Love from the Lower 48

She says:

This week started off with some gifts from some loved ones residing in the lower 48. I received a hand written letter from my Aunt Pat informing me of how my mother was recouping after surgery as well as catching me up on all family to-do (really there is nothing better than a hand written note).

I also got a new pair of L.L. Bean slippers from my mother (these are the most beloved piece of footwear I’ve ever had. They ARE my security blanket. I would not dare venture anywhere without them, so you can imagine my dismay when they somehow missed getting packed for Ak. Obviously my mother needed to send a pair stat, they console me the way a mug of hot cocoa would console one on a cold winters day or a cup of noodle soup soothes the soul when one is feeling under the weather.)

And last but certainly not least, I received an absolutely fantastic baking cookbook from my dear friend Megan. The book is from a bakery in Brooklyn called “Sweet Melissa Patisserie” the bakery brags to make to best version of your favorite dessert. After talking with Megan about the dilemmas I was facing at the lodge, she thought this book might be the answer. I can’t say that there is really any cure fit for what is ailing the lodge and the disparities between Jeffrey and my cooking and the taste buds of the management, but that is neither here nor there, but its as you will soon find out, behind us. The book is fantastic, I throughly enjoyed the detailed cooking instructions given, simplicity of the ingredients and the fantastic antidotes about Melissa’s childhood and what a large influence baking had on her life.

All the gifts were heart warming and gave me pangs of nostalgia for home. I love being here in Alaska, but sometimes I do miss the familiar faces of those that I love back home. However, fortunately for me Jeff’s mama is coming for a visit. It will be good to see her. I hope to share some of the beauty and adventure that this place holds (and fingers crossed the weather will cooperate.) In addition, it will be wonderful to have a fresh set of eyes observing these odd circumstances at the lodge, and to tell us if we are sane coping with the insane or on the brink of loosing our marbles.