Doll dress-by Katie

Katie and Annika with doll dress.

Last week my mom and I made a  doll dress for my sister Annika as a surprise. My mom accidentally sewed the lace on the wrong side of the dress; but when I went to take out the stitches I ended up tearing the fabric. After my mom repaired the rip you couldn't even see it anymore;  but when my mom was sewing Annika saw the dress and ruined the surprise. I told Annika that she could still have the dress even if she saw it, so I gave her the dress but told her to never peek at another surprise.  The dress was blue with white and it had lace on the bottom I made the blue part from my older sister's old skirt and I used  gold thread to do the lines on the ribbons the ribbons go to the back so you could tie it off!





    

Just a funny shot.

                                 

Making Almond Toffee By Annika

My first batch of Toffee!

On Sunday night my Mom said I could make a batch of candy. I pulled out my candy making book and I flipped through it to find a recipe. We had all the ingredients for almond toffee.

We began by reading the recipe out loud. Next we toasted almonds and while they were in the oven I started gathering the rest of the ingredients. When the almonds were done I chopped half of them into small pieces and put them aside. My brother Caleb asked if he could chop up the rest of the almonds while I read the recipe again, to make sure that I was following the directions.

Yummy!!

The next step was to melt butter in the special pot that mom bought with her birthday money. When it melted
I added in the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Then I stirred it until the temperature was 240 degrees on the thermometer. I dumped one of the bowls of chopped nuts in. It cooled it way down and separated the butter from the sugar. I continued stirring but after awhile Mom said it was wrong because it wasn't suppose to still be separated. Mom read the beginning of the book to see what to do. We had to quickly put hot water in it and stir, it started to thicken again.

Now all we had to do was wait for the temperature to reach 295 degrees. When it came to the correct temperature I poured it on a cookie sheet to cool. After it was set enough I put chocolate chips on top to melt and then spread over. I took the other bowl of almonds and sprinkled half of them on the top of the chocolate. We do not have a refrigerator so I put it outside to harden. I even had to put a umbrella over it as it was sprinkling. While it was out there I was inside melting more chocolate chips for the other side of the toffee.

After making sure that it was hard, Mom flipped the toffee over so I could spread on the melted chocolate. I put it back out until everyone had finished dinner. My little brother Michael did not want to finish so it took forever until we could eat it. It was really good!

One afternoon walk- by Adelaide

My enchanting vista!

Ketchikan is very wet, I did not know the meaning of wet until I had been through  winter here. The rain is usually accompanied by a fierce wind and it slant sideways so it is blowing in your face, a storm can last up to four days; so, we do not get out that much. South East Alaska gets about 20 feet of rain a year, where we used to live we only had about 15 inches, quite a difference. A few days ago there was a break in the rain and we decided we were going to go for a walk. We did not exactly know where we were going or what we were going to do, we just had to get out for some exercise.

While the others were getting ready I wanted to get some pictures from up high,

Seagulls in the sunshine.

since it was a beautiful day, I climbed up to the top of the mast; it has the most enchanting vista from there! I  got out my camera, I snapped a few shots. Then I heard Dad down on the deck calling, "Let's go!" I quickly put my camera away and climbed down as fast as I could. When I got to the first spreader I yelled to the others, "Wait for me!" I moved down the rest of ladder and jumped off the boat to run down the dock after everybody else! We walked down the dock towards the Plaza, snapping photos along the way.

Annika sketching

We soon found ourselves wandering along the breakwater, with seagulls and ravens flying around us, the sun gently peeping out from behind the clouded sky. There was a strong breeze snipping at our noses and ears, we laughed and scrambled along the tops of the boulders! Anna sat and drew by an old forgotten restaurant, sketching a town that had formed in her mind.

Elaine hunting treasure

Elaine was down and about the water's edge, looking for washed up treasures that might be found on rocks. She did find a car seat and some garbage. Dad had a camera set up and was taking pictures of the sunset
and birds that flew by.  I also had my little camera on, waiting for a bird to fly by into the sunset. Mom was trying to put on more layers to keep warm, which I can not understand as it was fairly warm. Caleb got restless and went on off to the Plaza to get a cookie at the bakery. Michael and Gabriel were throwing rocks in the water, seeing who could throw the farthest; Katie soon joined them. After awhile we started moving on. Mom suddenly saw a eagle perched up on top of a lamp post. Dad got out

The "Boys" throwing rocks.

his camera and took a picture, then saw a better spot so he moved and was just about to take the picture when the bird up and flew away! After it was gone we saw Caleb, his camera held up right below the lamp, I think he scared it away. Well, I guess we will try again another time. We went into the Plaza and walked upstairs to look at all the fifty percent off toys and clothes outside Silly Munchkins. When we finally left we went to see if the bus had come by or not so we could go up to the Library.

The eagle on it's perch.

That idea was ended when Mom bribed everyone: if we did not go to the Library we would go home and make Hot Chocolate! Mom won! I still wanted to go to the Library, so did Dad and he thought about going back to get the car. I knew by that time the sun would be down, so we went and got some milk instead. While Dad shopped Mom and I talked to our friend Lulu( a florist at Safeway), we checked out and then went home! We made a delicious pot of cocoa, we sat around the table drinking from a steaming mug, and talked. Well for me that was a perfect day, I had just hoped we would have another! And we have!!!.

