BBQ - Mountain Style!

When we were packing up belongings to come here, there were a few things that had to be cut from the list. The BBQ was one of them. We have managed to improvise, though, and have been using the fire as an oven and a BBQ. A few years ago, Tim made me an oven box that is much the same size as a cardboard file box, with a lid and a rack inside for cooking items on, much the same you would in a conventional oven. We have baked cakes, roasts, hams, chickens and potatoes in it with great results. I even had to bake bread in it for our first month here because we had oven problems on the propane stove. Tonight - we roasted potatoes in the oven, and cooked steaks and garlic bread over the coals. Delicious! Did I mention that it snowed a few inches today?

This week I started Cohen's homeschooling program for Kindergarten. The lessons don't take too long and so far he is pretty interested in starting each morning. Each lesson has some calendar review, some phonics, math, and a craft. A teacher I am not, but thankfully everything is pretty well laid out for us.

This morning, the only other souls for miles and miles left the country. They were up here hunting and went back to North Vancouver to their daily grind. They were looking for moose, but I think they left empty handed. That must be quite a change to go from the peace and quiet of here to a big city like that!

We also had company stop by today and drop off some things for us they had picked up in Prince George. It was the local guide-outfitter whose trapline Tim and Paul are trapping on this winter. He was on his way out to close up his summer cabin for the season. He also left open one of his other cabins for Tim and Paul to spend the night in if their trapping days go too long up there in the winter. He put kindling in the stove, left them some chopped wood, and even set a match out so that everything was ready should the boys stop in and be cold. It is only about 25km away, but in the winter that can be a long way when you're travelling by snowmobile. Paul made a comment today to someone who originally came to this area in 1959, that it must have been nice to come out here when he was young, maybe have a girlfriend with him to spend the winter... His reply was, "No, it was just me, back then everything was hand operated!"

If anyone feels sorry for us out here, don't! The only thing we don't have near are family, friends, and takeout. We have been busy online shopping for Christmas gifts, and I will take that any day over a busy store! Tomorrow we will send in our first major grocery order, to be picked up Wednesday at Germansen Landing - I only hope the snow holds off any more until we are back! Heather and I sat down the other day and planned our menu for our little Halloween party, hence the grocery order. We will have meringue bones, witches' fingers, mummies, eyeball punch, tombstone cake, and just about every other thing you would see in the special Halloween publications at the check-out counter! We've just never taken the time to make them all before. The only thing we need to figure out now are costumes... That was something else that was cut from the list!