Weekend Antics

We had a pretty eventful weekend.

Friday evening was full of excitement with canning and microwave installation on the agenda.

We have now successfully canned enough raspberry jam to keep us alive for six years. We had never canned before, so the whole idea became a huge science experiment, with jars, lids, various pots, chemicals, and a plethora of tong-like devices to handle piping-hot jam. However, a taste and consistency test shows that the jam has solidified into a wonderful jammy consistency.

After our successful canning operation was over, we turned our attention to the most wonderful microwave in the world. It's replacing the worst microwave in the world, which is the one above our oven which has burned a hole in itself and makes everything smell funny. This microwave cooks, simmers, grills, poaches, and I believe will also learn to program our VCR (it has an ominous "Learning Mode"). However, the directions looked a bit sketchy and after trying to decipher them, we decided that the best microwave in the world should have a professional installation. So, it is hiding behind the couch (learning to program the Tivo, no doubt) while we wait for the install.

On Saturday, I ran 12 miles with a friend on our quest to complete the Las Vegas Marathon in December. Although it had looked like a cold day, it really ended up being quite nice. We saw a moose and a calf at about the 5 mile mark, but by the time we ran back there, they were gone. Anyways, we did finish our run in decent time, so I feel like we're definitely on track for LV!

What, you might ask, does a person who runs 12 miles do afterwards? Well, go to the fair, of course! It's a drive from Anchorage but well worth it. As someone who did not really go to fairs as a kid (they weren't cool, you know), I was blown away by how much fun the fair was here. My favorite this year, of course after running, was the eating part. We ate all sorts of things that were not good for us -- buffalo burgers, deep-fried halibut, roasted corn on the cob (from Friar Tuck's, below), and Tamales. Yum! Anyways, there are some pictures below for you to look at :).

We also bought Frank a laptop for his trip to Scotland this week and for school. Suprise! It's an HP! And of course I am jealous as all getout -- it's got 1MB RAM and a sweet processor.

Anyways, that's it for the weekend! By the way, I'm slowly moving the pictures to Shutterfly so look forward to more pictures there!