City Swap

Shelley, from At Home in Rome, has been blogging for just over two months now. For her two-month anniversary she created and organized the very first At Home in Rome Great International City Swap. You can read all about it on her blog. I was fortunate and found out about City Swap just two days before the deadline. Whew.

Today was my day! I received a little package in the mail from Dorothy in Ypsilanti, Michigan which I enjoyed opening very much. Dorothy even enclosed a beautiful note for me.

Included in the package was a bag of Michigan Cow Patties (which froze solid in my mailbox, but were quite yummy once thawed), a tin of "Helmints" (UofM football), two pair of festive Christmas socks, and a little book 'Twas the Night Before Christmas in Michigan.
My favorite item is this lovely tealight candle holder that now sits on my kitchen windowsill. Thank you, Dorothy!

For the City Swap, I sent a gift to Linda who lives in Port Orchard, Washington, not far from where I went to high school in Poulsbo. I tell ya, it is really hard (for me anyway) to buy a gift for someone you know nothing about. After browsing the Knotty Shop for an hour I decided to get Linda something I would love to recieve myself - a tall, handmade pottery mug, pictured below. I hope she's getting some use out of it in that wintery weather they're having now.

I extend a huge thank you to Shelley for facilitating such fun!

Holiday Celebration in Fairbanks

Bren getting some puppy love from a sled pup

Ice Skating Rink set up at Pioneer Park; The sun is low in the sky at 2:30 p.m.



People coming and going from the bazaar; Bren heading to look at the pups; 18-below zero

More Pics

I guess fireworks don't mind what the temp is outside.

Busy bazaar; Where's Waldo Bren?

Kids getting pictures with Santa by the train at the Children's Museum. We ducked in to escape from the cold.

I Gaze Upon The Sky

This looks like sunset, but I took the pic upon arriving at church just after sunrise at 9:50 this morning. It was 22 degrees below zero.

I sing the mighty power of God, that made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.

There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there.
~ Isaac Watts

Love This Shop

The little store to visit in this neck of the woods is called The Knotty Shop. We passed it on the Richardson Highway on our way to Eielson when we moved here in September, but had not gone back to have a look, so on Tuesday I decided to surprise Bren and drove her to the store after picking her up from school.

As soon as I walked in the door I wanted to stay for the winter. The lighting, wood, and vaulted ceilings provided a rustic feel with an amber glow, my eyes were drawn to different focal points in the store by miniature lamps. Country music was playing and the slight aroma of coffee had me looking around for the source. In the corner to the right there was a snackbar where you could buy ice cream, drinks, and pick up a complimentary coffee, which I did.

The shelves were full of Alaskan-themed pottery, carved wood items such as mugs, bowls, and walking sticks; beaded bags and jewelry; authentic animal skins (complete with intact claws). There were beautifully painted pans (for panning for gold) and saw blades, tapestries, big animals and Santas carved from logs; a children's section carried an array of plush stuffed wild animals, pillows, toys, and books. In the back of the store was a very large display of stuffed animals that used to be very much alive, and quite an array of animal skins. Oh, and let's not forget to mention the t-shirts and winter jackets.


Bren loved the shop, but didn't seem to be as smitten with it as I was. I kept wishing my mom was there to ooooooo and ahhhhhhh with me.

I ended up buying a bear pillow for my nephew, and a small tapestry. Bren bought a silver and gold snowflake pendant for her silver chain.

I will have to go back to the shop alone sometime just to spend more time looking at all the beautiful things there. I'm not much of a shopper, but I really enjoyed the trip.



Mucho apologies for the multiple posts to those reading on Bloglines. I'm not very good at arranging photos yet

It's The Wind Chill That Gets You

MIDDLE TANANA VALLEY- INCLUDING...FAIRBANKS...FORT WAINWRIGHT...EIELSON AFB...ESTER... NORTH POLE...MOOSE CREEK...TWO RIVERS...FOX...CHATANIKA... CHENA HOT SPRINGS...SOURDOUGH CAMP 254 PM AST TUE NOV 14 2006
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM AST WEDNESDAY ON THE HILLS...

THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM AST WEDNESDAY. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH ON THE HILLS WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILLS TO 51 BELOW.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT LOW WIND CHILLS TO 50 BELOW ARE POSSIBLE. IF GOING OUTDOORS...BE PREPARED. MAKE SURE TO COVER ALL EXPOSED SKIN AS FROSTBITE CAN OCCUR IN 10 MINUTES OR LESS.

I think I'll stick around close to home tomorrow. I was going to go to Fairbanks in the morning with two friends from church, but the thought of breaking down in these conditions doesn't sound too appealing -- or safe.

I realized today that I'm getting used to what "normal" winter weather is here in Central Alaska. It was "only 10 below", so I went out to clear the morning snow off the driveway. Rick usually does it, but he was running late this morning and didn't have time. I bundled up and put on my super-duper anti-cold gloves, and in about five minutes I couldn't feel my fingers. Well, that's not exactly right. I could feel them; it felt like my phalanges were on fire inside, but my skin was completely numb.

I think I muttered something about being a wimp and went inside to warm up. Once warm I went back out and shoveled for another few minutes. I looked around hoping that none of the neighbors were watching me . I expected some helpful soul to emerge from their house and offer me free shoveling advice. Whereas our neighbor's driveway (which is connected to ours) was neatly shoveled in perfect little rows, ours looked like my four-year-old nephew had been let loose with a Little Tykes plastic shovel. Evidently my disorganization extends to executing a snow removal plan for a 10 X 15 slab of concrete. Good grief. I quit after I had cleared two-thirds and Rick finished it when he got home. I think I got a C for effort.

Life is never boring when it gets this cold, especially when it comes to the vehicles. Yesterday Rick got in the car to go to lunch and he couldn't get the driver door closed because it was frozen. He had to hold it closed and shift gears alternately with his right hand while steering with his left. While talking to Rick's boss, he told me the previous day he made the mistake of opening his hatchback and it froze open. He had to drive home with it that way and was able to close it after it thawed in the garage.

The only silly thing I've done so far is continuing to open the screen door - which has a metal handle - with my bare hands to let the dogs in and out. I now have a little burned patch of skin on my index finger that hurts a bit. Pushing on the glass isn't much better because it's almost always heavily frosted with ice. I just need to keep a glove on hand (no pun intended) to put on when the dogs need to come and go.

I thought the swings at the playground looked real neat covered with several inches of snow. I took the last pic of the cars plugged in at the highschool when I went to pick up Bren this afternoon. Engine heaters are installed on vehicles to keep them warm and to keep the oil from freezing. On base we are permitted to plug in when it's 10 below.

Click pics to enlarge

Books With Violins On The Side

On Saturday evening Bren and I went to Barnes&Noble in Fairbanks to warm up, read, and do homework. We were delighted to hear beautiful music when we walked in the door, and very suprised to see it was live, being played by these wonderful people. I wish they had played all night!

Iceman Falls

Now I know why the locals laughed at me when I suggested that 20 degrees was cold. At 20 degrees you can stand outside for quite awhile before you actually feel really cold, but at below zero, you feel it in just seconds.

This afternoon we took a drive up to Iceman Falls (You can read all about it here), the ski and sledding area here on base. There is a nice little lodge with a fireplace, snackbar, tables and chairs, and an equipment rental area. We ran into our friends there, so we sat and had coffee and cocoa in the lounge while watching the sledding from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

I took the last shot on the way home. The full moon was rising and looked stunning. It's not a very good photo...I had to ask Rick to pull over and I was a bit wary of the traffic on the icy roads, so I took it quickly. I'll be glad when I can someday get a nice digital camera. Click on pics to enlarge.