Snowy, snowy

We woke up to more than a foot of snow falling since we went to bed. That is more than an inch and hour. Holy cow! It is really light, fluffy, dry snow. The outside temps have not cracked the double digits. Look at the snow hats on the dead hanging baskets. WOW!


And look at the tree house. That thing is so full of snow. I'm chilly just thinking of playing in it.




The dog and the girls frolicked in it for quite a while. I had to pop some hand warmers in Vivi's mittens, but then she trooped right along. It was tough moving for her, since the snow was almost to her waist. Sorry for the flat light, can't help that as we can hardly see across the street, much less Cook Inlet.




Zoey and I are trying to set up a good feeding station for the local birdies that winter here. They are a hardy bunch and colorful.


And Tom has gotten even more unimogg time in this break. I am sure he is thrilled!

Happy New Year

What a lovely start to the New Year. We went to our friend, Stephanie's for New Year's eve. The girls all played together, the Christmas tree was ritually burned, there was dry champagne, Diane and Darryl came by, too. All in all a good time. It got even better when Stephanie broke out the Prismacolor Sticks. These are colored pencils unencumbered by a wood coating. We sat at the medieval feasting table all drawing, from 4 year olds to 45 year olds. It was wonderful. There were talents in each other that we did not know existed. I loved it. My camera was in the truck, sorry! Somethings are just too good to interrupt for a photo.




Then today was a glorious day with some clouds and loads of blue sky. Tom plowed since it snowed last night, we drank coffee with creamer and coffee with Frangelico. I made bean soup. We worked on a puzzle with Zoey and played dollhouse with Vivi. Tom and Zoey waxed skis. We all snuggled, some on the couch, some in the rocker. Cojo got a ham bone.

I truly hope the rest of the year is as centered and peaceful as today. And I hope that for all of you as well.

Then the sunset came. WOW! And I get to share it with you via my Christmas gift.



Alpenglow on the south facing snow bank.


I love me some blue shadows on snow.


The sun setting due south at 3:53p.


Mt. Spurr with a steam plume.


Look at this Fata Morgana, click on it and behold the resolution! Thanks, honey, I love the new camera.

Boxing Day

My friend Melissa invited us for Boxing Day tea. She made lovely cucumber and egg sandwiches, cookies, and Lady Grey tea. The grownups even got to have some bubbly. I felt like Myrna Loy in "The Thin Man", champagne in the afternoon. The girls had a great time with the cocktail monkeys. Melissa has a wonderful home. It is an old log cabin from an early homestead in Anchorage. It is solid and warm, and beautifully appointed with Melissa's excellent taste.

The Day

I think it lived up to expectations. I did not get to photograph at the height of the toy explosion, darn it! There was just so darn much going on. We will have to settle for a picture of Frank Sarah, the beloved Christmas tree, after Santa made his visit.

Vivi had her dreams come true. All she seemed to want was a set of tools and these Disney princess shoes she pitched a fit about in Costco. Santa made that happen. Zoey got a needle felting kit that she took to instantly and a perfume science kit she cannot wait to try. I think they were both pleased with the haul. My mother made them each the coolest baggy flannel pants and they got nice night gowns. The showcase was the gorgeous wooden dollhouse Vivi received. Thanks, Santa.




We had the big dinner with my sister, Jane, our friends Jake, Stephanie and Gwynnie, and Auntie Sarah. There was great ham to eat, and fabulous side dishes, not to mention spectacular company. Thanks to EVERYONE!

The Frenzy

Whoooaaaaa....it is over, the frenzy. Never before have I thought of the Christmas season as such a rush. I did put on a big Thanksgiving dinner and then a big Christmas dinner. Both were with people we love and had a great deal of fun, but it is work. I worked up to Christmas eve and Tom taught right up until December 22nd. He also put on the first 100 meter nordic sprint in North America ( we think) the week before Christmas. It was a big deal. He had it end in a Grinchtacular, with each high school having a grinch that had to ski to a chimney and bring back as many gifts as possible. There were rules about each Grinch and their costume. It was hilarious. The above is the Bartlett High School Grinch.

Mom left on December 27th. She got the last seat on the Chicago flight. I was so grateful to my sister, Jane. Jane took Mom to the airport and waited around to be sure she had a seat. I was at home lying on the couch with a fever. I did have to drive Mom to the Retreat House, but that was okay! That was one of the more intense rides down the hill ever. We got caught in eddying snow devils that left us unable to see. YIKES!!! It was blowing about 70 mph. Too bad I do not have any pictures of that, I guess I thought it was more important to keep my eyes on the road.

