My man delivered.

(If that title seems vaguely familiar, it's because I find humor in quoting "Finding Nemo" for a post like this.)

Alex's best friend Paul and another good friend Kevin flew up a few days ago. Saturday was spent on a boat outside of Seward~~a gift from Paul~~where they caught a veritable smorgasbord of halibut, salmon, and pacific cod. At 4:30 in the morning, with 2 hours of sleep under their belts, they hit the road, driving the two hours to Seward where they got on a charter and fished until about 6:30 that night. They didn't get home until around midnight after filleting the fish, packing them, etc.

This was the sight I stepped out into in the wee morning hours: a fish-packing plant in our garage!



They set up our picnic table (formerly dining room table) in the garage with big vats of water in which to rinse the fish. Then they vacuum-sealed each and every one of those succulent fillets. That's a big bowl of halibut fillets right there in front (with the "cheeks" in the blue dish) and a bag of salmon that probably weighed 50 pounds!

I'm sure this is old hat for some of you Alaskans...but we have never done this before. The most fish I've ever seen at one time are four fillets in my kitchen. I'm still reeling! For the record, they were so tidy about the whole thing. Our garage looked (and smelled) completely unscathed at the end of it all.

Here are the guys with their catch (some of the other people on the boat weren't fishing as much, so Alex and his friends got to meet the boat's limit, not just their personal ones).



Four fillets scooted into our oven this evening, drenched in honey, butter, and pecans...


...and this is what became of the critters. YUMMY!!!


A good friend of mine once told me that having extra batteries in her house makes her feel rich. I know the feeling. I feel completely spoiled and satisfied. The Lord has truly blessed us through Paul's visit...even while the money is so tight right now, our refrigerator is stocked with gourmet fish. It's mind-boggling. Thank you, God and Paul. :) And Jen too! Because if it weren't for your refrigerator and table, the aforementioned garage scene would have happened in our kitchen!! Ack!!