I like to make things from scratch. This was an interesting article. Since I use bowls more than plates these days, I enjoyed reading it. The article from Quartzy makes some interesting points. Have a look. Bowls v. plates.

Such a fantastic day. I had to run over to my son's place to let the grand-dogs out. When he works it's 12 hour shifts and an hour commute both ways. On the way there and back motorcycles were out all over the place. And it was hot in the truck cab. I came close to turning on the AC. At home the dog wanted out to enjoy the weather. I obliged him, turned the heat off and opened the front door to enjoy the day. Wonderful to be able to do that. This morning the temperature is 39 degrees. Real soon a leaf explosion will take place. I can tell the willows are almost ready, their stems are a dark red. It doesn't hurt that it's daylight until nearly 10 pm and the sky is getting light at 5 am. Yay summer. It's what Alaskans live for.

Amazon has strange ways of gauging friends these days. I have taken to reviewing books on Bookbub because I have a reasonable expectation that the reviews will be there tomorrow. I often do batches of reviews on Sunday. And I read voraciously.
Some authors aren't on Bookbub. That makes it all trickier. Now that Goodreads is an Amazon company, any reviews on there may be subject to removal.  
I ran across two books recently which I enjoyed. The first is an Irish crime tale titled Murder on the Bog Road.
On reviewing it on Amazon I found a couple of less than stellar which did surprise me. I enjoyed both the locale and the characters.
Another, Wild Rose by Sherrie Hansen was a sweet romp in the world of the church. The first meeting between the pastor and Rose is unforgettable. So if you are looking for a good read, check Bookbub for my recommendations and reviews. I read almost anything other than horror and hard core erotica. That does not mean I turn my nose up at well done adult reading, I don't. https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cherime-macfarlane

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Alicia suspects his mother had the brilliant idea of throwing them together hoping they would get together. That is not going to happen if he keeps running away. Ken is a too solitary for his own good.

The Fire

Starting a fire. 

You have the cabin in the woods, all the great snacks purchased. Something good to drink and someone to enjoy it all with.
You arrive at the cabin just as the sun is setting over the magnificent view. With laughter and smiles, you both get everything inside. A quaint wood stove sits in a corner with a stack of dry wood in the wrought iron container. Kindling and paper wait there as well. 
You have seen all the survival reality shows, you have this. There's no need for worry, a full box of matches sits on a shelf above the stacked wood.
Crumple the paper, place some of the thin pieces of wood on top the paper, and two or three of the split logs on top. That's when you notice a piece of paper taped to the wall above the shelf.
Ah, the handle sticking out of the pipe is the draft. It has to be turned vertical to make this work right. Oh, and there's a handle under the stove that needs to be manipulated.
You have it now. With the dampers open and the stove door open, you strike the match, light the paper and close the door. Piece of cake. The flames flare upward, and the edges of the logs blacken.
But after pouring drinks and a few kisses to celebrate finally getting away, when you look again there are no leaping flames in the stove.
With a frown, you open the door and get inundated in a huff of smoke. No flames are devouring the wood, just glowing places here and there. Your fire hasn't caught.
Well damn! An hour later you are hunched over in front of the stove with the last match in hand. If the sucker doesn't catch this time, you'll have to resort to using twists of paper lit by the kitchen stove.
The miserable logs are charred all around the edges. How come houses and forests catch fire so easy when you can't get these logs to burn?
The thing with wood stoves and logs is more complicated than you realize. If the wood is wet in any way; either because it's green or has become damp getting it to burn won't be easy.
What kind of wood is it? Some trees burn better than others. No matter what type of wood you are using, there has to be a graduation up to logs. And you must have sufficient oxygen for the fire to not only catch but keep going.
Exhausted. Out of kindling and paper, you give up. The beauty of the stars and the person you brought along is lost in a cloud of partially smoldering wood.
Your great grandpa knew burning wood wasn't that easy. Watch those survival experts a little closer next time. They are joyous when the fire starts for a reason. It's not as easy as you think. 

 

A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem. Homer, Alaska.

The thing about Homer is it's one of the loveliest towns in south central Alaska. Sorry, Seward, Valdez, and Cordova. You all have your beauty spots but inch for inch the city on Kachemak Bay is beautiful. The photo above shot just as the sun was coming up over the head of the bay.

I went down there with the express purpose of getting a better handle on the town and locations of things in it. A new series in brewing in my brain. Homer and the surrounding area will figure prominently in this one. And as I love traveling around Alaska, the lure of Homer was irresistible.

What looks like a dark shadow on the bay in the photo above is Homer Spit. It is a unique finger of land that juts out into the bay itself. There are a few spits in Kachemak Bay, but this one is by far the most well known. And I've watched it evolve over the last twenty or so years.

It has a marina. And if you have watched Deadliest Catch for any length of time you know one vessel calls Homes its home port. Now there is a tidal basin where you can fish.

The Salty Dawg, a famous drinking spot is on the spit. In the summer there are a few restaurants, and I found one that was open early for the fishermen and served the best breakfast. Yum.

And there is the beach. Long and narrow, it stretches almost the entire length of the west side of the spit. People do camp out on it. My love and I did so once. It was great fun.

And here you have the sign that tells you this is it, Land's End for south central Alaska.

On the other side of the road is the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal. One Sunday I got a notion and at 3 am took off for Homer. On finding that the ferry was in, I took it over to Seldovia. I paid extra for the truck, which was a good thing as it started to rain. The tourist season was over and not sure what was open; I needed a way to stay warm.
Below is a shot of the Seldovia dock and the MV Tustumena, fondly known as the Tusty. It was a fun trip. I made it home slightly before midnight, tired and happy.

On to Homer! It is a beautiful place. Grand views of Kachemak Bay, mountains and the Homer Spit. If you haven't been to the Spit, you are missing something special.

 

The shadow you see sitting out there in the Bay is the narrow spit. It is the farthest you can drive in South Central Alaska. There are all kinds of small shops, a couple of restaurants, a bar, campground, fishing hole and marina crammed on there. 

 

The sign proclaims it's "Land's End." Not quite true but where the road ends. And getting here is a long and beautiful drive. But prepare to have it take a little longer than you might think. It is a two-lane road and big motor homes and people towing boats can slow you down. Don't worry about it, enjoy the drive. 

 

Take your time to explore. East End Road will take you high above the Bay and the town. Be sure to take Old East End Road, but do so on your way back down. There are a couple of places you can pull off if you are careful; driveways to abandoned property there are no regular pull outs. But it's worth the drive. 

 

Best taken while driving up East End Road, Eveline Trail has several routes one can take. It is a short, easy walk to the picnic table. From there the views of the glaciers and the Bay are superb.  I took lunch along and ate while enjoying the view. It was a little drizzly, but as we say up here; if you wait until  it isn't raining to do something, you might have to wait until next year. 

 Come and visit! We would love to see you. The Great Land has to be seen to be believed. A lit later I'll post about the trip home. There is still more to see.