Week 7 in AK

Monday - One more thing that needed to be done is some septic system maintenance. My role was just scheduling the truck but it took a bit of searching to find the septic tank clean-outs. That area of the yard is really overgrown. I guess I now need to start clearing out more small trees and brush. It’s been a while since it was last pumped out and it ended up costing ~$800. I probably shouldn’t wait so many years. 

The truck arrived just as I finished a test session that I was leading. Good timing as there were just enough VEs available so I wouldn’t have been able to excuse myself. 

Tuesday - Today was another Sunshine Coffee day. It's nice to be able to meet with the group. Many of them I've been meeting for quite a few years. By mid-afternoon, it was a very warm 82°F. Or it felt very warm to me. I had some corn in the fridge that needed to be grilled so after the afternoon’s test session, I fired up the grill. Even though it does have a propane tank, I also have a 20# bag of charcoal. Plus, I suspect that the tank is empty. 

Later in the afternoon, we went on a special tour at the Large Animal Research Station aka the musk ox farm. The tour was provided by the credit union. 

Wednesday - We met a longtime friend for lunch here. I had never been here before as it opened around the same time as I had headed out. And it was pretty tasty. I had one of my favorite dishes, kimchi stew with a side of rice. We also had some seaweed salad and some kimchi on the side. 

Thursday - Another rather typical Thursday. Coffee in the morning at Sunsprout Cafe with the regular group followed by the afternoon test session. I'm working on replacing the upstairs shower cartridge that has developed a small leak. I believe that I installed it back in 2005 when I remodeled the bathroom. Instead of trying to guess the part number, I will need to shut off the water for the whole house to disassemble the valve.

Later - The internals of the faucet are corroded in place. Even the brass on brass threaded connections doesn’t budge. My “hack” is an on/off valve for the showerhead. 

Friday - A couple of test sessions and we started to get ready for our trip to Homer. Bridget is leaving tomorrow in the Prius and I'm taking off around noon in the Ural. This is about my only opportunity for a Ural road trip as the summer is rapidly coming to an end.