We have had a great deal of snow in December. We broke our monthly record from 1953. It made up for the bone dry and cold November that preceded it.



This was my ride to work on December 23rd.

You Would Even Say It Blows

The girls are just vibrating with anticipation of Christmas day. My goodness, I hope they are not disappointed. They have decorated the house, picked out gifts for friends and family, helped Daddy cut down a tree, watered it everyday. Zoey has even spent time teaching Vivi to sing some carols. Here is one of my favorites, enjoy. Happy Holidays to everyone!

The Weekend

We had a pretty hopping weekend around here. Zoey raced in the Besh Cup Sprints on Saturday. It was her first race in her new ANR race suit. That is some team pride she is beaming out there. She did not race on Sunday as most of the week she was battling strep throat and the 1K sprint took all she had. The stadium at Kincaid was brutal. Lucky for me, Grammie is in town, so she stayed home with Vivi. I lost touch with a few toes and my face was bright pink for several hours after coming home. It's always a gas standing meters away from Cook Inlet with those fabulous inlet breezes. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR



Click on this to watch Zoey pop up the hill and try to reel in this bigger girl. Go Zoey, go!!!!

And Aunt Jane got to visit with Grammie. She even went to Christmas with the Animals at the Alaska Zoo.


This is Molly, one of the two snow leopards there. She is so smart.

Big Changes

Remember the month long cold snap? The one where it rarely got into the double digits? Well, that left with a bang on Friday. There were 75mph winds, we lost power and the temperature went from 5F to 35F in a day. The airport was having planes land on the north/south runway to meet the big winds head-on. The inlet, sky and mountains all matched in their greyness. Even the cars were grey with road pucky. YUCK! Nasty. As I left work that night there was fog, and it smelled like Juneau. The air was saturated with moisture. When I drove home the wind was blowing snow sideways. I tried to capture the beauty of driving home in the wind and snow. I actually love that. The snow is snaking down the road in the gorgeous, sinuous shapes that sometimes rear up and look like creatures.

Puzzlemaster Vivi

Vivi finished her very first jigsaw puzzle! She was pumped.

Zoey's Eye

Zoey is developing quite an eye for color and shape and beauty. Last week, during the full moon, I slept in a bit. The sun is rising about 10:00a and setting about 3:50p, so there are long, lingering sunrises and sunsets. Sunrises are VERY accessible to the sleepyheads here.

Zoey and Vivi got up before me. I had been busting my behind for weeks, what with Thanksgiving, the flu going through the house, colds. YIKES! Last week was the first week we were healthy and the last week before my mother came. So, I slept in. Yes, I did.

When I did get up, Zoey was bouncing on her toes, wanting me to look at my camera. I did and was very impressed! She really liked the play of the rising sun on the clouds and the changing weather. These are her shot from out of the kitchen window. Very nice, said the mom.

Culinary CoWorkers

I admit I work in a grey warehouse. No windows, dusty, full of forklifts and noise. The greatest thing about where I work is the people I work with. My partners Erika and Brenda are very easy to work with and so smart. My crew of guys are agreeable, hardworking. One among them is also a talented chef. Last Friday he brought homemade tamales. YEA! Francisco is the best! Thanks.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Santa arrived by jet at the Kids Christmas party at work. Above is Vivi's face as she watches Santa walk down the air stairs and into the hangar. After she was able to speak again, she turned to me and said "Well, that's not something you see everyday."



Vivi spent a great deal of time writing a letter to Santa. She really worked hard on it.


No one was feeling very well. The hangar was too loud for Vivi and Zoey was running a fever (Mother of the Year did not know this until we were home). We left without getting to sit on Santa's lap. The girls did get their gifts, though. And I got to see the joy in Vivi's eyes when she saw Santa de-plane.

Our Friend from Seattle

Our friend, Tricia, visited from Seattle over the weekend. I only got to see her for lunch on Friday. She needs to come up again. Hmmmm....or I need to go to Seattle. Yeah, that's it, I need to go to Seattle!




It was lovely seeing her and I miss her in my daily life. The girls loved getting to go out to brunch.

Any guesses?

Got any guesses what this is or the story behind it? Some of you know already. Look closely.