Summer

I never thought I would take a nearly 6-month break from blogging when I began this back in September. Alaska has bumped over the peak of the summer solstice and is now back to losing light every day, for which I am thankful.

Being a night owl, if I had to choose between the constant light or constant darkness, I'd choose the darkness. Maybe that says more about my personality than I'd care to admit, but there it is. I find myself more disoriented and sleep-deprived in the summer than I did in the winter. I feel at home in the comfort of darkness - more secure inside. Yeah I know, I'm weird.

So I'll stop with all the psycho-babble and get to posting some long-overdue pics for the one or two of you who still happen to stop by on occasion. I took these on June 21st at the Summer Solstice Festival downtown.


The main street - Cushman - running through downtown.


The folks in this pic above are panning for gold.

Today's Stats

Sunrise: 9:43
Sunset: 4:26
Length of day: 6h 42min

And this was our beautiful sunset this evening:

How Marvelous God's Greatness

This little stream is just around the corner from our street. I love passing it every day!


How marvelous God’s greatness, how glorious His might!
To this the world bears witness in wonders day and night.
In form of flower and snowflake, in morn’s resplendent birth,
In afterglow at even, in sky and sea and earth.

Each tiny floweret whispers the great life-giver’s Name;
The mighty mountain masses His majesty proclaim;
The hollow vales are hymning God’s shelter for His own;
The snow-capped peaks are pointing to God’s almighty throne.

The ocean’s vast abysses in one grand psalm record
The deep mysterious counsels and mercies of the Lord;
The icy waves of winter are thundering on the strand,
E’en grief’s chill stream is guided by God’s all-gracious hand.

The starry hosts are singing through all the light-strewn sky
Of God’s majestic temple and palace courts on high;
When in these outer chambers such glory gilds the night,
What the transcendent brightness of God’s eternal light!

~Vladimar Briem, 1886

Pics From The Hill

These are just random pics I took while waiting for the girls to get done with their ASL class at UAF. 26-below zero F this morning. Brrrrrrrrr

More Ice Ice Baby (sorry, couldn't help myself)

While I was up at the University today I walked around taking pics of some of the ice sculptures that adorne the campus. It was nearly 20-below F and my camera quit working after awhile so I missed some nice ice art. Maybe next time; it's not like they're gonna melt or anything :o)

click pics to enlarge
This bear kyaking was my favorite. Even the water was carved out.






A bear with a degree

Ice Sculptures

This past weekend I went with Bren and Abbie to the Regal movie theater in town, and as we were leaving I spotted this wonderful ice sculpture display of the barnyard from the story Charlotte's Web. If we had turned the other way out of the parking lot we would have missed it. I'm so glad we didn't.

I am so looking forward to the World Ice Art Championships in March.

click pics to enlarge

Lovely Sunset

This photo was taken by my friend Abbie yesterday near her house on base.



The sun with royal splendor
Goes forth to chant Thy praise;
And moonbeams soft and tender
Their gentler anthem raise;
O’er every tribe and nation
That music strange is poured,
The song of all creation,
To Thee, creation’s Lord.

~Thomas R. Burks, 1874

Life Goes On

This is the Fairbanks winter weather everyone told me to brace myself for. A high of 33-below is just hard to imagine, but here it is. Even so, life here goes on. People still go to work, school, shopping. It's just another day in this part of our world.

Dress for the weather, not the vehicle. Even in the car with all this on I was still chilly. My big toes were numb in my boots.
Click to enlarge photos



There's lots of smoke in traffic when it's this cold.


Near North Pole on the way home from Fairbanks. 35-below at 2:30 p.m.





The Mother Ship today


Driving up to Eielson. It's always colder here by a few degrees than it is in Fairbanks.

Amazing Sky

The temp rose to about 6 degrees F today and it was quite lovely outside. At around 2 p.m. I went out and was bowled over by the beauty of the midday sky.

Our First

We knew we'd have a White Christmas, but we hoped it would snow. It did and it was lovely.

'Tis Winter Now

’Tis winter now; the fallen snow
Has left the heav’ns all coldly clear;
Through leafless boughs the sharp winds blow,
And all the earth lies dead and drear.

And yet God’s love is not withdrawn;
His life within the keen air breathes;
His beauty paints the crimson dawn,
And clothes the boughs with glittering wreaths.

And though abroad the sharp winds blow,
And skies are chill, and frosts are keen,
Home closer draws her circle now,
And warmer glows her light within.

O God! Who giv’st the winter’s cold
As well as summer’s joyous rays,
Us warmly in Thy love enfold,
And keep us through life’s wintry days.

~ Samuel Longfellow, 1864

What The Highway Looks Like

It was chilly today!
Click to enlarge


Leaving Eielson; ramp to Richardson Hwy. Straight ahead is Moose Creek


Our view leaving the base at 1:30 p.m. I made Rick pull over so I could get a pic.


