I keep thinking of things I want to blog and then I never do it... so
tonight I blog.
First off, things I've learned in Alaska:
1. Things freeze fast. Our first snow never melted. Nor did
anything ever melt on the roads. The slough froze up pretty quick and
the river is mostly iced up.
2. Planning is good. Since I don't drive every day, I don't keep my
car plugged in. I plug it in to warm up the oil a few hours before I
want to go somewhere. Usually that means I plug in the car at lunch
if I want to go somewhere at night.
3. The weather is easy to predict. No clouds? Expect it to get
bitterly cold (about -10 these days but I think that will go down).
Overcast? It might stay around 10 degrees which feels surprisingly
warm. Over 10 degrees? It will snow. Never expect plows.
4. Slippers are your friend. I think this is self explanatory.
I thought of those while riding my bike. It's been winter here for a
month now! They do things a little different, seeing as they get less
snow than MI but it gets much colder.
I had a really fun weekend. Brian came up Friday afternoon. He
wanted to stop by my office and experience Beer Club. He also brought
up the halibut I caught in Kodiak! He made me halibut etouffee and it
was delicious! What a guy! ;-) Plus that halibut I caught is
tasty! It's the first time I've had food in my freezer that I caught/
killed myself.
Tonight I used the leftover veggies and chicken broth from the
etouffee to make some soup. I just threw stuff together, which is new
to me. Once I figured I had it tasting pretty good I threw some
dumplings in! Yum! It was a hearty and easy meal! Picking out
spices and vegetables to go together isn't a natural thing for me so
it was a big step. ;-) Man, good food the last few days for me!
Tomorrow I have class and I've got to squeeze in my voting... It's
close so maybe I'll bike there at lunch. Then I don't have to plug in
the car! And if it takes a long time, at least I have a good excuse.
I will be glad when the election is over.
The picture is of my new slippers (thanks Mom and Dad!) and Mr.
Chungo. I think we've got matching shoes!
Thanks for the northern lights comments, everyone. I can't wait to
take more pictures of them. Brian said he heard once it's actually
"northern lights season" I should be able to see them 5 nights a
week! I have ideas for camera settings for the next time... it's hard
to play around with the dials when it's so cold!
Like Dad would say, "don't forget to vote, cats!"
6 comments:
What a fun pic Aim - your new slippers are just like Mr. Chungo's!!! And what a great accomplishment for you - making soup. Very interesting learnings too! We're heading home at lunchtime to vote too!
As I look at that pic again, I think we should have got you orange slippers! Wouldn't that have been something!
That's a great picture - Mr. Chungo is such a great pal! Things freeze fast - I guess so at 10 below!
Mum and I voted! It was very blue in the booth, hmmmm.
Very informitive. Thanks Aim. I guess I missed the northern light picture. I'll look for it. I've a very small show twice. How nice of Brian to go and see you where it is so cold. Is in a little warmer in Anchorag? Elizabeth has nurse friends transfering to some place in Alaska where the temp stays above 30. . . is that true? Elizabeth doubts it. Soups on! I just found a recipe for butternut and pecan soup. I'll let ya know how it tastes. I bet your mom has a bunch of great recipes too.
What a great post! Life is so different there, but you sure have figured out all the angles. Keep your slippers handy and your car plugged in. Makes sense to me.
PS I'm glad you explained the photo. I never would have figured that one out.
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