Family photos - Tomas Zebastian Friedrich

Frederick Sylvester 3 years old

Tomas Zebastian 5 minutes old

My newest grandson finally arrived! He weighed 10lbs 14 oz, is 22 inches long and yeah, we're real glad we had two experienced midwives for this one. Both mom and baby are doing great.

Thanks for all the congratulations already from folks who saw the news on fb. I love being a grandmother and have found it to be one of my greatest joys. For all my whining and complaining on this blog... (heh).... I am and always have been blessed. Today I'm very grateful.

For those of you who pre-ordered 2020 & the ACM, we're back to work on the revisions this week. Well, I am anyway, Nord's still on maternity leave. :)

My depressing vision for the future

Nolan and Nordica

please don't shoot the messenger!

Finally got to spend a few days with my son while he was home on leave. It's been years since I had both my children under my roof; I felt very blessed and grateful that I'm not dead yet. It's the first time he's been around our lifestyle and he seemed to really like our gertees. We ate, talked music, movies, politics (but not communitarian war), books, played spades, shot pool and this mother of a US Marine was sure happy to see her boy can shoot. It was also good to hear a bit about what his deployment was like, where he was and how he lived over there. Said my gertee camp is nicer than theirs was. He was in a rural, undeveloped, poor area where the conditions are primitive and the biggest threat is the road bombs. I found myself wanting to believe the role he plays there is as a peacekeeper... it would be so much easier on me.

He hasn't had time to read the books I sent to him, but before he left he commented, like so many people I know I have said to me, that my vision for America's future sure is depressing. "It's not my vision," I told him, "it's Etzioni's." Etzioni just knows how to make it sound better.

10 foot pvc gertee's new set-up in backyard

I'm disappearing..... :)

It's Break-up!

Survived another winter in gertee!

Main Street, downtown Gerteeville, AK

East on Edgerton, Wrangells through the windshield

My booboo

Local buzzard, year round low flying pest :)

New stack robber oven!

Two more rows of fabric up (time for a taller ladder)

Dominic and Freddie

Break-up 2009

Freddie after a day of playing outside

Summer Visitors

Tanner flying under a tinfoil roof

Well, we didn't end up hosting the Freedom Festival this summer, and Camp Redington never officially opened either. Everything is ready for next summer though, we can open on schedule in 2009 and take reservations over the winter. We will be open during the Kenny Lake Fair on the 15th and 16th.

Here's a few people who came by; they were our "pilot tests." While mostly family, Brian and Trudy are ACL supporters from back east who made us part of their Alaskan vacation plans. We saw a close brown bear when we took a walk down at 15 mile the last day they were here. I yelled "run" and took off towards the car. They really wanted to see a bear so didn't listen to me, but the bear did (thankfully) and it ran into the woods (and then Brian wanted to follow it!) I really enjoyed their company and it was very inspiring to discuss ACL work with people who studied our website. He said what he most appreciated was how we stick to the facts and provide so many direct links to government sources. It was also pretty cool to find out he used to be in the 82nd, and I'm grateful to know that our Army is still made up of some men like my father. Not everyone discounts our work based on where we live or our lack of credentials.

Justin inside the museum

cousin Jayce

Tanner, Jayce and Nordica

Fred and Aunt Kathy

mosquito hat

neighbors

Brian and me

lunchtime with cousins and Aunt Judy in gertee

Diane and Kathy

Nordica, Fred, Brian and Trudy