Today we went down to the Ranch for island style Thanksgiving. I really enjoy spending time with our friends and their family down there, so I jump at every chance we get. I made pumpkin rolls (two actually because they are so effing good) and Hedgehogs (the review is totally wrong) as our contribution to the feast. As usual, we came home with a boat load of left overs. Which we have already started to eat.
We had red rice, green banana ball things(the purplish balls in the middle top of picture), sukiyaki, turkey, ham, green beans, shishkebabs, and taro cooked in fresh coconut milk. It was all very good.
Plus we came home with a bag of local tangerines...
Lastly on a "thankful" note, I was so thankful for Joeten Hafa Adai getting this wonderful treat in stock for me to find. Luckily I didn't have to sell a body part to be able to afford it, it is only the small container...
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About Juneau.
We will be moving there in late May / early June-ish, 2008. It is a 4 year tour but that might be cut short if DH makes Chief in the next year or so. Which is a good possibility.
The cost of living really can't be that much higher than here in Saipan. But one thing that I have discovered that is literally making me nauseous just thinking about it is the housing cost. Granted we do get a Basic Allowance for Housing and I totally love that. There is just something about buying a $250,000 house that makes my stomach turn. Seriously, I can not even fathom that kind of financial responsibility. And we aren't talking mansions here people. This is for a 2 or 3 bedroom house. With less than a quarter acre of yard. Eeeppp! I have been searching Realtor.com and we looked at FSBO.com as well. And there ain't much to choose from. We have the name of a realtor that will help us, so we will be calling him up after the first of the year. And after I have had a few vodkas to help "calm" me.
The weather is pretty temperate from what we have learned. It is on the coast and surrounded by temperate rain forest, so it doesn't get quite as cold as the rest of Alaska. And according to weather.com, the highest recorded temp was 90 degrees. *bliss*
We did some online investigating to see how in the world we would be able to get a U-Haul of stuff up there from Illinois. Did you know that it is over 3,000 miles (approx 56 hours driving time) to get from Illinois to Juneau? And it appears that we can only go as far as Skagway, then we have to load up on the ferry and float down there. More investigation required.
So that is what I know for now.
Tomorrow I plan on posting knitty goodness as well as new baby pictures. He won't be a baby much longer!
Peace.
5 comments:
Something that might make you feel better about the housing costs. I live in a 2 bed bungalow, it needs work doing on it and others in the same street have sold for around£250,000! That's about $500,000, but that's the UK for you! Sympathy!
OK, curiosity got the best of me and I had to go to my Streets & Maps program to find out how long it would take to drive to see you. I'm not thinking I'll drive 3 (12 hours) days 10 hours and 49 minutes to visit. I prefer to board a metal tube and shoot north through the air. That has to be only a 6-8 hour flight vs 17 hours to visit Siapan and hopefully not as expensive. So about the u-haul, ummm have fun!!! It would be a great opportunity to see Canada! I'm sulking that you are still going to be 3,000 miles away. OK we'll see Connor again when he's 5! umpfh. Thank you God for the internet and telephone that allows us to communicate at any hour of the day. Glad you found thankfulness in the holiday. I'm thankful for you and your family. Much love!!!
RE: housing. Welcome back to the US, Missy. My little 3 BR that I paid $32K for in 1974 was appraised two years ago at $550,000 and the estimate now is closer to $650,000. Of course, we're only 10 minutes from the beach in SoCA but it's still unreal. The good news for you is that real estate is at a dead stop now because the US economy is in the toilet so - if you can brace yourself - you should actually be able to get a better deal that will appreciate for you in the long run.
Re: Hedgehog review. I haven't made them but obviously the woman didn't read the recipe very well. She put in two eggs when it only called for one, and I'm guessing she didn't chop her dates well enough. A half cup of finely chopped dates are sticky enough to hold anything together.
Glad you had a fun Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to ours in eight more hours! ;^)
Glad the weather won't be that bad !!! It will be interesting to follow your stay over there !!!
It's great you had a good thanksgiving!
wow!!!! 250k ....wow!
speechless
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