MAGIC CABIN IN THE WOODS: Off-grid in Alaska

Pepper Relish for Hot Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:43:00 +0000

I stumbled across this recipe for relish and made it today. It's the perfect amount spicy, the perfect amount sweet. I ate it on a hot dog, but it could go on anything and everything, I swear. I didn't have mustard seed, so used 1.5 tsp ground mustard instead. Also was missing the celery seed, used a 1/2 tsp of celery salt, since it was all I could find. If you don't have kosher salt, be sure to halve or 2/3 the salt. Oh, and the recipe as it is makes two pints worth, so you're only water bathing for one. So you could just throw them in the fridge instead. And without further adieu..

Hot Dog Pepper Relish

Recipe Box: Crockpot Barley Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:46:00 +0000

Made this yesterday in my mini crock. Delicious, healthy, vegan even!

Crockpot Barley Casserole

Peru is for the Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:45:00 +0000

Literally! In Peru, the dogs just run around, and they are HAPPY and HEALTHY. I didn't see a starving or mangey dog for our entire stay. There are so many lovely dogs in Peru, it was a dog-lover's paradise.

We just returned from a three week jaunt through the Peruvian highlands and had a lovely time. We also visited Houston, Alabama, and Maryland to visit family during our travels. We are posting photos on our picasa page, although are far from done. Feel free to check out those we have up so far -- http://picasaweb.google.com/nomadtoes

Twisty Baby Black Locust

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:07:00 +0000

We also planted one of these in the yard a month ago and I'm just fascinated by it. It's called (as you might have guessed) a twisty baby black locust, which we got from Petree but came originally from Bylands Nurseries. The leaves have fallen off by now but the trunk is still very cool and I'm hoping it survives to next year. The tag says it gets fragrant white flowers and is hardy to Zone 4, which is about where we are, so crossing my fingers!

Magic Casita in the Desert?

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:27:00 +0000

Since we updated last on here lots has been going on. We came down to New Mexico and surprisingly stayed! We've been here almost a year now, and since things are going well we went ahead and purchased a small casita about six weeks ago. It is hella old, the original part of the structure being built in 1870/80s and the other part about 60 years later. It had no plumbing or bathroom or water, although someone had put in electricity. It's wood heat, naturally.

We've been working hard to bring it up to modern living standards, or at least our living standards, but I thought I should post to the old blog so anyone who still receives the email updates can keep abreast of our progress. Plus, it's a way for me to record things, like what kind of apple trees I planted the week we moved into the place -- one Jonagold and one Haralson Semi-Dwarf. Did you know that you have to have at least two apple trees in order for them to produce? Faskinatin.

I've put up some photos of the cabin from when we got it here, and will update when I can to show our progress.

~K

Alaska to New Mexico in the Dead of Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:47:00 +0000

So, I lied. A little bit. I had meant to post our post-itinerary from the Alaska to New Mexico trip, and never got around to it. So I said I wasn't going to post anymore, but here goes. Don't go getting all excited, because I should really be quiet soon. Feel free to follow along via our photos.

W 12/24 - McCarthy to Anchorage via snowmachine, two flights, and a car. Dinner at Mike's. Subaru was waiting for us at Patrick's.

R 12/25 - Much lounging with Patrick's family. Introduced to Penn & Teller. I made a big breakfast for everyone.

F 12/26 - Mike took us around to get chains and look for tires. Ate at the Village Inn and did our grocery shopping for the trip.

S 12/27 - Departed Anchorage after getting studded tires put on car and going to DMV to get paperwork on car. Drove to Tok and stayed at the Totem Inn.

S 12/28 - Totem Inn's outlet didn't work, so our block heater didn't, well, heat. Car froze overnight and we had to have someone come out and give a cold start. Made it out by noon with the sun resting on the horizon, saw caribou on the drive, went through customs, and pulled into Whitehorse late that night. Beez Kneez hostel was kind enough to open up for us and let Link stay inside.

M 12/29 - Drove all the way to Fort Nelson, saw buffalo parked on the "highway," also saw moose. Ended at Traveler's Inn, dumpy little place but sufficient.

T 12/30 - Got to Prince George, saw deer on the way, ended the day with beers in Shooters, and took out two nights at the very accommodating Travelodge. Starting to feel civilized again.

W 12/31 - Lounged all day. Played chess on the little board that Patrick got us for Christmas (via a gift card), watched a Dinner Impossible marathon, I bought makeup at the drug store to "clean up," had a lovely New Years Eve dinner at fancy restaurant Cimo's.

R 1/1 - Time to head out again. Passes, animals, snow, more of the same. Got dinner at a Chinese restaurant not far (between 15 and 40 miles) north of Boston Bar, where we stayed in the atrocious Motor Inn. Atrocious.

