kindergarten at the SEER School, a private elementary school near our house. The theme for learning this year is World History, so she will learn about different cultures and adventurers, get plenty of physical activity while discovering the cultural and natural aspects of our own community, and learn some Spanish from guest instructor, Maite Lorente, who is also the children's librarian at Kettleson Memorial Library.

Additionally, I am going to be working closely with her participation in a brand new 4H program that has been started in Sitka and she is slated to start Pee Wee Wrestling in January, which is coached by MEHS's own Japanese teacher and Wrestling coach, Mike Kimber.

Porter

Somehow, even with all the craziness that the rest of us have going on, Porter only spends ~8 hours per week at daycare. The rest of the time, he and I pal around the house while Seren and Stephen are at school. Porter is still too young to have too much going on outside the home, but he is still in speech therapy and doing well. So well, in fact, that he has been reduced from visiting his speech therapist down from once a week to once every other week. If his ability keeps improving in the way it has been for the last few moths, his visits will drop down to once a month. He now has a vocabulary of around 60 words and uses 2- and 3-word phrases occasionally. Now that he has a vocabulary strong enough to make requests and identify his surroundings, we are working on verbs, spacial awareness, and abstract concepts like feelings and memories.

He is also very close to being completely potty-trained, which means more freedom for him to do the things he likes to do and less hassle for his parents (us), which is always a high priority. Along with the transition from diapers to jockeys, we have replaced his toddler bed (actually his sister's toddler bed, which is now a frame for her full-size mattress) with a real "big-boy" twin-size bed. He loves his new bed and all the extra room it gives him. He also likes that we can sit in bed with him to cuddle, read, or whatever.

...And that's about it. *Whew!* If all that isn't enough to keep us out of trouble, I'm certain nothing will.

We hope all of you are settling into your own cool-weather schedules with ease. As always, we appreciate all the questions and comments everyone leaves on our blog. We enjoy hearing from you and it gives us a reason to write updates more frequently.

My Latest Creation

This latest culinary masterpiece of mine is an homage. I call it "What Elissa Ate (ages 8-15)." Keen-eyed observers will note the inclusion of kale, because that stuff just classes it all up.

"Colored noodles", big gob of margarine, Parmesan cheese, and kale

here and there and back again

There are a few things I've wanted to post about but haven't yet for one reason or other, so this post will probably be a mishmash of just about everything I can think of.

Three days after we arrived in Sitka, we celebrated Porter's 1st birthday. We didn't have the energy (or the money) or the resources to throw a big bash, so we bought a grocery store carrot cake and had a quiet dinner at home. The fun part was doing everything picnic style for lack of furniture.

Porter's birthday cake.

Singing 'Happy Birthday.'

Getting ready to blow out the candle (Seren helped, of course).

Birthday cake is serious business.

It's just what babies do.

Very contented.

Decisions, decisions.

A close up of the icing.

"What?"

Good thing it's not carpet.

Yes, that whole mess is his.

One of Seren's favorite places is a little out-of-the-way area called the Whale Park. It has massive statues of whales in the front that she likes to climb on, a picnic area, and lots and lots of boardwalk and stairs that take you down to the shore. At the bottom of all those steps, you will find a small sheltered area with viewfinders so that you can whale-watch for humpbacks, orcas, sea lions, seals, and other mammals common to the Sitka Sound. There's even a submerged microphone for listening to whale song.

The steps leading down. (There are more below!)

Boardwalk to the viewing area.

The shore.

The view.

Rainforest all around.

One of the hardest things for either of us to leave in Arizona was the wealth of authentic Mexican food. You can imagine our joy when we found a little restaurant out here (advertised as a pizza joint) that serves Mexican food nearly as good as what we are accustomed to. The place is called Pizza Express and this is what a taco dinner looks like:

Two shredded beef tacos, rice, and beans, garnished with red tortilla chips.

The best part? Not only is it good and not terribly expensive (relatively speaking, of course), but they deliver, too!

Speaking of food, I made Salmonberry Cobbler over the weekend. Salmonberries grow all over the place up here. You may be asking, "What is a salmonberry?" A salmonberry is a cluster berry, much like a raspberry or a blackberry. They are about 2-3 times larger than your average wild raspberry and are on the sweet side in comparison. They are called salmonberries because they are salmon in color, ranging from a dark yellow, to orange, to deep red.

Salmonberries.

Cobbler.

Want the recipe I used?

• Melt 1/2 cup butter in the bottom of a medium to large baking dish.
• In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, and ¾ cup milk.
• Pour mixture over melted butter and spread evenly. DO NOT MIX!
• Drop 2 cups berries evenly over the top of the mixture. DO NOT MIX!
• Top with an additional ½ cup sugar. DO NOT MIX!
• Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes or until browned.

In other news, I finally got to see a little bit of Stephen's new school. It's a nice place with very friendly people. I got the 10¢ tour of the administrative offices, the field house, and finally, the space that Stephen gets to claim as his own.

Stephen's practice space. (His office is attached off to the right.)

A really neat mobile made of hundreds of folded paper cranes hanging in a corner of the practice space.