work, work, work

All work and no play makes Patty a very dull girl. Back to work this morning; got to get the payroll done so all my co-workers can get paid next week. I spent three evenings packing up meat. I'm tired.

I have dreams of finishing my recycled art today. Hoping the work only takes half a day and then I'm going to have lunch with a sister and then back home to cut, glue, paste, design, create and have a good time.

Sweetie is back at the cabin to work on the stovepipe for the woodstove that just replaced the old oil stove that never worked properly.

In answer to a few questions from last post. No, I've never carved moose antlers although there are many Alaskan artists who do. They are often carved into flying eagle shapes because the tines kind of look like wing/tail feathers. Besides killing a moose to get the antlers (and meat) you can pick up shed antlers if you find them and carve those. I feel like I have enough hobbies/crafts to keep me busy forever so am not planning to pick up carving anytime soon. Tim plans to hang ours on the cabin....that's a very traditional thing to do with them.

Moose meat tastes closer to venison (deer) than anything, but I think venison is better. It's probably all in how you cook it...moose ALWAYS seems tough to me unless I've slow-cooked it forever or I'm eating tenderloins or backstraps. We eat wild game because my husband loves to hunt and get his own meat rather than buy from the store. Plus it's a lot cheaper - we have a freezer full of moose, salmon and halibut (we already ate the spruce hens) so I won't need to buy any for a long time.

Disclaimer: It's not really cheaper; husbands can spend a lot of money on guns, ammo, binoculars, scopes, knives, gas, trucks, trailers, 4-wheelers, boats, boots, clothing, and all the other hunting accessories that are "must-haves" for any trip. It's only cheaper because it doesn't come out of my grocery budget, although it does come out of the general fund.