Richardson Hwy is the main road to Fairbanks. It has stayed fairly clear so far this winter.


Richardson Hwy closer to Fairbanks. Cold at 20-below.

Always Dusk

12 p.m. Today


3:00 p.m. today


Sunrise - 10:50 a.m.
Sunset - 2:40 p.m.
Length of day - 3h 49mi
Temp at 4:00 p.m.: 17-below zero F

These dark winter mornings just invite sleep. I love it, however, the wonderful man who has to bring home the bacon is having a difficult time staying verticle by about 2:00 in the afternoon. Some people have suggested he buy a "Happy Light" (a UV lamp) for his desk, but I think he's gonna stick it out. In three days, after the Winter Solstice, we will be gaining daylight every day.

I love winter, but look forward to the temps staying above zero consistently so I can get out and enjoy (I'm assuming I'll enjoy it) skiing and snowshoeing. I had it in my head that I would be able to be out for extended periods of time all winter long, but it's just too frigid right now. I am enjoying the cold climate though!

We finally got some more snow yesterday, but there's still less than 12 inches on the ground. I hope the clouds will be more generous in the near future. I love the snow.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
And the sky above proclaims His handiwork. ~ Psalm 19:1

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for
thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them His glory also show.

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!

And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him!
Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the
Spirit, Three in One!

~Francis of Assisi

photo courtesy of Stock.xchng

I'll Take That To-Go

These drive-thru coffee joints are very popular in this area. It would be interesting to find out how many there are in the whole state. I bet they'd give Micky D's a run for their money.

These first two are located in Fairbanks (credit to Bren for the photos). I like the name Kodiak Joe's -- sounds very rustic. The other, with the soft serve on top is called Sunrise Bagel and Espresso.


Lava Java is here on base right off Flightline Ave., convenient for those folks who work on the flightline. It is the first drive-thru coffee place we visited here and didn't have a good experience the first three times we visited. A version of a frappuccino was on the menu but they didn't have the ingredients to make them on our first two visits so Bren ordered a kiwi Italian soda which she loved and looked forward to getting again on our next visit. A week later we had our third visit (Lava Java gives out those buy 9, get one free punch cards that keep you coming back) and we hear, "Sorry, we don't have anymore kiwi syrup and the owner decided to not stock it anymore." As Bren's face fell I said, "Oh, okay. So, can we get a frappuccino yet?" The girl, who needs to lay off the tanning bed, replied no, the owner has also decided to not do frappuccinos, and would we like to try something else? Bren decided on the Blended Iced Mocha (you can see the ad on the front of the shop). It's a frappuccino. We don't go there anymore. Too expensive and too much of a gamble.


I took this last photo on Santa Clause Lane in North Pole today when I went to return movies at BlockBuster. It looks like it may be halfway decent, as it should be since North Pole does a lot of tourist business. Next time I'll stop and have a drink.

And while I'm on the subject of coffee joints, there is a Barnes&Noble Cafe that serves Starbucks coffee, and I know there is a Starbucks inside Fred Meyer.

Bren and I are looking forward to trying the few store front coffee shops we've seen in town. I hope we find some good ones.

Cold and Miserable on a Scale of 1 to 10

The temperature has finally warmed up a bit and we recieved another several inches of snow. As I opened my bedroom blinds and saw big fluffy flakes falling I thought for sure I heard testosterone-fueled cheers in the distance. Just a few more inches of the white stuff and the commander can sign on the dotted line authorizing snowmachine use on base. Being that I don't own a snowmachine and have yet to set my backside on one and get completely addicted, I'm not particularly looking forward to the disturbance of my peace. I'm selfish that way. Snowmachines are noisy suckers.

Our days are getting shorter - 4 hrs 27 mins from sunrise to sunset today. Bren and I thought it was pretty cool to be watching the sunrise after 10 o'clock this morning on our way to town. As I type this at 3:02 p.m. I can see the beautiful full moon rising as it begins to get dark. I love the darkness and don't find that it has affected me in any way as of yet (if you don't count getting the urge to curl up with a good book and cuppa cocoa) but Rick says he is beginning to get sleepy earlier in the day.

A couple days ago I spoke with my mom on the phone. She was bundled up on the sofa with her electric blanket in Branson, Missouri, staying safe inside from the ice storm. It was cold - in the teens and 20's, but she hesitated to complain about the cold to me being that I'm in Alaska and all.

After I hung up with Mom I thought about it and came to the conclusion that colder doesn't necessarily mean more miserable. It does get very cold here, but where we are in the Interior we don't get much wind (or snow for that matter, and when we do get snow it's powder), and I have decided that wind is the key factor in getting you from a 1 to a 10 on the Cold and Miserable scale. Where it took me being outside in 25-below for 5 minutes to reach miserable, it would only take me 30 seconds (or less) to reach miserable in 35 degrees + wind and rain or snow.

So family and friends, feel free to tell me how cold you are, I hear ya!

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.