F 1/2 - Got to developed civilization. Got bagel sandwiches at Tim Hortons, changed out the oil on the car, Jeremy had a panic when he "lost" his license and credit card (which he subsequently found right where he'd put them), we saw a bald eagle (in Canada -- we yelled, "Get back to America, you traitor!"), went across the border again (in Canada, fast food drive throughs carry dog treats, so Link got accustomed, and when we got to the customs agent, he got very excited in anticipation of his dog treat, and stuck his head out the window trying to get to the agent), stopped by mall to get cell phone, had coffee and relaxed in Chocolicious Cafe in Seattle (actual name may have varied), then had amazing dinner party with friend Teddy and her friends.

S 1/3 - Headed off to Portland. Took the coastal route. Stopped in and toured Astoria, and then got to Portland where Nate awaited. We went to his holiday party at Lorenzo's, and watched Ironman later.

S 1/4 - Nate cooked breakfast, we went out to Multnomah falls, then on a short brewery tour that night to Lucky Lab and Green Dragon. It snowed and was beautiful to see a city in white.

M 1/5 - Took breakfast from Cricket Cafe up to dog park, where we met Ender the dog, then went to the Rose Garden, then the car broke down on Burnside (still on, just wouldn't go forward or backward, like brake was on) only a half block from Firestone, which we could see but couldn't get to. Took an hour for a tow truck to arrive. Link had his first subway ride on the way back to Nate's place, and that night the boys watched Zeitgeist but its not my thing so I passed out.

T 1/6 - We awaited word on the car, playing Gamecube in the meanwhile. Turns out the hill assist malfunctioned, turning the e-brake on. Firestone was nice enough not to charge me to fix it. That night, Nate wasn't feeling well per his back pain, but his roommate Erich took us out to McMinnamin's, which is an elementary school converted into a series of bars and fun stuff (outdoor hot pool, whiskey room, billard room, boiler room). Crazy. Link played a lot with Erich's dog Milo that day.

W 1/7 - I cooked up breakfast for everyone before we left. We got some groceries at Winco as we headed east out of Portland, and enjoyed the drive over to Idaho. Stopped in Boise and stayed at a palace of a hotel (Rodeway Inn) for $40.

R 1/8 - Enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the hotel before heading off for the day. Closed out Utah at Grogg's Pinnacle Brewing, staying in the nearby Price at the Legacy Inn.

F 1/9 - Jeremy lost his brand new sunglasses and we saw more of Utah than we intended in the process. Enjoyed the last day of our drive, although as it turned dark and we turned onto the final road that would take us into Taos, we saw "Road Closed Due to Snow Drifts." So we had to go around the mountains, which there was no good way to do other than going 70 miles out of our way, tacking on an extra hour and a half to the trip. After so much driving, we just laughed and got on our way. Closed out our trip by meeting Jamison at Eske's in Taos for a beer.

And here are the photos. Thanks for coming along with us!

Blog Suspended

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:47:00 +0000

It's been swell, it's been fun, but we're suspending the blog. Ok, not entirely fair -- I'm suspending the blog. It doesn't make sense anymore because we're not in Alaska at the Magic Cabin, and Jem's a hard cookie or a tough nut, whatever, to get the haikus out more than rarely. And since I'm writing so much in other areas, I have to reduce my obligations.

But if you think you'll just crumble inside not to see my wit and sarcasm manifest via the written word, please feel free to check out my other site, The Cultural Property and Archaeology Law Blog.

You are also welcome to keep up with us on Picasa. Or, hey, why not Facebook.

That's all, folks! Take care of yourselves... and each other.

High-End Manufactured/Prefab Green Homes & Eco Sheds

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Always love to see what those crazy Northern Europeans are coming up with. Figured I'd share some of the highlight sites...

moderncabana.com
neoshed.com
kithaus.com
modern-shed.com
fabprefab.com
inhabitat.com
jetsongreen.com/prefab
openarchitecturenetwork.org

What's your favorite?

Plantings and Seedlings

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Hello!

All is well here, and we're taking full advantage of the sun by growing some things (namely: Tomatoes, Spinach, Jalapeno, Thyme, Lavender, Cilantro, Basil, and Chives). To see our planting session two weeks ago and how our seedlings are doing now, check out these photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nomadtoes/PlantingAndSeedlings130091036AM#

Hope all is well out there in the world!

Funky Colmaplant.

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I went to Petree's Nursey today and Sylvia helped me pick out some gorgeous plants. Here's the most bizarre--

Cylindricum. Or something. Its a specimen plant. That means weird. It is a variant of mother in law's tongue, which you've seen in office buildings everywhere. It grows in tube shaped. Coooool.