Highland Dancing By: Annika

Dancing at the Pub

We started learning Highland dancing last year in January. Mom put us in the class because it was free and mom's great grandma was Scots. Highland Dancing is a Scottish ballet, the dance we are learning is called the Highland fling. There is more than one dance of Highland dancing one of them is called the Sword dance which one of the boys in our class is learning.

We go practice every Monday evening at the Episcopal church.  Our teacher's name is Mrs. Jane, she works at a clinic close by and she teaches us after work. On St Patrick's day we were in the town parade as the Highland dancers. We then went to O’Brien's pub to perform the Highland Fling. We were also in the Fourth of July parade and after the parade we went to a pioneer home and performed for the people there. On November 30th we will be preforming at the St John's church for St Andrew's day; we are looking forward  to it. My sister, who is twelve, knows the Highland fling the best right now; so she is teaching the younger kid's including me. After the St Andrew's day show we have a holiday break and wont start again for a month. We are hoping to keep doing the Highland dancing until we head south next summer.

Rainbird Trail - By Adelaide

Ketchikan recently built a new City Library above town in a area called Bear Valley. The library used to share a building with the Tongass Historical Museum and both were running out of space, and as the Museum was a tourist attraction the library was moved to it's new location. After the move we had to find a new way up there, because the bus only ran up to Bear Valley once an hour; so we did not visit the Library as often.

The By-Pass

We found the shortest way to walk to the library was to use the 3rd Ave. bypass.
The bypass was built in 2002 to make a second route for traffic to get from the north end of town to down-town. It starts right above the marina and ends in Bear Valley where the library is now located. Walking the bypass was quicker then waiting for the bus, so on nice days we would take the bypass for the fresh air and exercise. We had walked the bypass a couple of times and had noticed two staircases about a quarter mile apart, going up the rock cliff and disappearing into the trees. We wondered where they lead, but did not take the time to investigate. So, on a nice wonderfully warm sunny day our curiosity got the best of us; we gathered water bottles and snacks and we started out.


When we finally got to the stairs we discovered they led to the Rain Bird trail. The sun was bright and high when we started up the steps; when we reached the top of the stairs we turned and looked out across the Tongass Narrows. We did not realize at the time it was just a prelude of things to come. We climbed straight up for the first ten to fifteen minutes, taking short rests when we were winded. The path we were on opened suddenly on the Rain Bird trail which meandered along the hill side. We turned south and started noticing green ferns and ice cold crystal clear creeks. A slight breeze whispered through the trees as we walked; the heavenly smell of pine trees and a sweet smell from the sun when it warms the moist ground. Our ears were filled with the sounds of water falling down the rocks below and the wind rustling the leaves above.  

Our world became one of hopping over creeks and running down stone steps as if we were on an ancient forgotten road. Climbing over and under fallen trees and always wondering what lay around the next bend or over the next rise. We broke from the forest quite suddenly and found ourselves atop a cliff looking down at the town below. A wood fence stretched along the cliff top adding to the beauty of the Tongass Narrows, Ketchikan, and the islands below. It was so breathtaking; there were boats out on the water heading or returning from sea empty or laden down with fish, Cruise Ships were leaving and docking, and the islands were rising and falling in hills and mountains. You could see pretty much everything there was to see all in one glance!


We really did not want to leave the Rain-bird trail, as we descended the stairs we made a decision right there and then that we would return as often as possible, and we have. The Rain-bird trail is a place to think and get your mind settled, a magical place where fairy tales seem true.


Editor: Dad

The Last Frontier - by Adelaide

THE LAST FRONTIER

four seasons and the night

Spring chases winter away

   All the animals, “thank you”, they say
Everything starts to dry

  The birds return to lay their eggs and fly

In the summer the sun is warm

   The mosquitoes fly about in a swarm

The water & grass are deep and green

   The woods are beautiful and serene

In the fall the leaves turn orange and red

   All the animals get ready for bed

The flowers send their seeds to hide

   Safe from winter in a hillside

In winter it rains and such

   It really does not snow much

The water is crystal clear

   The cold hits you in gusts sharp with fear

When the moon shines bright

   It makes the sky pale gray in the night

Then suddenly appears a glow of green and white

   Brighter and brighter it becomes, it is known as the northern lights

I know this because I sleep on the deck of a boat

   With the moon,stars,and northern lights draped over me like a cloak

There are animals such as bears and deer

   This beautiful country covered in green and blue is known as the Last Frontier

Overlooking Tongass Narrows - by Adelaide

The Puddle Ducks of Bar Harbor - by Annika

The drake & his girls looking for food - by Caleb

My favorite animal is a duck. In the marina here there are three mallard ducks. There are two girls and a drake, we call them the puddle ducks. It is funny that the boy has two girls instead of one. I am wondering if they are going to have babies this year. The two girls have disappeared and we have only seen the one. Daddy thinks that they are nesting. If they are it is going to be fun watching them swimming and growing up.

A duck is my favorite animal because they are pretty and their ducklings are cute. Before we moved on the boat we had ducks, mine was a black one. Since we live on a boat I can't have one, instead my mom got me a giant stuffed mallard I use for a pillow, it is very comfortable