Here are the moose photos I said I'd post. Notice the kids and dogs - this is high entertainment in Chevak.


The head was later skinned and only the bones left. They are drying and sunning now. The folks saved all the skin/fur for making things.


That is our tech specialist holding up the head of the moose.

That beautiful Walrus in the photo above is presently on the beach at Barrow, Alaska. Our friend Carmen emailed it to us. Many of the walruses are being killed. One walrus had five pups(?) with her and four have been killed. The natives can kill as many as they want. A fellow teacher here told me that it is really easy to kill them when they come up on the beach - much easier than going out in the water - so people go out in droves as soon as they know the walruses are there. The kids get right up out of school and go get their guns. Carmen said the police were out there trying to keep some order. Just makes my heart hurt to have those beautiful animals slaughtered - but this ain't my house.

We've had pretty rainy weather the past few days. I really enjoy the rain in the evening. I love listening to it - it's almost like a waterfall. But during the day I'd like to see a little sunshine.

A barge came into to Hooper's Bay and then a smaller barge brought us a bunch of boxes - I mean literally hundreds of packges -all of the school supplies that had been ordered supposedly came in. I wonder if we can ride that barge out next summer!! Don't think Thomas would go for that.

We have talked the children into coming up for Christmas. I think this year we will try go to Alyeska resort. There's lot of winter activities - it just may cost too much. I need to check out the prices pretty soon. We didn't really talk the children into coming - Tom just told them we were buying tickets and they were coming up, so...

I had my first moose dish the other night. Several of the teachers have gone moose hunting in the last few weeks and shot one. We were fortunate to be at Deanne's house when Steve and Stewart drove back after a weekend of hunting on their 4-wheelers pulling one third of a moose behind them in a cart. Just that third was huge. The other men who had hunted with them got the other two thirds. Stewart cut the head off, and later cleaned it out and has it on top of the connex drying, I guess. He and Steve immediately started skinning and cutting that huge thing up. It is not as easy as it would seem. Took them a few hours and then the rest of the night they and the wives cut and packaged the meat to freeze. Tom and I watched for a good while - and then when I got home all I could see in my dreams that night was huge hunks of red meat with fur on it. Yuk. Steve brought us two pieces the next day and we finally got around to cooking it this past week. I was very excited about having a bit of moose - but all I could think about while I was eating it was that precious moose head that just looked like a huge sweet Roxie head. Deanne had also made some delicious moose jerky she shared with us. Same story - it was good - but all I could see was that sweet moose face which by now been skinned and cleaned and was sunning on top of Stewart's connex.

I thought I had a photo on my computer - I'll try to post one soon.

I do apologize to any one who checked here more than once to see what's going on with the Benders in Chevak. That knee surgery really threw me for a loop. I thought I was in bad shape before the surgery! For a couple of days afterward I was okay. but when we finally arrived in Chevak and of course me being two days late for the opening of school, I worked entirely too hard, walked entirely too much and that resulted in a great deal of pain. I really set myself back on the healing - and that is just what the Dr told me not to do. Tom had to take me to school on the 4-wheeler and then pick me up. Even so - there were a few nights when all I did when I got home was lie on the couch, with the ICE MAN wrapped around my knee, full of Advil - which worked better than the prescription, and be miserable. I got so far behind at school with those beginning of the year activities that I just got really frustrated. I will say that this past week has been the first week that I have really been able to NOT think about my knee. I am able to pretty much walk anywhere without any pain and I am trying to go down steps using both knees. I just feel a little off kilter. Tom is so patient, so helpful, and so caring. I really don't deserve him.

We finished off the lettuce, carrots and potatoes. I have several apples left of which I eat one a day. We're going to have to do a vegetable order from Fred Meyers.

It is really nice being one of the "old timers" this year. I think only seven teachers have been here more than one year. Of course we had that huge turnover last year.

Our friend and neighbor, Carmen, has moved to Barrow, Alaska to teach and we really miss her - so does Roxie.

Tom and I are watching all of the Foyle's War series. Tom likes them cause he likes anything English. I like them cause they put me to sleep. I can count on about 45 minutes into the program to be fast asleep.

I like knowing all the kids this year - great to remember their names. Our high school boys just flew off for their first cross county running competition - so it was exciting to see them off.

I am going to do better about posting!

I have not taken even one photo since we returned!