Magic Casita in the Desert?

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:19:00 +0000

I was thinking I'm going to have to rename the blog if we stay down in New Mexico for a while.

All is well. I'm back to work, and Jeremy got a job at a pretty nice hotel not far from here. He started school today and will start work on Friday. I am going to a Latina Nueva cooking class tonight and hopefully a spot will open up so I can take it all semester. Otherwise, maybe I'll learn me some Pueblo Pottery.

This warning was in a dressing room here, and gave me the giggles:

Yesterday we got Link the Magic Dog fixed, and he's still sleeping it off. He's already run off once last week, not to be deterred by the barb wire fence. The past few months we would joke that all he was thinking was "Where's da bitches? Where's da bitches?" You see, it's humorous because he's a dog, and he likes female dogs, and ... nevermind. So now there will be no little Links, but its probably better. I'm attached enough to this one.

I've been happily setting up my new home office, and getting a good bit of work, so I should be able to pay off the trip expenses and buy myself a Rolex in no time.

As for Alaska? Well, we heard that right after we left it was -50 for weeks. Yikes. I don't know if I would have been able to stand my whining, much less that kinda cold. -40 was bad enough, and its pretty exponential at that point.

Hope all's well out there in the world! Happy new year everybody!

Photos of the trip and new casita.

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Ok, my geocities storage was filling up, so I've now started with Picasa. I've posted photo highlights from our Alaska to New Mexico trip as well as photos of the new casita as well. It's gorgeous, ever so civilized, and I am very happy with it. Now I just have to decorate!

http://picasaweb.google.com/nomadtoes

Enjoy!

Tacos in Taos

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:54:00 +0000

Well what are we going to do about the title now that we are no longer off-grid in Alaska? We have not only reached New Mexico, but found ourselves an awesome little casita that we moved into yesterday. J-dog is on a job interview, and it looks like he got another part time deal lined up with a local hotel. He also got registered for classes. I am trying to work out internet for the house, and get caught up on a pile of work. Our roadtrip was awesome, but its nice to settle in again. I will post photos of our new place and travels soon!

I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with Tacos. Nothing, really, other that it'd be kind of nice if I could eat some right now.

Leaving on a Jet... Van?

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 23:01:00 +0000

We're about to leave for a road trip to winter over in New Mexico, but I wanted to leave ya'll with a couple photos before we go of candle making, doggie dressing, moon rising, and beard thawing. We'll be taking off on Tuesday, but we'll keep ya'll updated as to our travels and when we get where.

d

Off topic, unless the topic is me me me

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:24:00 +0000

There is a podcast of an interview with me about my contract lawyering practice. If you are interested...

http://contractattorneys.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/contract-attorney-podcast-an-interview-with-yours-truly/

How to Kill and Prepare a Rabbit (a rejoinder)

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:19:00 +0000

While some of you have seen this video on YouTube that we put up on How to Kill and Prepare a Rabbit, it has become such a trend (with 5,000 views!) and we've been getting such amazing comments that I wanted to put it up again. Apparently with the recession people are starting to revisit the idea of raising their own meat, or getting it from wild sources. Even the urbanites are starting to raise chickens. Without further adieu...

Now it's worth mentioning that our How to Kill a Chicken Video got censored and pulled from YouTube, even though this one has been very popular and was moved to the "Adult" category by the man. Are chickens more cuddly than rabbits? I never woulda thought.

Winter Haiku

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Snow and icicles
Frozen toilet seat no good
Headed south thank god

We had a couple friends over on Friday night and did the whole dinner, drinks, and movie deal. I had a lot of fun and needed it. Doldrums of winter and all. Today we're going to go help a friend bottle some beer. I think we get to drink some in the process, although that means it is not bubbly yet. We've been making wine and its turning out pretty well. Jeremy has been wearing the same pants for weeks. Don't tell him I told you. I'm not sure if he's even noticed.

Oh, and its -35 degrees outside. Yes, the Inuit gods are punishing us.

Pumpkin Peanut Curry Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:25:00 +0000

We went to a potluck Thanksgiving and one of the things I brought was an amazing pumpkin peanut curry soup, which I pulled out of nowhere. I wanted to memorialize the recipe for anyone feeling adventurous.

8 cups apple sauce
6 cups real pumpkin
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 can coconut milk
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/3 cup butter
3 boullion cubes
1 kohlabi, finely diced (optional)

onion
red curry powder
cinnamon
garlic powder
italian seasoning
celery salt
salt

All the seasonings are to taste. If you really hate to guess, I used about one medium onion worth of flakes, 2 tbsp curry, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp garlic, 2 tsp italian, 1/2 tsp celery salt, and 1 tsp salt. I did not puree anything, so there were some chucks of pumpkin in there afterwards, which I liked, but you can also puree. You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

I'm Famous!

noreply@blogger.com (Mithril Mongoose) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:10:00 +0000

Ok, maybe not FAMOUS, but there's an article about me and my novel on the website Lawyer Avenue. Check it out: Did You NaNoWriMo This Year?

