Tuesday, 5/29 PM

The sunset, in the west at 11:15 last night as I was headed up to bed

The reflected glow of the sunset on the Chugach Mountains, to the east, also at 11:15 pm. My camera is not good enough to capture the pure pinkness on those mountains. It was SO beautiful, and makes me wish I was a better photographer who could justify a better camera.

By 11:30, the glow was gone, but the beauty remains.

Dogs all tucked in for the night. I love checking on them at bedtime. Most of them curl up on the ground, like Kaki and Jack, here in the forground (though Jack's head is up - I swear he never sleeps!), although a few sleep in their houses, and a few on top of them.

Beverages, Alaskan style. Admittedly, I purchased the coffee for the package (remember what I said - I am totally about packaging!  You could probably sell me dog poo, if you made the package look cool enough!) I did buy a 6 pack of Amber, and plan to drink probably two, and leave the rest here for Kristin. I'm thinking, though, that I may not like it as much - all the Amber I've had in the past has been on draft, and just now I'm thinking, "You know, it COULD just be you like DRAFT beer, not A Amber itself. PERHAPS you just don't like BOTTLED beer..."  Time will tell.

OK, now THIS I did not buy for the label. I DID buy it bc it is my higher purpose in life to sample all local wines, no matter WHERE I am (and discovered early on, North Carolina makes TERRIBLE wine, by the way...)  It was... ok. JUST ok. It was pretty sweet (duh, Laurie, it SAYS berries, honey and grape wine... did you expect a dry Cabernet, perhaps?) and I'm not a fan of sweet wines. But, luckily, I did have some gingerale, so I added a little splash of that, and made a fruity spritzer out of it, which was tolerable enough that I had two glasses. Or three.

It was chilly, so I started a fire just to take the edge off the chill in the house while I made dinner. (Creamy chicken stroganoff, which was AWESOME, complete with tons and tons of mushrooms. Ummm. I am a GOOD COOK!) This woodstove is the easiest one I have ever used, and have not had a problem starting a fire in it, any time I've used it. It also only takes a couple pieces of wood to heat the house up to be super comfortable. Granted, it is only in the 40's, so it's not like its freezing, but the damp chill is gone after I have burned literally two small pieces of wood. And the added benefit is, the heat finds its way upstairs so it's warm when I go to bed, too!

This might just be how I want to remember my time here - the view from the kitchen window, lookking into the dog yard. If I'm not IN the dog yard, then looking at it while I work and type at the kitchen table is the next best thing. Especially if you add in a glass of too-fruity Alaskan wine. THIS is the picture, on of them, of contentment, and a full and happy heart.