Sick Haus

It is a good thing that the Arctic Winter Games qualifier for biathlon was cancelled due to no snow this weekend. Zoey has an infection in both ears and irritated lungs. Vivi has a horrible infection in her throat. The same goes for Tom. He has no voice. It makes controlling a classroom difficult. As of this morning I am the only family member not on an anti-biotic. Sigh...I am exhausted.

I think between the three week long plague and the fender-bender doctor's visits, I may just write off November. I am ready for everyone to be healthy and happy and popping right along. It would be a nice change from hacking and sneezing and crankiness.

Dawn's Rose Fingers

"Dawn's rose fingers touched the sky."

Homer's Odyssey




The sun takes a great deal of time to rise this time of year. It infuses the eastern sky with a cool pink glow. I love to watch it kiss the tops of Denali and Foraker to the north. The alpenglow then shimmies down the mountains as sun rises higher in the sky. I love to stand at the sliding glass door with a cup of tea in my hand and watch this lovely display. Yesterday was perfect for this activity.

Add on about 9:13p...
If you want a more interesting angle on the sunrises, go look at Dave's site.

Rather Moosey

Look across the street with me. What is that among the hemlock and the alder? I think I see two moose.



Is that a third moose? Gee, one looks like he has grown just one paddle. I wonder how that feels? Does he have a constant crook in his neck?






The next day I heard something on the front stoop.



A baby moose! Are you going to ring the bell?


She was browsing our old hanging baskets with her momma.




I have been thinking of Meggie this last week. We have had so many moose hanging around our neighborhood. Mind you my moose photos are not nearly as nice as Dave's, they are very local.

Star of the Internets

My beautiful little mansquito kitty cat, Henry is a star of the internets! He can really work his shrug. Check out all these kitties in hand knits, it is hysterical. If you are in need of pick-me-up, or a giggle, or a break from the trytophan haze, dip into the Flickr gallery. It is so worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends who check in and keep up with my weird schedule through this here website. I hope you all find some contentment and hospitality this weekend.

Smokin'

It's been a while since I posted a volcano shot. So, here is Mt. Iliamna backlit this afternoon, a nice coda on a busy, busy day. We were lucky enough to catch this lovely sunset from the end of the drive way as we came home. It was letting off a little steam. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory there is no change in that status of Mt. Iliamna.

Now I am off to make White Lightning Chili. Yum!

Boreal Goodness

For your enjoyment. I had one really tenacious Boreal Chickadee at the suet feeder yesterday. The winds blew in a small front that is now bringing us a little snow. Enjoy. Disclaimer: On my computer this video is NOT sideways. I have tried five times to get this thing to upload correctly. Apparently, Blogger thinks this is correct. Who am I to argue. So, tilt you head. If that hurts, tilt you monitor. Sorry folks.

My sister has been in town from Bellbrook, Ohio. She is thinking of moving back up. I am encouraging her. It would be great to have her around. My girls just adore her. She is looking at want-ads, websites of employers and real estate. Keep your fingers crossed.

I am making my plan for next week so I am not running around like a crazy lady. I have guests coming for Thanksgiving. I need a plan! I will still, at some point, be a crazy lady, but my plan should minimize that. I also like to do surgical strike shopping, get in, get out; preferrably with very few other folks in the store, usually about ten o'clock at night, on my way home from work, with no children.

This is all on top of fixing myself. We were rear-ended on Sunday. Oh joy! Tell me what parent allows their seventeen-year-old kid to drive a bunch of his friends 2200 feet up a mountain to illegally snowboard on private property during the first snowstorm of the year? And bonus, he did not have studs on his tires. Sheesh! The accident could have been worse. He hit us while we were stopped at an intersection, we were not pushed into traffic. Zoey and I are the only ones sore. It really could have been worse. And I will feel better when I can get a full night's sleep.

Big, Fat Fluffies

Finally, I think the weather pattern may be changing. We are getting big, fat fluffies. Maybe we will be getting them most of the week. Yippy! This makes Tom and Zoey very happy. I even like it, too. Vivi will get to hone her newly emerging nordic ski skills. And everyone in town will finally get their winter driving chops back. I am so glad I do not have to go to work today.

Happy Veteran's Day! Happy Armistice Day!

Not Quite Freezing

It has been not quite freezing in town. We have been having a very warm October and November. Up here it has been cold enough to keep the snow on the ground, but not cold enough for the snow and ice to form sticky crystals. The upstart is that our road is super slick. If it were only my neighbors driving on it, we would have minimal problems. However, we have the most popular trail head in all of Alaska just below us. So, three times this fall the road has been closed by the Anchorage police department due to flatlanders trying to drive on plastic ice without studs. Two of those times I have had to be at work. Today was one of those days. I got to watch the guy ahead of me turn two and a half times around and then bumper off the sides of the road until he was at the bottom. While he was doing this the gentleman behind me was trying not to hit me as his car was sliding down out of his control. All this because they wanted to play in the snow but did not want to monkey with their tires. I did not have a single problem. Sigh.... Once the rest of Anchorage gets some snow the problems will abate, as then nearly everyone will have their studs on. Either that or the temperatures will dip and the make up of the ice and snow will change.

And thanks for all the concern regarding the winds. We regularly ride out winds that high and higher. We are good for a storm each year where the winds gust to 100mph. We have always been just fine.

Flip Side

If birds could be awarded medals, this one would get a medal for bravery. He is feeding on the suet feeder that was knocked down by the wind. There was very little action at the feeders today. I hope all these little guys have safe harbour in the hemlocks.



I have shown you so many pictures of gorgeous sunsets and alpenglow, lovely snowfalls, and many critters. This is the flip side.



To live at 2200 feet above sea level and above Anchorage there is a price to pay. For all the gorgeous sunsets we put up with extremes in weather. Right now we have a big front coming at us from the Gulf of Alaska. It is warm and wet and strong. It hits Prince William Sound and gets funneled through the mountain passes. The above picture is from the corner of our lot, looking up the road. It is beginning to drift in. Normally you would see Flattop Mountain and up Rabbit Valley. This photo is unretouched, no photoshopping. It is VERY hard to capture a picture of wind.



This photo was taken from nearly the same spot as the lovely sunset of two days ago. Yes, that is the same view.



The weather service folks tell us to expect some gusts to 80mph this evening. This is actually not too bad a storm.

November Sky

Like most photographs this one does not even begin to capture the beauty that met me when I saw the inlet. I came around the corner to my home, arriving from classes and piano lessons, and shopping. The girls were quiet and nappy, I was worn out and needing some quiet time. We all gasped. There was golden light imbuing the clouds, playing on all the waves below. Breathe in, breathe out. Yes, even with all the grey the light is gorgeous.

Spooky! Spooky!

Which is spookier and scarier? Hmmmm.....



A troll and a witch?



A pirate tween?


Or a kitty in a sweater? Wearing it all day? Mwaahhaaaa!!!!