So needless to say Jeremy and I both finished our draft novels, and we can both call ourselves novelists at cocktail parties. Goooooo us!

I've put up a sample chapter from my book The Long Winter on my writing blog (click the title). I don't think Jem will be making a sample chapter available soon. He won't even let me read what he wrote!

Me, on the other hand? Attention hog. If anyone wants to help me edit and provide feedback, either on the story or grammar (ahem, Dale?), shoot me at email and we'll work something out. I'll owe you (which is convenient now that I'm doing writing, web design, AND SEO side work in addition to the lawyering). Who knew life in the woods would be so busy? :)

A few photos to help you while away your Thanksgiving.

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:40:00 +0000

Happy Turkey Day everyone! Now I'm not one for celebrating the landing of one C. Columbus on the other side of the big rock I live on which for some was not the happiest of occasions, but I am one for eating some good food and having some good times. In this spirit, I wanted to share some photos of the little adventure we took yesterday up to Kennicott. These were all taken from 12-2, so you can see the light is definitely dimming early. We're going up to a neighborhood dinner this afternoon, and I'm making an amazing pumpkin curry soup that I'll post what I can muster of a recipe for later, as well as a seven layer bean dip. Enjoy the photos and the big day!

Slowing Down

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:39:00 +0000

Things have been slow, that's all there is to it. The dog lays in front of the wood stove. Jem sits at the table next to the woodstove doing his schoolwork. I sit across the room on the couch doing my work. I don't know whether its viral or what but Jem is showing more of an interest in archaeology these days. He's usually more of a historical period person, or so I thought. I await my acceptance into a Masters program that will send me off to Italy in May. Until then, I read, I research, and I try and make the money that will send me there, because lord knows I don't want to sell any stocks for pennies on the dollar. Oh, and snow. There's snow outside.

We're going to a dinner party across town tonight. That should be fun. The host is a very good classical guitar player, so he will give us a bit of a concert I expect. And tomorrow, we chop wood.

We've finally caught onto melting our wash water since the wood stove is going all the time. That should cut back on our hauling responsibilities.

NaNoWriMo is going well. I am nearly done, at 41,000 words I think, and Jem is well on schedule, but we both have been experiencing symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (I kid you not). So I'll be looking forward to when I'm through.

I procrastinated this morning working on the novel by putting up a new post on my Cultural Property and Archaeology Law Blog on a map thief. Here it is if you just can't get enough of my wit: Bookworm plays crucial role in map theft case.

Oh, and 10 degrees is no longer tee shirt weather. Now, it's -5 degrees.

Winter Wonderland, and My Bootie...s.

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:01:00 +0000

Just want to catch you up on some photos. The first is of Jeremy's frozen-stiff jeans after he took a little wade in the river to get the ATV un-stuck! The others are of our GORGEOUS winter abode, and our adorable little puppy. His six- month birthday was yesterday and he won a contest! But I'll tell you more about that later. Plus, note my amazing bootie... s. Yes, I mean those sheepskin slippers I'm wearing. Worth every penny. OH, yeah, and you also might note that the panoramic in the header on the blog page has changed. As I promised it would. It is now Magic Cabin a' la' winter. Enjoy!

An Ode to my Bunny Boots

noreply@blogger.com (Mithril Mongoose) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:11:00 +0000

Yesterday, Kimberly and I were heading to the mail shack and to the spring on the wheeler. It was a warmer day (10F) and we had no trouble starting the wheeler as a result. We ran into trouble, literally, when we came to the McCarthy Creek bridge. Slushy water was hiding under ice at the base of our side of the bridge, and the wheeler broke through. It sank in water up to the tops of its tires. It was stuck. We were able to lift/push it out but in the process our boots filled with icy water. The good news: We were wearing our bunny boots. These are military surplus boots for extreme cold weather. They consist of insulation surrounded by two waterproof rubber layers. When water gets into the boots, it quickly warms up to body temperature. After getting the wheeler unstuck we walked to the mail shack in our warm, water filled boats.

Check out my new article!

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:29:00 +0000

I wrote an article for a fellow homesteader's new magazine -- Homesteader News. It's just getting started, but he's featuring a few nice homesteads and articles by people in the know. I'll let you poke around and find the one I wrote. :)

Enjoy!

Who voted?

noreply@blogger.com (Nomad Toes) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:10:00 +0000

We did, we did! If you voted, too, post a comment here and give yourself a pat on the back.